From The Globe and Mail:

A controversial attempt to seize a Toronto freelance writer's notes was defused yesterday after a judge brokered a deal that limited damage to journalistic principle.

Journalist Lon Appleby agreed to answer questions in the witness box in connection with a first-degree murder case.

In return, a defence lawyer for the accused man said he would drop his attempt to subpoena notes and tape recordings that Mr. Appleby made while researching a 1998 Toronto Life magazine story.

"I am very happy with the result today," said Iain MacKinnon, Mr. Appleby's lawyer. "The questioning of Lon was narrowly tailored to establish some basic facts about his article and did not pose a threat to press freedom."

From globeandmail.com:

The Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered the National Post newspaper to hand over a document and envelope that could reveal the identity of an individual who tried to “undermine the authority” of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

The ruling came as a blow to several media organizations – including The Globe and Mail – who had argued that handing over the documents would put a chill into the relationship between journalists and their sources – regardless of whether the material in the National Post case was a forgery.

From the BBC:

Six years after being ousted in the US-led invasion, the Taleban have retaken about 10% of Afghanistan, US intelligence chief Mike McConnell says.

The government controlled just 30% of the country, and the rest was under tribal control, the director of national intelligence told senators.

But that assertion has been denied by the Afghan government as incorrect.

From the BBC:

With Russia's presidential election campaign entering its last day, the head of the electoral commission has admitted media coverage was unequal.

Vladimir Churov told the BBC not all candidates had enjoyed equal access to the media, but he still believed the coverage had been fair.

From Maureen Dowd's column in the NYT:

Hillary and her aides urged reporters to learn from the “Saturday Night Live” skit about journalists having crushes on Obama.

“Maybe we should ask Barack if he’s comfortable and needs another pillow,” she said tartly in the debate here Tuesday night. She peevishly and pointlessly complained about getting the first question too often, implying that the moderators of MSNBC -- a channel her campaign has complained has been sexist -- are giving Obama an easy ride.

Beating on the press is the lamest thing you can do. It is only because of the utter open-mindedness of the press that Hillary can lose 11 contests in a row and still be treated as a contender.