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☆ Police investigate 'cyber incident' at Australia ports operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The Australian Federal Police said on Sunday they were investigating a cybersecurity incident that forced ports operator DP World Australia to suspend operations at ports in several states. DP World Australia told Reuters on Saturday that operations at impacted ports were not yet restored. DP World Australia, part of Dubai's state-owned ports giant DP World, operates four container terminals in Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Western Australia's Fremantle. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said on Saturday that the government was coordinating a response to the "cyber incident". According to DP World, in the Asia Pacific region it employs more than 7,000 people and has ports and terminals in 18 locations.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, We've, we're, Darren Goldie, Goldie, Clare O'Neil, Sam McKeith, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Australian Federal Police, Australia, DP, Reuters, Fremantle, Cyber, Twitter, Home Affairs, Thomson Locations: Dubai's, Australia, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Western, Sydney , Melbourne, Asia

☆ Australia ports operator suffers 'cybersecurity incident', suspends operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The Australian government said on Saturday that it was coordinating a response to a cybersecurity incident that forced ports operator DP World Australia to suspend operations at ports in several states. A DP World Australia spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday that operations at impacted ports were not yet restored. Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator, appointed earlier this year in response to several major data breaches, was managing the official response to the incident, O'Neil said. DP World Australia, part of Dubai's state-owned ports giant DP World, operates four container terminals in Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Western Australia's Fremantle. According to DP World, in the Asia Pacific region it employs more than 7,000 people and has ports and terminals in 18 locations.

Persons: Clare O'Neil, O'Neil, Sam McKeith, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: SYDNEY, Australia, Home Affairs, Cyber Security, DP, Thomson Locations: Dubai's, Australia, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Western, Fremantle, Asia

[1/4] A view of the turbines at an offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark, September 4, 2023. Time is short: The EU has a legally binding goal to nearly double renewable sources as a share of total energy by 2030, to 42.5%, requiring a rapid expansion of offshore wind. But of the governments surveyed, only Britain and Poland said they had invested or budgeted for steps to improve the security of offshore infrastructure. It requires a lot of effort from the government side," said Mattia Cecchinato, senior adviser for offshore wind at WindEurope. It said it would establish a permanent coast guard base close to where offshore wind farms are planned.

Persons: Tom Little, Thomas Almegaard, Vladimir Putin, Mads Nipper, Orsted, Ewa Skoog Haslum, James Appathurai, Germany's RWE, Anitta, Mattia Cecchinato, Rasmus, Krzysztof Jaworski, Orsted's Errboe, Benjamin Mallet, Riham, Elizabeth Piper, Toby Sterling, Andrius Sytas, Marek Strzelecki, Sara Ledwith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Baltic Seas, EU, NATO, NewNew, Sweden's, Soaring, Emerging, Research, Solutions, Internal, Fund, Military, Naval Operations Centre, Polish Navy, Thomson Locations: Nysted, Denmark, Europe, Baltic, Nord, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Russian, Russia, NewNew Shipping, Netherlands, Britain, Poland, Germany, North, Swedish, Copenhagen, Moscow, Sofia, European, Anitta Hipper, Belgium, Norway, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Baltic . Poland, Paris, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Vilnius, Warsaw

☆ Russians, Iranians, and Chinese spark security fears after taking $100,000 shortcut for citizenship in a Caribbean paradise
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The European Union may crack down on visa-free travel after revealing the scale of the passport trade. AdvertisementAdvertisementTens of thousands of passports have been obtained by Russians, Iranians, Chinese and others from Caribbean nations, granting them visa-free travel to European countries, according to a report by the European Commission. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe scale of the "golden passport" trade has sparked security concerns from the European Commission, which is proposing a crackdown on visa-free travel for people using them. Some 150,000 people have used the visa-free travel arrangements to claim asylum once in a European country, according to the EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson. Such passports became more popular after citizens of the Caribbean countries were granted visa-free travel in 2015, The Guardian reported.

