Committee for the Protection of Journalists

Security was tight Saturday as the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner kicked off, with President Joe Biden to make what is a traditionally lighthearted address amid protests and boycott calls over the conflict in Gaza.

The number of journalists around the world behind bars has reached its highest level in 2021, according to a new study by the non-profit organization Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Reuters reported. The report states that as of December 1 this year, 293 reporters are in prison.

This is according to the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), that is quoting Milivoje Mihajlovic, a former Radio Pristina editor and head of the Media Center in this town, that was "a key source of information for all media in 1998 and 1999 in Kosovo."

The United States State Department has voiced its concern over the arrest of two British journalists and their translator in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r, urging Turkey to revise its actions to match up with democratic values.

International rights organizations have called on Turkish authorities to release three people working for VICE News, including two British journalists, who have been detained in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbak?r.

The journalists will appear in a Turkish court on Aug. 31, facing "unsubstantiated charges of terrorism," said a VICE News spokesperson.