A top court in Germany on Thursday backed demands by an extreme right-wing party for its newsletter to be distributed at preferential mail rates, citing freedom of the press. The verdict comes amid swirling debate in Europe between liberals and religious leaders about whether free speech is an absolute right.

International Game Technology has quietly pulled the plug on its online poker operations in Europe, saying the business model had suffered due to regulatory changes. The slot machine manufacturing giant spent $115 million last year to acquire Entraction, a Swedish-based online poker operator with more than 4 million players.

The News International chief executive has sought to boost morale in the Sun newsroom after the 21st journalist on the paper was arrested by Scotland Yard police officers. Tom Mockridge called the meeting at Thursday, just hours after a 30-year-old Sun reporter was arrested at his home in south-east London by officers from Operation Tuleta, the investigation into computer hacking which was recently widened to include alleged criminal breaches of privacy. He was the third Sun reporter to be detained this week and the 21st current or former Sun journalist or executive who has been detained since the police made …

Two 'Sun' journalists, a 32-year-old man from Lo ndon and a 51-year-old man from Bristol, are being questioned over claims of conspiracy to corrupt and cause misconduct. The inquiry is investigating allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials, and runs alongside Operation Weeting, the probe into phone hacking. Scotland Yard said the arrests were the result of information provided by News Corporation's management standards committee, which was set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

Police have raided the offices of Closer magazine searching for the identity of the photographer who took pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge topless while on holiday in the south of France. Officers arrived at 10am on Wednesday morning at the magazine's headquarters in the Paris suburb of Montrouge. They were reported to have searched the publication's offices and examined journalists' computers.

Top experts in advertising and online content from the Middle East and Europe gathered in Beirut Wednesday to show how companies can take business to the next level through better digital content. “It’s not a question of if you do it. It’s how well,” said Marc Dfouni, chief executive at Eastline Marketing, a Beirut-based online advertising firm at DGTL#U’s conference “Embracing the Digital Era,” at the Movenpick hotel in Raou

Luxury labels demonstrated the instant selling power of social media during London Fashion Week like never before with videos broadcast live online to the world from shows crammed with tweeting, blogging designers, editors and celebrities. Retail clothing chain Topshop reached the largest online audience for a live-streamed London fashion show on Sunday, with two million viewers tuning in from more than 100 countries to see Topshop Unique's latest collection. More than 200 million people were exposed to images and content from the runway as part of Topshop's partnership with Facebook, where fans were led to Topshop's live-stream from their shopping …

An international media watchdog urged Ukrainian lawmakers on Wednesday to reject a bill that would make defamation a crime, saying it could "threaten the very existence of independent journalism." This week Ukraine's parliament, dominated by President Viktor Yanukovych's allies, tentatively approved a bill that would make defamation punishable by up to five years in prison, restoring a Soviet-era practice that Ukraine abolished 11 years ago.

As it continues to scale up its $3 billion media agency operation, MDC Partners has appointed agency veteran Dene Callas to the new role of managing director of Maxxcom Global Media, the Toronto-based holding company’s media oversight unit. Callas is the No. 2 executive at Maxxcom reporting to CEO Steve Farella. In her new role, Callas is responsible for building the group’s offering and resources. She will work with MDC agencies, including TargetCast, Media Kitchen and RJ Palmer as well as full-service shops like Crispin Porter + Bogusky, as they integrate the growing array of holding company media assets into …

New BBC director general George Entwistle used his first address to staff to announce the closure of the operations division and the departure of one of his rivals for the job, Caroline Thomson. Entwistle signalled a radical shakeup of the BBC structure put in place by his predecessor Mark Thompson, including the creation of BBC Vision, just six years ago.