Persons: —, Dominica –, Muammar Gaddafi, Ylva Johansson, Gary Kalman Organizations: European, Service, European Commission, The, St, The Guardian, Guardian, Transparency International US Locations: Caribbean, Antigua, Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts, Nevis, St Lucia, Dominica, Afghan

He lost his case in October 2020 and, the following March, was issued an order to leave Belgium. With at least three EU countries involved, the case points up the challenges the EU faces tracking people across the bloc's Schengen open-travel zone that is mostly free of border checks. Proponents of the EU's new migration pact - which has been tentatively agreed by most EU countries and is now being further negotiated with the European Parliament - say it would support returns by shortening time for migration and asylum procedures. "Those who are not allowed to stay in the EU must leave Europe. "This is a wake-up call for those who are not ready to accept ... the migration pact."

Persons: Alexander de Croo, Vincent Van Quickenborne, Manfred Weber, Marine Strauss, Bart Meijer, Angelo Amante, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Belgium Case, EU, Immigration, Belgian, Frontex, Eurostat, Reuters, European People's Party, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sweden, Belgium, BRUSSELS, ROME, Tunisia, Europe, Israel, Germany, Brussels, Tunis, ITALY, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, Lampedusa, Poland, Hungary, East, Africa, Rome

☆ Migrant’s drowning in Mediterranean prompts criticism of Malta's rescue policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Reade Levinson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

Details of the incident, described to Reuters by humanitarian groups MSF, Sea-Watch and Alarm Phone, haven’t previously been reported. By the next morning, June 23, survivors told MSF, they had run out of food and water. [1/5]Handout image obtained by Reuters, October 12, 2023 shows a Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) rescue boat near a rubber boat carrying migrants from the Middle East and Africa, in the Mediterranean Sea, June 24, 2023. At 12:46 p.m., Alarm Phone called the Malta Search and Rescue Coordination Centre to report that one person was in the water. The passengers told the men they were scared and didn’t want to remain on the boat, survivors told MSF.

Persons: Africa –, ’, Ainhoa Campàs Velasco, Sabrina Borg, “, ”, Tommaso Foti, Foti, Oliver Kulikowski, Neil Azzopardi Ferriggi, Skye McKee, Handout, Kulikowski, Byron Camilleri, Camilleri, Jean, Pierre Gauci, Reade Levinson, Janet Roberts Organizations: Reuters, Sea, MSF, Geo, University of Southampton, “, EU, REUTERS Acquire, Passengers, Coordination, Watch, Reuters ., Maltese, Armed Forces of, Armed Forces, -, United Nations, Refugees, Amnesty International, European, of Human Rights, Home Affairs, European Union, British Institute of International, Comparative, La Spezia, Thomson Locations: East, Africa, Malta, Maltese, Italy, Europe, Italian, “ Malta, Sirte, Libya, Syria, South Sudan, Sea, Armed Forces of Malta, Malta's, Laconia, Gabon, ”, London

☆ Brussels attack: Two Swedes shot dead in Belgian capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Two people were shot dead in the Belgian capital Brussels on Monday evening in what the government described as a terrorist attack. The suspect was still at large hours later, Belgian media reported, as authorities raised the terror alert in Brussels to its highest level. “Horrified by the terrorist attack that claimed two victims in the heart of Brussels,” Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib posted to X. Following the attack, the terror threat level for Brussels was raised to 4, the highest level. I am closely following the situation, together with the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs from [the Belgian Crisis Center].

