An online news portal, newsnextbd.com, was launched with the slogan "Cares Nothing but Accuracy" at a ceremony yesterday.

Launching the web portal at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro in the capital, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said a free press is the prerequisite of a strong democracy.

Commending the journalist community for its "courageous" reporting on recent cases of abduction and murders, he said journalists enjoy full press freedom in Bangladesh.

Earlier, a discussion titled "Importance of Media in the Journey towards Democracy" was held.

GM Quader, a presidium member of Jatiya Party, said online news portals have a competitive edge over traditional press and broadcast media because running them require little investment.

"Newspapers and TV channels are often owned by large business conglomerates that propagate their own agenda through news, but the web portals can be owned and run by journalists themselves," he said.

Shah Alamgir, director general of the Press Institute of Bangladesh, and Nazrul Islam, editor at newsnextbd.com, among others, spoke at the programme.