PARIS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- In its annual report, Reporters Without Borders said in Paris Monday war is an enemy of press freedom, pointing to declines in Lebanon and the United States.
The group issues the Worldwide Press Freedom Index every year.
The countries that have been on the bottom of the list recently remain there, with North Korea, Turkmenistan and Eritrea as the worst offenders.
"Unfortunately nothing has changed in the countries that are the worst predators of press freedom, and journalists in North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Burma and China are still risking their life or imprisonment for trying to keep us informed," the group said in a statement.
Lebanon dropped significantly on the index from 57th place to 107th. The United States fell nine places to 53, with the group pointing to legal attacks on reporters who refuse to name sources and the continued imprisonment of an AP photographer in Iraq and an Al-Jazeera cameraman at Guantanamo.
There were some bright spots. Bolivia and Bosnia-Herzegovina moved into the top 20 for the first time.