Persons: Hadja Lahbib, Philippe Close, ”, “, Alexander De Croo Organizations: CNN, Brussels, Police, Justice, Home Affairs, Belgian Crisis Locations: Belgian, Brussels, Belgium, Sweden

SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Singapore said it was expecting more arrests and seizures as the Asian financial hub investigates one of its biggest cases of suspected money laundering, in which the value of assets seized now stands at S$2.8 billion ($2 billion). The government will set up an inter-ministerial panel to review the anti-money laundering regime, reflecting learning points drawn from the case, she said. She was one of three cabinet ministers responding to almost 60 questions filed by lawmakers on the case. The case had been on the radar of police since 2021, after the filing of suspicious transaction reports by financial institutions, Teo said. "We started investigations because we suspected that offences had been committed in Singapore," Teo added.

Persons: Josephine Teo, Indranee Rajah, Teo, Xinghui Kok, Martin Petty, Clarence Fernandez, Alison Williams Organizations: Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, China

☆ Australia's Energy One says no proof of malicious activity after cyber incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Australian software supplier Energy One (EOL.AX) said on Friday it had not uncovered any evidence of malicious activity on their customer systems after a cyber incident was first identified last month. The company had previously said some personal information of its current and former employees had been compromised, for which the notification process is underway. "Our investigations have not revealed any evidence that customer systems have been impacted and the company continues to securely trade," Energy One said in a statement on Friday. Australian firms have suffered many cyber attacks since September 2022, putting the spotlight on the country's understaffed cybersecurity industry. Recently, Shell Plc (SHEL.L) identified a cybersecurity incident involving some employees at BG Group in Australia, the latest company to be hit by the MOVEit hack.

Persons: Clare O'Neil, Ayushman Ojha, Rashmi Aich, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: Energy, Shell Plc, BG Group, Home Affairs, Thomson Locations: Australian, Australia

Decision-making is key because the EU now requires unanimity on foreign and security policy, taxes, EU finances, some areas of justice and home affairs and social security and protection. EU agriculture policy would need to be revamped because the admission of agriculture powerhouse Ukraine would dramatically change current EU direct payments to farmers. A similarly major change would happen to the EU's regional policy, under which poorer EU members receive money to raise their standard of living. The agriculture and regional funds make up two thirds of the EU budget, which totals roughly 1% of the bloc's gross national income a year. The paper, which polarised EU governments when first discussed on Sept. 19, said some countries in the EU should be allowed to form closer cooperation than others, forming four tiers of European integration.

Persons: Laurence Boone, Anna Luhrmann, Tiago Antunes, Jan Strupczewski Organizations: Union, EU, Guiding, Franco, Political, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Spanish, Murcia, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Kosovo, EU, France

☆ Germany's Scholz asks Poland to clarify cash-for-visas affair
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses a ministerial level meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. Arrivals to Poland could easily cross into other European Union countries given that borders are open. "The visa scandal that is taking place in Poland needs to be clarified," Scholz said on Saturday at an event. Scholz hinted that Germany could take steps to control the border with Poland. In recent years, Germany has already coped with floods of migrants and asylum seekers from Syria and Ukraine.

Persons: Germany's, Olaf Scholz, Brendan McDermid, Scholz, Nancy Faeser, Zbigniew Rau, Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, Andreas Rinke, Tom Sims, Clelia Organizations: United Nations Security Council, REUTERS, Rights, Union, Polish, Home Affairs, EU, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.N, New York, Polish, Germany, Poland, Syria

☆ Germany's Scholz Asks Poland to Clarify Cash-For-Visas Affair
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called on the Polish government to clarify allegations about a cash-for-visas deal for migrants that has roiled Polish politics, as a debate about immigration heats up in Germany. Arrivals to Poland could easily cross into other European Union countries given that borders are open. "The visa scandal that is taking place in Poland needs to be clarified," Scholz said on Saturday at an event. Scholz hinted that Germany could take steps to control the border with Poland. In recent years, Germany has already coped with floods of migrants and asylum seekers from Syria and Ukraine.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Nancy Faeser, Zbigniew Rau, Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, Andreas Rinke, Tom Sims, Clelia Oziel Organizations: BERLIN, Union, Polish, Home Affairs, EU Locations: Polish, Germany, Poland, Syria, Ukraine

☆ Mourners gather in South African for funeral of controversial Zulu prince Buthelezi
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa's leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Mangosuthu Buthelezi speaks to supporters ahead of the national elections, in Richards Bay, north of Durban, in South Africa, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsULUNDI, South Africa, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners gathered in eastern South Africa on Saturday for the state funeral of Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, died last week aged 95. South African media reported that two giraffes and six impalas had been slaughtered and skinned as part of the ritual preparations. Like the ANC, he was critical of white minority rule, which had relegated Zulus and other Black South Africans to downsized 'homelands'.

