Il Corriere della Sera was founded on March 5, 1876, by journalist Eugenio Torelli Viollier in Milan. The Milan-based daily covers politics, economics, world news, culture, sports, and entertainment. Since 1974, Corriere has been owned by RCS MediaGroup, a publicly traded multimedia publishing company. According to its mission statement, the newspaper aims to be “responsible, impartial, complete, accurate and understandable information” and be “free from any political and economic conditioning.”
Thai Rath, Thailand’s largest-circulation newspaper, was founded on December 25, 1962, by Kampol Wacharapol, though its origins trace to his earlier publications. Wacharapol first launched the weekly Khaw Phaph (Photo News) on January 9, 1950, which became a daily in 1952 before being shut down by the military government in 1958. He then operated Siang Ang Thong from May 1959 until launching Thai Rath proper. The newspaper claims a circulation exceeding one million copies daily and maintains its position as Thailand’s best-selling Thai-language publication with a reported 46% share of online news consumption. UNESCO recognized Kampol Wacharapol in 2017 as “a person of global significance in media and education.” The company expanded into digital media with thairath.co.th and launched Thai Rath TV in 2014. The Wacharapol family continues to control the media empire through Wacharapol Co. Ltd, with operations spanning print, digital, television, and related businesses including cosmetics and logistics ventures launched in 2021.
The News Agency of the Slovak Republic (Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky), also known as TASR, is Slovakia’s national public news agency, established in 2008 through Act No. 358/2008 of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Operating independently without state subsidies, TASR provides news coverage across domestic, foreign, economic, and sports. The agency offers news services in multiple languages, including English and Hungarian. TASR is also a member of the European Alliance of Press Agencies (EANA). The agency is governed by a director-general who is voted into the post by a five-member administrative board.
Bakhtar News Agency (آژانس خبری باختر) is Afghanistan’s official state news agency, established in 1939 by the Government Press Department and headquartered in Kabul. The agency operates under the supervision of the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture and publishes content in eight languages: Dari, Pashto, English, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Chinese, with its English-language service launched in 1992 to serve foreign diplomats and international audiences. Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Bakhtar has become a key component of the regime’s media infrastructure, with reports indicating the agency now functions as “a state propaganda outlet” under strict editorial oversight. The agency operates with approximately 175 staff including 90 journalists across all 33 provinces, producing around 200 news reports daily while serving as the primary news source for all governmental media outlets. In 2002, Agence France-Presse established a satellite link to provide news information to Bakhtar.
The Cyprus Mail, founded in 1945, is a daily English-language newspaper covering Cypriot politics, business and economics, and local news from its headquarters in Nicosia. The publication has a particular focus on the island’s division between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities since 1974 and ongoing reunification efforts. The newspaper describes itself as independent and unaffiliated with political parties; however, it has taken editorial positions on the Cyprus dispute that some have regarded as controversial, notably supporting the 2004 Annan Plan for reunification, a United Nations proposal that was overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots in a referendum. In 2019, the newspaper was acquired by Andreas Neocleous, a lawyer and public figure who was previously convicted of bribing a deputy attorney general.
Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) evolved from the Burma Broadcasting Service, which began radio operations in 1936 during British colonial rule. The organization, which broadcasts television from Kamayut, Yangon, and radio primarily from Naypyidaw, claims its TV signals reach 92.7 percent of Myanmar’s population and its radio coverage reaches 100 percent. The military government that took power in 1988 renamed the service Myanmar Radio and Television in 1997. The network launched a television service in June 1980 and switched to digital terrestrial broadcasting with DVB-T2 in October 2013. MRTV expanded its multiplex system to include additional channels in February 2015 and March 2018, and as of 2014, Myanmar Radio broadcasts 18 hours daily on FM stations nationwide.
L’Action is the official newspaper of Cameroon’s ruling party, the Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC), also known as the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). It is published by the Direction of Press Organs, Information and Propaganda (DOPIP) of the RDPC Central Committee. L’Action is published in Yaoundé and began publication in the 1990s, initially as a weekly publication. The Library of Congress notes some publishing irregularities, including periods when only one issue was published between July 1998 and January 1999. As the official party newspaper, L’Action serves as a vehicle for promoting RDPC/CPDM policies and activities, covering political developments, party meetings, and government initiatives from the ruling party’s perspective.
Khovar News Agency, officially known as the National Information Agency of Tajikistan, was established on December 31, 1925, during the period of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The agency functions as Tajikistan’s state news agency, publishing content in Tajik, Russian, English, Arabic, and Persian languages. On April 30, 2004, a governmental decree designated Khovar as the central state information body with official authorization to collect and distribute information about the president, Supreme Assembly, and government activities. The agency also operates Radio Khovar FM, which started broadcasting in 2011.
Metro is a British freesheet tabloid newspaper distributed weekday mornings across England, Wales, and Scotland. A sister publication to the conservative Daily Mail, Metro was launched in 1999 initially as a London-only newspaper with 85,000 copies distributed via dedicated bins in London Underground stations. The publication expanded nationally and in February 2018 climbed ahead of The Sun in total print circulation to become the UK’s most circulated newspaper. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro suffered financial losses from reduced advertising during travel disruptions and cost increases. Following a 2023 restructuring that combined its print and online operations, the publication became profitable in both print and online formats in 2024.
