The International Communications Forum was deeply saddened to hear the news of the heartbreaking atrocity in Nice. We wish to express our profound sympathy and total solidarity with the people of France.

It is with great sadness that the International Communications Forum has learnt of the shocking and brutal events in Beirut on Thursday night which left 43 dead and 200 seriously wounded and the subsequent events in Paris on Friday night that left 129 dead, 352 injured, 99 of whom are acutely injured. This threat to the freedom of the world by ISIS, an organisation whose ideology expresses hatred for the other, is deeply and profoundly saddening. We strongly condemn these horrific terror attacks.

A talk by Bernard Margueritte on 'The Media in a World in Crisis- Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?'

The International Communications Forum endorses to following statement from the Religious Affairs Advisory Council.

Coverage of the International Communications Forum's annual conference in London by Levant TV, held on 9 May, with panels of prominent people from the BBC, US State Department, foreign correspondents and other international media personas and politicians from around the world.

'...only media, proper media, quality media can bring about a true citizenry, only media can allow people all around the world to know and respet each other and get ready to work together?' These are the words from Bernard Margueritte's opening speech at the Media Ethics Conference 2014. Inspired by the Sarajevo Commitment and Media Ethics code, the conference was a resounding success attended by members of the media and academics who seek to shape the future of the media and its responsibility towards the public.

For most journalists, spending a week working on a story is a luxury they can only dream of. Most modern editors are simply too busy to concern themselves on a day to day level with being the conscience of their junior reporters. Ethical journalism requires standards of vigilance that are unprecedented precisely because we are our own moral guardians and cannot lean on our bosses any longer, writes the new Chairman of the International Communications Forum, William Morris.

Nominations for the 2014 International Media Awards are now closed and the International Communications Forum will now begin the shortlisting process in earnest.

News of the International Media Awards 2014. The shortlist for the 2014 awards will soon be compiled, with the Awards due to be held in London on May 10, 2014.

Mr William Morris, Secretary General of the Next Century Foundation (NCF), has accepted an invitation to become the Chairman of the Executive Council of the International Communications Forum.