Persons: Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Rogan Ward, Mangosuthu, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Siyabonga Sishi, Tim Cocks, Mike Harrison Organizations: Freedom Party, IFP, REUTERS, South, Home Affairs, African National Congress, ANC, Thomson Locations: Richards Bay, Durban, South Africa, Ulundi, KwaZulu, Natal, Xhosa, South Africa's

☆ Mourners gather in South Africa for funeral of controversial Zulu prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Thousands of mourners gathered in eastern South Africa on Saturday for the state funeral of Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, died last week aged 95. South African media reported that two giraffes and six impalas had been slaughtered and skinned as part of the ritual preparations. At a stadium in the town of Ulundi, mourners gathered around the coffin of Buthelezi, who died aged 95. Some dressed in traditional Zulu outfits made of leopard and other animal skins and held shields crafted from cow hides.

Persons: Mangosuthu, Buthelezi, Marco Longari, Nelson Mandela Organizations: Reuters, South, Getty, Freedom Party, IFP, Home Affairs, African National Congress, ANC Locations: South Africa, Ulundi, AFP, KwaZulu, Natal, Xhosa, South Africa’s

CNN —Veteran apartheid-era South African politician and Zulu prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has died aged 95, the country’s president announced Saturday. The Zulu chief, a controversial figure who had a seat on South Africa’s National Assembly and a long political career, led a movement that underwent deadly clashes with the African National Congress (ANC). Buthelezi and his liberation movement Inkatha ye Nkululeke ye Sizwe clashed with the African National Congress (ANC) over many years, particularly throughout the 1980s during rebellions against apartheid. He became a member of the Youth League of the ANC while studying at South African Native College (now the University of Fort Hare), but was expelled for his political activities. Buthelezi won a seat in the National Assembly, and was appointed minister of home affairs in ANC leader Nelson Mandela’s coalition government.

Persons: Mangosuthu Buthelezi, “, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Prince, KwaPhindangene, Cyril Ramaphosa, “ Prince Buthelezi, ”, Nelson Mandela, Buthelezi, ” Ramaphosa, waKwaPhindangene’s, Sizwe, Walter Dhladhla, Tom Stoddart, Peace, Nelson Mandela’s Organizations: CNN, Veteran, Zulu Monarch, Freedom Party, South Africa’s, Home Affairs, Africa’s National Assembly, African National Congress, ANC, Royal Household, Zulu Nation, Getty, Youth League of, South African Native College, University of Fort, IFP, Zulu, Hulton, Inkatha, National Assembly Locations: South, Africa’s, AFP, Mahlabatini, KwaZulu, Natal, University of Fort Hare

☆ Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Zulu Prince Who Roiled South African Politics, Dead at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

(Reuters) -Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, has died, the presidency said on Saturday. Critics dubbed Buthelezi a war lord but to his legion of followers in the rural Zulu heartland, he was a visionary. A Zulu chief, Buthelezi became KwaZulu's chief minister in the 1970s, where he tried a delicate balancing act: refusing outright independence and criticising Pretoria's racial policies while still playing a role in the homeland farce. Ashpenaz Nathan Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was born on Aug. 27, 1928, in Mahlabathini, the son and heir of Chief Matoli Buthelezi and Princess Constance Magago Dinuzulu. In 1953 he was installed as acting chief of the prominent Buthelezi clan and four years later was confirmed as chief.

