#EU: New York Times Sues EC Over Pfizer Texts With President

[world politics news]

The New York Times is taking the European Commission to court over the executive institution’s failure to release text messages between its president Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Parliament Ends TV Licence Fee

[world politics news]

The French Parliament has voted to end the TV license fee as part of a bill aimed at tackling the country’s cost of living crisis, in a move that has provoked fears over the future independence of French state broadcasters.

Under the bill, more than 23 million French households will no longer pay the annual fee, currently set at 138 euros ($141) per household. As of this October, families will not be billed for the fee and any households that paid it in advance will be reimbursed.

There is a similar push in the UK to eliminate the state license fee which supports the publicly funded BBC radio and TV apparatus.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#TURKEY: Media Groups Concerned Over "Disinformation" Legislation

[world politics news]

A years-old piece of draft legislation that seeks to criminalize the spread of disinformation is moving toward a vote in the Turkish parliament. The bill is being met with deep concern by media rights groups across the country.

If passed, the so-called "disinformation" law put forward by ruling majority parliamentarians would carry a sentence of up to three years in prison for the spread of fake new or disinformation as defined by government officials.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#INDIA: Gov't Blocks YouTube Channels, Facebook Acct, For Misinformation

[world politics news]

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday issued directions for blocking 16 YouTube news channels and one Facebook account, a statement said.

Of the 16 news channels, six are from Pakistan and 10 from India, it said. The statement alleged that the YouTube channels, with a cumulative viewership of over 680 million people, were spreading disinformation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Crackdown On Free Press Intensifies

[world politics news]

Life as an independent journalist in Hong Kong, long hard, is becoming impossible. On December 29th Stand News, the territory’s leading pro-democracy news outlet, was forced to shut after hundreds of police raided its office, froze its assets and arrested seven people. 

The current and former editors were charged with conspiracy to publish seditious content and denied bail. 

Fearing for their reporters’ safety, two other news sites, Citizen News and Mad Dog Daily, halted operations on January 4th.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#PAKISTAN: PM Khan Blames Clothes Women Wear For Rise In Rapes

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Pakistan Prime minister Imran Khan drew flak after he once again blamed a rise in the cases of sexual violence on how women dress in the country. 

"If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they are robots. It’s just common sense," Imran Khan said in an interview with 'Axios on HBO'. "This is cultural imperialism. Whatever is acceptable in our culture, must be acceptable everywhere else. It's not," he added.

Khan's comments in the interview have caused outrage on social media, with opposition leaders and journalists expressing anger and disgust against the misogynistic ideology.

"Nadia," who identifies herself as a dentist from Karachi, tweeted:

"Someone needs to sit Imran Khan down and educate him on sensitivity towards issues like rape. He should have absolute clarity in his views which should solely hold men accountable without pointing towards women in the slightest."

Pakistan has faced a crisis in violence against women in recent years.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Police Arrested Top Executives Of Newspaper Critical Of Government

[world politics news]

Hong Kong’s national security police have arrested two executives and three news staff of Apple Daily, the only pro-democracy newspaper in the city, for foreign collusion, and raided its office.

Media say over 500 police officers swarmed the building during the arrests.

CEO Cheung Kim-hung, COO Royston Chow, Chief Editor Ryan Law, Associate Publisher Chan Pui-man and Platform Director of Apple Daily Digital Cheung Chi-wai were taken by police officers early on Thursday morning. 

They are accused of breaking Article 29 of the Beijing-imposed national security law, which prohibits “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.” Police say they wrote op-eds and stories encouraging foreign sanctions on China.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#AUSTRALIA: Facebook Bans Aussies From Sharing News Content

[world politics news]

In an extraordinary step, Facebook has banned Australian users and publishers from sharing or viewing news articles on its platform.

The move comes as hostilities grew over the Australian government’s media bargaining code, through which it was trying to force tech giants to pay Australian media outlets for using news content in a bid to sustain the future of journalism.

The world-first laws, however, prompted a hostile reception from both Google and Facebook. 

World Politics News has reported that Google had earlier threatened to block all searches in Australia on its platform if the law passed.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EGYPT: Parliament Says Information Minister Can't Run Media Production Company, Too

[world politics news] 

Egypt's Minister of Information, Osama Heikal, told MPs that since he came to office in June 2018, he has done his best to develop the role of the ministry in defending the image of Egypt and explaining government policies.

But Members of Parliament have asked Heikal not to work as both the minister of information and the chairman of the Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC) at the same time.

Ashraf Rashad, spokesman of the Mostaqbal Watan party, which holds a majority in parliament, said, "It is illegal and in violation of the constitution that Heikal doubles as both minister of information and the EMPC's chairman at the same time."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CANADA: Trudeau Government Plans List Of "Reliable" News Media Outlets

[world politics news]

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to release what they call an “A-list of newspapers and websites" deemed reliable under a multi-million dollar subsidy program. This list will reportedly be determined by federal agencies.

