Two Australian reporters facing jail

Two reporters from the Melbourne Herald Sun face being jailed for contempt of court for refusing to reveal their source for a story about a government plan to cut benefits to war veterans. The supreme court in Victoria has rejected appeals by Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus against a lower court order. Australia's prime minister, John Howard has said he "respects" the reporters, who he knows, for "behaving according to the code of ethics of their profession" but believes that government discussions must remain confidential. The story, published in February last year, disclosed that the government planned not to pay war veterans the A$500m (£200m) they had been promised in supplementary benefits. (Via Reporters Without Borders)