Persons: Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Prince, KwaPhindangene, Cyril Ramaphosa, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Critics, Inkatha, Thabo Mbeki, King Cetshwayo, Henry Kissinger, Peter Carrington, Ashpenaz Nathan Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, Matoli Buthelezi, Princess Constance Magago Dinuzulu, Irene Mzila, Bhargav Acharya, Nelson BanyaEditing, Angus MacSwan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Reuters, South, Freedom Party, Home Affairs, African National Congress, Zulu Monarch, IFP, ANC, British, Black University of Fort, ANC Youth League, U.S Locations: KwaZulu, Natal, South Africa, Zulu, Johannesburg, Black University of Fort Hare, Lesotho, Mahlabathini

☆ Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Zulu prince who roiled South African politics, dead at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

South Africa's leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Mangosuthu Buthelezi speaks to supporters ahead of the national elections, in Richards Bay, north of Durban, in South Africa, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Rogan Ward Acquire Licensing RightsSept 9 (Reuters) - Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, has died, the presidency said on Saturday. South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party described Buthelezi as a "great leader". "Prince Buthelezi was a giant on South Africa's political landscape," DA leader John Steenhuisen said. Critics dubbed Buthelezi a war lord but to his legion of followers in the rural Zulu heartland, he was a visionary.

Persons: Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Rogan Ward, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Prince, KwaPhindangene, Cyril Ramaphosa, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Prince Buthelezi, John Steenhuisen, ANC Buthelezi, Critics, Inkatha, Thabo Mbeki, King Cetshwayo, Henry Kissinger, Peter Carrington, Ashpenaz Nathan Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, Matoli Buthelezi, Princess Constance Magago Dinuzulu, Irene Mzila, Bhargav Acharya, Nelson, Angus MacSwan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Freedom Party, IFP, REUTERS, South, Home Affairs, African National Congress, Zulu Monarch, ANC, Nelson, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Mandela's, Democratic Alliance, Reuters, British, Black University of Fort, ANC Youth League, U.S, Thomson Locations: Richards Bay, Durban, South Africa, KwaZulu, Natal, Zulu, Johannesburg, Black University of Fort Hare, Lesotho, Mahlabathini

☆ Australia: Mute Iranian asylum seeker detained for 10 years takes his case to High Court -- but even victory won't free him
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Emeralds was in court to seek a protection order against an immigration detention center supervisor who he accused of bullying. “Ned’s case is kind of like an exploration of all of the Kafkaesque aspects of Australia’s immigration detention and asylum regimes,” Verma said. Escape from IranThe man who adopted the name Ned Kelly Emeralds, in homage to the famous Australian bushranger, fled Iran in July 2013. Iranian asylum seeker Ned Kelly Emeralds has been mute for almost a decade and writes or texts to communicate. Gemma Baseley is among a group of supporters who regularly visit Ned Kelly Emeralds in detention.

Persons: Australia CNN —, cuffed, Ned Kelly Emeralds, he’s, Emeralds, ”, Sanmati Verma, Verma, “, ” Verma, Ned, he’d, Hilary Whiteman, mutism, ” Emeralds, “ Ned, Darryl Rangiah, Annette, Miguel Castillo, ” Annette Castillo, Annette Castillo, wouldn’t, Karen Andrews, didn’t, Andrews, ” Weeks, Perth Annette Castillo, doesn’t, Dawn Barrington, ” Barrington, Fran Hamilton, they’re, ” Hamilton, Gemma Baseley, Rev, –, Guy Coffey, Coffey, who’s Organizations: Australia CNN, Federal Court, Human Rights Law, Home Affairs, CNN, Australia’s Home Affairs, ”, Authority, IAA, Perth Immigration Detention, Perth, ” CNN, Federal, of, Emeralds, Immigration Detention, Labor, – Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Western Australia, Iran, Darwin, Christmas, Nauru, Perth, St, Paul’s, Paul's, ”