Senator Raynell Andreychuk of Saskatchewn pointed out that “Selection committees appointed by the government [means] we’re intruding on the freedom of the press.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ISRAEL: Netanyahu's Party Launches Video, Billboard Campaign Against Media Figures

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party launched a campaign against media figures it believes have been urging the Attorney General to file charges against him, which he did this week.

The billboard features photos of journalists and the words “They won’t decide” and was placed along a prominent high way in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu had said in news conferences and online videos that the media and left-wing activists "won’t decide" who will win the upcoming elections.

Likud followed up the billboard with a video on Netanyahu’s Facebook page with the message: "For three years the Left and media have been hounding the attorney-general so that he would submit an indictment at any cost."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#PALESTINIANAUTHORITY: Hamas Blamed For Attack On Media Headquarters In Gaza

[world politics news]

Armed men raided the headquarters of Palestinian Authority media in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Friday, station staff said, causing damage to equipment. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, though the staff and a PA official said they held Hamas responsible.

The organization is funded by the West Bank-based Palestinian government, which has a longstanding dispute with the Islamist Hamas movement, and the building houses offices for Palestine TV and the Voice of Palestine radio station.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Radio Network Warned By Regulator About Mayor's Political Interview With Party Leader

[world politics news]

A media regulator is investigating a talk radio station for allowing the mayor of London to interview his party's leader as a guest presenter last year.

LBC was given a warning by regulators for allowing Mayor Sadiq Khan to interview Jeremy Corbyn. Both are members of the Labour Party. The segment “strayed close to limits of the rules on due impartiality," Ofcom found.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ISRAEL: Tape Shows Netanyahu Negotiating Good Press In Exchange For Hurting Paper's Competitor

[world politics news]

A new scandal is engulfing embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a tape revealed him speaking with newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes, during which Mozes allegedly suggests giving the PM positive coverage. In return, Netanyahu would limit the circulation of Mozes' biggest competitor, Israel Hayom. That paper is Israel's largest, owned by U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a close confidant of Netanyahu. Mozes has been questioned by investigators, and the incident may have wide-ranging political implications for Netanyahu.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: (from left) Sheldon Adelson, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Adelson's wife, Miri Adelson, at an event in 2008.

#POLAND: Gov't Drops Plans To Restrict Press Access To Parliament After Mass Protests

[world politics news]

Poland's president says he has received a pledge from leaders of the populist ruling party that they won't introduce restrictions on media access in parliament, a plan that had sparked days of bitter protests. It was a victory for opposition parties and activists who had staged mass protests. It is the second time that the ruling populist Law and Justice party has stepped back from disputed measures due to street protests.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#HONGKONG: Chief Executive Writes Stern Letter To Beijing After Book Publishers' Abductions

[world politics news]

The leader of Hong Kong has written a letter expressing concerns to Mainland China over the treatment of book publishers in the city who were allegedly taken to the Mainland to be interrogated for eight months, possibly violating the "one country, two systems" plan. Leung Chun-ying's letter raised the issue of legal jurisdiction and civil liberties in the largely self-governing city.

#GERMANY: #Merkel Says Initial Reax To Comic's Erdogan Video "A Mistake" But Prosecution Continues

[world politics news]

Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted on Friday that she had made a "mistake" in her initial reaction to a video that mocked Turkey's president, but continues to think that the investigation against the comedian who created it should be allowed to go forward.

#TURKEY: German Ambassador Questioned After German Radio Broadcasts Satirical Song Criticizing Erdogan

[world politics news]


Germany's ambassador to Turkey was called in for a tongue lashing after a show on Germany's public TV station aired a satirical video criticizing Turkish Pres. Recip Erdogan's crackdown on the media. The video mentions the imprisonment of an unfriendly biography of Erdogan and others cases of the media crackdown. The show frequently satirizes public figures and political leaders. Within two days of the controversy, the number of views of the video got on YouTube went from a few thousand to more than three million.

#CANADA: PM Trudeau To Americans: Pay More Attention To The World

[world politics news]

Ahead of a state visit to Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Americans should pay more attention to what's going on around the globe. Trudeau is set to appear on "60 Minutes" this Sunday, where he is set to say, "It might be nice if they paid a little more attention to the world." Conservative Member of Parliament Jason Kenney took to Twitter in a series of tweets and called Trudeau's remarks, "regrettably smug." "Both CDA & the USA have virtues & flaws, but pls don't suggest that we 'pay more attention' to the world, that's manifestly untrue," he tweeted.

#CHINA: Communist Party Punishes Tycoon Who Criticized Media Clampdown

[world politics news]

Communist Party officials in Beijing have pledged to "seriously punish" a retired property developer who criticized President Xi Jinping’s state media clampdown, urging other party members to learn from his example. Ren Zhiqiang was known for airing outspoken views to his more than 37 million Weibo followers before Internet regulators ordered his social media accounts closed Sunday.