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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Media Freedom in Survival Mode

The Pandora Papers provide the most comprehensive look yet into the sprawling transnational networks that allow corrupt public officials and economic elite to launder and hide their illicit assets everywhere from the British Virgin Islands to Washington, D.C. The investigation shows that wealthy countries need to do far more to clean up the fiscal paradises they provide for kleptocrats, including by regulating professional enablers such as trust companies in South Dakota in the United States and real estate agents in London. U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation this week to do just that on the national-level. The global scale of the problem that the 11.9 million leaked confidential files from 14 financial service providers implicating public figures from over 90 countries demonstrates there is also the urgent need for a new international institution to hold kleptocrats and their professional enablers accountable.

Power Conflict: Traditional Governments vs. Social Media

The recent decision by the Egyptian Tax Authority to apply income taxes on social media influencers is creating a hot debate. A huge number of Egyptians, of all ages and backgrounds, are earning living by creating media content on YouTube and Facebook platforms in particular. There is no solid statistics on how much money they make. But, to put things into perspective, it is important to notice that almost all famous media personalities who worked on traditional television stations for years, have been moving their work to YouTube.

Egypt – Universal Periodic Review – 3rd Cycle

Follow-up and assessment report on Egypt’s progress on human rights thematic categories related to liberal democratization and fighting terrorism based on UPR mechanism at the United Nation’s Council of Human Rights. This report provides an assessment to the progress achieved by the Egyptian state on the 2nd Cycle Recommendations, with special focus on issues related to liberal democratization, religious tolerance, and fighting violent extremism.