Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC is a publicly owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm provides investment advisory services for its clients. It primarily caters to institutional investors which include pension funds, fund-of-funds, foundations and endowments, corporations and other institutions, private banks and family offices. The firm invests in equity and alternative markets across the world. It employs quantitative and qualitative analysis to make its investments. For its multi-strategy portfolios, the firm employs strategies like convertible and derivative arbitrage, corporate credit, long/short equity special situations, buyout investments, merger arbitrage, private investments, and structured credit. It also invests in real estate and traditional real estate assets including multifamily, office, hotel and retail, loans, portfolio acquisitions, loan pools, operating companies, structured debt products, public securities, and non-traditional real estate assets including gaming, distressed land and residential, cell towers, parking, golf, debt and senior housing. For private equity investments, it considers investments in a variety of special situations that seek to realize value through strategic sales or initial public offerings. The firm typically invests in the energy investments. It prefers to invest in United States. It also manages a buyout fund, Och-Ziff Energy Fund. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC was founded in 1994 and is based New York City with additional offices in Houston, Texas, London, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Japan, Bangalore, India, Singapore, and Beijing, China. Read More American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. There is not enough analysis data for Telford Homes. 4.4 Community Rank Outperform Votes Telford Homes has received 210 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Telford Homes has received 111 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Telford Homes has received 65.42% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Telford Homes and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe TEF will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe TEF will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at contact@marketbeat.com | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Local Government Financial Administration Employment by State State 2014-17 Change 2014 2015 2016 2017 Kentucky -6.4% 1,907 1,907 1,849 1,784 District of Columbia -2.9% 1,867 1,639 1,719 1,812 Maryland -2.6% 2,693 2,671 2,674 2,622 New Mexico -2.0% 2,216 2,238 2,261 2,172 Michigan -0.6% 6,484 6,627 6,677 6,442 West Virginia -0.1% 1,710 1,713 1,645 1,708 Montana 0.2% 810 787 842 812 Mississippi 0.4% 2,514 2,468 2,434 2,523 Illinois 0.8% 7,558 7,413 7,441 7,621 Missouri 1.2% 3,869 3,789 3,807 3,916 Connecticut 1.7% 2,202 2,181 2,196 2,239 Nevada 2.9% 1,426 1,436 1,437 1,468 North Carolina 3.0% 7,323 7,262 7,312 7,540 Virginia 3.0% 7,602 7,581 7,498 7,833 New York 3.1% 12,845 12,929 12,885 13,238 Wyoming 3.2% 760 735 746 784 Hawaii 3.7% 1,055 1,082 1,114 1,094 Arkansas 3.7% 2,258 2,268 2,345 2,342 Arizona 3.8% 4,535 4,484 4,723 4,708 Oregon 4.1% 3,143 3,136 3,183 3,273 California 4.2% 26,230 26,380 26,687 27,329 Maine 4.2% 1,159 1,192 1,213 1,208 Massachusetts 4.4% 4,419 4,455 4,561 4,613 Wisconsin 4.5% 3,693 3,732 3,803 3,859 New Jersey 4.6% 4,895 5,003 5,105 5,122 Alaska 4.8% 910 906 926 954 South Carolina 4.9% 3,389 3,298 3,409 3,556 Georgia 5.5% 7,767 7,755 7,863 8,198 Oklahoma 5.6% 2,874 3,024 2,870 3,036 Indiana 5.7% 4,393 4,283 4,154 4,644 Rhode Island 5.8% 518 534 534 548 Florida 6.5% 17,255 17,529 17,829 18,380 Ohio 6.6% 8,084 8,108 8,067 8,618 Minnesota 7.6% 5,323 5,417 5,466 5,726 Texas 7.6% 17,368 17,532 17,652 18,692 Delaware 7.7% 454 456 475 489 South Dakota 7.8% 1,070 1,064 1,055 1,153 Iowa 8.2% 2,728 2,739 2,702 2,952 Colorado 8.6% 4,543 4,696 4,778 4,933 Vermont 9.1% 594 535 562 648 North Dakota 9.2% 808 856 829 882 Alabama 9.4% 3,885 3,895 3,924 4,252 Utah 10.5% 1,764 1,731 1,710 1,950 Idaho 10.7% 1,337 1,344 1,352 1,480 Tennessee 10.9% 4,303 4,264 4,386 4,772 Pennsylvania 11.0% 7,901 7,934 8,196 8,772 Louisiana 11.5% 3,437 3,325 3,639 3,832 Washington 13.1% 5,598 6,213 6,342 6,332 Nebraska 13.3% 1,647 1,700 1,754 1,866 Kansas 13.9% 2,938 2,999 3,036 3,346 New Hampshire 15.3% 1,029 1,050 1,043 1,186 Most local governments havent been on hiring sprees lately. But one area where they appear to be adding employees is finance.The latest data from the Census Bureaus Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll shows that employees working in finance-related roles increased 5.4 percent between 2014 and 2017. While that might not be a big jump, its significant in that its the highest of any workforce category tracked in the Census survey.Finance jobs peaked in 2008, subsequently declined as governments made recession-era cuts and then changed little until 2016. Since then, theyve expanded at roughly double the rate of total local public-sector employment when education jobs are excluded. Other areas of local government experiencing noticeable growth, albeit at a slower pace, include transit, fire departments, parks and recreation.Although payrolls are growing slightly, total U.S. local government employment remains just below pre-recession levels. Its also worth noting that, despite the uptick, finance employees still account for only a tiny share of the overall public workforce. The Census survey counted about 239,000 full-time equivalent finance employees last year.Localities in all but five states and the District of Columbia reported increases in financial administration workers over the three-year period. In nine states, the increase exceeded 10 percent: Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. (The bureaus definition of financial administration employees includes those working in accounting, auditing, budgeting, purchasing, revenue collection and other finance activities.)Theres no single explanation for the increase. But, according to Emily Swenson Brock of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), one factor may be the reorganization or centralization of finance offices. A city, for instance, may consolidate financial activities within each department into a central office. So it might not be that localities are hiring employees working on finance and budget activities, but merely shifting them around.Relatedly, greater professionalization of public finance could also be playing a role. GFOA reports the number of people taking exams for its certified public finance officer program increased significantly in recent years. Over the past three years, an annual average of 438 people took exams, about 200 more than prior years. Jeff Broughton, director of the Tennessee City Management Association, notes the state passed a law in 2007 requiring nearly all cities employ certified municipal finance officers. The state recorded one of the largest increases nationally in recent years, possibly a result of cities continuing to add certified personnel.Strengthened reporting requirements, according to GFOAs Brock, could further be driving up the totals. The Securities and Exchange Commission initiated new disclosure mandates for issuers of municipal securities, while the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has also implemented new rules.Local government staffing is somewhat a reflection of its shared responsibilities with states, so a greater burden on localities could result in a shift from states to their local public workforces as well. This doesnt appear to be happening at the state level, though -- at least nationally. Total state government financial administration employment remained essentially unchanged over the three-year period ending last year, according to the survey data.Cities and counties with tight budgets, though, are keeping a close eye on their finances. "As states have been restricting aid payments to local governments," says Craig Maher, president of the Great Plains Government Finance Officers Association, "theyre really being forced to do more and manage their resources as effectively as possible." The following companies are subsidiares of Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc.. Gov. Paul LePage said Monday that he plans to move to Florida for tax reasons and teach at a university there regardless of who Mainers elect to succeed him."I'll be a resident of Florida if Janet Mills wins, I can promise you that," LePage, referring to the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, said with a smile one day before Maine voters head to the polls."I'll also be in Florida if Shawn Moody wins because I am going to retire and go to Florida," he said. "I am done with politics. I have done my eight years. It's time for somebody else."LePage answered questions from reporters during a Monday morning news conference to support the campaign of Republican Eric Brakey, one of two candidates challenging incumbent independent U.S. Sen. Angus King. A Republican, LePage also is backing Moody -- a Republican from Gorham who founded a successful chain of auto body repair shops -- in the three-person race for governor between Moody, Mills and independent Terry Hayes.Now in the final two months of his eight years in the governor's mansion, LePage said he was "talking to a couple of universities" about teaching in Florida from September through April, but he would not identify the schools. LePage and his wife, Ann, already own a house in Florida and often vacation there. He said he would be in Maine from April to September.Asked where he would maintain his legal residency, LePage replied Florida."I'll tell you very, very simply: I have a house in Florida. I will pay no income tax and the house in Florida's property taxes are $2,000 less than we were paying in Boothbay," said LePage, 70. "At my age, why wouldn't you conserve your resources and spend it on your family instead of on taxes?"The LePages sold their Boothbay home in June for $397,500 just four years after they purchased it during a foreclosure sale for $215,000. The 2019 real estate taxes on that house were just under $3,500, according to town tax records. It was unclear how much the couple pays in taxes on their Florida home. However, during his 2010 run for governor, it was revealed the couple were wrongly -- and accidentally, they said -- receiving a resident-only property tax exemption in both states.LePage had maintained a low profile in the 2018 governor's race.While several recent polls suggest Mills -- the state's attorney general -- has opened a lead over Moody, many observers believe the race to succeed LePage will be a close one.Asked whether he had any regrets from his time in office, LePage said he wished had could have done more to lower energy costs and income taxes in Maine. The Legislature lowered Maine's income taxes twice during LePage's tenure, however he has advocated for following the model of states such as Florida and New Hampshire, which have eliminated the income tax altogether.Moody has pledged to continue much of LePage's focus on cutting taxes and the size of government. Mills, meanwhile, has said she would not increase taxes."If the people of Maine elect Janet Mills, then the people of Maine have spoken and she will be the governor. And I wish her very well," LePage said. "If Shawn Moody wins -- who I hope wins -- I wish him very well. And ... if Terry Hayes should pull a Jim Longley, like they did in the '70s, I would wish her well. She is a very fine woman."Longley, of Lewiston, won the 1974 election to become Maine's first independent governor, serving one term.LePage often has cited Maine's income tax -- currently topping out at 7.15 percent, down from a high of 8.5 percent when he took office -- as an impediment to economic growth and attracting/retaining residents. While he has been successful in lowering the tax rate, he failed to convince members of his own party in the Legislature to support a broader tax overhaul aimed at capturing more tax dollars from tourists.During one of his tax overhaul pushes to further reduce the income tax, LePage caused a brief public dust-up with author and Bangor resident Stephen King. In a radio address, LePage inaccurately suggested that the horror writer had changed his residency to Florida to avoid paying income taxes.That garnered a rebuke -- and an unrequited demand for an apology -- from the writer."(Tabitha) and I pay every cent of our Maine state income taxes, and are glad to do it," King said in March 2015. "We feel, as Governor LePage apparently does not, that much is owed from those to whom much has been given. We see our taxes as a way of paying back the state that has given us so much. State taxes pay for state services. There's just no way around it. Governor LePage needs to remember there ain't no free lunch." The following companies are subsidiares of Barclays: Adler Toy Holding Sarl, Aequor Investments Limited, Alymere Investments Limited, Alynore Investments Limited Partnership, Analog Analytics, Analog Analytics Inc, Analytical Trade Holdings LLC, Analytical Trade Investments LLC, Analytical Trade UK Limited, Archstone Equity Holdings Inc, Ardencroft Investments Limited, B D & B Investments Limited, B.P.B. (Holdings) Limited, BB Client Nominees Limited, BBAIL SAS, BCAP LLC, BIFML PTC Limited, BMBF (No.24) Limited, BMI (No.9) Limited, BNC Brazil Consultoria Empresarial Ltda, BNRI ENG 2013 Limited Partnership, BNRI ENG 2014 Limited Partnership, BNRI ENG GP LLP, BNRI England 2010 Limited Partnership, BNRI England 2011 Limited Partnership, BNRI England 2012 Limited Partnership, BNRI Limehouse No.1 Sarl, BNRI PIA Scot GP Limited, BNRI Scots GP LLP, BPB Holdings SA, BVP Galvani Global S.A.U., Barafor Limited, Barclay Leasing Limited, Barclaycard Funding PLC, Barclaycard International Payments Limited, Barclays (Barley) Limited, Barclays Aldersgate Investments Limited, Barclays Alzin Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Asia Limited, Barclays Asset Management Limited, Barclays BR Investments S.a r.l., Barclays BWA Inc., Barclays Bank (Suisse) S.A., Barclays Bank Delaware, Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, Barclays Bank Ireland Public Limited Company, Barclays Bank Mexico S.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Barclays Bank UK PLC, Barclays Bayard Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Bedivere Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Bordang Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Brasil Assessoria Financeira Ltda., Barclays CCP Funding LLC, Barclays Cantal Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Capital (Cayman) Limited, Barclays Capital Asia Holdings Limited, Barclays Capital Asia Limited, Barclays Capital Canada Inc., Barclays Capital Casa de Bolsa S.A. de C.V., Barclays Capital Derivatives Funding LLC, Barclays Capital Effekten GmbH, Barclays Capital Energy Inc., Barclays Capital Equities Trading GP, Barclays Capital Finance Limited, Barclays Capital Futures (Singapore) Private Limited, Barclays Capital Holdings (Singapore) Private Limited, Barclays Capital Holdings Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Barclays Capital Japan Securities Holdings Limited, Barclays Capital Luxembourg S.a r.l., Barclays Capital Mauritius Limited, Barclays Capital Nominees (No.2) Limited, Barclays Capital Nominees (No.3) Limited, Barclays Capital Nominees Limited, Barclays Capital Principal Investments Limited, Barclays Capital Real Estate Finance Inc., Barclays Capital Real Estate Holdings Inc., Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc., Barclays Capital Securities Client Nominee Limited, Barclays Capital Securities Limited, Barclays Capital Securities Mauritius Limited, Barclays Capital Trading Luxembourg S.a r.l., Barclays Claudas Investments Partnership, Barclays Claudas Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC, Barclays Converted Investments (No.2) Limited, Barclays Corporation Limited, Barclays Direct Investing Nominees Limited, Barclays Directors Limited, Barclays Dryrock Funding LLC, Barclays Electronic Commerce Holdings Inc., Barclays Equity Holdings Limited, Barclays Equity Index Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Europe Client Nominees Designated Activity Company, Barclays Europe Firm Nominees Designated Activity Company, Barclays Europe Nominees Designated Activity Company, Barclays Executive Schemes Trustees Limited, Barclays Financial LLC, Barclays Financial Planning Nominee Company Limited, Barclays Funds Investments Limited, Barclays Funds and Advisory Japan Limited, Barclays Global Service Centre Private Limited, Barclays Global Shareplans Nominee Limited, Barclays Group Holdings Limited, Barclays Group Operations Limited, Barclays Group US Inc., Barclays Index Finance Trust, Barclays Industrial Development Limited, Barclays Industrial Investments Limited, Barclays Insurance Guernsey PCC Limited, Barclays Insurance Services Company Limited, Barclays Insurance U.S. Inc., Barclays International Luxembourg Dollar Holdings S.a r.l., Barclays Investment Management Limited, Barclays Investment Solutions Limited, Barclays Investments & Loans (India) Limited, Barclays Korea GP Limited, Barclays Lamorak Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Leasing (No.9) Limited, Barclays Leto Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Long Island Limited, Barclays Luxembourg EUR Holdings S.a r.l, Barclays Luxembourg Finance S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg GBP Holdings S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg Global Funding S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg Holdings SSC B, Barclays Marlist Limited, Barclays Mauritius Overseas Holdings Limited, Barclays Mercantile Business Finance Limited, Barclays Merchant Bank (Singapore) Ltd., Barclays Nominees (George Yard) Limited, Barclays Nominees (Guernsey) Limited, Barclays Nominees (Jersey) Limited, Barclays Nominees (Manx) Limited, Barclays Oversight Management Inc., Barclays Payment Solutions Inc., Barclays Pelleas Investments Limited Partnership, Barclays Pelleas Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Pension Funds Trustees Limited, Barclays Principal Investments Limited, Barclays Private Asset Management (Monaco) S.A.M, Barclays Private Bank, Barclays Private Clients International Limited, Barclays Receivables LLC, Barclays SAMS Limited, Barclays Securities (India) Private Limited, Barclays Securities Japan Limited, Barclays Security Trustee Limited, Barclays Services (Japan) Limited, Barclays Services Corporation, Barclays Services Jersey Limited, Barclays Services LLC, Barclays Services Limited, Barclays Shea Limited, Barclays Singapore Global Shareplans Nominee Limited, Barclays Switzerland Services SA, Barclays Tenedora De Immuebles SL., Barclays Term Funding Limited Liability Partnership, Barclays UK Investments Limited, Barclays US CCP Funding LLC, Barclays US Funding LLC, Barclays US GPF Inc., Barclays US Investments Inc., Barclays US LLC, Barclays Unquoted Investments Limited, Barclays Unquoted Property Investments Limited, Barclays Wealth Management Jersey Limited, Barclays Wealth Nominees Limited, Barclays Wealth Services Limited, Barclays Wealth Trustees (India) Private Limited, Barclayshare Nominees Limited, Barclaytrust Channel Islands Limited, Barcosec Limited, Barsec Nominees Limited, Blossom Finance General Partnership, Branchcall Computers (Pvt) Limited, Braven Investments No.1 Limited, CP Flower Guaranteeco (UK) Limited, CP Newco 1 Limited, CP Newco2 Limited, CP Newco3 Limited, CP Propco 1 Limited, CP Propco 2 Limited, CP Topco Limited, CPIA Canada Holdings, CPIA England 2008 Limited Partnership, CPIA England 2009 Limited Partnership, CPIA England No.2 Limited Partnership, CPIA Investments No.1 Limited, CPIA Investments No.2 Limited, CRE Diversified Holdings LLC, CREW Tahoe Holdings LLC, CREW Tahoe LLC, Calthorpe Investments Limited, Capton Investments Limited, Carnegie Holdings Limited, Central Platte Valley Management LLC, Chapelcrest Investments Limited, Charles Schwab Europe, Claudas Investments Limited, Claudas Investments Two Limited, Clydesdale Financial Services Limited, Cobalt Investments Limited, Compania Regional del Sur S.A., Compania Sudamerica S.A., Condor No.1 Limited Partnership, Cornwall Homes Loans Limited, Crescent Crown Land Holding SPV LLC, Crescent Legacy LLC, Crescent Plaza Residential L.P., Crescent Plaza Residential LLC, Crescent Plaza Residential LP LLC, Crescent Real Estate Member LLC, Crescent Resort Development LLC, Crescent TRS Holdings LLC, Crescent Tower Residences GP LLC, Crescent Tower Residences L.P., Curve Investments GP, DBL Texas Holdings LLC, DMW Realty Limited, Desert Mountain Development LLC, Desert Mountain Properties Limited Partnership, Develop Training Group Limited, Dorset Home Loans Limited, Durlacher Nominees Limited, EWRD Summit LLC, Eagle Financial and Leasing Services (UK) Limited, East West Resort Development V L.P. L.L.L.P., East West Resort Development VII LLC, Equity Limited Partnership, Equity Value Investments No.1 Limited, Equity Value Investments No.2 Limited, Erimon Home Loans Ireland Limited, Expobank, FIRSTPLUS Financial Group Limited, Finpart Nominees Limited, First Assurance, Foltus Investments Limited, Full House Holdings Limited, Gallen Investments Limited, Global Dynasty Natural Resource Private, Globe Nominees Limited, Gracechurch Services Corporation, Grays Station LLC, Grupo Financiero Barclays Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hawkins Funding Limited, Heraldglen Limited, Holding Stuttgarter Strae GmbH, Hurley Investments No.1 Limited, Imalivest Mineral Resources LP, Investors In Infrastructure Limited, J.V. Estates Limited, JV Assets Limited, Kirsche Investments Limited, LTDL Holdings LLC, La Torretta Beverages LLC, La Torretta Hospitality LLC, La Torretta Operations LLC, Lagalla Investments LLC, Leonis Investments LLP, Liability Partnership, Long Island Assets Limited, Long Island Holding A LLC, Long Island Holding B Limited, MK Opportunities GP Ltd, MK Opportunities LP, MVWP Investors LLC, Maloney Investments Limited, Marbury Holdings LLC, Menlo Investments Limited, Mercantile Credit Company Limited, Mercantile Leasing Company (No.132) Limited, Meridian (SPV-AMC) Corporation, Mintaka Investments No. 4 Limited, Mira Vista Development LLC, Mira Vista Golf Club L.C., Mountainside Partners LLC, Murray House Investment Management Limited, Naxos Investments Limited, Nile Bank, North Colonnade Investments Limited, Northstar Mountain Properties LLC, Northstar Trailside Townhomes LLC, Northstar Village Townhomes LLC, Northwharf Investments Limited, Northwharf Nominees Limited, OGP Leasing Limited, Oakes Millers Ltd, Ownership Trustee Limited, PIA England No.2 Limited Partnership, Palomino Limited, Pecan Aggregator LP, Pelleas Investments Limited, Pelleas Investments Two Limited, Pippin Island Investments Limited, Preferred Liquidity LLC, Preferred Liquidity Limited Partnership, Procella Investments LLC, Procella Investments No.1 LLC, Procella Investments No.2 LLC, Procella Investments No.3 LLC, Protium Finance I LLC, Protium Master Grantor Trust, Protium Master Mortgage LP, Protium REO I LP, R.C. Grieg Nominees Limited, RVH Limited, RVT CLO Investments LLP, Razzoli Investments Limited, Real Estate Participation Management Limited, Real Estate Participation Services Limited, Relative Value Holdings LLC, Relative Value Investments UK Limited, Relative Value Trading Limited, Roder Investments No. 1 Limited, Roder Investments No. 2 Limited, Ruthenium Investments Limited, SPM GP Limited, Securitized Asset Backed Receivables LLC, Servicios Barclays S.A. de C.V., Societe Civile Immobiliere 31 Avenue de la Costa, Solution Personal Finance Limited, Southern Peaks Mining LP, Standard Life Aberdeen, Surety Trust Limited, Surrey Funding Corporation, Sussex Purchasing Corporation, Sutton Funding LLC, Swan Lane Investments Limited, TPLL LLC, TPProperty LLC, Tahoe Club Company LLC, Tahoe Club Employee Company, The Logic Group Enterprises Limited, The Logic Group Holdings Limited, Third Energy Holdings Limited, US Real Estate Holdings No. 2 Limited, US Real Estate Holdings No.1 Limited, US Real Estate Holdings No.3 Limited, US Secured Investments LLC, Union Center LLC, United Counties Bank, Verain Investments LLC, Walbrook Group Ltd, Wedd Jefferson (Nominees) Limited, Wessex Investments Limited, Westferry Investments Limited, Wilmington Riverfront Receivables LLC, Woolwich Homes Limited, Woolwich Plan Managers Limited, Woolwich Qualifying Employee Share, Woolwich Surveying Services Limited, Woori BC Pegasus Securitization Specialty Co. Limited, and Zeban Nominees Limited. The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 211 E. Russell Road LLC, Air-Relief, Belliss & Morcom Brasil, Belliss and Morcom, Boardwalk Enterprises, Charm Merger Sub Inc., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Canada, CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir Holman Ltd, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., CompAir UK Ltd, CompAir USA, Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Emco Wheaton, Emco Wheaton GmbH Branch, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton UK, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Propriety Limited (South Africa), GD Aria Holdings #2 Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First UK Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings, GD Global Holdings II, GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SA, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Services Ltd, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Hoffman, Gardner Denver Holdings, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica, Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd. Branch, Gardner Denver International, Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Intl Ltd Middle East Regional Rep Office, Gardner Denver Investments, Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan, Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd South Africa, Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd. Branch (Ireland), Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co, Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oberdorfer Pumps, Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Petroleum Pumps, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia, Gardner Denver SudAmerica S.r.l., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas, Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH, Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver UK, Gardner Denver Water Jetting Systems, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, Indonesia Foreign Trade Representative Office, LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MP Pumps Inc., Mako Compressors, Nash, Nash Elmo, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Robuschi, Rotary Compression Technologies, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Syltone, TCM Investments, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, TODO AB, Tamrotor Marine Compressors AS, Thomas Industries, Thomas Industries Inc., Tri-Continent Scientific, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, and Zinsser NA. SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More 35 minutes ago Here's Why Black Friday May Come Early For Dicks Sporting Goods DKS stock looks ready to move higher Dicks Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) will give investors one of the last data points to consider before Black Friday when it reports earnings on November 23. Read Article The following companies are subsidiares of Colgate-Palmolive: 887357 Ontario Inc., COLGALIVE S.A., CP GABA GmbH, CP International Holding C.V., CP West East Investment Limited, Cleaning Dimensions Inc., Colgate (BVI) Limited, Colgate (Guangzhou) Company Limited, Colgate (U.K.) Limited, Colgate Business Services of the Americas S.C., Colgate Flavors and Fragrances Inc., Colgate Global Business Services Private Limited, Colgate Holdings, Colgate Inc., Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals Inc., Colgate Palmolive Ghana Limited, Colgate Palmolive Holding S.Com.P.A., Colgate Palmolive Nouvelle Caledonie Sarl, Colgate Palmolive Tanzania Limited, Colgate Sanxiao Company Limited, Colgate Venture Company Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Asia) Pte Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Blantyre) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Brunei) Sdn Bhn, Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc. y Compania Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive (Centro America) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (China) Co. Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Costa Rica) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominica) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominican Republic) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (East Africa) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Eastern) Pte. Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Egypt) S.A.E., Colgate-Palmolive (Far East) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Fiji) Pte Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Gabon) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Guyana) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (H.K.) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Hellas) S.A. I.C., Colgate-Palmolive (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Kazakhstan) L.L.P., Colgate-Palmolive (Latvia) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Middle East Exports) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Myanmar) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (New York) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive (Proprietary) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Research & Development) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Romania) SRL, Colgate-Palmolive (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Uganda) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Vietnam) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Zambia) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Zimbabwe) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive A.B., Colgate-Palmolive A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Adria Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Treasury Services Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Belgium S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Bolivia Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Caricom Service Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Central European Management Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Chile S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cia., Colgate-Palmolive Comercial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Commercial (Hellas) SP LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Commerciale S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive Commericale S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive Compania Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive Company Distr. LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Cote dIvoire S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cyprus Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Development Corp., Colgate-Palmolive East West Africa Region (Pty) Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Enterprises Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Espana S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Europe (Holdings) Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Europe Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Finance (UK) plc, Colgate-Palmolive Global Trading Company, Colgate-Palmolive Holding Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Holding Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Hungary Kft Limited Liability Company, Colgate-Palmolive IHQ Services (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Inc. S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Industrial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Industriel S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive International Holding LLC, Colgate-Palmolive International LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Investment Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (BVI) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (PNG) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Investments Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Israel Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Italia S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive JSC, Colgate-Palmolive Lanka (Private) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Latin America Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Marketing Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive Maroc S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Mocambique Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive NJ Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Nederland B.V., Colgate-Palmolive Norge A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Participacoes e Investimentos Imobiliarios Lda., Colgate-Palmolive Peru S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Philippines Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Retirement Trustee Limited, Colgate-Palmolive S.A. de C.V., Colgate-Palmolive S.p.A., Colgate-Palmolive Senegal S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Services (Hellas) LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Services (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Services CEW GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Services S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Slovensko s.r.o., Colgate-Palmolive Support Services, Colgate-Palmolive Temizlik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticart S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Transnational Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Ukraine LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Unipessoal Lda, Colgate-Palmolive de Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive de Puerto Rico Inc., Colgate-Palmolive del Ecuador S.A.I.C., Colgate-Palmolive del Peru (Delaware) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Eeska republika spol. s r.o., Colpal CBS S de R. L. de C. V., Consumer Viewpoint Center Inc., Cotelle S.A., Dimac Development Corp., Dominica Coconut Products Limited, EKIB Inc., ELM Company Limited, Elta MD Holdings Inc., Elta MD Inc., EltaMD, Filorga Americas Inc., Filorga Asia Limited, Filorga Benelux SA, Filorga Cosmetiques Polska, Filorga Middle East DMCC, Filorga Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Filorga RU Limited Liability Company, GABA Europe Holding GmbH, GABA International, GABA International Holding LLC, GABA Schweiz AG, GABA Therwil GmbH, Gamma Development Co. Ltd., Global Trading and Supply LLC, Hamol Ltd., Hello Products, Hello Products LLC, Hills Funding Company, Hills Pet Nutrition (NZ) Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Asia Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Canada Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Denmark ApS, Hills Pet Nutrition Espana S.L., Hills Pet Nutrition GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Holding B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Indiana Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Italia S.r.l., Hills Pet Nutrition Korea Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing s.r.o, Hills Pet Nutrition Norway AS, Hills Pet Nutrition OOO, Hills Pet Nutrition Pty. Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition S.p.A., Hills Pet Nutrition SNC, Hills Pet Nutrition Sales Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition South Africa Proprietary Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition Sweden AB, Hills Pet Nutrition Switzerland GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Taiwan Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition Trading (GZ) Co. Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hills Pet Nutrition de Puerto Rico Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition s.r.o., Hills Pet Products (Benelux) S.A., Hills Pet Products Inc., Hills Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Hills-Colgate (Japan) Ltd., Hopro Liquidating Corp., Hygiene Systemes et Services SA, IES Enterprises Inc., Inmobiliaria Colpal S. de R.L. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Hills S.A. de C.V., Innovacion Creativa S.A. de C.V., Kolynos Corporation, Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Espana S.L.U., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Italia S.R.L., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques S.A., Laser Brand Toothpaste, Lournay Sales Inc., Mennen Company, Mennen Interamerica Ltd., Mennen Limited, Mennen South Africa Ltd., Mennen de Chile Ltd., Mennen de Nicargua S.A., Mission Hills Property Corporation, Mission Hills S.A. de C.V., Norwood International Incorporated, Olive Music Publishing Corporation, PCA SKIN, Paramount Research Inc., Penny LLC, Pet Chemicals Inc., Physicians Care Alliance LLC, Productos Halogenados Copalven C.A., Purity Holding Company, Purity Music Publishing Corporation, Refresh Company Limited, Samuel Taylor Holdings B.V., Sanex, Sanxiao Company Limited, Services Development Co. Ltd., Societe Generale de Negoce et de Services (GENESE) S.A., The GDN - The Global Distributive Network SAS, The Lournay Company Inc., The MPDP - The Medical and Pharmaceutic Distributive Platform SAS, The Murphy-Phoenix Company, Tom's of Maine, Toms of Maine Holdings Inc., Toms of Maine Inc., Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Vipont Pharmaceutical Inc., and XEB Inc.. Amazon, the Seattle-based electronic commerce and cloud computing giant that has been searching for a second base of operations is finalizing plans to split its new hub between two East Coast cities -- Crystal City, Virginia, and Long Island City, Queens, according to published reports.The New York Times and other outlets are reporting that Amazon decided to use the two locations to house 50,000 employees, ending speculation and serenades over the past year by politicians in major cities -- including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo -- to add one of the nation's most prosperous employers and its employees to their tax rolls.Cuomo met with Amazon in his Manhattan office two weeks ago, a state source said, adding that he proposed Long Island City and stressing that the Queens location is a finalist, but not chosen yet by Amazon."I am doing everything I can," Cuomo told reporters when asked Monday about the state's efforts to lure the company, the Times reported. "We have a great incentive package," he said.The source said the state government is ready to make a substantial offer for Amazon to seal the deal.An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment late Monday night. A spokesman for Empire State Development, the state's primary business-aid agency, also declined to comment Monday night.Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said his union is concerned about the use of taxpayer subsidies for Amazon to move to New York City."Amazon, one of the wealthiest and largest companies in history, needs the city more than the city needs Amazon -- plain and simple," Applebaum said in a statement. "If Amazon wants to come here they can afford to do so on their own."The Times report said Amazon is close to a deal to establish ties in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, a Washington suburb, and that the company already has more employees in these two areas than anywhere else outside of its headquarters in Seattle.Long Island City is part of a larger downstate application by the state to Amazon that also included Long Island. In January, Amazon said the metropolitan region, including Long Island, was among 20 finalists for the company's second headquarters.The bid from the metropolitan area includes New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, and was assembled by the state. It includes three local building sites: Belmont Park in Elmont, the proposed Heartland mini-city development in Brentwood and Brookhaven Calabro Airport in Shirley, officials told Newsday in January.There was no immediate comment from Mayor Bill de Blasio.In recent years, Long Island City has lured a number of high-profile companies. Last year, Altice USA, the cable television, internet and telephone services provider, moved its headquarters from Bethpage to Long Island City. And last week, cosmetics giant The Estee Lauder Cos. opened a technology center there, moving some information technology jobs from its Melville operation.Both Altice and Estee executives said they wanted to tap into Long Island City's pool of young tech workers. Vermilion Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas in North America, Europe, and Australia. It owns 81% working interest in 642,300 net acres of developed land and 87% working interest in 376,700 net acres of undeveloped land, and 613 net producing natural gas wells and 3,034 net producing oil wells in Canada; and 96% working interest in 248,900 net acres of developed land and 91% working interest in 222,100 net acres of undeveloped land in the Aquitaine and Paris Basins, and 325 net producing oil wells and 3.0 net producing gas wells in France. The company also owns 49% working interest in 930,000 net acres of land and 51 net producing natural gas wells in the Netherlands; and 36,900 net developed acres and 965,900 net undeveloped acres of land, and 61 net producing oil wells and 8 net producing natural gas wells in Germany. In addition, it owns offshore Corrib natural gas field located to the northwest coast of Ireland; and 100% working interest in the Wandoo offshore oil field and related production assets that covers 59,600 acres located on Western Australia's northwest shelf. Further, the company holds 138,000 net acres of land in the Powder River basin, and 136.6 net producing oil wells in the United States; and 951,200 net acres of land in Hungary, 244,900 net acres of land in Slovakia, and 2.4 million net acres of land in Croatia. Vermilion Energy Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More Earnings Growth Earnings for Esterline Technologies are expected to grow by 1.73% in the coming year, from $4.62 to $4.70 per share. Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market The P/E ratio of Esterline Technologies is 29.37, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 16.20. Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector The P/E ratio of Esterline Technologies is 29.37, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Aerospace sector average P/E ratio of about 21.89. Price to Earnings Growth Ratio Esterline Technologies has a PEG Ratio of 2.78. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued. RATING D-HELD R-HELD I-HELD TOTAL Lean Republican 0 2 0 2 Tossup 1 9 1 11 Lean Democratic 3 1 0 4 Total 4 12 1 17 Shifts Toward Republicans Shifts Toward Democrats It's the end of a long and busy gubernatorial election cycle, and yet, as voters' head to the polls, a handful of races are still moving into and out of competitiveness.The overall predicted outcome, however, remains the same since our last handicapping on Oct. 22 : The Democrats are poised to gain ground in the nation's 36 governors' races.In the last two weeks, four races have moved in the Democrats' favor -- Alaska, Michigan, Rhode Island and South Dakota -- and two states in the Republicans' -- Arizona and Oregon.Overall, the GOP currently holds a 33-16 edge in offices and, therefore, has more seats to defend this year -- 26 to the Democrats' nine. It also helps Democrats that for the first time since 2006, the GOP controls both the White House and Congress during a midterm election -- a balance of power that historically helps the opposite party.The Democrats are almost assured of gaining three to four seats, and their net gain could range as high as 10 seats. The higher end of that range would give Democrats a slim majority among governors nationally -- something they have not had in nearly a decade.Currently, we rate 17 of the 36 races this week as competitive, meaning that they are either tossups or leaning to one party or the other. Our rating categories are safe Democratic or Republican, likely Democratic or Republican, lean Democratic or Republican, and tossup.There is just one Democratic-held seat in the tossup category -- Oregon, which moves from lean Democratic -- compared to nine for the Republicans and one held by Independent Bill Walker of Alaska, who abruptly ended his reelection campaign in October.Meanwhile, three Republican-held seats are leaning toward the Democrats: New Mexico, Illinois and Michigan. By contrast, there are no Democratic-held seats leaning toward the Republicans.As has been the case for the entire election cycle, Republicans have more seats at risk. The GOP currently holds 12 of the 17 competitive seats, compared to just four for the Democrats.Here's the current breakdown of competitive races:For an interactive version of our ratings map, and ratings for other statewide elections, click here . Below the map is the latest analysis of the most competitive races this cycle.Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, seemed like he might be vulnerable this year, but unlike the state's nip-and-tuck Senate race, the gubernatorial race has never narrowed. In recent polls, Ducey has consistently been ahead of his Democratic opponent, David Garcia, by 10 to 20 points. We're moving this race from lean Republican to likely Republican.In, Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has failed to put away her race against Republican Knute Buehler, despite the state's historically blue leanings and the favorable political environment for Democrats nationally. She's up by margins in the low single digits in recent polls and hasn't broken 50 percent, an underwhelming performance that leads us to move this race from lean Democratic to tossup.The gubernatorial race inhas been a wild ride. It was initially a three-way race featuring Walker, Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy. After it became clear that Walker and Begich were splitting the center-left vote and all but handing Dunleavy a victory, Walker dropped out and threw his support to Begich. It remains unclear whether Begich can consolidate the vote in just two and a half weeks, but the most recent polls have shown either a tied race or one with Dunleavy up by five points. We're moving this from lean Republican to tossup.In, where Republican Gov. Rick Snyder is retiring, Democratic nominee Gretchen Whitmer is now consistently leading Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette in polls by the high single digits to the low double digits. We're moving this race from lean Democratic to likely Democratic.Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo inhas continued to solidify her lead against Republican Allan Fung and Trump-aligned third-party candidate Joe Trillo. Recent polls have given Raimondo leads in the high single digits to the low double digits, casting significant doubt on whether Fung can pull off a victory. This race moves from lean Democratic to likely Democratic.And finally, we honestly never expected that historically redwould end up in the tossup column on the eve of the 2018 election -- or any election, for that matter. But here we are. Democratic state Sen. Billie Sutton continues to run a neck-and-neck race with Republican U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem. The two recent polls have shown a tied race and a narrow, three-point lead for Noem. This contest moves from lean Republican to tossup. Zalando SE operates as an online fashion and lifestyle retailer. It offers a range of products, including shoes, apparel, accessories, and beauty products for women, men, and children, as well as free delivery and returns services. The company also sells its products through its Zalando Lounge; and brick-and-mortar stores in Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Leipzig, Hamburg, Hanover, MAnster, Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Ulm. It serves in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company has a strategic partnership with Sephora SAS to create the online prestige beauty destination. Zalando SE was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Read More As the midterm election approaches, commissioners with the Oneida County Board of Elections want voters to be as prepared as possible when going to the polls. Commissioners say, while there is no dress code, voters are not allowed to wear clothes that show support for a candidate. That even goes for signs and flyers, which must stay at least 100 feet away from poll sites. Commissioner Michael Galimo (D) says voters in New York state are not required to bring an I.D. to vote. Galimo also says that people who are not registered in their district, or have issues with their registration at the polls, still have an alternative way to cast their votes. "If there is a matter where they're not in the book, and they are at the right poll site, our inspectors know to give them an affidavit ballot, Galimo said. Galimo says they want everyone to get out and vote, and hes stressing the importance of following the rules. "Everyone's already a little on edge because it is election day, Galimo said. If you just follow the rules in place, hopefully we'll have a smooth election day for everybody." Galimo says he wants voters to take their take their time with the ballot. You can find our polling place by going to Vote.org. ROME- Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who used to anchor a show on Fox news, were in Rome on Monday night for a get out the vote rally in support of Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. Tenney is running for re-election against Democrat, Anthony Brindisi for the 22nd Congressional District seat. Kimberly Guilfoyle introduced Rep. Tenney as her supporters cheered throughout the crowd. Donald Trump Jr. then stepped up to the podium and talked to constituents about accomplishments that have been made. He encouraged supporters to vote on Tuesday. "We need you to vote, we need you to bring friends, we need you to make calls. It's 24 hours, you can do that on your head. Get out there let's get Claudia back in there," said Donald Trump Jr. Constituents were also encouraged to take pictures with Guilfoyle and Trump after the rally. UTICA, NY-- It's too early too know which way the midterm elections will lean, towards Republicans or Democrats. But local voters are providing some insight on the issues that are important to them. "Social service, Medicare and retirement," said James Cyrus, a Rome resident. "When you're retired you want the money there. You want to have the money there so you can go on and live your life." Rebecca Manning, a junior at Utica College, said she concerned about issues that impact her family and friends. "Probably the top two issues for me are healthcare an LGBT issues," she said. "I have a lot of family members who have stuff like diabetes and the way that different companies run things they've been increasing insulin prices and stuff so that's a concern for us. Some of my family members their insurance covers it, some of it does not. Then for LGBT issues I have a lot of friends who are trans and the current administration is targeting trans people and trying to take away their basic human rights, so that's a big concern for me." Nick Lanckton, a senior at Utica College and Holland Patent resident, said shooting threats at the college earlier this year influenced some of the topics he's concerned about now. "Guns and just the culture of shootings now, people just kind of almost don't even realize they're happening anymore," he said. "I'd like to at least after a conversation about what the problem is, it doesn't even seem like we can get that far now." Daniel Tagliarina an assistant professor of government and politics at Utica College, follows election trends and issues. "To some extent President Trump's leadership is coming up," he said. "Most midterm elections the president's party ends up losing seats in Congress its just a trend that happens far more often then it doesn't. Usually the opposition is a bit more motivated and with President Trump being such a polarizing figure himself it's definitely going to be on a lot of people's minds." Roughly 20 local voters refused to speak on camera to talk about the issues that are important to them, some said they didn't want other people to figure out who they are voting for, or because they don't plan on voting. Peter Gaughan, a sophomore at UC from the San Francisco area, said people shouldn't count out students voters in this election. "It's no secret that my generation has not come out to vote as much as they probably should," he said. "A lot of that has to do with being disenfranchise with system as we have seen for the last couple elections, politicians have catered to issues that don't impact us. You don't hear as much as economic justice, student loan debt about the environment, as you do issues that cater to people who vote more." Gaughan added that Utica College has made many efforts to get students informed, registered and even given transportation to vote. "I do know on this campus we've done a really good job though of getting people registered and getting people informed," he said. "So I'm hoping this election we at least see on this campus a lot of more people getting out to vote. I think we will I have a feeling that young people are starting to understand that our future matters to us and we probably should be voting. But we'll find out on election day if that actually happens." North Carolina legislators have spent the last couple years attempting to strip power from the other branches of government in favor of their own. Their hopes of convincing voters to expand their authority fell far short at the ballot box Tuesday, however.Two measures on the state ballot would have given the legislature greater authority over appointments. One would have allowed lawmakers to narrow the governor's choices for filling judicial vacancies to as few as two. The other would have taken the power to appoint members to the state ethics and elections board away from the governor entirely, instead allowing legislators to make the picks.The judicial vacancy measure was turned down by 67 percent of voters, while the elections board measure was defeated with a 62 percent "no" vote."If you look back at what's happened in Raleigh in the last couple of years, the state legislature has repeatedly tried to take power away from the governor and exert more control over the courts," says Billy Corriher, a senior researcher with the Institute for Southern Studies, a progressive group in Raleigh.GOP state Rep. Justin Burr argued that the current system for filling judicial vacancies was "flawed" because it robs residents of a chance to have any input. If the measure had passed, citizens would have been able to nominate judges, who would then have been screened by the legislature."Our communities have their local judges forced upon them, often against their wishes," Burr wroterecently.Critics of the measure, however, didn't accept the claim from legislators that it actually would have spread power among the branches. Instead, they called it a "power grab," stripping the governor of authority.That's something the GOP-dominated legislature has been attempting to do in a number of ways since Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was elected two years ago. In a special session in the month following the 2016 election, for instance, the legislature eliminated certain appointment powers of the governor.Every living former governor of North Carolina -- two Republicans and three Democrats -- came out against the measures."These constitutional amendments would dramatically shift more power to an already dominant legislature," the governors wrote in a joint op-ed last week. "The courts struck down as unconstitutional previous attempts to accomplish such power grabs through legislation, for violating the 'separation of powers' clause of the N.C. Constitution."In August, a three-judge panel sided with the governor over the proposed ballot measures, ordering earlier versions removed from the ballot. The judges ruled that they were written in a way that was misleading and deceptive to voters. But the legislature had already passed new versions of the referenda."While we disagree with the court's opinion, these amendments are far too important not to be on the ballot, which is why we acted immediately to comply with its decision," said Phil Berger, the president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate.Two groups opposing the referenda, Stop Deceptive Amendments and By the People, collectively raised more than $8.5 million in their successful effort to defeat them.Berger and other legislative leaders continued to defend the measures, but there wasn't a strong campaign push working for their passage."There are all these statements from governors and judges against these amendments," Corriher, the researcher, said prior to the election. "Voters will hear that and see this as a power grab." COLUMBUS, Ohio Duncan Hines announced they are recalling a select number of cakes mixes due to potential presences of salmonella. The company said the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a potential salmonella outbreak after Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix tested positive for salmonella. Duncan Hines said they have voluntarily recalled the following products as a precaution: - Classic White, UPC: 644209307500, and have a best if used by date of March 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 2019. - Classic Butter Golden, UPC: 644209307494, and have a best if used by date of March 9, 10, 12, 13, 2019. - Signature Confetti, UPC: 644209307593, and have a best if used by date of March 7, 8, 9, 2019. - Classic Yellow, UPC: 644209414550, and have a best if used by date of March 12, 13, 2019. So far five people have reported becoming sick after consuming the cake mix. While it has not been definitively concluded that this product is linked to the outbreak, the investigation is still ongoing. The FDA is reminding consumers not to eat any raw batter. Consumers who have purchased these items are advised not to consume them and to return them to the store where originally purchased. Consumers with questions should call our Consumer Care team at 1-888-299-7646 or visit Duncan Hines website. TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) Tuesday is Election Day, and it's a day many have waited for days, months and even years. News 18 is keeping our eye on contested races locally and nationally. Here are some guidelines: You are eligible to vote Tuesday if you are a U.S. citizen and a resident of Indiana. You must be at least 18-years-old. A photo ID is also required. For a list of where to vote in Tippecanoe County, click here. You can check your voter registration here. You can find a sample ballot for Tippecanoe County here. You can also follow all of the Election Day results online and on air Tuesday night. Tippecanoe County Early Voting Numbers: 23,953 - 2018 Midterm 30,876 - 2016 Presidential Election 9,359 - 2014 Midterm CHECK OUT THIS LINE! Its the number of people left to vote early today. The polls closed at noon but these are the people who got in line before 12. Everyone else will have to wait until Election Day! pic.twitter.com/z6F27n10eM Kayla Sullivan (@KaylaReporting) November 5, 2018 Tippecanoe County Sheriff: News 18 heard from both candidates running for Tippecanoe County Sheriff at a public debate in September. Democratic candidate Bob Goldsmith faces Republican challenger Jason Dombkowski in the race for sheriff. Dombkowski boasts his leadership as the Chief of the West Lafayette Police Department, while Goldsmith says he knows the sheriff's office, working as a Lieutenant and detective. Dombkowski defeated current Sheriff Barry Richard and Lt. John 'Woody' Ricks in the primary. Goldsmith entered the race following the Primaries. Goldsmith is pushing for additional staff in the sheriff's office while Dombkowski says we can work with what we have. But if we were to add staff, he thinks the resources belong in the jail. Both candidates agreed, the jail needs to be geared more toward rehabilitation. Related: Sheriff candidates play nice during public debate Related: Full replay of the Tippecanoe County Sheriff debate Tippecanoe County Clerk: After 16 elections, current Tippecanoe County Clerk Christa Coffey's time in office is up. The two women looking to take on this role is Republican Julie Roush and Democrat Vicky Woeste. Woeste has been a law professor for almost 30 years, studying law and legal history since her teens. She wants to make our elections transparent, verifiable, and accountable. Woeste would like to replace outdated election machines and provide a paper trail for recounts. Roush has a business background and says the role of a clerk is a business. She wants to improve voter registration and participation, promote trust and confidence in the voting process and adapt security measures to protect the integrity of our elections. Related: Where the Tippecanoe County Clerk candidates differ State Representative District 26 Incumbent Republican State Representative Sally Siegrist faces Democratic challenger Chris Campbell in the race for State Representative in District 26. In early September, we spoke with both candidates to schedule a debate. Campbell was open to a debate, while Siegrist was unable to find a debate before today's election. We do know Campbell wants to bring quality jobs to our area, put more money into public schools and increase state wages. Siegrist has focused on passing bills in support of students. If re-elected, she plans to focus on the prevention of human trafficking. State Senate District 22 Republican State Senator Ron Alting is running for re-election of State Senate in District 22 against Democrat Sherry Shipley. The two participated in a putt-putt debate hosted by WBAA in September. Shipley's main priority is to stop sending public money to private schools. Alting said his number one priority would be to get rid of last second amendments to bills. When asked about a hate crime bill next session, Alting said he hopes to pass a version of the hate crime bill he's been co-authoring for the past 10 years. Shipley said she would sponsor a hate crime bill too. "I know that transgender Hoosiers are not always included in that bill so we want to make sure that all Hoosiers have equal protection under the law," said Shipley. When asked why voters should choose them: "First and foremost, the attitude as to why I want to be and continue to be a Senator. And that is strictly to make a difference to help people, all people," said Alting. However, Shipley thinks it's time for new ideas and more women at the Statehouse. "The pink tax is a real thing. Taxes on diapers and tampons and sanitary pads because we have so many men in government who don't think in terms of women's' issues and when we have strong women we have strong families and strong families make for strong communities," said Shipley. Both hope to be champions for local government. Related: Senate District 22 candidates putt-putt over issues 4th District Congressional Seat When Todd Rokita ran for the Senate in the primary, he vacated his 4th District Congressional Seat. That leaves his 4th District seat in congress open. The 4th District includes every county in the News 18 viewing area. Democrat Tobi Beck is an Army veteran from Avon, Indiana with priorities of campaign finance reform, healthcare for everyone and military spending for the right reasons. Conservative Jim Baird is a Purdue University grad and Vietnam veteran. Indiana US Senate Candidates: Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly and Republican challenger Mike Braun havent found many nice things to say about each other during Indianas fierce Senate race, although they both speak kindly of Donald Trump. For Braun, a multimillionaire auto parts magnate, its a no-brainer in a state the president won by 19 points. But for Donnelly, vocally supporting a divisive president also carries risk if it alienates Democratic voters he needs to win on Tuesday. Ever since Trumps victory two years ago, Donnelly has tried to walk a delicate line, celebrating areas where he agreed with the president while promising he wont be a rubber stamp. Rarely does he mention that hes a Democrat. If you want someone to be with a political party 100 percent of the time, Im not that guy, Donnelly said in his final ad of the campaign. Im not about party. Our politics are already too partisan and have become way too violent. But as the race has tightened, he also has angered members of his party by adopting some of Trumps rhetoric. He has attacked socialists and the radical left, while calling for a border wall with Mexico. Career politicians like Joe Donnelly will say anything to keep their jobs, Braun said. Republicans say the first-term senator talks a good game. But they argue he has been against Trump when it counts, noting he opposed the GOP-led tax cut, legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act and the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Joe Donnelly voted against your tax cuts and he joined the Democrat mob to vote against justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump said at a rally in the Indianapolis area on Friday. Donnelly has had a target on his back ever since he unexpectedly won in 2012 after his opponent Richard Mourdock made incendiary comments about abortion and rape. Now hes among a handful of Senate Democrats running for re-election in states Trump won. With his party now poised to retake the House, Republicans have intensified their efforts to maintain or expand their narrow Senate majority, and Donnelly is viewed as one of their top targets. The race will also offer a strong indicator of whether a conservative Democrat can still win in Indiana. In decades past, Indiana voters elected Democrats to the governors office, as well as Congress. But after voting in 2008 for former President Barack Obama, who campaigned for Donnelly Sunday in Gary, the state has swung to the right. Related: Indiana Senate candidates work for your vote in final debate LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) About one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life according to experts at IU Health Arnett. A statics Lafayette teacher Gina Boyd had never heard until she was diagnosed, but with help at IU Health Arnett's cancer center, she was able to fight. "I have seen the beauty of what other people can do for people who are hurting." Usually on your birthday you get a chance to make a wish after you blow out your candles. Last year, teacher Gina Boyd got something she never wished for while she sat in a doctors office at IU Health Arnett. "My birthday is October 26th," said Boyd. "And I found out on my 46th birthday that I had breast cancer." She had only taken a half day off from teaching and was now blindsided after radiologist Dr. Phyllis Martin-Simmerman gave her the news. News she now had to share with her husband and her 11 and 16-year-old children. "To think of your children planning for their life without you it's hard to hear," Boyd said. "It's hard to think about your children having to do that." She said it just got harder. "My family was calling me all day to tell me Happy Birthday and to then say guess what, thank you, but guess what was really a crappy way to spend my day," Boyd added. Her loved ones began to share locations for teatments which were not local, but Martin-Simmerman made the decision easier by hand picking her doctors at the IU Health Arnett cancer center only 16 minutes away from her home. The cancer center is where she remembers having one of the sweetest moments with her radiation onchologist. "As soon as he walked in the room he said Hi I'm Neil Estabrook, I'm so sorry you're here and I burst into tears," said Boyd. "What a compassionate, beautiful thing to say, yes I'm sorry I'm hear too." The compassion contunied with expressions of love Boyd received from her friends family and school community. Boyd said, "We had meals three times a week prepared for us from October through March." Boyd is still surprised she went through radiation, chemotherapy, and a mastectomy because she had no risk factors. She was experiencing breast pain, but when she made the appointment at IU Health it didn't occur to her it might be breast cancer. "I know other women are sitting there thinking, oh I'm probably good," said Boyd. "I was that girl and here I am. Get your mammogram." Now, Boyd can finally receive a birthday gift she would actually wish for and her doctor told her she could share good news with her friends and family this year. "She said you can tell them there is no evidence of disease," said Boyd. "I'm like alright that works for me, I like take it no evidence of disease lets go with that." The American Cancer Society recommends women age 40 and older get a mammogram every year. At IU Health Arnett there is a team of experts to evulate a patient's breast cancer for the most effective and personalized treatment. The heated and hotly contested campaign that could see the first African-American elected governor of Georgia has been targeted by a white supremacist group, which sent recorded racist messages out to voters in the state.The robocall, audio of which was posted on social media, features a man attempting to impersonate former talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned for Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia last week. The voice refers to Winfrey as "the magical negro" whom the "Jews who own the American media" used to "trick dumb white women" into doing what they wanted.Amid more racist insults, the recording says Abrams who, if she wins on Tuesday, would also become the first African-American woman elected governor in U.S. history has a similar ability and "is someone white women can be tricked into voting for, especially the fat ones."The robocall ends with a message saying the ad was paid for by TheRoadToPower.com. That url redirects to a BitChute.com page featuring video podcasts from The Road to Power, which the Anti-Defamation League calls "a white supremacist and anti-Semitic broadcasting outlet based in Sandpoint, Idaho."The group is run by Scott Rhodes, a neo-Nazi featured in the videos who is believed to be behind racist robocalls made earlier this year about the death of Mollie Tibbetts. Tibbetts, 20, was an Iowa woman whom authorities say was murdered by an undocumented immigrant. The calls denounced comments from Tibbetts' family members who said her death should not be used to justify hate against Latinos, the Des Moines Register reported. When Americans head to the polls on Tuesday for the midterm elections, voters in 35 counties -- from Las Vegas to Dallas to Tampa -- will head to precincts that are being closely monitored by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division for "compliance with the federal voting rights laws," the DOJ announced Monday."Voting rights are constitutional rights, and they're part of what it means to be an American," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.Sessions also warned that "fraud in the voting process will not be tolerated."In January, President Donald Trump shut down a commission he created shortly after he arrived at the Oval Office to investigate possible voter fraud. In its six months of existence, that commission did not turn up any evidence of voter fraud from the 2016 election.The list of jurisdictions that the DOJ will monitor comprises 35 counties, including many that election experts say are pivotal battlegrounds for the outcomes of roughly half a dozen neck-and-neck Senate races and even more House races.Civil Rights Division personnel will observe, for example, Maricopa County, Ariz., which encompasses much of Phoenix. Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema hopes to see a surge of voting in Phoenix for her Senate matchup against GOP Rep. Martha McSally, who will be looking for a strong showing from the county's non-urban reaches. Roll Call's Nathan L. Gonzales rates the Arizona Senate race "Tilts Democratic."Clark County (Las Vegas) and Washoe County (Reno) in Nevada will also be subject to the DOJ's monitoring efforts. Nevada GOP Sen. Dean Heller faces Rep. Jacky Rosen in another prime pick-up opportunity for the Democrats in a race Gonzales rates "Tilts Democratic."In Florida, where Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson has faced a historically expensive challenge from Florida Gov. Rick Scott, DOJ personnel will be keeping an eye on polling places in Pinellas County (Tampa) and Palm Beach County. Gonzales also rates that race "Tilts Democratic."The Texas, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania Senate races will also have some polling places under DOJ surveillance.On the House side, key races where DOJ personnel will monitor polling places include Iowa's 4th District, where GOP Rep. Steve King is trying to fight back a surprising late surge from Democrat J.D. Scholten; Texas' 7th District in the Houston suburbs, where Rep. John Culberson faces Democrat Lizzie Fletcher in a race rated "Tilts Republican"; and Virginia's 10th District, where Democrat Jennifer Wexton is challenging GOP incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock in a race rated "Tilts Democratic."Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ has regularly monitored hundreds of federal, state, and local elections around the country every year to ensure compliance with the law.The 1965 law has for decades aimed to protect minority populations from systemic suppression and intimidation methods.Trump tweeted Monday that law enforcement officials have been "strongly notified to watch closely for any ILLEGAL VOTING" in Tuesday's election. A state House candidate admitted Friday a lengthy quote in a campaign mailer attributed to former Gov. Brad Henry is false."I will admit that I made a mistake," LaVelle Compton said.Compton, an Oklahoma City Democrat, is running against state Rep. Jon Echols, the House majority floor leader.The mailer sent to 4,000 voters includes a genuine photo of Henry and Compton together. Next to the photo is a made-up Henry quote describing Compton as "an exceptional young man who will be an asset to our Legislature."Compton said his former campaign team put together the quote after a dinner with Henry but never went back to get permission to use it in the campaign."I should have also made sure that was fully vetted, and I did not, and that's where my mistake lies," Compton said.He said he apologized Friday to Henry and to his supporters. On Facebook, he told supporters, "The last thing that I would ever do is intentionally misrepresent myself or lie to the public to add fuel to the political fire."Echols discovered the falsity, contacting Henry, a friend, after seeing the mailer. Henry, a Democrat, told him, "I did not author or authorize the quote that was attributed to me, and I have not formally endorsed in the House District 90 race."Echols, R-Oklahoma City, called the made-up endorsement extremely disturbing."This type of behavior should not be tolerated in our political system," Echols said. North Korean president met with his Cuban counterpart in the capital Pyongyang, local media reported Tuesday. Kim Jong-un and Miguel Diaz-Canel discussed bilateral and international matters as well as the current situation on the Korean Peninsula on Monday, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "They also discussed in depth the ways to vitalize cooperation and exchange in various fields," KCNA reported. Diaz-Canel arrived in Pyongyang with his wife on Sunday as part of his first official trip abroad since he took office in April. After serving as Raul Castro's vice president, Diaz-Canel became the first person outside the Castro family to rule the country in almost 60 years. The Republican candidate for governor of Kansas, Kris Kobach, who has close ties to the Trump administration, has accepted financial donations from white nationalist sympathizers and has for more than a decade been affiliated with groups espousing white supremacist views.Recent financial disclosures show that Kobach, a driving force behind dozens of proposals across the US designed to suppress minority voting and immigrant rights, has accepted thousands of dollars from white nationalists. Donors include a former official in the Trump administration who was forced to resign from the Department of Homeland Security this year after emails showed he had close ties to white supremacists and once engaged in an email exchange about a dinner party invitation that was described as Judenfrei, or free of Jews.Currently the Kansas secretary of state, Kobach is running in a tight race against the Democrat Laura Kelly. The election has drawn the concern of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), after the single polling place located in Dodge City was moved outside the town, in what some claimed to be an attempt to suppress the Hispanic vote.Kobach, who was vice-chairman of the Trump administrations now disbanded election-fraud commission, is known for his zero-tolerance approach to undocumented migrants and his staunch support for voter ID laws, which critics say unfairly and illegally target minority voters.But Kobach has gained less attention for his long history of associations with groups that espouse white nationalist views and the significant financial support they have given him since he launched his political career in 2004.Public financial records show Kobach received political contributions from US Immigration Reform Pac, a political action committee closely affiliated with John Tanton, a retired ophthalmologist who is known as the founder of the modern American anti-immigrant movement. Description GIS 06 November, 2018: Divali, the festival of light brings among the different communities the values of unity, sharing, solidarity and happiness. It is an occasion for families to come together to reflect on the past and look forward to the future with hope. Divali, the festival of light brings among the different communities the values of unity, sharing, solidarity and happiness. It is an occasion for families to come together to reflect on the past and look forward to the future with hope. This statement was made by the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth yesterday at the National Divali celebrations, held at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre, Pailles. The Minister Mentor, Minister of Defence, and Minister for Rodrigues, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun , and several other Ministers and eminent personalities were present at the event. According to the Prime Minister, the celebration of light empowers everybody to commit himself to good deeds which bring him closer to divinity. He highlighted that the purpose of the National Divali celebrations is to sensitise the public on the cultural heritage of Mauritius and also to further promote unity in diversity and national cohesion . Minister Roopun, on his part, underlined that the festival of Divali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. He further added that the festival is marked by several days of celebrations, which literally illuminate the country with its brilliance and dazzle people with joy. Monday, Nov. 5, 2018 ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Six people are behind bars in connection with a fatal home invasion in South Carolina. Sheriff Ravenell said the Orangeburg County Sheriffs deputy with the assistance of the US Marshals took three men into custody over the weekend. Three other women were said to have been arrested earlier. Steven Bradley, Brandon Culbreath, and Daryl Sutton were charged with murder, armed robbery, first-degree burglary and possession of a weapon during a crime in connection with a deadly home invasion that happened on the 4000 block of Geneva Road on October 27th. Investigators say the three men were caught on security video attempting to kick in a door. When the first door failed to open, the three men were seen leaving the camera but were able to kick in another door. Reports indicate the men made it inside the building and attempted to rob the person inside. From that point, the robbery turned deadly. The three women arrested, Breanna Fludd, Tamika Lopez and Whitney Robinson were arrested at an earlier date. They were also charged with accessory before and after the fact. Investigators say the woman knew about the plan and the fatal shooting on October 27th. (TNS) Embracing the notion that people live through their smartphones, local law enforcement is now part of that mix.Police Chief Shane D. Woodson, Deputy Chief Jose A. Dingui and Town Manager Ronald San Angelo unveiled a free app that will allow anyone who downloads it to submit anonymous tips to police and receive alerts from the police.During a news conference Monday, the trio urged residents to download the custom-branded "Southbridge PD" app, developed by Tip411.Launched in recent weeks, the app is available for download through the Google Play Store, the iTunes app store, and the Police Department's website at www.ci.southbridge.ma.us/police-department Residents who don't have a smartphone can text tips to 847411 with the keyword SOUTHBRIDGEPD.Deputy Chief Dingui said authorities would prefer to receive anonymous tips about "nuisance" type activities, such as if a person suspects his neighbor is dealing drugs, or if someone has information about bullying in the schools. Maybe a fight has been planned, or an underage keg party in the woods is in the works.But the app is not meant for reporting crimes that are in progress, the chief said. In those instances, police want to receive 911 calls.Police put money aside to purchase the app in partnership with the town manager's substance abuse advisory committee, which recently launched an educational push to combat substance abuse The app speaks to the enforcement part of the task force's mission, meaning to put drug peddlers in jail, Mr. San Angelo said.The app can provide comfort that the sender's message remains anonymous, and it's a tool for people who love and care about the community to work with the police against those who "want to kill our children through this poison," the manager said of narcotics dealing.Chief Woodson said he supports the app because police can't be everywhere at once, while civilians are "our eyes and ears when we can't be here, and we need them to report crimes."Deputy Chief Dingui demonstrated by sending a tip to himself about drug dealing on Main Street.There's an option for the sender to add a photo of the suspect.The tip went through almost instantaneously, setting off a somewhat annoying-sounding and repetitious alert on his computer. The tip also went to his phone and email, he said."Right now my dispatcher should be getting the same thing," the deputy chief said, adding that there's a backup system for the tip to be sent to the chief, lieutenant, detective sergeant and duty sergeant.He said it was important to note that it allows the police to ask the sender follow-up questions, such as the particular address or apartment number.From the other side, the app allows police to send alerts.People who already downloaded the app received an advisory about congested traffic on Main Street during last week's Halloween parade. It will also be used to announce parking restrictions during snow emergencies.Also, it will be helpful to police if, for instance, there's an armed robbery suspect running through backyards and police are in pursuit, the deputy chief said. An alert would be sent to residents advising them of an armed and dangerous person and cautioning them to stay in their homes.A person might be able to respond that he or she saw the suspect on a particular street.It may also be helpful to someone who can't call 911 but is in danger.The app is being used on a one-year trial to see if it's worthwhile, the deputy chief said.Tip411 is used by 1,500 communities in the U.S., according to the company's website. A spokesman did not immediately respond to an email asking which Massachusetts communities are using it.Worcester police use Tipsoft to accept anonymous tips via text message to 274637 TIPWPD and they receiving anonymous messages via web at www.worcesterma.gov/police (TNS) Say goodbye to the alphabetized lines.Montgomery voters will have a new check-in process when they go to the polls for Tuesdays midterms, one that ditches paper for iPads. That means no more being sorted into lines based on your last name, and no more waiting for poll workers to flip through pages of a printed list to find and mark off your name.Instead, voters will be sent to the closest available iPad, where theyll scan the bar code on their Alabama-issued drivers license or state ID. If a voter has a form of ID that cant be scanned, a poll worker will type in the name until it appears in a searchable list of registered voters. It doesnt require an internet connection.Checking in should take less than 40 seconds and vastly speed up the wait time at the polls, said Darryl Parker, the countys director of elections.Its a process thats rolling out slowly statewide. Tuesday, itll be used by 29 counties, including in Montgomery for the first time.Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said there were no issues with the system in last years special election, when it was used by 25 counties. Its been outstanding, he said.Autauga County was one of the first in the state to implement the system and will use it again for this week's midterm elections. Elmore County also plans to use the check-in system this week, as it has for the past few elections.Merrill said some counties were skeptical that local poll workers would embrace the change, particularly seniors. Those fears turned out to be unfounded, he said. Our experience has been the opposite, Merrill said. Our senior poll workers have been the most interested and the most accepting of the new technology.The state hopes to have it in place throughout Alabama by 2022.Georgia has used a similar electronic check-in process statewide for years.Its certainly not brand new. Other states have worked out some kinks, said M.V. Hood, a political science professor and elections researcher at the University of Georgia.Hood said there could be a few hiccups at the beginning but that it should make the voting process easier in the long term. Any process that involves millions of human beings is going to have some problems, Hood said. If implemented well, it should go smoothly.Montgomery County dealt with a few hiccups related to another rollout during last years special election.Voters fed their ballots into new DS200 scanner and tabulator machines last year. They replaced machines that were decades old and were expected to be more reliable in the long-term. But one broke down at a busy polling place early on voting day, leaving a long line waiting with ballots in hand.Workers had fixed that problem by 10 a.m.Other problems included confusion over ballots and misinformation being spread over social media. All of that was amplified by a much larger-than-expected special election crowd eager to cast a vote for Doug Jones or Roy Moore.Probate Judge Steven Reed said special election turnout hit 44 percent in Montgomery County.Merrill's office was expecting a turnout of about 35 to 40 percent this week, but that number could go higher. Circuit clerks were reporting increased absentee ballot activity. A pair of blaring headlines appearing in Fridays edition of the New York Times purported to show that the newspaper had obtained damning new evidence of collusion between WikiLeaks, the Trump campaign and the Russian government to damage the campaign of Hillary Clinton in 2016. The latest round of smears appearing in the Times, the journalistic mouthpiece of the Democratic Party and sections of the military-intelligence apparatus opposed to Trump, is aimed at preparing public opinion for an eventual indictment on espionage charges of WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange, preparations for which are already in full swing. The Times articles appeared amid widespread media speculation that special counsel Robert Mueller could begin handing down indictments soon. Julian Assange The government of Ecuador, eager to curry favor with Washington, is rapidly moving to expel Assange from its embassy in London, where he has been trapped since he first sought political asylum there in 2012. Assange would be arrested by British police immediately upon setting foot outside the embassy, after which he could be extradited to the United States, where a secret grand jury has reportedly long been convened to hear charges against him. Consortium News reported on Saturday that Assange was the target of a failed break-in two weeks ago, according to Assanges legal team. While the details of the incident are still unclear, it demonstrates the severity of his situation as well as total abdication by the government of Ecuador of responsibility for Assanges security, which appears to now be virtually nonexistent. Assange apparently was able to foil the intruder only because he had set a booby-trap in his room. The incident has been totally unreported in the American press more than two days after the story broke. Last month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers headed by Democrat Eliot Engel published an open letter to the Ecuadorian government demanding that President Lenin Moreno hand over Assange, branding the WikiLeaks publisher a dangerous criminal and a threat to global security, who should be brought to justice. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) also filed a lawsuit against the Russian government, Trump campaign officials and Assange, alleging collusion between them to sabotage Clintons election campaign. The lawsuit argues against longstanding US laws and court precedent protecting whistleblowers and investigative journalists by declaring that Assange, by publishing information that the DNC alleged was illegally obtained, was criminally liable. Both WikiLeaks and Russia have vehemently denied the charges that Russia was the source of e-mails published by WikiLeaks in the weeks before the November election from the DNC and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. These e-mails contained verification of Clintons corrupt relationships with Wall Street as well as collusion by the DNC, which had effectively been taken over by the Clinton campaign, to fix the partys primary race in her favor. A key element in the Democratic Partys narrative of Trumps collusion with WikiLeaks, which is the subject of the Timess articles, is the role of Republican political consultant Roger Stone, who made public statements supportive of WikiLeaks publication of thousands of Clintons private e-mails in the month before the election, and who reached out to figures close to the Trump campaign over the leaked e-mails before they were officially released. The Democrats and the Times allege that Stone functioned as a go-between for the Trump campaign with Assange, and by extension the Russian government, who they claim was the source of the leaked Clinton e-mails. Establishing a connection between Roger Stone, or more accurately fabricating one, is thus critically important for the campaign against WikiLeaks. Stone himself has repeatedly denied all of the accusations. The Times articles center on e-mail correspondence obtained by the newspaper between Stone and Stephen Bannon, who had left his post as editor of the right-wing Breitbart News website to head Trump's election campaign, weeks before the official release of the Clinton e-mails by WikiLeaks. The emails, the newspaper alleges, show how the political operative Roger J. Stone Jr. sold himself to Trump campaign advisers as a potential conduit to WikiLeaks. The carefully hedged language used by the authors, to the effect that Stone sold himself as a WikiLeaks confidante rather than actually being one, is an implicit admission that the Times s supposedly bombshell revelations amount to nothing. All of the information that Stone passed on to Bannon about WikiLeaks was already publicly available at the time, a fact the authors are compelled to admit parenthetically halfway through their commentary providing context for the e-mails. Stone also related vague, secondhand observations about Assanges security concerns in the Ecuadorian embassy, which are alleged to have come from comedian and WikiLeaks supporter Randy Credico (allegations that Credico has also denied). However, there is no evidence at all that Stone had backchannel access to WikiLeaks representatives, let alone that he was reaching out to Bannon with the authorization of WikiLeaks. To the extent that there is any substance to the published e-mail exchanges, they suggest the opposite of the core argument that the authors are driving atthat the Trump campaign was colluding through Stone with WikiLeaks. Significantly, the response from Bannon to Stones overtures was noticeably cool, with Stone complaining to one of Bannons subordinates, Id tell Bannon but he doesnt call me back. When this subordinate reached out to Bannon on Stones behalf, Bannon responded curtly, Ive got important stuff to worry about. As with every other article published by the Times and the rest of the American media on the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, last Fridays articles are a travesty of journalism. They are articles written to justify a headline, pieced together through innuendo and parroting the propaganda lies of the Democrats and sections of the intelligence agencies. The newspaper repeats, as though it was beyond any shadow of a doubt, the unproven allegations that the Russian government was WikiLeaks source for the Podesta e-mails, and brands the publication of the leaked documents as an act of political sabotage. When WikiLeaks published a trove of emails stolen from Hillary Clintons campaign chairman a month before the 2016 election, it was widely viewed as an attempt to damage her standing... We have since learned that the emails were originally hacked by Russian intelligence operatives. The authors of the analysis article state, This article is based on interviews with people familiar with the Russia investigation and the inner workings of the Trump campaign. In other words, the article was written with the collaboration and consent of figures in the FBI and the CIA. By now, a familiar pattern has arisen in the reporting on the allegations of Russian hacking. The New York Times, the Washington Post and other major media outlets publish articles with provocative, semi-hysterical headlines that contain zero evidence or are based entirely on the unfounded assertions or high levels of confidence of anonymous intelligence officials, in the course of which the authors themselves sometimes quietly admit that nothing has been proven. These unfounded allegations, nonetheless, are repeated again and again by the compliant, corporate-controlled US media as though they were unvarnished fact, cynically assuming (largely incorrectly, as public opinion polls have shown) that the public will be accustomed to accept them as fact as long as they continually assert them to be so. Taken in context, the Timess articles point to the immediate danger that Julian Assange finds himself in. The working class in the United States and internationally must be mobilized to defend the WikiLeaks founder from the attacks of the American state. Washington launched the second and far more punishing phase of its illegal, unilateral economic sanctions against Iran yesterday. The new sanctions explicitly target more than 700 entitiesbanks, companies, the entire fleet of state-owned Iran Air, and various officials and businessmen. They are meant to choke off all of Irans energy exports and freeze Iran out of the world banking system, so as to crash its economy. Shipping, ship-building and the ship-insurance industry are also targeted. At the beginning of August, three months after American President Donald Trump had reneged on Washingtons commitment to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord and insisted Iran submit to a new made in the USA agreement, the US imposed sanctions on Irans auto sector and its trade in gold and base metals vital for industrial production and its acquisition of dollars. At a Monday morning press conference, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo boasted that the sanctions now in place are the toughest ever, more sweeping and punishing than those the Obama administration and its European allies imposed on Iran between 2011 and 2015. The Iranian regime has a choice, declared the former CIA director and notorious Iran war hawk. It can either do a 180-degree turn from its outlaw course of action and act like a normal country, or it can see its economy crumble. Pompeo vowed that the US would continue its campaign of maximum pressure until Tehran submits to the 12 demands the Trump administration tabled last May. These include: forgoing in perpetuity a sovereign civil nuclear program; ending its military intervention in support of Syrias Assad regime; effectively abandoning its ballistic missile program; and ending all support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other US-designated terrorist groups. In toto, these demands constitute an ultimatum that Iran disarm and place itself at the mercy of US imperialism and its regional allies. Pompeo denounced Tehran for sponsoring international terror and other malign activities. Such claims are nothing new. They have been made, in some form or other, by every US administration, Democratic or Republican, since the 1979 Iranian Revolution toppled the US-backed monarchical dictatorship of the Shah. And they have been amplified over the past two decades as the US has waged and fomented a series of predatory wars across the greater Middle East, from Afghanistan to Libya, that have razed entire societies. The US government and media have for years painted Iran as an aggressor and in this regard Pompeo did not disappoint yesterday. But it is the US that has threatened Iran with military attack time and again, has invaded Irans neighbours Iraq and Afghanistan, and, beginning with Israel and Saudi Arabia, has armed its client states in the region to the teeth and encouraged them in their belligerence against Iran. Just three weeks ago, Pompeo was in Riyadh to counsel the Saudi absolutist regime on how to deal with international outrage over its brutal murder of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Since then, Riyadh, with US logistical support, has intensified its savage war in Yemen, ensuring that what the UN has labelled the worlds greatest humanitarian crisis deepens. The Pentagons Central Command, according to an article in Saturdays Washington Post, is pressing for the deployment of additional military forces to the Mideast to back up the Trump administrations maximum pressure campaign against Iran. US unilateralism and criminality At Mondays press conference, Pompeo announced that eight countriesChina, India, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Greece, Italy and Turkeyhave been given temporary waivers of up to six months on Washingtons global embargo on importing oil from Iran. In doing so, Pompeo stressed that the US is determined to reduce Iranian energy exports to zero in the near future and that those given waivers have already slashed their Iranian oil imports and have committed to making further cuts. They have also agreed to place the money they would have paid Iran in escrow accounts from which it can be withdrawn by Tehran only for the purchase of a limited number of humanitarian items. Pompeo claimed the waivers had been granted to avoid a disruptive spike in world oil prices, and because some countries with refineries calibrated for Iranian crude need more time to find alternate sources of oil. The US secretary of state was flanked at yesterdays press briefing by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. This is because the pivot of the US economic war on Iran is Americas dominance of the world financial system and its capacity to wield the weapon of secondary sanctions, threatening companies and banks involved in trade with Iran, or those that merely have dealings with others that trade with Iran, with exclusion from the US market, massive fines and other penalties. Pompeo and Mnuchin boasted that more than a hundred firms have fled Iran out of fear of the US sanctions, that some 20 countries have ceased importing Iranian oil, and that even before the US embargo formally began, Iranian oil exports had fallen by more than million barrels a day, or around 40 percent. Pompeo also said a sanctions waiver is to be given to those involved in repurposing two of Irans nuclear facilities to bring them into compliance with the Iran nuclear accord, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). All the other signatories of the accordRussia, China, Britain, France, Germany and the European Unionare adamant that Iran has fulfilled all its obligations under the JCPOA. So too, is the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN body charged with verifying Iranian compliance. Russia has vowed to assist Iran in breaking the US sanctions and, although it is one of the worlds leading oil exporters, has reportedly agreed to buy Iranian oil using rubles that Tehran would then use to purchase Russian goods. Noting that Russia is itself the target of US economic sanctions, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Financial Times last Friday, We do not recognize the sanctions introduced unilaterally without the United Nations. We consider those methods illegal per se. The European powers, which played a pivotal role in the Obama administrations campaign against Iran, are also vowing to uphold the JCPOA and challenge the unilateral US sanctions. Germany, France and Britain are angered that the Trump administration has derailed what had been a European corporate stampede to exploit lucrative business opportunities in Iran. They fear the catastrophic economic and geopolitical consequences of another US-provoked Mideast war and calculate that under conditions of intensifying global trade war and strategic competition, they must push back against Washingtons unilateralism, including its use of secondary sanctions, so as to pursue their own imperialist interests and intrigues. The European Union is establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to conduct trade with Iran, outside the US-dominated financial system, and has invited other countries, most notably Russia and China, to participate. However, the SPV is still far from up and running because of trepidation among the European powers about the implications of such an open clash with Washington. Trump administration officials, meanwhile, have had no compunction about threatening to strong-arm their European rivals by aggressively sanctioning those involved in any future SPV transaction. Iran vows to mobilize its resistance economy Irans bourgeois nationalist regime is vowing to withstand the US economic war on Iran, noting that Iran has been subject to various US sanctions for the past 39 years. Large crowds participated in demonstrations Sunday marking the anniversary of the launch in 1979 of the student occupation of the US embassy, an action taken to protest US President Jimmy Carters decision to allow the deposed Shah to travel to the US, and CIA intrigues against the anti-imperialist upsurge in Iran. Many participants bore handmade signs mocking Trump and vowing defiance of the US threats. Even Western media reports have pointed to the palpable popular outage at the US drive to further impoverish the Iranian peopleincluding denying them access to vital medicinesand at Trump and Pompeos fatuous claims to stand with the people against Irans clerical-bourgeois regime. That said, there is no question the Iranian regime is beset with crisis as its seeks to maneuver between a rapacious, crisis-ridden US imperialism and an increasingly militant working class angered by years of austerity and the decades-long rolling back of the limited social concessions the mullahs made as they consolidated their power in the early 1980s, while ruthlessly suppressing all working class left-wing organizations. Iranian President Rouhani, with the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, sought rapprochement with the US and European imperialist powers though the Iran nuclear deal in order to strengthen their hands against the working class, while pushing through neo-liberal reforms. But the European investment boom fell short of expectations, then ended abruptly with Trumps announcement that the US was pulling out of the JCPOA and snapping back sanctions. Since then, Irans economy has been in a tailspin, with the Iranian currency losing some 70 percent of its value. Domestically, the rulers of the Islamic Republic have responded by redoubling their calls for national unity, portraying mounting working class opposition to poverty and social inequality as disloyal. Internationally, Tehran cleaves to the European imperialist powers and touts Iran as a better guarantor of the world order than the Trump-led US. It oscillates between countering US threats of military action with boasts of Irans own military capabilities, and signaling its readiness, if Washington rolls back the sanctions, to negotiate an agreement supplementary to the JCPOA. It doesnt have to be a different administration, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told USA Today on the weekend, but it does require a different approach, in explaining what would be required for Tehran to resume talks with Washington. The Trump administrations criminal Iran agendaits repudiation of the JCPOA and unleashing of economic war on Iranmarks a new stage in the breakdown of global inter-state relations. It has placed Washington and Tehran on a collision course, threatening to ignite a Mideast-wide war and enormously exacerbating tensions among the imperialist and great powers. Voters in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia chose by a 56.9 percent majority in Sundays referendum to reject full independence from France. The turnout was high with nearly 80 percent of 270,000 residents casting a ballot. Notwithstanding the anti-independence victory, the referendum was marked by a late surge in support by pro-independence indigenous Kanaks. While the territory has a measure of self-government, France retains control over defence, policing, the judiciary, monetary policy and foreign affairs. Underlining the real relationship with Paris, 350 extra French riot police were sent to the country in mid-October to provide extra security. Speaking on television, French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the result as a vote of confidence in the French republic, its future and its values. He added the French state would ensure liberty, equality and fraternity for everyonehypocritical claims given the long and brutal history of French colonial rule in the Pacific, Africa and elsewhere. While Macron had formally struck a neutral position before the vote, the French ruling elite was opposed to any breakaway. New Caledonia occupies a key strategic position as Frances with military headquarters in the Pacific. In May, Macron visited Australia before heading to New Caledonia as part of the referendum preparations. He proposed an axis between France, India and Australia in the Indo-Pacific, with New Caledonia playing a key role in the US-led confrontation with China. In the lead-up to the vote, Charles Wea, a Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) spokesman in Australia, told SBS News: We want to build a new society and new country and set up effectively a new relationship with France because we can no longer accept French colonialism in New Caledonia. These hopes have, not for the first time, been dashed. A plebiscite in 1987, which was boycotted by the FLNKS, saw a 98 percent vote against independence. Sundays result will further entrench the deep social divisions between the largely impoverished Kanaks, who make up 44 percent of the population, and the more privileged, mainly European, layers. A controversial electoral roll was created for the poll on which all Kanaks and only long-term New Caledonian residents could register. In October 2016, 5,000 people rallied in the capital Noumea to demand that Kanaks be automatically enrolled for the vote. An estimated 25,000 Kanaks were not on the general roll and were at risk of missing out. There were widespread claims of fraud by the authorities in the vetting process. Divisions over independence continue. The 2014 elections saw a victory for three anti-independence partiesCaledonia Together, Front for Unity and Union for Caledonia in France. Together they won 29 of the 54 seats in the Congress, but just 49 percent of the popular vote. Under agreements signed as part of the 1988 Matignon Accord, further votes are possible in 2020 and again 2023. The anti-independence parties, which have strong support in France from the far-right leader Marine LePen, want a clause allowing for a new referendum only every 25 years, and only if half the voters request one. They claim that without France, New Caledonia would not only become impoverished like other Pacific nations, but also a province of China. While no French political party endorses independence, a recent poll commissioned by French television found that within France, almost two thirds of respondents thought New Caledonias independence would be a good, or a very good thing. With the build-up against China intensifying, French influence in the Pacific was boosted when the Pacific Islands Forum unanimously agreed in 2016 to admit New Caledonia and French Polynesia as members. France had been pushing for membership for its territories since 2003. New Caledonias economy is underpinned by annual subsidies from France to the tune of 1.3 billion ($US1.48 billion), while French companies retain significant economic interests. The main island, Grande Terre, has the worlds largest known nickel deposits, about a quarter of all known reserves. It is also the second largest cobalt producer. Nickel is critically important in the defence industry, and has been designated a strategic material to ensure the French state can maintain a close watch over its production and distribution. New Caledonia was established as a French colonial possession in 1853, and used as a penal colony. The Kanak people were removed from their land, forced onto reservations and subject to the Indignat, a code of native regulations, which gave them inferior legal status. Uprisings occurred in 1878 and 1917. Today Kanaks make up 95 percent of the unemployed and many low-paid workers live in slum conditions. Police clashes with Kanak youth have erupted with increasing violence, prompting demands by local politicians for harsher law and order measures. Meanwhile, descendants of the original European settlers known as Caldoches, French public servants, military personnel and business employees occupy expensive residences overlooking the tourist beaches and yacht harbors. Tensions erupted in 1988 when a group of Kanaks captured the gendarmerie on the island of Ouvea, killed four gendarmes and took 27 hostages. Some 300 troops were flown in under the command of the head of the French elite anti-terrorist squad. The military stormed the cave where the Kanaks were holed up, killing 21 Kanaks and 2 policemen. The French troops reportedly tortured and beat civilians during the massacre. The then minority Socialist Party government in Paris moved to bring the crisis under control. Prime Minister Rocard brokered the Matignon Accord, which was billed as a compromise between the independence movement, led by Jean-Marie Tjibaou of the FLNKS, and anti-independence leader Jacques Lafleur. The accord, which set out the long-term process for the independence referendum, was ratified by an 81 percent majority in a national plebiscite in which, however, only 37 percent of the electorate voted. The Matignon Accord was followed in 1998 by the Noumea Accord. The agreements gave limited influence to a privileged Kanak layer, effectively defusing the independence movement. Money was poured in to building a Kanak infrastructure, training public servants and establishing a base for this layer in the lucrative mining industry. The nationalist movementformed by a layer of educated Kanaks radicalised while studying in France during the late 1960sput the issue of independence on the backburner and dropped its socialistic phrase-mongering, in return for political and business opportunities. Amid a widespread feeling among ordinary Kanaks that they had been betrayed, Tjibaou and his deputy were assassinated in 1989 by a former supporter. As around the world, the globalisation of production has completely undermined the program of national economic regulation on which nationalist movements such as the FLNKS were based. The tiny island states in the Pacific that were granted nominal independence in the 1970s and 1980s are completely dependent on the major powers economically and strategically. Insofar as the FLNKS still calls for independence from France, it represents the interests of a relatively privileged layer of Kanaks who are seeking a larger slice of the economic pie and a greater political say. While the nationalist movement is now increasingly moribund, class struggles have erupted, propelled by a precipitous collapse in global commodity prices, including nickel. Broad sections of the working class, including miners, processing workers, truck drivers, airport workers and others have all engaged in militant struggles to defend jobs and conditions, bringing them into conflict with the entire ruling class. Workers in New Caledonia should turn to their class brothers and sisters throughout the Pacific, as well as the working class in France, Australia, New Zealand and internationally for a joint struggle against the capitalist system that oppresses them all. The author also recommends: France to send aircraft carrier to South China Sea to threaten China [2 November 2018] General strike in French Polynesia against undermining of pensions [17 February 2018] School support staff in the North Thurston Public School (NTPS) district in Washington state voted to authorize strike action last week against the refusal of the district to provide adequate wage increases and a state law prohibiting public employees from striking. With nearly 15,000 students the district encompasses 74 square miles of small towns and rural areas immediately east of the city of Olympia, the state capital. Over 130 members of the North Thurston Association of Office and Technical Professionals (NTAOTP) voted by a 78 percent margin to authorize a strike. Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing since June with the contract expiring at the end of August. This action comes roughly two months after a wave of walkouts and strike votes by Washington teachers swept the Democratic Party-controlled state. In each struggle, the Washington Education Association (WEA) isolated teachers within their own locale and came to separate district-by-district agreements in order to prevent a statewide walkout similar the ones that hit West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and other states earlier this year. In Seattle, the largest school district in the state, teachers had voted by 98 percent to authorize strike action. A strike by the 5,000 Seattle teachers would have galvanized a movement for a state-wide walk-out and quickly led to a confrontation with the Democrats, who control both houses of the state legislature and the office of the governor under Jay Inslee. The Seattle Education Association (SEA) forced teachers to work when classes restarted after summer vacation and pushed through a rotten contract with a 10.5 percent wage increasemuch lower than many other districts, and which failed to address years of stagnant wages and rising housing and other living expenses. With rank-and-file teachers engaging in the largest rebellion by educators in decades, the main concern of the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) was to prevent the long-simmering anger of teachers from boiling over into a nation-wide strike against the attacks on public education being spearheaded by both big business parties, with the backing of the unions. After selling out these strikes, the AFT and NEA peddled the lie that the election of Democrats in the mid-term elections would reverse the attack on teachers and public education. But the Democrats no less than the Republicans are the enemies of teachers and public education. This has been demonstrated by the promotion of charter schools, merit pay and other corporate-backed school reform schemes by the Obama administration and state and local governments controlled by the Democrats across the US. A mass strike of teachers across Washington could have shifted the momentum, breaking through the paralysis imposed by the union and providing leadership to other workers in struggle, such as UPS, Amazon, postal workers, and teachers in Los Angeles, who have been kept on the job after voting near unanimously to strike. The NEA and the AFTs policies are not guided by the needs of their membership, but rather by the huge payouts to its top leaders. NEA head Lily Eskelsen Garcia takes in $317,826 while AFT president Randi Weingarten makes $557,875. Garcia and Weingarten are within the top two percent and one percent respectively of income earners in the US. This is what is behind political alliance with the Democratic Party, support for the capitalist system and hostility to any challenge by the working class to ever worsening levels of social inequality. A critical role in betraying teachers has also been played by the Social Equity Educators, centered in Seattle. Allied with the pseudo-left International Socialist Organization, whose leading member Jesse Hagopian is a prominent figure in the union faction, SEE provided a left cover for the union by insisting teachers look to the union to take their fight forward, even as the Seattle and Washington state unions were isolating and betraying the struggle. According to the WEAto which the North Thurston clerical and technical union is affiliatedunless the North Thurston school district sets negotiations earlier than the currently scheduled November 27, the local has threatened that a strike could be called before that date if no progress is made. The WEA's website also noted that education support professionals continue negotiations in other districts, including the nearby cities of Tumwater and Olympia. At issue is $1.8 million that the Washington State legislature appropriated, under the Supreme Courts McCleary decision, to fund wage increases for education support professionals in the district. The school board is maintaining that 80 percent of that money go to fund other programs and purchases, offering only about $350,000 for pay increases. While the legislature provided $2 billion extra statewide to satisfy the Supreme Court ruling, it did not specifically require that this amount be directed entirely toward pay increases. The school board is claiming that under the legislatures new restrictions on using local levies to support school employee pay, ...NTPS will experience a substantial reduction in our ability to collect local levies which helps funds staff salaries. The new state funding formula and other changes currently create challenging budget dynamics statewide. As with the strikes that erupted across Washington at the beginning of the school year, the WEA is seeking to keep the struggles of support staff isolated. Despite the fact that support staff are currently engaged in negotiations in multiple districts, the WEA has blocked any united struggle. In particular, in the context of the mid-term elections, the union has been determined to avoid any challenge to its efforts to return a Democratic majority in Congress and any disruption of unions support to the Democratic-dominated state government. A case in point was the strike by teachers in the adjacent city of Tumwaterless than five miles from North Thurstons administrative officethat began September 1 and continued for two weeks. Support staff in Tumwater were and are still in negotiations with the school district. Members of the same union, the WEA, were bogged down in negotiations, while another section struck and defied threats from the school board and a court order to return to work. In the small cities of Tumwater and Battle Ground and in larger Tacoma as well, teachers courageously defied back-to-work orders by the courts, rallying outside school district headquarters with chants, in Battle Ground, of its not over. In Tacoma, the third largest school district in the state, school board officials announced in mid-October the first phase of lay-offs to start addressing a budget deficit claimed to be $23.4 million. The initial elimination of 19 administrative positions will be followed by more job cuts. According to the News Tribune, Another seven positions will be eliminated in the first round of cuts, with moreofficials say they arent sure how manyto follow throughout the school year. A second phase of layoffs may follow with classroom positions. The board has stated that it would include cutting support services and school programs in its plans. Superintendent Carla Santorno, appointed by former Democratic Mayor Marylin Strickland, threatened teachers, parents and students, stating, Were going to lose things that are important to people that they didnt want to see go and theyre really going to be upset about it. This threat is a forewarning of next year's contract negotiations: After teachers gained a 14 percent wage increase with a seven-day strike, a struggle that won significant support from large layers of workers, students and parents, the district is intent on undermining that support by portraying personnel and program cuts as the fault of the teachers, while preparing to demand significant concessions once negotiations begin. The response of the union was to spread complacency among the rank-and-file while supporting the school board in its attacks on jobs and education. Tacoma Education Association President Angel Morton said, ... Certainly its not anything to celebrate when peoples jobs get eliminated, but its my impression ... that (district officials) are being very thoughtful with how they go about it. With the state-wide restriction of local levies, many cities will be preparing similar campaigns. Seattle Public Schools threatened last August to implement layoffs in case of a budget shortfall. While state and local politicians cry broke, both parties continue to shower billions in tax cuts on Boeing, Amazon and other corporate giants. At the same time, Washington state resident Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO and the richest man in the world, has a personal fortune of $168 billion. Teachers and other school workers can only develop a genuine fight through building new organizations of struggle, independent of the NEA and AFT, to forge a united fight with every other section of the working class to defend the right to public education and good pay and secure jobs for all workers. The achievement of these rights will not be possible without a frontal assault on the entrenched wealth and power of the corporate and financial oligarchy that rules America. (TNS) While candidates were stumping the campaign trail this summer, Nebraskas election officials, system vendors and partners in the federal government were silently reinforcing the states election security.The behind-the-scenes work has created an election system that should inspire confidence among voters going to the polls on Tuesday and beyond, according to state election officials and cybersecurity experts involved.Although Nebraska wasnt targeted in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, digital fingerprints tracing back to Russian hackers were found probing for vulnerabilities on systems maintained by Election Systems & Software, which manages Nebraskas Statewide Voter Registration System from its headquarters in Omaha.The unsuccessful attempt galvanized us into upping our game, said Chris Wlaschin, the companys vice president of systems security, whose resume includes experience at several federal agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense.Nebraska and ES&S have joined the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing & Analysis Center, a consortium of states, election vendors and agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Internet Security to provide real-time reporting on cyber threats and attacks made against so-called critical infrastructure programs.Those partnerships were not in place prior to 2016, but now they are, and we are benefiting from them, Wlaschin said.It also led ES&S to become the first private entity to install an Albert sensor, which tracks traffic coming into and out of Nebraskas voter database around-the-clock from a Center for Internet Security operations facility in Albany, New York.Before 2016, only 14 states were using Albert monitors to safeguard their election systems. Heading into the 2018 midterm elections, 36 states are now using the Albert system to scan for the digital signatures of bad actors, according to the Elections Assistance Commission.The Albert system isnt a silver bullet, Wlaschin said. It cant prevent cyber attacks from occurring, but if it picks up on usual activity within the system, the Center for Internet Security will immediately notify both ES&S and the Nebraska Secretary of States Office.It will detect and report on any attempt to hack into the voter registration environment, report any malicious activity, and give us a chance to protect our data and close any vulnerability before something bad can happen, Wlaschin said.Since going online, there have been no reports of suspicious activity regarding the Statewide Voter Registration System, he added.As an added security measure, Nebraska also implemented a two-factor authentication process this summer for any state or county election official with access to the Statewide Voter Registration System, according to Deputy Secretary of State Wayne Bena.The system, paid for by $807,000 in federal funds, requires users to enter their username and password and then input a randomly generated token assigned to them. Without the unique token, the username and password wont work.This is something Secretary (John) Gale has wanted to do for quite some time, but we didnt have the resources to do until now, Bena said, referring to a $3.5 million appropriation of funds the state received as part of the Help America Vote Act passed by Congress earlier this year.The Secretary of States Office has also used its share of the $380 million in federal funds to purchase new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant equipment for certain county election offices, while it is planning to use the remainder of its money over the next five years.Wlaschin said ES&S, the largest manufacturer of voting machines in the U.S., has also worked to ensure the security of its software and hardware meets federal standards.Thats a rigorous process, according to Brian Hancock, the testing and certification director at the Election Assistance Commission, which has reviewed elections systems manufactured by ES&S and other companies since 2006.New products are taken apart and examined by technicians, engineers and cybersecurity experts at labs in Huntsville, Alabama, and Denver to determine if they meet 1,400 separate requirements in a standards document maintained by the EAC, Hancock said.System modifications or updates to products must also be certified before they can be pushed out to users, Hancock said. Those testing campaigns are quicker, but still rigorous, focusing on how the update affects functionality as well as how well it integrates into the existing system.Hancock said the EAC has certified 16 different ES&S products used across the country, adding todays election systems are light-years ahead of where they were when the agency first began its certification process more than a decade ago.These systems, across the board, have improved significantly, Hancock said. That isnt to say there arent still problems, they are machines and there is a lot of room for improvement in all areas.Wlaschin said ES&S focus on election cybersecurity is better than its ever been in the wake of 2016, and in standing beside the Nebraska Secretary of States Office, the company is dedicated to ensuring Nebraskans votes are safe and counted.Bena said the new partnerships will only continue to grow after the 2018 election cycle: This doesnt end on Election Day.Were going to continue to enhance the ways we keep these elections secure, Bena said.For Hancock, who oversees the federal governments efforts to ensure voting equipment and software is functional and secure, the expanded efforts and partnerships have only engendered more confidence in the voting process.Im a voter, too, so it makes me feel better, he said. If there is one foreign policy objective to which Donald Trump is unalterably committed, it is bringing the Iranian theocracy to its knees -- or at least thwarting its nuclear ambitions. This is the reason the President, against the advice of all of America's leading allies, has clamped new and potentially existential sanctions on Iran for violating a treaty that the world believes it has respected to the letter if not the spirit. But if he is to achieve this demolition of the Iranian system, it is becoming quite clear that Trump will have to accept Mohammed bin Salman, widely accused as the mastermind behind the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, as the effective ruler of Saudi Arabia with all that entails for a generation to come. And that entails quite a lot. MBS denies he ordered the killing. The resolution of a host of problems in the Middle East -- especially Iran, Qatar and the endless war in Yemen -- revolves around Western, and especially American, acceptance of Saudi Arabia's deeply felt need for security. The road to this security runs directly through the vicious, uncompromising hegemony of Mohammad bin Salman. That's the conclusion of Ali Shihabi, founder of the Washington-based Arabia Foundation, who, according to journalist and scholar Thomas Lippman, often unofficially speaks authoritatively for Saudi Arabia's ruling al-Saud family. Shihabi believes that all too many of the recent moves by MBS, as he is known inside and outside the kingdom, have been deeply flawed. But he also observes that "the crown prince has never pretended to be a political reformer," which is not entirely true. Indeed, his pretensions at being just a such a reformerallowing women to drive, opening cinemasare what particularly endeared him to a broad, even bipartisan swath of Washington. But Shihabi, in an effort to clarify, observes correctly: "He is the Crown Prince of an absolute monarchy who understands that economic and social transformation is essential to safeguarding the future of his country and who believes that such change in a deeply polarized country like Saudi Arabia can only come from the top." In short, Shahibi concedes, in his extraordinary document, MBS "is not a Jeffersonian democrat," but has the Saudis' ultimate security at heart. And apparently at any cost. Which helps to explain where, and how, Donald Trump comes in. The cost will undoubtedly be a heavy one -- especially after Monday, as Trump snaps back sanctions against Iran that had been lifted after that nation signed the agreement sharply restricting its nuclear ambitions. To make these stick, Trump needed some other ally. Along came Saudi Arabia -- and especially MBS. The price of MBS' support has turned out to to be a high one. There was free rein for the Crown Prince to do as he liked whenever he desired. And when Donald Trump began inveighing against the press as the "enemy of the people" what MBS and his ilk in Riyadh saw was license to imprison, disappear, even, possibly, kill. Not everyone, of course agreed with this assessment. Then there was bin Salman's blockade of Qatar, home to the powerful Al Jazeera news channel and ruled by a monarch who's been ill-inclined to toe the Saudi line. Finally, the brutal war in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia pursues in the face of virtually every international plea. American aircraft continue the aerial refueling of Saudi-led bombers, who have left tens of thousands of civilians, even children, dead and millions on the verge of starvationone of the world's most acute humanitarian emergencies. But it is Iran that holds the gravest potential as a long-term, irreversible crisis. Should Iran see the latest turn of the screw by the Trump administration and his Saudi backers as an existential threat, scrap the nuclear accord and return full-tilt to building a nuclear arsenal, there will be no putting that genie back in the bottle. The principal problem is that all sides at this point just can't seem to be able to get out of their own way. Saudi Arabia has simply ignored even the Trump administration's call for a ceasefire in Yemen. At the same time, Iranian agents were accused of an assassination plot against a regime foe in Denmark, outraging the European community, which has bitterly opposed Trump's renewal of American sanctions on Iran. What the world really needs is for someone to become the adult in the room. Ideally, that person should be Donald Trump. Yet somehow, when the President gets on the phone to talk with the aging, but still supremely powerful King Salman, Trump seems to lose all sense of reason. The conversations are invariably wonderful and productive. "Just spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia who denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened 'to our Saudi Arabian citizen,'" Trump tweeted last month at the height of the Khashoggi crisis. Of course, it's possible that someone else is sitting on the other end of these calls along with the King -- perhaps his son, who is utterly out of control. A White House official said they do not discuss arrangements for top-level phone calls. It's now past the time when we need to know with certainty who's minding the store. It's too late and the stakes are too high for us to plunge blindly into the abyss. Facebook has admitted it failed to do enough to prevent its platform being used to fuel political division and bloodshed in Myanmar. The company on Monday released a report that it commissioned into the damage caused in the Southeast Asian country by abuses of its social network, including efforts to whip up hatred against the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority group. The report highlights yet another case of Facebook struggling to manage the rapid spread of hate and misinformation across one of its platforms a and the impact of those failings on society. The United Nations has called for Myanmar's military leaders to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes following a campaign of persecution and killing of Rohingya. The violence forced more than 700,000 people to flee their homes in northwestern Myanmar to settle in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The 60-page report into Facebook's (FB) role in the campaign against the Rohingya was carried out by BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), a nonprofit group that advises companies on issues such as climate change and human rights. "Facebook has become a means for those seeking to spread hate and cause harm," the report said, noting that posts on the platform have been linked to acts of violence in Myanmar. In a blog post accompanying the report, Facebook product policy manager Alex Warofka said the company agrees "that we can and should do more." BSR gave a long list of recommendations that it said Facebook needs to implement. The nonprofit warned that Myanmar's parliamentary elections in 2020 "are likely to be a flashpoint for hate speech, harassment, misinformation, incitement to violence, and other actions designed to undermine the political process." "Facebook would be well-served by preparing for multiple eventualities now," it added. Warofka acknowledged that Facebook's platform was exploited in Myanmar, but he pointed to BSR's finding that Facebook "alone cannot bring about the broad changes needed to address the human rights situation." The report noted that the risks of human rights abuses linked to Facebook are significantly increased by Myanmar's lack of rule of law, cultural beliefs and recent emergence from decades of authoritarian rule in which freedom of expression was restricted. Can Facebook fix itself? The company has "invested heavily in people, technology and partnerships to examine and address the abuse of Facebook in Myanmar," Warofka said, adding that it has "made progress towards many of the recommendations." The report calls for improving enforcement of Facebook's community standards and increasing engagement with key organizations in Myanmar, including the government and civil rights groups. Facebook also needs to increase transparency by preserving and publishing data "specific to Myanmar so that the local and international community can evaluate progress more effectively," the report said. Facebook has admitted to shortcomings in Myanmar previously, acknowledging in August that it was "too slow" to prevent the spread of "hate and misinformation" in the country. Later that month, it banned 20 organizations and individuals in Myanmar, including a senior military commander. CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised in April to do more to help tackle hate speech in the country after activists accused him of turning a blind eye. In a response to an open letter from a group of tech and nonprofit organizations, Zuckerberg said the social media giant will introduce technological improvements to filter hate content, and has hired "dozens more Burmese language" moderators to deal with the issue. "We now we have a special product team working to better understand the specific local challenges and build the right tools to help keep people there safe," Zuckerberg said at the time. But some human rights activists in Myanmar say Facebook's response is too little, too late. Zarni, an activist who like some other people in Myanmar goes by only one name, described the new report as "a complete whitewash." He accused Facebook of "resorting to PR" rather than taking stronger measures to root out the spread of hate on its platform in Myanmar. VERMILLION COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - A joint investigation between two Wabash Valley sheriff's office landed three people behind bars on drug charges. Deputies with the Vermillion and Parke County Sheriff's Offices served a search warrant at a home in Hillsdale. Hillsdale is in Vermillion County. While searching the home, police say they found 1.5 lbs of meth, several unidentified pills, other drug-related items, and cash. Police arrested 46-year-old Tamara Jordan, 48-year-old George Kisor, and 49-year-old Troy Schmidtz. All three are facing drug-related charges. LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - An Alabama man is now facing child molestation charges out of Lowndes County after the Mississippi Division of Child Protection Services alleged, he sexually abused two victims under the age of 14. According to Sheriff Mike Arledge, Frank David Harrison of Ethelsville is being charged with three counts of sexual battery and two counts of child molestation. The charges allege that Harrison sexually molested the victims between the years of 2009 and 2014 while he lived in Lowndes County. Bond has not been set at this time. One Florida woman is in custody and one man still wanted in connection to 7,000 pounds of stolen aluminum. The aluminum was reportedly stolen from an auto salvage company in Mossy Head. It was worth approximately $2,700. 2,000 pounds of the stolen aluminum was located at AA Auto Salvage where investigators learned Lisa and Tommy Joe Chesser had sold numerous pieces during separate visits. Lisa Chesser of Crestview was arrested and charged for Grand Theft and Dealing in Stolen Property. Tommy Joe Chesser has an active warrant for Grand Theft. (TNS) - It was May 1, 2019, and a tornado was heading toward the Kirksville R-III School District.That was the premise of an exercise conducted at the district's administration building Wednesday, when emergency responders and school officials gathered to consider how the district and the city would respond in an emergency weather event."This is not a test," Kirksville Police Department Chief Jim Hughes, who led the exercise, said. "We're not gonna succeed or fail, and even in a real natural disaster, not everybody gets through it, but at some point it gets resolved. The point of doing these types of exercises is to get that resolution as positive as possible."Hughes led the room through a scenario in which the school district's campus is hit by a tornado measured at a four on the Enhanced Fujita scale, meaning it has wind speeds up to 200 miles per hour and can do substantial damage such as leveling homes and throwing cars through the air. Participants talked through what they would do at every step of the hypothetical situation, from receiving news of a tornado watch to reunite children with parents after the danger had passed.For Kirksville's emergency responders, the process of responding to a severe weather event begins when they receive notification from the National Weather Service that one could be on the way. The NWS hosts a webinar for responders in the active area, informing them of what types of storms to expect. But at that stage, something like whether a tornado will touch down is far from predictable.Hughes said the Emergency Operations Center located in the basement of the KPD building screens such weather alerts and school district officials are invited to participate."The best predictor of what a storm's gonna do is what a storm has done," Hughes said. "It's a little bit like human behavior."The hypothetical storm in the exercise was formed by a supercell, a thunderstorm with a persistently rotating updraft. Supercells can create unusually long tornados; the tornado that hit Kirksville in 2009 and killed two people was formed by a supercell.District Superintendent Dr. Damon Kizzire said schools could choose to start late or close early in order to send students home before a severe weather event. However, depending on the time of day and how much advance notice the district had, students would most likely shelter in place at the schools near solidly-built walls with no windows.Participants discussed how they would send information out to parents. The school district uses a text alert system called Regroup, and the city uses one called TextCaster, but both require individuals to sign up in order to receive alerts.Hughes said the city has recently signed up for a new system, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, that could help remedy the problem. IPAWS will allow the city to send out alerts via the same technology used by the National Weather Service, which sends alerts to all cell phones within range of specifically chosen cell towers without the need for anyone to opt in.Jeff Alton, a regional coordinator for the State Emergency Management Agency, said Kirksville is located in a "dead zone" where radar equipment in major cities cannot always predict local weather patterns."This is the hardest place in all of Missouri to predict weather," Alton said. "You could have a tornado barreling right at Kirksville, and then it makes a left turn and moves 20 feet and poof -- it's gone."Alton said this makes storm spotters on the ground an important part of preparing for tornados, but people may need to be told many times and from several different sources before they believe that a storm is coming and take precautions.James Snyder, a battalion chief at the Kirksville Fire Department, emphasized the importance of educating the public about lockdown procedures that would occur in a severe storm in order to avoid a stream of parents coming to locked schools and attempting to retrieve their children."We need to educate right now, today, so that when that incident or that storm comes, nobody is in panic," Snyder said. "Everybody knows 'my child is safe, I don't need to run to the school -- why? Because I'm not gonna get them anyway. I can't get to them. They're safe.'"Hughes said emergency responders might not be able to offer the school district assistance before a severe weather event, as their resources would be spread thin and they would still have to respond to ordinary calls."Heart attacks don't stop because a storm's coming," Hughes said.For that reason, he said, people who call 911 to ask what to do when they hear a siren go off might receive no more response than a dispatcher hanging up on them so they can take other calls."If you think you're going to call dispatch and get additional information when the siren goes off, you're probably not," Hughes said.In the final module of the exercise, the fictional tornado hit the R-III School District head on and did major damage to all buildings. In a real-life situation, this is where things would get very difficult for school employees. Hughes said that after a major storm touched down, people in school buildings should expect to wait approximately two hours before physical rescue began.Transportation and staging at a scene would be very difficult after a major storm, he said, and emergency responders would have to prioritize many locations and many people who needed various degrees of help."Getting people here is going to be an incredible struggle," Hughes said.Snyder, who went to New Orleans to act as an emergency responder after Hurricane Katrina, said school employees are told to prepare to shelter in place for up to 72 hours.Hughes said school employees would likely have to do things like lift debris off children or apply tourniquets, but leaders should also be prepared to take a step back from that immediate rescue in order to make larger decisions.Participants discussed other concerns that might come up in an emergency weather event, such as how quickly all busses could be recalled to the school district campus and how schools could help substitute teachers keep track of all their students.Hughes said it was important to focus on identifying clear steps for what should be changed or improved and to make concrete plans to do so. He also suggested following up on the meeting with a practical exercise that would walk through the response in real time."There's an order of magnitude of things that you can learn that you wouldn't have thought about before by doing a practical exercise," Hughes said.2018 Kirksville Daily Express, Mo.Visit Kirksville Daily Express, Mo. at www.kirksvilledailyexpress.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe (TNS) - The process of rebuilding is just starting for the families struck by the worst fire to hit the area in 25 years.Steve and Candie Smith lost their 47th Avenue home in south Kennewick in a matter of minutes Aug. 11, but its likely going to be more than a year before their house is rebuilt.Were really happy with how things are happening said Candie, though she admits its been a slow process.Tri-City fire officials are studying what went wrong, what went well and how they can do more to protect homes and lives.They hope to turn what they learned from the 5,000-acre, wind-driven wildfire that destroyed five homes and damaged three others into a safer future.The Kennewick Fire Department just released a summary of its discussions with the other agencies involved with the fire, starting with a comparison to the July 1993 fire that burned 2,000 acres much of it the same hillside and hospitalized two firefighters and threatened 100 homes.Many issues from that blaze sounded similar to the Aug. 11 fire. In both cases, emergency crews struggled to get through roads congested with looky-loo spectators.In 1993, then-Fire Chief Bob Kirk described lines of cars parked along Olympia, Vancouver and Rainier streets as onlookers walked toward the fire for a closer view.While both wildfires burned with a similar intensity, the 93 blaze threatened homes but didnt take any down.Since then, Kennewick has grown by 34,000 people with much of that growth on the south end of the city next to wildland areas and hills.While fire officials praised the community, police and firefighters for working together to battle the blaze, the report shows they need to learn to communicate better with each other.The summary gave no specifics, but said they discovered the need for agencies to work on using the same terms and making sure information is clear and going to the right person.Kennewicks fire officials also are working to tighten the bonds between the area departments, said Fire Chief Vince Beasley. New fire recruits are undergoing a 14-week regional training academy with Richland, Pasco and Benton County Fire District 1 crews. By training together, they can learn to communicate better.Responding personnel must not underestimate how weather conditions can change a routine fire into an overwhelming, herculean blaze in a matter of seconds, said the summary.Benton County Emergency Services is contributing to those efforts, too.Emergency Manager Deanna Davis said the agency plans to bring all of the departments together before the start of the next fire season to talk about preparing and responding.We want to make sure that everyone is on the same page before we hit peak fire time, she said.The summary said that agency needs to have a better handle on what are the high-risk areas and identified hazards so it can proactively predefine areas for quicker releases of information and have better estimates on the number of people affected and homes threatened.Part of those plans will include a refresher on evacuation levels.Initially, a Level 1 order was issued on Twitter and the CodeRED alert system for neighborhoods hit by this summers fire.That was meant to make people aware of an encroaching fire and to watch for further messages Level 2 get set to leave and Level 3 get out.Soon roads were crowded with looky-loos making it hard for people to make their way safely out of Canyon Lakes and Inspiration Estates, and making it hard to upgrade to a Level 3 alert.When the fire turned toward Finley, another Level 1 evacuation message was sent to residents on Oak Street and in the Seal Springs area. Firefighters were able to get ahead of it before it reached homes there.Along with arranging an annual strategy meeting, Benton County Emergency Services is in the middle of drafting a community wildfire protection plan. Its been 13 years since it last drafted that kind of plan.It will identify sections of the county at risk for devastating fires and ways to lower the risk and qualify for grants.A draft is expected to be available in November for public comments.With the Aug. 11 fire now called the Bofer Canyon Fire came a shift in how city officials look at other fire-prone spots, especially Zintel Canyon.They put together a team of people across departments.They reached out to homeowner associations in Canyon Lakes and Inspiration Estates to talk about defensible spaces and adopted the National Fire Protection Associations Firewise program.And when Zintel Canyon caught fire again in late August, they were prepared.They reached out to homeowners living near the 68-acre park between 7th Avenue and 24th. They stepped up, cutting low hanging branches and making fire breaks, removing dead wood and finding other ways to make fires less devastating.I learned a lot about the importance of defensible spaces, said Kennewick spokeswoman Evelyn Lusignan. Were seeing what we can do for outreach and mitigation.The canyon is only the first of the high-risk spots the city plans to focus on.Right now were focusing on the two main areas, but were looking community-wide, Lusignan said.For Candie Smith, she didnt have to look too far for ideas on how to make her new house on 47th safer.She believes her neighbors home escaped destruction in August because their driveway wraps around the home, creating a paved barrier that made it just a bit harder for flames to reach the house and giving fire crews a few minutes longer to get there to defend it.To learn more about protecting your home from fire, visit https://bit.ly/2D20Ck2.Cameron Probert: 509-582-1402; Twitter: @cameroncprobert2018 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)Visit Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) at www.tri-cityherald.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (TNS) - Just before Hurricane Michael made landfall last month, a ferocious red tide that had scoured Floridas Gulf Coast for a year, depositing countless dead sea turtles, dolphins and other marine life on beaches before spreading to the Atlantic coast, had finally started to wane.In most places, with the wet season winding down and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers easing up on releasing polluted water from Lake Okeechobee, the toxic algae that had become a key election year campaign issue had dropped to relatively low levels. Fish kills were down and so were the coughing fits among beach-goers.But in the weeks following the storm, red tide that is already considered the worst in a decade has roared back.On Monday, state wildlife officials logged high to medium levels along beaches from Clearwater to waters off Everglades City and in the Panhandle. Fish kills were reported in nine counties from the Panhandle around the tip of the state to the Space Coast. Along the Atlantic coast, levels capable of killing fish and causing respiratory distress remained along Cocoa Beach and in Martin County, but had dropped from Friday to Monday along other stretches of the Treasure Coast.Why that is remains a little bit of a mystery. Red tides have many factors at play, and remain tricky to predict. But its likely a combination of wind, pollution and the tiny algae that cause the blooms, one of the few with the ability to swim, conspired to revive the tide.I kept hearing this argument, Yeah, lets bring a hurricane and thatll flush everything out. But not necessarily, said Nick Shay, an oceanographer at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.While hurricanes can mix up the ocean and sometimes even provide a healthy flush following Hurricane Irma guides in the Key and Ten Thousands Islands happily reported a surge in fish red tides require more than a one-time flush. Polluted run-off from a storms heavy rain or retreating storm surge also likely provide the blooms with an injection of fuel.As Michael crossed the Gulf as a fierce Category 4 storm, Shay said temperature data show heavy mixing occurred across the long steep slope of the Florida Shelf where the red tide algae, Karenia brevis, live. Water from the shelf was then pushed ashore as Michael passed to the right, he said.Michael, Shay said, in effect did the opposite of Hurricane Irma, which occurred in September 2017 a month before Mote Marine Laboratory scientists first detected red tide off Sarasota in October, and he suspects helped trigger the current bloom: As it slid up the coast, Irma sucked water off the coast and sent algae-laden water from the bottom ashore.Its still essentially the same recipe, he said.For the tide to be flushed out, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer Rick Stumpf, who monitors harmful blooms, said regular seasonal fronts need to arrive. The fronts carry northerly winds that produce a southbound current which can help push the tide offshore. Thats typically what happens, and what failed to happen last January and February when winds remained too mild, he said.We had this nondescript, probably gorgeous weather and the wind not going in any direction, he said.As seasonal winds pick up, Stumpf said theres also a chance other algae that live in the Gulf and do better in windy conditions the good algae that dont carry toxins and form the basis of the food chain could begin to thrive. Those algae cant swim and tend to sink in calm weather while the tiny swimming Karenia brevis fare better in calm water. With the wind, the good algae remain suspended, feed off nutrients and out-compete the red tide algae, he said.Its not the shear amount of the wind. Its the frequency of the wind, he said.Tides in the Gulf are a seasonal event, arriving in late summer or early fall and usually last three to five months, state scientists say. Thats because a permanent population of Karenia brevis live on the bottom of the Florida Shelf. But after the tide first appeared, it wafted up and down the coast for months and never subsided. Over the summer as the rainy season deepened and the Corps began releasing polluted water down the Caloosahatchee River to ease pressure on the aging dike around Lake Okeechobee, the tide exploded in Pine Island Sound, littering beaches with tons of dead fish. Nutrients in pollution, especially in fertilizer, can feed the nutrients, so scientists suspect the lake releases worsened the problem.The pure chemist would say we havent proven it. We need lots more data. But it seems pretty evident to me. Its nutrient laden. Thats why we have blue green algae, said Florida International University coastal ecologist Steve Leatherman.The tide was then carried down and around the coast by the Florida Current and up the Atlantic coast, where tides rarely occur. The appearance of the tide in Miami-Dade in low amounts marked the first time since 1972 when the New York Times reported an incident, according to Rosenstiel researchers.The massive fish kills on the Gulf Coast closed beaches and generated gruesome images of dead sea turtles, dolphins, tarpon, redfish and mounds of bait fish that made national headlines. It also drew attention to Gov. Rick Scotts environmental record, which included slashing budgets for agencies that manage and monitor water and enforce pollution regulations. Scott, who is in a heated race with Sen. Bill Nelson for a seat he has held for 18 years, has declared a state of emergency and poured $20 million, mostly for clean-up and to boost tourism, into addressing the crisis.Yet the tide is continuing to take a toll, especially on waterfront businesses. Waitresses and waiters are earning a fraction of their regular take-home, the Tampa Bay Times reported Friday, and hotels continue to see a drop in bookings.While the red tide bloom on the Atlantic Coast has been less intense, the high numbers are still worrisome, said Rosenstiel algae expert Larry Brand. Usually counts remain low because the algae are dispersed as they are carried hundreds of miles by the Florida Current. High numbers suggest the algae could be beginning to multiply as well.The fact weve had high concentrations up there suggests its growing. Its not just getting carried over, but its growing. Its surviving off the nutrients coming off land, he said.The drop in numbers in some locations over the weekend could stem from a quick front that moved through. Its also possible that eddies that form in the shifting Florida Current trap the algae as they do with other chemicals like oil and other debris, Shay said.Going forward, scientists are hoping to come up with better ways to forecast the tide. Stumpf said he is working with the University of Florida-based Sea Grant to put together satellite imagery showing how the bloom evolved over the summer. The work should be ready in a week.We can forecast the past with great accuracy, he joked. The question is can we turn that around and actively forecast the future and we have not had success in trying to forecast (red tide) blooms so far.2018 Miami HeraldVisit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The experience of moving through San Francisco in a car has gone from slow to crawl.Congestion in the Bay Area flagship city has grown increasingly worse, and a new report by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority placed a sizable portion of that blame on ride-hailing services like Lyft or Uber.It appears that TNCs (transportation network companies) contributed approximately 50 percent of the overall increases in congestion in San Francisco between 2010 and 2016, the report reads.To be clear, TNCs are not the only factor contributing to clogged streets. This city which measures roughly 7 miles by 7 miles has grown in both population and jobs. San Francisco grew from about 805,000 residents in 2010 to 876,000 residents in 2016, an 8.8 percent increase, according to the county report. Meanwhile, the city supported about 700,000 jobs in 2016, a 28.4 percent jump from 2010, which means more commuters funneling into the city.Morning and afternoon travel speeds along key arterial streets have declined by 26 percent to 27 percent from 2009 to 2017, according to the study. Meanwhile, the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) another metric measuring how intensely a transportation network is being used climbed from about 4.9 million miles in 2010 to about 5.6 million miles in 2016 on a typical weekday, a 13 percent increase. San Francisco transportation officials believe TNCs account for 47 percent of this increase in VMT.For its part, Uber contested the findings of the SFCTA study, saying it did not adequately take into consideration the effects that increased tourism and delivery vehicles might have on congestion.SFCTAs congestion study concludes that visitors account for less than 5 percent of travel in San Francisco, and many tourists tend to use public transportation. Ridership on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency system, which includes the citys network of subways, streetcars and buses, grew 6.8 percent from 2010 to 2016, according to American Public Transportation Association statistics. And ridership on the regional Bay Area Rapid Transit system grew 25.9 percent during the same period, an era of significant job growth across the Bay Area as the region emerged from the Great Recession.A recent report by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission the planning organization for the nine-county San Francisco region concluded Bay Area freeway congestion seemed to level off in 2017 following four years of worsening commutes.The good news here is that the average Bay Area commute hasnt gotten any worse, said MTC Chair and Rohnert Park, Calif., City Councilmember Jake Mackenzie in a statement. The bad news is that it hasnt gotten any better either.Whether TNCs are taking would-be transit riders out of buses and subways and placing them inside cars, which then add to street congestion, is an open question. An October 2017 study by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University California, Davis found TNCs contributed to a 6 percent drop in public transit use. Other research has indicated commuters and others still use mass transit to travel from residential areas to major job centers or downtown business districts.And once travelers get to those downtown districts, a number of cities San Francisco included are hoping new, emerging mobility options like shared bikes and scooters will come into broader use as a means of reducing vehicular congestion.Bikes and scooters may help ease congestion in San Francisco in two ways, explained Eric Young, senior communications officer for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. First, as an improved first-last mile access option to transit, thereby encouraging and spurring transit use. Second, they help ease congestion if they replace private vehicle trips.This mode shift needs to be carefully examined, warned Young, as he noted trips via e-bikes and e-scooters could be replacing more sustainable modes of getting around, such as conventional bikes and walking.The area with the highest concentration of traffic congestion in San Francisco is clearly the northeast corner, a location known largely as the key downtown business and financial district, home to large office buildings like the 61-story Salesforce Tower. The study found that TNCs contributed to more than 80 percent of the speed reductions in the area north of Market Street, while job and population growth contributed to more than 50 percent of speed reductions in the area just to the south of this region, the report concluded.Further complicating the question of whether Uber and Lyft are contributing to the citys congestion, researchers say the report focused on the effects of increased roadway congestion, rather than total congestion, said Joseph P. Schwieterman, director for the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University.I'm not sure it accounts for the probable increase in personal-car driving trips that would occur if TNCs were not available, said Schwieterman, who has led research projects in Chicago exploring how TNC pricing, travel times and availability all contribute to the decision-making process related to choosing ride-hailing or public transit.I don't doubt that TNCs add to congestion, but a more holistic picture requires looking at tradeoffs between the mobility benefits of TNCs and the costs, Schwieterman added.To be sure, traffic congestion was a fact of life for San Franciscans long before the active arrival of TNCs about eight years ago, said Young from the transportation authority.And the significant growth in employment and population between 2010 and 2016 would have resulted in increased congestion even without TNCs, he added. We estimate that there would have been significantly less increase in congestion without TNCs. The last memory friends and family have of Bailee Ackerman is how stunning she looked on her wedding day. The blushing bride wore a striking beaded and feather gown to walk down the aisle to proud husband Will Byler. Tragically, just hours after saying I do, the newlyweds were killed after their helicopter crashed outside of Uvdale, Texas. They were both 24 years old. Bridesmaid Madey Pipkin paid tribute to her friends, writing on social media about the couples nuptials. This day was just so perfect and everything Bailee ever dreamed of and more. So beautiful, Pipkin captioned a video of the pair exchanging their first kiss. Life will never be the same without Bailee girl, she continued. Im so thankful that God put you in my life. From the pageants and those dang hat pins to your wedding day and everything in between you were always there. Trying to imagine life without you is indescribable. I cant describe how perfect your wedding day was and everything leading up to it, Pipkin continued. The way Will looked at you and the relationship that yall had is something I wish everyone could experience. RELATED: Texas Newlyweds Reportedly Killed in Helicopter Crash After Taking Off from Wedding Reception Ackermans maid of honor Jessica Stilley also paid tribute to her best friend, My heart is broken in a million little pieces as I sit here and think of the rest of my life without my best friend. Stilley then gushed over how beautiful Ackerman looked before saying, Im so happy you married the man of your dreams and found the precious love you deserved with him. Thank you for loving me from the day we met. Thank you for being the very best, best friend I could ever ask for. RELATED: Friends Remember Texas Newlyweds Killed in Helicopter Crash: They Were the Sweetest People Story continues Megan Kacir, a relative of Ackerman also spoke about the bride saying, Bailee Ackerman, you were such a beautiful bride! Although family and friends of Byler and Ackerman are struggling to come to terms with the devastating news, one friend wrote she is at peace knowing that the newlyweds were together. Will Byler! You were the Woody to my Jessie! You were the brother I never had! Your strong faith and love for God is what has me at peace knowing you entered heavens gates with your beautiful bride, Maci Meyer wrote on Facebook. On Monday, authorities identified the pilot of the helicopter as Gerald Douglas Lawrence, 76, who was also killed in the crash. Lawrence was taking the groom and bride to a local airport, where they would fly to their honeymoon location, according to Judge Steve Kennedy, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Uvalde County, who spoke with local news outlets. The crash occurred around 1:57 a.m. local time on Sunday morning, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board told PEOPLE. Kennedy explained the grooms father was the owner of the helicopter, a Bell 206B but Lawrence had piloted the aircraft for about 20 years. Its just really sad. Tragic, Kennedy said. It was not a great big helicopter. It was in pieces when I saw it up on the top of the hill. It was really hard to get to. Eric Smith, one of 700 wedding guests, posted on Facebook about the crash. We celebrated their fairytale wedding and they were surrounded by their family and friends as they flew off in the family helicopter, he recalled. Sadly they crashed into the side of a hill about a mile from the family ranch. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. Photo credit: agafapaperiapunta - Getty Images From Esquire There are a thousand good reasons to vote in the midterm elections this week. Among those reasons is cannabis, and whether people in four more states should have access to it. Two states, Michigan and North Dakota, are voting on legal weed for everyone of age. If both get the "yes," recreational marijuana would be legal in 11 states, plus D.C. Utah and Missouri are deciding on medical marijuana initiatives. If both states vote in favor, the number of states with medical marijuana laws on the books would rise to 32, plus D.C. And those are just the big ones. Watch for local issues on ballots in California and Ohio, where voters will be able to decide on changes to drug-related laws and regulations. Wisconsin is putting a survey about marijuana preferences on the ballot in 16 counties, which is intended to inform future legislature. Here's what to know about the 2018 midterm elections and marijuana in the big four states on Tuesday, November 6. In the U.S., the fight for cannabis reform is fought state by state. It is a fight to end glaring racial imbalances and spur criminal justice reform.Get yourself to the polls. Michigan Proposal 1 What's on the line: the legalization of recreational marijuana Michigan could be the first state to bring recreational marijuana to the great Midwest if it votes "yes" to adopt Proposal 1. Proposal 1 would make the purchase and use of marijuana and marijuana edibles legal for all Michigan residents who are 21 or older. Residents 21 and over could grow up to 12 marijuana plants in their private residences for personal use, and keep up to 10 ounces in their private residences. Public use would be banned. If approved, Proposal 1 would allow Michigan to regulate marijuana businesses and collect taxes on sales. The catch: Under Proposal 1, municipalities could decide to ban the sale of recreational marijuana within their borders. Is it too late to register to vote in Michigan for the midterms? Yes. Story continues Read more about Michigan's marijuana proposal here. North Dakota Measure 3 What's on the line: the legalization of recreational marijuana and criminal justice reform A "yes" vote on Measure 3 supports the legalization of recreational marijuana for North Dakota residents 21 and over. There would be no limits on the amount of marijuana residents could possess or grow. And taking it a step further, Measure 3 would also automatically expunge the criminal records of North Dakota residents charged with non-violent drug offenses for controlled substances that are now legal, like cannabis. The catch: Critics say Measure 3 does not set up a sufficient regulatory system, nor does it allow the state to collect special taxes on marijuana. Is it too late to register to vote in North Dakota for the midterms? No. North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration prior to election day. Just bring proof of residency and birth date to the polls. Read more about North Dakota's marijuana measure here. Photo credit: Andrew Francis Wallace - Getty Images Utah Proposition 2 What's on the line: the expansion of medical marijuana Voting "yes" on Prop 2 in Utah supports the legalization of medical marijuana for Utahans with qualifying medical conditions. Prop 2 would also set up a strictly state-regulated medical marijuana pharmacy system, with medical marijuana card holders limited to purchasing two ounces of unprocessed cannabis in a two-week period. If cardholders did not live within 100 miles of a pharmacy, they could grow up to six plants on their own. Smoking marijuana would be prohibited, but other products like edibles would be allowed. The catch: Even if Prop 2 fails, Utah state lawmakers will likely push through their own version of the measure to legalize medical marijuana with more restrictions. Is it too late to register to vote in North Dakota for the midterms? Yes. Read more about Utah's marijuana proposition here. Missouri Amendment 2, Amendment 3, and Proposition C What's on the line: the legalization of medical marijuana...times three Missouri voters will have three options for legalizing medical marijuana come Tuesday. Per Amendment 2, medical marijuana would be legalized with a 4 percent sales tax; revenue would go to veteran services. Per Amendment 3, medical marijuana would be legalized with a 15 percent tax; revenue would go to creating a cancer research center, and there would be no government oversight. Per Proposition C, medical marijuana would be legalized with a 2 percent tax; revenue would be split between veteran services, law enforcement, education, and drug treatment. If both amendments are approved, the one with the most votes wins. If an amendment and Prop C are both approved, a court will probably decide. The differences: Amendment 2 is built the most like medical marijuana laws in other states, with similar regulations. Amendment 3 calls for a much higher tax, and essentially puts control of medical marijuana into the hands of one man (a physician and lawyer who designed the amendment) instead of the state. Prop C doesn't change the state's constitution, which proponents say allows for more flexibility. Is it too late to register to vote in Missouri for the midterms? Yes. Read more about Missouri's three marijuana proposals here. ('You Might Also Like',) ABC News A "problematic" statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City that has been criticized for symbolizing colonialism and racism has found a new home, more than a year after the city announced it will be removed. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library said Friday it has agreed to take the statue of the former president, which has stood on the steps of the museum since 1940, for a long-term loan. The agreement will let the library, which is slated to open in 2026 in Medora, North Dakota, relocate the statue for storage "while considering a display that would enable it to serve as an important tool to study the nation's past," the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation said. Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - At least 16 Nigerian soldiers are missing following clashes with Boko Haram jihadists in the Lake Chad area, military and militia sources told AFP on Tuesday. The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) group, a faction of the Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the attack in which it said 15 soldiers were killed, according to SITE, which tracks the online activities of terrorist organisations. The incident began when gunmen in several trucks attacked a military base and a local market in the town of Kukawa late on Monday, briefly forcing troops out of the base. "Our soldiers engaged the terrorists in a fierce battle following the attack," a military officer told AFP from Maiduguri, the regional capital which lies about 180 kilometres (110 miles) to the south. "So far, 16 soldiers are missing but search teams are combing the general area to locate them," said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. There were no immediate official reports of casualties on either side but a civilian militia group confirmed that 16 soldiers were missing and also said one civilian had been killed in the crossfire. The attack came hours after Boko Haram jihadists attacked soldiers in Kumshe village near the border with Cameroon. Last month two Nigerian soldiers were killed when troops on foot patrol stepped on a mine around Kumshe. Boko Haram has intensified its attacks on military targets in the northeastern states of Borno and Yobe in recent months. The nine-year jihadist conflict which has spilt into Niger, Cameroon and Chad, has killed 27,000 people and left some 1.8 million homeless in Nigeria alone. As voters weigh in on recreational cannabis initiatives in Michigan and North Dakota on Tuesday, they should take note that the two states would have some of Americas lowest cannabis taxes. The relatively low tax levels could prove a tough sell for voters on the fence who would like to see higher revenues flow into their states. Michigans Hemp Legalization Initiative, Proposal 1, would legalize recreational use and impose a 6% sales tax, as well as a 10% excise tax funding local governments, education, and infrastructure. A cash transaction for medical marijuana is shown at Coffehouse Blue Sky in Oakland, California, July 23, 2009. North Dakotas Measure 3, which would also legalize recreational weed, contains no provision for marijuana-specific taxes. But the states tax commissioner has indicated that marijuana products and paraphernalia would be taxed at 5%, along with possible local taxes. Thats low compared to Washington state, whose taxes for recreational marijuana can reach around 46% including its excise tax and state and local retail taxes. Meanwhile, Californias recreational marijuana taxes can reach around 45%, according to Beau Whitney, senior economist for New Frontier Data, a nonpartisan research firm that provides data to cannabis industry stakeholders. Dropping cannabis taxes Cannabis taxes have been dropping since the first states authorized recreational use, according to Joseph Henchman, executive vice president for The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. Its a trend weve been seeing, he said. The first states to legalize Colorado and Washington had very high excise taxes, in the 30% range, and that ended up being too high to drive out the black market. Washington receives significantly higher tax revenues from marijuana than Oregon. Source: New Frontier: Cannabis in the U.S. Economy, 2018 edition In order to collect any marijuana taxes at all, states with legalized cannabis need to make the legal market more attractive than the illicit market. Tax and tax policy play an extremely important role in driving the consumer in the conversion from the illicit market to the consumer market, said Whitney, the New Frontier Data economist. Whitney explains that pricing differentials between the cost of buying legal versus illegal marijuana in states like California are still driving consumers to travel great distances to purchase cannabis products. California levies a 15% cannabis tax at the state level, and with added local taxes, prices itself out of the market for some consumers with an aggregate level ranging around 40% to 45%. Story continues California, at the aggregate level, is at the 40 to 45% tax range when all is said and done, Whitney said. Washington state has another of the countrys top cannabis tax tiers, imposing a 37% excise tax, plus another 9%, on average, for state and local retail taxes. The aggregate level typically reaches around 46%. North Dakota bills vagueness might make it hard to pass Critics of North Dakotas bill say more should have been done to lay out tax, regulatory and enforcement details before voters were asked to decide on legalization. The state also struggled with estimating legalization costs. Its Office of Management and Budget issued a September 2018 report with nearly half of departments concluding that legalization costs were unknown. Haymond said the scant amount of detail in North Dakotas bill could dissuade some voters, though he thinks prospects in the red state remain strong given the bills support from both sides of the aisle. As it stands, the bill is quite broad, he said, explaining that conservative and libertarian voters could prefer the lack of a mandated tax structure. It would be both the most liberal and the most conservative bill on marijuana that voters have seen. Still, Haymond says, in North Dakota, Its a dogfight. In my heart of hearts, this is a toss-up. The bill in Michigan isnt a sure thing, either. Barton Morris, Principal Attorney for Cannabis Legal Group, says that while he expects Michigan voters to green light recreational use, high turnout numbers will be key. I think theres a chance it might not pass, Morris said. The opposition has spent a lot of money to influence the vote. A lot of these businesses are struggling As more states legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use theyll also be competing for cannabis businesses, where tax levels will play an increasingly important role. A lot of these businesses are actually struggling because they pay so much in taxes, Whitney said. Whitney points out that marijuana businesses are treated differently in the eyes of the federal government because theyre offered fewer deductions while still having to pay income tax. So if the federal government does legalize, states that have already established a legalized revenue stream would need to adjust. According to Whitney, full federal legalization would translate to approximately 630,000 new jobs by 2025, likely requiring marijuana businesses to pay payroll taxes, in addition to any state level taxes theyre already paying. In the end, taxpayers want to know that the social benefits outweigh the social, administrative and enforcement costs. We talk to stakeholders in each state and around the world, Whitney said. Some are trying to calculate the costs and if there is some sort of dividend with legalization. For now, the calculations are elusive, with each state still operating in a trial and error phase. How do you extend the social benefits like potential decrease in opioid use? Whitney says stakeholders and voters wonder. Theres a whole lot to the whole analysis of social costs. Alexis Keenan is a New York-based reporter for Yahoo Finance. She previously produced live news for CNN and MSNBC and is a former litigation attorney. Read more: These 5 states will have marijuana-related ballot initiatives on Tuesday Why Philadelphia halted plans to unleash e-scooters across the city Heres how eBay alleges Amazon illegally lured its high-value sellers Winning the Mega Millions is sweeter in some states than others Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images After months of primaries, debates, positioning ads, attack ads, closing ads and the occasional federal indictment, the 2018 midterm elections will come to a close on Tuesday night except for the races that will be decided by absentee ballots, go into recounts, or require a second-round runoff to determine a final winner. As the votes are counted, the immediate future of the country will be decided: Who will control Congress, and how will the policies they enact affect Americans? Will ballot initiatives legalize weed, bolster voting rights, eliminate gerrymandering and/or expand Medicaid? Can Democrats recover from years of losses at the state level, or will Republicans hold on to power in Capitol buildings across the nation? What follows is a guide of races to watch as the night rolls on hour-by-hour indicators of what might be happening in the House (where Democrats are projected to have a good chance of taking control), the Senate (which Republicans are projected to have an equally good chance of retaining) and at the state level. Youll see this general theme play out a lot overnight: Vulnerable Senate Democrats trying to hold on to their seats, and dozens of House Republicans scrambling to escape a potential blue wave. As in every election, bear in mind that the early returns in some races may be lopsided, depending on which areas count their ballots first. Unless youre familiar with the precinct-level voting history of a particular district, dont put too much weight on those early numbers. News organizations will call races when the outcome is statistically settled. Yahoo News will call races based on projections by the Associated Press. (All race ratings mentioned come from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, and all times are Eastern.) 6 p.m. Our first House indicator of the night will come in the Kentuckys Sixth Congressional District, where GOP Rep. Andy Barr is trying to fend off a challenge from former fighter pilot Amy McGrath in a toss-up race. Indiana will also provide the first piece of the Senate puzzle as Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly attempts to hold on against businessman Mike Braun in a state Trump won by nearly 20 points. That race is now rated a toss-up. Story continues 7 p.m. For more early indicators in the House, look to Virginia first. If incumbent Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock is holding her own against Democratic challenger Jennifer Wexton in the 10th District, which went to Hillary Clinton by ten points and is rated lean Democrat, thats a good sign for Republicans. The toss-up races are in the Second and Seventh districts, where GOP incumbents Rep. Scott Taylor and Rep. Dave Brat hope to survive. If Democrat Leslie Cockburn can win the open seat in the Fifth a race rated lean Republican that could be an early warning sign for the GOP that a blue wave is materializing. And for a marquee race that has drawn President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Oprah Winfrey and a number of lawsuits about voter suppression, 7 p.m. is when polls close for the Georgia gubernatorial contest between Democrat Stacey Abrams, who could become the first African-American woman to serve as governor, and Republican Brian Kemp, who is also overseeing the race in his capacity as secretary of state. (This could head to a Dec. 4 runoff if neither candidate hits 50 percent.) Also keep an eye on the Sixth District and the Seventh District, which have GOP incumbents and lean Republican ratings. 7:30 p.m. On the Senate front, Democrat Sherrod Brown is looking safe in Ohio while Joe Manchins West Virginia race is rated lean Democrat, so focus there. The race to replace Republican Gov. John Kasich in Ohio is rated a toss-up. On the House side, Republicans are defending toss-up seats in Ohios 12th District (the special election in which Rep. Troy Balderson barely scraped by Danny OConnor a few months ago), in North Carolinas Ninth District (open seat, Mark Harris vs. Dan McCready) and North Carolinas 13th District (Rep. Ted Budd vs. Kathy Manning). Your potential blue wave indicators in races rated lean Republican are in Ohios First District (Rep. Steve Chabot vs. Aftab Pureval) and West Virginias Third District (an open seat where Democrat Richard Ojeda has drawn national attention for his unconventional campaign style against Republican Carol Miller). 