☆ Poland to hold biggest military parade in decades, as its clout in Europe grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Kacper Pempel/ReutersPolish military vehicles are seen during a Saturday rehearsal for this week's parade in Warsaw. “Nobody is going to say that military security is not an important issue and that we shouldn’t be strengthening the military. With the UK out of the European Union and Germany still hesitant to take on a leadership role on Ukraine, Poland has sensed its opportunity. In November, two people were killed in eastern Poland, about four miles (6.4 kilometers) west of the Ukrainian border, by a Ukrainian missile defending against incoming Russian fire. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked the group to help train his country’s military, and earlier this month the two forces held joint training exercises near the Polish border.

Persons: Russian Wagner, Kacper Pempel, Pawel Supernak, ” Edward Arnold, Arnold, Aleks, ”, Jamie Shea, Putin, ” Arnold, ” Shea, Abrams, “, Dominika, Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Mariusz Blaszczak, Lukashenko Organizations: CNN, NATO, Poland’s Defense Ministry, Polish, Russia’s, Abrams, University of Sussex, University of Exeter, Chatham House, Eastern Europe …, European Union, Ukraine, United Nations, “, Polish Army, Getty, Kremlin . Locations: Poland, Belarus, Korean, Crimea, Ukraine, Russian, Kaliningrad, Warsaw, Russia, Polish, Soviet, North Korea, Iran, Communist Poland, England, East, Afghanistan, Central, Eastern Europe, Germany, France, Washington, Ukraine Poland, South Korea, Italy, Polanka Wielka, Ukrainian, Minsk

☆ Wear Swatch's 'LGBTQ-related' products in Malaysia and you could face 3 years in jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The ban comes under the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the ministry added. ‘Political punching bag’Rights groups say the LGBTQ community faces growing intolerance in Malaysia and accuse the government of being at least partly to blame. “It showcases an alarming trend where symbols of pride and acts of solidarity with the LGBTQ community are met with harsh and disproportionate government responses,” Dhia said. As more individuals and groups come forward in support of the LGBTQ community, the state’s pushback grows increasingly aggressive,” Dhia added. By creating an environment of fear and hostility, the Malaysian government does a disservice not only to the LGBTQ community but to every Malaysian citizen.”

Persons: CNN —, ”, Nick Hayek Jr, “, ” Hayek, Phil Robertson, ” Robertson, Dhia Rezki Rohaizad, ” Dhia, Matty Healy, Dhia Organizations: CNN, Swatch, Ministry of Home Affairs, Printing, Malaysian, ” Swatch Malaysia, Asia, Human Rights, “, “ Gay, British Locations: Malaysia, Malaysian

☆ Singapore's prime minister pledges 'zero tolerance' after recent wave of political scandals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong vowed Wednesday to uphold "zero tolerance" toward any wrongdoing by government officials. His comments came after a wave of political scandals rocked the Southeast Asian nation in recent weeks, tarnishing the pristine image that underpins its standing as a global financial center. "The founding generation built up Singapore and entrusted it to our generation in good shape," Lee said in a parliamentary address Wednesday. Lee said actions taken after these scandals showed two aspects of how his PAP government works. "One, when there is a suspicion or allegation of wrongdoing in the discharge of official duties, especially possible corruption, there is zero tolerance," he said in the first parliamentary session after these events,.

Persons: Lee Hsien Loong, Lee, Iswaran, Ong Beng Seng, Tan Chuan, Jin, Cheng Li Hui, Shanmugam, Vivian Balakrishnan Organizations: Central Business District, Party, Home Affairs Minister, Foreign Locations: Bay, Singapore

☆ Australian lawmakers recommend potential WeChat ban on govt devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A senate committee investigating how foreign powers use social media to interfere in Australia has recommended a swathe of rules and restrictions for social media platforms, including potentially banning Chinese messaging service WeChat on government devices. Tuesday's report contains 17 recommendations including new transparency rules enforceable by fines, expanding an existing TikTok ban on government devices to contractors and investigating a ban on WeChat on government devices. "Platforms like TikTok and WeChat that are subject to the control of authoritarian regimes illustrate the broader cyber security risk to sensitive government information," he said in a statement. The committee also recommended that Australia helps developing countries in the Indo-Pacific resist "malicious information operations" by authoritarian states. While many recommendations singled out Chinese social media platforms, a set of 11 transparency rules would require all large social media platforms to label state affiliated media accounts, and disclose when governments direct content moderation and actions against accounts of elected officials.

