DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Singapore clamps down on fake news with new law The Singapore parliament voted to give government special powers tocombat fake newson Wednesday, despite complaints from activists and journalists. Under the new law, ministers would be able to give orders to platforms like Facebook and Twitter to put up warnings next to disputed posts. In extreme cases, the networks could be ordered to take the content down. The law also foresees fines of up to Sg$1 million ($734,000 €656,000) for companies that fail to comply. Individual offenders could face up to 10 years in prison. Reportersʼ associations and activist groups slammed the bill as an attempt at censorship. The law "gives the Singapore authorities unchecked powers to clamp down on online views of which it disapproves," said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty Internationalʼs regional director for East and Southeast Asia.
US Judiciary Committee votes to hold Attorney General in contempt of Congress The US House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over the complete unredacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election prepared by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The majority Democratic committee voted 24-to-16 in favor of holding Barr in contempt, thus forcing a vote in the full House of Representatives, where the Democrats are also in the majority. Meanwhile, the White House on Wednesday invoked the legal principle of executive privilege to block the release of the report.
105/2019 • 9 MAY, 2019
Asia Bibi leaves Pakistan ʼfor Canadaʼ Bibi and her family had to stay in hiding even after she was released
Christian Asia Bibi who spent years on death row in Pakistan on a blasphemy charge, has moved to Canada to join her family, according to her lawyer. Asia Bibi has been reunited with her family, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday. "The United States welcomes the news that Asia Bibi has safely reunited with her family," Pompeo said in a statement. "Asia Bibi is now free, and we wish her and her family all the best following their reunification." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to confirm whether she has arrived in Canada. "There are sensitive privacy issues and security issues on this and so I canʼt comment," Trudeau told reporters outside parliament. However, UK Prime Minister Theresa May appeared to confirm she had gone to Canada: "Canada made this offer and we thought it was right and appropriate that we supported the offer that Canada had made," May said. A family member told DW that Bibiʼs daughters were waiting for her in the Canadian city of Calgary and that "Canadian authorities will keep the family under tight security and Bibi will not interact with media." The family told
DW late on Tuesday, before the flight, that they had been asked to prepare to leave in secret. Bibiʼs departure was delayed for six months after her acquittal, reportedly due to extreme pressure from the deep state not to speak out. Bibi was not allowed to complete paperwork to finalize her asylum in the West. Diplomatic and government sources in Islamabad confirmed the move to DW. After the Supreme Court order to release Bibi, the 53-year-old mother-of-five was shifted to the southern port city of Karachi last November. There, she was put into protective custody, as she was constantly facing death threats from Islamist hardliners. Bibiʼs lawyer Saif ul Malook left the country in November last year, also after receiving death threats. "We are happy that she fled the country after long delays and got justice. We were concerned about her safety but were not allowed to meet her or even speak with her over the phone to complete the paperwork," one diplomat told DW.
Germans living in Europe prefer Austria, UK On Wednesday, Germanyʼs Federal Statistics Office released its annual report on the number of German citizensliving abroad within the EU. The study found that some 900,000 Germans lived in other EU countries in 2018, with most of them — 187,000 (5,000 more than in 2017) — choosing to relocate to neighboring Austria, where life is made easier by the fact that the countries share a common language. Despite the neverendingthreat of Brexit, theUnited Kingdom was the second most popular destination for Germans living abroad inside the EU. Of the 156,000 Germans who relocated to the UK, 8,000 of them did so between 2017 and 2018, the largest single-year increase in the report.
World watches warily as Iran scales back nuclear deal Signatories to the Iran nuclear deal on Wednesday said they wished to preserve it after Tehran said it wouldno longer respect certain "voluntary commitments" that were made. Iran also warned that it would begin high leveluranium enrichmentwithin 60 days if signatory states did not protect it from US sanctions. France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China are all signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal from which the US withdraw last year. All have said they wish to keep the accord alive but renewed sanctions imposed by Washington have had a severe effect on Iranʼs economy.
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