Rights group slams Egypt's 'nationalization' of media

CAIRO – An international media rights group has voiced alarm over Egypt's "roundabout nationalization" of once-independent outlets.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday criticized the state-run Akhbar al-Youm newspaper's recent acquisition of the English-language Daily News Egypt and Al-Borsa, a financial daily.

Authorities froze the assets of the publications' parent company last year and placed its chairman on a terrorism list over his suspected links to the Muslim Brotherhood group. Egypt has also blocked the outlets' websites.