Persons: WeChat, Paterson, James Paterson, Lewis Jackson, Ed Osmond Organizations: SYDNEY, HK, Liberal, Labor, Home Affairs, Thomson Locations: Australia, China

Djamani was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in 2018 after being convicted of possessing 31 grams of heroin. Djamani is the first woman to be hanged in Singapore since hairdresser Yen May Woen, 36, in 2004, who was also convicted of drug trafficking. Criminal lawyer Joshua Tong said those convicted of drug trafficking were usually men, but he had seen “his fair share” of women drug offenders. We demand an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty,” the group wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The case put Singapore’s zero-tolerance drug laws back under scrutiny, with rights advocates arguing the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking is an inhumane punishment.

Persons: Saridewi, Djamani, Yen, Woen, ”, Celia Ouellette, “, ” Adilur Rahman Khan, Chiara Sangiorgio, Joshua Tong, Tong, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, Kirsten Han, “ TJC, Suppiah, Dharmalingam Organizations: CNN, Singapore, Central Narcotics Bureau, Business Initiative for Justice, International Federation for Human Rights, Ministry of Home Affairs, Twitter, United Nations Office, Drugs Locations: Changi, Singapore, “ Singapore, France, Asia, East, Southeast Asia

CNN —A music festival in Malaysia has been canceled after the lead singer of British band The 1975 Matty Healy slammed the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and kissed a bandmate on stage. The on-stage incident at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night prompted the country’s Ministry of Communications to cancel the rest of the three-day event. Homosexual acts are illegal in Malaysia and punishable by fines and up to 20 years in prison. Healy added that the band considered canceling the show but decided against it to not disappoint the fans. In 2019, Healy kissed a male fan during a concert in Dubai, in defiance of the region’s anti-LGBT laws.

Persons: Matty Healy, Healy, “, ”, you’re, ” Healy, Ross MacDonald, It’s, – Healy Organizations: CNN, country’s Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Communications, Digital, Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry, Nazi, Kanye, Twitter Locations: Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai

☆ Tunisia’s president is accused of racism and dictatorship. He’s now getting a billion euros from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Since 2011, the European Union has been supporting Tunisia’s journey of democracy,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after signing the agreement. But these difficulties can be overcome.”Several European lawmakers and human rights organizations have warned that any agreement that doesn’t include human rights assurances would be seen as an endorsement of Saied’s anti-democratic policies. Values lose.”Saied rose to power in 2019 after the death of Tunisia’s first democratically elected president Beji Caid Essebsi. The EU is cooperating with Tunisia on migration despite serious allegations of human rights abuses against migrants on Tunisia’s part. It brokered a similar agreement with Libya in 2017 despite documented human rights violations there.

Persons: Kais Saied, ”, Ursula von der Leyen, Sophie, Veld, ” Camille Le Coz, Tunisia’s, Beji Caid, Saied, von der Leyen, Georgia Meloni, Mark Rutte, Tunisia “, ” Max Gallien, ” Le Coz, ’ Gallien, Gallien Organizations: CNN, European Union, Civil Liberties, Justice, Home Affairs, Migration, Dutch, European Commission, EU, UN Refugee Agency, UN, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, European Council, Commission, Libya Locations: Tunisia, Europe, ‘, Brussels, Italian, Tunis, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, France, Germany, EU, Africa, Libya

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