Journalists barred from Western Sahara

Two Norwegian journalists who have written about the plight of Western Sahara, the disputed territory controlled by neighbouring Morocco, have been refused entry to its capital, El Aaiún. Anne Torhild Nilsen and Radmund Steinsvag were stopped at the airport and forced to return to the plane on which they arrived. Both had applied for press visas but, according to the press watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, the Moroccan authorities sit on applications indefinitely. Nilsen said later that this ploy means "we cannot denounce them because they have not told us were are banned... A definitive 'no' would clearly show that impartial observers are not welcome." (Via Reporters Without Borders)