'Predators of press freedom' identified

PARIS, May 3 (UPI) -- Paris-based Reporters Without Borders Saturday released an updated list of the "predators of press freedom" for World Press Freedom Day.

The group said former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is off the list after turning over power to his brother because of health problems. A U.S. ally, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, also is off the list, having "lost February's parliamentary elections and, in the process, his ability to harm press freedom," the group said.

Ten new "predators" have been added to the list. The armed wing of Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority's security forces in the West Bank "were guilty of serious press freedom violations," the group said, and each "faction systematically hounded journalists suspecting of siding with the other camp."

Also added were the Israel Defense Forces. Reporters Without Border said the IDF began to target journalists covering Israeli incursions into Palestinian territory, and a Palestinian cameraman working for Reuters was killed in April by an Israeli tank shell.

The group said the complete list of "predators" is accessible on www.rsf.org