8 p.m. Florida gubernatorial candidates Republican Ron DeSantis, left, and Democrat Andrew Gillum bump fists after a debate on Oct. 24, 2018, at Broward College in Davie, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, Pool) The pace picks up now with polls closed in part or all of 21 states. For the Senate, the big ones here are Florida (Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson defending against current Gov. Rick Scott), Missouri (Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill vs. state Attorney General Josh Hawley) and Tennessee (Rep. Marsha Blackburn, hoping to keep an open seat Republican, is being challenged by former Gov. Phil Bredesen). There is also a three-way race in Mississippi that could go to a runoff. Keep an eye on New Jersey, where scandal-plagued Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez is probably safe (the New Jersey Star Ledgers endorsement had the inspiring headline Choke it down, and vote for Menendez) but a loss here would be an embarrassment for Democrats who failed to support a potential primary challenge that could have resulted in a stronger candidate on the ballot. We will also start to see more results from moderate Republican districts where the working thesis is suburban white womens antipathy toward Trump, combined with the GOPs attempts to repeal Obamacare, might hurt them. In New Jersey, Republicans are on the defense in toss-up races in the Third District (Rep. Tom MacArthur vs. Andy Kim) and Seventh District (Rep. Leonard Lance vs. Tom Malinowski). For the House, there are so many seats in play here that were going to turn to bullet points the rest of the way. Here are the toss-up seats now held by Republicans: Floridas 15th (Open; Ross Spano vs. Kristen Carlson) Floridas 26th (Rep. Carlos Curbelo vs. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell) Illinoiss 14th (Rep. Randy Hultgren vs. Lauren Underwood) Maines Second (Rep. Bruce Poliquin vs. Jared Golden) Pennsylvanias First (Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick vs. Scott Wallace) If Democrats get a healthy chunk of those, theyre in good shape to take the House. Theyll be in great shape if they can start flipping the following, which are GOP seats rated as lean Republican: Floridas Sixth (open, Michael Waltz vs. Nancy Soderberg) Floridas 16th (Rep. Vern Buchanan vs. David Shapiro) Floridas 18th (Rep. Brian Mast vs. Lauren Baer) Illinoiss 12th (Rep. Mike Bost vs. Brendan Kelly) Illinoiss 13th (Rep. Rodney Davis vs. Betsy Dirksen Londrigan) Missouris Second (Rep. Ann Wagner vs. Cort VanOstran) Pennsylvanias 10th (Rep. Scott Perry vs. George Scott) Pennsylvanias 16th (Rep. Mike Kelly vs. Ron DiNicola) Among the races for governor, focus on toss-ups in Oklahoma and Connecticut and then Florida, where Andrew Gillum is attempting to become the states first black governor. The other result in the Sunshine State to keep an eye on is Amendment 4: it requires 60 percent of the vote, but if it passes, it will return the right to vote to convicted felons whove completed their sentences, altering the electorate 1.4 million people, including one in five African-Americans, are now ineligible to vote in a major way in a state that could help Democrats in the 2020 presidential election and beyond. 9 p.m. U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, D-Texas, left, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz debate on Oct. 16, 2018, in San Antonio. (Photo: Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool) The final polls close in Texas, where there is a Senate race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto ORourke that you may have heard about. Well also start to get Senate results in Arizona (a toss-up race for a Republican open seat between GOP Rep. Martha McSally and Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema) and Minnesota (Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, who was appointed to replace Al Franken, defends against Karin Housley in a race rated lean Democrat). Minnesota also has two of the only House seats where Democrats are on the defense, with competitive open seats in the First and the Eighth districts. At this point of the night, we should have some indication of how the House is trending. The lean Republican seats in play here where a high percentage of Democratic wins would mean something big are Texass 22nd (Rep. Pete Olson vs. Sri Preston Kulkarni), Texass 23rd (Rep. Will Hurd vs. Gina Ortiz Jones), Nebraskas Second (Rep. Don Bacon vs. Kara Eastman), New Yorks 11th (Rep. Dan Donovan vs. Max Rose), New Yorks 24th (Rep. John Katko vs. Dana Balter), New Yorks 27th (Rep. Chris Collins, facing an indictment on insider-trading charges, vs. Nate McMurray) and Wisconsins First (for the seat House Speaker Paul Ryan is stepping down from; Bryan Steil vs. Randy Bryce). Well also have results from some of the big gubernatorial races in Kansas, Wisconsin, Colorado and Michigan. Bonus Michigan: Three interesting ballot initiatives here to keep an eye on: one would legalize marijuana for recreational use, one would expand voting rights and one would eliminate partisan gerrymandering through the creation of an independent redistricting commission. 10 p.m. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., left, and Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., shake hands before a debate on Oct. 19, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Photo: John Locher, Pool/AP) The biggest races here are in the Senate. The first polls close in North Dakota, where Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in a race against Rep. Kevin Kramer, now rated lean Republican. In Nevada, GOP Sen. Dean Heller is attempting to survive a challenge from Rep. Jacky Rosen in a state Clinton won in 2016, and in Montana, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is trying to hold on against Matt Rosendale in a state Trump won. (Both races are rated toss-ups.) This is also when the polls close in Utah, so this is when youll get the official alert that Mitt Romney has been elected senator from the Beehive State. On the House side, this is where we will find out if GOP Rep. Steve Kings consistent coziness with white nationalists costs him against J.D Scholten in Iowas Fourth District. Well also see whether Republican Rep. Mia Love, the only black woman in the GOP caucus, can survive a challenge by Ben McAdams in Utahs Fourth (a toss-up) and how Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte, who pled guilty to assaulting a reporter prior to last years special election, fares against Kathleen Williams. 11 p.m. Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter (Photos: David McNew/Getty Images Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Well also get results from Washington, where Republicans are defending a toss-up open seat (in the Eighth District) and two lean Republican districts (Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in the Third and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in the Fifth). This is also when California closes, so if the House is yet to be decided, its going to be a late night as votes are counted in a half-dozen Republican seats are rated as either toss-up or lean Republican. If it comes down to the wire, those races are: 10th District (Rep. Jeff Denham vs. Josh Harder) 25th District (Rep. Steve Knight vs. Katie Hill) 39th District (Open, Young Kim vs. Gil Cisneros) 45th District (Rep. Mimi Walters vs. Katie Porter) 48th District (Rep. Dana Rohrabacher vs. Harley Rouda) 50th District (Rep. Duncan Hunter vs Ammar Campa-Najjar) If the Democrats take the House and youre interested in the final margin, there are four races rated likely Republican the First, Fourth, 21st and 22nd districts that could flip in a blue wave. 12 a.m. GOP Rep. Don Young, 85, first won Alaskas congressional seat in a 1973 special election, when his opponent this time around Democrat Alyse Galvin was 8 years old. This Galvins first campaign, having never run for anything prior to attending the 2017 Womens March, but she has a chance in a race rated lean Republican. (The final poll closing times anywhere in the nation are in the western Aleutian Islands, which shut things down at 1 a.m.) _____ Read more Yahoo News midterms coverage: The majority of Brits now back Remain, according to a new survey (Getty Images) Britain would vote to remain in the European Union if there was another Brexit referendum, according to the largest poll on the issue carried out since the vote. Analysis found that 54% of people would now back staying in the EU compared to 46% who would vote for Brexit. The poll carried out by Survation and Channel 4 quizzed 20,000 people, finding that 105 local authority areas that voted Leave in 2016 would support Remain. The last Survation poll carried out before the June 2016 referendum wrongly predicted that Remain would achieve 52% of the vote. But Channel 4 claims that this latest survey uses a more sophisticated technique known as multi-level modelling, which correctly predicted the outcome of the 2017 General Election. The full data for @Channel4's Brexit: What The Nation Really Thinks is now available on our site, complete with an interactive map of current modelled leave vote by local authority: https://t.co/QhVBvQrZAt pic.twitter.com/BpTPS7euET Survation. (@Survation) November 5, 2018 The survey also found that voters would prefer staying in the EU to a no-deal Brexit, at least temporarily. In a no-deal situation 35% believe Britain should remain in the EU, 19% would want to delay leaving to allow more time for talks, and 36% would wish to quit without an agreement. The poll showed scant support for Theresa Mays Brexit strategy, with only 26% saying they would accept her deal if it was put to a vote. Theresa Mays Brexit strategy has little public support (Getty Images) The survey asked: From what you have seen or heard so far, if there was a vote tomorrow on the type of Brexit deal the UK Government is aiming to achieve from the EU, how would you be likely to vote? 26% said they would accept the deal, 33% said they would reject it, and 34% opted for dont know. Story continues Justice Secretary David Gauke told the Channel 4 programme that revealed the results: If we leave on no deal terms theres is no good shying away, it will be very bad for us economically. If we can get a good deal, and that means removing all the frictions. The Chequers-type deal, as I say, if we dont have friction with trade, then, economically, I dont think its going to make a particular big difference one way or the other. The results come as the Prime Minister chairs a cabinet meeting this morning during which she is expected to tell ministers she wants a deal agreed by the end of the month. She faces the challenge of persuading Eurosceptics to support her proposal for an Irish backstop, which would see the whole of the UK staying in a temporary customs union with the EU. The EU is insisting that the backstop must not be time limited and should last until an agreement is reached that would prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Brexiteers argue this could see Britain forced to obey the EUs rules indefinitely and unable to strike independent trade deals. Phoblographer Thankfully, film photography still holds its place in the world. Some shoot film because they're hipsters, while others do it because they feel deeply about the science behind it and the aesthetic it produces. Shooting film isn't easy, most people fail to get to right. But for those that nail it, the results can be spectacular. Naturally, we've featured many of the wins. And below is some film photography you'll love by photographers who love their film cameras. Sound Transit light rail (77,576 rides on a typical weekday). The population of Bellingham, Wash. (89,045). The number of votes that decided the 2016 presidential election (77,744 combined in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania). Do Uber, Lyft Undermine Public Transit? Ridership Larger than First Estimated (TNS) Every day in the Seattle region, Uber and Lyft provide more rides than:The two ride-hailing giants provided more than 91,000 rides on an average day in the second quarter of this year, according to ridership reports the companies filed with the city, recently made publicly available for the first time.While thats just a fraction of daily travel in the Seattle region, Uber and Lyft trips are heavily concentrated in the citys densest neighborhoods, where nearly 40,000 rides a day start in ZIP codes covering downtown, Belltown, South Lake Union and Capitol Hill. They are almost certainly contributing to worsening congestion.And Uber and Lyft have grown extraordinarily quickly ridership is more than five times larger than it was in the beginning of 2015, the first full quarter that the companies reported data to the city.Uber and Lyft, known as transportation network companies (TNCs), ostensibly replaced taxicabs in the citys transportation system. Thats kind of like saying travel by airplane replaced travel by blimp. It didnt so much replace as obliterate. At their peak, before Uber and Lyft arrived, Seattle taxicabs provided just over 5.2 million trips in 2012. Uber and Lyft are on pace to provide more than 31 million trips this year.As Seattle continues to grow, we know that TNCs are increasing congestion, said Dawn Schellenberg, a Seattle Department of Transportation spokeswoman.Schellenberg cited a recent report by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority that estimated TNCs account for 25 percent of total vehicle delays in that city . That study also found that TNCs were responsible for more than half of the increase in San Francisco traffic congestion from 2010 to 2016.Boston, one of the few other cities where ride-hailing data is publicly available, saw about 96,000 TNC trips per day in 2017 . That figure is not directly comparable to Seattles, because it covers only Boston, whereas the data here covers all of King County. But the Boston data isnt broken down by company, so it also includes minor competitors to Uber and Lyft.Unlike almost every other major city in the country, Seattle has seen public-transit ridership grow a result of big local investments in bus service and light rail at the same time as Uber and Lyft use has exploded.The rapid growth of TNCs does, I would think, threaten to at least partially undermine that, as it has in other cities, said Bruce Schaller, a transit consultant and former deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation who studies TNCs impact on cities . The traveler is up for grabs right now. 2017 study of seven American cities , including Seattle, found that people are less likely to use transit after using Uber and Lyft, and that 49 to 61 percent of all TNC trips would have been made by transit, walking, biking or not at all if a ride-hailing service wasnt available.Uber estimates that TNCs account for only about 1.5 percent of trips in the Seattle region and points to other factors as far more important in Seattles worsening traffic: a growing population, a booming economy and people driving alone.The growth in rideshare along with the corresponding growth in transit ridership shows that people are choosing to get around cities differently when they have more options, Uber spokesman Nathan Hambley said. Hambley also stressed that ridership is growing fastest in north and south Seattle neighborhoods, that may have poorer access to transit although ridership in those areas remains a fraction of what it is downtown.The companies provide a lot of good, from helping the elderly get to a doctors appointment to helping bar-goers get home safely, noted Jonathan Hopkins, executive director of Commute Seattle, a city-funded nonprofit.Its not a good or bad thing in and of itself, its just when and where these trips are being taken and what would otherwise be happening without them, Hopkins said.Back in 2015, the city prepared a report for the City Council on what initial ridership numbers looked like and how the city and county should handle the growing number of Ubers and Lyfts.Uber and Lyft filed suit to keep their data secret and the report was never made public. The report is marked do not distribute and attorney eyes only, and the data is marked confidential. The companies only relented in September, following a Supreme Court ruling this year that went against them.The city provided the ridership info, dozens of spreadsheets containing data on every ride from Seattle-registered drivers, to The Seattle Times following a public-records request.Lyft did not respond to requests for comment. But, in a court filing before the company dropped its legal challenges, Todd Kelsay, the companys Pacific Northwest general manager, said that releasing ridership data could drive Lyft out of Seattle. Releasing the ridership data, Kelsay argued, could lead to fewer jobs, less economic development and reduced investment in the local community.The data was released in September. Lyft has not, to date, left the Seattle market.Even back in 2015, before TNC use quintupled in three years, the city wrote in the report that ridership is significantly larger than originally estimated.Traditional efforts to license, regulate and ensure enforcement of this industry are being redefined, the report concluded. New approaches and infrastructure are necessary to ensure appropriate regulation of this field.Since then, the city has installed a new computer system to automate the licensing process for TNCs, and it does checks to verify drivers are licensed and cars are compliant.More significant proposals to limit the companies traffic impacts designated pickup spots downtown or caps on the number of drivers have never gained traction.Don MacKenzie, an engineering professor who leads the University of Washingtons Sustainable Transportation Lab, used some rough, back-of-the-envelope calculations to estimate that Uber and Lyft account for somewhere around 4.5 percent of total miles traveled in Seattle.They are likely contributing to congestion, but another way to think about it is that 95.5 percent of traffic is caused by private cars, transit and trucking, MacKenzie said.Yonah Freemark, a doctoral student in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who frequently writes about American transit systems, noted the huge number of total trips people take every day somewhere around 3.5 million just for work commutes in the Seattle metro area, which includes all of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.Then add up all the other trips people take to the store, to shows, etc. and 91,000 starts to feel like a blip, Freemark, who runs The Transport Politic blog , said. So it really matters where and when these ride-hailing trips are being taken to know the degree to which they are impacting the city.Here, the big majority of those trips are being taken in Seattle and most of those Seattle trips are right downtown, where things are most clogged up.The Uber and Lyft data covers all TNC drivers that operate in the city of Seattle. Those drivers sometimes also operate in suburbs outside the city, like on the Eastside.For both companies, about three-quarters of rides began in Seattle, according to the most recent data. And more than half of those come from the busiest neighborhoods: downtown, Belltown, South Lake Union and Capitol Hill. You might have heard everyone talking about the blue wave: a sweeping Democratic victory in the elections on Nov. 6. But thanks to the online fundraising platform ActBlue, Republicans also have to contend with a green wave a Democratic fundraising advantage. ActBlue has become a fundraising weapon for the left, raising more than $1 billion for candidates in the 2018 midterm cycle alone. In total, more than $3 billion has been raised through the site since it was created. And the number is growing rapidly. ActBlue was created in 2004 by two engineers in Cambridge, Mass. At its core, ActBlue is simply a platform that facilitates small-dollar donations getting to Democrats, said Dave Levinthal, an editor for the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity. The organization has tracked millions of contribution records since January 2017 to analyze ActBlues impact on the Democratic party. Theres nothing comparable to it in U.S. political history, said Levinthal about ActBlue. For Democrats or Republicans. It makes it much easier and efficient for Democrats to raise money, he continued. Its the anti-Super PAC. The impact cant be understated. U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, D-El Paso, the 2018 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, speaks during a campaign rally, Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) According to ActBlue, the platform raised $261 million in October alone. And theyve been repeatedly shattering their own records for the most money raised in a single day on Oct. 31, ActBlue brought in $12.1 million. Most of those donors contributed small sums. ActBlue raised more than $385 million by the end of its most recent quarter (July-September). The average donation was just under $50. In the same quarter in 2016 and 2014, ActBlue raised $131 million and $82 million, respectively. This is something that is very much geared toward the every-person in politics, Levinthal said. People who would never show up at a political fundraiser or be invited but still want to plunk down their 20 bucks and support a congressional candidate or a presidential candidate. A nationwide affair Story continues And as it has evolved, Levinthal said the platform has allowed congressional and local races to become nationwide affairs. If youre a true blue Democrat in Oklahoma, and you dont think your money will have an effect on your local races, ActBlue makes it easy to funnel your money to candidates in competitive races in other parts of the country, Levinthal said. Indeed, anyone whos tried to donate to a campaign in another state knows it can be a bit of a hassle; you have to figure out whos running in a particular area, go to their campaign website and donate individually. ActBlue smoothes the process by making a centralized location that allows you to spread your donations out, and highlights key races or candidates supported by certain groups. More and more, donors are giving to campaigns in districts that are far from their homes. Levinthal points to the competitive Texas senate race as the perfect example. While the majority of the money Beto ORourke, running for senator, has received is from donors in Texas, its a narrow majority. It seems unthinkable that could have happened a political generation ago. Or even 10 years ago, Levinthal said. Technology has played a huge role in the evolution of ActBlue as a platform, and made it a lot easier for people making a contribution, period or a political contribution to a place where they havent even stepped foot. ActRed Though they have tried, Republicans dont have anything like ActBlue. There is no ActRed, Levinthal said. Its unclear why, but he said many theories abound. Some say there are simply more Democrats likely to give $5 to $100 donations than there are on the right. Theres also the heavy reliance Republicans have on large-dollar donors like Sheldon Adelson and Chicago businessman Richard Uihlein. Since July, Adelson, who is CEO of Las Vegas Sands, has donated over $41 million, according to FEC filings. And, of course, the president also helps Democrats. The Trump factor cannot be understated, he said. Donald Trump has been a galvanizing force certainly for his own base, but also a galvanizing force for mobilizing Democrats against him. Weve seen that in incredibly strong terms and incredibly strong dollar numbers. And that has only gained momentum and speed the closer we get to the election. With Donald Trump, ActBlue has been able to capture lightning in a bottle, Levinthal said. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, speaks during the grand opening of Trump International Hotel in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Democrats have also been going toe to toe with Republicans with their own Super PACs. This parity makes the impact of ActBlue more powerful, Levinthal argued. Democrats have a system like ActBlue operating at 100% capacity for all intents and purposes thats a huge money advantage for Democrats. Its like the moneyball version of politics, cobbling together what would have been millions of donations into a massive financial force. Turning money into votes So how far will all this money go on Nov. 6? Stats site FiveThirtyEight is forecasting that Democrats only have a 1 in 6 chance of winning the Senate. Beto ORourke, the fundraising darling (thanks to ActBlue) is trailing in the polls behind incumbent Ted Cruz. FiveThirtyEight forecasts that Cruz has a 77% chance of winning. There are a number of different factors that contribute to a candidate winning or losing, said Levinthal. Its difficult to generalize across the country. But how will the money play out? We wont know till the race is over. Kristin Myers is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter. Read more: Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and reddit. By Adam Jourdan SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The U.S.-China trade war is the "most stupid thing in this world," Jack Ma, the chief of Asia's most valuable public company, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said on Monday. The two countries have set tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each others goods and U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on the remainder of China's $500 billion-plus exports to the United States if the trade dispute cannot be resolved. Ma made the comments at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in the Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai. The U.S. trade deficit with China, which Trump has blamed for a variety of economic ills, has helped create jobs in the U.S. and without it the country would have big problems, Ma added. China's shift to an import model is "going to be a huge pain for a lot of businesses, but its also going to make a good opportunity for a lot of consumers," he said. Ma also said the government should not worry about innovation, which it should back even if it threatened old, vested interests. "My view is, 'Don't worry about technology'," Ma added. "The people who worry about technology are first, older people, second, government and third, successful people; they hate it and worry about it. "I never see young people worry about technology." (Reporting by Adam Jourdan in Shanghai; Writing by Engen Tham; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Clarence Fernandez) WASHINGTON (AP) For Democrats, the midterm elections have been a beacon in the dark, a chance to re-emerge from the political wilderness and repudiate a president they view as a dangerous force. But on the cusp of Tuesday's vote , many Democrats are as anxious as they are hopeful. Their memories from 2016, when they watched in disbelief as Donald Trump defied polls, expectations and political norms, are still fresh. And as Trump travels the country armed with a divisive and racially charged closing campaign message, the test for Democrats now feels at once similar and more urgent than it did two years ago: They failed to stop Trump then, what if they fall short again? "Part of what's at stake here is our ability to send a message that this is not who we are," said Karen Finney, a Democratic consultant who worked on Hillary Clinton's losing 2016 campaign. This year, history is on Democrats' side. The sitting president's party often losing ground in the first midterm after winning office, and for much of 2018, voter enthusiasm and polling has favored Democrats as well. Primary contests filled the Democratic roster with a new generation of candidates, including several minority candidates who could make history in their races. While the fight to regain control of the Senate, largely playing out in conservative states, may prove out of reach for Democrats, the party has been buoyed by its ability to run competitively in Republican-leaning states such as Texas and Tennessee. Democrats' focus is largely on snatching back the House and picking up governors' seats in Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere. The party is also seeking redemption in the Midwest where Trump won over white, working-class voters who had backed Democrats for years. In Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Democrats appear poised to regain ground. Such victories would build momentum behind the party's shift toward a new generation of candidates who are younger, more diverse, with greater numbers of women and more liberal than Democratic leadership. They would also signal that Trump's hard-line positions on immigration and his penchant for personal attacks turn off more voters than they energize. Story continues A good night for Democrats on Tuesday would provide a blueprint for how the party can successfully run against Trump in the 2020 presidential race. At least two dozen Democrats are waiting in the wings, eager to take Trump. But the president has proved once again to be a powerful political force late in a campaign. Even with his daily airing of grievances on Twitter and an approval rate below the average for his recent predecessors at this point, he has almost single-handedly put Republicans in a stronger position this fall. He's aggressively appealed to his loyal, core supporters with a sharply anti-immigrant, nationalist message and by casting Democrats as outside the mainstream. "A vote for any Democrat this November is a vote to really put extreme far left politicians in charge of Congress and to destroy your jobs, slash your incomes, undermine your safety and put illegal aliens before American citizens," Trump said during a rally Saturday in Pensacola, Florida. If Republicans hang on to control of Congress, Trump will almost certainly be emboldened. Democrats would be left with difficult questions about a path forward. For example, how can Democrats assemble a winning coalition in 2020 if they fail to appeal to the moderate suburban voters who hold sway in the congressional districts that decide which party holds a House majority? And how will Democrats, if they fall short, sustain the energy from young people and women who have marched in protest of Trump, registered to vote and volunteered for the first time this election season. "I'm concerned that if the election is not what we hoped for that people will say, 'it's too hard' and become disengaged," said Jennifer Palmieri, who served as Clinton's communications director during the 2016 campaign. As Americans participated in early voting this weekend, that same anxiety was palpable among some voters. In Southern California, lifelong Democrat Theresa Hunter said she didn't take Trump seriously in 2016. But she sees a chance for Democrats to render their judgment on the president by pushing his party out of power in a different branch of government. "To see his party jump on board and march in lockstep is what's terrifying," said Hunter, a 65-year-old retired salesperson from Lake Forest, California. A few hours north, California voter Lawrence Reh was casting his ballot. Afterward, his voice quivered and he wiped back tears as he voiced frustrations about Trump and his worries about the direction of the country. "If we don't make any progress in this election, I don't know where we'll go from here," Reh said. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE Julie Pace has covered the White House and politics for The Associated Press since 2007. Follow her at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC ___ Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco and Amy Taxin in Lake Forest, California, contributed to this report. ___ For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics An AP News Analysis The mayor of a Utah city is being hailed for his heroism after he was killed in action in Afghanistan while deployed as part of his National Guard service. Maj. Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah and the father of seven children, was killed in action in Afghanistan on Saturday. Taylor, 39, was killed at a base in Kabul when an Afghan security forces member allegedly opened fire on foreign servicemen training Afghan soldiers, according to the Washington Post. Taylor was the fifth service member to be killed in such an assault, which is known as an insider attack, over the last fourth months. As news of Taylors death spread, many public figures, including Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Mitt Romney, who is running to represent Utah in the U.S. Senate, expressed their sorrow about his loss on social media. Sen. Orrin Hatch shared several tributes to Taylor on Twitter, describing him as a hero. Brent was a hero, a patriot, a wonderful father, and a dear friend, Hatch said. News of his death in Afghanistan is devastating. My prayers and love are with Jennie and his 7 young children. His service will always be remembered. Taylor, who was serving his fourth tour of duty, was working to train Afghan commando units. The training was part of an Afghan plan to double the number of commandos from 12,000 to 23,300 by 2020. Taylor posted a video on Facebook in January to explain to North Ogden residents that he was being deployed. There are three great loyalties that have guided my life and everything in it God, family and country, Taylor said. While I am far from perfect in any of these respects, I have given my life to serve all three of these loyalties whenever and however I can. Utah Governor Gary Herbert released a statement on Twitter expressing his sadness about Taylors death. I am heartbroken at the news that we lost one of our own today in Afghanistan and feel completely humbled by the service and the ultimate sacrifice offered by this brave an selfless soldier, Herbert said. Story continues A GoFundMe aiming to help support Taylors family had received nearly $250,000 worth of donations by Monday morning. I am heartbroken at the loss of Major Brent Taylor. Our deepest condolences and constant prayers are with his wife Jennie, his children and the entire Taylor family. All of Utah mourns with you. pic.twitter.com/Ib9oysyDCN Gov. Gary Herbert (@GovHerbert) November 4, 2018 I hate this. Im struggling for words. I love Mayor Taylor, his amazing wife Jennie and his 7 sweet kids. Utah weeps for them today. This war has once again cost us the best blood of a generation. We must rally around his family. Thank you for your sacrifice my friend. ???????????? https://t.co/uS9emZgv7s Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) November 3, 2018 Major Brent Taylors last message to me was: Going great over here. Cant wait to be home in a few months. I cant believe we have lost this incredible husband, father, mayor, patriot, and friend. #utpol #hero pic.twitter.com/BpVEeVfA9A Michael Mower (@MikeLMower) November 3, 2018 Michel Barnier speaking in Brussels on Monday (Reuters) Michel Barnier has warned that a Brexit deal is not close and challenge Thereda May to make the tough choices necessary to get it over the line in the coming weeks. The Withdrawal Agreement is 95% complete, but the final outstanding issues need to be resolved within the week if the UK government is going to achieve its aim of finalising a deal this month. Fresh reports of a compromise over the Irish border backstop have raised hopes that the EU will be able to call a leaders summit by November 25 to sign-off the deal. But the EUs chief negotiator has lowered expectations of a breakthrough by telling Belgian TV: Im not in a position to tell you that were are close to a deal because there is a still a real point of divergence. He reiterated his position during a visit to Slovakia on Tuesday afternoon, telling journalists: Were not there yet. Choices have to be made on the British side to finalise this deal. MORE: Brexit deal faces fresh delay after Raab sparks Irish border row He also shot down a suggestion by Brexit secretary Dominic Raab that any backstop should have a three-month time limit. Reworking Theresa Mays Brexit catchphrase, Barnier said: Backstop means backstop. And a backstop cannot have a time-limit. The French politician did though say the EU is willing to consider improvements to the backstop. That was a nod to the prime ministers plan for a compromise solution, which would see an independent review mechanism introduced to the backstop. Irelands Europe minister Helen McEntee told RTE on Tuesday that the proposal could pave the way to a deal. Brexit secretary Dominic Raab leaving 10 Downing Street after Tuesdays crunch Cabinet meeting (Getty) What were talking about are slight changes that will help us move on to the next stage and thats what we wantWere very clear that a review mechanism cannot alter the backstop but it will allow us to possibly to move on to the next stage. May hopes its inclusion in the Withdrawal Agreement would give her MPs confidence that the UK could not be locked into the EUs customs union. Story continues She put the proposal to her Cabinet on Tuesday, but a number of ministers remain unconvinced. On the Northern Ireland backstop there are a number of issues that we still need to work through and these are the most difficult, a spokesman for the prime minister said afterwards. Mays senior Brexit advisor, Olly Robbins, was back in Brussels on Tuesday to resume technical level talks with Barniers deputy, Sabine Weyand. MORE: 54% of Brits now back Remain, according to biggest Brexit poll since EU referendum They will need to work out the details of the backstop review mechanism by the end of the week if a deal is to be concluded this month. The Cabinet could meet again on Friday if a deal is on the table. Raab would then travel to Brussels on Monday to meet Barnier before European Council president Donald Tusk called EU leaders to Brussels for a summit. The European Council is currently chaired by Austria and May spoke to the countrys chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, on Tuesday to update him about progress in negotiations. A spokesperson for the prime minister said she told Kurz that she was confident that a solution could be found on the Northern Ireland backstop. The Prime Minister added that the UK wanted to see quick progress and that both the UK and the EU were working hard to achieve an agreement, they added. Cotonou (AFP) - A court in Benin on Tuesday sentenced an opposition MP to more than six years behind bars and fined him 4.5 million euros ($5.1 million) in connection with a scandal involving fake drugs. The sentence came as Benin cracks down on the trafficking of expired and counterfeit drugs in West Africa -- a business that has deeply alarmed health watchdogs. At a hearing in the country's commercial capital Cotonou, the court handed Atao Hinnouho a prison term of 76 months for trying to prevent a search of his home and for customs fraud linked to the import of banned merchandise. He was also ordered to pay 3.0 billion CFA francs in fines, damages and interest payments. But he was acquitted of another charge of attacking an officer in uniform. After arriving at the court in a wheelchair, Hinnouho -- whose parliamentary immunity was lifted in July -- listened to the verdict in silence, his head bowed. Friends, supporters and family members quickly left after the verdict was read out. Aboubakar Baparape, one of his lawyers, denounced it as "a political trial" and vowed to appeal. Hinnouho, who has been in jail since May, was one of the key players working with New Cesamax, a laboratory based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Following a raid on his home in December 2017, police seized several hundred boxes of medicines after which Hinnouho went on the run only to be caught several months later. Two of his aides were arrested and sentenced in March to between six months and four years in prison over the sale of false and illegal drugs. - 100,000 deaths per year - Last year, Benin launched a crackdown on expired and counterfeit drugs after growing alarm over the scale of such trafficking in West Africa. Fake medicines are drugs that are bogus or below regulatory standards but often are outwardly indistinguishable from the genuine product. Taking them may do nothing to tackle an illness or -- in the case of antibiotics -- worsen the problem of microbial resistance. Story continues According to the World Health Organization, fake medicines are responsible for more than 100,000 deaths per year in sub-Saharan Africa. The UN health body estimates that one out of 10 medicines in the world is fake, but the figure can be as high as seven out of 10 in certain countries, especially in Africa. In August 2017, Interpol said it seized 420 tonnes of counterfeit medicine in a massive operation involving 1,000 police, customs and health officials in seven countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. A former journalist is accusing police of racial profiling after an incident caught on video shows a black teen being arrested for violating a malls no hoodie dress code policy. The video was posted to Facebook on Sunday by Peggy D. McKenzie, the wife of the accuser, Kevin McKenzie, who is also black. In a caption, Peggy shares her husbands account of the confrontation and reveals that Kevin was later arrested too, allegedly for defending the teen and arguing that the dress code rule was discriminatory. The post is now going viral, with many commenters thanking Kevin for publicizing the incident. The incident started when the McKenzies were headed to a cell phone store at Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis and spotted an older white male security guard following a group of young black men not far from a mall entrance, according to Kevin, 59, who said his antenna went up when he saw the young black men being targeted. Kevin claims that as soon as the teens began to outpace the guard, the guard pulled out his radio to call in reinforcements. Thats when a black law enforcement officer appeared and escorted the young men out of the shopping center. When Kevin asked authorities what was going on, he said he was told the boys hoodie sweatshirts had violated a mall policy. Hoodie profiling was news to me, Kevin wrote. A code of conduct posted at Wolfchase Galleria makes no mention of hoodie sweatshirts and only touches on its dress code by stating Wear appropriate clothing. McKenzie acknowleged to Yahoo Lifestyle that the mall has seen its share of crime, and that he understands they dont want people to come in and not be able to be identified through the cameras, but he didnt see any kids with their hoods up that day. He added, To make the leap from having a crime problems to a hoodie profiling policy that ends up with a young man in hadcuuffeds is not the way to go. Kevin remembers the teens leaving but then returning to the mall entrance, with one declaring, We have rights. He told Yahoo Lifestyle, I dont know what that private securty guard saw that had him trail [the teens] and have them thown out, but I do know that they were challenging that policy and there was nothing on their heads. Story continues About four law-enforcement officials intercepted the young men before they could reenter, Kevin recalled, and threatened to arrest them for criminally trespassing on private property. The next thing he knew, Kevin was witnessing one of the teens dressed in a hoodie but with the hood down being handcuffed and led away. In a predominantly African American area like Memphis and Shelby County, [using trespass laws to enforce the dress code policy] clearly disproportionately targets young black men, he wrote. Kevin was filming the entire time, and that may be why authorities targeted him next. [A] black sheriffs deputy approached me and told me I also was breaking the malls rules. Youre in violation of mall policy, he said. So you can be asked to leave too, so you might want to put your phone up,' Kevin wrote. He kept filming, so officers then told him to leave or he too would be arrested, he claimed. But he said he didnt even have time to respond when he found himself being placed in handcuffs and escorted down the escalator and to a back office. Kevin McKenzie captured video of a black teen being arrested at a Memphis mall for wearing a hoodie sweatshirt just moments before he too was arrested for defending the young man. (Photo: Facebook/Peggy D. McKenzie) While cuffed, Kevin continued to argue the injustice of the dress code. Officers explained that the mall is private property and enforces its own rules, which are set by Wolfchase Gallerias parent company, Simon Property Group. Kevin would come to find out, while being detained, that the arresting officers were off-duty and moonlighting, even though they were wearing their Memphis Police Department uniforms and commanding the same authority while working for the mall, he described. The officers could have issued me a misdemeanor citation and released me, but I was told that because I continued talking, I was going to jail, Kevin wrote. He said an on-duty Memphis police officer was even called away to take him more than 20 miles to the jail. Ultimately because Kevin happened to have a toe infection that required medical care officers finally decided to issue him a misdemeanor citation. The teen was allegedly issued a citation too, he found out, and released with a court date. Crime is a legitimate issue for the mall, the city and the county, Kevin wrote in a Facebook post. But as author and civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander points out in her book, The New Jim Crow, vague trespass laws are one legal tool that has been used to control black populations, and particularly black men, since slavery ended I witnessed a mall-to-prison pipeline in action and I will not support it. Kevin said that both he and the teen were presented with a form that would ban them from the mall. Though the thoroughly frightened young man agreed to sign it, Kevin refused to. I didnt need to because I will never spend another dollar at Wolfchase, he wrote, though he told Yahoo Lifestyle he is indeed banned from Wolfchase Galleria. Baby Boomers like me have failed to reverse the laws and policies that have led young black men in our community to be targeted by public laws and on this private property that everyone knows is the closest thing to a suburban public square. When they were releasing him, officers shook their heads at how someone as old as me would stand my ground and risk arrest, Kevin wrote. The real question for Memphis and Shelby County is why more people of all ages are not. McKenzie told Yahoo Lifestyle he has not been contacted by mall representatives since the story went viral. Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to representatives at Wolfchase Galleria and the Simon Property Group for input on the incident as well as the details of the malls no hoodie dress-code policy. We will update this story when we hear back. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. By Anthony Boadle and Ricardo Brito BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he will move to overhaul the country's costly pension system soon after he takes office Jan. 1, to bring the government's unsustainable budget deficit under control. Bolsonaro's team of orthodox economists wants to resolve the budget deficit as soon as possible to get investment flowing again and spur economic growth and new jobs in an economy just emerging from its worst recession. But he will also have to launch a public safety plan to crack down on violent crime and advance other conservative measures expected by his voters, said Bia Kicis, a close Bolsonaro aide who was elected to Congress. She said that includes giving police more powers to fire on armed criminals, easing gun controls, reducing to 16 from 18 the age at which young people can be criminally prosecuted and enacting legislation that make land invasions acts of terrorism. A bill to remove politics and teaching of sexual diversity in schools is another priority for the Christian voters who helped get Bolsonaro elected, she said. "This agenda cannot be delayed because Bolsonaro was voted in for these reasons," Kicis, a retired Federal District prosecutor, said in an interview. Bolsonaro's future economy minister, University of Chicago-trained economist Paulo Guedes, would like to see part of the pension reform proposal already in Congress passed before Bolsonaro takes office to relieve pressure and save political capital. "If we cannot get anything approved this year, we will do some kind of reform at the beginning of next year," Bolsonaro said in an interview with TV Band. He said his plan is to cut taxes in a responsible way and ruled out reviving a despised tax on transactions known as the CPMF to raise fiscal revenues. Bolsonaro's political advisers, including Kicis, worry that a focus on unavoidable and unpopular austerity policies will dash the expectations of his supporters. Kicis, who is urging a "mixed" agenda that will keep voters happy, aims to become chair of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs committee that is key to passing legislation in the lower chamber. Bolsonaro's party rose from nowhere to gain 52 seats in the lower chamber, four short of the leftist Workers Party. Kicis said she expects Bolsonaro's PSL party to become the largest in Congress with more than a dozen lawmakers joining from other small parties. It should enjoy a safe majority with the backing of the farm, evangelical and pro-gun caucuses that supported the former army captain's candidacy, she said. (Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Tom Brown) On Teen Mom OG, Bristol Palin revealed to her sister Piper the latest scare from longtime stalker, Shawn Christy. It was Bristols first night staying in her new home in Austin, Texas, when she got a text informing her that Christy had broken into the Kentucky home of her ex-husband Dakota Meyer. Christy reportedly stole food and a jeep. There was nobody home at the time of the break in. Speaking to Piper, Bristol lamented the fact that she lives so far from family and friends, and said, I get, like, maybe four hours of sleep as it is because Ive had this constant threat for ten years. Meyer later told Bristol that hed been up all night with the U.S. Marshals and FBI, and that the Secret Service had just gotten involved. Christy was already wanted for failing to show up to court in an assault case. On top of that and stalking the Palins, he had threatened on social media to shoot President Trump in the head. After a months-long manhunt, Christy was arrested in September in Mifflin Township, Ohio, just outside of Columbus. And though Christy is now in custody, the threat at the time was very real. The Palin family has a long history with Christy. They got a restraining order against him in 2010, and he was arrested just miles from their Alaska home in 2011. And Christys not the only stalker Bristol has had to deal with. In 2014, a Florida man, Peter Ferrero, was arrested after hed sent her thousands of messages on Facebook and showed up to her home in Alaska. Yaounde (AFP) - Cameroon's 85-year-old President Paul Biya vowed Tuesday to pursue policies of decentralisation to address "frustrations and aspirations" in English-speaking regions hit by separatist unrest as he was sworn in for a seventh term in office. It was the first time in 13 months of pro-independence violence that Biya had clearly acknowledged the struggles of those living in anglophone areas where 79 school children were kidnapped by separatist militants on Monday. But the octogenarian leader firmly ruled out secession for the English-speaking regions, home to around a fifth of Cameroon's 22 million people, and accused the militants of instigating "terror and desolation." On the eve of his inauguration, armed militants stormed a school in Bamenda, capital of the Northwest Region, seizing 79 schoolboys and three adults in the worst incident so far of the conflict. "I have carefully examined the frustrations and aspirations of the great majority of our fellow citizens" in the Northwest and Southwest Regions, Biya said in his speech. And he pledged a "good number of responses" which would be channelled through "accelerating the decentralisation process which is under way." But he denounced "the yoke of extremism which has imposed a reign of terror and desolation", urging armed separatists to "lay down their arms and return to the right path." And he dismissed any prospect of secession, declaring "the future of our compatriots in the Northwest and Southwest lies within the framework of our Republic." - Kamto rally - Shortly afterwards, opposition leader Maurice Kamto who had claimed victory in the October election, addressed scores of supporters on the streets of Yaounde, reiterating his claim to be "the president-elect" before police broke up the gathering. Several activists were detained and Kamto, who came a distant second in the vote with 14 percent, returned to his home which was surrounded by police, an official from his MRC party told AFP. Story continues Paul-Eric Kingue, who directed his election campaign, claimed Kamto had been placed under "house arrest" but Kamto's spokesman Olivier Nissack later said the police presence had eased off. Biya, who has ruled the country for 35 years, was declared victor in the October 7 vote with 71 percent of the ballot. But the elections were marked by low turnout, violence and allegations of fraud. Eighty percent of Cameroon's population are French speakers while the rest are anglophones, who are concentrated in the country's restive west. In 2016, resentment at perceived discrimination in education, the judiciary and the economy fanned demands for autonomy in the Northwest and neighbouring Southwest Region. But Biya refused any concessions and a year later, radicals declared an independent state -- the "Republic of Ambazonia" -- taking up arms soon after. Separatists have since attacked troops and police, boycotted and torched schools and attacked other state symbols, prompting a brutal official crackdown. At least 400 civilians and 175 police and soldiers have been killed this year, according to an NGO toll. More than 300,000 other have fled the violence, some crossing into neighbouring Nigeria. - First mass kidnapping - Biya made no reference in his speech to Monday's abduction. In a six-minute video, 11 boys who identified themselves as pupils at the Presbyterian Secondary School of Nkwen said they had been taken by the "Amba Boys" -- the term for anglophone separatists. Reverend Foki Samuel Forba, a leader of the Presbyterian church in Cameroon, told AFP that he spoke to the kidnappers on Monday. They were not demanding a ransom, "only" the closure of the school, he said. As the security forces stepped up the hunt for the missing boys, the Northwest Region's governor suspended all inter-departmental road traffic in the area until further notice. Although mass kidnappings have taken place in neighbouring Nigeria, this is the first such incident in Cameroon. - Deterioration since the vote - For months, armed attacks have taken place almost daily in the crisis-hit regions, with separatists boycotting schools on grounds that the French system discriminates against anglophone pupils. Since Biya's reelection, the situation in the anglophone areas has deteriorated rapidly alongside the political climate, with dozens of opposition supporters arrested and journalists detained. On October 30, an American missionary was shot dead in his car in Bambui, a town near Bamenda, capital of the North West region. The incident happened aboard a Delta airline flight [Photo: Getty] Words by Maggie Parker. A Delta airline passenger had a dehumanising experience when forced to either sit in faeces or miss his flight. Matthew Meehan was on the last flight from Atlanta to Miami on Nov. 1, when he realised the plane hadnt been cleaned properly. But what he thought would be just another stinky flight turned out to be much worse. I sit in my seat and I immediately smell something, and I thought, Not another flight that smells bad, Meehan tells Yahoos American outlet. And he wasnt the only one who noticed. I realised the person next to me also had their nose covered, he says. And then I went to take my charger out, bent down completely to charge my phone and realised its not just a smell, its actually faeces and its all over the back of my legs, its all over the floor, all over the wall of the plane. And I sat in it, he recalls. He and his seatmate went to the front of the plane to notify the flight crew. As if the excrement werent shocking enough, what was even more surprising was the response they got. The flight crew said, Are you kidding me? We turned that in. I cant believe they didnt clean it. They knew it was there, Meehan says. Delta passenger felt dehumanized when forced to fly in a seat full of feces. (Photo: Matthew Meehan) Meehan knows for a fact that Delta planes are required to have a biohazard kit onboard for situations like this. The Delta representative that spoke with me after the fact told me their protocol is to have a biohazard kit onboard, he says. The fact that they either didnt take it down and offer me something from it to clean myself properly or it was absent completely from the plane broke protocol either way, Meehan says. They said they didnt have one. Instead of calling the gate and asking for sanitising products, Meehan alleges the flight attendant gave him two paper towels and a bottle of gin to clean himself with in the lavatory. She wanted me to clean myself with regular alcohol, drinking alcohol, he says. At this point, Meehan wasnt sure where the diarrhea had come from dog or human; he just wanted it off him. Story continues We didnt know if it was a person whod gotten sick, an animal whod gotten sick. Originally, the flight crew said that it was a German shepherd. And then the gate agent said in his paperwork that it was an older man who got sick upon landing. And now Delta Corporate is saying that it was a golden retriever puppy, he says. But to me, it doesnt matter. Its feces; it carries disease any way you look at it. So, Meehan took the meager cleaning materials into the bathroom hoping that when he came out, his seat would be cleaned. It got all over my bare ankles, he says. They didnt give me gloves. I had to take my pants off because its on the back of my pants, so faeces, at this point, is transferring to my hands, with no kind of sanitizing solution to be able to clean anything with, and only one tiny bottle of gin. When he exited from the bathroom, to his surprise, they were still boarding as if there werent excrement coating parts of the plane. The Delta representative also told Meehan that Delta broke protocol in continuing the boarding process once the biohazard was identified and reported by him. Once a passenger brings a contagion or biohazard to staffs attention, youre supposed to stop boarding entirely, Meehan says he was told. And youre supposed to deboard if possible so that the contagion or biohazard can be properly cleaned without spreading or contaminating others. But they just kept boarding the plane. Yahoo asked Delta about its specific protocol for dealing with contagions but has not yet received a response with that information. When Meehan asked the flight crew for an update, he alleges they said, If they didnt clean, thats not our responsibility, someone from the gate needs to take care of that. We are in the middle of an active boarding. Were busy. If you want, you can get off the plane and talk to somebody. So he did. The gate agent called a manager, who Meehan described as confrontational, while he was trying to remain calm and not get kicked off the plane. I tell her what happened and she said, If the cleaning crew didnt do their job, thats not my problem. What do you want me to do about it? Meehan alleges. Very confrontational, like, so what? So I said, Can we get that cleaned up so I can sit down? So she says, Sir, its almost time for that plane to leave. You can sit in your seat or you can be left behind. Meehan and the manager realised he wasnt the only passenger upset about this. At that point, four or five other passengers had gotten up and out of their seats as well, standing at the flight attendant area in front in protest and wouldnt sit until it was cleaned, he says. To avoid causing a commotion, the manager had someone clean that area with paper towels. To my knowledge, they did not use any kind of sanitising solution, and I was supposed to be OK with that because she quote unquote, cleaned it. In situations like these, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends staff remove any visible contamination and clean and disinfect the area with products approved by your company. After the flight, the CDC instructs staff to notify cleaning crew of areas contaminated with diarrhea, vomit, blood, or other body fluids, needing more than routine cleaning or possible removal. Meehan tried one more time to ask for the area to be sanitised, but he got the same answer: She said, We are pushing this plane back, you can either sit in your seat or you can stay behind. Meehan had to be somewhere the next morning and this was the only flight that could get him there in time. So he had no choice but to fester in faeces for two hours. It felt like I was an animal tied up, forced to lay in their own faeces that you see sometimes in PETA videos, he says. It was dehumanising to be spoken to like that, demanded to sit in a seat full of faeces with no care. They care more about getting a plane out on time than the safety and health of the passengers on the plane. Since the flight was oversold, he didnt even have the option of sitting elsewhere. So we sat there during the entire flight, my row, the rows around me, it still smelled horrific. There was still faeces caked into the carpet. They asked for blankets and covered the seats and floors to try to protect themselves from contact with the excrements. Meehan took this story to social media, and local news outlets have since picked it up. Delta has addressed the issue, as well. In a statement to Yahoo, Delta said: On Nov. 1, an aircraft operating flight 1949 from Atlanta to Miami was boarded before cleaning was completed following an incident from a previous flight with an ill service animal. Delta apologizes [sic] to customers impacted by the incident and has reached out to make it right, offering a refund and additional compensation. The safety and health of our customers and employees is our top priority, and we are conducting a full investigation while following up with the right teams to prevent this from happening again. Delta also stated that the aircraft was taken out of service to be deep cleaned and disinfected upon landing in Miami. The airline offered Meehan 50,000 miles in compensation. Thats what Im worth to them? 50,000 miles? After putting my health at risk along with everyone else on the plane? Thats what people get for signing up for a credit card. Its not even enough for a flight, he points out. Their offer was insult to injury. I wanted to know definitively if it was an animal or person, if it was sick, had they gone to a doctor, why was it diarrhea? What was it? Do I need to go get hepatitis shots? Do I need to get inoculated? And they wont give me the answers. Meehan said he would have appreciated a heartfelt, genuine response, but instead got a scripted, corporate heres 50K, now go away. That interaction happened last Friday afternoon, and he hasnt heard from Delta since, he says. Im a diamond medallion and a million miler, Meehan says. If this is how they treat their top tier, I cant even imagine how they treat people who arent part of the SkyMiles program. He may take legal action. I am waiting for Delta to give me the answers Ive asked for and to make things right, he says. If they dont, I will absolutely take action. After landing in Miami, Meehan was supposed to then fly to Tampa, but says he took a four-hour Uber instead. Im just not ready to get back on a plane. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK. Read more from Yahoo Style UK: Mystery illness leaves baby a quadruple amputee Mans prank to sell his girlfriend on eBay results in 70k bid Little boy grows his hair long so he can donate it President Donald Trump acknowledges his supporters after speaking at a campaign rally, Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) The Democrats are expected to take the house in tonights U.S. midterm elections. If the polls are right, investors can expect better returns on stocks. Thats because the market typically does best when there is gridlock in Washington. (Yahoo Finance) A split congress with a Republican president has produced 15.7 per cent annual returns for U.S. equities since 1950. Thats good news for Canadians investing south of the border. But it could turn out well either way. We view this as possibly being a win/win scenario no matter the political outcome for markets, Ryan Modesto, CEO at 5i Research, told Yahoo Finance Canada. In general, more certainty is better as investors can go about their day without worrying about a political wrench being thrown into things. Pollsters were caught completely off-guard by Donald Trumps victory, so what if they are wrong again? That could be good news too. If Republicans stand their ground, it could mean tax cuts which could boost markets (in the short term at least), says Modesto. However, the possibility of Republicans having their hands tied (through a strong performance for Democrats) would likely help remove a lot of the risks of unexpected policies being put forward, which markets should appreciate. Canadian stocks shielded by the drama Modesto says in general a strong U.S. market should be a tailwind for Canadian markets, but doesnt think the midterms will have a whole lot of impact here at this stage. The TSX has been underperforming compared to the U.S. market for years. Canada has its own issues with trade tensions, low oil prices, and its own politics. TSX underperforming the S&P 500 (Yahoo Finance) I think the election, to state the obvious, will be much more impactful south of the border, says Brian Madden, Senior Vice President at Goodreid Investment Counsel told Yahoo Finance Canada. And I think more so than the 2016 Presidential elections will be a political event, more so than something with broad economic resonance. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. China is this week promoting itself to the world as a major buyer of goods with the China International Import Expo. Xi said the expo "demonstrates China's consistent position of supporting the multilateral trading system and promoting free trade. It is a concrete action taken by China to advance an open world economy and support economic globalization." SHANGHAI, China For the third time since U.S. President Donald Trump was elected, Chinese President Xi Jinping took to the global stage on Monday to repeat his rhetoric against protectionism and promote his country as an advocate for international openness and cooperation. While China has made some progress on opening up its economy to foreign companies, critics say the pace is still too slow and many of Xi's announcements have been in the works for some time. In fact, China's attempts to position itself as a champion of globalization fly in the face of its status as one of the most protectionist major nations. Despite that, Xi discussed at length during his highly anticipated address about the benefits of an open international economy, "The economic and social well-being of countries in the world is increasingly interconnected. The reform of the global governance system and the international order is picking up speed," Xi said during his speech from the China International Import Expo. "On the other hand, the world economy is going through profound adjustment and protectionism and unilateralism are resurging. Economic globalization faces headwinds, and multilateralism and the system of free trade are under threat." To face those headwinds, Xi presented his country as one pursuing "a new round of high-standard opening up" and intent on widening "its market access to the rest of the world." In fact, he said, this week's expo "demonstrates China's consistent position of supporting the multilateral trading system and promoting free trade. It is a concrete action taken by China to advance an open world economy and support economic globalization." Story continues The Chinese leader said his country will seek to stimulate the potential for increased imports and will further lower import tariffs. He also pledged that China will speed up the opening of its education, telecommunications and cultural sectors. As it now stands, Asia's largest economy maintains extensive barriers for foreign firms looking to conduct business in those areas. The speech also briefly addressed the issue of intellectual property theft, which has been a chief complaint foreign firms have had about China. Xi pledged to "enhance" the punishments for such actions to "significantly raise the cost for offenders." Xi also acknowledged that parts of China's economy are facing challenges and uncertainty right now, but said the government is working quickly to address those issues and has improved in its overall ability to manage macroeconomic growth. The Monday speech comes less than 48 hours before the midterm elections in the U.S., which the world is watching for signs about whether the Trump administration can maintain its policy momentum. The Tuesday contests could also hold implications for Washington's foreign relations as trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have escalated. Last week, major stock indexes rose amid renewed hope that Donald Trump and Xi were moving closer to an agreement on trade. White House officials later pushed back on the idea of an imminent deal, however. The two leaders are set to meet later this month at the G-20 summit in Argentina. In the meantime, China is promoting itself to the world as a major buyer of goods with the week-long China International Import Expo. More than 3,600 enterprises have signed up for the expo and 172 countries and regions will participate, according to the event's website. Beijing has named 12 countries as "Guests of Honor for the expo: Russia, Canada, the U.K., Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa and Vietnam. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, tweeted Sunday she is looking forward to participating in the expo in Shanghai. Tweet However, many major Western nations are generally less enthusiastic. None appeared on a list of 18 heads of state who are set to attend the expo at Xi's invitation, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs . While the expo said 180 U.S. firms have signed up, the Trump administration is reportedly not sending senior government officials. Reuters and CNBC's Huileng Tan contributed to this report. More From CNBC The Chhans have been running the Seal Beach outlet for the past 28 years: Google They queue from 4.30am to buy doughnuts by the dozen, but while the sweet treats are delicious, the patrons of Donut City in Seal Beach, California, have another reason for buying them. On a recent visit, regular customer Dawn Caviola noticed John Chhan was staffing the shop without his partner Stella an anomaly since the pair, who arrived from Cambodia as refugees in the late Seventies, have been selling the fried snack since buying the store in 1990. Mr Chhan told her his wife, 63, had suffered an aneurysm in late September and was recovering at a rehabilitation centre. He would wait until all the doughnuts were sold, then clean the shop and rush out to visit her, she said. I went home and I just couldnt get it out of my head, Ms Caviola told the Orange County Register. They are just such hardworking people. Ms Caviola wrote a blog post on the community network Nextdoor, urging locals to help. Since then, people have been turning up at the shop in the early hours and the 62-year-old owner sometimes sells out as early as 7.30am. Were done for today. Sold out about a half-hour ago, Mr Chhan told The Washington Post at 8am on Monday. Many customers bought three, four, or five dozen doughnuts, he said. I so appreciate it, he added. I just cant say enough thank you and thank you. Ms Chhan lost the ability to speak and has suffered reduced mobility due to the aneurysm, he said, but he added that she was getting better and better. While he has thanked his customers, he has reportedly refused offers to start a fundraising page for his family. It seems like dads are consistently finding new ways to take ultimate dad status to the next level. When 26-year-old Natasha Stroup arrived in Hawaii for her honeymoon last week, she decided to send some photos of herself enjoying the tropical paradise to her familys group text thread. Little did she know that her dad would unintentionally find a way to make the pictures go viral. Upon checking her phone to see how her family had responded to the picturesque shots, Stroup discovered that her father, 51-year-old Tracy Fritz, was recreating her photos while working on his farm in South Dakota. I was like, seriously, look at what my dad just sent me,' Stroup told BuzzFeed News of showing her dads creations to her husband. The photos quickly began making the online rounds after Stroups 19-year-old sister, Kylie Fritz, shared them on Twitter on Friday. I just thought it was funny, Kylie told BuzzFeed. I think my dads funny. He doesnt think he is. So my sister is in Hawaii right now and sent pics to the group message and my dad responds with this pic.twitter.com/f2M2R0RGCc Kylie Fritz (@kjfritz13) November 2, 2018 For his part, Tracy says he was just trying to bond with his daughter while she was away. She was showing the scenery around her, I just thought Id show the scenery around me, he told BuzzFeed. Politico: "The general consensus among Republicans is that : "The general consensus among Republicans is that they will lose the House , and end up in at least a five-seat minority-- that would correspond to a 28-seat loss. Senior Republicans tell us that even in a worst-case scenario, they do not expect to lose 40 seats. A prescient prediction or famous last words?" Of all the senior Republican lawmakers they spoke with over the weekend, "only one made the case that the GOP will keep the House." If it's who I think it was, he was staggering drunk for the entire weekend. Many Republicans expected the House races to tighten up by election day. Instead the generic ballot polls have gotten even worse for them. The last one for CNN by SSRS shows an absolutely massive 55% to 42% preference for Democrats among likely voters. As I've said before, the pollsters' likely vote modeling is wrong because it is not taking increased Latino and millennial voting into account. Polls predicting less than 30 flipped seats will all be off by as much as 100% tonight. Let's look at Florida. Yesterday's Marist poll shows Andrew Gillum leading Ron DeSantis in the gubernatorial race-- 50% to 46%-- and Bill Nelson leading Scott in the Senate race by the same 50% to 46%. Democrats are very lucky to have Gillum at the head of the ticket instead of dull conservative Gwen Graham, who had been the establishment candidate and who would have dragged the party down the toilet with her. But it's a shame Florida doesn't have any good congressional candidates who could ride the wave and Andrew's coattails into office. Instead, it's a bunch of DCCC-recruited backs from the Republican wing of the party-- New Dems and Blue Dogs. This is the key today: "Democrats in both races are performing better than their Republican counterparts with likely voters who are independents, minorities and women." Stoking domestic terrorism goes over especially badly with independent voters Miami Herald Steve Bousquet reported on the Results from Quinnipiac are nearly identical: seven point leads for both Gillum and Nelson, entirely because of double-digit leads for both among women, minorities and independent voters. Writing Sunday for theSteve Bousquet reported on the surge in early voting for Democrats . On Sunday, "Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Orange, the five biggest 'blue' counties, all reported their highest one-day early voting totals of the 2018 campaign. As a result, on a day when President Donald Trump rallied thousands of Republicans in Pensacola, the GOPs ballot advantage over the Democrats shrank to six-tenths of 1 percentage point (0.6), with GOP ballots at 40.8 percent of the statewide total and Democrats at 40.2 percent." By Monday morning Dems had a +0.5% lead over Republicans in ballots cast. In 2014 Republicans held almost a 6% lead over Dems going into election day. So how many Democratic candidates will Gillum's coattails and the anti-red wave drag to victory in Florida today? Most of the candidates are so terrible that it's hard to say-- but even the worst of them are less horrible than the Republicans they're opposing. Donna Shalala, as bad a candidate as you'll find anywhere, will probably beat Maria Salazar in bright blue FL-27 (PVI- D+5) despite herself. Nate Silver gives her a 6 in 7 chance to win (84.7%). Next door in Carlos Curbelo's district (FL-26-- where the DCCC and Pelosi's PAC have spent $7,175,066 attacking Curbelo-- another weak Democrat, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell looks like she'll take the seat (PVI is D+6). Silver gives her a 5 in 9 chance (55.6%). The other Republican-held Miami-Dade seat, Mario Diaz-Balart's 25th district (PVI- R+4) has the best of the 3 Democratic challengers, Mary Barzee Flores, but in the toughest race. Silver gives her a 2 in 7 chance (27.8%) to beat Diaz-Balart. The wave will have had to have turned into a tsunami tonight for her to win. Silver gives Wasserman Schultz a 99.9% chance of retaining her seat in a 3-way contest against progressive Tim Canova and some Republican sacrificial lamb, more or less the same chance Joe Crowley had in beating Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The only polling in the district-- by a GOP firm-- shows Wasserman Schultz exactly tied with Canova. The DCCC has 4 other Democratic candidates on their Red to Blue page-- Nancy Soderberg (FL-06, Ron DiSantis' open seat with an R+7 PVI), Kristen Carlsen (FL-15, Dennis Ross' open seat stretching from the Tampa suburbs to the Orlando area with an R+6 PVI), David Shapiro (FL-16, Vern Buchanan's Sarasota, Bradenton seat with an R+7 PVI) and Lauren Baer (FL-18, Brian Mast's Treasure Coast district with an R+5 PVI). Silver doesn't give any of them much of a chance to win. Soderberg 1 in 4, Carlsen 3 in 7, Shapiro 1 in 7, and Baer 1 in 12. Soderberg, Baer and Shapiro (as well as Mucarsel-Powell) are all New Dems. The 2 Florida candidates in red districts with the best shot are 2 normal Dems, Kristen Carlsen and Mary Barzee Flores. The DCCC has spent modestly in a few of the races-- $499,932 in FL-06, $146,362 in FL-16, $868,290 in FL-18, and $694,360 in FL-15 . Matt Haggman is one of the progressive Democrats Blue America endorsed this cycle but who didn't win his primary, losing out, in this case, to an establishment nothing with lots of name recognition and money but with nothing to offer the voters except that she's not a Trumpist. Tragic waste of a blue seat but Matt has been good sport about it, endorsed her and has been working to help elect her. He agreed to catch us up on what he's been up to down in South Florida. He reiterated that "This is the most important mid-term election in our lifetimes. Its a moment when we will decide as a country who we are and who we are not. Here in Florida I have been working to help Andrew Gillum, Donna Shalala, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Mary Barzee Flores and Bill Nelson all win. Just this weekend I was out canvassing. But, before this, I was a candidate. I was one of the many across the country who left good jobs to up and run for Congress following the 2016 presidential election. For me, it didnt go as hoped. I lost to Donna Shalala in Floridas Congressional District 27. Howie asked that I share a blog post I wrote in the weeks after the Aug. 28 Florida primary. Its a reminder of the reasons why this mid-term is so important. Why each of us can have a big impact even if were not on the ballot. And why, whether a candidate or supporter, we must do all we can to ensure everyone gets out to vote this Election Day to turn a new page in our politics." Until Next Time, Thank you Its been a few weeks since the primary election. Obviously, for me, it was a disappointment. But the many great wishes since election night from friends and supporters has been wonderful. I wanted to write a post and say thank you. And also reflect a bit on the past 13 months campaigning for US Congress. Before doing that, I again congratulate Donna Shalala on her victory. This is a moment in our politics that is bigger than any individual and its critical that the Democratic party take control of the U.S. House of Representatives. We must unite behind her. In addition, we have to elect Andrew Gillum as our next Governor! His campaign has energized us all, and its time to bring it home. Looking back on the primary, my overriding feeling is gratitude. Im extremely thankful to my wife Danet, who supported me in this effort, and thankful to all of the people who propelled our campaign-- the volunteers, fellows, staff, donors and, ultimately, voters. I had never run for any elected office, yet so many went all-in supporting our campaign. Thank you very, very much. Our fellows were, in particular, an inspiration to me. We recruited more than 50. Most were in college, some still in high school. Working on the campaign after class or full-time during summer break. Weekends, nights. Calling voters, knocking on doors. They were passionate and dedicated. Now, they are back on campus. At schools from Miami Dade College and Michigan to Boston University and Palmetto Senior High School. At a time when our political system badly needs a reset, they showed what it means to take hold of our democracy. With them, our future is so blazingly bright. Along with our fellows, what I loved about being a candidate was talking with voters and being out in the community. I loved it. Going door to door on sweltering summer afternoons in Kendall, or Little Havana, or Richmond Heights. Evenings canvassing in Westchester or Palmetto Bay. Unfiltered and alone, it was just us; talking about our community and country. On those days and nights there was no place I would rather be. Life revealed itself in its many forms on these unannounced visits. The couple celebrating their daughter who was headed to college. The single mom working three jobs to keep current on her mortgage. The middle-aged woman who tried to chat amiably but, after a time, couldnt hold it back any longer, sharing that shed just been diagnosed with cancer. I need a hug, she said, a tear running down her cheek, which she quickly and defiantly wiped away. The conversations were always so real-- standing at front doors, sitting in living rooms, meeting people where they are, learning about their hopes and concerns, aspirations and struggles. At a time when Washington has so fundamentally and collectively lost its way, at the grassroots people are making sense. We need to spend more time listening to them. Indeed, throughout the campaign I often said the best ideas come from the community, not candidates. I really meant it. Change happens from the ground up, and thats never been more true than today. From start to finish, our campaign sought to stay true to that ethos. Namely, we focused on voters, rather than cutting down competitors as a means to win. We visited every precinct, we knocked on some 45,000 doors. Again and again, I found a sincerity, thoughtfulness and a belief that things will get better. I always thought we lived in a special community, but over the last year Ive vividly seen it with my own eyes in one neighborhood after another. Those thousands of conversations leave me today more hopeful and optimistic than ever. If only our politics can be as good as them. I think it can, but we are going to have to change in big ways. To me, election night 2016 was a shattering moment-- and its what ultimately prompted me to run. I had believed that America would never elect a person who said and did the things that Donald Trump said and did. I believed that America today would never elect a bully, a liar, someone who preyed upon our worst fears and sought to divide us to win support. We might come close to electing such a demagogue, but at this stage in our countrys history we would never actually do it. I was obviously wrong. The better angels of our nature had given way to our most base sensibilities. A presidency built on hope was followed by one grounded in our worst fears. In early January, as President Obama prepared to leave office, he gave his farewell address, warning that we cant take democracy for granted. That it falls on each of us to be anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. What the speech said to me is that, yes, America is a special place. But its only special because generation after generation has continually engaged in making it so-- even as there are setbacks, sometimes dramatic setbacks, along the way. Then, at Danets urging, on January 21st we attended the Womens March in Washington, D.C. My sister Meghan and our friend Lissette went too. It was an extraordinary day as millions around the world rose up. It was there that I thought to myself that this remarkable moment of protest must also be a moment of real and lasting change-- and wondered how to try and live that. It was there that I decided to run. The reason I decided to drop everything, leave my job at Knight Foundation and do something Id never done before was because I believed we were-- and are-- at a pivotal moment. This is not a normal election year. I firmly believe that years from now people will ask about this time, what did we do? What did we do when a President-- along with a compliant Republican-controlled Congress-- called for border walls, Muslim bans, tore thousands of immigrant children from their parents, bowed to a foreign power that meddled in our election, sympathized with neo-Nazis, sought to use law enforcement as a means to settle political scores, and declared the press an enemy of the state. This election is our moment to reaffirm and declare who we are-- and who we are not-- as a country. But, in doing so, we have to realize that this election is about whats next. It cant just be about what were against, but it has to be about what were for. Indeed, while Donald Trump has contributed much to our dysfunctional politics, the truth is that hes the result of a dysfunctional system that has been spiraling for some time. We are only going to achieve the change we need if we dispense with the incrementalism that has defined our politics for so long and think-- and do-- in dramatic new ways. And allow new leaders to emerge in a political system thats long become stuck. Put another way, its a two-part challenge: ensure that today does not become the new normal, and provide a vision for what tomorrow will look like. With that in mind, we sought to run a campaign that actually represented the change we seek. At a time when money is undermining our democracy, we didnt accept any funding from political action committees, federal lobbyists or special interests like big sugar. At a time when so many have given up on politics, our campaign was powered by extraordinary campaign fellows who were the heart and soul of our effort. At a time when so many are disconnected from our government, we built a field program that sought to personally engage voters in every neighborhood in every part of the district. At a time when the leadership in Congress hasnt changed in years, we called for an entirely new slate of people in leadership roles in the House. The new faces in the next Congress must not be just newly elected members, but the leaders at the top too. Of course, our efforts did not result in a victory. But I have no regrets. After all, this is a moment to take chances. And throughout my life Ive always sought to take chances by diving into entirely new things; and going all-in when I do. Whether it was going to New Orleans to write a biography on Professor Longhair (still unfinished). Or moving to Miami-- where I didnt know a soul (but met my soulmate)-- to become a journalist (where I had a great run that lasted nearly a decade). Or leaving the Miami Herald to join Knight Foundation (where I had an even better run), in which I launched an entirely new program that planted the seeds and propelled Miamis rapidly emerging startup and entrepreneurial community. I want to stretch myself, test boundaries and be willing to do entirely new things. Incumbent to that approach will be wins and losses. Its the in-between that I want to avoid. Make no mistake, I dearly wish I was part of the Blue Wave at this critical point in our countrys history. But Im not. This moment belongs to candidates with names like Gillum, ORourke, Pressley, Lamb, Ocasio-Cortez, and so many others. I will be cheering every one of them on, and support in any way I can. We need them to win and be good leaders when a new Congress is sworn in in January. And, each in our own way, we all need to lean in and help. The moment is too important. The challenges are too great. The stakes too high. No one can sit this out. So whats next? The short answer is, I dont know. I do know that I have many people to thank. I remember when I decided to run, a friend advised that people look at you differently when youre a political candidate. He cautioned that youll be disappointed by friends you thought would be there. But he also said youll be surprised by the support from those you didnt know before or never expected. Focus and delight in the latter, he said. And I will. (One quick note: Danet and I took some time away after the election. If you havent heard from me yet, youll be hearing from me soon.) After such an all-consuming period I also have many friendships to renew, which I am looking forward to doing. Life is about chapters and seasons. The thing about political campaigns is the chapter ends so suddenly. After such an intense period, its quickly and suddenly over. Its a crash landing. But a new chapter begins. There is power in blank canvases. Ive experienced it before. Its at moments like these when you can edit your life and think completely anew. Its often at these moments when the unimagined happens, when you follow completely new paths and find unexpected success. I have no idea what this next chapter will bring, but Im excited to find out. After the race, I spoke with Reggie, who is a great friend and the father of Joshua, my little through Big Brother Big Sister for more than a decade. Reggie said to me: You gotta keep pressing on my man. Its all good. That pretty much says it all. Keep pressing on. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. WEST LAMPETER, Pa. Buoyed by an energy veteran political operatives could only compare to the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, Democrats appear to be on the verge of winning back the House of Representatives and potentially winning a slew of competitive governors races in Tuesdays midterm elections. But the party is at risk of losing ground in the United States Senate, where significant losses could lock it out of power in the upper chamber for the foreseeable future. At the center of it all are two major issues: President Donald Trump and health care. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released this week found 40 percent of respondents said they wanted their vote in the midterms to send a signal of opposition to the president, while 32 percent said they wanted to use it to send a signal of support. Months of public polling have found health care to be the top issue in the election, with Democrats holding a strong advantage in public opinion. Those two factors, combined with a surge of grassroots energy that has kept Democratic campaign coffers full and campaign offices brimming with volunteers for door-knocking. National Democrats are as confident as ever in predicting gains in House and gubernatorial elections. Were looking at more Democratic governors, across a broad swath of the country, said Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state and the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, who had just come from an event for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Theres reason to be confident that more than half of the population of America will have a Democratic governor by midnight on election night. Inslees group has provided key assistance to Abrams and another rising progressive star, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, in their bids for higher office. Democrats are optimistic that Gillum, who will spend election night rallying with Diddy at his alma mater, Florida A&M, will triumph over former GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis. In Georgia, however, both parties are now preparing for the likelihood of a costly run-off between Abrams and Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Story continues Prognosticators now view it as likely that Democrats will win the 23 seats they need to reclaim control of the House. Republicans have all but ceded more than a dozen seats, and Democrats need to win fewer than half of the toss-up seats to claim Congress lower chamber. In states like Pennsylvania, where Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to cruise to re-election by a comfortable margin, the coattails of a popular chief executive could benefit Democratic House candidates in races that would likely not be competitive in an ordinary midterm election year. Some of those contenders in the Keystone State are Ron DiNicola, an attorney running in a district that includes Erie; George Scott, a military veteran and pastor running in a district that includes Harrisburg; and Jess King, a progressive Mennonite and nonprofit leader from Lancaster City. All of these candidates, if they win, are expected to do so on the backs of white suburban women. In the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Democrats have a 55 percent to 37 percent lead over Republicans among female voters. Men favor Republicans by a narrower margin, 50 percent to 43 percent. Amanda Roth, who has two children, earns a comfortable salary from her work at a small accounting company in Lancaster County. A self-described fiscal conservative, Roth remains a registered Republican and does not regret her vote for former Gov. Chris Christie in 2009 when she was living in New Jersey. But on Saturday, Roth was spending her afternoon knocking doors for Jess King, the Democrat challenging freshman Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R) in one of the few Pennsylvania districts where Democratic fortunes soured after court-ordered redistricting in 2011. Like many of the suburban women flocking to Democrats this election cycle, Roth is motivated by her disgust with President Donald Trump, whose xenophobia and boorish conduct she says she cannot abide. Yet when she described her passion for King as a candidate, she brought up health care, not Trump. Roth has soured on employer-sponsored insurance after years of enduring costly, inadequate coverage. Her current plan has a $6,000 deductible, so she tries to avoid going to the doctor. For as long as Ive been working, Ive wanted a single-payer system, she told HuffPost while picking up her canvassing materials at a volunteers house-turned-field office. Overhearing Roth, King stepped over to offer her a high five. Although Kings district, which Trump won by 26 percentage points, is not even a secondary target for national party organs like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a late October poll showed Smucker with just a 4-point lead. Regardless of the outcome, Kings competitive bid and the crossover support she has attracted for an unabashedly progressive platform underscores just how ominous the political landscape is for House Republicans on Tuesday. With top Democrats confidently predicting a House takeover, Republican Party leaders are scrambling to limit the size of a Democratic majority. That has taken the form of both last-minute efforts to buttress hitherto secure incumbents like Reps. Glenn Grothman (Wis.) and Brian Mast (Fla.) and distance themselves from figures like Iowa Rep. Steve King, whose sympathy for white nationalism is a liability in other parts of the country. Over the weekend, the major Republican super PAC charged with defending the GOP House majority, Congressional Leadership Fund, launched a six-figure get-out-the-vote campaign to save Alaska Rep. Don Young, the longest-serving member of the House, who is facing a tougher-than-anticipated challenge from independent Alyse Galvin. If Democrats do face a downside on Tuesday, it will likely be in the all-important United States Senate. Democrats faced one of the toughest political maps in history, defending incumbents in 10 states Trump won. They are likely to lose the North Dakota seat held by Heidi Heitkamp, and seats in Missouri, Indiana and Montana are also at risk. Democrats have pick-up opportunities in Nevada and Arizona, and early vote data in both states have made them more optimistic. Theyre less confident of making gains in Tennessee, where moderate former Gov. Phil Bredesen is facing arch-conservative Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and in Texas, where political phenom Beto ORourke is more likely than not to fall to Sen. Ted Cruz. Theyre also confident of keeping a seat in Florida held by Sen. Bill Nelson, which Republicans had once promised GOP Gov. Rick Scott would take easily by using his personal wealth to outspend the Democrat. Still, if Republicans manage to win a majority of the toss-up races, a smaller Senate map in 2020 could make it difficult for Democrats to reclaim control of Congress upper chamber until 2022 or 2024. Trump has concentrated his campaigning in recent days in states with competitive Senate races and ended Monday night in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he is rallying with the states youthful attorney general, Josh Hawley. However, polls over the weekend looked good for Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri, who is battling Hawley. She definitely has the energy, and the field effort is better than anyone Ive seen in Missouri. Momentum is on her side, said Abe Rakov, who managed Democrat Jason Kanders Missouri Senate bid in 2016. Its going to come down to the environment of Missouri, and whether her ground game is enough to overcome that. Statewide races throughout states where Trump surged Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio look good for Democrats. The four incumbent Democratic senators in those states are safe, and Gretchen Whitmer is all but certain to win Michigans gubernatorial contest. Democrats have strong chances to finally defeat Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and to win in both Iowa and Ohio. This is a significant confidence builder for the Democratic Party that we can be competitive in the Midwest, Inslee said. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. DUP chief whip Jeffrey Donaldson signs paperwork with then-chief whip of the Conservative Party in Jun 2017. Photo: Reuters The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose 10 MPs prop up Theresa Mays government, warned on Tuesday that the UK is heading for a no-deal Brexit, even after Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar on Monday signalled a willingness to consider a review process for the Northern Ireland backstop. In response to tweet from Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney on Monday, the DUPs chief whip in the House of Commons, Jeffrey Donaldson, cautioned that it Looks like were heading for no-deal. Coveney had noted that Irelands position on the Northern Ireland backstop remains consistent, and that a time-limited backstop that could be ended by UK unilaterally would never be agreed. Looks like were heading for no deal. Such an outcome will have serious consequences for economy of Irish Republic. In addition, UK wont have to pay a penny more to EU, which means big increase for Dublin. Cant understand why Irish Government seems so intent on this course. https://t.co/1L4WF1n85N Jeffrey Donaldson MP (@J_Donaldson_MP) November 6, 2018 In Ireland, Varadkars openness to considering proposals for a review of the backstop, something that was communicated during a phone call with May on Monday, has been considered in some quarters to be a concession, even though he stated that the outcome of any such review could not involve a unilateral decision to end the backstop. Lisa Chambers, the Brexit spokesperson of Irish party Fianna Fail, which similarly supports Varadkars government in parliament, said that his willingness to consider a review process was a significant and potentially hazardous change in direction. The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Brexit secretary Dominic Raab had taken a hardline stance on the border, insisting that the UK should have the right to pull out of the backstop via a review process after just three months. Story continues READ MORE: Brexit deal faces fresh delay after Raab sparks Irish border row This prompted Coveneys Monday tweet, which said that such ideas are not backstops at all and dont deliver on previous UK commitments. Donaldson said that he could not understand why the Irish government seems so intent on this course. A no-deal outcome, he said, will have serious consequences for economy of Irish Republic. In addition, UK wont have to pay a penny more to EU, which means big increase for Dublin. The DUP is opposed to a Northern Ireland-specific backstop, since, if it came into effect, it would require Northern Ireland to be more closely aligned with the EUs customs and trade rules than the rest of the UK. TIME announced today that Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal has been appointed Editor-in-Chief and CEO of TIME. I am truly honored to lead the extraordinary TIME team, said TIME Editor-in-Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal. I am inspired by our staffs commitment to the highest standards of journalism, the impact that our brand has around the globe, and expanding on our ambitions in both the near and long-term future. We are thrilled Edward will continue his outstanding leadership of TIME, said Marc and Lynne Benioff, Co-Chairs of TIME. Under Edwards leadership, the TIME team has achieved strong profitability, created new products and now reaches the largest audience in its history, 100 million people around the world. TIMEs fast-growing video operation won an Emmy Award in 2017, a National Magazine Award in 2018 and will see nearly 2 billion streams this year. It has extended its world-class slate of franchises and events including the TIME 100 list of the Most Influential People. TIME continues to be the largest U.S. print title in news, with 2 million subscribers. Felsenthal joined TIME five years ago as editor of TIME Digital and led a major expansion of the brands digital footprint, including the establishment of a 24/7 newsroom and video operation. In 2016, Felsenthal was named Group Digital Director of News and Lifestyle at Time Inc., a role in which he led digital content and growth across a dozen titles. Felsenthal helped launch The Daily Beast in 2008 as its founding Executive Editor, a role in which he built a digital newsroom that grew quickly from a start-up to a nationally recognized brand with millions of monthly unique users. Prior to that, he was a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal for 15 years. He was named Deputy Managing Editor of the Journal in 2005; was the founding editor of Personal Journal, where he guided health coverage that led to two Pulitzer Prizes; and oversaw news strategy, driving integration of the digital and print teams. Story continues Felsenthal is on the board of the American Society of Magazine Editors, serves on the advisory board of the NYU Center for Publishing and is a senior fellow at the Edward R. Murrow Center at the Tufts Fletcher School. A graduate of Princeton University, he earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School as well as a masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts. About TIME: An essential destination for storytelling on the issues that matter, TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of 100 million across all platforms. TIMEs major franchises include the TIME 100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Best Inventions, Genius Companies, The Health Care 50, and more. TIME convenes people across borders and walks of life for an open exchange of ideas. It is privately owned by Marc and Lynne Benioff. By Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) - Egypt has postponed a visit by Brazil's top diplomat, Brazil's foreign ministry said on Monday, in a move that two diplomatic sources said was due to the President-elect's vow to relocate the South American country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Aloysio Nunes Ferreira was set to fly to Cairo for a Nov. 8-11 visit, during which he was to meet with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Egypt's foreign ministry postponed Nunes Ferreira's trip, citing problems with senior officials' agendas, the foreign ministry said on Monday. But the foreign ministry sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said no new date has been proposed, signaling Egypt's discontent with Jair Bolsonaro's proposal. Egypt's embassy in Brasilia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bolsonaro's promise to relocate Brazil's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv follows a similar move by U.S. President Donald Trump in May, after he recognized the city as the capital of Israel. Palestinians also claim as their political capital. The U.S. move stirred outrage especially in the Middle East as most countries insist that Jerusalem's status, as a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians, should be determined in a final peace settlement between Israel and Palestine. Bolsonaro's promise breaks with longstanding Brazilian foreign policy in support of a two-state solution to the conflict. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing and additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Richard Chang) CAIRO (AP) Egypt's president says media coverage played a "negative role" in the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told reporters Tuesday "we need to stop and wait for the relevant authorities and judicial bodies (in Saudi Arabia) to announce the outcome of the investigations." Saudi authorities denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts for weeks before acknowledging he was killed inside the consulate by Saudi agents. That acknowledgement came after Turkish media reported that the Washington Post columnist had been killed and dismembered by a Saudi hit squad. His body has yet to be recovered. Saudi Arabia has given Egypt billions of dollars in aid in recent years. CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the army will come to the defense of Gulf Arabs if they face any direct threats, a pro-government newspaper said on Tuesday. Youm7 newspaper also quoted Sisi as saying in response to a question on U.S. sanctions on Iran: "Instability affects us all and any state that has instability affects all of us." Sisi's Egypt is aligned with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, joining their boycott of Qatar last year and opposing Iran's regional influence. "Our Arab peoples must remain aware and have true consciousness of what the region is going through," Youm7 quoted Sisi as saying at a youth forum in the Red Sea city of Sharm al-Sheikh. "We stand by our brothers in the Gulf wholeheartedly and if Gulf security is directly threatened by anyone, the Egyptian people, even before their leadership, will not accept that and will mobilize forces to protect their brethren." Sisi also said Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait "need to be together more and their peoples should support the security and stability of their countries," state news agency MENA reported. The five countries are among eight Arab nations involved in joint military exercises that began in Egypt on Saturday in a move that could evolve into a regional pact to counter Irans influence. Answering a question on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Sisi said Saudi Arabia was "bigger than someone shaking its stability," according to MENA. "We must all wait for the investigations into the case because the media has not had a positive role and we must trust the wisdom and bravery of King Salman," he added. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, disappeared at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Saudi officials initially insisted Khashoggi had left the consulate, then said he died in an unplanned "rogue operation". The kingdoms public prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb later said he was killed in a premeditated attack. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba; Writing by Sami Aboudi and Yousef Saba; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Aidan Lewis) For most U.S. voters, living or working far from home isn't a barrier to voting on election day. That's what absentee ballots are for. But what if you work someplace really far away, like say... outer space? American astronauts get to vote just like everyone else. They just have to get that process started a whole lot earlier. It's all thanks to a Texas law passed in 1997, as NASA discusses in a helpful Tumblr post. (The law originates in Texas because the majority of astronauts live there, near Johnson Space Center in Houston.) The coolest fact here: NASA calls voting from space... "space voting." (Let's be real, everything is inherently more awesome when you put "space" in front of it.) SEE ALSO: Candidate's 5-year-old son captures every voter's heart by lying down on the tarmac The space voting process starts a full year before election day, with each astronaut selecting which local, state, and federal election in which she or he wants to cast a vote. Then, six months out, each registered voter astronaut receives a standard form absentee ballot request form. Astronaut Shane Kimbrough was aboard the International Space Station during the 2016 presidential election. He talked about the space voting process in a radio interview with News 88.7 in Houston. "Its a right that we have here, and it was neat to exercise that right from such a unique vantage point and a unique place and doing it while going 17,000 miles an hour. Thats kind of cool too," he said. "The local folks [in Houston] sent me an encrypted, secure email with the ballot and then I just filled it out on board and sent it back down via email to the appropriate folks. And thats how I voted." Many of the Democratic women who are running for office for the first time this year consider themselves part of the Resistance to President Donald Trumps agenda. Not Elissa Slotkin. The Democratic candidate in Michigans 8th district says shes challenging Republican incumbent Mike Bishop out of patriotism, not protest. Since Ronald Reagan we have had this assumption in the United States that the Republicans are the party of the military, the Republicans are the party of patriotism, the Republicans are the party of American values, she says over a plate of french fries at a small diner in Holly, Mich. And if there was ever a moment for a strategic shift, its now. Slotkin has the resume to make the case. She served three tours in Iraq as a CIA analyst, then on the National Security Council as director for Iraq under President George W. Bush. She briefed Bush so frequently on Iraq policy that they developed a friendly relationship, even though they often disagreed. Slotkin stayed on through Barack Obamas presidency and ultimately became the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, where she oversaw policy for some of the Pentagons most pressing issues. She says there were two things that spurred her to run for office this year. One was the mood in Washington after Trumps election: the sense that Republicans and Democrats who had once cooperated despite their disagreements now seemed to be in open warfare. For me, as someone who worked for both Republicans and Democrats, it felt so different, she says, and so ugly, and so unbecoming of this country. The other was health care. Before she passed away, Slotkins mother had struggled to get affordable insurance because of a pre-existing condition (she had survived breast cancer as a young mom). When Slotkin saw Bishop smile as he joined Trump at the White House to celebrate the GOP vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, she was enraged. It was like Christmas for him, she says. And I turned to my husband and I said, No, You dont get to do that. You dont get to ignore your constituents and vote against their interests and keep your job.' Story continues In a district that leans conservative, Slotkin has made it a tight contest by emphasizing the need to tone down the partisan squabbling. I dont believe all Republicans are bad, she says, noting her dad is a Republican and her in-laws are Trump voters. Republican Women for Progress, a PAC founded by anti-Trump conservative women, has spent $50,000 on an ad featuring a Republican woman supporting Slotkin. Slotkin also doesnt identify with the progressive activists who have dominated Democratic politics this year. I dont consider myself part of the Resistance because thats against something, and you have to be for something, she says, gesturing to the other patrons in the diner and noting that many of them probably voted for Obama and then Trump. On health care, Slotkins pitch is an ACA reform that includes a buy-in to Medicare, allowing the program to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies to keep prescription drug costs down. In this part of the country, she says, if you cant explain to people what youre going to do for their pocketbooks or their kids, you dont deserve your vote. While mass protests against border separations or Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaughs confirmation may be driving enthusiasm and fundraising in more liberal areas, in the Midwest, we cannot stand the vitriol, says Slotkin, recalling that her Democratic mother and Republican father never fought about politics. Peoples neighbors see the signs and they walk on eggshells around each other. Moms tell me they dont want to talk to other moms when they drop their kids off at school. Thanksgiving dinner is super uncomfortable. Midwesterners cant stand that. Other first-time women candidates, many of them veterans, have taken a similar approach. Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot running for Congress in Kentucky, has avoided running negative ads against her opponent, GOP Rep. Andy Barr. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot running in New Jersey, writes on her website that she never asked if someone was a Republican or a Democrat before starting a mission. Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran running in Pennsylvania, ran an ad in October about how so much anger and partisanship is turning our country upside down, and vowed to heal our country so that together we can turn Washington right side up again. For Slotkin, that means reclaiming core American values like diversity, a free press and freedom of expression, even if it means protesting the national anthem. My husband spent 30 years in the Army risking his life so that people have the right to kneel, she says. Its a non-partisan message that seems to be resonating in her district. She has positioned herself as more moderate than some of the Democrats that have done so well this cycle, says David Dulio, director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University in Michigan. Shes hitting on themes that are not always partisan. Slotkin hopes that the rise of female veterans committed to country over party may represent a shift in American politics. So many veterans and service candidates are running this time on the Democratic side, says Slotkin. We will look back on this year and say thats the year when things started to shift, when the Democrats said, No, were not going to accept that somehow youre a patriot if you dont stand up for American values.' Berlin (AFP) - A former SS guard aged 94 broke down in tears Tuesday on the first day of his trial in Germany charged with complicity in mass murder at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The German man from the western district of Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia state, served as a guard from June 1942 to September 1944 at the Stutthof camp near what was then Danzig, now Gdansk in Poland. He was not publicly named but German media identified him as Johann R., a retired landscape architect and divorced father of three. Dressed in a wool suit, he entered the regional court of Muenster in a wheelchair, with a walking stick in hand, facing charges of being an accessory to the murders of several hundred camp prisoners. These included more than 100 Polish prisoners gassed in June 1944 and "probably several hundred" Jews killed from August to December 1944 as part of the Nazis' so-called "Final Solution". Initially composed, the defendant started weeping when the court heard written testimony from Holocaust survivors who now live in the United States or Israel, read out by their lawyers. Marga Griesbach recalled, according to national news agency DPA, how she saw her six-year-old brother for the last time in the camp before he was sent to Auschwitz where he died in the gas chambers. Another survivor and co-plaintiff, a woman from the US state of Indianapolis, charged that the defendant "helped to murder my beloved mother, whom I have missed my entire life". - 'Gassed, shot, left to die' - Aged 18 to 20 at the time, and therefore now being tried under juvenile law, the defendant is "accused in his capacity as a guard of participating in the killing operations," Dortmund prosecutor Andreas Brendel told AFP. "Many people were gassed, shot or left to die of hunger," he added, stressing that the guards "knew about the killing methods". But when interrogated by police in August 2017, the accused insisted he knew nothing about the atrocities in the camp, Die Welt daily reported. Story continues Asked why the camp detainees were so thin, he reportedly said that food was so scarce for everyone that, figuratively speaking, two soldiers could fit into one uniform. Stutthof was set up in 1939 and would end up holding 110,000 detainees, 65,000 of whom perished, according to the Museum Stutthof. Each court hearing will likely last for a maximum of two hours due to the defendant's advanced age -- even though, prosecutor Brendel said, "mentally, he is still fit". The defendant was planning to make a statement during the course of the trial, his lawyer told DPA. If found guilty, he faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison -- even though, given his age and the possibility of an appeal, he is considered unlikely to serve any time behind bars. Brendel noted that German law has no statute of limitations on murder and pointed to the moral imperative to pursue the case. "Germany owes it to the families and victims to prosecute these Nazi crimes even today," he said. "That is a legal and moral question." - 'No exceptions' - Germany has been racing to put on trial surviving SS personnel, after the legal basis for prosecuting former Nazis changed in 2011 with the landmark conviction of former death camp guard John Demjanjuk. He was sentenced not for any atrocities he committed, but on the basis that he was a cog in the Nazi killing machine by serving at the Sobibor camp in occupied Poland. German courts subsequently convicted Oskar Groening, an accountant at Auschwitz, and Reinhold Hanning, a former SS guard at the same camp, for mass murder. However both men, convicted at age 94, died before they could be imprisoned. Prosecutors have also filed charges against another former SS guard at Stutthof, a 93-year-old from the city of Wuppertal. It remains to be determined if he is fit to stand trial. Historian Peter Schoettler highlighted "an important humanitarian and legal reason" to push on with the justice process, stressing that "the rule of law should not allow for exceptions". Griesbach, in her testimony, said that "I don't harbour hatred or rage in my heart". Rather, she said her main concern was remembrance of the crimes at a time when Holocaust deniers are being heard again, including in her country the United States. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev KCBC Brewery Starting at 5 p.m., show up at this Bushwick brewery with your I Voted sticker and score $1 off draft beers. Airs Champagne and Morgensterns These two Lower East Side spots will set up in Washington Square Park from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. to give away free champagne and ice cream to anyone with an I Voted sticker. One Girl Cookies Get a free tea cookie with an I Voted sticker. Ovenly A free cup of coffee for anyone wearing a voting sticker. Blue Marble Get a House Scoop ($2.37) with Senate Sprinkles ($0.25) with your I Voted sticker. Melt Bakery Free mini Cinnamax ice-cream sandwiches (cinnamon ice cream between two snickerdoodle cookies) at the shops on Front Street and Orchard Street with an I Voted sticker. Ample Hills Enjoy 18 percent off all scoops storewide with a sticker. Baked Get a $1 sprinkle cupcake with an I Voted sticker. La Newyorkina At Fany Gersons ice cream shop, an I Voted sticker will score you a free hot chocolate. Great on a rainy day. The Good Batch Get a free signature cookie brown-butter salty cookie, oat chocolate-chunk cookie, ginger molasses cookie, chunky peanut butter cookie, chocolate fudge cookie, or white-chocolate cranberry cookie with a sticker. Jomart Chocolates Hit the polls and get a free hot chocolate. Butter & Scotch Unsurprisingly, the self-described drunk bakers are giving out free shots to anyone with an I Voted sticker. Voters under 21 not included. Dolce Brooklyn Grab a free small coffee with your sticker. Colson Patisserie Liberte, egalite, fraternite, and free chouquettes for voters. Shake Shack Show your I Voted sticker at any Shake Shack location and score free crinkle fries with any purchase. Or use the code ivoted in the app to get the deal. Threes Brewing The Gowanus brewery is offering buy one, get one free drafts of their People Power beer, a very drinkable German pilsner with honeysuckle and genmaicha tea, all evening long for voters. Mekelburgs Both locations of the beer shop/general store are giving free 8-ounce cups of drip coffee to voters. Court Street Grocers Bring your I Voted sticker to any one of the sandwich shops four locations and receive a free coffee or tea. Daily Provisions All proceeds from purchases of the shops Election Day Crullers will go to the charity organization When We All Vote. Sunday in Brooklyn Stop by this Williamsburg restaurant with your I Voted sticker and youll get a free Miller High Life. Film Forum Okay, its not a restaurant, but if you come to this movie theater with your I Voted sticker youll get a free small gourmet popcorn courtesy of the upcoming Flynn McGarry documentary. Wythe Hotel Show up with your sticker and get $8 glasses of champagne from Reynard and The Ides. Samesa Get 10% off orders with an I Voted sticker. Louis Bar NYC Bring in your I Voted sticker and snag a free glass of wine. UpNorth Trade in your I Voted sticker for a free Molson brew. Fuku Bring in your I Voted sticker and get $1 off your order. Little King Showing your I Voted sticker will earn you a free shot of whiskey or tequila. Perfect for celebrating or easing the pain. The Dynamite Shop If you bring in your sticker, The Dynamite Shop will give you a free cup of coffee to help keep you energized for all those late night election results. Treat House Show your I Voted sticker to receive a buy one, get one rice krispie treat. Tobys Estate All Tobys Estate locations will offer $1 small drip coffees to anyone with an I Voted sticker. Black Seed Bagel Head on over to any one of the four Black Seed Bagel locations to receive a free cup of coffee with any purchase when you show your I Voted sticker. Left Bank Starting at 5 p.m., Left Bank will waive its corkage fee for anyone who comes in and shows their I Voted sticker. For the past month, Left Bank has helped register people to vote and has provided New Yorkers information on how to check their voter registration status. Union Square Hospitality Group Show this post at any Union Square Hospitality business for a buy one get one free cocktail. BKLYN Larder Treat yourself to a free cookie after performing your civic duty. Just head over to the Larder and show them your I Voted sticker. Crimson & Rye Starting at 4 p.m., get $1 off all draft beers when you show your I Voted sticker. Honeys Bring in your I Voted sticker and happy hour prices will last all day for you over at Honeys. The Goods Mart Walk in with your I Voted sticker and walk out with a free 8oz La Colombe coffee. Loosie Rouge Show the staff over at Lossie Rouge your voting sticker and the first drink is on them. Joe Coffee Company If you head over to any Joe Coffee Company location wearing your I Voted sticker you can leave with a free 12 oz cup of fresh drip coffee. This post will be updated throughout the day with new deals and parties. Facebook removed more than 100 accounts that it believes may have been involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior ahead of Tuesdays midterm elections. Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy for the social media giant, said in a statement Monday that law enforcement contacted the company on Sunday about activity linked to foreign entities. Facebook has since identified and removed 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts. Almost all of the Facebook pages were in French or Russian, Gleicher added, and the Instagram accounts were mainly in English and focused on either celebrity content or political debate. Typically, we would be further along with our analysis before announcing anything publicly, he said. But given that we are only one day away from important elections in the U.S., we wanted to let people know about the action weve taken and the facts as we know them today. Facebook had removed 82 pages linked to Iran late last month for the same reason. Offering more detail, the company said that groups and accounts posed as U.S. or UK citizens, posting content on divisive topics like race relations and immigration. In August, another 652 pages also linked to Iran were taken down. The fight to battle foreign disinformation has raged since efforts to influence a variety of elections worldwide, including the 2016 presidential election, came to light. Facebook has since tried to clamp down on nefarious foreign actors. In September, Facebook set up a war room in its California headquarters dedicated to rooting out disinformation related to the midterms. We see this as probably the biggest companywide reorientation since our shift from desktops to mobile phones, Samidh Chakrabarti, whos in charge of elections and civic engagement at Facebook, told The New York Times. Last month, the company announced that it planned to ban fake news about voting requirements and fake reports of violence or long lines at polling stations. Story continues Related... Facebook To Ban Voter Misinformation In Upcoming U.S. Elections Facebook Identifies Iran-Linked Disinformation Effort With More Than 1 Million Followers Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) - Voters in several states on Tuesday will vote on ballot measures that could change state laws on a range of divisive social issues, including abortion and marijuana. ABORTION: Three states - Alabama, Oregon and West Virginia - have initiatives on the ballot with the potential to restrict access to abortion, which is protected by the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. In Alabama and West Virginia, voters will decide whether to amend their state constitutions with language that could pave the way for future restrictions on abortion should the Supreme Court revisit or overturn Roe v. Wade under its conservative majority. In Oregon, a ballot measure would prohibit using public money to fund abortion except in cases of medical necessity or where required by federal law. MARIJUANA: In Michigan and North Dakota, voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana possession and use for anyone over the age of 21. Michigan's ballot initiative would permit residents to grow up to 12 plants for personal use and levy a 10 percent sales tax on cannabis sales. North Dakota's proposal would legalize pot use and possession but, unlike most other states with such laws, does not establish a framework for regulation or taxes for pot businesses, leaving those decisions to lawmakers. Utah's initiative would legalize the use of medical marijuana through privately owned dispensaries but lost support after state lawmakers said they had agreed on a compromise plan that would instead allow patients to obtain cannabis from county health departments or a handful of state-approved pharmacies. Utah Governor Gary Herbert has said he would call a special legislative session to take up that proposed law later this month, regardless of whether voters approved the ballot measure. Missouri voters will have three choices for permitting the use of medical marijuana: two that would amend the state constitution and a third that would create a new law. All three options carry sales taxes, with funds going to veterans programs or in the case of the third choice, a marijuana research center. VOTING RIGHTS: Florida voters must decide on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would restore voting rights to about 1.5 million Floridians with felony convictions. Its passage could reverberate beyond Florida into the 2020 presidential election due to the important role the state often plays in deciding close national elections. MINIMUM WAGE: An Arkansas ballot initiative would raise the state minimum wage, in increments, from the current $8.50 per hour to $11 per hour by 2021. One in Missouri would raise the minimum wage from its current $7.85 per hour to $12 per hour by 2023. TRANSGENDER RIGHTS In Massachusetts, voters will be asked whether to repeal a bill passed by state lawmakers in 2016 that allows transgender people to use bathrooms, locker rooms and other sex-segregated spaces according to the gender with which they identify. Supporters of the repeal say that women do not feel safe sharing intimate spaces with people with male bodies even if they identify as women, a position shared by conservative groups as well as some feminists. Opponents argue that the legislation is critical to protecting transgender people from discrimination. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade on Monday said former President Barack Obama is fearmongering just like President Donald Trump has been accused of doing only more eloquently. I mean, President Obama, unbelievable charisma the way he can speak. How convincing he delivers it as a public speaker without fear, Kilmeade said on the morning show, a day before the 2018 midterm elections. The problem is we watched him for eight years, weve seen his policies and weve seen his promises and they fall flat. Hes saying the same thing as President Trump, only he says it more eloquently. He does talk about fear. He does talk about what will happen if you dont vote my way. He just does it in a different way. Obama, during an appearance in Indiana over the weekend, accused Trump, without saying his name, of lying and fearmongering about the migrant caravan of refugees traveling to the United States from Central America for asylum. He said Trump is using frothy rhetoric about the caravan as a political stunt. Theyre telling us that the single most grave threat to America is a bunch of poor, impoverished, broke, hungry refugees a thousand miles away, Obama said during a rally for Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.). Unfortunately sometimes these tactics are scaring people, and making stuff up works. Trump has been stoking pre-election, anti-immigrant fear with frequent references to a caravan, calling it an invasion and alleging in tweets that includes very bad thugs and gang members. He has repeatedly told the migrants to go back to their country and has deployed thousands of active-duty Army troops to guard the border. Brian Kilmeade doesnt understand why Obama doesnt get the same scrutiny as Trump, even though they both talk about fear on the campaign trail. pic.twitter.com/yPcNYqBONc Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) November 5, 2018 Kilmeade, a Trump apologist whose network has faithfully promoted the presidents invasion rhetoric, said Obamas message is just as dire as Trumps. Story continues The message is the same, If you dont vote my way, the world is going to end, Kilmeade said of Obamas speeches. Where President Trump says, If you dont vote my way the world is going to change. Its the same thing. I just dont understand why President Obama doesnt get the same scrutiny. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Girl Scouts of the United States of America filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday, after the Boy Scouts decided to drop "Boy" from its namesake program and start welcoming older girls. The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court is an attempt by the Girl Scouts, founded in 1912, to avert an erosion of its brand and membership as the Boy Scouts, founded two years earlier, tries to reverse its own decades-long membership decline. It was filed after the Boy Scouts, which accepts children 11 to 17 years old, said in May it would change its name to Scouts BSA in February 2019, and make girls eligible to earn its highest rank, Eagle Scout. The Boy Scouts said in a statement it was reviewing the lawsuit. "We applaud every organization that builds character and leadership in children, including the Girl Scouts of the USA, and believe that there is an opportunity for both organizations to serve girls and boys in our communities," it added. Based in Irving, Texas, the Boy Scouts recently had about 2.28 million members, less than half its 1970s peak, while the Girl Scouts, based in Manhattan, said it has about 2 million. In the complaint, the Girl Scouts said the Boy Scouts have no monopoly over such terms as "scouts" and "scouting" when it offers services to girls. It also said the name change threatens to "marginalize" Girl Scouts activities and has already sown confusion, with families, schools and communities nationwide being told the organization no longer exists, or merged with the Boy Scouts. "Only GSUSA has the right to use the Girl Scouts and Scouts trademarks with leadership development services for girls," and the Boy Scouts infringements are "new and uniquely damaging to GSUSA," the complaint said. "We did what any brand, company, corporation, or organization would do to protect its intellectual property, the value of its brand in the marketplace, and to defend its good name," the Girl Scouts said in a statement. Story continues The Boy Scouts has said its rebranding was part of a single-name approach it adopted when it decided in October 2017 to let girls enroll in the Cub Scouts, for children 7 to 10 years old. It has also launched a "Scout Me In" campaign, featuring boys and girls. The case is Girl Scouts of the United States of America v Boy Scouts of America, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-10287. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Grant McCool) The government is divided Democrats have control of the House and Republicans are keeping control of the Senate. Is gridlock in Washington, D.C., good or bad for the stock market? The answer is complicated and depends whether youre a short-term or long-term investor. First, historical data suggests a unified government is better for the stock market. During the third and fourth years of a presidential term going back to 1935 the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose an average of roughly 18% annually when the government is controlled by Democrats or Republicans. That eclipses the 13% return under a divided government, according to analysis from BMO Capital Markets. In todays markets, however, some gridlock in Washington isnt a bad thing for stocks, according to Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco. The market gave us a nice pop in 2017 and that was largely in anticipation of tax reform, but 2018 has been a different environment because tariffs have weighed on stocks, she told Yahoo Finance. This years agenda, she said, has been far less supportive of growth. President Donald Trumps hawkish trade policies could be toned down with Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, which would create a divided government, Hooper pointed out. While the President has the power to impose tariffs, that privilege was initially given to Congress. Following the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of 1930, President Roosevelt convinced Congress to grant more tariff powers to the President, Hooper explained. There is the potential that you could see a Democratic House work with a Republican Senate to introduce legislation that claws back the presidents power over tariffs, since many Senate Republicans are in support of free-trade, she said. While Hooper acknowledges that such a legislation would likely be vetoed by the president, the notion of Congress taking a stronger stance on trade could moderate the [Trump] administrations trade policy. Story continues Worries about a trade war with China have kept a lid on the broader stock market so far in 2018, with the S&P 500 up only 3%. Still, regardless of Washington uncertainty, Hooper suggests taking advantage of any upcoming volatility and notes that Octobers stock sell-off has made valuations more attractive. Scott Gamm is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ScottGamm. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and reddit. More from Scott: These 2 forces could prompt companies to cut capital expenditures Mike Mayo warns of a capitalism civil war if Congress passes this bill How the S&P 500 could roar to 3,000 by year-end The US House of Representatives - Bloomberg The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the US Congress and is made up of 435 seats. The number of seats each US state receives depends on its population size. California, the most populous state, has 53 representatives while seven states - Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming have just one representative. The Republican Party currently controls the chamber with a 43-seat majority, but it is widely expected that the Democrats will gain control in tomorrow's midterm elections. The current House has 236 Republicans and 193 Democrats, with six vacant seats. The Democrats need a net gain of 24 seats to win a majority, which is no small accomplishment, but the president's low approval ratings have given the party reason to hope. How things could change Historically, the president's party routinely loses House seats in midterm elections. Indeed the University of Virginia's Centre for Politics points out that the president's party has lost seats in all but three of the 29 midterms held since 1900. The US economy is booming, with low unemployment rates and rising wages. However some Republicans have been unnerved by Donald Trump's spending. While Mr Trump's tax cuts for corporations was popular among business owners, the country's deficit has increased by 33 per cent in the past year to $895 billion. Donald Trump has been intensively campaigning for Republican candidates across the country Credit: Reuters Mr Trump's approval rating is around the 40 per cent mark - a figure which will not encourage Republicans standing for re-election. Moreover, a liberal base hoping to derail Mr Trump's agenda has energised Democratic activists in key races, out-fundraising and out-polling a host of Republican incumbents. Political website FiveThirtyEight, has given Democrats an 82 per cent chance of taking control of the House and gaining 38 seats. What will it mean for Donald Trump? If Democrats win the House, they get to decide which bills come to the floor - meaning President Donald Trump's domestic agenda will struggle to make its way into law. Story continues The party with a majority in the chamber also controls its committee chairmanships and has the power to issue subpoenas - so a Democrat-controlled House could enforce aggressive oversight of investigations of the president's administration, including alleged Russian collusion, Mr Trump's business dealings and sexual assault allegations against him. Pundits predict Democrats will launch controversial investigations into things like Mr Trump's tax returns and his previous business dealings. They may also seek public hearings with members of the Trump family, including his son Donald Jr who appears to be a key figure in the Russia investigation. Rep. Elijah Cummings during a church service with Bill Clinton Credit: AP Democrats on the House oversight committee, the chambers main investigative panel, have already suggested they are prepared to issue subpoenas if they gain control. Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, said: If Democrats win the majority in November, we would finally do what Republicans have refused to do, and that is conduct independent, fact-based, and credible investigations of the Trump administration". Mr Cummings said their investigations would "address issues like the security clearance process, conflicts of interest, the numerous attempts by Republicans to strip away healthcare from millions of Americans, postal service reforms, prescription drug pricing, and voting rights. But if Republicans hold on to the Senate, they will continue to approve Mr Trump's cabinet nominees and appoint conservative judges to US courtrooms. Seats to watch West Virginia Donald Trump won West Virginia's 3rd district by 30 points. But it is the Democratic candidate running in the district, which has a long history of coal mining, that is gaining national attention. Richard Ojeda says he voted for Mr Trump in 2016, opposes universal background checks for gun buyers, and is pro-coal. Mr Ojeda is running against Republican Carol Miller in the open-seat race after the incumbent Republican Evan Jenkins vacated the seat to run for the Senate. Polling suggests it will be a tight race between the two candidates, but analysts are keeping a close watch to see if a populist Democrat in a pro-Trump area is a winning formula. California Republican Representative Mimi Walters is battling to keep hold of her seat against Democrat Katie Porter in the state's 45th district, Orange County. The number of registered Republicans in the county has consistently declined as its population becomes more diverse. Ms Walters is one of seven Republicans representing districts in California which Hillary Clinton won in 2016. The Democrats need to take several of these in order to have a chance of regaining a majority in the House. Pundits are viewing a win in this race as a sign they will do well across Southern California - picking up crucial Republican-held seats. Professor Larry Sabato from the University of Virginias Center for Politics has changed his prediction from 'leaning Republican' to a 'toss-up'. Minnesota Minnesota's 8th district is considered one of the Democrats' most at-risk seats in November. It is a traditionally Democrat area - former president Barack Obama won the district twice but it swung heavily to Donald Trump in the 2016 election. The seat is currently held by Democrat Rick Nolan but the 74-year-old is not seeking re-election. The party's candidate Joe Radinovich, a former state legislator, is facing a tough battle against Republican Pete Stauber, a county commissioner. Texas The race in Texas' 23rd district will largely focus on one of the Trump administration's main concerns - immigration. The district contains a third of the US-Mexico border and has the second highest population of 'Dreamers' - the term given to undocumented migrants who arrived in America as children and have been granted temporary protection. The incumbent, Republican Will Hurd, is a former CIA agent who has chosen to distance himself from Mr Trump. His Democratic rival, Gina Ortiz Jones, is a Filipina-American, openly LGBTQ and an Iraq veteran. Mr Hurd, who became the first African-American elected to Congress from Texas when he was elected in 2015, is tipped to win by a narrow margin in the swing district. He has distanced himself from the national Republican party and even wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in July stating that the president had been manipulated by Russian intelligence. Florida Moderate Republicans will be looking to Florida's 26th district to see whether they can keep hold of a largely Hispanic area in the Trump era. The incumbent, Carlos Curbelo, is well-liked but Republicans still fear his Democrat opponent, Latin immigrant Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, could sweep to a surprise victory. Hillary Clinton won the district by 16 points in 2015. Campaigns rely on young volunteers to do the legwork needed just before the election. But the candidates they are working for are often much older. Thats not the case in Will Haskells campaign, which won a bid to unseat veteran Republican state Sen. Toni Boucher on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Georgetown graduate ran to unseat Republican state Sen. Toni Boucher, who has been in office for as long as Haskell has been alive. And Haskell did it by relying on an army of teen- and college-aged volunteers to knock on doors, hand out fliers and call potential supporters. Although hes young, Haskell is no political newcomer. He has worked for the Democratic National Committee, campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and interned for Rep. Jim Himes and Sen. Chris Murphy. He said he came back to his hometown after President Donald Trumps election win and found he disagrees with many political views of Boucher, who represented his home district. He realized that no one was planning on challenging her and then decided he would run. About one in three volunteers who worked for Haskells campaign were either high school students or in their early 20s, the 22-year-old campaign manager Jack Lynch said. Haskells campaign reflected a trend of young people getting involved in politics for this election season. According to Catalist, a voter data organization that works on the left, youth turnout rates among early voters were up 125% compared to the last midterms in 2014. Statewide, the voter registration between ages of 18 to 24 has more than doubled for the 2018 election cycle compared to four years ago, according to the Connecticut Secretary of the State office. A representative democracy should be representative, and it is not right now. Haskell told TIME during an interview recently, Everyday, legislators in Hartford and every state capitol and in Washington as well, they make decisions that are going to impact the state, the community, the country for decades to come, and they often do so without the input of the next generation. Story continues Kaila Finn, a 20-year-old writer for the campaign, recalled that she saw Haskells campaign ad on Facebook and was moved by his message about criminal justice reform and education and equality. She said she became more involved after finding out about bills like the Times Up Act, which aims to protect people from workplace harassments and assaults, died on the Connecticut House floor. Finn said she was also frustrated by many elected officials efforts to undercut bills and felt the current policies on issues like womens rights are not progressive enough. She decided to go full steam ahead with the campaign for Haskell, whose policy proposals focus on areas like paid family leave, gender wage gap and workplace harassment. Charlotte Cohen, who was in charge of photography and campaign advertisement designs, said that the activism of Parkland students empowered her as a young person who is unable to vote. She was inspired by Haskells speech at the March for Our Lives rally in Connecticut and later decided to volunteer for a campaign for the first time. I am really mad that I cant vote, the 17-year-old said, I think the best way I could use my power is to help other people get out and vote. Though many young volunteers on Haskells campaign could not vote in the 2018 midterms, he said, There is no minimum age for getting involved and to be on the right side of history. Sport Sharjah down Khorfakkan, Bani Yas win Khorfakkan went 3-1 down to visiting Sharjah who seem to have put the international halt to perfect use as they clearly outshone their rivals away from home in the tenth round of Pro League match as the tournament returned into action following a lengthy international break. When shares of Chevy Chase, Maryland-based real estate investment trust JBG Smith (JBGS) opened for trading this week, they jumped as much as 7% on the news that Amazon (AMZN) was closing in on naming Northern Virginia as the home of its second headquarters dubbed HQ2. When The Wall Street Journal later reported that Amazon had plans to split HQ2 among two cities, shares of JBG Smith almost immediately gave back a bit of its gains. Suffice it to say the REIT, which is a top landlord in Amazons target location of Arlingtons Crystal City neighborhood and boasts a mixed-use portfolio of over 20 million square feet, has benefited from the buzz surrounding the HQ2 contest. JBG Smith shares hit an all-time high of $40.23 on Monday and have outperformed the vast majority of companies in Bloombergs REIT index. The stock is up 14% on the year compared to a 3% decline posted by the overall group. All that has transpired without an official announcement from Amazon, which has technically yet to crown a city or cities as the HQ2 winner. That begs the question: Does JBG Smith still have room to run and is it a solid bet? JBG Smith CEO W. Matthew Kelly, right, is applauded as he rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell, Wednesday, July 26, 2017, to celebrate the closing of the spin-off/merger transaction between JBG and Vornado/Charles E. Smith. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Stifel Nicolaus Managing Director John Guinee, who upgraded his rating on JBG Smith to Hold from Sell in October amidst a rising likelihood of Amazon settling on Northern Virginia, told Yahoo Finance hes standing by his $37 price target until more concrete details emerge. The devil is in the details, he said. Obviously if it goes to Crystal City there is almost guaranteed to be significant economic concessions from the Commonwealth of Virginia and perhaps JBG Smith [if it leases office space to Amazon.] What sort of concessions that come out wont surface for a few quarters so you wont really know. Among the details Guinee will be watching when a final deal is announced are agreed upon rental rates, which might reveal how well Amazon used its leverage in its search for a home. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said HQ2 will add 50,000 employees and about $5 billion over two decades to the municipality that becomes the second home behind Amazons Seattle headquarters. Story continues What I remind people is that Amazon is the largest lessee of industrial space in the world, so they are really good at extracting concessions from municipalities or landlords, Guinee said, adding that while an influx of 50,000 or 25,000 employees will certainly be a boost to JBG Smiths market, it might not move the needle as much as people think. And then, there are still the troubles of the overall D.C. real estate market and JBG Smith-specific issues to consider. The D.C. market is one of the worst major office markets in the country, Guinee said, citing very little landlord pricing leverage. That has played a role in why Guinee also labels JBG Smith as having some of the weakest leasing fundamentals among the REITs he covers, pointing to high leasing costs and declining rents. Office rent in Washington D.C. averaged about $9,400 per workstation a year, compared to $15,931 and $16,205 in New York and San Fransisco, respectively, according to a 2017 Cushman & Wakefield report. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said hell make the decision on Amazons next headquarters with his heart. For investors interpreting that to mean Amazons HQ2 will land in Northern Virginia, real estate investment trust JBG Smith looks intriguing. With JBG Smith stock up nearly 7% this past week, those points may have been overlooked as the excitement of Crystal City reportedly being on Amazons short list dominates headlines. The company is expected to make a final decision by the end of the year, with a New York Times report indicating that New York and Crystal City will be the HQ2 split winners. Zack Guzman is a senior writer and on-air reporter covering entrepreneurship, startups, and breaking news at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @zGuz. Read more: How Juul became the FDAs latest target Juul surpasses Facebook as fastest startup to reach decacorn status BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded near a military position in Syria's Raqqa on Sunday, local authorities and a war monitor said, and Islamic State group said it was behind the blast. The blast came a day after the assassination of a local council leader in the city, the former Syrian capital of the militant group's self-declared caliphate, which was seized a year ago by U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters. Raqqa security forces said a civilian had been killed and several people, including civilians and fighters injured. The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast caused "a large number" of casualties. Islamic State said in a statement that it had detonated the bomb, targeting fighters from the Kurdish YPG militia, the strongest element in the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group that drove the militants from Raqqa last year. The SDF is battling Islamic State fighters in one of their last patches of territory in Syria, along the north bank of the Euphrates river close to the Iraqi border. The militants took advantage of bad weather on Sunday to attack SDF positions, killing a dozen fighters, the Observatory reported. Syrian state television reported on Sunday that the Syrian army was assaulting the jihadists' other remaining pocket of ground in the desert area in Sweida province in southern Syria. (Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Adrian Croft) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's parliament will renew debate next week on a bill that would make it easier to sentence Palestinian attackers to death, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday while vowing to have it passed. "After over three years of a stubborn struggle, the death penalty for terrorists law will finally be brought to the law committee next Wednesday (November 14), and then for its first reading in the Knesset plenum," Lieberman said on Twitter. "We won't relent or stop until completing the mission." The bill, which passed a preliminary vote by the full parliament in January, would ease the requirements military courts in the occupied West Bank must meet to sentence Palestinians convicted of "terrorist" crimes to death. As the law stands now, a panel of three military judges must unanimously approve any death penalty in military courts. The new bill, planned by members of Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party at his behest, would change the requirement to a majority instead of unanimity. Israel has not carried out any executions since 1962, when Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hanged. Israel abolished the use of capital punishment for murder in civil courts in 1954, though it can still in theory be applied for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, treason and crimes against the Jewish people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed support for the death penalty in certain cases. But a senior member of Netanyahu's party said Tuesday that he would object to the bill since the Israeli security establishment opposed it. "I won't support imposing the death penalty before there's a serious debate and decision in the government and security cabinet," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz wrote on Twitter. "According to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces), Shin Bet (internal security service) and all the security establishment not only would (the death penalty) not help the fight against terror, it would cause great damage," he said. Story continues A law to sentence "terrorists" to death was one of Lieberman's election promises in 2015, and government support for it was a condition for Yisrael Beitenu joining Netanyahu's coalition. Israeli elections are expected to be called in the coming months and politicians have been ramping up campaign rhetoric. The Palestinian government on Tuesday said the bill was "a public invitation to commit murder, and execution, and carry out massacres against our Palestinian people." "This is a clear breach of laws, international and humanitarian," a statement from the Palestinian government said. By Dan Williams DEGANIA DAM, Israel (Reuters) - Some 2,000 years ago, Jesus walked across the Sea of Galilee, according to the Bible. Today, that doesn't require a miracle. Long periods of drought and over-pumping have brought the lake low. A reedy island has materialized at its southern edge, and will soon be a peninsula. Holiday-makers and fishermen teeter over expanding boggy beaches to reach the waterline. The depletion imperils Israel's biggest reservoir, starving the River Jordan and Dead Sea. It also diminishes a landmark that rivals Jerusalem as a major draw for Christian pilgrims. Israel sees a solution in desalination, in which it is a world leader. It plans to double the amount of Mediterranean seawater it processes and pipe half of it 75 kilometers (47 miles) to the Galilee. "We are doing this in order to save our nature, to fight global warming, to prevent the effect, the devastating effect, of global warming on the Sea of Galilee, and also to create a very significant water storage for the State of Israel," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who holds the cabinet water portfolio, told Reuters. Noting the lake's significance to Christians given the Gospel accounts of Jesus' miracle-working there, Steinitz joked: "If he is coming back, we will make sure that he will have to make a real effort to walk on the water once more." Environmentalists welcome the move. Last full in 2004, the Galilee has dropped six meters (18 feet). It may be just weeks away from hitting a "black line" - 214.87 meters below global sea level - where it risk permanent contamination and pressure change from sediment. Israelis hope winter rains will hold that off until the first desalinated water is piped in, next year. PRESSURE Preserving the lake would free Israel to offer Jordan more water under a 1994 peace treaty. "If there is irreversible damage done to the Sea of Galilee, to the Jordan, to this whole ecosystem, Israel's enemies could use it against her," said David Parsons, vice president of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, which oversees evangelical outreach to Israel. "It could also affect Christian tourism to the land. It's very good to see Israel taking responsible steps now to address this, finally." Israel's plan provides for piping in 120 million cubic meters annually. Steinitz hopes to see that almost tripled in a cabinet vote next month. Such capacity, he said, would replenish the Galilee by 2026. He predicted a small bump to consumers' water tariffs, to help defray the $622 million infrastructure cost. Still, with a national election due in 2019 and an unusually wet winter looming, some worry the Galilee could be again neglected. "The vulnerability of this program is that the Water Authority has to continue to commit to maximizing desalination production," said Gidon Bromberg, Israel director for the environmental group EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East. "And that is a commitment that could change every year." The authority's director, Giora Shaham, sounded reassuring. "We need this water, not only for us but also for the Jordanians, because they are in very, very tough conditions now from the water problem point of view," he said. (The story restores missing word in 10th paragraph.) (Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Jeffrey Heller, Larry King) Rome (AFP) - Thousands of people gathered Tuesday for the funerals of an extended family killed in Sicily when a flash flood engulfed their villa during devastating storms that wreaked havoc across Italy. Vast crowds applauded in respect in the streets of Palermo as the coffins of the nine victims, including two toddlers, were carried to the city's cathedral, where mourners clutched white balloons. "Palermo weeps", and "Sicily, rise up and fight!" read banners hung on nearby shopfronts, as anger grew on the Italian island over illegally built housing, which police say was to blame for the deaths. The family drowned overnight Saturday after a swollen river on a plain near the coastal town of Casteldaccia submerged their holiday villa in water and mud in seconds, leaving them no chance for escape. - Buried with toys - Survivor Giuseppe Giordano, 35, who did not own the villa but stayed there often, lost his wife, two children, his parents, brother, and sister, his nephew and the boy's grandmother. He wept as he embraced their coffins at the altar of a packed Palermo cathedral. Photos and videos taken by an aunt who had been to the house earlier that day show the family tucking into a sumptuous All Souls' Day meal, before the children opened their presents -- a Sicilian tradition in remembrance of the dead. "Singing, dancing, simply spending time together. That's what the villa meant for us," aunt Daniela told La Repubblica daily. One-year old Rachele Giordana will be buried along with the Mickey and Minnie Mouse toys she had been given. The villa had been built too close to the river, violating safety norms, and the owners had been ordered to demolish it in 2008, according to Sicilian prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio. All 12 villas built on the plain near Casteldaccia are unauthorised, but residents say they know to leave when the rains come. Out of every 100 new builds in Italy, almost 20 are illegal, according to the national statistics institute (ISTAT). Story continues Councils are obliged to knock properties down if the owners ignore the wrecking ball order, but they often lack the resources to do so. - Red weather alert - "It's easier to sentence a mafioso to life in jail than knock down a house," Cartosio said, calling for a special fund from the state to pay for demolitions. The villa's owner, Antonino Pace, told La Repubblica the house had flooded 10 years ago, destroying everything he owned. He moved away, but was loathe to bulldoze the villa and he let the Giordanos use it for free instead, he said. "I warned them only to go in summer. There was a red weather alert on Saturday, everyone knew that," he added. But Giuseppe Giordano's cousin told media the villa had been rented to them by Pace and that he had not warned them. Heavy rains continued to lash northern Italy on Tuesday, with swollen rivers and Lake Maggiore, the country's second largest lake, close to overflowing. According to Italy's Environment Minister Sergio Costa, 7.5 million Italians live in areas at risk from bad weather events. The sons of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have requested Saudi Arabia return his body, in an emotional interview with CNN on Sunday in which they spoke of their courageous, generous and very brave father. Khashoggi, who had been critical of the Saudi regime, was killed shortly after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. On Monday, Turkeys vice president said Khashoggis remains may have been dissolved in acid. All what we want right now is to bury him in Al-Baqi [cemetery] in Medina with the rest of his family, Salah Khashoggi, 35, said. I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon. Its a basic humanitarian issue, he said. We just need to make sure he rests in peace. Salah was accompanied by his brother, Abdullah, 33. The pair were composed yet visibly emotional, speaking softly. I really hope that whatever happened wasnt painful for him, or it was quick. Or he had a peaceful death, said Abdullah. Jamal was a moderate person. He was liked by everybody. He had differences and common values with everyone, Salah said. I see a lot of people coming out right now and trying to claim his legacy and unfortunately some of them are using that in a political way that we totally dont agree with. Public opinion is important, he continued, but my fear is that its being over politicized. People are throwing analysis that may direct us away from the truth. The pair echoed Khashoggis own assertion that though he was critical of the Saudi monarchy under Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince, he never liked being called a dissident. Jamal was never a dissident, said Salah. He believed in the monarchy that it is the thing that is keeping the country together. And he believed in the transformation that it is going through. Salah also said that the media had been their source for learning of the many developments of their fathers murder. Khashoggi was at first considered disappeared, with Saudi officials claiming he had left the consulate. Reported details of his murder and the dismemberment of his body leaked through Turkish media until Saudi Arabia recognized he had been murdered in the consulate on Oct. 19. Story continues Mohammed bin Salman broke a three-week silence on the Khashoggi case on Oct. 25, calling his death a heinous crime that cannot be justified. That remark was made at a Saudi investment conference, which many foreign delegates had boycotted because of the controversy over Saudi leaderships alleged involvement. Searches for the body have yielded no results so far, though traces of chemicals have been found in the consulate, as well as evidence of the repainting of walls. Its difficult, its not easy. Especially when the story gets this big. Its not easy, its confusing. Even the way we grieve, its a bit confusing, Abdullah said. At the same time, were looking at the media and the misinformation. Theres a lot of ups and downs. Were trying to be emotional and at the same time were trying to get the story bits and pieces of the story to complete the whole picture. Its confusing and difficult. Its not a normal situation and not a normal death. Salah said that, despite the apparent complicity of the Saudi state in his fathers murder, he still had faith the perpetrators would be brought to justice. The King has stressed that everybody involved will be brought to justice. And I have faith in that. This will happen. Otherwise Saudi wouldnt have started an internal investigation. Hoboken (United States) (AFP) - What's worse? Re-electing a Democrat tainted by corruption allegations or allowing a safe seat to flip for Donald Trump? That's the dilemma facing New Jersey liberals in America's contentious midterm elections on Tuesday. Party leaders are urging Democratic faithful to sacrifice their principles for the greater good of thrashing the Republican president at the polls and re-elect Senator Bob Menendez, who last year went on trial for corruption. Democrats desperately want to win back Congress on Tuesday, or at least not lose ground. Republicans currently have the upper hand 51 to 49 in the Senate, giving the Democrats little wiggle room should Menendez fall. "Now more than ever, we need American citizens to answer the call of country," rising Democratic star and fellow New Jersey Senator Cory Booker told a last-ditch campaign event for Menendez on Sunday. "Because this is not a left or right moment, this a right or wrong moment," Booker told the crowd in Hoboken, the town where Frank Sinatra was born that overlooks Manhattan across the Hudson River. As he spoke, chants of "Menendez is corrupt" reverberated from a handful of Republican activists standing in the background. The 64-year-old Menendez has been senator in this traditionally safe Democrat seat since 2006. A reliable Democrat from humble origins, he is proud of standing up for Obamacare, public education and autistic children. Except that he's far from the ideal candidate. Long shadowed by suspicions of corruption, he was federally indicted and then put on trial in 2017 for allegedly accepting kickbacks from an eye doctor. - Nerves shredded - The trial ended in a hung jury and he escaped conviction, but his reputation took a hit. He was formally reprimanded by the Senate's ethics committee and forced to repay at least part of the gifts he received. He also took a dent in the polls. In early October, 49 percent said he was guilty of serious wrongdoing and only 29 percent could muster a favorable opinion of him, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Story continues Menendez is up against wealthy Republican Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceuticals boss and devoted Trump supporter, who although not well known, is estimated to have spent nearly $37 million and pumped out ads attacking Menendez. Even if polls put Menendez comfortably ahead -- a Stockton University poll published Friday had him up 12 points -- as recently as last week the respected Cook Political Report called the race a "toss-up." On the ground, Democrats' nerves are shredded. The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has reportedly injected nearly $6 million into the Menendez campaign to pay for television ads portraying him as the only one capable of stopping Trump and piling the guilt onto any Democrats thinking about abstaining. New Jersey's other Senator, the more famous and oft-rumored presidential hopeful Booker, went into bat for his colleague on Sunday, accompanying Menendez to five back-to-back campaign events. "If there is hate being preached from the highest offices in the land, there is one guy I want in the trench next to me, fighting on the front lines of our country... that's Bob Menendez," he told voters in Hoboken. - 'Hold my nose' - "If you know anyone who has a doubt, tell them that a vote for anyone other than Bob Menendez is a vote for Donald Trump," said the town's Democrat Mayor Ravinder Bhalla. Among the crowd of some 400 people in the audience, most of them committed Democrats, the concern was palpable as the vote approaches. "I am terrified," acknowledged Jonathan Fritz, father of a 10-year-old, who says he's voting Menendez regardless of any whiff of corruption. "I have never been so afraid for my country. "I am afraid of authoritarian dictators... if Democrats lose in this election, there is going to be no check on his (Trump's ) power," Fritz said. He equated the Trump presidency to learning about the 1930s in school. Shelby Issersohn, 26, who works in advertising, said she "definitely" has a "little bit of concern" about voting for Menendez. "But when it comes to our options right now, we know the policies he represents matter a lot more than any scandals he may be accused of," she told AFP. On October 28, The Star-Ledger newspaper urged voters to "Choke it down and vote Menendez" despite what it called the most "depressing" local Senate race in a generation "with two awful candidates." "When you get past ethics, the central issue in this race is Donald Trump... That makes this an easy decision," it advised. "I'll hold my nose and vote for Menendez," agreed a columnist in The Times of Trenton daily. When New York-based illustrator Jerry Lofaro was approached in the 1990s by an advertising firm working on tobacco company RJ Reynolds new Joe Camel campaign, he didnt give it much thought. His own beliefs hadnt stopped him from crafting images for Coca-Cola or PepsiCo, and morally he felt much the same about the decision to help craft ads for what would later be investigated and scrutinized as an attempt by Big Tobacco to pander to children by using a cartoon camel to sell cigarettes. I never got a wink and a nod saying were targeting children it was nothing like that, Lofaro tells Yahoo Finance. From my experience on the inside I was never given that message. In retrospect its easy to say maybe it was. Dozens of artists, including Lofaro, worked on Joe Camel ads over the years the RJ Reynolds campaign was active. The character was originally created by British illustrator Nicholas Price in the mid-1970s. (Lofaro/RJ Reynolds/Mezzina/Brown) But decades after RJ Reynolds paid millions of dollars to settle mounting pressure from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the cases brought against its questionable marketing practices, parallel questions are being asked of a newcomer to the space: $15 billion dollar e-cigarette startup Juul Labs. The company has come to control about 75% of the entire e-cigarette market and now notches about $1.5 billion in annual sales just three years after launching its Juul e-cigarette in 2015. That meteoric growth has come at least in part, some say, by appealing to underage users. The company is now facing a class-action lawsuit in California that claims it targeted minors with its advertisements, and is also being investigated by the FDA and attorneys general in Massachusetts and North Carolina for similar reasons. A flawed ad campaign At the heart of the concern, is a years-old marketing campaign that even Juuls co-founders have admittedly labelled as flawed. The companys colorful ads featuring young models vaping on Juuls were featured prominently on social media. That alone maybe wouldnt be an issue, but the fact the companys incredible rise following its campaign comes as e-cigarette use among teenagers spikes, its raising concerns at the highest levels of public health. Story continues Ads like this one featuring young models in Juuls Get Vaporized campaign ran for a period of five months in 2015. (Juul Labs) FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called the phenomenon of teenagers vaping an epidemic just weeks before a separate Truth Initiative study found that underage teens were 16 times as likely to be Juul users than 25- to 34-year-olds. He also sounded the alarm on new National Youth Tobacco Survey data that showed use of e-cigarettes among high schoolers rose 75% from 2017 to 2018. Looking at the way Juul has been marketed online coupled with posts from social media influencers, its a consequence that didnt surprise Lofaro. Just from a cursory overview with the weight of social media and getting a sense of the younger generation, to me the Juul [marketing] seems more egregious, he said. To me that really captures more of the essence of a young persons mind than a cartoon character like Joe Camel ever could. But not everyone is convinced that the accusations against Juul carry as much weight as those raised against the Joe Camel campaign decades ago. As Dr. Michael Cummings, a professor at Medical University of South Carolina who has testified at over 150 tobacco-related trials, notes, intent was very hard to prove in the cases brought against RJ Reynolds, until messages sent between executives specifically mentioning underage users were uncovered. The cigarette companies actually wrote down and monetized the value of getting teens on cigarettes and thats pretty evil, he said. And when they turned over those documents that was pretty damning - I dont know what youll find under the hood of Juul Labs. Juul delivers nicotine to its users by heating liquid in replaceable canisters called Juulpods. Each Juulpod contains roughly the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. Whether or not any of the Juul documents seized by the FDA reveal anything about intent, its clear Gottlieb has become more outspoken against Juul and the other top e-cigarette manufacturers, which he gave until mid-November to come up with plans to curtail underage use. The FDA wont tolerate a whole generation of young people becoming addicted to nicotine as a tradeoff for enabling adults to have unfettered access to these same products, he wrote in a September press release. E-cigs as a smoke cessation device For its part, Juul Labs has shifted its marketing efforts away from its 2015 campaign to instead focus more on positioning its e-cigarette as a smoking cessation device. Packaging labels also now print the language the alternative for adult smokers to further drive the message home. A company spokesperson also downplayed the effectiveness of its past campaign by noting that sales didnt start to increase exponentially until two years after its troubled ads were pulled. The deadline for the leading e-cigarette manufacturers to provide plans to the FDA that might help curtail underage use is November 12. Juul Labs has been working closely with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who was involved in arranging the $200 billion settlement with RJ Reynolds and other big tobacco companies in 1998 following the controversy sparked by the Joe Camel ad campaign. The company declined to provide further detail over what it might propose. Our plan will outline further actions we will take to keep the Juul device out of the hands of young people, the company said in a statement following initial meetings with FDA officials. We want to be part of the solution in preventing underage use, and we believe it will take industry and regulators working together to restrict youth access. Zack Guzman is a senior writer and on-air reporter covering entrepreneurship, startups, and breaking news at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @zGuz. Read more: Juul surpasses Facebook as fastest startup to reach decacorn status How Juul became the FDAs latest target Where SoftBanks Vision Fund is deploying its $100 billion MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet briefly in Paris next week, a Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday, and U.S. officials said such a meeting was likely. The two leaders, who plan to attend events in Paris to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One, would discuss possible bilateral talks at a later date, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. In Washington, U.S. officials said Trump was likely to have a brief meeting with Putin, but that a proper bilateral meeting would be held at the summit of the Group of 20 nations in Argentina at the end of the month. Trump said on Monday that he was not sure he would meet with Putin in Paris. "I'm not sure we'll have a meeting in Paris. Probably not," he told reporters. Putin and Trump have not met face-to-face since a bilateral meeting in July in Helsinki that stirred concerns in the United States that Trump was cozying up to the Kremlin. Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said last month the Paris meeting would be brief and more of "a base-touching exercise" during which the two leaders will discuss whether Putin would accept Trump's invitation to come to Washington. Last week, a Kremlin aide said Putin and Trump would meet for a long session on the sidelines of the Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 G20 summit in Argentina. (Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova in Moscow and Steve Holland in Washington; editing by John Stonestreet and Susan Thomas) The Culinary Workers Union waged a boycott against the Trump International Hotel amid a labor dispute in 2016. (Photo: Yahoo News Photo Staff) The Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas is known as a kingmaker in Nevada politics. Their voter registration efforts ahead of Tuesdays elections help explain why. The union has registered 10,300 new voters among its members and their families since the 2016 election, according to a spokeswoman. The Culinary, as its known, also helped more than 650 immigrants in Nevada become citizens this year alone. There is a lot going on in the Silver State that those new voters could influence. Republicans are in danger of losing the governors mansion; Democrats could potentially win a supermajority in the state legislature; and Republican Sen. Dean Heller is in a neck-and-neck race with challenger Rep. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat who won the Culinarys endorsement. A majority of the unions 57,000 members are Latino, many of them immigrants who work in hotels and casinos on the Vegas Strip and downtown. In Las Vegas, unlike just about any other U.S. city, the Culinarys organizing success has made union membership the norm, rather that the exception, for bartenders, servers and housekeepers. As HuffPost reported in June, the union has wielded its size and reach not only to win middle-class wages through collective bargaining agreements, but to influence political campaigns and push for progressive causes on behalf of its members. Voter registration has been a key component of the unions long game. The Culinary utilizes a rare leave-of-absence program to bolster its political activism: Under their union contracts, workers can take off several months from their jobs to focus full-time on registering new voters, helping immigrants gain citizenship, organizing new workplaces or negotiating collective bargaining agreements. The union pays the workers typical wages and benefits during the leave, and the worker is guaranteed a job to return to. The union has also negotiated contracts allowing members to access break areas inside hotels and casinos where they can talk to other workers about political campaigns and upcoming elections, so that the union can mobilize ahead of Election Day. Story continues Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the unions top official, told HuffPost earlier this year that the leaves of absence have become a crucial tool in cultivating new leaders within the union and growing its clout in Nevada. We dont know any other way, said Arguello-Kline, a Nicaraguan immigrant and former Vegas housekeeper. For us, its a very natural way to survive here in Las Vegas: organize, organize. The unions current political field team includes 350 union members who are engaged in full-time canvassing ahead of the election. Their motto is, We vote, we win. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. A voter fills out a ballot at a polling place at Lake Shore Elementary School, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Pasadena, Maryland. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS) Todays the day. Although millions have already voted in some states that allow early voting, millions more need to head to the polls today to cast their votes in this crucial election. Photos show voters from across the country waiting in long lines and bad weather to make sure their voices are heard. See the latest photos from Election Day in America below. Voter Rojeli Flores casts his ballot in the midterm election at Sunueva Laundromat in Chicago. Donna Anderson lets people know she voted at College Park Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Lloyd Salters, from Stockton, Missouri, votes at Caplinger Woods RV & Campgrounds. Voter Yvette Pryor casts her ballot at in the midterm election at the Half Acre brewery in Chicago. A sign directs voters to a new polling location where Hurricane Michael destroyed many schools and other buildings used as polling stations in the area in Parker, Florida. Marta Rodriguez shouts the names of local school board candidates at voters on their way into the polling station while campaigning on November 6, 2018, in Hidalgo, Texas. Kristen Leach votes with her six-month-old daughter, Nora, on election day in Atlanta, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Voters wait in line in the gymnasium at Brunswick Junior High School to receive their ballots for the midterm election in Brunswick, Maine. Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at a polling station in Atlanta, Georgia. A voter wears a sticker that reads "I'm a Georgia Voter" at a polling station in Atlanta, Georgia. Voters cast ballots at a polling station in Miami, Florida. Mike Caruso campaign employee Isaac Rheinbolt, chats with a Trump supporter (who did not want to be identified) in the parking lot of the Boca Raton Community Center. Lance Sanders casts his midterm ballot at Briles Schoolhouse in Peoria Township, Kansas. Residents wait in line to vote at a fire station in Houston, Texas. A voter fills out a ballot at a polling place at Lake Shore Elementary School in Pasadena, Maryland. Orange County California poll worker Anahita sets up a voting station at Laguna Beach City Hall in Laguna Beach, California. Voters wait in a line inside the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia. Patrick Coleman, a candidate for state representative, walks down the street with signs for himself, U.S. House of Representatives candidate Eddie Edwards, and others, in Dover, New Hampshire. A Voting official waves people in as voting polls open at the Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia. People stand in line to cast their vote at a public school in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York. Field, a 1-year-old English Setter, waits as his owner votes at P.S. 20 during the midterm election in Manhattan in New York City. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Larry Mitchell was turned away from his sons school because security thought he was a sex offender. (Photo: Getty) A case of mistaken identity caused a Colorado parent to miss his sons school performance. Larry Mitchell, of Aurora, Colo., was trying to see his 11-year-old son perform at his middle school Oct. 26, when he was mistaken for a sex offender. My wife and I went to Aurora Hills Middle School in the morning to attend a Writers Cafe that our son, a sixth-grader at the school, was participating in, Mitchell tells Yahoo Lifestyle. After handing security his ID to check in, he noticed that people were whispering. Eventually, I overheard that my ID had popped up as a match as a sex offender. Within the Aurora Public Schools system, all schools use the Raptor Visitor Management System to check visitors against the National Sex Offender Registry, according to local Denver news station KDVR. While any parent can appreciate this safety precaution, Mitchell wishes it were a little more foolproof. He insists he is not a sex offender. I tried multiple times to explain that this was a mistake, that I am a teaching artist who visits schools all over the state, that Ive had at least six background checks since moving to Aurora for various employers, and that I was even background-checked for a program in Aurora by the district a couple of years ago, he explains. Im in schools at least once every two weeks. This has never happened to me. Nothing even close, he says. Never even had to resubmit for any of my background checks. He was in several local school within the last two months and has had no issues. Nevertheless, the school informed him that in order to see his son perform, hed have to be accompanied by a security guard. So, basically, what you have in that moment is me arguing that Im not a sex offender in front of strangers and people who spend the day with my son and the people in the office publicly asserting that I am a match. There were other parents around too. A lot of sly smiles. I basically felt like the only one in the room who didnt think I was a sex offender, he recalls. The other parents were sharing looks with each other that seemed to imply that I was a real pain, and that its a shame they had to deal with me. Story continues Mitchell says he was never shown this profile that allegedly matched him. My wife and I overheard a good deal as the admins talked among themselves. But neither the school nor the district ever showed me the photo or the info that matched my license, he says. There was enough similarity between the record that Raptor provided and this individual parents information, that out of an abundance of caution we followed our protocol, Corey Christiansen, public information officer with Aurora Public Schools, told KDVR . However, Mitchell claimed in a Facebook post, The middle and last names are different we should have different state ID numbers. He tells Yahoo Lifestyle he heard that two of his names and his birthdate may have matched the sex offenders, but the district would not confirm any of that. Instead of being further embarrassed with an escort off the premises by a security guard, Mitchell chose to leave. He waited in his car for his wife, who was allowed into the school. According to the school, he left before the staff could clear his name. Christiansen told local Denver station KCNC-TV that security was in the process of trying to clear Mitchell, which would acknowledge the error and allowed him to enter the building. The school told KCNC he was gone before they could verify the error on their own. Mitchell doesnt buy it, though, because they had plenty of time to right their wrong. Thats a lie, he says. Nobody was trying to clear me. It was enter with a security guard or nothing. No empathy or attempt to clear the matter. Nobody was looking into anything. In fact, I called the district from the parking lot as I left. After a lot of back and forth, he was told this was an issue for the police department. I did go to the police station last Tuesday. The police have nothing to do with the screening process at the schools. They did run my license, and Im clear. I also contacted the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They also cleared me, he says. He hasnt heard from the school since the incident, even though he emailed the principal that day, and hes baffled by it. I have not heard back from the district or the school since the incident happened. APS has made a representative available to the media for no less than three TV newscasts yesterday, but nobody has contacted me. However, the school seems to think everything has been cleared up. Our security team did determine that Mr. Mitchell is not on the National Sex Offender Registry. Mr. Mitchell will not be required to have an escort when he visits his childs school. We value the relationships we have with our parents and know that families are our partners in education. Mr. Mitchell is always welcome at our school, APS told Fox in a statement. Mitchell is holding out for an apology. I would like an apology from Aurora Hills Middle School, he wrote on Facebook right after the incident. I had planned to volunteer at the school and really be a part of the public school system that I had decided to move my son back into. This is so disgusting. And the way I was treated by the staff and the principal of the school did not help. His volunteering plans are on hold for now. I do still want to volunteer and I dont, he tells Yahoo Lifestyle of his new dilemma. I really wanted to set up some kind of playwriting program. And, I would have donated my time for that in hopes that down the road we might find a grant or something. I also just wanted to be involved. Initially, after the incident, I still felt like this was possible. Now, Im not so sure. Itd be like me saying, Its totally OK that you never apologized to me, that you never contacted me, and that you never looked into forming a new policy. Heres some free labor. I still dont know how I feel about attending future events at the school. Mitchells wife feels equally insulted. My son noticed my wife crying during his Writers Cafe, he says. She also came back to the school and checked him out early for the day, so we could explain what happened. He said while his son is taking it pretty well, his wife isnt. My wife was devastated. At one point, she left the Writers Cafe, went back to the office, and let them know how much they had affected her. They had moved on. Aurora Public Schools has not responded to Yahoos request for comment. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Lindsay Lohan. Image via Getty Images. Words: Elizabeth Di Filippo Dont call it a comeback at least not yet. Lindsay Lohan prepared for her return to the spotlight with a rare red carpet appearance at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs). The 32-year-old arrived at the awards show wearing a $4,490 USD gold pleated mini-dress by Saint Laurent, with her trademark fiery red hair in loose curls. The Mean Girls star was on hand to present the award for Best Electronic Act to DJ Marshmello. The star had a slightly embarrassing moment when she flubbed the name of the Spanish city hosting the event. Lohan greeted the crowd enthusiastically mispronouncing the city of Bilbao as Bilboa. Image via Getty Images. Blunders aside, Lohan seems to be bracing herself for a Hollywood comeback, beginning with a reality series showcasing the stars foray into the night club scene. Earlier this year, the former child-star and a team of Greek investors opened Lohan Beach Club in Mykonos, the second night club that bears Lohans name. In 2016, she celebrated the opening of Lohan Nightclub in Athens. The new docu-series, Lohan Beach Club, is set to premiere on MTV in 2019 and will showcase a side of the former Hollywood starlet that has not been covered (for the most part) by the news. The actress, who now calls Dubai home has, has been dipping her toe back into the acting world with an appearance in the up-coming TV series Sick Note alongside Harry Potter star, Rupert Grint. Still, shades of the old Lindsay still make an appearance in the tabloids every so often. Last month, TMZ shared footage allegedly taken by the star herself in Moscow. In the video, Lohan is seen getting into an altercation with a family of Syrian refugees. After Lohan accused the parents of two young boys for attempting to traffic their kids, the childrens mother becomes frustrated and hits Lohan across the face. Story continues Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK. Read more from Yahoo Style UK: Lindsay Lohan wears a hijab, sparking mixed feelings on social media Why Meghan Markle is wearing shorter skirts while pregnant just like the Duchess of Cambridge did Best dressed celebrities: Novembers top A-list fashion moments so far Milan Pavkov celebrates doubling Red Star Belgrades lead as they shock Liverpool in the Champions League For the second successive European away day, Liverpool produced a lacklustre performance and were on the wrong end of a big shock, losing 2-0 to Red Star Belgrade. A European night at Anfield is a special occasion, it is a famous old stadium at its loudest and most passionate. When the referee got Liverpools Champions League clash at Red Star underway, the Rajko Mitic Stadium made Anfield look timid. The players biggest test should have been dealing with the hostile atmosphere, not the opposition they faced they have far more quality than their Serbian counterparts. READ MORE: Van Gaal did better job than Mourinho, says former Man United player READ MORE: Leicester owner had minimal opportunity to escape helicopter READ MORE: European home form not an issue, insists Guardiola But the red-hot atmosphere, the occasion and dealing with a famous old clubs first foray into the elite European competition in 26 years proved too much for the Reds. It is 45 years since Red Star shocked Bill Shanklys side in the European Cup and they produced another famous result this time on their own turf. Milan Pavkov was the unlikely hero, netting a first-half brace that, if possible, increased the decibel level in the stadium and knocked the wind out of Liverpool. It also made their progress into the knockout stages far from a certainty. Pavkov gave Belgrade the lead with a thumping header Jurgen Klopps side have thrived in European competition, it is quite possibly their best chance at silverware this season considering Manchester Citys early season form, and they should have taken another step towards qualification from a tough group with victory at Red Star. It was nervy start though. Red Star were up for it, Liverpool were tentative and the hosts made them pay. Daniel Sturridge had been handed the perfect chance to silence the crowd after 16 minutes. Sadio Mane broke down the right, his low cross found Andy Robertson and although the Scot scuffed his shot, it bounced into the strikers path. Rather than get over the ball and bury a routine chance, Sturridge skied his effort over the bar. Story continues Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge missed Liverpools best chance shortly before Pavkovs opener Alisson Becker then had to be on his toes to tip a fierce Ben Nabouhane header wide and from the resulting corner, Red Star struck. Pavkov attacked the corner, met it with his head and found the bottom corner of Liverpools goal. It went from bad to worse for the Reds shortly after. Pavkov was the hero again, shrugging off a weak challenge from Gigi Wijnaldum and firing a shot into the corner from 20-yards out. Alisson may feel he should have done better. Adam Lallanas header was deflected wide, Sturridge and Salah fired efforts over the bar and Liverpool went into half-time 2-0 down. Sturridge was taken off at the break alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Roberto Firmino and Joe Gomez on to replace them. Mo Salah looked the most likely to score for Liverpool, but a combination of goalkeepers and the woodwork denied him Belgrade had already had a penalty shout turned down when Mane saw an effort from close-range blocked in the line. It was fast becoming one of those nights for Klopps men. They pressed and probed with a greater intensity after the break, yet never created wave after wave of clear-cut chances. Andy Robertsons deflected effort landed on top of the bar but Klopp kept resisting the temptation to make make his final change. Maybe he was looking for someone like Xherdan Shaqiri on the bench, who had been sensibly left at home due to his Albanian heritage. Milan Borjan would have expected a busy night in the Red Star goal they did concede four goals in the reverse fixture at Anfield but he had been relatively quiet before being alert to keep a Salah effort out. His punch from the following corner was not quite as smart and this time Salah beat Borjan, only to see his left-footed shot hit the outside of the post. Red Star keeper Milan Borjan celebrates as they shock Liverpool Even when Milan Rodic kicked the ball out of his own keepers hands, it bounced straight to a fellow defender and they were able to clear. Joel Matip should have done better with a header from a long throw and Borjan denied Salah again. Divock Origis introduction was never likely to change too much and in the end it was another frustrating night for Liverpool. They were impressive away from home last year, smashing Maribor and Porto, winning at Manchester City, but it is now two defeats from two this time around and three in a row, when you add in the semi-final second leg loss at Roma. It is a worry for Klopp. Their group with PSG and Napoli never looked easy and going into the second half of the group stages after PSG meet Napoli later on Wednesday night itll be all to play for. Red Star Belgrade: Borjan, Savic, Rodic, Degenek, Stojkovic (Gobeljic) 59, Marin (Causic 63), Krsticic (Jovicic 73), Jovancic, Srnic, Ben Nabouhane, Pavkov. Subs: Popovic, Babic, Stojiljkovic, Simic. Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold (Gomez 45), Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Milner, Lallana (Origi 79), Mane, Salah, Sturridge (Firmino 45). Subs: Mignolet, Fabinho, Keita, Moreno. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan led chants of death to America on Sunday and derided American conceptions of democracy and freedom during a visit to Iran, planned as a show of support for the regime ahead of the re-implementation of U.S. sanctions. Farrakhan, a notorious anti-Semite who has been embraced by prominent liberal activists and lawmakers, railed against American policymakers for harassing the Iranian people and siding with Saudi Arabia in its proxy war with Iran in Yemen. I understand how the enemies have plotted against the Iranian people and I would like to stay alongside you to stop their plots, he said during a meeting with the secretary of Irans Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaei, according to state-owned news agency Mehr. Satan seeks to divide Muslims and wants them to kill each other, while God tells us in the Quran to be united. During a subsequent speaking appearance at the University of Tehran law school, Farrakhan mocked Americas founding ideals while praising the Islamic conception of womens rights and Irans strict enforcement of female modesty. America has never been a democracy and has always leaned towards the wealthy and powerful class, he said before leading the law students in chanting Death to Israel and Death to America. Farrakhan, who recently referred to Jews as termites, has been lauded by Womens March leader Tamika Mallory as the GOAT or Greatest of All Time. Linda Sarsour, Mallorys fellow Womens March leader, has also praised Farrakhan on multiple occasions and has refused to condemn his anti-Semitism. Asked about his relationship with Farrakhan, Representative Danny Davis (D., Ill.) said I dont regard Louis Farrakhan as an aberration or anything, I regard him as an outstanding human being who commands a following of individuals who are learned and articulate and he plays a big role in the lives of thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people. Representative Keith Ellison(D., Minn.), who is now running to be Minnesotas attorney general, has met privately with Farrakhan on multiple occasions. Then-senator Barack Obamas 2005 meeting with Farrakhan was captured in a recently released photograph. Steven Bishop was charged with terror offences at Westminster Magistrates Court (Picture: Google) A man has appeared in court accused of planning a terror attack at a south London mosque. Steven Bishop, 40, of Thornton Heath, London, faces one charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for giving effect to an intention to commit acts of terrorism. A second charge accuses him of making a record of information of a kind likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. Bishop appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court dressed in a grey tracksuit. MORE: UK business leaders sign letter calling for second Brexit referendum MORE: Former racing driver, 102, dies after being trapped on his roof for three days He spoke only to give his name, date of birth and address. He gave his nationality as white British. The court heard he was arrested after his recovery worker contacted police on October 28 following a conversation in which he stated he planned to carry out a bombing attack on a mosque. Prosecutor Simon Drew said: He told her he was going to make a bomb and blow up a mosque in a suicide mission. He went on to tell her he bought Semtex and a detonator on the Dark Web. His lawyer, Tim Forte, indicated not guilty pleas will be made to the charges and made no application for bail. Bishops next court appearance will be at the Old Bailey on November 23. Police also arrested a 47-year-old man in south London on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, but he has since been released without charge. Viewers were deeply concerned after Cliffs of Mohors mishap. Pic: Ch7 The Melbourne Cup has been rocked by the tragic news of the death of The Cliffsofmoher. Viewers reacted in horror after the Melbourne Cup hopeful pulled up lame in a mid-race mishap. The incident occurred early in the 3200m race at Flemington, won by Cross Counter. READ MORE: FA warns James McClean over bad language on social media READ MORE: Red Star v Liverpool How Jurgen Klopp showed responsibility in dropping Shaqiri READ MORE: Tottenham v PSV Why Spurs can be hopeful in the face of adversity Racing Victoria (RV) issued a statement after the race confirming the tragic news. It is with sadness that we confirm that The Cliffsofmoher had to be humanely euthanised after sustaining a fractured right shoulder during the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington, RVs Jamie Stier said. The horse received immediate veterinary care, however it was unable to be saved due to the nature of the injury sustained. This was an unfortunate incident that happens infrequently, with Victoria having one of the best safety records in world racing. Our sympathies are extended to Coolmore and the Williams family, the owners of The Cliffsofmoher, jockey Ryan Moore, trainer Aidan OBrien and his staff who cared for the horse and are greatly saddened by their loss. Jockeys were guided away from The Cliffsofmoher as vets arrived on the scene at Flemington. Pic: Getty The Cliffsofmoher pulled up suddenly at around the 600m point of the race, clipping several other horses before languishing at the back of the pack. Viewers were left devastated by the news of the horses death after the race. RIP THE CLIFFSOFMOHER Jamie (@jaymo_n97) November 6, 2018 Oh no poor Cliffs of Moher, that's dreadful Dawn Approach Fan (@TheDawnApproach) November 6, 2018 The Cliffsofmohers death follows several other tragic incidents in recent years on Cup day. Story continues Veteran stayer Red Cadeaux had to be put down in 2015 after breaking his leg in a similar injury that saw Regal Monarch euthanised in 2017. Japanese thoroughbred Admire Rakti also died in 2014 after collapsing in his stall after the race, while Araldo was put down after being spooked by a spectator and breaking a hind leg. Godolphin stayer breaks stable drought Cross Counter has ended two decades of Melbourne Cup frustration for Godolphin in winning Australias greatest horse race. On a rain-affected track and ridden by McEvoy for trainer Charlie Appleby, Cross Counter defeated Marmelo and A Prince Of Arran in an all-northern hemisphere finish. One of the most influential racing operations in the world, the Sheikh Mohammed-backed stable has been trying to win the Melbourne Cup since 1998. The US Capitol Building is seen at dusk in Washington, DC, February 6, 2018. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Theres tension brewing between shareholders and public companies, thanks to legislation passed by the House of Representatives in late 2017. Veteran analyst Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo Securities, who has covered the banking industry for decades, thinks the bill the Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act would put shareholders at a disadvantage, and hes particularly worried about its implications for the banking sector. This is a civil war of capitalism thats playing out behind the scenes, Mayo told Yahoo Finance. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) proposed the bill roughly one year ago. The legislation aims to reduce red tape and bureaucracy in corporate governance, as proxy firms can stand in the way of various corporate decisions, such as CEO pay. The legislation requires proxy firms, such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and share research with companies they write about before distributing it to shareholders. The Senate has yet to vote on the legislation, but the House passed the bill with 238 members voting yes and 182 voting no. For example, if a public company is holding a shareholder vote on its CEO compensation, ISS may conduct research and issue a recommendation for shareholders on how to vote. Under the proposed legislation, ISS must allow the company in question to look over this research. Mayo worries that this part of the legislation will diminish power wielded by shareholders. Lorraine Kelly, head of governance solutions at ISS, is concerned about the extra steps the proposed legislation creates for the firms roughly 500-person research team. The worst thing is that this [new rule causes] delays to the point where the research is no longer helpful to clients or that we feel pressure to include information within that report, she told Yahoo Finance. Right now we have a very clear framework around our policies and procedures in our research. Story continues Kelly acknowledged that some of the mechanics of the legislation remain unclear, such as how long a company would have to review ISS research materials (or research materials from other proxy firms) before its distributed to shareholders. ISS and the Council of Institutional Investors, an advocacy group for pension funds, went so far as launching a website on Oct. 2, ProtectShareholders.org to raise awareness about the legislation. Once visitors submit their contact information, the site sends a message to their Senator urging him or her to vote down this legislation. ISS declined to release the number of people who have submitted their information on the site. Companies vs. shareholders The legislation could fuel the divide between corporate management and their shareholders on big ticket proxy items such as CEO pay or whether a companys CEO and chairperson role should be separate. Mayo is putting the legislation up against specific companies, such as Citigroup (C), which he covers as an analyst, to gauge its impact. Would [the legislation] have made Citi better over last 20 years and over the next 20 years? I would challenge anybody in the world on whether this would make Citigroup a better company, he added. Mayo said Citigroup CEOs have earned $400 million over the past 20 years despite a stock price that has plummeted 70%. As a banking analyst who recommends Citi stock, I want whats best for Citi shareholders, he said. This proposal would not be good for Citi shareholders. Mayo said Citigroup is a microcosm of the need for shareholders to hold management accountable. Mayo also worries what kind of precedent this legislation sets, even for his industry. If certain types of of analysts must show their research to companies before publication, its possible that other analysts, like me, who publish on corporate governance issues would eventually be required to do so too, he said. Scott Gamm is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ScottGamm. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and reddit. More from Scott: How the S&P 500 could roar to 3,000 by years end This midterm election outcome could derail Trumps corporate tax cuts How to trade the midterm elections Rachel Youngs warns others after a woman allegedly tried to kidnap her daughter Waverly during a shopping trip at Target. (Photo: Fox 31) A Kansas mom took her 10-week-old daughter with her when she went shopping at a local Target on Friday morning. But she immediately regretted it once she ran into an unexpected situation a possible attempted kidnapping. Rachel Youngs went to the superstore in Shawnee, Kan., to go grocery shopping and ran into a woman in the baby section she later learned was named Engy Kerr. The situation at first didnt seem odd, as Kerr was browsing with an adorable dog in hand. However, when Youngs complimented the womans pet, the conversation quickly became uncomfortable as Kerr began to share her story about being adopted and quickly offered information to Youngs about how she wants to raise children herself. She asked if I wanted to hold her dog, and I told her yes, so she handed me her dog. As I held her dog, she went back to the front of the cart and started taking my daughter out of the car seat, Youngs says to Yahoo Lifestyle. While holding my daughter, she told me, Just so you know, I was arrested for attempted kidnapping. They thought I was trying to steal a baby from a church nursery. But I didnt do it; they are just racist, and Im suing the police because they didnt read me my Miranda rights. My heart immediately sank, and I was super nervous at that point and didnt know what to do because I didnt know what she was capable of. The conversation took another turn as Kerr asked Youngs more information about her family and if the baby had a godmother. Luckily, a Target employee showed up to offer Kerr a cart and stuck around when Youngs made it clear that she was nervous. At this point, [Kerr] started putting random baby girl clothing in her cart, and the Target employee gets closer to me, so I told her, Please dont walk away, please stay here. I think shes up to something,' Youngs says. She said, Dont worry, we are watching her on cameras. She wont leave my sight.' Kerr, however, attempted to leave Youngss sight with baby Waverly still in hand, which is when the mother sprung into action and asked for her baby back. Story continues With some hesitation, Kerr eventually handed Waverly back to her mom. Youngs then quickly went to the checkout area to ask that someone walk her and her child out to the car, while another employee called the police. Youngs went for a drive around the block before returning for questioning. The Shawnee Police Department sent the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle about the incident: We responded to a trespassing call, and our officers were approached by someone who stated someone attempted to kidnap her child. After investigating the situation, we learned no crime had occurred. We have continued to investigate this as suspicious activity. Youngs told Yahoo Lifestyle that officers told her they couldnt do much because she allowed Kerr to hold the baby in the first place. Although Youngs says that she has come in contact with other mothers who have experienced similar situations with Kerr since the mothers story aired on local Kansas City news station WDAF-TV Friday night. The following morning at 5:30 a.m., I received a message from a woman I didnt know. She said she believes the same woman confronted her at Cabelas in Kansas City Kansas that same night, Youngs says. We confirmed that it was Engy that she came into contact with. Engy had a cart with 2 guns, knives, ammo, a bow, arrows, etc. she approached this woman the same way she approached me. Later that same night I received a message from a woman in Sabetha, Kansas, saying that Engy did the same thing to her that day. Now Youngs is taking it upon herself to warn others about the potential harm in trusting strangers with their children and reassuring people that they can say no. I realized that this kind of thing is so much more common than we realize. That it can happen to anyone, she says. There are many good people in the world but so many bad people as well, and unfortunately its not always clear about who has good intentions and who has bad intentions. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Mother of 5 whose graduation photos went viral is now an attorney: My life has changed tremendously Daycare fight club caught on camera and now this mom is suing Mom blames trick-or-treating after 5-year-old son tests positive for meth Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Aida Elena Molina, a 49-year-old independent voter in Merced, Calif., went to bed on Nov. 8, 2016, with a smile on her face, thinking that she would wake up the next morning to news of the nations first female President. Of course, that was not the case. I saw the news and I was crying. I thought to myself, gosh, Im never going to see a woman become President, she told TIME over the phone. Fifty-six percent of American women think its unlikely a woman will become President in 2020, according to a national poll of adult women conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2018 by TIME and SSRS. But while women as a whole were not expectant of a female President, a majority of Democratic women (53%) and many women of color were more optimistic about the possibility. Fifty-five percent of Hispanic women and half of black women said they think a woman is likely to be elected President in 2020, while just 38% of white women said so. If we had a woman President, she would be a little more empathetic and likely to do things for the good of all. It would mean so much, said Molina, who is half white and half Hispanic. We do have so much power, but it seems to get squashed all the time. Only 35% of Republican women think Americans will elect a female Commander in Chief in 2020 consistent with the expectation of many that President Donald Trump will run for a second term and win. I dont know if our country is ready for a female president, Dawn Zimmerman, a 57-year-old Republican in Omaha, Neb., wrote in an email to TIME. I would like a female to take the reins. However, I dont feel most of the country agrees with me. Zimmerman added that she would like to see Trump reelected. Heading into a contentious midterm Election Day two years into the Trump era, which has brought about divisive nation-wide conversations surrounding race, gender and issues like gun control and health care women voters and politicians are under a microscope. Black women voters, a highly mobilized group heading into the midterms, reported the biggest increase in political engagement since the 2016 presidential election compared to white and Hispanic women (38% of black women said theyve become more engaged), and the highest numbers planning to vote in the midterms (78%). Black women were also more likely than other groups to have changed their minds about national issues since 2016, at 52%. Story continues I did not used to think we had poor leadership, Theresa Golden, an unaffiliated 58-year-old black woman living in Xenia, Ohio, wrote to TIME in an email. Now, however, I find our leadership at all three levels of government poor. Many Democratic women (42%, compared to 35% of Republicans and 22% of independents) are also revved up going into the midterms, consistent with expectations for a year in which Republicans hold the House, Senate and Presidency. I am more engaged now due to all the hate and violence happening I feel as result of Trump spewing hate, Stephanie Hill, a 60-year-old Democrat in St. Petersburg, Fla., wrote to TIME in an email. Still, more than half of Democratic women said their level of engagement has stayed the same or decreased, which may be a sign of discouragement. Hill is receiving social security disability benefits but struggling financially. This is why this election is so important to me. I now understand what many Americans are going through, she wrote. Like her, the poll found that across all political affiliations, all age groups, all income levels and most racial identities, women are most concerned about the same national issue: affordable health care. Given a list of 21 national issues and the option to select more than one, 45% of Republican women, 46% of Democrat women and 51% of independent women said affordable health care is an issue that matters most to them. Kelli Helminiak, a 43-year-old high school government teacher, plans to vote in her home state of Iowa based strongly on health care policy. Helminiak described struggling with the cost of a new insurance plan offered by her husbands company after the Affordable Care Act, and said that while shes concerned about the Republican partys failure to repeal Obamacare, she will still vote Republican. I do have faith in Trump to continue pushing for reform, she wrote to TIME in an email. I used to hold more stock in positive personal attributes, but after supporting countless candidates that were nice guys, Im ready for someone who isnt afraid of offending some people if it means the job is going to get done. After affordable health care, Republican poll respondents next biggest concern was reducing illegal immigration (same as for white women). For the Democrats, it was gun control (same as for Hispanic women). Black women were the only group to rank affordable health care second to another issue: racial justice. Golden ranked racial justice as the most pressing national issue. America formed into a great capitalist nation with alleged democracy from the blood, sweat and struggles of the enslaved and impoverished melting pot, she wrote. What better way to control the 99% than to create unjustified hatred for other human beings based on melanin? She stressed the importance of voting. The fights for the right to vote proved a bloody, deadly process. Why would I disrespect and dishonor the legacy afforded me? As national issues like racial justice and womens rights have been debated across the media, the White House has maintained a combative relationship with the press. Poll respondents considered the impact of the government and the media on womens lives, slightly favoring the media. Most women said the government neither supports nor harms them, but Republican women were more likely to say its more supportive rather than harmful to women (37% said so). Democratic and independent women were more likely to say the government is more harmful than supportive (36% and 29% said so, respectively) possibly a reflection of the current division of power between the parties. Only 24% of women overall said they think the government mostly supports women. When asked the same question about the role of the media, 32% of all respondents said it mostly supports women (38% of Democrats, 34% of Republicans and 25% of independents said the same). About a quarter of all respondents said both that the government and the media mostly harm women. The midterms come a little over a year after a major media story the sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement took hold across the country. Since its start, the movement has reached across fields and led to the resignations of accused political leaders like Democratic Sen. Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers Jr., and Republican Reps. Patrick Meehan and Trent Franks. (Franken, Conyers, Franks, Meehan and Weinstein all denied some of the allegations against them.) Heading into the midterm elections, poll respondents reflected on the impact of the national debate surrounding sexual harassment and misconduct. Thirty-seven percent of Democrats, 35% of Republicans and 37% of independents polled said they have experienced workplace sexual harassment in their lifetimes. Many respondents who said they experienced sexual harassment also said they would not vote for a candidate who had been accused. Molina described being sexually harassed early in her career. I find it very hard to stomach any man who is a sexual predator, she said. Voting for a man who has been accused of an act for which there is evidence is akin to condoning that act. Molina added she is trying to vote for women candidates whenever possible. Kathy Hixon, a 54-year-old Democrat in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., described being verbally sexually harassed on public transportation many years ago. I probably would not vote for an accused candidate unless he can prove otherwise, she wrote to TIME in an email. I know thats not fair, but in this day and age, you can never be too careful. Helminiak said she has experienced incidents that some might consider harassment, but she wasnt bothered by. She said she might vote for someone accused of sexual misconduct, depending on the situation. It has to be a case by case basis, she said over the phone. I cant even go so far as to say if someone was accused to rape it has be more than just the accusation. Regardless of politics, many respondents agreed that across the board, things could be better and that women can and should have a hand in making change. Women have so much to offer, Katie Elder, a 38-year-old independent voter and mother of four in Panama City Beach, Fla., wrote in an email to TIME. Her town was ravaged by Hurricane Michael, and she spends her days commuting back and forth from her home, which is missing its ceilings, and the place where she and her family are temporarily living. Elder is stunned by the kindness and generosity of volunteers who have helped her community, particularly a group of Methodist women from Louisiana who lived through Hurricane Katrina and have brought formula and diapers to families short on supplies. If I believed everything my Democrat friends said to me, Id believe the world is going to hell in a hand basket. And if I believed everything my Republican friends said, it would be the same, Elder said over the phone, choosing to feel hopeful. People want to help. People want to have a country that stands together. And women get things done. This poll was conducted between Aug. 29 and Sept. 2, 2018, surveyed 1,003 adult women in the U.S. and had a margin of error or plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Net neutrality advocates rallied in front of the Federal Communications Commission ahead of the vote repealing so-called net neutrality rules: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas A legal fight over net neutrality has come to an end, with the US Supreme Court refusing to hear an argument over the future of the internet. The ongoing dispute over the 2016 court ruling, which upheld Obama-era regulations that protected a free and open internet, came to a close with the court refusing to hear it. That means the broadband industry's attempt to overturn those protections which ensure that people can't be blocked from using their favourite apps and services come to an end, and the net neutrality rules will stay in place. The Trump administration and internet service providers had asked to justices to wipe away the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that had temporarily preserved the net neutrality regulations championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama. But the justices refused to hear the appeals, leaving the lower court ruling in place. The brief court order noted that three of the court's conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, would have thrown out the appeals court decision. Chief Justice John Roberts and new Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh were both recused from the case. The Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in December along party lines to reverse the rules adopted under Obama in 2015 that had barred internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization. Obama's rules, intended to safeguard equal access to content on the internet, were opposed by Trump, a Republican. The new FCC rules went into effect in June. They give internet service providers greater power to regulate the content that customers access, are now the subject of a separate legal fight after being challenged by many of the groups that backed net neutrality. The Justice Department has also filed suit to block California's state net neutrality law from taking effect in January. Story continues The net neutrality repeal was a win for providers like Comcast Corp, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc. It was opposed by internet companies like Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc, which have said the repeal could lead to higher costs. Additional reporting by Reuters By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - The United Kingdom is heading toward leaving the European Union without a divorce deal, a senior member of the Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May's government said on Tuesday. With less than five months until Britain is due to exit the EU, May has yet to clinch a divorce deal, with negotiators stuck on the so-called "backstop" arrangement that would keep open the border between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland regardless of what course Britain takes after Brexit. "Looks like we're heading for no deal," Jeffrey Donaldson, one of 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) lawmakers whose support May currently needs to get any deal passed in the British parliament, said on Twitter. Sterling fell on the DUP remark. But it later recouped losses when Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said "Thumbs up" when asked by a BBC reporter to describe a cabinet meeting he had just attended in London on Brexit negotiations. The euro briefly fell to a five-month low against the British pound at 87.19 pence on Raab's comment. Against the dollar, the British currency rallied to $1.3073. Many business chiefs and investors fear politics could scupper a deal, thrusting both the EU and the United Kingdom into a "no-deal" Brexit that they say would weaken the West, panic financial markets and block the arteries of trade. British trade minister Liam Fox said on Tuesday it was "impossible" to say whether a Brexit deal could be reached with the EU this month or next, but that Britain wanted an agreement, and a deal is better than no deal. German automotive supplier Schaeffler said it will shut two factories in Britain as part of changes prompted partly by Brexit. IRISH BORDER Negotiators are trying to find an emergency Irish border fix that would satisfy Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party and May's divided Conservative Party. Ireland insists that there must be no border infrastructure, the DUP insists Northern Ireland must not be treated differently from mainland Britain, and Brexiteers say Britain must have the right to do its own trade deals after Brexit. The DUP position has caused friction before: nearly a year ago, a refusal by the DUP to sign off on a deal on the border caused the temporary collapse of talks at a crucial stage, before negotiators found a way to keep all sides on board. An open frontier is seen as crucial to the 1998 Good Friday peace accord that ended decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland. The backstop arrangement is intended to ensure a solution to the problem if no other solution is found. But London wants the backstop to be provisional rather than permanent, while the EU resists any suggestion it could expire. On Monday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Dublin was willing to examine ways in which the backstop could be reviewed, so long as it does not permit Britain to unilaterally walk away from it, a move his European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said on Tuesday could help move the talks forward. The DUP's Donaldson, whose party has repeatedly criticized Dublin's approach, said a no-deal Brexit would have serious consequences for Ireland's economy and he "can't understand why Irish Government seems so intent on this course." Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney spoke last month of "carnage" if Britain crashed out without a deal, though he said that would mostly be felt by the United Kingdom, with Ireland likely to benefit from solidarity from EU states. (Reporting by Amanda Ferguson in Belfast, Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Andy Bruce in London; Editing by Michael Holden, Guy Faulconbridge and Peter Graff) Piers Morgan has made an emotional plea on Good Morning Britain to name and shame the five men arrested over burning a Grenfell Tower effigy even it means him getting arrested. The controversial 53-year-old host slammed the shocking act as vile and vomit-making and begged the shows viewers to get in contact with him if they are able to identify any of the men involved. So much effort, so much work went into this, the worst kind of vile racism. Honestly its vomit-making, this should be a criminal offence, you can be arrested for saying bad things on Twitter and this is far worse, the world has picked up on it, The Washington Post printed it, Morgan said. He even added hed happily go to prison over it. If I can shame them Ill go to prison quite happily. If you know these people, let us know, why should they have any anonymity over what theyve done? Lets name and shame them, he said. Good. Lets see how hard theyre still laughing when everyone finds out who they are. https://t.co/ZwKhUOVKAk Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 6, 2018 A visibly emotional Morgan then took a few moments to compose himself only to reiterate why the issue has enraged him to such a degree. If you dont know why Im so angry about it watch it, take two minutes out of your life to watch it, it is beyond sickening, he said. Later on in the discussion he added several sickening details of the effigy, including a baby being present. There was a baby on that effigy, on the ground floor, they put a baby on a bonfire. Somebody spent a long time making that model, he added. Five men have been arrested over suspicion of a public order offence after handing themselves in as the culprit of the effigy. Their names remain protected under law, but they are of 19, 46, 55 and two 49 years of age. The Grenfell Tower tragedy left 72 dead, and an inquiry into the incident remains ongoing. Story continues Morgan also stunned viewers on todays show when he went rogue and pulled his earpiece out after producers told him off for talking for too long. So, we're running about 10 minutes behind schedule. The director is shouting at Piers. The editor is shouting at Piers. Piers' response? Take his earpiece out pic.twitter.com/hkB8Yijv41 Good Morning Britain (@GMB) November 6, 2018 A defiant Morgan told producers they could stick their carefully crafted segments to where the sun dont shine because were having a bit of fun and a chat. Read more Piers Morgan teases Susanna Reid over boyfriend Piers Morgan threatens to quit GMB over tweet Piers Morgan slams Ant McPartlin for not turning up By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hold a new round of talks with a senior North Korean official in New York on Thursday, hoping to open the way for a second summit of the two countries' leaders and make progress on denuclearization. Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol, a senior aide of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will "discuss making progress on all four pillars of the Singapore Summit joint statement, including achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea, the State Department said in a statement on Monday. President Donald Trump met Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June, the first summit meeting of an incumbent U.S. president and a North Korean leader. At that meeting, Kim Jong Un, who seeks relief from tough U.S.-led sanctions, committed to work toward denuclearization, but his steps since have fallen short of U.S. demands for irreversible moves to abandon a weapons program that potentially threatens the United States. South Korea is cooperating with Washington on sanctions against the North and expects progress from Pompeo's meeting, said its national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong. "We expect considerable progress on denuclearization...and expect working-level talks to follow the high-level talks," he told a parliamentary hearing in Seoul on Tuesday. On Friday, North Korea warned it could resume development of its nuclear program if the United States did not drop its sanctions campaign. In Singapore, Kim and Trump also committed to building "a lasting and stable peace regime," but Pyongyang has been disappointed by U.S. reluctance to agree a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War before the North gives up nuclear weapons. Chung said Seoul was still trying to work out a deal to officially declare an end to the Korean War by the end of this year, a goal seen as increasingly doubtful in the face of opposition in Washington. The outgoing commander of American troops in South Korea voiced support on Monday for controversial measures to reduce military activity along the border with North Korea. Writing in a South Korean military publication, U.S. General Vincent Brooks said recent steps by South and North Korea to disarm areas along the demilitarized zone between them had "the support and agreement of the United States". Later on Monday, the top U.S. military officer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, said the United States would have to start making changes to its military posture on the Korean peninsula over time if talks with the North advanced. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Eric Beech; Additional reporting bu Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Leslie Adler and Clarence Fernandez) By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. diplomat has granted an exception to certain U.S. sanctions that will allow the India-led development of a port in Iran as part of a new transportation corridor designed to boost Afghanistan's economy, a State Department spokesman said on Tuesday. The exception granted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to U.S. sanctions reimposed on Iran on Monday also will permit the construction of a railway line from Chabahar port to Afghanistan, and for shipments to the war-torn country of non-sanctionable goods, like food and medicines, the spokesman said. In addition, Afghanistan will be allowed to continue importing Iranian petroleum products, the spokesman said. "These activities are vital for the ongoing support of Afghanistan's growth and humanitarian relief," the spokesman said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The sanctions reimposed on Iran's oil exports - its main revenue source - and financial sector were triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's May 8 decision to abandon the 2015 international deal designed to block Tehran's development of nuclear weapons. Trump denounced the deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for limits on its nuclear program. He argued that it would not prevent Tehran from developing weapons and failed to address other activities, such as its ballistic missile program and support for extremist groups. The sanctions, however, threatened India's ability to obtain financing for the development of Chabahar, which could potentially open the way for millions of dollars of trade for land-locked Afghanistan and end its dependence on Pakistan's port of Karachi. Building Afghanistan's economy also could reduce Kabul's dependence on foreign aid and put a major dent in the illicit opium trade, the main revenue source of the Taliban insurgency. The sanctions exception granted to the Chabahar project aims to further U.S. ties with Afghanistan and India "as we execute a policy of maximum pressure to change the Iranian regime's destabilizing policies in the region and beyond," the State Department spokesman said. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by James Dalgleish and Bill Berkrot) Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi has used his first state-of-the-nation address to openly attack his predecessor Ian Khama in an unprecedented clash in a country that prides itself on stability. Masisi, who was hand-picked by Khama, took power in April when Khama stepped aside after serving the maximum 10 years in office. But the two men have since fallen out in a public spat that threatens to undermine Botswana's carefully-crafted reputation for stable government. "Batswana are all aware that the transition from the previous administration has not been as smooth as expected," Masisi said in his keynote address to parliament on Monday, using the term for the people of Botswana. He said he had tried to "smoothen the process" by appointing senior politicians to negotiate with Khama. "I regret to announce that their efforts have not borne fruit," Masisi said, adding that a central cause of friction had been Khama's retirement entitlements and pension. Khama hit back on Tuesday, saying his successor's speech was "regrettable" and accusing the government of being "engaged in actions against" him, without giving further details. He said he was keen "to resolve this undesirable situation." The former president has reportedly been enraged by Masisi's refusal to let him use government planes, while state media have been instructed not to feature Khama. The two men have also battled over the former boss of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Isaac Kgosi, who was sacked by Masisi for insubordination. Khama, 65, has sought to employ Kgosi as his private secretary but has been blocked by Masisi. Masisi, 57, served as vice president to Khama, and the handover of power came ahead of parliamentary elections due in 2019. Botswana prides itself on good governance and rule of law, and is widely seen as an African success story that has made good use of its lucrative income from diamond, beef and tourism. Story continues It is rated as the least corrupt country in Africa by Transparency International. "It is because of the peace and tranquillity that our leaders have sustained for so long that (we) have continued to enjoy relative prosperity," Masisi said after taking his oath in April. Both men are veterans of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has held power since independence from Britain in 1966. Khama's father, Seretse Khama, served from 1966 to 1980 as Botswana's first president. Four opposition parties have said they could unite for the 2019 election to try to unseat the BDP. A 2017 Ipsos/Yahoo Canada poll of 2,000 Canadians revealed who people think is the more effective political leader between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump. (Illustration by Ciaran Breen/Yahoo Canada) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pouring cold water on the idea of any animosity between himself and U.S. President Donald Trump following months of heated trade negotiations. In an exclusive interview published Tuesday with CNNs Poppy Harlow, the prime minister said Canadas friendship with the U.S. is far deeper than any two leaders can personally have. I have a good, constructive working relationship with the president, which is what Canadians expect me to have, but the connections between Canada and the U.S. run so deep and so broad that the relationship is going to be fine regardless of whos at the top, Trudeau said. When asked whether he fully trusts Trump to uphold his promises, the prime minister appeared reluctant to answer directly. I recognize that every leader has a job of sticking up for their own country and they will do it in their own ways and I respect the fact that people have different approaches to it, the prime minister said. My approach is to trust Canadians and deal in a way that is direct with other leaders. The trouble with NAFTA Tensions boiled over between the two leaders at the end of the G7 summit this June in Charlevoix, Que. Thats when Trudeau told reporters Canadians will not be pushed around by the U.S. after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Trudeaus comments caught the ire of Trump, who responded by calling the prime minister very dishonest and weak. Trump also pulled the U.S. out of a joint declaration that was signed by all seven countries at the summit. Since the controversy, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have all agreed to terms on a new, modernized free trade agreement, which is now called the United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA). When Trump was asked last month about his relationship with Trudeau, he told reporters the prime minister is a good person who is doing a good job and any tensions were not personal. The only problem with Justin is that he loves his people and hes fighting hard for his people, Trump said. Weve always had, actually, a very good relationship. It got a little bit testy in the last couple of months but that was over this agreement and I understand that. Story continues Tussle over tariffs Trudeau also referred to U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum as a continued frustration, even after the U.S. and Canada recently agreed to the USMCA. The prime minister told CNN consumers on both sides of the border are paying more for goods because of the tariffs. We would much rather have genuine free trade with the United States so were going to continue to work, as soon as we can, to lift those tariffs, Trudeau said. However, the prime minister refused to say whether Canada would hold off on signing the new trade deal until U.S. tariffs were removed. Were not at the point of saying we wouldnt sign if it wasnt lifted, although were trying to make that case. When pressed on whether this was his moment of true leverage, Trudeau kept his cards close to his chest. One of the things that served me very, very well through the 13 months of negotiations over the new NAFTA was that I dont negotiate in public. And we have strong negotiations in private and we get to the right outcome for everyone. The prime minister claimed that during the G7 summit in Italy a year and a half ago, Trump had a different view of tariffs on Canada. He agreed with me that it would be insulting to include Canada on a list of national security concerns on imported steel, Trudeau told Harlow. Our steel is in American light armour vehicles, our aluminum is in your fighter jets, we have been close partners for a long time. The prime minister also acknowledged that these tariffs are hurting U.S. businesses. American workers are losing their jobs because of these steel and aluminum tariffs, Trudeau said. Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have until the end of this month to ratify the new trade agreement if leaders wish to complete the deal with those who have been at the negotiating table. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nietos term is set to end when he leaves office on Dec. 1, 2018. What do you think of the relationship between Prime Minister Trudeau and U.S. President Trump? Does one stand out as a better leader? Vote in the poll above and tell us in the comments below. Hundreds of protesters congregated in the Ukrainian capital Sunday following the death of a prominent anti-corruption activist who was targeted in an acid attack this summer. Kateryna Handziuk died Sunday in a hospital where she was receiving treatment following an acid attack on July 31, the Associated Press reports. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on the countrys authorities to do everything possible to find the murderers, to punish them, and put them on the defendants bench, Voice of America reports. Handziuk, 33, was a prominent activist and aide to the mayor of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson. She suffered severe burns to nearly 40% of her body and lost sight in one of her eyes after being doused with sulfuric acid, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From her hospital bed, Handziuk had vowed to find her attackers. Yes, I know that I look bad now, she wryly told supporters in September, according to RFE/RFL. But Im sure that I look much better than law and justice in Ukraine. Police have detained five suspects, but the investigation has not identified a ringleader. In August, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko alleged that separatist organizations were behind the incident, according to AP. Handziuks death is the latest blow to political activists and human rights defenders in Ukraine, who have been targeted in a string of recent attacks. In September, activist Oleg Mykhailyk was shot near his home in Odessa, local newspaper The Kyiv Post reported. Mykhailyk was the leader of the Syla Lyudey (Power of the People) civil society group and an outspoken critic of Odessa mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, according to the Post. Demonstrations calling for investigations into the attacks have become known as the Silence Kills campaign. In a statement posted by the U.S. Embassy in Kievs Twitter account Sunday, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch expressed her condolences and deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Kateryna Handziuk and reiterated calls for the Ukrainian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Rebel Wilson (Credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images) Rebel Wilson has walked back comments she made claiming that she was the first plus-sized woman to star in a romantic comedy, following a significant backlash against her online. The Australian actress made the remarks during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show last week. Proclaiming she was first-ever plus-sized girl to be the star of a romantic comedy, Twitter users soon rounded on her for forgetting actresses like Queen Latifah and MoNique, who have starred in movies like The Last Holiday, Just Wright, and Phat Girlz. She tweeted back: I of course know of these movies but it was questionable as to whether: 1. Technically those actresses were plus size when filming those movies or 2. Technically those films are categorized/billed as a studio rom-com with a sole lead. So theres a slight grey area. This didnt particularly calm the waters, and rather than accepting that she may have been off-beam with her comments, she began blocking her critics instead (some noting that those she blocked appeared to be predominantly black, while the hashtag #RebelWilsonBlockedMe soon began trending). MoNique (Credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic) MoNique herself even waded in, saying: Lets please not allow this business to erase our talent with giving grey areas and technicalities. Take a moment and know the history. DONT BE A PART OF ERASING IT. I wish you the best. But she later appeared to have seen the error of her ways, tweeting a comprehensive apology. In a couple of well-intentioned moments, hoping to lift my fellow plus sized women up, I neglected to show the proper respect to those who climbed this mountain before me like MoNique, Queen Latifah, Melissa McCarthy, Ricki Lake and likely many others, she wrote. With the help of some very compassionate and well-thought out responses from others on social media, I now realize what I said was not only wrong but also incredibly hurtful. To be part of a problem I was hoping I was helping makes it that much more embarrassing & hard to acknowledge. Story continues I blocked people on Twitter because I was hurting from the criticism, but those are the people I actually need to hear from more, not less. Again, I am deeply sorry. READ MORE Pamela Anderson says #MeToo is too much Claire Foy has sex scenes cut from Dragon Tattoo movie Sacha Baron Cohens Queen movie was to be outrageous Madrid (AFP) - The foreign ministers of Spain and Russia on Tuesday hit out at US sanctions policy against Iran and ultimatums they say are being imposed by Donald Trump's administration. President Trump in May abandoned a 2015 multi-nation deal with Iran aimed at reining in its nuclear programme. The deal had been unanimously endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution, making it legally binding. On Monday, Washington reimposed its last tranche of sanctions -- punitive measures targeting the Iranian oil and financial sectors. The Trump administration nevertheless gave eight countries temporary waivers, allowing them to continue to buy oil from Iran -- China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy and Greece. But in general the US sanctions stipulate that to maintain access to the US market, countries and foreign companies must stop trading with Iran. "Sanctions are absolutely illegitimate, they are are being imposed in flagrant violation of the UN Security Council's decision," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Madrid. "And the forms in which these measures are being declared and implemented cannot cause anything but deep disappointment. "It is not acceptable in our age to pursue a policy based on ultimatums and unilateral demands." Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell concurred, saying he rejected "any kind of position that resembles an ultimatum from anyone and also from the United States. "This notion of 'you're either with me or against me' is of another era." Lavrov also once again rejected accusations of Russian interference in polls abroad, on the day of crucial US mid-term elections. "All these accusations are false," he said. "There is no intervention from Russia in today's elections." Sir Tim was speaking at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon - AP Sir Tim Berners-Lee has launched a "Magna Carta for the web", warning that tech giants must change their ways to save the online world from the dangerous forces they have unleashed. Sir Tim, who invented the World Wide Web in 1989, called for a "revolution" in how the internet is regulated and monetised in order to stem abuse, political polarisation and fake news. The 63-year-old was speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon to launch a new "contract for the web" which asks internet companies to uphold a set of principles such as protecting privacy and being transparent about their algorithms. Facebook and Google have backed the contract, which will be agreed in detail next year, despite both companies being mentioned by its creator as examples of how "the web we know and love" is under threat. Sir Tim said: "For the first 15 years, most people just expected the web to do great things. They thought 'there'll be good and bad, that is humanity, but if you connect humanity with technology, great things will happen.... "What could go wrong? Well, duh: all kinds of things have gone wrong since. We have fake news, we have problems with privacy, we have problems with abuse of personal data, we have people being profiled in a way that they can be manipulated by clever ads." Sir Tim, who developed the Web as a "side project" while working at the Cern research laboratory in Switzerland in the Eighties, has become increasingly vocal about what he sees as a perversion of his original vision. He recently warned that tech giants such as Amazon and Google may have to be broken up in order to prevent them from amassing too much power, and has launched a project to decentralise data storage. I am disappointed with the current state of the Web. We have lost the feeling of individual empowerment and to a certain extent also I think the optimism has cracked," he told Reuters. Story continues The new contract has been developed by the World Wide Web Foundation, which Sir Tim founded, to mark the imminent moment at which half of the world's population will be online. Other supporters include Richard Branson, Gordon Brown, the French government and the cybersecurity firm Cloudflare. A key goal is to expand cheap internet into the third world, where users pay up to nine times more for a single gigabyte of data, relative to their incomes, than they do in North America or Europe. Standing with Sir Tim on stage, Jacqueline Fuller, Google's head of philanthropy, said: "We think the best way to deal with these challenges is to come together collectively and work together collaboratively... we're very supportive of the new contract." But some of its principles may be difficult for tech companies to honour. For example, the Foundation criticised companies that harvest people's data without their knowledge or consent, citing allegations that Google has been recording location data from Android users even when they have turned location history off. In its section about online bullying and abuse, it mentions Facebook's alleged role in spreading violence in Burma and India. It also asks companies to "ensure governments respect people's rights online", even though Google has faced an internal revolt over plans to build a censored search engine for Chinese users. It also pointedly asks signatories to uphold net neutrality, the idea of treating all internet traffic equally, across the whole world. Both Google and Facebook have defended net neutrality in the USA, but Facebook's "free basics" internet service for the third world has been banned in India because it only allows users to access approved products. Nevertheless, Mr Berners-Lee said he was optimistic about the future of the internet. "The ad-based funding model doesn't have to work in the same way. It doesn't have to create clickbait. It doesn't have to be that you only get a programming job in order to distract your users from what they want to do," he said. "These people are going to step back and they're going to put aside all the myths that they're currently taking as just being part of the way things work... people like you, who are actually building the web, taking things into their own hands." When it comes to social issues, the Party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming. If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues. So concluded the Republican National Committee in its so-called autopsy analyzing the GOPs failure in the 2012 election cycle. Party leadership might as well have filled an entire page of the document with bright-red, bolded, 20-point type: Dont talk about abortion. But since 2012, some of the most successful Republican candidates have ignored this advice Donald Trump foremost among them and in crucial swing states across the country in the run-up to the 2018 midterms, GOP challengers are poised to knock off Democratic incumbents whose pro-abortion voting records make them prime for unseating. One week ago in the last debate of the Indiana Senate race, for example, Republican businessman Mike Braun hammered Democratic senator Joe Donnelly for his voting record on abortion. When it comes to the sanctity of life, you cannot say youre pro-life and have your voting record, Braun told his competitor. Im the one thats being endorsed by the Indiana Right to Life. Susan B. Anthony [List] has knocked on 500,000 doors for me. The National Right to Life is endorsing me. They give Joe an F grade. To the average observer, it mightve sounded like an odd or even deceptive talking point. Donnelly, after all, boasts that he was one of three Democratic senators to cross the aisle in January and vote in favor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The bill wouldve prohibited abortions after five months of pregnancy based on scientific research suggesting that unborn children begin to feel pain at that stage of development. But the pro-life movement is gunning for Donnelly anyway, in large part because he has voted several times over his six years in the Senate to funnel half a billion federal dollars each year to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country. Trumps promise during the 2016 campaign to support legislative efforts to defund Planned Parenthood was a key component in securing the votes of pro-life Americans, many of whom were intensely skeptical of the famously libertine former businessmans supposed change of heart on the abortion issue. Story continues Brauns willingness to contrast his pro-life credentials with Donnellys record is a big change from the 2012 campaign, when the Democratic senator was first elected. Then, Donnelly faced Republican Richard Mourdock, whose crucial gaffe when talking about abortion in cases of rape likely cost him the Senate seat. Donnelly has been done no such favor by Braun, who has hit his Democratic opponent for his inconsistency on abortion without making any of his own missteps. And in return, Braun has received the support of the pro-life movements most powerful advocacy groups, most notably the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, which has launched an independent-expenditure, get-out-the-vote campaign on his behalf and the group has done the same in several crucial swing states across the country. The last time these seats were up, in 2012, Republican Senate candidates made serious missteps when talking about the abortion issue, Mallory Quigley, communications director at SBA List, tells National Review. At the top of the ticket was Mitt Romney, who certainly did not go on offense. Then, the RNC autopsy came out advising Republicans not to talk about social issues at all. Marjorie Dannenfelser and SBA List believed that was a big mistake. Along with other pro-life groups, SBA List urged Republican candidates to prepare to talk about abortion in debates and on the campaign trail as intensely as they would prepare for economic and foreign-policy questions. Candidates in 2014 and 2016 did just that, seeing [a pro-life stance] not just as the moral position to take, but as a political winner, Quigley adds. This election cycle has been a continuation of that trend. In several swing states that went to Trump by large margins in 2016, Democratic senators face competitive Republican opponents, several of whom havent been afraid to capitalize on the fact that the Democratic party is out of step with the average American on the abortion issue. North Dakota is the perfect example. Despite having said in 2012 that she opposed publicly funded and late-term abortions, Democratic senator Heidi Heitkamp voted against the 20-week abortion ban in January and has voted several times to continue federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Unsurprisingly, Heitkamp earned herself a 100 percent rating on Planned Parenthood Action Funds 2018 congressional scorecard. But with her votes on the issue, she also earned herself a formidable challenger. Republican Kevin Cramer, North Dakotas at-large congressman, told National Review in June that Heitkamps vote against the 20-week ban was one of the key reasons he decided to jump in the race even after having announced that he wouldnt do so. Cramer says that following Heitkamps vote and her apparent high-five with Chuck Schumer directly after the pro-life bill was defeated his office was inundated with calls from constituents demanding that he challenge her. Seeing the weakness of incumbents such as Donnelly and Heitkamp, SBA List went on offense, launching a nearly $30 million campaign to back pro-life Republicans trying to unseat shaky Democratic senators. The groups ground game in recent elections has revealed the power of pro-life messaging to turn out swing voters. The last two cycles, we have seen that our ground team can increase turnout on average by 6.6 percent, and when were talking about races that come within two and three points, that effort can make the difference, Quigley says. SBA List is expecting similar results this year, if not better. In Indiana, for example, eight out of ten voters contacted by SBA Lists door-knocking canvassers during the campaign have said that theyre less likely to vote for Donnelly after being informed about his record of voting to fund Planned Parenthood. Nearly 70 percent of voters in North Dakota said the same of Heitkamp. The group has launched similar efforts in several other key swing states, including Florida, Montana, and Missouri, where pro-abortion Democratic incumbents face tough challenges. The push to win over moderate voters on abortion is coming at the right time, as the Democratic party becomes increasingly radical on the issue. Just a few months ago, the Missouri Democratic party removed a plank from its platform that had welcomed pro-life voters to support the party, despite its formal endorsement of unlimited abortion rights. In other words: According to Missouri Democrats, pro-life Missourians are not welcome in the Democratic party. The Republican response should be: Come on over. If any of these Senate seats end up switching hands on Tuesday, the GOP will owe that victory in part to the efforts of SBA List and to candidates and voters who recognize that supporting the right to life can be a political win. A pair of newlyweds were killed early Sunday morning when the helicopter that carried them from their wedding crashed in northwest Uvalde County, Texas. Will Byler and Bailee Ackerman Byler had married in Uvalde, around 100 miles west of San Antonio, on Saturday night. The wedding was planned at the Byler family ranch, according to local news site mysanantonio.com. The news was first reported by The Houstonian, a student newspaper at Sam Houston State University, where Byler and Ackerman Byler were both seniors. It is with deepest sadness that we announce the tragic passing of two Bearkats: Will Byler (Agriculture Engineering senior) & Bailee Ackerman Byler (Ag Comm senior) in a helicopter accident departing their wedding. We ask that you keep the families in your thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/5d3EVljNMx The Houstonian (@HoustonianNews) November 5, 2018 The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday it was investigating a crash of a Bell 206B helicopter in the area. The Uvalde County Sheriffs Office has not yet confirmed how many people died in the crash. GENEVA (AP) China on Tuesday once again rejected criticism of its treatment of ethnic Muslims, telling the United Nations that accusations of rights abuses from some countries were "politically driven." At a U.N. review of the country's human rights record, China characterized the far west region of Xinjiang as a former hotbed of extremism that has been stabilized through "training centers" which help people gain employable skills. Former detainees of such centers, on the other hand, have described the facilities as political indoctrination camps where ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities are forced to renounce their faith and swear loyalty to the ruling Communist Party. NEW YORK (AP) Facebook is admitting that it didn't do enough to prevent its services from being used to incite violence and spread hate in Myanmar. The company "can and should do more" to protect human rights and ensure it isn't used to foment division and spread offline violence in the country, Alex Warofka, a product policy manager, said in a blog post. Facebook commissioned the nonprofit Business for Social Responsibility to study the company's role in Myanmar and released the group's 62-page report late Monday. It has come under heavy criticism for permitting itself to be used to inflame ethnic and religious conflict in the country, particularly against minority Rohingya Muslims. ROME (AP) Italy said Tuesday that it is working to help relocate the family of a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted eight years after being sentenced to death for blasphemy, amid warnings from her husband that the family's life is in danger in Pakistan. The Foreign Ministry said it was coordinating with other countries to ensure safety for Asia Bibi and her family. In a statement, the ministry said it was ready to act on whatever the Italian government might decide an indication that an offer of asylum might be in the offing. Also Tuesday, a lawmaker in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party called for Germany to grant Bibi refuge, after her husband Ashiq Masih appealed for help from the West to relocate the family. Story continues KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) An Afghan official says the Taliban have killed eight police and wounded three others in new attacks on security posts in western Farah province. An insurgent attack on an Afghan border base in Pusht Koh in Farah on Monday killed 20 troops while 20 others were abducted. A member of the provincial council, Dadullah Qani, says the latest attack on Tuesday night triggered an hourslong battle in which the Taliban were beaten back. A resurgent Taliban now hold nearly half of Afghanistan and carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces, inflicting heavy casualties. The Taliban view the U.S.-backed government in Kabul as a dysfunctional Western puppet and have refused repeated offers to negotiate with it. SYDNEY (AP) A man has used his surfboard to fend off a shark that bit him on his calf off an Australian beach two days after a fatal attack on the Great Barrier Reef. The 43-year-old surfer was bitten Wednesday morning at Shelly Beach off Ballina in New South Wales state. Ballina Shire Mayor David Wright said the surfer described the shark as about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. Wright told Sydney's 2GB radio the man came onshore, wrapped his leg and went to the hospital for treatment of a 20-centimeter (8-inch) wound. Beaches in the area are expected to be closed for at least 24 hours. SHANGHAI (AP) The Chinese government granted 18 trademarks to companies linked to President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump over the last two months, Chinese public records show, raising concerns about conflicts of interest in the White House. In October, China's Trademark Office granted provisional approval for 16 trademarks to Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, bringing to 34 the total number of marks China has greenlighted this year, according to the office's online database. The new approvals cover Ivanka-branded fashion gear including sunglasses, handbags, shoes and jewelry, as well as beauty services and voting machines. The approvals came three months after Ivanka Trump announced she was dissolving her namesake brand to focus on government work. ZHUHAI, China (AP) A Chinese state-owned company says it is developing a stealth combat drone in the latest sign of the country's growing aerospace prowess. The CH-7 unmanned aerial vehicle also underscores China's growing competitiveness in the expanding global market for drones. The drone's chief designer Shi Wen says it can "fly long hours, scout and strike the target when necessary." A model of the aircraft is being displayed at this week's Zhuhai air show in southern China, a biannual event that showcases China's latest advancements in military and civilian aviation. With a wingspan of 22 meters (72 feet) and a length of 10 meters (33 feet), the swept-wing CH-7 is the size of a combat aircraft and its single engine can propel it at roughly the speed of a commercial jet airliner. BEIJING (AP) Chinese authorities have begun deploying a new surveillance tool: "gait recognition" software that uses people's body shapes and how they walk to identify them, even when their faces are hidden from cameras. Already used by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, "gait recognition" is part of a push across China to develop artificial-intelligence and data-driven surveillance that is raising concern about how far the technology will go. Huang Yongzhen, the CEO of Watrix, said that its system can identify people from up to 50 meters (165 feet) away, even with their back turned or face covered. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) A deputy minister resigned Tuesday from Sri Lanka's government after the appointment of a former strongman as prime minister plunged the country into a political crisis. Sri Lanka has been engulfed in turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last month and replaced him with ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. The resignation of Deputy Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara came a day after Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said he will continue to recognize Wickremesinghe as prime minister until Rajapaksa can demonstrate he controls a parliamentary majority. In a letter to Sirisena, Nanayakkara said he agrees with the speaker's stance. KARAWANG, Indonesia (AP) Relatives of Lion Air crash victims prayed and threw flowers into the Java Sea where the jet plunged into the water more than a week ago, killing all 189 people on board. Two Indonesian navy vessels took hundreds of relatives to the crash location on Tuesday where a massive search effort is still underway. Many wept when they saw search personnel working. Officials from the navy and search and rescue agency and Lion Air employees threw wreaths into the sea. Investigators on Monday said the brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane had a malfunctioning airspeed indicator on its last four flights including its fatal Oct. Behind every world conflict are individual stories of human suffering and dignity. For legendary Sunday Times foreign correspondent Marie Colvin, few places were too dangerous to search those stories out. Over her decades-long career, Colvin reported from some of the hottest conflict zones in the world, from Chechnya to Zimbabwe. She lost an eye reporting on the civil war in Sri Lanka, and in East Timor was credited with saving the lives of 1,500 women and children surrounded by Indonesian-backed forces. She produced some of her most remarkable coverage during the uprisings of the Arab Spring, reporting from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in the midst of the 2011 revolutions. Ultimately, the career to which she dedicated her life led to its tragic end: In 2012, Colvin was reporting from inside the besieged rebel-held city of Homs, Syria, when she was killed by regime shelling. The new film A Private War, directed by Matthew Heineman and starring Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) as Colvin, depicts some of the most pivotal reporting assignments of her career and the personal toll they took. Partially based on Marie Brenners 2012 Vanity Fair profile Marie Colvins Private War, the film is Heinemans narrative feature debut following award-winning documentaries including Cartel Land (2015) and City of Ghosts (2017). The movie, which opened in limited theaters Nov. 2 and expands nationwide Nov. 16, stays largely true to Colvins life, taking occasional liberties for narrative purposes. Heres whats fact and whats fiction in A Private War. Fact: Colvin lost an eye reporting in Sri Lanka. Near the beginning of A Private War, Colvin, already a veteran foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, makes her way to a war-torn region of Sri Lanka to interview the elusive leader of the Tamil Tigers, a rebel group locked in a deadly, long-running civil war with government forces. Leaving under the cover of darkness, she and her escorts come under fire from Sri Lankan troops. In the film, Colvin identifies herself as a foreign journalist just before an explosion knocks her to the ground, badly wounding her and ultimately costing her an eye. The episode played out similarly in real life. I was uninjured until I yelled journalist and then they fired the grenade, Colvin told the author Denise Leith in an interview for Leiths 2004 book, Bearing Witness. The nightmare for me is always that decision about yelling. My brain leaves out the pain. Colvin was later flown to New York for surgery. She filed 3,000 words on the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka from her hospital bed. Story continues Fact: Colvin met Paul Conroy in 2003 during the lead-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the film, Colvin meets Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan), a freelance photographer and former British artillery officer, in a U.S. military staging area prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and she takes him along to find a mass grave of hundreds of Iraqi dictator Saddam Husseins victims. The two longtime friends did really meet outside Iraq in 2003, although the reason Colvin approached Conroy in the first place is not shown onscreen. In real life, Conroy had gained some notoriety among the other journalists trying to get access to Iraq after he and a New York Times stringer built a raft in their Syrian hotel room and tried to use it to cross into Iraq. Attempting to make the crossing, Conroy was soon caught by Syrian authorities, who returned him to the hotel. Hearing about a photographer who built a boat, Colvin tracked down Conroy, and the two went out drinking until the early morning. Conroy says he didnt actually become Colvins photographer after thatin reality he didnt see her again for seven yearsbut even after they reunited, Colvin continued to affectionately call him Boatman. Fact: Colvin interviewed Libyan Dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, then reported on his death. A Private War depicts the chaos of the Libyan uprising in 2011, during which Colvin interviews Colonel Gadaffi at the palace compound where he lives in luxury while his country disintegrates around him. In a later dispatch, Colvin reports on his death. Colvin really did interview the North African dictator multiple times. Her first encounter with him came in the late 1980s when she was still a relatively inexperienced correspondent and she spent most of an hour-long interview brushing off the then 45-year-old dictators advances. Gadaffis harassment didnt end there. At a later point, the Colonel sent a nurse to test Colvins blood for HIV, apparently because he wanted to sleep with her. She had a thing with Gadaffi, Conroy tells TIME. Or I suppose, really, he had a thing for her. Years later, during the Libyan Civil War in 2011, Colvin was one of the last journalists to interview Gadaffi. Of his death, she wrote, He called his enemies rats. Yet it was Muammar Gadaffi who was cornered in a sewer pipe, his cruel dictatorship of Libya ending in ignominy and death. Fiction: At the time of her death, Colvin was involved with Tony Shaw after divorcing her first husband, David Irens. A Private War depicts Colvin in a rocky marriage with her husband, David Irens (Greg Wise). Years after their separation, she becomes involved with Tony Shaw (Stanley Tucci), a wealthy businessman who matches her work hard, live hard lifestyle. In reality, Irens and Shaw are fictional characters drawn in part from real people in Colvins life. Irens is loosely based on Colvins former husband Patrick Bishop, a historian, while Shaw is inspired by Richard Flaye, Colvins partner at the time of her death. For director Matthew Heineman, the decision to fictionalize the characters came out of both storytelling necessity and sensitivity to those still mourning Colvins death. There were some characters that we were forced to create composites out of, he tells TIME. Out of respect for the characters involved, also given the timeline in which we told the story, in some cases it just made more sense. Fiction: Kate Richardson, a young Sunday Times reporter, accompanied Colvin though much of her reporting in the Middle East. Kate Richardson (Faye Marsay) is introduced in the beginning of the film as a young, savvy journalist assigned to the Times foreign desk with Colvin. She appears throughout the film, following in Colvins footsteps in various conflict areas around the world. Richardson is actually a fictional character, meant to serve as a composite of various young journalists whom Colvin mentored throughout her career. Marie was really generous with advice and help, explains Conroy. It just felt like a good side [of her] to get in there. Fiction: Norm Coburn, another journalist, was a longtime friend of Colvins who was killed in Libya in 2011. Norm Coburn (Corey Johnson) is another of the films composite characters. In A Private War he appears in various locales, sometimes as a rival to Colvin, sometimes as a friend, before being killed while reporting on the Libyan Civil War. According to Conroy, Coburn is very loosely based on Tim Hetherington, a Vanity Fair contributing photographer killed in Misrata, Libya. Both Colvin and Conroy knew Hetherington personally. It just felt very raw and sort of unnecessary to name him, says Heineman. And of course Marie lost many different colleagues throughout her career, and so Norm was really a character that represented a [mirror image] of her own mortality. Fact: Colvin and Conroy had a chance to leave Homs before she was killed and Conroy was injured in 2012. In A Private War, Conroy and Colvin nearly leave the besieged, rebel-held city of Homs, Syria, before Colvin decides that she needs to go back. In real life, the two of them really did nearly leave. According to Conroy, they were smuggled out of the city in anticipation of a regime assault. When the attack didnt materialize, they decided to head back. According to Conroy, he stopped at the mouth of the tunnel leading back into Homs. I said, Look, Ive just got a really bad feeling about this, Conroy tells TIME. It doesnt feel right, and Ive never gone against my instinct. Colvin told him that she was going back into the city regardless, and Conroy decided to go with her for the assignment that would be, tragically, her last. Arleen Sevilla poses for a photo while canvassing in the Chickasaw Woods subdivision in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 30, 2018. (Photo: Chris McGonigal/HuffPost) ORLANDO, Fla. Arleen Sevilla moved swiftly from house to house. With a stack of mail-in ballot request forms in one arm, she used the tablet in her hand to identify homes in the area where registered Latino voters live. The 29-year-old canvasser works for Vamos4PRAction, one of more than a dozen organizations working to inform and motivate Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in central Florida to vote in the midterm elections on Nov. 6. She is also among the estimated 160,000 to 176,000 Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria who have permanently relocated to the U.S. mainland. After almost three months without power and water in their hometown of Manati, Puerto Rico, the former pastry chef and her family were able to buy plane tickets and relocate to Altamonte Springs, a suburban city in North Orlando. They spent two months living in a hotel, with the help of FEMA, and moved into an apartment of their own once the aid ran out. Since then, theyve struggled to adapt. Sevilla and her son, who has autism, dont speak English, and the family says theyve faced discrimination from people who accuse them of wanting to live off the government. Sevilla and her husband grow particularly upset when people, President Donald Trump included, praise hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. He did do something: He threw toilet paper at us as if we were crap, she said of Trump. It makes me angry because there are so many lies that theyre telling and people really believe they helped Puerto Rico. So when a fellow Maria survivor told Sevilla about Vamos4PR, she was eager to join their ranks, despite never having been involved in politics in Puerto Rico. Arleen Sevilla walks by a house with signs supporting Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) while canvassing in Orlando. (Photo: Chris McGonigal/HuffPost) Puerto Ricans political power is growing in central Florida, becoming an emerging political force since the islands economic crisis sparked an exodus from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland more than a decade ago. Most of the Latinos that Vamos4PR targets are unlike Sevilla longtime U.S. residents who are already registered as either Democrats or independents, but who may not have voted in previous elections. Story continues The organization is endorsing Democratic candidates Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum for governor and incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, whose seat is being challenged by the states current governor, Gov. Rick Scott (R). Though canvassers talk about candidates stances on a variety of issues including universal health care and raising the minimum wage Hurricane Maria, and Trumps response to it, comes up frequently. Hurricane Maria represents an important political event for this voting bloc, which is largely unhappy with the federal governments response to the storm and has found ways to mobilize in its aftermath. I usually dont vote at all, this is the first time in many years, said Pablo Gelabert. The 43-year-old Puerto Rican native has lived in Florida for more than 20 years and had already gone to vote by the time Sevilla knocked on his door. I have never cared as much as I do right now. Pablo Gelabert stands outside his home in Orlando on Oct. 30, 2018. (Photo: Chris McGonigal/HuffPost) Gelabert has no family left on the island, but told Sevilla the federal response to Hurricane Maria was terrible and that its one of the many reasons he supports candidates that are the complete opposite of Trump. Recent arrivals, by contrast, are not as mobilized to vote and require a more fundamental education on how the political system works in the mainland U.S. On the island, Puerto Ricans can only vote in local elections which revolve around a multi-party political system and despite being U.S. citizens, they are unable to vote in either presidential or midterm elections unless they reside on the mainland. The focus has tended to be: Oh, Puerto Ricans are moving from Puerto Rico to the United States. They are U.S. citizens. They can register to vote automatically, said Carlos Vargas-Ramos, political scientist and research associate at the City University of New Yorks Center for Puerto Rican Studies. Yes, that is true, in theory. In practice, we know that for the people who were displaced by the storm, voting is not going to be a priority. The first order of priority is going to be to secure housing, and to secure a job to pay for that housing. Instead, Vargas-Ramos said, political science research indicates the longer someone has lived in a particular community the more likely they are to turn up to vote. The good news for Democrats is that the Puerto Rican diaspora in Florida has been growing since deteriorating economic conditions on the island sparked a mass migration in 2006 and when Puerto Rican voters show up, they tend to go Democratic. The raw impact of the Puerto Rican vote in central Florida is significant, according to Steve Schale, a Tallahassee-based political strategist and Barack Obamas state director in 2008. If you go back to just the 2006 midterm election, the counties that make up the Orlando metropolitan area voted overwhelmingly Republican. Today those counties make up very much the core of the Democratic base in Florida, and its a function largely of that Puerto Rican population. Edwin Melendez, director of CUNYs Center for Puerto Rican Studies, told HuffPost he estimates that in the year after Hurricane Maria, between 67,000 to 73,000 survivors joined the more than 1 million Puerto Ricans already living in Florida. Most of them relocated to central Florida counties like Orange and Osceola where the Puerto Rican population is concentrated. Voter registration data in Florida doesnt include a breakdown of voters by origin, but a recent Pew Research Center study found that Latino registered voters in the state increased by 6.2 percent since the 2016 presidential election. More telling is that registration numbers for Latinos grew fastest in 14 of the 18 Florida counties with the largest Puerto Rican populations. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Canvassers working with Vamos4PR participate in a training exercise on how to approach people at their homes. (Photo: Chris McGonigal/HuffPost) Vargas-Ramos estimates that based on census data, Puerto Ricans currently make up about 5.4 percent of the eligible voting population in Florida. Its not a huge number, but in a race that is very tight, 5 percent may make a big difference at election time, he said. Early voting data suggests that Latino turnout is higher in Florida this election, according to Schale. As of Monday, there were more early votes by Latinos compared to the same period four years ago. Out of the 1 million voters whove already voted in this election but didnt in the last midterm, 18 percent are Latino, Schale added. That says to me that the Hispanic population is bigger but also that turnout is probably a little bit better, Schale said, adding that theres been greater turnout among Latinos and Democrats in areas where Puerto Ricans abound. I think theres reason to believe turnout among Puerto Ricans is going to be higher than it was four years ago, and theres a reason to believe that thats a very good thing for my party. But Alex Patton, a Gainesville-based Republican campaign consultant, told HuffPost that an uptick in early voting numbers could merely be a sign of enthusiasm and holds little predictive power. Historically, [Latinos] are an unreliable voting bloc in midterm elections, he said. I guess the 5 million dollar question is: Do recent events, in the last six months, change that? And were getting ready to find out. Collaboration Born Out Of Despair The federal response to Hurricane Maria continues to be a sore subject for Puerto Ricans in the diaspora. Marcos Vilar, executive director of Alianza for Progress, a political organization working to mobilize Latinos in central Florida, pointed to a series of focus groups the polling firm Latino Decisions conducted in May. The report included commentary from long-term residents and recent arrivals and found that the diaspora largely considered the Trump administrations hurricane relief efforts to be inadequate at best, and willful neglect at worst. The participants also said they felt disrespected and forgotten by federal politicians in Marias aftermath. Florida Senate candidates Scott and Nelson have appealed to Puerto Rican voters by reminding them of their efforts post-Maria. Scott, for example, offered advice and assistance to the islands Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), which struggled to restore power to residents on the island for months. Meanwhile, Nelson worked to advocate for additional aid for both the island and to Puerto Ricans displaced by the storm. An information sheet showing political candidates in Florida. (Photo: Chris McGonigal/HuffPost) Schale and Vargas-Ramos said theres no question that Hurricane Maria was key for Puerto Ricans in the run-up to the midterm elections both in influencing how they feel about the federal government and how they mobilize. The Puerto Ricans that I do expect to be highly motivated and likely to turn out to vote in this election are the Puerto Ricans that mobilized themselves [in the mainland] to assist those who were displaced by the storm whether in Puerto Rico or in the United States, Vargas-Ramos said. They banded together and worked collectively to address the situation with Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and the United States, he continued, adding that they found both the federal and local response insufficient and that many of them are likely to vote to express their opinion about what the governmental response was like. Even before the election cycle began, the Trump administrations feeble hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico had mobilized the diaspora to act and help the island. Immediately after the hurricane, people here started collecting goods and money and resources to send to the island, and networks were born out of that effort, Vilar said. People in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, Tallahassee discovered each other, bonded and created relationships that sort of launched us into the election. In the small, baby-blue house in downtown Kissimmee that serves as Alianzas headquarters, Puerto Rican flags hang on the wall next to maps of the Osceola County voting district and signs featuring a coqui frog holding a megaphone next to the words Respeta Mi Gente (Respect My People) a campaign the group began earlier this year to rally Puerto Ricans and Latinos overall during the electoral cycle. Its under this campaign that about 10 Latino-led organizations, many with Puerto Rican roots like Vamos4PR, are working to reach registered Latino voters and incentivize them to make it to the ballot box. With the help of its partners, the group intended to visit 110,000 central Florida homes three times before Tuesday. If we as [Puerto Rican] progressives are not lifting our part, we are hurting the progressive cause, we are hurting other people that need the same things that we need, Vilar added. This way people can say Puerto Ricans came to Orlando and they made a difference. Inside the headquarters of Alianza for Progress in Kissimmee, Florida. (Photo: Carolina Moreno/HuffPost) A Vote For The Island Puerto Ricans are also hoping their votes will help their home island. Wanda Ramos, co-founder of Vamos4PR, told HuffPost the groups mobilization efforts have not only focused on explaining how the mainland political system works, but also how new arrivals can help the islands reconstruction efforts by voting. In Puerto Rico, we dont really have representation on the federal level, Ramos said. We dont have elected officials that have the power to vote to be able to help us. So we have to make the effort to reach those people to create change for the island. Its something that weighs on Sevilla and her husband as well. The couple, who will mark their one-year anniversary in Florida on Tuesday, still have a lot of family left on the island and theyre eager to help any way they can. Now we have a vote and what we do counts, so we are gonna make the difference, said Javier Figueroa, Sevillas husband. I dont like politics, but anything that I can do here that can potentially benefit Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico can count on me. And everything thats going to benefit all of us Latino brothers and sisters, they can all count on Puerto Rico to support them. Arleen Sevilla and her husband, Javier Figueroa, pose for a photo outside their apartment in Altamonte Springs, Florida. (Photo: Chris McGonigal/HuffPost) This article originally appeared on HuffPost. SYDNEY (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has put forward a long-time Republican Party figure as his pick for ambassador to Australia, the White House said, hoping to fill a key diplomatic post that has been vacant for two years. The nomination of Arthur B. Culvahouse, a lawyer and counsel to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Australia is a key U.S. ally in the strategically important Asia Pacific region where China is asserting greater influence, especially in the disputed South China Sea. Trump in February named then U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris as ambassador to Australia but then picked him for South Korea amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. In 2016, Culvahouse led vetting of Mike Pence as Republican Party nominee for vice president. In 1989, Reagan awarded Culvahouse the Presidential Citizens' Medal, the White House said in a statement on Monday. In 1992, then Secretary of Defense Cheney awarded him the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Additional reporting by Rich McKay; Editing by Nick Macfie) Donald Trumps reintroduction of sanctions on Iran overwhelmingly deplored by the international community with the exception of Israel and a Saudi-led bloc has now come into force making the world, in many ways, a more uncertain and dangerous place. Tehran marked the fateful day with air defence drills and military manoeuvres with President Hassan Rouhani saying, We are in a war situation. An armed conflict is not about to break out, but the punitive US measures can certainly be seen as a declaration of economic war against his country. We are confronting a bullying enemy. We have to stand to win, Rouhani stated. Trump has been called a bully and far worse many times. It is, however, unclear who will emerge as the winner from this bitter confrontation. There is the possibility that in Iran President Rouhani and his reformist government are among the casualties, with the hardliners and conservative clerics emerging as winners. The constant charge those of us covering the last parliamentary and presidential elections in Iran heard from the hardliners was that the west, and especially the US, could not be trusted. The Rouhani administration, ran the accusatory narrative, betrayed national security by curtailing the nuclear programme in return for empty promises. As the economic situation in Iran continues to deteriorate, there is every chance that popular unrest, which has already been in evidence, will grow, strengthening the hand of the reactionary factions as the next elections come. Some of Trumps close allies, such as national security adviser John Bolton and personal lawyer Rudi Giuliani, have talked of wanting regime change in Iran. There is a possibility they will achieve this ushering in a leadership that will sweep back reforms and be implacably hostile to the west. Trump has vowed to hurt Iran badly with the sanctions and they will certainly damage the economy. More than 700 banks, shipping companies, oil exporters, transport firms and individuals are now on the sanctions list. Story continues Despite US claims that the measures are aimed at Irans government rather than the people, it is ordinary citizens who are likely to suffer first with vital necessities being affected. Western European governments have so far failed to persuade the Trump administration to offer specific exemptions for food and medicine from the new punitive measures. Humanitarian supplies are supposed to be exempt, but foreign companies and banks were so apprehensive of American financial penalties during the sanctions imposed before the 2015 nuclear deal that supplies dried up, causing severe shortages. Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the US, who has been to the state department along with his British and German colleagues to ask for exemptions, said: The fact is that banks are so terrified of sanctions that they dont want to do anything with Iran. It means that in a few months there will be a shortage of medicine in Iran if we dont do something positive. The Trump administrations aim is reduce Irans oil sales, the main source of revenue, to zero. But that will mean a global increase in the price of oil which will hurt American industry and hit American drivers at the petrol pumps. Washington has asked other oil-producing states, principally Saudi Arabia one of the instigators behind the reimposition of sanctions to increase production. At the same time it has agreed to a waiver from penalties of around six months for some of its allies that import Iranian oil including India, Turkey, South Korea and Japan, as well as China. These states are among the top eight consumers of Iranian oil, so there is unlikely to be an immediate dramatic dip in sales. The other signatories to the nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, have repeatedly stressed that Tehran was fulfilling its obligations, as has the UNs International Atomic Energy Authority. But there was little illusion in Iran that sanctions werent coming. The malign shadow of Trump has loomed large over the country in recent years. The parliamentary elections in 2016, with overwhelming victory for the reformists, began to shine light into a closed society, with people looking forward to rejoining the outside world. This continued with the election of President Rouhani the next year. In his first speech following victory, Rouhani made the deliberate and controversial gesture of praising former president Mohammad Khatami, ignoring a ban on publicly mentioning the leader whose own attempts at reform were thwarted by the reactionary clergy. He also lauded students, academics and activists for championing the democratic process: precisely the people who had been targeted by previous Islamic regimes. A few days later there was another speech. This time in Riyadh, by Donald Trump, who was on his first presidential trip abroad. It was basically an arms selling mission to the Gulf state, but he used it to launch a prolonged attack on Iran, accusing it of backing terrorism. Mohammad Zarif, Irans urbane foreign minister, drily suggested that the US president would be better off spending his time in Riyadh discussing how to avoid his Saudi hosts carrying out another 9/11 atrocity instead of making baseless accusations. But the Iranian leadership told us that they had begun to believe by now that Trump would tear up the nuclear agreement, sooner rather than later. The liberals were fearful of just how far this will drag the country back into the shadows. President Rouhanis inauguration a few months later was attended by representatives from more than a hundred nations, including the Emir of Qatar, the country by then blockaded by a Saudi-led coalition, as well as Oman and Kuwait, regional states that had maintained good relations with Iran. Also present were other signatories to the nuclear deal. The international presence raised flickering hopes, Iranians told us, that they would not be abandoned and may just survive sanction, acknowledging grim times lying ahead Speaking in Tehran, President Rouhani has vowed today: We will break the sanctions. But would that be actually possible? The European Union, along with China and Russia, is planning to put in a place payment mechanism, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which is supposed to enable companies to bypass the US financial system, allowing them to avoid direct payments in and out of Iran with the SPVs handling transactions. Tehran can then use the payment as credit to buy goods from other countries. At the same time, the European Union has updated a blocking statute under which firms in the Union do not have to comply with foreign sanctions laws and that allows them to recover damages from such sanctions. The main problem, however, is that the price of doing business with Iran may be simply too high for many companies, facing, as they do, the prospect of US penalties, or litigation, and the possibility of being shut out of the much more lucrative US market. There are also the problems of secondary sanctions applied to third parties that do business with any companies using SPVs. Richard Nephew, a sanctions analyst at Columbia University in the US said: The issue is that most of Irans biggest trading partners do and that affects their readiness in the US to do business with Iran. The threat of secondary sanctions, Leigh Hansson, head of international trade and national security at Reed Smith wanted to point out, will mean the transaction itself will be problematic. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has boasted that just the threat of sanctions has led to more than a hundred companies pulling out of trade with Iran. It is certainly the case that there has been a large exodus from the market, but this has not always left a vacuum, China is on its way to becoming a beneficiary of Washingtons Iran policy with signs that its companies will pick up some of the contracts, including taking over the 5bn contract for the South Pars gas fields with the French multinational, Total, pulling out. Beijing, itself the target of an American trade war, has stated it will protect its businesses from Washingtons retribution. Meanwhile the Moscow led Eurasian Economic Union has signed a deal with Iran to lower tariffs on hundreds of goods and become part of a free trade zone. It remains to be seen how the sanctions play out. The other signatory states to the nuclear deal along with a number of governments have urged the Rouhani government not to walk away from the JCPOA. Tehran has been privately advised by some diplomats to consider outsitting Trump; bearing the hardship until there is a new administration in Washington that would not be so keen on an Iranian crusade. What happens to Trump as he faces imminent midterm elections, and the report by special counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian collusion in putting him in the White House, is likely to decide the final outcome of the strife over Iran sanctions and other upheavals created by this extraordinary presidency. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has positive expectations about the Iran sanctions-busting case in the United States involving Turkish state-owned lender Halkbank, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said, following talks with his U.S. counterpart. A U.S. court in May jailed a Halkbank executive for helping Tehran get round U.S. sanctions. Halkbank faces potential U.S. fines in relation to that case. Albayrak's comments came after President Tayyip Erdogan announced over the weekend that he had discussed the bank with U.S. President Donald Trump. Erdogan gave few details of those talks but his comments came amid indications that Washington and Ankara are trying to mend ties that have been in crisis this year over a host of issues, including the conviction of a Halkbank executive for helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions. "We had a positive meeting with our U.S. counterpart (Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin). He said he would follow the process closely," Erdogan's son-in-law Albayrak told broadcaster A Haber. "We told them that Halkbank had not violated sanctions (...) We have positive expectations," he said. Shares in Turkey's state-owned Halkbank surged 5.88 to 7.37 lira. The lender's dollar-denominated bonds rallied sharply, with some issues adding nearly 3 cents to trade at their highest since at least June. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu, additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Daren Butler and Jon Boyle) By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON - The United States and China will hold a top-level diplomatic and security dialogue that was supposed to be held in Beijing in October in Washington on Friday, amid moves to try to resolve a damaging trade war. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Chinese politburo member Yang Jiechi and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will take part in the talks, a statement from U.S. State Department said on Monday. China said last month the two sides had initially agreed "in principle" to hold the second round of diplomatic security talks in October but they were postponed at Washington's request amid rising tensions over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Monday's announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone last week and cheered world markets by expressing optimism about resolving their trade dispute ahead of a high-stakes meeting at the end of November in Argentina. On Monday, Trump said China wanted to make a deal and added: "If we can make the right deal, a deal that's fair, we'll do that. Otherwise we wont do it." Earlier on Monday, Xi promised at the start of a trade expo to lower tariffs, broaden market access and import more from overseas. Trump and Xi announced the updated negotiation framework last year and the first meeting in the format was held in June 2017 in Washington, when the two sides discussed issues including North Korea and the South China Sea. Since then relations have soured and they have become embroiled in a major trade war in which the United States has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and China has retaliated with tariffs on $110 billion worth of U.S. goods. Trump has railed against China for what he sees as intellectual property theft, entry barriers to U.S. business and a gaping trade deficit. He has said that if a deal is not made he could impose tariffs on another $267 billion of Chinese imports and an across-the-board pressure campaign. Mattis had been due to hold talks with Wei in Beijing in October, but those plans were up-ended after Washington imposed sanctions on China's People's Liberation Army for buying weapons from Russia. Mattis did meet Wei in Singapore on Oct. 18 and told him that the world's two largest economies needed to deepen high-level ties to reduce the risk of conflict. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and John Geddie; Additional reporting by Tom Daly and Michael Martina in Shanghai; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Tony Munroe and Neil Fullick) By Josh Smith and Joyce Lee SEOUL, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea will begin small-scale military drills on Monday that were delayed during talks with North Korea, days after Pyongyang threatened to restart work on its nuclear programme if international pressure does not ease. The Korean Marine Exchange Program was among the training drills that were indefinitely suspended in June after U.S. President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore and promised to end joint, U.S.-South Korea military exercises often criticised by the North. A spokesman for South Korea's Ministry of Defence confirmed a round of training would begin near the southern city of Pohang, with no media access expected. About 500 American and South Korean marines will participate in the manoeuvres, the Yonhap news agency reported. In Washington last week, South Korea's defence minister said Washington and Seoul would make a decision by December on major joint military exercises for 2019. Vigilant Ace, suspended earlier this month, is one of several such exercises that have been halted to encourage dialogue with Pyongyang. The biggest combat-readiness war game ever staged in and around Japan has gone ahead, however, with nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan joining Japanese destroyers and a Canadian warship in the ocean off Japan -- another key player in the effort to pressure North Korea. North Korea warned on Friday that it could restart development of its nuclear programme if the United States does not drop its campaign of "maximum pressure" and sanctions. "The improvement of relations and sanctions are incompatible," a foreign ministry official said in a statement released through state-run KCNA news agency. "The U.S. thinks that its oft-repeated 'sanctions and pressure' lead to 'denuclearization.' We cannot help laughing at such a foolish idea." North Korea has not tested a ballistic missile or nuclear weapon for nearly a year, and has said it has shuttered its main nuclear test site with plans to dismantle several more facilities. Story continues In recent weeks, North Korea has pressed more sharply for what it sees as reciprocal concessions by the United States and other countries. "As shown, the U.S. is totally to blame for all the problems on the Korean peninsula including the nuclear issue and therefore, the very one that caused all those must untie the knot it made," Friday's statement said. American officials have remained sceptical of Kim's commitment to give up the nuclear arsenal he has already amassed, however, and Washington says it won't support easing international sanctions until more verified progress is made. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, meanwhile, has forged ahead with efforts to engage with North Korea in recent months, raising U.S. concerns that Seoul could weaken pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. (Reporting by Josh Smith and Joyce Lee; Editing by Catherine Evans) London (AFP) - The British government raced Tuesday to build on a chance of a Brexit compromise on Northern Ireland, but Prime Minister Theresa May promised her fractious party she would not strike a deal with the EU "at any cost". Negotiations have stepped up with Brussels as London seeks a divorce agreement within weeks, to allow time for it to be passed by parliament before Brexit day on March 29, 2019. The Irish government opened the door on Monday to a possible concession on the final sticking point -- how to avoid border checks between British Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. But British eurosceptics fear May is planning to give too much ground, and her Northern Irish allies warned that unless the EU moved further, Britain could leave with no deal at all. At a weekly cabinet meeting, May told ministers she expected an agreement and wanted it as soon as possible -- but it would "not be done at any cost", according to her spokesman. "We will need to be satisfied in the negotiations that we have achieved the best deal that we possibly can for the UK," he said. Meanwhile the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told reporters in Slovakia that "we are not there yet". Earlier Tuesday he told Belgian television RTBF that, as of that moment, there remained "a real point of divergence" on the Irish issue. Britain has indicated it is seeking a deal before the end of November, although one official admitted Tuesday that "it would be a stretch". - Irish border checks - The Brexit talks are stuck on the details of a "backstop" arrangement to avoid checks on goods crossing the Irish border until a new trade deal can be signed. London suggests Britain could temporarily stay aligned with the bloc's trade rules but wants to reserve the right to exit the arrangement. In a phone call with May on Monday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he would consider a "review mechanism" for the backstop. Story continues But he rejected the idea Britain could unilaterally end the arrangement, something Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and other eurosceptics in May's Conservative party want. Jeffrey Donaldson, an MP from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose support props up May's government, said Dublin's refusal to budge could scupper a deal. "Looks like we're heading for no deal," he wrote on Twitter, adding: "Can't understand why Irish government seems so intent on this course." May's spokesman said ministers agreed at cabinet on the need for an "effective mechanism" within the backstop to ensure "that the UK cannot be held in the arrangement indefinitely". Work is continuing on this, he said, adding: "Don't be under any illusions that there remains a significant amount of work to do." Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine faced a deepening political crisis on Tuesday after an anti-corruption campaigner died from a brutal acid attack that critics have accused the country's authorities of not doing enough to investigate. Kateryna Gandzyuk, who worked as an adviser to the mayor of Ukraine's southern city of Kherson, died on Sunday after an attacker poured a litre of acid over her face and body in late July. The 33-year-old activist's death after months of treatment shocked Ukraine and sparked fresh condemnation of the government by civil society activists, who accuse the authorities of failing to complete the investigation or finding out who ordered the attack. The death has also drawn fresh attention to a spate of assaults on other anti-corruption campaigners over the past few months. On Tuesday, Ukrainian attorney general Yuriy Lutsenko offered to step down over the affair, but only 38 lawmakers approved his resignation in a test vote in parliament, falling far short of the 226 majority required. The chamber also voted to establish a commission to investigate the attack on Gandzyuk and other activists. According to the law, Lutsenko would have to submit his resignation to President Petro Poroshenko who in turn would have to ask parliament to vote on it. The Ukrainian president has not publicly indicated his intentions. - Crime not 'fully solved' - Poroshenko, who is expected to run for re-election next year, urged pro-government and opposition forces to refrain from attacking each other. "I don't believe that the crime has been fully solved. I am sure that work must be continued," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook. Police have detained two people and another three have been placed under house arrest in connection with the attack, but the mastermind is believed to be at large. Two Ukrainian journalists have alleged that an aide to a lawmaker from Poroshenko's political party might have acted as an intermediary between the attack's organisers and the person who ordered it be carried out. Story continues The lawmaker, Mykola Palamarchuk, has denied involvement. His assistant, Igor Pavlovsky, speaking to a Ukrainian television channel, confirmed that he had been questioned as a witness but also denied being involved. Attorney general Lutsenko for his part accused activists of putting pressure on the investigation and leaking information, making it difficult to establish who was behind Gandzyuk's murder. Gandzyuk received burns covering more than 30 percent of her body, including her face, upper torso, and arms. She was an outspoken critic of corruption in the law enforcement agencies, particularly in the police. Both the European Union and the US have called the attacks on activists unacceptable and urged authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Poroshenko's government has sought to overhaul the law enforcement agencies and push through other ambitious reforms, but critics say corruption is still rampant and many attacks on activists and journalists remain unpunished. In 2017, the body of rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska was found in a river outside Ukraine's capital Kiev. In 2016, Pavel Sheremet, an award-winning Russian-Ukrainian journalist, died when a bomb planted in his car exploded near his home in Kiev. Critics have also accused authorities of being unwilling to solve that crime. os-dg-ant-as/dl Washington (AFP) - The United States faces a deadline Tuesday that could lead to fresh sanctions on Russia over an attempted assassination with a lethal nerve agent of a former spy in Britain. The State Department on August 6 found that Russia had violated a 1991 US law that seeks the elimination of chemical and biological weapons. The determination came after Britain said that Russian operatives on March 4 attempted to kill former intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal in Salisbury using Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Under the US law, the State Department must report to Congress within three months whether Russia has come into compliance or impose a second round of sanctions. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the three-month deadline is Tuesday. "The conditions that we would have to certify are that Russia has ceased and assured that it will not use chemical weapons again, and that it has allowed international inspectors to verify those assurances," Palladino said. "So, have they taken the steps to get back into compliance is the issue." However, few members of Congress are likely to be waiting on the edge of their seats for a report on Tuesday -- the date of midterm elections -- so it may take time before the State Department determination comes to light. The first round of sanctions announced with the determination was largely symbolic and included a freeze on US government credit guarantees to Russia and a ban on US arms sales. Russia, the major rival to the United States as a military exporter, does not buy US arms in any case. The State Department made exemptions to continue military trade that allows space cooperation with Russia including commercial launches. It also waived certain sanctions on security-sensitive exports to allow sales related to civil aviation and exports needed by US businesses that operate in Russia. Story continues Moscow has given no indication it is eager to satisfy US concerns on the issue. After the initial US determination, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would respond to any measures "with the principle of reciprocity." Last month, The Netherlands expelled agents it said came from Russia's GRU military intelligence who hacked into the world's chemical weapons watchdog, which is based in The Hague. US prosecutors at the same time indicted seven Russian agents -- the latest case of US rank-and-file officials taking Moscow to task despite President Donald Trump's avowed affection for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The United States has said a Russian jet flew dangerously close to an American military plane over the Black Sea on Monday, putting its crew at risk. A US navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane based in Greece was flying in international airspace on Monday when a SU-27 overtook and passed directly in front of it, creating turbulence for the slower turboprop aircraft. About 25 minutes later, the SU-27 made another close-quarters pass and then banked away while applying the afterburner in its twin engines, which sent vibrations through the EP-3. The US navy said its plane had not provoked these actions and called on Russia to follow international standards to avoid crashes. This interaction was irresponsible, it said in a statement. Unsafe actions increase the risk of miscalculation and potential for midair collisions. Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said the encounter put the US pilots and crew at risk. The two aircraft did not communicate although the navy plane had its transponder on, he said. A Russian SU-27 comes within a few feet of a US reconnaissance jet over the Baltic Sea in June 2017 Credit: Master Sgt. Charles Larkin Sr /US EUROPEAN COMMAND The Russian defence ministry said it had scrambled the SU-27 to intercept an unknown air target approaching its borders, but denied that any risky behaviour. The fighter jet reported the identification of the American signals intelligence plane and accompanied it, not allowing it to violate the borders of Russian Federation airspace while following all necessary safety measures, it said. Tensions have been running high as Nato holds its largest military exercises since the Cold War in northern Europe, manoeuvres that were largely meant as a response to Russia's own record-setting military exercises with China in September. Monday's encounter was the latest in a string of Russian intercepts that United States called unprofessional. SU-27s flew within five feet of an EP-3 in January and within 20 feet of a P-8 surveillance plane in May. A SU-27 came within several feet of another US reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea in June 2017. Story continues A British soldier fires a machine gun in Norway last week as part of the Nato Trident Juncture exercises Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Close encounters between the West and Russia skyrocketed in 2014 amid tensions over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. A report by a London think tank counted 39 military encounters in eight months that year, warning that more aggressive Russian posturing and the readiness of Western forces to show resolve increases the risk of unintended escalation and the danger of losing control over events. In the most hair-raising incident, a Russian reconnaissance aircraft that had reportedly failed to transmit its position nearly collided with an SAS 737 passenger airliner taking off from Copenhagen. An American EP-3 had to make an emergency landing in Hainan in 2001 after a Chinese J-8 fighter jet crashed into it during an intercept, causing an international dispute. The Chinese jet broke apart and the pilot was killed. I spent over three years as a 4-star Admiral and Commander of U.S. Southern Command from 2006 into 2009, in charge of all U.S. military forces throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Part of my duties entailed traveling extensively from my Miami headquarters through the countries of Central America that have been cleaved by violence. I have traveled many times through much of what is now the route taken by, at minimum, 5,000 migrants traveling in caravans or other groupsmost of whom are fleeing Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaraguaand led the U.S. military forces in those nations. As I look at the plan to deploy at least as many U.S. troops to our southern border to stop what President Trump incorrectly calls an invasion, I believe we are making a significant mistake. These active-duty troops are ill-trained, improperly equipped and badly organized for this mission. They are taught to apply lethal combat power to our nations enemies. The chances of them making a mistake in a tense situationeven if they are operating in supportis significant. There is no need for imposing this risk on what is clearly a law-enforcement activity, one that should be left to civilians. If we need more Border Patrol officers, we should hire themnot throw active-duty military at the problem. This situation would be made worse by the opportunity costs. Every day these troops spend deployed at the borderaway from their families, by the way, as the holiday season unfoldsis a day in which they will not be training and preparing for their real mission: combat operations. As I look at the units selected for this mission, many of them will have to stop their training for deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, where we have active combat in progress. They could also instead be preparing to back up U.S. troops in Korea if that situation heats up again, or training for deployment to the Arabian Gulf as America reimposes sanctions on Iran and tension increases. This so-called deployment will waste not only dollarsup to $200 million by years end, according to an independent analysisbut also, dangerously, precious training time. Story continues Besides, the likelihood of a true, large-scale mission on the border is very low. The migrants are hundreds of miles away, largely women and children, moving very slowly and only seeking a chance to state their case for asylum and refugee statuswhich they are unlikely to receive from the U.S. A far better solution than an active-duty force is to broaden our cooperation with Mexico, which is handling the caravan challenges reasonably well and following their domestic law and international policy on movement of refugees. We could, for example, build refugee centers to process these asylum seekers in a humane, sensible fashion with both nations border authorities working together. What do we get from this action, then? The terrible optics of the U.S. essentially closing our border with military forceas Mexico copes with Central-American refugees, and both Colombia and Brazil face true refugee crises as they seek to accommodate over two million Venezuelans, most of whom are malnourished, the U.N. reports. To a region that has suffered multiple U.S. invasions and incursions from the U.S. military over the past 150 years, this evokes old, disquieting ghosts. We should control our border. But sending the military wont help that cause. And for many of the same reasons, a big beautiful wall wont work either. Frankly, we could build a 30-foot wall along the almost 2,000-mile border (at enormous cost), but heres a secret that I know because Im an Admiral: just to the left of the wall, theres an ocean. If all we do is try to block entryways, people will try to get here in a variety of waysincluding by sea. There are better ways. We should build a smart wall that includes some high, solid barriers; lots of unmanned surveillance in the air, on the ground and at sea; lighter obstructions wherever needed; artificial intelligence analyzing trends and predicting pressure points; and, above all, a well-financed, highly motivated, all-volunteer Border Patrol force working with local law enforcement. Alongside that smart wall should be a regional effort to address root causes of migrationcrime, drugs, corruption and failing rule of lawthat includes the U.S. and Canada as well as our neighbors to the south. In the course of my career, Ive ordered our active-duty military into many legitimate missions in Latin American and the Caribbean, ranging from fighting insurgents in Colombia to counter-narcotics throughout Central America to disaster relief following earthquakes in the Caribbean. Those were sensible, cost-effective missions. This one is not, and the President should reverse course. Midterm elections in the United States, like the one this Tuesday, Nov. 6, have historically been known for lower voter turnout than presidential elections. So why have them at all? Why not just hold Congressional elections on a four-year cycle, like Presidential elections, and benefit from the boost in attention that comes with the White House being up for grabs? The reason goes deep. The cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution is the system of checks and balances, a system that spreads power around in order make sure that any one deliberative body doesnt get despotic. The makeup of Congress, with its term limits, is designed to balance experience and fresh new ideas. Short terms are designed to make a representative more likely to keep up with his or her constituents latest policy preferences, whereas long terms can free a person to make decisions without thinking of re-election coming around the corner. The most democratic deliberative body is supposed to be the U.S. House of Representatives. Members serve for two-year terms, per Article 1, section 2, clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. The simplest explanation for how the Constitutional Convention decided that was an appropriate time limit is that they viewed it as a compromise between the annual elections used by early state legislatures and the roughly three-year terms that had existed in Britain. Plus, setting pre-established times for elections made sure that, Unlike in parliamentary systems, American political parties could not call advantageous elections, according to the Office of the Historian at the House of Representatives. Elections would be held according to a given length of time rather than when political leaders thought they would be most likely to win. In addition, some argued that the complexities of running a national government meant that members would need more than a year to get used to the rules and procedures, not to mention that in those days, it also just took longer to physically travel to the national seat of power than the local seat of power. Story continues Meanwhile, the Senate was designed to be more distant from the ever-changing and uninformed passions of the general public, which is basically the entire reason why U.S. Senators serve for six-year terms, per Article I, section 3, clause 1. Theyre divided into three classes so that every two years, one-third of the Senators must be up for re-elections, per clause 2. The rationale, as one writer from the era, Joseph Storey, put it, was to prohibit any permanent combination for sinister purposes. State legislatures chose Senators until the 17th Amendment established direct election of Senators by the people. You have not a [pure] democracy, but a republic accountable to people but not immediate responsive to the people, explains Sidney Milkis of the University of Virginias Miller Center of Public Affairs, who spoke to TIME as part of a presidential-history partnership between TIME History and the Miller Center. Thats why you have a third [of the Senate] turning over, so it doesnt get too far removed from currents of public opinion. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Discussion of appropriate term limits hasnt been confined to the Early Republic period. President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his 1966 State of the Union address, called for term limits for members of the House of Representative to be extended from two years to four years because he thought members spent too much time campaigning. His exact words: I will ask you to make it possible for Members of the House of Representatives to work more effectively in the service of the Nation through a constitutional amendment extending the term of a Congressman to four years, concurrent with that of the President. He felt it would provide for more effective governing because he thought that people who came in at the same time would be more likely to work together, says Milkis. But the idea didnt catch on, as members were preoccupied with the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, among other more pressing legislative priorities. Nowadays, midterm elections hinge not only on what people think about whoever is running for Congress, but also about whoever is President of the United States which, in some cases, is the even more important factor. Thats the biggest change from the original design, says Milkis, who points out that Alexander Hamilton in particular was concerned about keeping the President above this particular fray. They didnt think campaigns would be constant, he says. The way theyve become so nationalized, [seen as] referenda [on the presidents], that would concern the Framers. Getty Images/iStockphoto Wind turbines can act as top predators in ecosystems by driving down populations of birds and triggering knock-on effects across food chains, according to a new study. Scientists found that predatory raptor birds were four times rarer in parts of an Indian mountain range covered in wind turbines, suggesting they were avoiding the structures. The same areas saw an explosion in numbers the raptors prey, fan-throated lizards, which also became more confident and less scared of humans due to the lack of predation. We have basically added a new apex predator a wind turbine, Dr Maria Thaker from the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru told The Independent. What that predator does is remove the level below it not kill it, but the outcome is the same. These cascading effects on ecosystems suggest that care should be taken to ensure that wind turbines do not have dangerous and far-reaching consequences for nature. Scientists have become increasingly aware of the impact these massive structures can have on wildlife, with studies showing birds and bats can be killed or scared away by their spinning blades. However, this wind power playing a significant role in driving the transition away from fossil fuels to reduce the impact of climate change, experts say there is a need to establish a compromise and ensure turbines are built in areas with the lowest impact possible. The bottom line for me is that I will pick wind energy over fossil fuels any day, said Dr Thaker. We just have to be smart about where we put them, so can we minimise our impact on the ecosystem by picking areas that are not unique in ways that we cannot replace. She suggested putting wind turbines in places that we have already disrupted, such as on top of buildings, and said there must be a dialogue between ecologists and the renewables industry. Dr Thakers findings were published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. In the UK, the RSPB has examined the issue of wind farms and concluded this kind of strategic approach is required to ensure that harm is kept to a minimum. Story continues While noting that climate change poses the single greatest long-term threat to our wildlife, they say wind farms should be located away from major migration routes and important feeding, breeding and roosting areas of vulnerable bird species. Wind farms, while they have a crucial role in mitigating the effects of climate change, must be built in the right places so they dont harm bird populations, said Dr Aly McCluskie, a conservation scientist at the RSPB. In places such as the North Sea, we are beginning to see an unprecedented industrialisation of the marine environment. The cumulative effects of ever more poorly sited wind farms are likely to have dire consequences for our seabirds, adding to the pressures from a changing climate. The gunman who killed two women and wounded five other people at a Florida yoga studio on Friday was fired from his substitute-teaching job earlier this year after he was caught touching a female student inappropriately. Scott P. Beierle was working as a substitute teacher at Galaxy Middle School in the Volusia School District in central Florida on May 25 when he touched a student near her bra, according to the school districts records. The girl was frightened and hid behind another student, the records say. Beierle was brought to the schools administrative office, but tried to leave the school before he could make a statement. A sheriffs deputy stopped him and led him back to the school for questioning, the records say. The county permanently banned him from teaching in the district a letter dated May 30, citing unprofessional conduct. This undated photo provided by Leon County Sheriff's Office shows Scott Paul Beierle. Two people were shot to death and five others wounded at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Fla. on Nov 3. 2018, by Beierle, a gunman who then killed himself, authorities said. Beierle killed Dr. Nancy Van Vessem, 61, a faculty member at Florida State University; and Maura Binkley, 21, a student at Florida State; when he opened fire at Tallahassee Hot Yoga Friday, police said. Volusia school records on Beierle noted several other signs of trouble. Beierle had been previously been arrested a few times on various charges, including assault, the records say. At least one parent had contacted the school district previously to express concerns about Beierle. A mother had contacted the school district to complain about Beierle in October 2017. The mother told the district that he had been staring at the students in a strange way and shouldnt be teaching kids. Earlier in his career, Beirele had worked as an English and social studies teacher at Meade High School from 2005 to 2007, a spokesperson from Anne Arundel County Public Schools confirmed. He also worked as as a substitute teacher at Leon County Schools (which encompasses Tallahassee) from 2015 to 2016, according to his resume. Beirele served in the Army in Germany from 2008 to 2010, according to the resume he supplied to Volusia schools. Story continues Leon County Schools did not immediately responded to a request for comment. Kelly Schulz, the director of community information Volusia County Schools, confirmed that Beirele had worked as a substitute in for the school district from January 2017 to May 2018. Schulz said in a statement that Beirele had been immediately let go once he was accused of misconduct. Schulz also defended the districts hiring practices. The Volusia County School district is more stringent with their hiring process than state law requires, Schulz wrote. For example, Volusia Schools will not hire anyone with any felony conviction or multiple DUIs. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The highway is the same highway, only the victims names change. On Sunday it was six workers, whose transit hit a truck that deviated from its course. It was the third fatal accident on Highway 90 in two weeks. About a year ago, a truck driver was killed at the exact same road curve. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Highway 90 is an unforgiving road, that doesn't differentiate Jews from Arabs, women from men, parents from children. Accidents hardly ever happen anymore due to technical failures; they happen when a driver makes a mistake or acts in a negligent manner. On a more forgiving road, an accident caused by human error might end in body work repairs rather than have deadly consequences. This is what happens on roads that have a guard rail between lanes that prevents frontal collisions, roads with less sudden and surprising turns, or roads with side railings that absorb the impact. But Israels longest road, from its northern border to its southern one, is no such road. Highway 90's 480 kilometers include sections from the Ottoman and British Mandate times. Its most recent Israeli sections, to the north of the Dead Sea, were paved after the 1967 Six-Day War, with the knowhow and resources of the late 1960s. The accident in the Jordan Rift Valley. (Photo: Israel Fire and Rescue Services spoksman) There isn't a more peripheral road than Highway 90the segment where the Sunday's accident happened, along the Jordan Rift Valley, is the lifeline of the surrounding peripheral communities and of the city of Beit She'an, while the more southern segment in the Arava is the lifeline of the communities there and of the Dead Sea factories, as well as the main road to Eilat. And yet, only 80 kilometers of this road are a modern, two lane, two-way highway, with quality asphalt and security railingslike you would expect a central highway in a startup nation to be. As always, this crisis is about money. The state only adds a second lane to roads through which 15,000-20,000 cars pass each day. But only several thousands of cars use daily the section where the recent accident took place. In the more southern parts of the road, there's an average of around 10,000 cars a day. But these statistics dont include the number of casualties: Since 2003, 233 people died and 700 were seriously injured on Highway 90. On a one-lane road, the chances of getting killed in an accident are 2.7 times higher than on a two-lane road. Most of the Jordan Rift Valley section of Highway 90 is on the other side of the Green Line. Israel definitely knows how to invest funds in West Bank infrastructure for security reasons, like the expensive renovations on Highway 60, but Highway 90 is left forgotten. A few months ago, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz ordered a new statutory plan for the expansion of the Jordan Rift Valley road section, but plans are not enough. There is still no timetable, and the cost will be in the billions. The National Roads Company of Israel has already expanded the highway in the south, from Eilat to Yotvata, and construction in its northern part continues alongside a plan to expand 130 kilometers more of the highway, all the way to the Arava Junction, with a price tag of NIS 2.1 billion. Funding is expected to trickle slowly: the infrastructure deputy director in the Ministry of Transport said this week that the plan is to complete about 10 kilometers per year, which means finishing the works after 2030. There will be attempts to work on several sections simultaneously. According to estimates, the traffic on Highway 90 is expected to grow after the Eilat Airport is moved to Ovda, which is 20 kilometers away from the city. When adding to that the future closure of Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv, the journey to Eilat by plane becomes just as long the car ride, which means the road is going to be even more packed. In the upcoming holiday season, Highway 90 is going to be swamped with excited families on their way south on vacation. How many of them are going to make headlines, after the next accident? The crash that killed 8 familiy members on Highway 90. (Photo: Robby Hendel) Following the horrific accidents of the previous weeks, the Transportation Ministry ordered the National Roads Company to begin planning the construction of guard-rails between lanes along dangerous curves of Highway 90 in the Dead Sea region. However, building such a rail without expanding the road itself creates its own dangers. Expanding the road would be an expensive plan, of about NIS 25 million per kilometer. Israeli drivers bring in about NIS 40 billion a year in taxes, but when the need arises to invest those taxes back in roads to provide a safe infrastructurethe Treasury has more urgent matters to fund. Highway 90 continues to claim lives as a result of poor infrastructure, which is unforgiving to human error, said Erez Kita, the head of Or Yarok, an NGO that works to encourage safe driving in Israel. Its a 50-years-old road, and its infrastructure should have been upgraded. Its always easiest to blame the drivers, but not every mistake should end in death, and the infrastructure is meant to protect drivers even if they make a mistake. The Transportation Ministry knows which dangerous roads are prone to accidents and casualties, and so they have to improve infrastructure tomorrow, and not wait for more victims, Kita added. The recent spate of accidents on Highway 90 stand in contrast to the improving statistics regarding other roads in the country, and could nix the possibility of 2018 being declared the year with the least car crash casualties in half a century. The Transportation Ministry's spokesman said on Sunday that, the ministry expresses its condolences and sorrow to the families of the victims, and wishes the injured a quick recovery. The claim that a guard rail should be installed along the entire Highway 90 is absurd and not practical, he added, the road is regularly maintained by the National Roads Company, and the ministry's director-general has now ordered an examination into the need for railing installations or other safety measures in several sections of the road. The attempt to portray the government as responsible for these tragic accidents, while ignoring the drivers' serious and dangerous mistakes, is wrong and untrue. The top US military officer said on Monday that the United States would have to start making changes to its military posture on the Korean peninsula over time if talks with North Korea advance. "The more successful we are in the diplomatic track, the more uncomfortable we will be in the military space," Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a forum at Duke University. "Because over time, this negotiation will take a form where we're going to have to start making some changes to the military posture on the peninsula. And we're prepared to do that in support of Secretary Pompeo," Dunford said. He did not elaborate on what changes might be expected. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman addressed the death penalty for terrorists bill, which will be brought before the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Wednesday , tweeting, "We will not stop until the mission is accomplished." Speaking at a Likud party meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the demonstration of strength is the most important thing in Israel's foreign policy. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter "'Occupation' is bull. There are countries that have conquered and replaced entire populations and the world keeps silent. Strength is the key, it makes all the difference in our policy towards the Arab world." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: GPO) Netanyahu stressed that concessions are perceived as weakness in the Middle East . "As opposed to the perception that concessions promote agreements with the Arabs, they would only bring minor and short-term changesnothing more. "The right thing to do is to make progress through common interests, which are based on technological strength," the premier explained. In addition, Netanyahu addressed the resumption of US sanctions against Iran that came into effect on Monday. "This day is an historic day. Today is the day Washington imposed the toughest sanctions Iran has ever known, in an attempt to halt its aggression," Netanyahu stressed. "I would like to again thank US President Donald Trump for the courageous, determined and important decision. I think it contributes to stability, security and peace in the region. "We can already witness the influence of these sanctionsIran is already reducing its budgets, funding aggression elements in and outside its territory," he concluded. Turkey's top diplomat on Tuesday criticized the US resumption of sanctions on Iran as unilateral, not wise and dangerous, calling for a dialogue and engagement instead. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Tokyo for talks with Japanese leaders, told reporters that Turkey opposes sanctions because they don't achieve results. "As a principle Turkey is against sanctions and we don't believe that any result can be achieved through sanctions," he said. "Cornering is not wise, isolating Iran is dangerous and punishing the Iranian people is not fair." US President Donald Trump's administration's resumption of sanctions on Iran took effect Monday. Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman addressed Tuesday the relative calm in the Gaza border region, during a briefing at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. According to the chief, the relative quiet we are witnessing is misleading. "In the West Bank, the reality is very complex. We can discern a relative calm, but this quiet is deceptive, underneath the surface, the area is bubbling, Hamas is trying with all its might to carry out attacks," he said. "In the past year, we have thwarted 480 attacks, including 219 Hamas squads, and prevented 590 lone terrorists. This is a very large scope that can only indicate the extent of terrorism taking place under the surface," Argaman added. Turkey foreign minister criticised on Tuesday the United States' renewal of sanctions on Iran's oil and shipping industries, saying it was dangerous to isolate Iran and unfair to punish its people, Anadolu news agency reported. Mevlut Cavusoglu's comments to reporters in Japan came a day after the United States reimposed sanctions, abandoning a 2015 Iran nuclear deal, while temporarily allowing top customers including Turkey to keep buying crude from the Islamic Republic. Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman warned Tuesday morning that the relative quiet in the West Bank is "deceptive," as "Hamas is trying very hard to carry out terror attacks in and from Judea and Samaria." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter During his briefing to members of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Argaman went on to explain that "Over the past year, we were able to thwart 480 terror attacks, including 219 Hamas cells and 590 lone attackers. This is a very large number that is indicative of the terrorism bubbling under the surface." "In addition, we were able in the last year to thwart cyber attacksboth terrorism and espionageagainst the State of Israel," he added. Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) "In general, these successes... are the result of very strenuous activity by the entire Israeli security systemShin Bet, IDF, Israel Policewhich allows this reality and allows Israeli citizens to live their daily lives," the Shin Bet director noted. In Gaza, he said, "we're between a possible campaign, or ahead of a campaign on the one hand, while on the other hand there's an attempt to stabilize the humanitarian situation in the strip." Argaman's briefing follows several rounds of fighting in Gaza over the past few months. During the last flare-up, the IDF attacked over 80 terror targets in the strip in retaliation for over 30 rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli towns on the border and the city of Sderot. After the de-escalation of the situation, Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar published an initial draft of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. The draft is yet to be finalized, since both sides are still holding negotiations. During the latest Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday, the ministers decided to allow mediation efforts by Egypt and UN envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov run their course. Almost all ministers were in favor of continuing the talks, with only Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman believing Israel must deliver a hard blow to Hamas to restore calm on the border. All security services were also in favor of continuing the talks with Hamas. Over the past weekend, Hamas dictated a new strategy for managing the "March of Return" campaign: tahfif, a sort of "wait and see" strategy. Meaning, curbing the violent demonstrations on the Gaza border until it becomes clear what the terror organization can get from Israel and the Palestinian Authority in exchange for maintaining the relative calm. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter "Tahfif" in Arabic stems from the word "hafif," which is an expression well known to Israelis, even those who don't speak Arabic, and describes a shoddy manner of doing things. And between us, everything Israel does on the border is shoddy and lacks real direction. "Arrangement" is a word that was invented to dodge the term "agreement." Hamas was the one that decided to lower the flames, as the Gaza rulers estimate they are on the verge of reaching an Egypt-mediated agreement with Israel, like the agreement achieved after the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, when Israel opened the Gaza border crossings, the strip's fishing zone was increased to nine nautical miles, and international commitments were made to rehabilitate the coastal enclave. Gaza border riots (Photo: AFP) This time, allowing fuel into the strip was added, and by doing so Israel is allowing Gaza's residents to enjoy a supply of electricity for more than eight hours per day. Furthermore, this is the first time Israel has made a move vis-a-vis Hamas, while bypassing and weakening the Palestinian Authority (PA) by pressuring it not to tighten the sanctions imposed on Gaza, as well as circumventing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the strip's fuel supply. In addition, negotiations to transfer Qatari money into the strip are currently ongoingdespite the PA's objectionto pay the salaries of Hamas officials. If Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi succeeds in convincing Abbas to allow the transferring of funds into Gaza, Hamas could dub its violent strategy over the past eight months as a success, and move on to the "tahfif" strategycontinue the "March of Return" protests, but cease to create provocations on the border and halt the launching of incendiary balloons. Meanwhile it is unknown whether an agreement has been reached with the PA regarding the Qatari funds, as that would require Hamas to meet a series of conditions imposed by Abbas, which include giving up its independent military force. But this is not the only obstacle to achieving calm: Israel's defense establishment knows that receiving fuel and Qatari money will not be enough for Hamas to halt the violence. Hamas leader Haniyeh meets with Egyptian delegation The terror organization has another card up its sleeve, which it plans to reveal once it receives the money from Qatara demand for a seaport independent of any Israeli involvement. For Hamas, the seaport would be the ultimate achievement, justifying the hundreds of dead and wounded Palestinians in the "March of Return" campaign. The seaport symbolizes the lifting of the siege, and building it is not so far-fetched. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz have both spoken in past about establishing a seaport in Gaza under Israeli supervision. As far as Hamas is concerned, it is already half way there; only one tiny condition is yet to be fulfilleda seaport independent of Israel. Hamas thinks that with a little pressure applied on the Israeli government, whose sole interest is its own survival, it can achieve its goals. Moreover, the IDF has advised the political echelon not to go to war in Gaza now, and rejected Lieberman's plan to deliver a hard blow to Hamas, fearing it would escalate into a ground operation in the strip. Nevertheless, the army is also convinced several rounds of limited fighting are yet to come. And what then? Nobody knows. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar So what should Hamas understand from all of this? That it can demand more, since it is not under a real existential threat. Give them a finger, and they'll take the whole hand. Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and his close circle know the Israeli society very well. They know that when the Israelis living in Gaza border communities say they are at their wit's end, the government, with elections on the horizon, can be brought down to its kneesmeaning they can continue applying pressure. After a seaport, Hamas might demand an airport. Israel's own "hafif" strategy creates a situation in which the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. On the one hand, Israel is making an effort to achieve calm, while on the other hand two decisions that will certainly cause a flare-up in security prisons in Israeland as a result in the West Bank and Gazahave been made. A law allowing Israel to deduct money the PA is transferring to families of security prisoners, alongside an instruction not to allow the prisoners to receive the PA's NIS 400 monthly allowance for food and clothing, will go into effect in the beginning of January. If the PA doesn't pay, Israel would pay tens of millions of shekels. But that's not the point. The security prisoners, who are allowed certain independence in their daily life, would no longer be afforded that. And when the prisons go up in flames, so do the territories. This is a populistic decision. Who needs it? A Palestinian woman tried to carry out a stabbing attack at a gas station in Kfar Adumim Tuesday. The suspect drew a sharp object and tried to stab Border Police officers. Consequently the officers shot and neutralized the suspect. Her condition is unclear. No casualties were reported among the soldiers. Turkey will not abide by the United States' sanctions on Iran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, describing Washington's move as aimed at unbalancing the world. Erdogan's comments to reporters in Ankara came a day after Washington reimposed sanctions, abandoning a 2015 deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear programme, while temporarily allowing major customers including Turkey to keep buying crude from the Islamic Republic. Americans started voting Tuesday in critical midterm elections that mark the first major voter test of US Donald Trump's presidency, with control of Congress at stake. As polling stations opened at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) on the East Coast, Republicans were keenly aware that losing their majority will hamstring his divisive, nativist political agenda over the next two years. At stake are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate, 36 governor's posts and seats in state legislatures across the country. For almost two years, Trump's rule-breaking, sometimes chaotic administration has enjoyed a largely free hand from the twin Republican-controlled chambers, but the midterms could finally see his wings clipped. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Tuesday he would send his country's troops to help its Persian Gulf allies if their security was in jeopardy. "We hope that Iran will not intervene in the affairs of others and will not allow harm to Arab national security, especially in the Gulf region," he said. Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced 13 new appointments in his Cabinet on Monday, including several ministers. The new tourism minister is Roni Trabelsi, a Jewish man who reportedly lives in France but also holds Tunisian citizenship. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Trabelsi is a prominent and successful businessman in Tunisia, dealing mostly with tourism. He owns the Royal First Travel agency. He was previously in the running for the tourism minister position, but did not get the job. Tunisia's new tourism minister Roni Trabelsi, left Trabelsi, whose father Peres Trabelsi is one of the leaders of the Jewish community in Tunisia, will be the second ever Jewish minister in the predominantly Muslim country. The first Jewish minister in Tunisia was Nessim Samama, who was appointed the finance minister for the king of Tunis in 1860. The Jewish community in the country used to number in the hundreds of thousands, but according to the Associated Press there are only about 1,200 Jews left there now. Surviving Dublin a city with more taxis than New York. Dublin is a passengers paradise and a taxi drivers hell In the concrete bowels of a vast bus station in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, a group of children gathers in the evening to play and dance to songs blaring from a CD player. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Their parents are African migrants who work until late, struggling to earn enough to put food on the table. While their children have access to state education in Israel , they face hardships, support workers said. African migrants protest against the plan to deport them (Photo: EPA) "Everyone in their proximity is in dire stress, and there's no money for basic necessities," said Yonit Naftali, vice-president of Elifelet, an Israeli charity that supports children born to African migrants. Over a decade from the mid-2000s, about 64,000 Africansmainly from conflict-torn Sudan and Eritreaarrived in Israel across the then-porous border with Egypt's Sinai, which was fenced off several years ago. Many experienced torture, were enslaved or imprisoned for ransom at the hands of Bedouin smugglers in the Sinai desert. Today some 36,000 remain in Israel, with 6,000 more children, according to government data. For many, life has gotten tougher since a 2017 law directed employers to deduct 20 percent from the wages of workers with temporary visas who entered Israel illegally from Egypt. As an incentive for them to go elsewhere, the money is deposited in a fund, together with an employer-paid tax of 16 percent, which workers can only access when they leave Israel. The new system is crippling for migrant families, said Naftali. "The children were the first to get hurt," she said. Parents must now work moresome clocking up 15 hours a daywhile earning less, leaving them unable to take care of their children properly, she added. In birthday cards to friends, children of migrants recently wrote messages such as "May you have food in your refrigerator" and "May you never go hungry," Naftali said. "Then we realized there is something really bad going on," she said. Her charity had to close down one of its after-school centers in order to finance emergency food donations. "There are actually hungry children, which I never believed I would see in Israel to such an extent," Naftali told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. African migrants' children dress up for Purim in Israel (Photo: AP) The Ministry of Interior's Population and Immigration Authority did not respond to requests for comment. Community school Many children of African migrants were born in Israel, speak Hebrew, attend Israeli schools and know Jewish culture and traditions. But they do not have Israeli identity cards and often encounter racist slurs, said Naftali. Israel has two distinctive black populationsthe migrants from Eritrea and Sudan, who are not Jewish, and immigrants from Ethiopia, who are Jewish. Israel has undertaken two massive operations to bring 35,000 of them to the countryOperation Moses in the 1980s and Operation Solomon in the 1990s. Eritrean migrants in Israel, backed by rights groups, say they are asylum seekers fleeing violence, persecution and conscription under a repressive regime back home. But the Israeli government views them as economic migrants, and has tried to deport themalthough a failure to find a country willing to take them forced it to abandon a plan to expel thousands of mostly Eritrean and Sudanese men in April. Between 2009 and 2017, Israel granted refugee recognition to less than 0.5 percent of the almost 11,000 asylum applications it decided on, according to the Israeli non-profit Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. Elifelet was established following a 2012 hate crime attack, when Molotov cocktails were thrown into a Tel Aviv center for refugees where 21 children were sleeping, Naftali said. For the children of migrant families, developing pride in their heritage is important to equip them to deal with the discrimination they face in everyday life, she added. An after-hours school set up by the city's Eritrean migrant community has similar aims, teaching children their own language and culture, and offering them a safe space in the evenings. "If our kids go on the streets, they get a lot of discrimination. Here, it's like a home," said Kifle Bizen, director of the Abugida Eritrean Community School. Located on the top floor of a rundown building in southern Tel Aviv, it is staffed by volunteers who, after finishing day jobs as cleaners or cooks, teach classes for about 120 Eritrean children, aged six to 14, four times a week. Set up in 2013, it assists children with school work and fosters their Eritrean identity, Bizen explained. "Our dream is to support our children not only with knowledge but also with their sense of self to help them develop," he said. African migrants outside Saharonim Prison (Photo: Roee Idan) Besides studying maths and science, the children sing, perform plays and recite poems in Tigrinya, one of Eritrea's main languages. Learning Tigrinya is key, said Bizen, not least because children and parents often cannot understand one another, sparking arguments. "Here, 100 percent of the children talk in our language," he said. The Eritrean community is like "an extended family," working together to overcome shared challenges, he added. The official monthly fee at Abugida is about 400 shekels ($108), but most Eritreans pay half that or less, said Bizen, while 40 children from single-parent households attend free. Since the migrant job tax was imposed, about 20 children have dropped out because their parents could no longer afford to pay anything, Bizen added. Mental scars Some students are affected by psychological troubles, making them withdrawn and unwilling to make friends, said Bizen. Berhe Teame, a volunteer at Abugida and an Eritrean community leader, said a psychologist was brought in last year, but the project collapsed due to a lack of funds. "The trauma lives in us," he said. His own daughter was held in a Libyan prison with her mother before arriving in Israel. "My kid saw everything," he said. "When the police beat her mother, she was with her." Many parents are also scarred by their ordeal, said Bizen, describing one father who talked of a severed head he saw in the Sinai desert. Ultimately, many Eritreans in Israel dream of returning home once the situation there improves, said Teame. "We hope to have peace in our country, to be able to give our kids our land," he said. "There will be a time when things will change. Until then, we need to give them education." India aims to sign an initial agreement with Iran this month to settle all their oil trade in rupees through India's UCO Bank, two Indian government sources said. "We have to do some paper work. It should be signed as early as possible. We are aiming for this month," one of the sources said. The remains of the Israel Air Force (IAF) pilot Lt. Yakir Mordechai Navehwhose plane crashed into the Sea of Galilee during a training flight in 1962had finally been recovered, according to a statement released by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit on Tuesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter "On Thursday, October 25, 2018, during a search operation, Yakirs remains were located among the wreckage of the aircraft in the Sea of Galilee and had been transferred to the Forensic Institute. The IAF was at the helm of the operation and was supported by several other units, stressed the IDF in an official statement. Lt. Yakir Mordechai Naveh (Photo: Israel Air Force) "On October 16, 2018, the 12th search operation for the remains of Yakir went underway using new and advanced technologies provided by a company that was chosen especially by the Ministry of Defense, read the statement, adding that throughout the years the IAF has not contact with the bereaved family and kept them updated regarding the progress. This effort is part of the IDF's moral and ethical obligation to locate all the prisoners and missing persons, which includes fallen IDF soldiers whose burial place is unknown," concluded the military in a statement. Naveh enlisted to the IDF in May 1957 and initially served as an Airborne Mechanic, but eventually he managed to fulfill his dream and become a fighter jet pilot. On May 6, 1962 Naveh and IAF Cadet Oded Cotton embarked on a training flight, from which they did not return. One year after the tragedy, Cottons body had been found amid with the wreckage of the plane. Naveh was declared a fallen IDF soldier whose place of burial is known. The EITAN unit (Unit for Detecting Missing Soldiers) continued to monitor the case closely. Israel Air Force (IAF) pilot Lt. Yakir Mordechai Naveh Lt. Naveh left behind a wife. A monument in his memory was erected in the Missing Persons section of the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. A public park in Ramat Gan was named after the late pilot as well. One IAF officer said that the Neveh family was in tears, after receiving the news. It has come full circle after too many years. This is an exciting and unusual event. The biological identification was done through DNA barcodes. "The body was discovered four kilometers northeast of Tiberias. Yakir's nephew, Lt. Col. (res.) Yakir Lapid, who was named after Naveh, participated in the search, stated the officer. Lapid later issued an official statement on behalf of the family. "We are still in the initial stages and the process is still ongoing," he said. Lt. Yakir Mordechai Naveh (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) The pilots funeral will take place on November, 13, 2018, at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery. The latest search operation had an environmental impact. Last week large quantities of aluminium had been found in water in Tiberias, which lead the authorities to dilute the Sea of Galilee water with water from another source. The reason behind the traces of aluminium was the fact that the IAF was conducting the operation near the pumping station. After years of careful restoration, two 19th century Jewish cemeteries were rededicated in Cape Verde on Tuesday, part of an effort financed by the Moroccan king to preserve the archipelago's cultural heritage. On wind-swept Santo Antao island, local dignitaries, international diplomats, and prominent Jewish figures gathered for the ceremony where seven of the graves are located. The rededication project involved translating the original inscriptions onto bronze plaques which accompany the graves, telling the story of Cape Verde's Jewish community which has now all but disappeared in the former Portuguese colony off the western coast of Africa. THE VOTING booths are set up and ready Monday in the gymnasium in Ironwood Township's township hall ahead of today's mid-term election. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] Voters around the country are voting in the general mid-term election today; including those in Gogebic and Iron counties where national, state and local races are on the ballot. Both Wisconsin and Michigan have their respective governor, attorney general and secretary of state offices up for election. Wisconsin's state treasurer office is also on the ballot. Polls in both states are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Today's election will also decide who will represent the region in the Michigan House of Representatives, Michigan State Senate, Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly for their next terms. Along with the state races, the ballot also features a U.S. Senate race in both Wisconsin and Michigan. Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District and Michigan's 1st Congressional District seats are also up for grabs. While Iron County's local races are all uncontested, there are three contested races in various jurisdictions in Gogebic County. Both the Ironwood and Bessemer school districts have contested races. In Ironwood, five candidates are running for four seats. In Bessemer, four candidates are running for three spots. Two local attorneys are also seeking to be the county's next probate judge, replacing Joel Massie who is retiring. Voters in the Bessemer School District will also vote on a ballot measure seeking to renew a Headlee Amendment override that would allow the collection of up to 18 mills on non-homestead properties. One mill translates to $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. Other local ballot measures included a proposal to renew 1 mill for road maintenance in Ironwood Township and a countywide proposal for 1 mill intended to fund an ambulance service in the county. In Bessemer, voters will also decide three city ballot measures. Proposal 1 will make the time one must be a resident in order to serve as a city elected official one year instead of two. Proposal 2 raises the minimum price for which the city council can sell a piece of property without asking the voters from $2 per capita to $50 per capita. With a population of 1,905 in the 2010 census, the minimum would go from $3,810 to $95,250. Proposal 3 asks for permission to sell three lots in the Industrial Park for up to $10,000 each. There are also three statewide proposals on Michigan ballots. Proposal l asks if it should be legal to possess, use and cultivate marijuana products by those 21 years of age and older, and commercial sales of marijuana through state-licensed retailers. Proposal 2 asks to amend the state constitution to establish a commission of citizens to adopt district boundaries for the Michigan state senate and state house, as well as the state's U.S. Congressional districts every 10 years. Proposal 3 would make voter registration automatic for those applying for, or renewing, a driver's license unless the person declines, allow absent voter ballots without providing a reason and allow voters to cast a straight-ticket vote for all candidates of a particular party when voting in a partisan election. Statewide, there is also a non-partisan election for two seats on the State Supreme Court. Voters will also find partisan races for the State Board of Education, as well as for governing boards for the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University. By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] Hurley A sentencing hearing scheduled for Monday for James Lussier, 20, of Woodruff, on a murder-related charge was delayed in Iron County Court. Court officials said Lussiers attorney, Marty Lipske, requested the delay for his client. No new date had been set as of Monday morning. A pre-sentence investigation, ordered by Iron County Judge Patrick Madden, was filed with the court on Oct. 24. Lussier is one of five men charged in the beating and shooting death of Wayne M. Valliere Jr., whose body was found near Mercer on New Years day. The five took Valliere for a drug-fueled drive and shot him on Dec. 22, depositing the body off a seldom used tote road. Richard Allen and Joseph Lussier were sentenced to life sentences earlier this year after being convicted by an Iron County jury as the shooters in the homicide. James Lussier, who is charged with being a party to conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of aiding a felon, entered guilty pleas to amended counts on Aug. 2. Assistant Wisconsin Attorney General Richard Dufour is prosecuting the case for Iron County. Today A few clouds from time to time. Gusty winds diminishing in the afternoon. High 83F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. Tonight A few clouds. Low 63F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 82F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. L3 Technologies, Inc. provides aircraft sustainment, simulation and training, night vision and image intensification equipment, and security and detection systems used on military, homeland security, and commercial platforms in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems; Communications and Networked Systems (C&NS); and Electronic Systems. The company offers engineering, modernization and sustainment, space avionics and imaging payload, counter unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) mission, cyber and electronic warfare, special mission command and control, modeling and simulation, and life cycle support services for ISR, airborne sensor, warrior sensor, space and sensor, aircraft, and intelligence and mission systems, as well as for military aviation services and advanced programs. It also provides network and communication systems, secure communications products, radio frequency components, satellite communication terminals and space, microwave and telemetry products, and secure data links in various business areas, such as broadband communication, naval power, space and power, and maritime sensor systems, as well as in advanced communications. In addition, the company offers components, products, subsystems, and systems, as well as related services to military and commercial customers in various business areas, including commercial aviation solutions, precision engagement systems, link training and simulation, and security and detection systems. It serves the United States (U.S.) Department of Defense and its prime contractors, the U.S. Government intelligence agencies, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, foreign governments, and commercial customers. The company was formerly known as L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to L3 Technologies, Inc. in December 2016. L3 Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Read More Ghanaian-English hip hop artiste, Nana Richard Abiona, known in showbiz as Fuse ODG has expressed his disappointment over the fuss about the visit of Prince Charles to Ghana. Prince Charles and wife, Camilla arrived in Ghana last Friday, November 2, 2018 for a five-day visit. Following their arrival, they were given awesome hospitality as school kids stood by the road side to wave at them. READ ALSO: Kwadwo Nkansah 'Lil Win' honoured at National Private School Awards But Fuse ODG seemed unhappy about the noise which was made about the British Royals visit to Ghana. He posted a video on Instagram as he expressed his displeasure with the kind of attention given to Prince Charles and his wife. The Antenna hitmaker, quizzed whether the kind of respect given to Prince Charles and his wife, that same can be given to the Royalties in Ghana. READ ALSO: Purfcie Conna outshines Moesha Boduong in latest photo Prince Charles over the weekend called on Asantehene Otomfuor Osei Tutu II and Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin The British Royals are expected to leave Ghana for Nigeria on Tuesday morning. Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen - Minister of information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has advised John Mahama to refrain from passing cynical comments against the Akufo-Addo administration - He added that contrary to Mahama's claims, the current government has fully fumigated 678 out of 700 Senior High Schools The minister of information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has cautioned former president John Mahama against passing cynical comments about the Akufo-Addo administration. Addressing the press on Monday, November 5, 2018, he added such comments about social intervention policies being implemented by the government are uncalled for. He went ahead to say that it will be best if Mahama sticks to the facts, in the interest of the nation. READ ALSO: Metro TV sacks 45 employees The administration thereby encourages the former President that when it comes to state and national matters, it will be best if he speaks in the national interest, and speak to facts, he stated. Nkrumah was reacting to recent claims by Mahama that he had encountered many students who have complained about how bed bugs have infested their dormitories. Mahama explained it was as a result of congestion in the dormitories as a result of the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme. Nkrumah accused the former president of working against governments Free SHS programme, emphasizing the latters subtle attempts at demonizing the project at the least opportunity. He added that the government has fumigated 678 out of 700 public SHSs to get rid of bedbugs and other insects. According to the minister, the erstwhile Mahama administration did not record any form of fumigation exercise in Senior High Schools but have deliberately decided to overlook the feats of the Akufo-Addo administration. READ ALSO: 37 Military Hospital doctors reveal fresh facts about George Andah's accident Atakorah Story: I Am the Headmaster With Only a J.S.S Certificate - Faces of Ghana | Yen.com.gh Want to be featured on YEN.com.gh? Send us a message on our Facebook page or on Instagram with your stories, photos or videos Source: Yen Ghana - The Zylofon Boss, Nana Appiah Mensah, has pleaded with the BoG and SEC to correct the company when it goes wrong - He said the company is young and needs such checks - Nana Appiah Mensah urged Menzgold customers to exercise patience with the company as it prepares to bounce back The chief executive officer of Menzgold Company Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, has appealed to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to gently correct the company when they go wrong. According to Nana Appiah, the company is a young one, and needs the BoG and SEC to constantly keep it in checks. He added that such treatment will only help the company become stronger and more competitive on the international market. READ ALSO: Dzidzor Mensah goes bad again with wild bedroom video This is contained in a report sighted by YEN.com.gh on Citinewsroom.com. The Zylofon boss who was speaking in an interview on Zylofon FM on Monday, disclosed that given its current struggling state, Menzgold was ready to fully adhere to directives from the BoG and SEC. I cant say Bank of Ghana or the Securities and Exchange Commission has done us evil. We are a young company, we expect them to correct us when we go wrong so that we can be strong and do better at the international stage. All hope is not lost. We will continue to solve the problem. We will not do what they ask us not to do. We will ensure we comply with everything they ask us to do, Nana Appiah reportedly said. We keep pleading with authorities. I wont say we are perfect, but if we have made any mistake, I believe some punitive measures will be in order. We are ready to take corrections and resolve this issue, he added. READ ALSO: Lil Win narrates how a producer slept with his girlfriend while he was on set in latest video While admitting the challenges the company is currently facing after SEC intervened to stop what it described as illegal operations, Nana Appiah Mensah said he was optimistic that the company will bounce back and perform better than it did in the last five years of its operations. I believe that with every issue, dialogue can resolve it. We are all Ghanaians, and we are working for Ghanaians in good faith. We have hopes that this issue will end peacefully and all stakeholders will help us I believe the authorities are listening, they are for Ghanaians. It may be long, but I believe all these will be resolved soon. Well follow the due processes Menzgold will have a great rebound and will be more exciting than the previous 5 years, NAM 1 noted. The CEO further urged customers of Menzgold to exercise patience as it continues processes to ensure that the companys business operation returns to normalcy. READ ALSO: Ras Mubarak to ride bicycle to Parliament in protest against fuel price hikes He asked the companys clients to take up an offer to migrate their operations via its new online platform to enable them promptly receive their due. We urge customers to be patient, it may be hard but I urge all customers to be patient as we work tirelessly to resolve this We are speaking to authorities and stakeholders to resolve all the issues. Give us the last opportunity for the online migration to help us bounce back Weve really done our best but lets not abandon Menzgold at this time, he pleaded. Some of the customers have already threatened a demonstration to demand their invested monies. READ ALSO: This is extraordinary - Fans scream over Lydia Forsons huge melons in latest photo Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh READ ALSO: 'Shoeshine boy' in police custody for joining KNUST students in chaotic demo Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: Yen The second lady of Ghana, Samira Bawumia, has more often than not, been hailed by Ghanaians for her fashion sense. She has been acclaimed on social media as one of the best-dressed public figures in Ghana. The second lady has mostly been referred to as the fashion queen, and she has many people looking up to her when it comes to fashion. READ ALSO: This is extraordinary - Fans scream over Lydia Forsons huge melons in latest photo With her latest photos seen by YEN.com.gh, Samira looks stunning in African print and another which a fan has described as a royal dress. With the African print photo, Mrs. Bawumia was captured walking gracefully in what is locally known as Kaba and slit as she interacted with some guests. She shared the photos on Facebook, and wrote that she was paying a courtesy call on the deputy executive director of the UNAIDS in line with creating more jobs for Ghana. READ ALSO: Adane Best fights Kuami Eugene for music theft To the photos above, a Facebook user, Papa Don, described Samira as his "beautiful second lady..": Mabel also called her "beautiful one", and made a special prayer for the second lady: READ ALSO: Dzidzor Mensah displays her oranges in latest wild bedroom video In the other photo, the second lady was captured wearing a lovely red dress and interacting to HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, who was in Ghana for the Head of State Awards. Also commenting on these photos, Yvee referred to Samira's dress as "royal dress": Kamogelo termed Samira's dressing as "Fashion forward": READ ALSO: We are young, correct us when we go wrong NAM1 begs SEC, BoG Addai applauded the second lady for her "great outfit": Ophelia also described Samira's dress as "gorgeous": Meanwhile, the second lady was in the news recently when her alleged no makeup photos went viral. She was massively trolled on social media for those pictures, though she later said she was not the one in the photos. READ ALSO: Lil Win narrates how a producer slept with his girlfriend while he was on set Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh READ ALSO: Ras Mubarak to ride bicycle to Parliament in protest against fuel price hikes Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: Yen The Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, has disclosed that a mega end-of-year-party will be held for all customers and employees. The business mogul spoke publicly for the first time since his companys woes started some two months ago. Speaking on Zylofon FM on Monday, NAM 1 addressed the concerns of customers and promised that things will goon get better. READ ALSO: Medikal has just confirmed his relationship with Fella Makafui He also apologised to all customers of Menzgold who have been troubled by their inability to withdraw their investments. He explained that Menzgold is launching a new online platform and urged customers to migrate onto this new platform. He also revealed that starting Friday, November 9, 2018, customers who genuinely want to withdraw their initial gold collectible values will get 15 per cent of their investments. The Menzgold CEO then concluded by announcing that a Christmas get-together will be organized for all customers to cap the new business. Menzgold has been in the news in recent months following disagreements with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) regarding its operations. The latest development is the order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to have the company shut down its gold trading activities. READ ALSO: My competence is gradually clearing Mahama's mess - Nana Addo Subsequently, the company halted its collectibles and all other new businesses related to its gold vault market, albeit temporarily. This, however, led to some customers of the firm besieging the various offices of Menzgold to demand that their investments are returned to them. Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist| #Yencomgh READ ALSO: Fashion queen Samira Bawumia dazzles in latest beautiful photos Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen Founder and leader of the International Gods Way Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim, has caused another stir on social media with a latest video showing a miracle he performed on a woman after appearing in her dream. The popular pastor who was preaching at one branch of his church, was listening to testimonies when the woman, together with her sister, came to tell the good thing that had been done for them. In narrating the incident, the woman recounted that she had been living in Nigeria when she took ill and had to be brought to Ghana. Obinim. Credit: Supplied Source: UGC READ ALSO: Menzgold to organize Christmas bash for loyal customers According to her, they visited a lot of shrines and hospitals for answers to their problem after the lady's stomach started to bloat. She said that one day, the stomach burst open and a yellowish liquid started oozing out of it. She claimed the substance acted like acid since it was able to soften clothes and eventual force them to tear. The elder sister of the lady, sensing danger, asked them to join in Obinim's service to seek solution. They were then given some oil and made to go home. The lady said she drank some of the oil and when she slept, 'angel' Obinim appeared in her dream and performed a 'spiritual' operation on her. She added that when she woke up, she felt some sharp pain around her abdomen and when she went to the washroom, a full human head covered with hair was birthed out of her. While giving the testimony, she showed the healed scar from which the strange human head came from. READ ALSO: Photos: Juju hits Nkurakan Presby School in E/R, classes disrupted Not too long ago, YEN.com.gh reported that the popular pastor, while speaking on a local TV station, claimed to have been introduced to Adam, Eve, Moses and Abraham. In the same TV interview, the preacher revealed that he was purchasing a private jet which was to arrive in the country on his request. YEN.com.gh also reported a on a video in which the pastor was seen in one of his church branches during service reportedly trying to vanish into heaven. He was seen in another video where he was fully dressed in a suit and tie and mimicked the actions of a bird preparing for takeoff by flapping his arms. The leader of the church is arguably one of Ghanas most influential Men of God. He is also counted among the richest Men of God in the country because he boasts of many houses and expensive cars with the latest addition to his fleet being a $300,000 Rolls Royce. Aside the fact that many people do not side with some of the antics and controversies,the Man of God has been involved in, he commands a huge church following both in Kumasi and Accra. The Man of God is married to local gospel sensation, Florence Obinim. READ ALSO: 9 beautiful photos of 2018 Miss Malaika Miriam Owusu-Poku before she joined pageant Watch: Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist| #Yencomgh Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh - MP for Korle Klottey Constituency Dr. Zenator Rawlings name has been mentioned as a possible running mate for NDC in election 2020 - She is said to have been shortlisted together with four other personalities to support John Mahama - One of the other four persons is Dr. Johnson Asiamah Former president John Mahama is said to be considering four personalities within the NDC for his running mate position for election 2020. Mahama, after his announcement of coming back to contest the presidential election, is said to have shortlisted these four personalities to back him. One of them, a report by Mynewsgh.com has revealed, is the MP for Korle Klottey Constituency, Dr. Zenator Rawlings, who is also the daughter of former president Jerry John Rawlings. READ ALSO: Juju hits Nkurakan Presby School, classes disrupted YEN.com.gh, however, cannot verify this claim. Zenator, according to the Mynewsgh.com report happens to be one of the favourites of the four, and is likely to be selected for the running mate position. Another name that has been mentioned is Dr. Johnson Asiamah. He was reported to have been shortlisted, and in fact, stands tall among the list as a result of his age, general appeal, technocrat background, an unblemished record and hailing from the Volta Region. READ ALSO: EOCO boss suspended over corruption comment The alleged number two list is supposed to be on standby and submitted to a committee that will sit right after the NDC Flagbearership race to choose one of them, the report indicated. Meanwhile, former Trade Minister, Dr. Spio-Garbrah, who is also a contender for the NDC flagbearership race of the NDC, had earlier expressed desire in being selected as Mahamas running mate. In a related development, reports have it that former president Rawlings is heavily against the possibility of one of the Ahwoi Brothers, Kwesi, from being chosen to partner Mahama. READ ALSO: Samira Bawumia steps out in two wild dresses and Ghanaians are talking Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh READ ALSO: NAM1 finally makes passionate appeal to BoG, SEC over Menzgolds woes Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: Yen (Bloomberg) Crispin Odey, fighting to recover from three successive years of losses in his main hedge fund, made money last month as his long-running bearish bets paid off. The Odey European Inc. fund gained 7.2 percent in October, boosting returns for this year to 48.4 percent, according to an investor update seen by Bloomberg. It hasnt lost money in any month this year. A spokesman for London-based Odey declined to comment. To read this article: Ever since the breakup between Paul and Peter Okoye whose now defunct team was known as P-square, they have gone on to build their individual careers as solo artistes. However, Peter Okoye has been the most vocal one of the duo. As it appears, Paul Okoye has broken his long time silence by granting an interview. During the discussion, the celebrity whose stage name is Rude Boy made some stunning revelations. He gave an opinion about Nigerian and Ghanaian music. For Paul, Nigerian music was way ahead of Ghanaian artistry because Nigerians are smarter than the Ghanaian counterpart. The music star made this confession to WGHC Radio based in Chicago, USA. When asked the reason for making such claim, Paul asserted that Ghanaians were the pacesetters of most of the music trends and sounds sung by Nigerians. But musicians in Nigeria were faster to pick on this useful things in vogue. READ ALSO: Groom slammed for being rude at wedding says he has no regrets So according to him, the fact that Nigerians were quick to pick up trendy dances and rhymes, and turn them into songs made them more smarter. This claim made by Paul was said in response to the question of why Nigerian music is more relevant than Ghanaian sound. In asserting his opinion, Paul Okoye made reference to the Azonto songs and Kpom Kpom dances and songs which originated in Ghana but gained more credence in Nigeria. See the video below: READ ALSO: Purfcie Conna outshines Moesha Boduong in latest photo Despite the breakup between Paul and Peter Okoye, the duo have been making significant progress in their career. While the former has been releasing hit songs, the latter has gone on to even win a music award This assertion made by Paul is coming right after a Nigerian musician named Davido won African artiste of the year in Ghana. He was also nominated as Best African act at the recently held MTV Europe Music Award. But he lost this time to yet another sterling female artistein Nigeria called Tiwa Savage. Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen Despite the growing movement for gender equality pushed by feminists, it appears there are still people who believe certain roles are the mutual exclusives of women and unsurprisingly, one of them is Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni. At the forefront of the feminism movement is the push to correct the long aged belief that certain roles are meant for women and others, for men. Apparently, Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, does not share in this belief and seems to hold strongly to the traditional credo about the role of a woman. He recently came under fire after he stated that he hasn't stepped into the kitchen since he got married as that responsibility is his wife's. READ ALSO: Delay tells Manifest how she wants to be loved and people want to know more Speaking in a statement about how politicians and civil servants should stick to proscribed roles, he said: "The head of the home never goes into the kitchen. It is now 45 years with Mama Janet, I have never stepped into the kitchen. That is how it should be." As expected, the statement did not sit well with a lot of people, especially feminists who belief a woman's capability should not be restricted to the kitchen alone. Oxfams International Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, hit back at the 74-year-old president on Twitter with this words: "Cooking isnt a womans job. Its a life skill. When cooking, cleaning and doing other domestic chores are left to women, they are denied an equal chance to raise incomes or to be politically active. READ ALSO: Twitter girl says sugar daddies are the best compared to the stingy small boys A section of online publications however, defended Musevenis comments as in line with the countrys culture which sees men cooking as taboo. Watch: Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen - Parliament has opened up on its position with regard to the scandal involving the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Kwame Owusu - According to the chairman of the select committee on transport, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, it is waiting for a report from the GMA board before it acts Parliaments select cmmittee on transport has argued that it is too early to wade into the controversy surrounding the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Kwame Owusu. According to a report by 3news.com, the chairman, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, stated that the committee will wait for the decision of the GMA board, which has been directed by the sector minister to investigate the matter. With that done, he went on, the committee will receive a copy of the final report from the board, and proceed to act on the matter. Kwame Owusu, Director-General of Ghana Maritime Authority Source: Supplied Source: UGC READ ALSO: DCE, other government officials, trapped in a car after an accident Speaking on TV3 on Monday, November 5, 2018, Ayeh-Paye added that I dont think we have gotten there yet. If the board comes out with its report and we find out that there is the need for a higher body to investigate, why not, but we havent gotten there yet. He however noted that there are other ways to go about the situation in order to hasten the process. According to him, a state institution such as the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) could investigate the matter, upon receipt of a petition from an interested party. Owusu has been accused of spending an amount of GH135,125 on an end-of-year party for staff, and another GH10,652 on food at Luxe Suites Hotel, a facility he allegedly owns. He was also accused of spending GH1 million on renovations at his official; residence. He has, however, refuted all the allegations. READ ALSO: Metro TV sacks 45 employees Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via Instagram or on YENs official Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh - A Nigerian man of God, Cletus Ilongwo, has reportedly swindled a member of his church of an amount of GHC654,802 - He has been arrested by the police and will soon be processed before a court - He was arrested by over 100 security officials from both the the Nigerian police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). A Nigerian prophet, Cletus Ilongwo, has been picked up by the police for defrauding a church member of an amount of GHC654,802. He was, on Monday November 5, 2018, remanded in prison by an Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos, Nigeria. The accused, who appeared in court wearing dreadlocks and a long red garment, is the founder of the Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry also known as the Tuesday Tuesday Church. Source: Supplied Source: UGC READ ALSO: DCE, other government officials, trapped in a car after an accident Justice Sherifat Solebo remanded the accused after he had pleaded not guilty to an 11-count charge levelled against him. According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ilongwo was arrested on Saturday, November 3, 2018, by over 100 security officials of both the Nigerian police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ahmed Yerima, the EFCC Prosecutor, said that Ilongwo committed the offences between January and April 2016. Responding, the defence counsel, P.N Orji, informed the court about a pending bail application he filed on behalf of his client. Yerima, however, did not oppose the bail application but requested for more time to respond to the application. The trial judge adjourned the case until November 14 for hearing of the bail application and November 19 for the commencement of trial. READ ALSO: This is just nonsense! Kennedy Agyapong drops serious details about the maritime boss Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh Want to be featured on YEN.com.gh? Send us a message on our Facebook page or on Instagram with your stories, photos or videos Source: Yen.com.gh - Nana Appiah Mensah has promised to put up five ultra-modern theaters - According to him, he wants to revive the movie industry in the country Menzgold and Zylofon Media CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1, has promised to build five more ultra-modern theaters in the country. Despite the troubles facing his gold trading firm, NAM1 has shifted the attention and now talking about creative arts. According to him, he wants to revive the Ghanaian movie industry. Nana Appiah Mensah (Photo credit: supplied) Source: Instagram READ ALSO: Moesha Boduong shares photo of her Range Rover Evoque He said, it is his plan to put in place positive structures that will help people patronize movies being produced in Ghana. We would get Zylofon Films to build five more Ultra-Modern Theaters in the regions in partnership with the tourism, arts and culture in 2019, he told Zylofon FM. The business magnate is currently under pressure to meet the demand of Menzgold clients after the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered him to shut down. READ ALSO: Government should work to make life easier, times are hard- Bukom Banku The customers for the past weeks have been demanding refund of the money they invested. Currently, there is a legal battle between Menzgold, the Bank of Ghana and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at an Accra High Court. YEN.com.gh reported earlier, the issue of a woman who refused to leave a Menzgold office after not receiving any extra value payment or dividend on her investment. READ ALSO: Abel Manomey - The Ghanaian footballer who turned down mouth-watering offer to pursue a master's degree Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen A member of the minority caucus in Ghanas Parliament, Ras Mubarak, on Tuesday rode a bicycle to the House as a means of transport. The MP for Kumbungu on Monday raised concerns over the current economic hardship in the country and threaten to ride a bicycle on a 17km journey from his residence in Ashaley Botwe to the Parliament of Ghana. According to Ras Mubarak the decision to ride a bicycle from his home to Parliament to protest the hikes in fuel prices as well as the current economic hardship. Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak riding a bicycle to work on Tuesday morning. Source: Kasapafmonline.com Source: UGC READ ALSO: Twitter girl says sugar daddies are the best compared to the stingy small boys This is a way of sending a signal to government to highlight the plight of the voiceless Ghanaians who are unable to express their frustrations either because they have had to go to work or engage in other activity or the other. As a representative of the people aside legislation, we need to be seen to be voicing out issues that affect the ordinary Ghanaian and for me it is a way to generate attention not to myself but to rise in the cost of living in the country, he told journalists. He also hinted that very soon his colleagues on the minority will all ride bicycles to work in protest of the hardship under the Akufo-Addo administration. But in a swift reaction to the action of the Kumbungu MP, Joseph Bipoba Naa, who is also a member of the NDC caucus said his colleague only wants cheap popularity. NDC MP Ras Mubarak. Source: Kasapafmonline.com Source: UGC READ ALSO: Menzgold to organize Christmas bash for loyal customers Mr. Bipoba Naa said he finds it difficult to believe Ras Mubarak who owns a V8 Toyota Landcruiser will complain of finding it very difficult to buy fuel and suddenly decide to embark on a 17km journey from his house to the lawmaking house. He noted that President Akufo-Addo has no control over fuel prices. Ghana News Today: Mensa Otabil and 12 Others Sued / Prince Charles Arrives in Ghaana | #Yencomgh READ ALSO: Today in history: Asamoah Gyan remembers late mum Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen Ghana The price of one sachet of water otherwise called pure water will go up to 30 pesewas effective Monday November 12. This increment represents a 50% increase in the price of the item from 20 pesewas. The out-of-truck price for a bag of sachet water would go for GHC3.50 and will be retailed at GHC4.50. The leadership of the National Association of Sachet Water and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) announced that beginning Monday, 12 November, the prices of a bag of sachet water will go up to 3:50p from all trucks and water depots. A statement signed by Kwabena Agyapon Ntra, National Director, Corporate Affairs confirmed READ ALSO: NDC MP storms Parliament on a bicycle Packaging of purified water. Photo credit: Google Photos Source: UGC The NASPAWAP statement read: "In consultation with all regional associations of sachet water producers announce for the information of the general public that the price of a bag of sachet water will go up to 3:50p from all trucks and water depots." The revised prices take effect from Monday, 12 November 2018. The price of an iced sachet, however, remains at 0.30p as previously announced by the national body." READ ALSO: Delay tells Manifest how she wants to be loved and people want to know more Meanwhile, A member of the minority caucus in Ghanas Parliament, Ras Mubarak, on Tuesday rode a bicycle to the House as a means of transport. The MP for Kumbungu on Monday raised concerns over the current economic hardship in the country and threaten to ride a bicycle on a 17km journey from his residence in Ashaley Botwe. Ghana News Today: Mensa Otabil and 12 Others Sued / Prince Charles Arrives in Ghaana | #Yencomgh Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen Newspaper (HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a group of internet marketers who allegedly created and disseminated elaborate rags-to-riches videos to trick retirees and other retail investors into opening brokerage accounts and trading high-risk securities known as binary options. According to the SECs complaints, investors were conned out of tens of millions of dollars through these marketing campaigns, which promised that investors would make large amounts of money by opening binary options accounts and using free or secret software systems to trade in them. The SEC alleges that the marketers were paid for each new brokerage account that investors opened and funded. According to the complaints, the marketers internet video advertisements, which were disseminated through spam emails, used actors to portray ordinary people who became millionaires by trading binary options. The videos staged fake demonstrations of supposed software users watching their account balances grow in real time. The SEC alleges that the software was simply a ruse to persuade investors to open accounts with the brokers. The SECs complaints charged 10 individuals and two companies involved in the fraudulent marketing campaigns. The SEC alleged that Timothy Atkinson, All In Publishing, LLC, Ronald Montano, Antonio Giacca, Travis Stephenson, Grayson Brookshire, and Justin Blake Barrett violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act). The SEC also alleged that Jay Passerino violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder and Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act. The SEC further alleged that all of these defendants aided and abetted each others violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act. In addition, the SEC alleged that Atkinson and Montano each violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder through or by the means of the other defendants, in violation of Section 20(b) of the Exchange Act, and that Atkinson is liable under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act as a control person for the violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder by All In Publishing, LLC. Finally, the SEC alleged that William Berry, Berry Mediaworks,LLC, Shmuel Pollen, and Michael Wright aided and abetted violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act by Atkinson, Passerino, All In Publishing, LLC, Giacca, Montano and Stephenson. The SECs complaints seek penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and permanent injunctions against Timothy J. Atkinson, Ronald Ronnie Montano, Jay Passerino, Michael Wright, and All In Publishing LLC. Justin Blake Barrett, William E. Berry and his company Berry Mediaworks, Grayson Brookshire, Antonio Giacca, Shmuel Pollen, and Travis Stephenson have agreed to settle the SECs charges. Without admitting or denying the charges, they agreed to pay a combined total of $4.1 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. Pollen has agreed to pay a $42,500 penalty. The Commission did not assess a penalty on the other settling parties as a result of their cooperation during the investigation and ongoing cooperation. That is a list of the documents an employment agency has to produce in order to recruit a chef from the Philippines to Finland, tells Minna Vanhala-Harmanen, the chief executive of Barona, one of the leading private employment agencies in Finland. An eight-page application for employment-based residence, supplemented by a total of 11 copies, certificates and other documents. The entire permit procedure takes roughly a year, according to her. You cant file the work permit application until February. A TE Office will then spend six to seven months considering the permit application, after which you'll have to wait two months for a decision from [the Finnish Immigration Service] Migri, she explained at an event organised in Helsinki on 29 October by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK). Vanhala-Harmanen said the permit applications cannot be filed immediately due to the lack of biometric identification equipment at the Consular Office of Finland in Manila, the Philippines. Barona, as a result, has to fly the applicants to the Embassy of Finland in Kuala Lumpur, which has a three-month backlog of applications. The situation would be the same if we were recruiting ICT professionals, she added. 4,000 IT experts alone were hired last year in Sweden. Meanwhile, the total number of work permits granted in Finland was roughly 6,000. Were talking about [hiring on] a completely different scale. Vanhala-Harmanen made her comments in response to a report presented to EK by Mikael Jungner, a former party secretary of the Social Democrats and co-founder of Now Movement. Jungner in his report laid out a total of 31 proposals to enhance the countrys appeal in the eyes of international talent, including promoting equality, developing marketing communications and abolishing the so-called labour availability consideration. The labour availability consideration is a process that effectively enables authorities to cite the availability of domestic labour as grounds for preventing employers from recruiting from outside the European Union or European Economic Area (EEA). As chefs do not fall under the scope of the labour availability consideration, the Filipino chefs case demonstrates that abolishing the process is not a particularly effective means to make hiring from abroad easier, according to Vanhala-Harmanen. No matter how attractive Finland is, I think quite a few will come up with something else to do in a year, she said, adding that the country must first ensure the fundamentals are in place. Jorma Vuorio, the head of migration at the Ministry of the Interior, commented on the ensuing debate on Twitter, reminding that authorities currently have to ask over a half of residence permit applicants to supplement their applications. Aleksi Teivainen HT Source: Uusi Suomi The Cabinet in one of the latest decisions has approved that government borrows US$150 million (about Shs555 billion) for water and sanitation in Uganda, according to government Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo. The purpose is to ensure proper water provision for the greater Kampala region, contribute to wetland restoration, reforestation among others, Ofwono on Tuesday told the press at the government-owned Uganda Media Centre in Kampala. The decision to borrow the money comes at the time when government is also running the Kampala Water Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project whose objective is to ensure improvement of living conditions of the residents of Kampala through provision of safe and reliable water supply and improved sanitation until 2040. Stories Continues after ad Ofwono said Cabinet has realised the need for the public Investment management system that can be used to address the concerns on how investors are chosen to operate in Uganda. On infrastructure development, he said Cabinet further noted the need for putting in place a project management fund that can be used to compensate land owners. You have seen situations where a road is being built and people are not compensated. The real issue here is for proper coordination. Therell be no promising without funds, he said. Recently a plan to reconstruct and expand a 28km-road from Kyotera town to Rakai town council as well as compensate affected residents flopped due to lack of funds. The road is among those proposed by the ministry of energy ahead of the East African Oil Pipeline project and was allocated Shs43 billion. Ofwono also said Cabinet also realised that there is need to give credit insurance to protect those who participate in trade. Cabinet also noted the importance of the African Trade Insurance for which Uganda is part. This is to protect traders from unfair Government actions that will have consequences on trade. This affects any African country, not just Uganda, he noted. Experts say credit insurance is an insurance policy and a risk management product offered by private insurance companies and governmental export credit agencies to business entities wishing to protect their accounts receivable from loss due to credit. This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going. The roots of Catalonias modern push for independence from Spain lie in struggles that stretch back hundreds of years. TO CATALANS, 9/11 HAS A LONG HISTORY AS A DAY OF RECKONING. The Diada, or national day, commemorates the 1714 fall of Barcelona after a lengthy siege whose origins lie in the War of the Spanish Succession. In recent years the day has been linked to a new and growing conflict: Catalonias push for independence from Spain. The roots of that struggle lie even deeper in history, when Catalonia formed an essential part of the Kingdom of Aragon. The making of Spain can be traced to 1469, when the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile politically unified their two kingdoms. By 1500 Aragons population totaled little more than a million people, while Castiles was six times that. Gradually and predictably, Castile tried to dominate its smaller counterpart, and in 1640 Catalans staged a violent rebellion that became known as the Reapers War. Though the war was generally a peasant uprising against onerous taxes and Castiles demand that its troops be billeted by locals, contemporary Catalans have reframed the narrative of the war as a revolt against Spain and celebrate it in their anthem, Els SegadorsThe Reapers. Todays separatists have embraced the anthem as their battle cry: Catalonia triumphant shall again be rich and bountiful / Drive away these people / who are so conceited and so arrogant. IN SOME WAYS THE REAPERS WAR PRESAGED THE UNREST THAT WOULD ENGULF SPAIN In some ways the Reapers War in the early years of the 18th century. By then Spain had ceased to be a major power, and its weakness became apparent when Charles II died without an heir in 1700. Within months, the War of the Spanish Succession was on. Spains long Mediterranean coastline and access to the northern Atlantic made it an essential part of the wider European chessboard, and the continents two great powers, the Austrian Habsburgs and the French Bourbons, were each determined to seat their own candidate on the Spanish throne. A geopolitical struggle for European dominance, the war involved complex entanglements and shifting alliances, and it drew in kingdoms large and small. Spain itself split from west to east over support for the competing powers, with much of the Castile region backing the French Bourbon claimant, Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV, and the Aragon sector favoring the Habsburg, Charles, Archduke of Austria. The English, ever hostile to the French, allied with the Habsburgs and thus with Aragon. The succession war raged across Europe for 13 years and cost an estimated 400,000 lives, though the wider web of conflicts it spawned may have taken double that number. A complicated series of treaties known as the Peace of Utrecht finally ended the war in 1713, placing Philip V on the Spanish throne. Britain, having gained important territorial and commercial concessions, quit the field. But Catalonia did not. Its discontent with Castile had smoldered since the Reapers War, but hostility to the French was also deeply rooted. With the larger war over, Catalonia stood alone against France and Bourbon Spain. Catalonias position along the Pyrenees frontier with France and its Mediterranean coastline made it a strategic prize; adding to its appeal, Barcelona was a dynamic and wealthy city. Determined to control the area, the new Bourbon rulers of Spain mounted an offensive, planning to intimidate the Catalan countryside and isolate Barcelona. Some 85,000 troops were posted to the region, whose population totaled no more than half a million. Society struggled under military occupation, and brutal reprisals against the peasants resulted in hundreds of summary executions. But the harsh repression of the countryside only strengthened the resolve of Barcelonas populace to resist. When city authorities agreed to capitulate to the Bourbons in June 1713, their decision was overturned under pressure from the guilds and the public. As the Bourbons prepared to lay siege to the city, Antoni de Villaroel, who had a long and successful history as a military commander, first for the Bourbons and then for the Habsburgs, was entrusted with the organization of Barcelonas defenses. Villaroel proved highly effective, despite having mustered only 6,000 to 7,000 men against the tens of thousands of besiegers. He focused his defensive strategy in three main areas: the countryside, the coastline, and the citys medieval walls. In the countryside, the roughly 800 lightly armed combatants of the rural militia, or miquelets, began guerrilla operations, harrying Bourbon troops and disrupting supply lines. The miquelets knowledge of the mountainous terrain close to Barcelona gave them a clear advantage, and they proved a real menace to Bourbon forces. Along the coast, Villaroel managed to keep open vital supply lines, thanks again to local knowledge of the area. Catalans found ways to slip through the enemy blockade, and for most of the first year of the siege, Barcelonas citizens did not suffer great privation. The third element in Villaroels defensive plan, the city wallthree feet thick in most placesproved a strong bulwark against the Bourbon attackers. Repeated bombardment during the siege was largely ineffective. Barcelonas militia, La Coronela, also played a key role. Organized in in six battalions, each representing a local tradesmens guild, it added significantly to the defense, and morale in the besieged city remained high. The Duke of Popoli, leading Castilians and French besiegers loyal to King Philip V, initially believed that the overwhelming show of Bourbon force would be enough to force the city to surrender, but it did not. Nor did repeated French-backed mortar barrages. After a year, Popoli was nowhere near breaking the siege, though he had managed to advance to the outskirts of the city. For Louis XIV, Frances failure to take Barcelona was detrimental to the Bourbon reputation and could not be permitted in a Europe where perceived weakness invited attack. In July 1714 James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, replaced Popoli, and French reinforcements arrived on the scene. Berwick, the illegitimate son of the deposed James II of England, had emerged as a talented leader in the French army, and he had almost 40,000 men at his disposal when he took command. He planned a two-pronged approach to the siege. First, he wanted to effectively blockade the port, to prevent the arrival of provisions and war materiel and thus break civilian morale. Second, he aimed to breach the citys medieval wall. To that end, armaments were trained on a specific section of the wall. In mid-July 84 large cannons and 24 mortars opened up in an almost uninterrupted bombardment of the targeted section. After a month, the bombardment had ripped only a small breach in the wall, and as French troops moved into the city, defenders attacked their flanks. Though casualties on both sides were heavy, the besiegers pressed forward, and with their marked advantage in numbers, they gradually made progress. Meanwhile, bombardment slowly created a larger opening in the wall. The final assault began in the early morning of September 11, as 18,000 Bourbon troops poured into Barcelona. Though the citys defenders were outnumbered three to one, they mounted an intense resistance. The last hours of the siege saw fierce hand-to-hand fighting, house by house, street by street, resulting in terrible destruction to the city. Estimates of the total losses among the Catalans range from 7,000 to 8,000 dead and wounded, while the besiegers lost more than 15,000 men. To prevent the loss of more of his men, Berwick accepted Barcelonas offer of conditional surrender early in the afternoon of the 11th. One of the most remarkable sieges of the era had ended. BERWICK HAD PROMISED TO PRESERVE THE PROPERTY AND WELFARE OF BARCELONAS RESIDENTS, but Louis XIV did not honor his assurances. The French imprisoned some 20 military commanders from Barcelona, who forfeited their property, and began construction of La Ciutadella, an enormous military fortress overlooking the city. More than 6,000 troops were permanently stationed in Barcelona, with another 20,000 more remaining in Catalan territory. Inspired by the model of France, the Spanish Bourbon victors also began a process of centralization that included the repression of the regions linguistic and cultural heritage. The traditional rights and privileges that Catalonia and the wider territories of the former Kingdom of Aragon had maintained since the Middle Ages were abolished. Despite the repression, by the late 18th century Catalonia had become the first area of Spain to industrialize, spurring an economic revival. By 1790 Catalan cotton production was second only to Britains; the textile industry would continue to play a fundamental role in the regions economic regeneration throughout the next century. During that period Catalonia remained loyal to Spain, even as a Catalan cultural renaissance gained momentum, and the 1714 siege of Barcelona came to play a prominent role in the regions self-narrative. In 1932 a statute for Catalan autonomy became law, but seven years later the Nationalists bloody victory in the Spanish Civil War brought an end to that. Generalissimo Francisco Francos fascist regime was intent on building a new and glorious Spain, where regional languages and traditions would have no place. Linguistic and cultural repression again ensued but could not suppress the Catalan spirit. On September 11, 1976, the year after Francos death, some 100,000 people demonstrated for Catalan autonomy in the town of Sant Boi, outside Barcelona, because authorities had refused to allow them to gather in the city. The following September 11, however, a million people marched in Barcelona, demanding, among other things, the restoration of a regional Catalan government, or Generalitatone of the institutions abolished after the 1714 defeat of Barcelona. In 2006 Catalonia achieved nation status, but that status was rescinded four years later. Today, as Catalan leaders are imprisoned or flee to avoid punishment and the separatist movement grows, Europe once more worries that the fate of Spain could have repercussions across the continent, and some Catalonians feel that Barcelona is under siege once again. MHQ Andrew Dowling, a senior lecturer in Hispanic studies at Cardiff University, is the author of The Rise of Catalan Independence: Spains Territorial Crisis (Routledge, 2012). This article appears in the Winter 2019 issue (Vol. 31, No. 2) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: Catalonias 9/11 For one Union regiment, the dreadful casualty count from Picketts Charge included numerous desertions When we think of deserters in the Civil War, we imagine an armys cowards, scoundrels, and riff-raff who abandon their comrades to save their own skins. While some fit this profile, the reality is that what prompted men to desert was often more complex than the simple broad brush that is usually applied. A spike in desertions typically followed every major battle, including Gettysburg. Even the best regiments experienced desertions. The 69th Pennsylvania Infantry is an example. It was an excellent unit, but between July 5 and July 17, 1863, it lost 11 soldiers to desertion. Their stories can provide us some idea of desertions complexities. The 69th was engaged July 23 on Cemetery Ridge. On the 3rd, its position was struck by the full fury of Picketts Charge. The famous Copse of Trees stood directly in the 69ths rear. With Confederates surging forward in their front and on both flanks, the regiment held, though the cost was high. In the two days of combat, 40 were killed, 80 wounded, and 17 captured, just more than 50 percent of the regiments strength. The first to desert was Private George Haws of Company A, a 29-year-old plumber in civilian life. Haws was Major James Duffys orderly. When Duffy was seriously wounded July 3, Hays accompanied him to his home in Philadelphia. Once the major was safe, Haws disappeared into the city, never to be seen by his regiment again. He apparently went straight to the docks and, probably under an assumed name, signed on as a merchant sailor, concluding perhaps he would not survive another battle like Gettysburg. Each man had his limit of how much combat he could endure without breaking, and Haws may have reached his in the terrifying action of July 3. That may have also been why Patrick Harvey of Company F deserted on July 6. Harveys company was overrun by Picketts men on July 3, with nearly every man killed, wounded, or captured. Where Harvey went is unknown, but he returned to the regiment on September 27 carrying his rifle and equipment. The Army court-martialed him and docked his pay, but no more. He served out the remainder of his enlistment without incident. Even though both men were in the battle, youll not find Haws name on the 69ths tablet on the Pennsylvania Memorial; Harveys is. Deserters who returned were deemed worthy of having their name on the monument. Those, like Haws, who never returned were omitted. A third soldier deserted the regiment on July 7, three more on July 11, one each on July 12 and 13, and two more on July 14. The 11th deserter was John Harvey Sr., on July 17. Not all of these were guilty. Patrick Lundy straggled during the regiments march July 12, was captured by Confederate partisans, then rescued by Union cavalry during a skirmish. In the action, Lundy lost two fingers and wound up in a Washington, D.C., hospital. Word failed to reach his company commander, and Lundy was carried on the regimental rolls as a deserter until August, when he wrote his commander that he had not deserted but was wounded and in the hospital. John Eckard of Company A was one of those to desert on July 11. He was 27 and a laborer before the war. He had already deserted once, on August 28, 1862, and returned on April 29, 1863, under a pardon President Lincoln issued to entice deserters to return to their regiments. Other than the period he had absconded, Eckard served in every battle in which the regiment participated. The Army tracked him down in Philadelphia in September. He was court-martialed, sacrificing all back pay, and was ordered to pay the government $10 a month of his wages for nine months. Eckard, like many in the regiment, was poor and the sentence hit him hard financially. He appealed to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in March 1864 to be allowed to reenlist as a veteran volunteer. Because of his sentence, he had been denied this right. You will be rendering a never to be forgotten favor on [me], by approving the request, he wrote to Stanton. The secretary approved and Eckard reenlisted. It did not end well for him. The private was captured at Reams Station, Va., on August 25, 1864, and sent to North Carolinas Salisbury Prison, where he soon died of disease. From his record, William Farrell was a good soldier, but he had quarreled with Colonel Dennis OKane, the 69ths commander. Farrell was wounded in the July 3 fighting and likely didnt know that OKane had been killed. Determined he would not return to serve under OKane again, Farrell slipped out of an Army hospital in Philadelphia on July 13 and made his way to the citys Marine Corps recruiting office. He enlisted for six years under the name William Giblin, served out his enlistment honorably, and was discharged in 1869. Years later he applied for a pension for disability from his service in both arms. When the remarkably thorough Pension Office investigated, officials discovered he had deserted from the 69th Pennsylvania but had served honorably in the Marines. His pension for service with the 69th was denied, but approved for the Marine Corps. Other than Eckard, who had previously deserted, each of these deserters had good records as soldiers. They had done their duty and been present in all the regiments battles and campaigns. Something about Gettysburg, or perhaps the cumulation of everything leading to Gettysburg, tipped the scale in them. Each had his own reason to desert his comrades, a decision that could not have been easy. They were not scamps or cowards, but men who had reached the end of what they could bear. All paid some price for their decision. Their story is a reminder that the wars casualties were not just the killed, wounded, and captured. Scott Hartwig writes from the crossroads of Gettysburg. Chief justices legacy of landmark decisions is still with us today AMERICAN HISTORY Deja Vu columnist Richard Brookhiser, left, is a journalist, historian, documentary filmmaker, and author. His latest book, John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court (Basic, 2018) is a biography of a titan of American jurisprudence. What about Marshall surprised you most? His humor. Judging is an inherently serious matter, on top of which Marshall found himself in some tight spots thanks to the partisanship that marked his years on the bench (1801-35). Yet he was always up for a good story and a good drink. I love his laugh, wrote future associate justice Joseph Story after they first met. Im glad my publisher put a smiling picture of him on the cover. You term him the last Federalist. Why? Marshall was a deep-dyed Federalist. He called George Washington the greatest Man on earth, he owed his chief justiceship to John Adams, and he described Alexander Hamilton as a genius. Although the party collapsed after the War of 1812, Marshall as chief justice had lifetime tenure. So many of his landmark decisionsprotecting contracts and corporations, enforcing federal supremacy over state courts, fostering commercereflected Federalist policies. And he kept it up into the Age of Jackson. What was his most formative experience? He had two, one from each of his fathers. His actual father, Thomas Marshallfrontiersman, surveyor, and real estate speculatorraised him to be a lawyer, homeschooling him with Blackstones Commentaries on the Laws of England. His symbolic father, George Washington, commanded him during the Revolution at Brandywine, Germantown, and Valley Forge. His profession was the law; his goal in life was to be as dutiful and as patriotic as Washington. How did the Revolution resonate in his life? Fighting in common cause beside comrades from many states made him a nationalist. Suffering alongside them showed him the consequences of ineffectual government: meager supplies, pay ever in arrears. The war showed him the need of a new Constitution and inspired him to be its lifelong defender. Explain the Quoits Club. Quoits was a game, like horseshoes, played with iron rings. The Club was a group of Richmond gentlemen who met weekly May to October to play, eat, drink, and give comic speeches. Membership was capped at 30, but open to all political persuasions. The club fostered trans-partisan friendships: good training for a justice whose high court colleagues increasingly came from the other political party, the Republicans. Thanks to his Quoits Club experience, and his own splendid temper, Marshall befriended themthe first step to converting them to his views. Marshall owned slaves. What does the record say about him? Paul Finkelman has shown that Marshall owned 130 to 150 slaves, rather than the dozen or so older biographies assigned him. Marshall extended himself for Indians, going to the mat with Andrew Jackson over his policy of ejecting them beyond the Mississippi. But he lived with slavery and took no serious steps to curtail it. He fell short of his Federalist idolsWashington, who freed all his slaves in his will, and Hamilton, who helped found the New-York Manumission Society. Explain the Marshall Court. We are talking about two things: decisions, and attitude. The Marshall Courts decisions created a national economic market (Gibbons v. Ogden) in which individuals and corporations (Dartmouth v. Woodward) could contract to do business (Fletcher v. Peck), free from state-level interference. The Marshall Court behaved as a peer of the other branches of government, rebuking states (McCulloch v. Maryland, Cohens v. Virginia) and Congress (Marbury v. Madison) and scolding presidents (Marbury again). Both facets of the Marshall Court are with us today. Characterize Marshall as High Court member and manager. First, he was fun to be with. Only two people ever hated him: his cousin Thomas Jefferson, and former William and Mary classmate and Virginia judge Spencer Roane. Second, he was politic. He deferred to fellow judges in areas of law in which he was not expertand got deference in return. Third, he was shrewd. He picked his battles (I am not fond, he told Story, of butting my head against a wall in sport). Fourth, he was smart. When he bore down, he was overpowering. His mind, said Attorney General William Wirt, was like the Atlantic Ocean, while everybody elses were mere ponds. Fifth, he endured: 34 years as chief justice, still a record. For much of Marshalls SCOTUS tenure, justices roomed together. What impact did this have? We know from a sometimes-restive justice, William Johnson, that there was explicit pressure to conform. Early in his Court days Johnson was warned by his brethrenhe never said whothat his dissents would lower their collective prestige. But eating and drinking together is a potent form of bonding. Marshalls SCOTUS was like the Quoits Club, DC chapter. What are the hallmarks of a Marshall decision? It often begins with an ironic tic: Marshall will say the question before the Court was one of great delicacy. When he says that, expect a roundhouse. And it comes: well-organized, measured in tone, implacable. He had a knack, which I think he picked up from Alexander Pope, for making his judgments seem obvious. You would as soon argue with Mount Sinai. How does Marshalls presence still echo in the courts workings? Besides the economic and structural legacies I mentioned earlier, he can appear without warning. When pundits and Tweeters throw around the word treason, I think how carefully Marshall weighed it in the treason trial of Aaron Burr. Stick around, and Marshall is liable to pop up. What about his private life? Im more interested in Johns public career, but there is something both sweet and painful about the Marshall marriage. His wife Mary, known as Polly, was a bold young girl who wanted him and got him, but she soon became a depressed recluse. His zest for politics and socializing probably encouraged her depression. Yet he loved her, admired her tasteI think she introduced him to Jane Austenand wept often after she died. The three dates he picked for his epitaph were his birth, his wedding, and his death. He wrote that epitaph, by the way, on the Fourth of July. Patriot to the end. H When naval construction battalions werent building bases, they were fighting the enemy. On the morning of July 1, 1967, Chief Petty Officer Joseph Herrara of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 was driving a truck near Da Nang Air Base when a lone Viet Cong soldier fired a poisonous dart that shattered a window and caused a deep gash in the chiefs arm. Realizing he was under attack, Herrara switched off the engine and got out. As he ran toward the back of the truck, a bullet struck his belt loop. He drew his pistol and made his way to a ditch across the road. He spotted the Viet Cong and fired four rounds before chasing him. The Viet Cong threw a grenade, and Herrara hit the ground, waiting for an explosion that didnt come. He slowly rose and inspected the grenade; its safety pin was still partially in place. The Navy construction man had survived the sudden attack. Two years earlier, on June 10, 1965, steelworker Petty Officer 2nd Class William C. Hoover from the same battalion was less fortunate. When Viet Cong attacked the U.S. Army Special Forces camp at Dong Xoai, about 55 miles northeast of Saigon, Hoover was wounded in the initial mortar shelling but continued firing and was killed later in the battle. Posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with a V device for valor, Hoover was the first person from the Navys construction battalionsabbreviated CBs and called Seabeeskilled in the Vietnam War. Trained for combat as well as construction, Seabees frequently found themselves in the thick of the fighting and just as often distinguished themselves with their heroism. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., includes 85 Seabees among its list of war deada tribute to their motto, We build, we fight, which is symbolized in their logo of a bee holding a wrench, hammer and machine gun. I served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 as a swift boat maintenance and repair electrician aboard the landing craft repair ship USS Krishna. We were anchored near An Thoi, a fishing village on the southern tip of Phu Quoc Island in the Gulf of Thailand. When the site became the home of the first swift boat division in Vietnam in December 1965, the Seabees were short on virtually everything needed to build the base, so the Krishna served as their supply depot. That all changed after Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze visited in 1966. After living in a tent for a few days and taking part in some swift boat patrols, Nitze made sure the Navy delivered the materials needed to make life at least a little more bearable. In short order, the Seabees, with a hand from the Krishna and swift boat crews, had the buildings up and occupied, including Quonset huts, the militarys old standby in prefabricated metal structures used for officers housing, storage and recreation. The Seabees at An Thoi were continuing a tradition that began in the summer of 1940 when the Navys Bureau of Yards and Docks began to build Naval Air Station Quonset Point, near Davisville, Rhode Island. The new huts were designed in two primary sizes20 feet by 48 feet and 40 feet by 100 feetand could be connected side-by-side and end-to-end, offering numerous configurations. In the 1930s, as Japans expansion in the Pacific increased the prospects for war, the Navy had begun building bases on islands in the region. The work was initially done by civilian construction contractors, but after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor pushed the United States into war, the Navy needed to replace the civilian workers with military construction personnel who could engage in combat if necessary. On Jan. 5, 1942, Navy officials authorized the Bureau of Yards and Docks to organize battalions of armed military construction workers. Within days, men just out of basic training gathered at Quonset Point to learn how to use construction equipment and build the huts before shipping off to Charleston, South Carolina, where they established the Navys first construction unit on Jan. 21. Although called a construction battalion, the unit comprised only 250-300 mennot much bigger than a company. One week later they shipped out to build a fueling station on Bora Bora. The men, initially dubbed Bobcats, after the operations code name, reached Bora Bora on Feb. 17. The Navy officially named its construction battalions Seabees, on March 5, 1942. Ten days later in Norfolk, Virginia, the Seabees formed their first true battalion-sized unit with a headquarters organization and four companies, totaling about 1,000 men. In April the battalion split into two detachments, and each sailed to different islands in the Pacific. Although the first Seabees went to the war zone with little more than basic training, by the end of June 1942, the Navy had established advance base depots for advanced military and construction training in Davisville; Port Hueneme, north of Los Angeles; and Gulfport, Mississippi. During World War II, about 325,000 Seabees served on six continents and 300 islands. Their gallantry caught the attention of Republic Pictures Corp., which released The Fighting Seabees, starring John Wayne, in January 1944. Rapid postwar demobilization left the Seabee force with just 2,800 men at the onset of the Korean War on June 25, 1950. The Navy quickly put about 10,000 members of the Naval Reserve Seabee program on active duty, and Seabees were among Gen. Douglas MacArthurs troops who landed at Inchon on Sept. 15, 1950, and forced a North Korean retreat. An armistice that stopped the fighting and set up a demilitarized zone was signed on July 27, 1953. Three years later, in the summer of 1956, a team of Seabees arrived in the Republic of Vietnam, created just two years earlier when the country was split into a communist North and noncommunist South after French colonial rule ended. The Seabees initial task was to survey approximately 1,800 miles of current and proposed roads across South Vietnam. They worked seven days a week for two months in challenging terrain and then left Vietnam after completing their assignment. Years later, those surveys would be crucial in the construction of roads essential for U.S. military operations in the country. In 1963, Seabee teams were once again in South Vietnam, constructing U.S. Army Special Forces camps being established to help counter the political influence and armed threats of the Viet Cong in rural areas. The Seabees also assisted civilian communities with projects that included construction of hospitals and storage facilities and digging wells for drinking water. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, passed by Congress in August 1964, gave President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to send combat troops to Vietnam. On March 8, 1965, the Marines were the first ashore, landing at Da Nang in the northern part of South Vietnam. On May 7, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 10 was the first Seabee battalion in Vietnam after the introduction of combat forces, arriving to build an airfield for the Marines at Chu Lai. Dozens of other Seabee units soon followed, including more than 20 mobile construction battalions, the 3rd Naval Construction Brigade, the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, the 32nd Naval Construction Regiment, construction battalion maintenance units 301 and 302, and amphibious construction battalions 1 and 2. Seabees served in 22 provinces from the Mekong Delta, up through the Central Highlands, to the border with North Vietnam at the Demilitarized Zone. They not only performed their assigned construction tasks for the military, but also helped teach the Vietnamese construction techniques. Early on, the Seabees discovered that there would be many times when they had to put down their hammers and pick up their weapons. Among the most prominent gunfights in Seabee lore is the June 1965 Dong Xoai battle in which Hoover was killed. The American camp at Dong Xoai was defended by 11 Special Forces soldiers and nine members of Seabees Team 1104 from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11. Seven of the Seabees were wounded, and killed along with Hoover was Petty Officer 3rd Class Marvin Shields, a construction mechanic. Shields posthumously received the Medal of Honor for carrying a wounded man to safety and destroying a Viet Cong machine gun emplacement before dying. He was the only Seabee awarded the nations highest honor and the first Navy man to receive it in Vietnam. In October 1965, the Viet Cong attacked the Marble Mountain airfield, just south of Da Nang, inflicting severe damage on U.S. aircraft and a base hospital being constructed by Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 9. Eight Seabee-built Quonset huts used for X-rays, labs and surgical wards were destroyed. Two Seabees were killed and more than 90 wounded. After the attack it wasas alwaysall hands on deck to rebuild the hospital and living quarters. The Seabees accomplished that task in just three months. FedEx Corp. CEO Frederick W. Smith, who served two tours in Vietnam as a Marine officer, worked with Seabees during the war. I first saw the Navy Seabees abilities at Marble Mountain, where I was stationed in Vietnam on my second tour, Smith recalled in 2016. The Seabees built this airfield, bulldozing sand dunes and laying steel runways to accommodate heavy traffic. They also built a 660-tent camp and a huge mess hall, working alongside Marines under tough conditions, including enemy fire. By the final months of 1965 the Seabees had established large bases in Da Nang, Chu Lai and Phu Bai in South Vietnams northern provinces. The bases provided combat forces the support required to increase their attacks and were instrumental in defeating Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army offensives around the Demilitarized Zone and Laotian border. As U.S. forces in South Vietnam gradually increased, so did the need for Seabees to build facilities for those troops. In mid-1965 there were 9,400 Seabees in Vietnam, and that number increased to 14,000 over the next 12 months. By 1967 there were 20,000, and over the following two years the number peaked at more than 26,000. Typically, deployed Seabees spent eight months in Vietnam, returned stateside for six months in Davisville and then went back to Vietnam for a second eight-month tour. To support the demand for Seabees, the Navy made a concerted effort to recruit skilled construction trade workers. Using advanced pay grades as an incentive, a program for direct procurement of petty officers was very effective: More than 13,000 signed up. In 1966 the Seabees were expanding the initial bases and building permanent facilities for men and equipment. They went into Quang Tri, the province closest to North Vietnam, to construct concrete bunkers overlooking the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and they built structures for the Marine base in Dong Ha, about 12 miles south of the DMZ. The next year brought still more construction projects. An airfield in Dong Ha and Liberty Bridge south of Da Nang were on the Seabees endless to do list. Despite the challenges of working during the monsoon season, they finished the airstrip in 38 days. The bridge, more than 2,000 feet long, was completed in five months. Among the other projects in 1967 was the construction of officers housing for swift boat skippers in Chu Lai. The ever-resourceful Seabees also created barbecue grills from modified 55-gallon drums that had drilled-out sections of deck plate installed on them for cooking hot dogs, hamburgers and even chicken. We had one at An Thoi and used it when we visited a nearby island beach. When the communists Tet Offensive began on Jan. 31, 1968, the Seabees were on the battlefield alongside the Marines and Army. Much of South Vietnams third-largest city, Hue, in the northern part of the country, crumbled during the struggle, and Seabees stationed about 8 miles to the south at Phu Bai were called to rebuild a critically needed concrete bridge. After enemy snipers began to fire on the construction team, it immediately formed a combat force, eliminated the sniper fire and finished the bridge. In spring 1968, the Seabees rebuilt the railroad from Da Nang to Hue, completing a project that had been halted for three years due to relentless enemy fire. American military operations were significantly reduced after June 1969, when President Richard Nixon announced his Vietnamization policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops and transferring combat responsibility to the South Vietnamese. But the Seabees continued to be busy. For instance, they built coastal bases and radar operation centers in the Mekong Delta that enabled the South Vietnamese to assume coastal surveillance operations previously conducted by American swift boats. On June 23, 1970, the last units of Seabees left Vietnam from Chu Lais Camp Shields, a site that had been renamed in September 1965 to honor the Medal of Honor recipient. Their work had not only assisted the military but also improved the lives of South Vietnamese civilians. They had built bridges, docks, schools and hospitals. They had dug wells and paved roads to provide access to farms and bring medical treatments to villagers. Such efforts proved the Seabees were not just fighters, but also builders of peace. After his discharge from the Navy, Tom Edwards earned an engineering degree and spent most of his career as senior facilities engineer with General Dynamics-Space Systems Division in San Diego. He thanks Jack Springle of the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park and Bob Bolger and Bob Brown of the Swift Boat Sailors Association for their help with this article. A Connecticut family struggled with its commitment to the Union cause O n the eve of the Civil War, Thomas Cahill was well-established in New Haven, Conn., a bustling industrial city of 39,000 residents. Cahill was born in Boston in 1828, the son of Irish parents who came to the United States in the early 19th century. The family relocated to New Haven in the 1830s, and Cahill grew up there and did well. He made his living as a mason and owned his own construction business, which provided a comfortable middle-class life for his wife, Margaret, and their two children, Mary and Eddie, who were ages 2 and 1, respectively, in 1861. They had weathered the anti-immigrant fervor that rose with the Know Nothing political party in the mid-1850s, and in the years before the war he was awarded substantial contracts from New Havens town government. Cahill was the captain of a largely Irish-American militia unit, Company E (the Washington-Erina Guards) of the 2nd Regiment Connecticut State Militia. Nativism affected his participation in the martial organization in 1855 when the state passed an act disbanding all militia units composed primarily of foreign-born men. Local papers affiliated with the Democratic Party remonstrated against the ban, noting that Cahill was American by birth, the rank and file was industrious and skillful, and with unintended foreshadowing, boasted the militiamen were prepared to shed their blood and sacrificein defense of American liberty. One Year Later In 1856, the ban on foreign-born men in the Connecticut militia was lifted, and just five years later when the war began, many of the men of Cahills unit were absorbed into the 9th Connecticut Infantry and elected Cahill colonel of the regiment. Irish-born and first-generation men born to Irish immigrants dominated the 9th Connecticut, the Nutmeg States only ethnic regiment. The unit joined Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butlers New England Expeditionary Force at Camp Chase in Lowell, Mass., and the 9th would go on to serve in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Virginia. The Cahills letters, chronicled in the University of Georgia Press book The Greatest Trials I Ever Had, edited by Ryan W. Keating, reveal the ethnic and religious loyalties of a couple who strongly identified with their Irish Catholic community in New Haven. But the letters exchanged by the Cahills also reflect the pressures that battered most middle-class military families, regardless of religion or ethnicity, as the war dragged on. Margaret (Mag) Cahill was left to care for her young children and manage her husbands business as best she could, exhausting and challenging tasks that left her little time to be involved in patriotic duties on the home front. Her letters capture the limits of her willingness to sacrifice for Union, while Thomas Cahills correspondence highlights the frustrations of command, especially for a volunteer citizen-officer. These challenges led him to consider resigning his commission and returning home to Margaret on several occasions, but Cahill remained in uniform through October 1864, compelled to serve the men of the 9th Connecticut and the Union cause, perhaps in that order. Their letters reveal a wartime family motivated less by the cause of liberty than their sense of duty to their community in New Haven and in the 9th Connecticut volunteers. The Cahills phonetic misspelling has been maintained in the letters, and in some cases bracketed text has been inserted to enhance clarity. Colonel Cahill and the 9th Connecticut marched off to war in the fall of 1861 amid pageantry that celebrated their Irish- American pride. Hard cases in the ranks, as Cahill called them, however, tarnished the regiments reputation from the start. Camp Chase Lowell Nov. 7, 1861 My Dear Wife We arrived safely at this camp on Tuesday Morning at 10 o clock. We had an awfull time with the Hard Cases on the manny [sic] of the Cars had no Lights in them and when they Commenced to hammer one another they could not tell where the blows came from; they smashed the glass in the car windows; and raised the mischief generally.We were met at the Cars by Col E.F. Jones of the 26th Mass Regt and after escorting us through the city delivered us into camp pretty well tired out. They spent the fall in Lowell, Mass., attached to General Butlers New England Expeditionary Force until the 9th Connecticut was ordered to Ship Island, Miss., where they could help enforce the Federal naval blockade and assist with invasion efforts along the Confederate coastline. Cahill grumbled because his commander, Brig. Gen. John Phelps, had issued a proclamation emancipating slaves in the region. Cahill, however, also rebuked slave owners for the cruel system of labor. That spring, Cahill took pride in his regiments improvement in drill and discipline, which they maintained despite the boredom at Ship Island and later at Camp Parapet, north of New Orleans, where they helped with the occupation of the Crescent City. They did not participate in the capture of New Orleans, though the 9th Connecticut did distinguish itself in a small engagement at Pass Christian, Miss., and in a larger battle at Baton Rouge, La., in August 1862 despite the sickness that weakened their rankslikely contracted while digging Grants Canal near Vicksburg. Back in New Haven, Margaret Cahill worked to maintain her husbands business accounts, collect rent, raise her children, and serve as a conduit between the regiment and the soldiers families at home. Ship Island Dec. 7, 1861 I am afraid that General Phelps [emancipation] proclamation will make trouble here. I have not seen it but understand that the naval officers denounce it bitterly. have heard some of them myself. Father [Daniel] Mullen [9th Connecticut chaplain] is also very bitter against it and says he will denounce it as Containing Sentiments anti Catholic. it is also said that the Massachusetts Regt are very much opposed to it. some of them are threatening to resign. as for myself shall be Cautious in my movements but certainly shall not Endorse Either Abolition or Infidelity on sectarianism. I[t] is a Little Singular to say the least of it: That he should have issued such a Proclamation with out Consulting Col Jones or Myself. Ship Island Dec. 30, 1861 My Dear Wife Our men are beginning to look like soldiers since we got our new muskets and I am really impressed myself at their decided improvement. I am working hard to get ahead of the 26th [Massachusetts] and have the Concert to think we Can. the men begin to think so too. we can average more balls in the target than them now as the main guard gives every morning after guard mounting.it is now going on twelve o clock.no one can conceive the amount of reading writing and talking it takes to handle a regiment like ours. the company officers here are working like beavers. New Haven March 29, 1862 My Dear Husband I hope you will come home soon. I do not Love to keep accounts I have deposited Johnys money and Carrolls too. Carrolls wife is Making a time about not getting More Money. but if what I hear be true she does not desire to get any more than will bearly [sic] support her.Mrs Lawler recd her Money yesterday. it came to meshe is a very fine woman. tell her Husband she and family are well and Barney Lynch to remember me to him. his wife came to me and got her Money. they are all well. Ship Island April 8, 1862 My Dear Wife The rough ninth have been trooping around the Splendid summer residences [in Pass Christian] of the southern aristocracy built upon the meanest of all foundations: the unwilling labor of the Black. On Board Steamer Matanzas off the Dock at New Orleans May 2, 1862 My Dear Wife we have within the Last hour Come up from the Passes to help to hold this immense City. it seems Completely at our Mercy. do not give yourself any uneasiness about me. their men have Evidently got in the way of running away when we came in behind the Fort Philip. The Rebels in the Forts mutinied andCame up to the 26th Regt which was the first to Land and surrendered themselves. They were all let go without their arms. Reading Cotton Pass New Orleans May 4, 1862 My Dear Wife Our men find lots of Old acquaintances here. I think if we were to stay here another week we would have the biggest half of the Irish here with us. Camp Parapet, Carrollton LA May 26, 1862 My Dear Wife I am taking in a large number of recruits and they were verry [sic] stalwart men much Larger than the overage [sic] of our men: They are natives of Ireland Germany and some of the Northern and Western States. They represent themselves as having suffered terribly during the Last year and seem glad to Come among us. our regt has such a tremendous name here some how or other that they walk out here about 8 miles to join us. While I write I heard 6 have Come into Camp. New Haven May 30, 1862 2 OClock P.M. My dear Husband I have just recd your Letters of the 13 and 14 from Camp Parapet. I need not tell you I was delighted to hear from youthat you knowbut if I say I do not hear from you half often Enoughdo not think me too selfishyou know I had no Idea when you levt [sic] home that you would be done [sic] so Long. but enough of this what I was going to say will do neither of us any good under present circumstances. I will trust altogether in Gods Mercy and hope for your return very soon. On Board Steamer McClellan Mississippi River June 1, 1862 My Dear Wife as you may judge from the heading we are again on the move. This time to Baton Rouge to join 4 other Regts under Brigd Genl Williams. I have Enlisted near 200 men in New Orleans. they are fine looking men much better looking than the average of our men. I am not at all pleasant with the looks of the Country along the River. there are some fine looking plantations and houses but the land is too flat, it seems well cultivated. there is no Evidence [of] that desperate destruction of property we read so much about: the people seem intolerably passive standing in small groups staring at us as we sail by: I can see manny [sic] females in apparent mourning which is suggestive of friends lost, still it may be mere fancy as some ladies affect that style of dress. On Board Transport Steamer Diana off Vicksburg June 24, 1862 10 OClock P.M. My Dear wife we are detailing 200 men per day to Cut a new Channel for the Miss River in order to turn it away from Vicksburg and to leave her all along on her Bluffs which she has so impudently attempted to use to ban our progress up the Mississippi. [T]his is a great scheme if it will work as it promises and it may be another Evidence that we Cannot be stopped when we want to go ahead. On Board Steamer Diana Mississippi River Near Vicksburgh [sic] June 30, 1862 My Dear Wife we have made no perceptible progress since my last: I say we I mean the Fleet for not much is Expected from the small land force here at this time unless the stupendious [sic] attempt we are making to turn the River out of its usual Channel amounts to more than it seems at present to promise: we are still digging with about 700 soldiers and 4 to 5 hundred negroes: and will let the water on in a few days but as the river is falling rapidly I have not much faith in the scheme. never did but that is not my business. we work as we are told and do as well as we can. Near Vicksburg July 20, 1862 My Dear Wife The men are a good deal Debilitated from the heat but I do not apprehend a great amount of sickness: there are a good manny however that I would discharge and send home if I could get the necessary [sic] papers. The men are getting home sick as in fact we all are. the uncertainty of our movements tends greatly to this End. we do not know how where we are going to be from one day to another. all this tends to depress the spirits and make the men uneasy which of course reacts upon the health. The tremendous Cut off that was to have done so much is about given up so that really things are in worse shape than when we Came here. How it will End I do not know and as I am not responsible let them do as they like. I will take care of my self and my Command as long as I can and then I will stop. I dislike to offer my resignation but feel that I cannot serve under such a man as we are under at present a great while and I shall take the first opportunity to Escape. but I must try to do so in an honourable manner. if I could only get my papers for discharges I could send home half the Regt before I leave myself: but then I really do not know what to turn my self to. there is not likelihood of their being any business to do for a long time after this infernal war and there must be a complete change in all the affairs of Life. if I could get along with such confounded ____ as I am under now I would continue from seat of Policy as well as from Patriotic motives but this is all speculation. I cannot tell what may turn up. yet however you can understand that I feel like Coming home as soon as I can and I want to take Care of my friends and get them out with me or into better places if they stay in it. In the summer of 1862, Margaret Cahill gave birth to the couples third child, who brought them joy but compounded the pain of their separation. New Haven July 24, 1862 My Dear Husband Our dear little Thomas Mathew is 11 Days-20 hours old at the commencement of this letter.I have had a great many sudden changes up to two days ago but with Gods help they have all passed over and I am Mag again but only on Conditions and those are that you must come home. now I have said must (but not in anger) and that means a good deal. I cannot help it for my Heart is nearly broken. I cannot hold out much longer and you must give me credit for being patient a good whileyou know I have too much feeling or pride or whatever you may choose to call it to let any person know my real feelings about your being absentbut I am not ashamed to tell you that it is the greatest trials I ever had. although I have had many and sore ones too. but none like this I think. Baton Rouge August 16, 1862 My Dear Wife Your Welcome letterReached me during the Excitement following our fight of August 5th [at Baton Rouge]. I think it was on the 7th that I received the letter announcing the birth of little Thomas Matthew. So you see good luck Comes in Couples. to hear of the Birth of a son and win a Battle at about the same time is what is not often vouchsafed to Mortal Man: (I cannot say thus I was as much surprised by the news from home as I was to be Called so suddenly to the Command of the Army of Baton Rouge Even for the short time that I held the verry [sic] responsible position) [when Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams was mortally wounded]. So My dear wife is anxious to have me come home. Oh dear what makes you talk so. it would do me a heap of good to See you all again. but how Could I part with you and all the Orders from Head Quarters are against the Chances of Getting a leave of absence. and as far as resignation I suppose A Man is a traitor that asks for it at present. I shall try however for your sake. Storm in the Delta: On August 5, 1862, Confederate forces tried to recapture Baton Rouge, La., from the Union occupying force. When the Federal commander, Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams, was killed, Colonel Cahill took command of the Union troops and skillfully led them in a retreat to the covering gunfire of gunboats. The Southerners then retreated, leaving the town in Cahills possession. (Corbis via Getty Images) Head Quarters 9th Regt Conn Vols New Orleans October 21, 1862 My Dear Wife I am sending home a good may discharged men. I cannot bear to see them lying about here looking like death although I know a great manny [sic] of them are playing on me and will be as well as Ever as soon as they get their discharges. but I do not Care. I would send the whole Regt home if I could and then go home myself. I wish I could do so with the whole Regt. Thomas Cahill returned home to New Haven in January 1863. After enjoying three months with his family, he returned to New Orleans in much better spirits. New Orleans May 6, 1863 My Dear Wife We arrived here safely.The men and officers of the Regiment are all well.the prospect [for victory] is glorious after all the gloom. if we have troops to stand by what we have on if we only strip the Country completely of every vestige of wealth if they will not submit; this is the method to subdue them and take Vicksburg and Port Hudson not by rushing men on Fortifications prepared for their slaughter. They cannot live on the air; and they must be starved if they will not submit. New Haven June 5, 1863 My dear Husband There is a perfect Panic here among the Men liable to the first Call [of the Federal draft] namly [sic] unmarried men. Some are being married and consider themselves Save but the majority are running away from it is great pity for Times were never before so good here. Father Hart is down on their running away so soon at least he advised them to form into Associations and have a fund and if necessary buy each other off but you know how excitable our people are. Head Quarters 2d Brigade New Orleans August 8, 1863 8 PM My Dear Wife Every thing is quiet in this Department since the fall of Port Hudson. the 24th has gone to ship Portland but has left a lot of stragglers around the city which I am picking up and sending off as fast as I can. 2 or three of our officers are going home for the conscripts. We want 400 to fill up with. we send home 6 men for same purpose.I dont suppose we will get a great many of the Conscripts but here now do I suppose a great many will be got by it only way now. in short do I Care whether or not if they dont come. I may be mustered out for which I suppose you will pray, but I dont find much fault as yet, as I am honestly getting on Easier living than Ever before and more money for it. In the fall of 1863, Margaret traveled south to join her husband in New Orleans. Their correspondence paused until the summer of 1864 when Cahill and the 294 members of the 9th who chose to re-enlist at the end of their three-year terms were transferred to operations in Virginia. Cahill had serious reservations about his decision to stay in the army, and the intensity of the fighting in the Eastern Theater terrified Margaret. Thomas Cahill finally decided to resign his commission in October 1864. It seems that once most of his friends and neighbors in the 9th Connecticut had left the army, he could conclude that he had fought well, cared for his men, and made sufficient sacrifices for the Union. Thomas returned home, and his construction business boomed after the war. He had precious little time to enjoy his success, however, as he died in 1869 at age 42. Margaret died the next year, and Thomas sister, Ellen, raised their orphaned children. Susannah J. Ural is co-director of the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is the author of Hoods Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacys Most Celebrated Unit, and is currently editing a Texas Brigade familys correspondence for a project titled, This Murderous Storm: A Confederate Family at War. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Hinds Sets Community Outreach Events for March PITTSFIELD, Mass. The staff of state Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, will host two community outreach events during March. The senator's staff will be available to meet with constituents in the communities of Huntington and North Adams on Wednesday, March 18, for this month's staff office hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. North Adams City Hall, 10 Main St. Stanton Hall, 24 Russell Road, Huntington Appointments are not necessary but can be booked in advance by calling the Pittsfield office at 413-344-4561 or the Williamsburg office at 413-768-2373. These office hours provide an opportunity for those seeking assistance with state agencies or programs to speak with Hinds' constituency services staff in person. All residents of the senator's Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Senate District are invited to participate in these sessions if they have an idea, question or comment about state government they wish to share, or if they require assistance from the senator's constituent services team. Everyone is welcome. Appointments are not necessary but can be booked in advance by calling the Pittsfield office at (413) 344-4561 or the Williamsburg office at (413) 768-2373. These office hours provide an opportunity for constituents seeking assistance with state agencies or programs to speak with the senator's staff in person. Since early 2017, Hinds' district team, A.J. Enchill and Jon Gould, have held monthly roving office hours outside of their primary work locations in an effort to increase office accessibility for every constituent no matter where they reside. Enchill is based in the senator's Pittsfield office and Gould splits his time between Pittsfield and Williamsburg. Last year, the senator's district staff traveled to 19 towns and met with hundreds of local officials and residents in Adams, Alford, Blandford, Charlemont, Chester, Cummington, Heath, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Middlefield, Monroe, New Marlborough, Peru, Plainfield, Rowe, Washington and Windsor, Westhampton, West Stockbridge while Senator Hinds participated in public forums throughout the Senate District. State Sen. Adam Hinds was other legislatures, superintendents, and the commissioner of education in making the announcement. State Releasing Extra Funds to Help Rural Schools Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said for years the state has been providing a 'one size fits all model' for funding and that is now changing with such programs as rural school aid. DALTON, Mass. Rural schools will receive additional support this year after state Sen. Adam Hinds successfully secured a $1.5 million budget allocation for additional aid. The budget line provides districts below certain incomes and density $100 extra per student. The sparsity aid program helps rural schools with funding struggles keep up with larger schools throughout the state. "In a rural school our fixed costs are the same, they are just as high as anywhere in the state. The problem is our population is low and the resources available are also low. This shot in the arm is a great start in the right direction," said state Rep. Paul Mark said. Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley made the announcement of the final totals at a press conference at Wahconah High School on Monday. Central Berkshire Regional School District will receive the highest amount of the 33 districts with $246,056 in additional aid. Mohawk Trail Regional Schools will see $132,932 extra that Superintendent Michael Buoniconti said will go toward upgrading technology the students use. "For Mohawk, we are spending almost all of this money on buying Chromebooks for our students in Grades 7 through 12, which is a gamechanger for our kids. It is a game changer with how instruction is going to be delivered, for our student's understanding of digital literacy, it is just a profound difference," he said. The new program stems first from a student headed by DESE to look at the funding issues associated with rural schools. "In the last budget cycle, we compelled DESE to look at the fiscal condition of rural schools throughout the commonwealth. The surprise of probably nobody, they confirmed it is true. Student enrollment is going down in rural schools in the last 10 years while it has been flat in the commonwealth. It is true that rural schools are spending more per pupil for their teachers and paraprofessionals and are spending 50 percent more on transportation," Hinds said. That study also coincides with a study looking at the Chapter 70 school funding formula. A foundation formula commission ruled that schools across the state are underfunded. This year the Legislature upped its Chapter 70 allocation, upped its regional school transportation aid, and created the rural sparsity aid program. "It is just the beginning. I think it is an important precedent being established here and I think it is going to grow. The hardest thing to do is to establish the reasoning, the justification, for a new legislative initiative and that's already been done," said state Rep. Stephen Kulik. "Now the work is to increase it, expanding it, make it stronger, to respond to changing dynamics in our school districts." State Rep. Paul Mark said rural schools have the same overhead costs as others but less in available resources to pay for it. Discussion about changing the way schools are funded is expected to continue when the next legislative session opens in 2019. Riley said the current model hasn't provided equity across the state. "For a long time in education, we've doled out resources on a one-size-fits-all model. Massachusetts is very proud of itself for being No. 1 in the country on various test scores and metrics. That's a great thing. But also when we look deeper into the information what we see is we are really No. 1 for some. Kids living in poverty, kids with special needs, second-language learners, and kids living in a rural area aren't being given the same opportunities that kids are in other places," the commission said. "It is incumbent upon us to fix that. Today the rural aid announcement is one way toward addressing issues." Hinds had originally pitched more for the program. He wanted $300 per student for districts with 21 students per square mile. But, being a new program, he had to scale his proposal back to get the needed support. The program now gives $100 per student at schools with less than 10 students per square mile. Hinds hopes the program will both expand in the number of districts to receive funds and increase the amount of funds received. "We do hope this effort is just the starting point. We do hope it is the starting point also for keeping the foot on the pedal for other funding areas that include school transportation," Hinds said. The additional funds each of the 33 schools will receive is available below. Riley said the districts will receive the funds within a couple weeks. The Berkshire Food Project served Thanksgiving dinner to around 250 people last year. It's not now accepting turkeys so it can increase that number with two dinners. Berkshire Food Project Now Accepting Turkey Donations NORTH ADAMS, Mass. With Thanksgiving around the corner, the Berkshire Food Project is in need of turkeys. Lots of them. The food project has provided a Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings to anyone who wants one for years. Last year, it cooked up 24 turkeys to feed around 250 people. Executive Director Kim McMann said the project this Thanksgiving wants to host two dinners Nov. 19 instead of one. "That last hour is always quiet, it is not really packed," she said. "So what we did last year right after the meal I went through the dining room and I asked people that eat there all the time if they would prefer a different time and they said, yes." The project has been providing free lunch weekdays at First Congregational Church for nearly 30 years. The Monday before Thanksgiving is the only time it serves in the evening. McMann said a lot of people simply don't like to go out at night while others are only available at night, so this year people will have the option to eat between 1 and 2 or 4 and 6 instead of just 4 and 7. She's unsure if this change will increase the projects numbers. She said the volunteers typically cook for 250 people but this year want to cook for 300. So with this increase, there is a need for birds and McMann said people can donate however they want. "They can donate money or some employees are given turkeys at work, so they can donate those, too," she said. "If people have a [Big Y] gold coin or coupon and want to buy another turkey and donate it that is great whatever works for people. We want people to engage with us in whatever way works for them." The project usually cooks an average of 24 turkeys of various sizes along with 50 pounds or so of potatoes and turnips each, plus vegetables, stuffing and pies. McCann added that people can also donate their time. "It actually adds years to life. There is scientific research that shows that it can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol," she said. "So volunteering is a very important thing for your own benefit as well as the community." She said people are needed any time between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. It's not only important to help feed those in need but to be together as a community, McCann said. "It is really important for a community to come together and break bread together and what happens our dining room has people from all different backgrounds," she said. "We have people who would literally go hungry if they didn't eat here and others that make a pretty good living, but they want to break bread with their neighbors. ... "We talk to each other and we begin to understand what is going on in the community and what those barriers are." Within the framework of the lump-sum taxation (or forfait taxation) regime, Switzerland offers certain individuals the opportunity to be taxed based on their annual living expenses instead of their worldwide income and wealth. The regime is open to individuals relocating for the first time to Switzerland and to former residents returning to Switzerland after an absence of 10 years or more, where those individuals neither have Swiss citizenship nor exercise a professional activity in Switzerland. In the case of married couples, both spouses must meet the requirements. The lump-sum taxation regime has not only proven to be highly attractive for newly immigrating high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), but also for entrepreneurs and investors who, for example, have stepped down from their functions and professional activities before relocating to Switzerland. After a popular vote rejecting the abolition of the lump-sum taxation regime in 2012, Swiss federal and cantonal legislation was updated in 2016 with the aim of strengthening acceptance of the regime. To conclude this process, on July 24 2018, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) published new Circular Letter 44 (CL) in which it summarises the legal framework pertaining to the lump-sum taxation regime and provides further guidance to the cantonal tax authorities and to taxpayers on certain practical aspects of the regime. Following this revision process, the lump-sum taxation regime stands even stronger as an attractive tax planning tool for (future) Swiss residents. Assessment basis within the lump-sum taxation regime Within the lump-sum taxation regime, an annual comparison of the tax amounts resulting from the following four elements is taken, and the highest serves as the tax basis for a relocating individual: the total amount of annual world-wide living expenses of the (future) taxpayer and his/her spouse and dependents; seven times the annual rental costs or deemed rental income of the taxpayer's future principal residence in Switzerland, or at least three times the taxpayer's hotel costs in Switzerland; a minimum taxable income of CHF400,000 ($410,000) subject to federal income tax, and a minimum taxable income and wealth subject to the respective canton's income and wealth tax; and, the control calculation consisting of Swiss-sourced income and assets as well as certain income streams from outside of Switzerland for which a double taxation treaty protection is sought. Relevant practical aspects In practice, the relevant tax basis is determined within the framework of a ruling application with the competent cantonal tax authorities. It is within this context that certain case-specific aspects with regard to a relocation candidate can be addressed and reviewed with the cantonal tax authorities. While obtaining a residence permit for EU citizens, generally, is a mere formality, Swiss legislation requires non-EU citizens to be of 'economic interest' to a canton. In practice, the framework of the ruling in view of the application of the lump-sum taxation regime serves to ensure the fulfilment of this requirement by defining the parameters for the new immigrant's future taxation in Switzerland, so that non-EU citizens, by way of an elevated minimum taxation amount, may become eligible for a residence permit. A Swiss taxpayer applying the lump-sum taxation regime qualifies as a Swiss tax resident from a Swiss domestic perspective, for the purposes of the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) and also for a large number of double taxation agreements (DTA) into which Switzerland has entered. Only a limited number of Swiss DTAs, specifically the Swiss-US and the Swiss-German DTAs, require that all US or German-sourced income is subjected to regular income taxation in Switzerland to allow for the recognition of the Swiss resident individual as a Swiss tax resident from the respective local (US, German) tax authorities' perspective (so-called 'modified lump-sum taxation'). Important updates in the new FTA circular letter The CL provides further details and important clarifications with regard to certain requirements of eligibility to lump-sum taxation. The following elements are considered particularly relevant in practice: Temporary absence from Switzerland: Taxpayers applying the lump-sum taxation regime who leave Switzerland for one tax year or more remain eligible to apply the lump-sum taxation regime after their return to Switzerland, regardless of the duration of their absence. However, in practice, it will still be important to review the permit situation throughout such absence. Resumption of lump-sum taxation: A taxpayer who has previously applied the lump-sum taxation regime who waives his/her right to lump-sum taxation for one taxation period (which corresponds to a calendar year) or more (thus being taxed within the ordinary taxation regime in Switzerland) may not apply the lump-sum taxation again. Professional activities: The CL provides that candidates for taxation under the lump-sum taxation regime may not exercise a professional main or side activity in Switzerland if this activity leads to compensation payments in Switzerland or abroad. This is typically specifically relevant, and will continue to require a case-by-case analysis, as regards board members, sportspersons, artists and scientists. Worldwide living expenses: The CL specifies that the taxpayer's world-wide living expenses include, in particular, the individual's and the individual's spouse's and dependent (minor) children's costs for food and clothing, housing costs (including side costs), taxes and social security contributions, expenses for staff, alimony payments, schooling costs, expenses for travel and leisure activities, costs for expensive animals (for example, horses) and maintenance costs for cars, yachts, planes, and so on. Extraordinary and non-periodical expenses such as, for example, a donation of a substantial portion of wealth, generally do not count as living expenses of the taxpayer or his/her family. As such, they will not increase the tax basis for the relocator. Developments with regard to international taxation aspects In January 2017, Switzerland enacted its domestic legislation regarding the AEOI and, since 2017, has participated in the AEOI with an increasing number of partner states. Consequently, control calculations submitted by taxpayers will be subject to more scrutiny by Swiss tax administrations with a view to financial information received from foreign jurisdictions. The same applies to social security contributions, specifically with regard to taxpayers who are partners of non-Swiss partnership structures or members of the boards of non-Swiss companies (in accordance with the CL). Stakes in partnerships may be classified as a (foreign) self-employment activity by Swiss social security administrations. While in some cases not directly detrimental to lump-sum taxation, this may trigger an exposure to Swiss social security contributions. Both circumstances (control calculation and social security aspects) have to be taken into consideration in the context of relocation planning for HNWI and (former) entrepreneurs and investors. The lump-sum taxation regime Within the framework of the recent developments, updated regulations and practices published by the FTA and cantonal tax authorities, the lump-sum taxation regime proves to remain an interesting and attractive tax-planning instrument for HNWI as well as (former) entrepreneurs and investors. Aside from the pure tax planning aspects and technical advantages of the lump-sum regime, Switzerland remains an attractive place for immigration due to a great variety of other factors, not least its excellent infrastructure, stable economy and legal framework, its central location in the heart of Europe, its high quality of life, and its internationality. Ruth Bloch-Riemer 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article By Paul Craig Roberts November 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - I never cease to be amazed at the insouciance of Americans. Readers send me emails asking why I ever supported Trump when he was the Establishments candidate. If Trump was the Establishments candidate, why has the Establishment spent two years trying to destroy him? The failure to put two and two together is extraordinary. Trump declared war on the Establishment throughout the presidential campaign and in his inaugural address. As I wrote at the time, Trump vastly over-estimates the power of the president. He expected the Establishment, like his employees, to jump to his will, and he did not know Washington or who to appoint to support his goals. He has been totally defeated in his intention to normalize relations with Russia. Instead, we are faced with both Russia and China preparing for war. In other words, the same outcome that Hillary would have achieved. Trump has been so harassed by the Establishment that he is having trouble thinking straight. He was elected by the deplorables as the first non-Establishment candidate since when? You have to go back in history to find one. Perhaps Andrew Jackson. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were not the choice of the Democratic and Republican establishments, and the ruling establishments moved quickly to constrain both presidencies. The Democratic Establishment framed and removed both Carters budget director and chief of staff, depriving Carter of the kind of commitment he needed for his agenda. The Bush people that the Republican Establishment insisted be put in positions of power in the Reagan administration succeeded in blunting his reformist economic program and his determination to end the cold war. I fought both battles for Reagan, and I still have the bruises. Trump is an outsider elected by the deplorables whose middle class jobs were offshored by Americas global corporations for the benefit only of the executives and large shareholders. A few people sold out the American middle class, which is shrinking away. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In the rest of the world, Trumps true allies are the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, the former president of Ecuador, and the former president of Honduras, who was overthrown by Americas First Black President, the consequences of which are the caravan moving toward the US border. The Establishment has succeeded in so confusing Trump that he has declared the Establishments war against the non-establishment leaders in Latin America. So what is this midterm US election about? It is about whether the deplorables have been brainwashed by the Establishments media whores and fail to support Trump in the House and Senate elections. If the Democrats, whose politics is Identity Politics, get the House and/or Senate, Trump will be completely impotent. The Establishment hopes to drive the lesson home to every future presidential candidate to never again appeal to the people over the vested interests of the Establishment. In America democracy is a scam. The oligarchy rules, and the people, no matter how they suffer under the oligarchs rule, must submit and accept. No more presidential candidates, please, who represent the people. This is the lesson that the Establishment hopes to teach the rabble in the midterm elections. What should this election be about? If America had an independent media, the election would be about the dangerous situation created by Washington that has caused two militarily powerful countries to prepare for war with the US. This is the most serious development of my lifetime. Everything President Reagan worked for has been overthrown for the material interests of the power and profit of the military/security complex. If America had an independent media, the election would be about the American police state that, based on the 9/11 lie, the weapons of mass destruction lie, the use of chemical weapons lie, the Iranian nukes lie, the Russian invasion of Ukraine lie, was accepted by the insouciant Americans. Those responsible for these lies, which have caused massive war crimes, for which US administrations should be indicted, are feted and rich. The rest of us have experienced the loss of civil liberty and privacy. Any individual in the way of the police state is mowed down. If America had an independent media, the election would be about the de-industrialization of the United States. Today, as this article makes clearhttps://thesaker.is/the-pentagon-realised-what-it-has-done-the-chinese-put-the-us-army-on-its-knees/ the offshoring of American manufacturing and industry has reduced the US military to dependence on Chinese suppliers. And the Trump administration starts trouble with China! If America had an independent media, the election would be about the 20 years of US and NATO/EU war crimes against Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen, and US and NATO support for Israels war crimes against the remnants of the Palestinian people, and US and NATO/EU support for the neo-nazi regime established by the Obama regime in Ukraine to commit war crimes against the breakaway Russian provinces, the populations of which refuse to become victims of Washingtons overthrow of the democratic elected Ukrainian government and installation by Americas first black president of a neo-nazi regime. If America had an independent media, the election would be about the orchastrated demonization of Iran. The completely stupid dope that Trump appointed Secretary of State just declared (the utter fool should not be permitted to open his mouth) that Washington was going to drive Iran into the ground unless the government agreed to behave like a normal state. What does Pompeo mean by a normal state. He means a state that takes its marching orders from Washington. Iran has not invaded any country. The government in power is the continuation of the government that overthrew the Shah, a dictator imposed on Iran by Washington when Washington and London overthrew the democratically elected government of Iran. What the despicable Pompeo is really saying is that Iran has to go, because Iran, like Syria, is in the way of Israels expansion into southern Lebanon, because Iran and Syria supply the Hezbollah militia, which has twice defeated Israeli invasions of southern Lebanon. The vaunted Israeli army is only good for murdering women and children in the disarmed Gaza ghetto. If America had an independent media, someone would ask Pompeo precisely what Iran is doing that warrants Washington unilaterally, in the face of opposition of the European, Russian, and Chinese signatures to the Iran Nuclear Agreement, pulling out of the agreement and imposing sanctions that no other country on the planet, except Israel, supports? But, of course, America has no independent media. It has a collection of whores known as NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, MSCBS, Fox News, etc. Without an honest and independent media, there is no accountability of government. America has no honest and independent media. Therefore, in America there is no accountability of government. The deplorables are faced with a dilemma. The president they elected has been overcome by the establishment and cannot represent them. Instead, Trump gives his supporters warmonger John Bolton as National Security Advisor and warmonger Pompeo as US Secretary of State. He might as well have appointed Adolf Hitler. In fact, Hitler was a more reasonable person. So again, America is having an election in which nothing of any importance is discussed. Unless the American people rise up in armed rebellion, they are finished as a free people, and, of course, they cannot rise up in armed rebellion. Not so much because the police and every agency of the government has been militarized as because Jewish cultural Marxism and the Democratic Partys Identity Policics have the American people disorganized and at one anothers throats. Cultural Marxism and Identity Politics have divided the American population into victims and victimizers. The true victimizers and true victims are not part of the picture, which is a construction that serves ideological agendas. It is not the oligarchy that is the victimizer, but the Trump-voting white male. It is not the multi-billionaires, but the marginalized former manufacturing and industrial work force that is the source of oppression. This former work force is black and white, but the Democratic Partys Identity Politics has blacks and whites at each others throats. My conclusion is that America is doomed. The people, with few exceptions, are not smart enough to continue to exist. Perhaps the outcome of the elections tomorrow will change my mind. If the vote goes to the Establishment, all is lost. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order . ==See Also== Only half of Americans have faith in democracy: Poll: In October 2017, faith in democracy dropped by 7 percentage points and has held fairly steady since then. Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy Watch - RT "I think there is a real chance of war between the United States and Russia" - Professor Stephen Cohen The US has announced its withdrawal from the historic nuclear arms treaty with Russia. How serious of a setback is this for the two countries relations and global security? We talked to Stephen Cohen, contributing editor of The Nation magazine, professor emeritus at Princeton University, and author of the book War with Russia? Posted November 06, 2018 Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here. ==See Also== Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy November 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - British intelligence agencies fed questions to the interrogators of a captured terrorism suspect whom they knew was being seriously mistreated in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and ministers then relied upon his answers to help justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Through a close analysis of redacted official documents, Middle East Eye has established that an MI6 officer was aware that CIA officers had placed Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi inside a sealed coffin at a US-run prison in Afghanistan. The officer had then watched as the coffin was loaded onto a truck and driven to an aircraft that was waiting to fly to Egypt. In an incident report sent to MI6 headquarters in London, the officer and his colleagues reported that we were tempted to speak out at the treatment of Libi, but did not. The event reinforced the uneasy feeling of operating in a legal wilderness, they said. Despite being aware that Libi had been flown to Egypt inside a coffin, and despite that countrys well-documented record of human rights abuses, both MI6 and MI5 decided to pass questions to be put to him, and continued to receive reports about what he was saying. Under torture, Libi told his Egyptian interrogators that there were links between al-Qaeda and Iraqi President Saddam Husseins nuclear weapons programme. Three members of the militant organisation had been sent to Iraq for training, he said. On his eventual transfer back into CIA custody, Libi said that he had fabricated the account in order to avoid further torture. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter By that time, however, his statements had been used to justify the invasion of Iraq. Some had been included in a speech that US Secretary of State Colin Powell gave to the United Nations Security Council on 5 February 2003, just weeks before the US-led invasion, while on the same day, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament that there were "unquestionably" links between al-Qaeda and Iraq. "It would be wrong to say that there is no evidence of any links between al-Qaeda and the Iraqi regime," Blair said. There is evidence of such links. Exactly how far they go is uncertain. However there is intelligence coming through to us the entire time about this. Blair added that the case for war against Iraq was not based upon the links with al-Qaeda, but Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction programme: "I believe that our case on weapons of mass destruction is very clear indeed. It is perfectly obvious that Saddam has them." After the invasion, it was soon obvious that Saddams WMD programme had long been dismantled. It also became clear that there had been no link between Iraq and al-Qaeda. But the UKs role in the interrogation of Libi - the man who was tortured into providing a false prospectus for war - has not been disclosed until now. US-backed training camp Libi, whose real name was Ali Muhammad Abdul Aziz al-Fakheri, was born in Libya in 1963. He is said to have left the country in the mid-1980s and travelled around North Africa before settling in Saudi Arabia, where he agreed to join forces fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Libi is widely reported to have become the head of the Khalden military training camp in the east of the country. Set up initially with US support, Khalden continued to offer weapons and explosives training after the departure of the Soviets. Its graduates included Zacarias Moussaoui, who is now serving a life sentence in the US after admitting that he conspired to murder US citizens as part of the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington in 2001. Following those attacks, and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, Libi attempted to flee. He was captured while attempting to cross the border into Pakistan, and was in US custody in Afghanistan by early January 2002. By this time, leading figures in the US administration were already anxious to establish whether there were any links between al-Qaeda and Iraq. As early as 14 September, just three days after the al-Qaeda attacks, US President George W Bush had raised the possibility of a connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein: he said as much during a telephone call to Tony Blair, according to evidence later given to the Chilcot Inquiry, the UKs official inquiry into its role in the Iraq war. Blair is said to have replied that he would need to see compelling evidence before he could accept this. Shortly after this, according to a 2006 report by the US Senate intelligence committee, the CIA responded to political demands for a comprehensive assessment of any relationship between the two by declaring that it would be purposefully aggressive in seeking to draw connections, on the assumption that any indication between these two hostile elements could carry great dangers to the United States. Despite these aggressive efforts, the CIA initially assessed that evidence of links between Iraq and al-Qaeda relied on fragmented, conflicting reports from sources of varying reliability, the Senate committee would later find. During the summer of 2002, however, Richard Dearlove, the head of the UKs Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, returned from a visit to Washington with some unsettling news. According to a subsequently leaked memo, Dearlove informed Blair that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed [by the US] around the policy" of removing Saddam Hussein from power. The Chilcot Inquiry found that five days after hearing this news, Blair wrote to Bush to say that in making the case for war, they should add an al-Qaeda link to Saddam, as it would be hugely persuasive over here. By September, CIA Director George Tenet was telling senators that there is evidence that Iraq provided al-Qaeda with various kinds of training combat, bomb-making, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. The following month, Bush told an audience in Ohio: We've learned that Iraq has trained al-Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. In time, the US Senate intelligence committee would find that there was only one source for these false claims: Libi, the man whom MI6 saw being flown to Egypt in a coffin. 'It was Cuckoo on his way to the waiting plane' After being captured on the Pakistan border, Libi had been taken to the newly established US detention facility at Bagram, a sprawling Soviet-era air base north of Kabul. What happened next is detailed in a pair of damning reports on the UKs involvement in the rendition and mistreatment of detainees that were published last June by the UK Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), a body that provides oversight of the countrys intelligence agencies. While the US role in post-9/11 human rights abuses has been well-documented, the UKs involvement was denied and half-concealed for years. Following a series of media disclosures and a stalled judicial inquiry, this years ISC reports were the first official admission of culpability: they describe hundreds of occasions in which the UKs intelligence agencies had become involved in kidnap and torture and inhumane treatment, frequently with ministerial approval. Like the other detainees whose mistreatment is described in the ISC reports, Libis identity is concealed behind a code-name. However, MEE has established that he is identified in the report as Cuckoo, while the MI6 officer who watched him being rendered to Egypt while locked in a coffin is given the codename Baird. Egypt is disguised as Cupar, while references to the CIA are redacted. The ISC report describes how Cuckoo was questioned initially by an MI6 officer and a number of Americans thought to be FBI agents: For a number of days, an SIS [Secret Intelligence Service MI6] officer participated in interviews of Cuckoo alongside US personnel, the report says. On the eighth day, *** unilaterally announced that they were taking over custody and intended to render Cuckoo to Cupar. On *** January 2002, the SIS officer witnessed Cuckoos departure, which was described in an SIS incident report." The ISC report then quotes directly from that incident report: "About half an hour later Baird was sitting with one of the team outside the hangar when a pickup jeep with a six-foot, sealed box on the back drove past. It was Cuckoo on his way to the waiting plane [a US official], was driving. There may be a conversation we need to have about the broader issues this and other aspects of the detention process raises. We were tempted to speak out against what we saw but did not. The event reinforced the uneasy feeling of operating in a legal wilderness. Nevertheless, the ISC report goes on, MI5 continued to pass questions for Cuckoos interrogation after his rendition to Cupar and both SIS and MI5 received reporting from subsequent interrogations. By a process of cross-referencing the facts given in the ISC report about Cuckoos case, with unclassified detainee accounts, official US government material now in the public domain, as well as contemporaneous and historical media reporting, it is possible to conclude that Cuckoo is Libi. Furthermore, around three dozen detainees are thought to have been held at Bagram at this time. All say they were abused and at least two later said that they believed Libi had been placed in a coffin and taken away. One detainee, British resident Shaker Aamer, who was later taken to Guantanamo Bay, told his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith that he had witnessed this. In the event, MI6 lodged a complaint with the US authorities about what its officer had seen happening to Libi, although the ISC notes that it was couched in very gentle terms, saying only: It sounded as though his treatment may have fallen below the standard that we all agree to be appropriate. Even this language was said to have been too strong for one senior MI6 officer. The ISC reports that astonishingly, this officer complained to the head of the agency. No evidence of al-Qaeda WMD plot Even before the invasion of Iraq, not everyone shared the certainty that Bush, Blair, Powell and Tenet had expressed about Saddam Husseins supposed support for an al-Qaeda WMD plot. In Washington, the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was warning, in one report after another, that this was highly unlikely to have happened. Despite recent information from a senior al-Qaeda trainer currently in custody, all-source intelligence has not confirmed Iraqs involvement, the agency said in an analysis completed seven weeks after Libi arrived in Egypt. Iraq is unlikely to have provided bin Laden any useful CB [chemical or biological] knowledge or assistance. Five months later, the DIA tried again, in a report that acknowledged that Libi was sufficiently senior to have access to such information, but which cautioned that his claims were based on hearsay, lacked detail, and did not identify any Iraqi trainers, the training centre, or even the sort of weapons involved. In London, the Joint Intelligence Committee, which coordinates the work of the countrys intelligence agencies, advised the British government in November 2001, October 2002 and again in March 2003 that there was no evidence of any cooperation between Iraq and al-Qaeda. 17 hours in a small box After almost a year in Egyptian custody, Libi was handed back to the CIA and taken to a number of prisons including Guantanamo Bay, the US military detention facility in Cuba, where he promptly recanted his claim about Iraq, al-Qaeda and WMDs. Subsequent investigations by the Senate intelligence committee found that Libi told the CIA at this point that even before he had left Bagram, he had resolved to say whatever he believed his interrogators wished to hear, to secure better treatment. On arrival in Egypt, he says he was again placed in a small box, for around 17 hours. He was then taken out and beaten, and told that he was being given a last opportunity to tell the truth. Libi then decided to tell his interrogators that three members of al-Qaeda had travelled to Iraq to learn about nuclear weapons, using the names of real people so that he would be able to recall some details of his fabricated story. He says this evidently pleased his interrogators, who took him to a large room and gave him some food. A few days later he was questioned about anthrax and Iraqs biological weapons programme, but he says he was unable to concoct another false story, as he did not understand the term biological weapons. It is not known what questions MI5 and MI6 submitted to the Egyptians to be put to Libi, although the MEE understands that a number of British nationals were suspected to have trained at his Khalden camp. It is also clear that Blair wanted to be able to demonstrate a link between al-Qaeda and Iraq, regardless of the scepticism of the Joint Intelligence Committee. But it is unclear how much British government ministers knew about the mistreatment of Libi. The ISC found that when an MI5 lawyer urged that the Home Office be informed, she was overruled by another MI5 officer, on the grounds that MI6 was not planning to inform the Foreign Office. Giving evidence to the ISC, Alex Younger, the current head of MI6, said: We concede that we didnt talk to ministers enough about this stuff there was not an extensive conversation with ministers about this. Libi information 'used to justify Iraq invasion' The use to which Libis bogus information was put has been made clear by the US Senate intelligence committee, which said in its 2014 report into the CIA's detention and interrogation programme: "Some of this information was cited by Secretary Powell in his speech to the United Nations, and was used as a justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq." After hearing evidence from across the US intelligence community, the committee concluded that Libi had been the only source that had ever suggested any link between al-Qaeda and Iraq. No other detainee had ever made the same claim and, after the war, an analysis by the DIA of 34 million captured Iraqi government documents found no trace of any such connection. By then, the CIA had accepted that Libis WMD claims were false. As early as 2005, Colin Powell had admitted that his speech to the Security Council was "painful" and a "blot" on his record. The Egyptian torture had produced incorrect intelligence that paved the way to war. Tony Blair appears to have found it more difficult to fully accept the truth. In June 2004, the day after the US commission investigating the 9/11 attacks reported that it had found no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States, Blairs spokesperson still insisted that there was a link, that al-Qaeda had been operating inside Saddams Iraq. Saddam Hussein had "created a permissive environment for terrorism and we know that the people affiliated to al-Qaeda operated in Iraq during the regime," the spokesperson told journalists. After a short spell in CIA custody at Guantanamo, Libi was rendered to a number of other locations. At one point fellow Libyans say they saw him at a US detention facility in Afghanistan known as the Dark Prison. Finally, he was flown to Libya, taken to the notorious Abu Salim prison, and told he was being jailed for life. In April 2009 the Libyan authorities announced that he had committed suicide in his cell. Human Rights Watch whose researchers had been attempting to visit him says it later saw photographs Libyan prison officials appear to have taken on the day of his death, which show bruising on parts of his body. America Goes to War Fighting Russia, China and al-Qaeda simultaneously requires more money By Philip Giraldi November 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Some believe that the Cold War ended in 1991, when the Soviet Union fell apart. In retrospect, many observers also believe that a golden opportunity was missed to heal the wounds inflicted by over 45 years to hostility between Washington and Moscow. Rather than encouraging development of a Russia that would adhere to Western European norms for elections, transparency and individual liberties, some in Europe and America instead sought to steal the countrys natural resources and other assets, a process that went on for some years under President Boris Yeltsin. The looting went hand-in-hand with particularly inept political moves on the part of President Bill Clinton, who ignored end of Cold War agreements to not use the break-up of the Soviet Union as an excuse to bring its former member states in Eastern Europe into NATO or any other military alliance hostile to Russia. The process of NATO expansion continues to this day, together with military maneuvers and the placement of new missile systems right along the Russian border, increasing Moscows justifiable paranoia about its security. The military moves have been accompanied by a political deep freeze, particularly ironic as President Donald Trump during his campaign for office pledged to improve relations with Russia. They are now at their lowest ebb since the hottest days of the Cold War, including as they do the totally bogus sanctioning of Russian government officials under the maliciously conceived Magnitsky Act and the ongoing saga of Russiagate, which blames Moscow for interference in Americas 2016 election, so far without any real evidence being provided. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter For those who think all of this is theater, think again. Some critics are beginning to recognize that the United States has become a country addicted to war and one need look no farther than the federal budget, where everything is being cut except military spending, which is set to increase even though there is no country or group of countries in the world that genuinely threaten the U.S. Two recent stories in particular demonstrate just how far Washington has gone towards accepting that war has more-or-less become a natural condition for the United States of America. The first is an article After years of fighting insurgencies, the Army pivots to training for a major war that has largely been ignored, regarding how the U.S. military is changing its doctrine and training to enable it to fight a major war against a powerful national opponent. Previously, the armed forces were emphasizing countering non-government hostile agents like al-Qaeda and ISIS, the so-called counter-insurgency doctrine or COIN. According to Pentagon spokesmen, the shift is in recognition of the fact that over the horizon major conflicts are no longer as unthinkable as they once were. According to the article, U.S. commanders are now beginning to emphasize the type of training that prevailed during the Cold War, tanks against tanks, artillery bombardments, and use of close air support. The change in doctrine derives from the 2018 National Defense Strategy assessment, which identified four national players that might go to war with the United States. They are major powers Russia and China, supplemented by nuclear North Korea and conventionally armed Iran. The transition was discussed by former and current senior officers at the recent annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army, with particular concern being expressed that the lessons learned from the past seventeen years of insurgency warfare not be lost as the military returns to a more conventional model. There was also concern that the army is insufficiently resourced to continue to fight insurgencies while also taking on a major conventional component. Some officers believed that the army can handle both jobs simultaneously, but others were not so sure, observing that one really needs two distinct armies, one trained for conventional warfare and the other trained for insurgency operations, which are far more likely to occur and which are more difficult to manage. Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of the Armys Training and Doctrine Command, explained that The future of war will be a hybrid threat. Therell be everything from tanks and missiles and fighter-bombers down to criminal gangs, terrorists, suicide bombers and guerrilla cells. Were going to have to do all of that, the full spectrum of conflict. General David Petraeus, the very model of a modern major general i.e. one who never actually experiences combat, put his finger on why the change to conventional warfare is taking place now. Its all about money, or as he put it, its about getting resources. And big wars get you big resources. Retired Lt. General Guy Swan explained the challenge for the Army in military-speak, citing the career of his son, a West Point produced first lieutenant who hasnt deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, and what hes been doing has been tank gunnery. He is focused on Russians and other high-end competitors. Between Petraeus comment on big resources and Swans on enemies to be killed as high-end competitors one might well begin to understand what todays bloated defense establishment is all about. More money and business school jargon to euphemize wars and killing, with little regard for the possible consequences, including those competitors possession of nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them on target. Russia has already warned that if it were attacked by a superior force (NATO) it would use tactical nuclear weapons as a first resort to defend itself. So much for learning tank gunnery. The second article, also little commented on, made plain that the competitive army that is now evolving wont be just some pretty toy sitting on a shelf unused. The former US commander in Europe from 2014-7 retired Lt. General Ben Hodges spoke at the Warsaw Security Forum on October 24th, where he told NATO allies that they would have to increase defense spending because the United States will not be able to protect them against a resurgent Russia while it is fighting China. He predicted that the U.S. will probably be at war with China within 15 years to protect its interests in the Pacific region. Hodges cited increasing tension between Washington and Beijing in the South China Sea, Chinas alleged constant stealing [of] technology, and Beijings perfectly legal purchasing of infrastructure in Africa, Latin America and Europe through the funding of and investment in projects. There was no mention of China actually threatening the United States and those were presumably Hodges reasons for going to war against a powerful nuclear armed nation. Hodges is currently a strategic expert with the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank that is heavily funded by globalists, NATO governments, and democracy promoters. Supporters include the U.S. government funded National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Mission to NATO, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of State, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the Raytheon Company, the European Defense Agency, the Chevron Corporation, Bell Helicopter, Textron Systems and BAE Systems. Oh yes, and also the neocon heavy United States Institute of Peace. The Centers experts and staff are top heavy with Eastern Europeans who are focused on the threat from Russia, as is the institute. Donations to the Center are fully tax deductible by the IRS. The awfulness of the two articles should be evident. The Army is only under-resourced if one considers its appropriate role to be continuously fighting countries in Asia and Europe that pose no threat to the United States. And the reality is that there is no reason for China and Russia to be viewed as threats at all. They are only turning into enemies due to the actions of the United States in their own neighborhoods, to include the NATO expansion and other provocations in the Middle East. Regarding China, the U.S. clearly believes that it is entitled to a sphere of influence that includes the entire Pacific Ocean while China cannot assert that it has any interests on own doorstep in the South China Sea. And then there is the Strangelovean General Hodges and his pro-war establishment think tank. I wonder how much he gets paid for being a dependable mouthpiece for continuous aggression? He predicts war with China within 15 years. And what are the issues for what would justify risking a nuclear war? China stealing technology and protecting its local interests in Asia. And investing in the third world to acquire access to resources, which is precisely what the United States and Europeans have been doing to their benefit for many, many years. Smedley Butler once opined that war is a racket. If he were around today he would probably say that it is in reality a low-risk high-cost business designed to keep heroes like Petraeus, Swan, Townsend and Hodges fully employed. www.councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website isaddress is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org This article was originally published by " Unz Review " - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here. ==See Also== Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy November 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Are we doomed? Its the most common thing people ask me when they learn that I study climate politics. Fair enough. The science is grim, as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just reminded us with a report on how hard it will be to keep average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But its the wrong question. Yes, the path were on is ruinous. Its just as true that other, plausible pathways are not. Thats the real, widely ignored, and surprisingly detailed message of the IPCC report. Were only doomed if we change nothing. The IPCC report makes it clear that if we make the political choice of bankrupting the fossil-fuel industry and sharing the burden of transition fairly, most humans can live in a world better than the one we have now. And yet doom is whats being amplified by seemingly every major newspaper and magazine, and the mainstream media more broadly. A standout example was David Wallace-Wellss hot take on the IPCC report for New York magazine, charmingly titled, UN Says Climate Genocide Is Coming. Its Actually Worse Than That. Theres a lot to say about the emotional texture of this kind of reporting. But the deeper problem is how this coverage fails to capture climate breakdowns core cause-and-effect dynamic, thus missing how much scope for action there still is Reporting on the IPCC, and climate change more broadly, is unbalanced. Its fixated on the predictions of climate science and the opinions of climate scientists, with cursory gestures to the social, economic, and political causes of the problem. Yet analysis of these causes is as important to climate scholarship as modeling ice-sheet dynamics and sea-level rise. Reductionist climate reporting misses this. Many references to policy are framed in terms of carbon pricing. This endorses the prevailing contempt in establishment circles for peoples capacity to govern themselves beyond the restrictions of market rule. Meanwhile, the IPCC report is overflowing with analyses showing that we can avoid runaway climate change, improve most peoples lives, and prioritize equality through a broad set of interventions. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter It remains physically possible to keep global warming at a relatively safe 1.5 degrees Celsius, and certainly a less safebut not apocalyptic2 degrees. This would require dramatic changes in economic policy and doubling down on the powers of public planning. Taxing carbon is essential, but is just one of many complementary tools. Using command and control regulatory methods, the Clean Air Act cleaned up much of the United States years before market mechanisms became famous. Indeed, command and control is the centerpiece of the best climate policies in the United States. Take California: There, the states regulatory mandates forcing utilities to source more renewable energy are the main reason emissions have gone down. In contrast, the market-mechanism piece of Californias climate policy, a cap and trade program, has failed to slash emissions; it may even have facilitated a moderate increase in carbon pollution in the states poorest neighborhoods. Meanwhile, worldwide, a thumping clean-energy revolution is the story of markets fostered by activist government policy. Government research labs and grants, regulation of utilities, subsidies for homeowners to install solar panels, cheap loans for clean energy, and electric-car manufacture are yielding a boom in clean energy. In 2017, global wind energy capacity grew by 10 percent, and solar photovoltaic capacity by 32 percent. Change is also coming from below. When German environmentalists pushed their government to subsidize clean energy, there was an explosion of community wind farms in their country, and solar-panel manufacturing in China to meet German demand. In the United States, the Sierra Club and its allies have managed to get hundreds of coal plants shut down early, or canceled before they were built. More direct action and harsher government policies will be needed to keep more fossil fuels in the ground. Otherwise, clean energy will merely supplement fossil fuels, rather than replace them. Despite the framing of most news coverage about it, the latest IPCC report is innovative precisely because it uses new social science to highlight the climate implications of a range of political choices. But you have to read beyond the Summary for Policymakers to see it. The IPCC has embraced an approach developed by climate scholars called Shared Socioeconomic Pathways , or SSPs. Prior to the latest report, the IPCC projected future scenarios based on skeletal, technocratic models of energy, land use, and climate. They represented climate politics as being like a dashboard with a few dials that engineers could turna little more renewable energy here, a touch less deforestation there. In contrast, the SSPs imagine different possible climate futures in terms of realistic clusters of policy decisions, which in turn affect emissions, land use, and how the impacts of extreme weather are felt. In the current report, there are five SSPs, which illustrate the huge differences between possible paths forward. Each pathway represents a different set of approaches for slashing emissions and coping with climate change. The first three strike me as most plausible. SSP 1, called Sustainability, imagines a world where policies increasingly favor sustainability, equity, education, and health care (which all reduces population growth), technological progress, and energy efficiency. This pathway also includes major cuts to fossil-fuel investment, which combined with public policy drive a hard, fast shift to clean energy and increased efficiency. Compared to this rosy scenario, SSP 3, Regional rivalry, is terrifying: It projects low technological progress, few advances in health and education, high energy use, low international cooperation, and a booming population. Thanks to Donald Trump and Brazils Jair Bolsonaro, its depressingly easy to imagine this world, though were not there yet. SSP 2, a middle of the road scenario, feels closest to our current reality; it projects only moderate amounts of technological progress, cooperation, and social investment. While SSP 2s climate implications are also scarylimiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius on this path is hardthe scenario is flexible enough for a turn to 1 or 3, better or worse. SSP 4, Inequality, and SSP 5, Fossil-fuelled development explore other unsettling options. The next report will have nine of these. The scenarios do a nice job of tying together disparate social science about drivers of greenhouse-gas emissions beyond crude energy accounting. For instance, womens improved education, job prospects, and smaller families in SSP 1 are a key reason climate models find that it is the easiest path to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. Keywan Riahi, one of the architects of this new modeling approach, told me that some of the numbers glossed in the IPCC reports Summary for Policymakers miss crucial takeaways, like the social-impact analysis buried deeper in the reports third chapter. For instance, at two degrees Celsius warming, in an SSP 3 world, between 750 million and 1.2 billion people would be severely exposed to climate-linked extreme weather, according to a 2018 study discussed in the IPCC report. In contrast, the IPCC reports, under the SSP 1 scenario, well under 100 million people would be hard hit by extreme weather at the same level of warming. This is a huge finding! The very same cluster of priorities in SSP 1technology, equality, global cooperationthat do the best job of slashing carbon emissions could also protect about 1 billion people from the climate impacts of 2 degrees Celsius warming. If your only climate policy is carbon pricing, then theres of course a trade-off between equity and decarbonization. Jacking up gas and electricity prices hurts the poor. But expand your political and policy imagination, and get out your calculator, and you find something else. Lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty through feminist public policies, reducing the consumption of the affluent, and pursuing innovation make lives better, safer, and more environmentally friendly. The report is jam-packed with evidence for this. But you wont find any of this scholarship, which is the very core of the IPCCs findings, in the melancholy, fatalist reporting of the leading US press outlets. (David Roberts at Vox, who has picked up on the SSPs, is the main exception.) That coverage devoted almost all of its spaceand considerable writing talentto making concrete and visceral potentially terrible outcomes. And almost all discussion of climate changes social causes is linked to one numberhow many dollars should we charge per ton of carbon. Meanwhile, the IPCC is screaming, page after page: For Gods sake, pay attention to the damn social system and all the ways it can change! (Im paraphrasing.) Why not make that concrete and visceral? Ah, but SSP 1 is just a fantasy, right? At best, something theyre trying in Copenhagen? Actually, no. From the US Department of Energys battery labs to Washington States climate politics battles to the solar rooftops of Los Angeless Boyle Heights, fascinating, passionate people are working their asses off to do the things that these models seek to summarize. The main mechanisms of SSP 1 are on the ballot in Washington State right now, in the form of a carbon-fee and clean-energy-investment proposal. California also spends a third of its revenue from cap-and-trade specifically on climate-friendly investments in poor, racialized, and polluted communities. In more familiar terms, these kinds of Green New Deal policies, increasingly linked to a job-guarantee proposal, are being energetically pursued by nearly all the insurgent young Democrats of 2018, most notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. At the federal level, Bernie Sanders campaigned on something similar in 2016. For 2020, all signs point to support for Green New Dealstyle policies by most of the leading progressive Democratic presidential contenders. If one of these beats Trump, it would utterly transform global climate politics. Suddenly, the worlds three most powerfuland pollutingeconomic blocs, the United States, China, and the European Union, which together make up well over half the global economy, could all be committed to huge climate investment. This has never happened before. How the US left integrates climate into its agenda in the next couple of years will shape global climate politics for decades. Meaning theres never been a better time to align our fights for racial justice, economic equality, decent public services, and a safe climate. The SSPs themselves arent framed in terms of conventional political categories, like free-market fundamentalism, social democracy, or eco-socialism. Thats smart. People can draw their own political conclusions. Same goes for hope or pessimismthats a mood people can choose on their own. My question is, based on what? Potentially awful climate outcomes, or the social action that could prevent those? Why arent we dwelling on the ways that nascent SSP 1 policy-making could expand into a more encompassing global dynamic? Is an imagined future of equality and sustainability so utterly beyond reach? To most of the mainstream media, just half of the climate equation feels real: its potentially catastrophic effects. This story, artfully told over and over, is resonating with millions. People are terrified. But as the scientists themselves insist, the real action lies on the causal end of the equation: human struggles against old powers that are happening right now. These struggles are actually going pretty well. Call it invention, call it care, call it politicsclimate change is the story of people fighting over how to live. Daniel Aldana Cohen is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2. This article was originally published by " The Nation " - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here. ==See Also== Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy Immediate past governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose has accused the security agencies under the President Muhammadu Buharis government of invading the residence of National Assembly leaders. Fayose, in a tweet on Tuesday evening said this in reaction to the reported assassination attempt on deputy Senate leader, Ike Ekweremadu and his family in the early hours of Tuesday. According to Fayose, the attempt on the life of the deputy Senate Presidents life and his family is really worrisome. He wrote via his twitter account thus: In Nigeria under the APC govt of Muhammadu Buhari, assassination attempt was made on the Dep. Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his family, we should all be worried. It appears that our security agencies are now more alive to the duty of invading NASS and residences of its leadership. Senator Shehu Sani has commended the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC) for waging against Tue federal government and winning. The lawmaker, who dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) recently, having been denied a senatorial ticket to return to senate in 2019, also hailed the FG for yielding to the demands of labour. In a tweet on Tuesday morning, also said that the federal government must ensure that it is implemented, so it doesnt end up being a case of deception. He wrote: The police has said that the assassination attempt on Ike Ekweremadus life and that of his family, is a case of burglary. In a statement by Police via its Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, on Tuesday, it revealed that it has started investigation into the matter, to discover if there was another motive. Preliminary investigation carried out so far did not reveal assassination attempt on the life of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and his family but a case of Burglary. The residence of Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu on No 2, Jim Nwobodo Street, APO Legislative Quarters was broken into by Mohammed Yusuf of Kauranamuda, Zamfara State, who was arrested at the scene and now in police custody along with one Ali (other name unknown) who escaped from the scene at about 0430hrs of today, November 6, 2018. Mr Moshood revealed that the police have commenced an investigation into the incident. In a confessional statement voluntarily received from Yusuf, he said he committed the crime with his accomplice, Ali who escaped from the scene and now on the run. Police PRO also stated that the same suspects had before going into Ekweremadus residence, also broken into another residence in the APO Legislative quarters, carting away phones, pieces of jewellery, and many more. Although the deputy senate president had accused the police of not handling the matter with expected zeal, Moshood, debunked the claims saying police intervention was fast. It was also stated by police that security personnel on duty at Ekweremadus residence, when the incident occurred, have been arrested They are now in detention to be investigated for negligence, he said. Police also assured Nigerians that it would soon make public, its findings about the case. Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President has told of how he was almost assassinated alongside his family on Tuesday morning in his home in Abuja. Ekweremadus media aide, Uche Anichukwu, hia a statement early Tuesday morning, made known the assassination attempt on the life of the Senator, his wife and son. However, Ekweremadu after Tuesdays plenary formally informed his colleagues in the attempt on his life and his familys, by some gunmen. It is with gratitude to (the) Almighty God that I will like to tell my colleagues, my constituents and the general public that myself, my wife and my son narrowly escaped assassination in the early hours of this morning. It was about 4 am this morning. Some people evaded the security in my house and got all the way to my room where I was sleeping with my wife. There was a struggle, there was a fight, with heavy commotion and by the grace of God we eventually caught one of them. The rest escaped. Although, Ekweremadu revealed that the caught suspect has been handed over to police, he however lamented about how the police is handling the matter. We handed that one over to the police investigating the matter. The annoying aspect of it or the one that is worrisome is that at that point I called the Inspector-General of police (IGP), his phone was off. I called some of his aides, their phones rang out and nobody replied, till now. I called DIG operations, till I left my house, nobody showed up. I now had my people invite the DPO in charge of Apo police station. We didnt see him till about 5:30, he sent his 2nd-in-command who came and he saw the dangerous weapons that they left behind, he left and sent that the DPO was coming. Until I left my house by 9 am, the DPO had not come. Documents were published recently, detailing how the federal government illegally diverted $1.05 billion (N378 billion at N360 to a dollar) to secretly fund subsidy payment on petroleum products. The document which was published by Premium Times, showed fund was sourced at the height of the fuel scarcity crisis between last December and January and was secretly diverted into payments on petrol supply and distribution. The funds, which are supposed to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation and shared by all tiers of government, revealed to have been spent by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government alone. The federal government were said to have sidelined the national assembly and states. However, in a statement by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Senate president Bukola Sarakis media aide, said their will be further investigation into the matter. Let me assure Nigerians that there will be no cover up. We are confident the adhoc committee will do a thorough job. All the issues will be unearthed. That is why when the Senate set up investigative committees on issues, we want Nigerians to have confidence in us that we do not act because we want to embark on a wild goose chase. There must be some serious issues to be looked into. The revelations by the NNPC GMD have justified the need for this investigation and they have shown that we are acting in good faith. When in my ruling on the motion raised by Senator Olujimi, I insisted that we want a transparent, honest and non-partisan investigation on the fuel subsidy issue, it was clear to me and my colleagues that there are certain irregularities being perpetrated and we should let Nigerians know the truth. That is why we set up the committee in the first place and to demonstrate the seriousness we attach to the issue, we decided that the adhoc committee should be led by the Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan. Also reacting to the revelation, Senator Shehu Sani said the matter must be investigated thoroughly, and must not be swept under the carpet with a broom. In his words: The recent revelations regarding the NLNG Billions must be throughly investigated. The issues are weighty and must not be swept under the carpet with a Broom. Integrity is not a perpetual appellation, but a moral recognition that is earned and proven in every step of its challenge. Vanguard THREE former Commissioners of Police (CPs) in Anambra State during the tenure of Mr. Peter Obi as governor, have exonerated him from the allegation of demolition of mosques and the sacking of non-indigenes, particularly northerners from the state being propagated by the opposition against him on social media. ThisDay Tripartite committee report signed To be submitted to Buhari today Deji Elumoye, Omololu Ogunmade, Wale Ajimotokan, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Ugo Aliogo, Peter Uzoho in Lagos There was relief yesterday as a midnight agreement between labour and the federal government on the dispute over minimum wage for workers averted a nationwide strike The Nation FORMER Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana has approached the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, seeking Donald Dukes nullification as Social Democratic Partys (SDP) presidential candidate.They argued that the process that produced the partys flag bearer violated the SDP constitution.Duke, a former Cross River Governor, polled 812 votes to defeat his closed rival, Prof. Gana, who polled 611 votes at the partys national convention held at Old Parade Ground, Abuja, Guardian The Southwest Governors Forum has expressed concern on economic and security challenges posed by gridlock in the Apapa port and urged the Federal Government to create alternative routes. The Sun Owerri Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Adams Oshiomholes recent apology,on his behalf, to the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, Anthony Obinna, as a cheap blackmail. Governor Okorocha said he has no problem, whatsoever, with the Catholic Church and wondered how Oshiomhole came up with the The Authority Abuja The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus has charged Nigerian Daily Trust The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has said security gaps and lack of decisive action by state authorities and security agencies enabled the killing of late Major General Idris Alkali in Plateau State. Buratai spoke yesterday at the Headquarters of the Nigerian Army in Abuja, when Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong Leadership Nigeria is currently feeding 9 million children in 26 states, Mrs Maryam Uwais, Special Adviser to the president on National Social Welfare Programme, has said. She said that Federal Governments feeds pupils with 6 million eggs and 594 cows weekly under its Home Grown School Feeding Programme. Uwais disclosed this in Abuja . Tribune The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday challenged President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to speak out on revelations of how N378 billion proceed from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividends Senator Shehu Sani stunned supporters and critics after his campaign posters, bearing an image of President Muhammadu Buhari, himself and another candidate emerged online. The senator representing Kaduna Central at the senate, recently dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for another party because he wasnt given the partys ticket to be its flag bearer in the forthcoming election for senate. The senator, who is very popular on social media for always expressing his opinions on ant topic, no matter whos involved, stirred reactions among some Nigerian social media users with his campaign poster. See below warsaw poland 320 x 215 The VAT acts of member states are subject to harmonisation upon which EU VAT law is being standardized. This, however, is not aimed at eliminating the national law systems. The VAT directive (2006/112/EC) is binding to each EU country, but leaves the choice of form and methods to the national authorities who transpose it into national legislation. Consequently, member states VAT acts of are not fully coherent and unique rules and solutions can be found. There are many VAT rules in Poland which do not stem directly from the EU VAT Directive, and therefore we could ask whether these laws are compliant. Polish VAT law includes, among others, additional requirements which must be fulfilled to reduce the taxable amount in the case of non-payment by the other contracting party (so-called bad debt relief). However, the most frequently discussed VAT issue in Poland is the restriction of the period for input VAT deduction with respect to transactions settled using the reverse charge mechanism (e.g. intra-community acquisitions (ICA) or imports of services). Until the end of 2016, Polish taxable persons could report input and output tax resulting from ICAs and the import of services in the same VAT return, irrespective of when the invoice was received and when the output VAT was reported. Such VAT treatment made purchases of goods from the EU and service imports neutral even if they were not reported on time. New regulations have been enforced The situation changed from January 1 2017.Since then, taxpayers have been entitled to deduct input VAT paid on a transaction for which the reverse charge mechanism applies, provided that the output VAT from this transaction is reported in their VAT return within a maximum of three months from the end of the month in which the tax became chargeable. If the output tax is reported later, input VAT can be deducted in the VAT return for which the filing deadline is still pending (current VAT return). Output VAT, however, must still be reported in the VAT return submitted for the month in which the tax became chargeable. Practical aspects of the new regulations The practical impact of this is that where a reverse charge transaction is reported after the three-month time limit, the input and output tax are reported in VAT returns for different periods. This can lead to tax and interest arrears. As invoices documenting ICAs and imports of services are usually received with some delay, reporting output VAT within this time limit is not always possible. So, many taxable persons in Poland face the problem of being obliged to pay interest due to not reporting these transactions on time. Moreover, to meet the (three-month) deadline for reporting input and output VAT from a reverse-charge transaction in the same VAT return, and avoid any negative consequences, taxpayers need to correct their VAT returns by this rather short deadline. A subsequent correction of VAT returns is usually required when additional invoices are received. This causes a lot of administrative work for taxpayers. Divergent judgements In the judgements from September 29, 2017 and May 15, 2018, the Polish provincial administrative courts held that taxable persons shall not be obliged to pay interest due to reporting ICAs after three months (case no. I SA/Kr 709/17 and no. III SA/Wa 2488/17). It was pointed out that, in accordance with the principle of neutrality, taxable persons cannot bear the economic burden of VAT. Moreover, taxable persons cannot report output VAT until the invoice is received, and it is the supplier who must be blamed for the delay in providing it. Therefore, the regulations were considered to be non-compliant with EU law. Despite this tax-friendly approach of the administrative courts in Poland, the regulations not been changed and nobody has yet submitted a preliminary ruling to the European Court of Justice. Moreover, in August 2018 one of the provincial administrative courts presented a negative opinion in this respect (I SA/Op 246/18). Given that the tax authorities and taxable persons are obliged to obey the provisions of the Polish VAT Act, as long as the rules remain unchanged then interest will have to be paid. Will the tax-friendly approach of administrative courts have an influence on the lawmakers? Or will the preliminary ruling to the ECJ be submitted? These are some of the questions raised. Olga Palczewska olga.palczewska@wtssaja.pl Doradztwo Podatkowe WTS&SAJA Sp. z o.o. ul. Roosevelta 22 60-829 Poznan Lidia Adamek-Baczynska lidia.adamek@wtssaja.pl Doradztwo Podatkowe WTS&SAJA Sp. z o.o. ul. Roosevelta 22 60-829 Poznan The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ. Share this article spain-320 x 215 Most if not all of these foreign insurers are subject to non-resident income tax under the regime for permanent establishments in Spain. Under that regime, without prejudice to what is established in the applicable tax treaty, they must pay corporate income tax on all of the income obtained through their permanent establishments (PEs) in Spain. Until recently, the tax position of foreign insurers PEs went unchallenged, and tax managers, mostly working from head offices, didnt give a second thought to checking the box of their compliance duties with the support of local tax compliance services providers. However, that peace of mind has gone since the Spanish tax agency in particular, the Madrid branch, where most PEs are tax domiciled started an audit campaign in relation to those PEs a couple of years ago, unexpectedly resulting in big headaches for tax managers. It is known that the most relevant expense items on an insurers income statement are claims, technical provisions and (ceded) reinsurance premiums. As such, the Spanish tax agency is questioning the deductibility of all of those items. The deductibility of large claims is now being challenged mostly on the basis of their allegedly incorrect and even unfair attribution to the PE. Using different arguments, the tax inspectors are saying that these claims do not pertain to the PE for tax purposes. The deductibility of reinsurance premiums (usually paid to another group unit) is being rejected on the grounds that the relevant reinsurance agreements do not make sense from an entrepreneurial perspective (quota share agreements) or do not provide effective protection to the PE on standalone basis (XL agreements). Therefore, they must be disregarded for tax purposes regardless of whether these transactions have been priced at arms length. Lastly, technical reserves and, in particular, claims provisions (i.e. outstanding and IBNR) are being considered excessive for tax purposes or even disproportionate or without technical justification at the level of the PE. In this case, tax inspectors are basing the assessments on a more than questionable interpretation and application of the Spanish tax provisions that deal with the tax treatment of technical provisions for corporate income tax purposes. More specifically, when claims provisions are calculated by the insurer using its own statistical methods and not the method provided as a safe harbour by Spanish regulatory provisions inspectors are denying the deductibility of the provision on the ground that they are not reliable for tax purposes and consequently they are not a valid basis for calculating the tax debt. Alternatively, tax inspectors are using a residual methodology provided for in the regulatory legislation for those situations in which the insurer has not got enough information to accurately determine the amount of the reserve. It is pretty difficult to predict how and when these controversies will end because, although there are strong arguments to oppose the tax agencys multimillion euro assessments, the litigation route could go on for years. This is because the wording of the law, i.e. the regulatory provisions dealing with the methods for calculating the reserves, is vague and gives leeway to different interpretations, and the Spanish courts, in particular the Supreme Court, have typically adopted very restrictive positions on this issue. With this in mind, it is advisable to review a PEs tax position in view of the criteria adopted by the tax authorities and eventually evaluate whether it would be convenient to request a ruling from the Spanish Directorate-General of Taxes. However, it is necessary to take into consideration that the binding effects of this type of rulings only apply from the ruling date onwards and in the absence of contradictory case law or changes in the law. Lets see what the future brings. Jorge Moreira Jorge Moreira (jorge.moreira@garrigues.com) Garrigues, Taxand Spain Tel: +34 915145200 Website: www.garrigues.com The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ. Share this article Manamas security forces detained another Shiite cleric on Monday after summoning him for questioning at the Muharraq Police Station. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Manamas security forces detained another Shiite cleric on Monday after summoning him for questioning at the Muharraq Police Station. Authorities claimed that Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Mulla Attiya al-Jamri would appear before the public prosecutor although there is no word yet on the allegations he faces. Recent weeks have seen dozens of Bahraini Shiite religious figures detained or interrogated in connection with the annual Ashura commemorations. Some were held in custody for more than a month over the contents of their sermons. /257 Opinion Policies Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue. Feedback policy If you have a grievance concerning the content or argument of the Editorial Board, please contact either Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or the Editorial Board as a whole (editorialboard@iowastatedaily.com). Those wanting to respond to editorials can also submit a letter to the editor through the Iowa State Daily website or by emailing the letter to Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or Editor-in-Chief Sage Smith (sage.smith@iowastatedaily.com). Column Policy Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions. Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020 ABC News(NEW YORK) -- This midterm cycle, with a historic number of female candidates on the ballot, women are hoping to make history and shake up politics. Erin Mincberg knew she wanted to join the unprecedented number of women running for office this year, but instead of running for office, she's working behind the scenes running a campaign. Mincberg manages the campaign for Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, who's running for Congress in Texas' 7th Congressional District. Mincberg, who had been helping with other campaigns across the country, moved back to her hometown of Houston, because she wanted to help work for a candidate who she believes can win. If you walk into Fletcher's Houston campaign office, youll find Mincberg and dozens of other women at work. "We definitely have more women than men on staff," Mincberg said. "It's incredibly important for me to build a team full of women. I was lucky to have women bring me up along the way and it's very important for me to find good, smart, passionate women and help bring them up," Mincberg said. Fletcher's campaign headquarters filled with female volunteers and staff is similar to many others across the nation. A record-breaking 278 women won major party nominations this year in the U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial races. Riding the so called "pink wave" are female campaign managers whose numbers have also seen a spike. This year, 40 percent of the campaign managers for Democratic congressional candidates are women, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Exight years ago, experts said, that number was so low it wasn't even counted. The uptick in female candidates and campaign managers skews blue because there are three times as many Democratic women on the ballot compared with Republicans. "Yes, it is the 'Year of the Woman,' but it is also the year of average everyday Americans who have just had enough," Liuba Gretchen Shirley, a Democratic candidate in New York's 2nd Congressional District, told "Good Morning America." Laura Moser, who lost in the Democratic primary to Fletcher, is now encouraging her supporters to vote for her former opponent. During her campaign, Moser said she was in a Facebook group with other women running for office. "I have met only a few of them, but we are like sisters for life. I've kind of bonded with women all over the country," she told "GMA" in March. Organizations like EMILY's List are providing training for first-time female candidates, campaign managers and staff. "I didnt know these jobs existed before I started working at one of these political organizations," Muthoni Wambu Kraal, vice president of national outreach and training at EMILYs List, told "GMA." Kraal said more than 40,000 women contacted EMILYs List during 2016 about running for office. Within that group, 8,000 women expressed interest in wanting to work as staff on campaigns. "It often looks scary to people because it often is a job that has a very finite ending, but teaching them the art of how you can work on different campaigns and change your life around to do it is a big part of what we're doing," Kraal said. Committed to nurturing the next wave of women in politics, Fletcher's campaign in Texas has a fellows program for high school students and young adults. "I think young women should be more involved in politics, be it working on a campaign or just getting involved at school or college," Fletcher fellow Katie Smith said. The eighteen-year-old voted in her first election this year casting a ballot in the Texas primaries. "When more women are involved change will be made." Mincberg wants women and girls to know you dont have to run for office to get involved in politics. "I want people to know it's a job," she said. "You can build a career out of it." The role also has a lot of influence on conversations, messaging, ads, talking points and debate preparation. "Having women at the table, we influence those decisions and bring things up in conversations behind closed doors and advocate for positions that we think need to be part of the conversation," she said. After the dust settles and election results are in, Mincberg hopes the momentum for women continues. "We have to keep people motivated," she said. "We have to keep them in the movement." Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Iranians have held rallies across the country to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iranians have held rallies across the country to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran. Demonstrators in Tehran gathered on Sunday outside the former US diplomatic mission, also known as the Den of Espionage, chanting slogans against the United States. Similar rallies were held in more than 1,000 cities and towns across the vast country, with participants chanting "Death to the US, "Death to Israel, and "Hayhat minna az-zilla (Never to Humiliation). On November 4, 1979, a group of university students took over the embassy, which they believed had turned into a center of espionage, plotting to overthrow the nascent Islamic Republic, and held 52 American diplomats for 444 days. Documents found at the mission corroborated claims by the revolutionary students that Washington had been using the compound to hatch plots against Iran. The late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, hailed the takeover as a second revolution after the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the Shah of Iran, who was a close ally of the US in Iran. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the US has been trying for the past 40 years to regain the domination it had over Iran under the Shah but to no avail. "There is an important fact here, that in this 40-year-old challenge, the American side has been defeated and the side of the Islamic Republic has been victorious," he said, addressing a group of students in Tehran. This year's rallies come after the US administration decided on Friday to reimpose all sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. "America's goal with sanctions is to cripple and hold back Iran's economy, but the outcome is that the push toward self-sufficiency has expanded in the country," Ayatollah Khamenei said. The chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) addressed the rally in Tehran, saying the nation will defeat US sanctions through resistance. General Mohammad Ali Jafari said the US is now "on a gradual decline." He said resistance is the only way to overcome oppressive enemies, adding "with God's assistance the Iranian nation will soon overcome economic sanctions." General Jafari also advised US President Donald Trump not to threaten Iran. "You know well how many of your war veterans commit suicide a day due to depression," he said. November 4, which falls on the 13th day of the Iranian calendar month of Aban, is also known as the Student Day and the National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on Saturday, saying the Iranian nation will give President Donald Trump a "slap in the face through their participation in nationwide rallies to mark the embassy takeover. The IRGC echoed Ayatollah Khamenei's observation that "America's power is in decline and the country is much weaker today than it was 40 years ago." "The decline of the US is a definite, inevitable reality consistent with a divine promise," the IRGC statement said. The 13th of Aban, the statement said, is "the symbol of the Iranian nation's fight against the arrogance and its invincibility in the face of the US and the evil arrogant movement in contemporary history." With the blessing of God and the insight and vigilance of the Iranian nation, the 13th of Aban this year will turn into a show of national prowess and unity, the humiliation of the Great Satan, the condemnation of the hegemonic nature of the notorious US regime and the Iranian nations slap in the face of the deceitful US president and officials, it added. /257 We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Tantoo Cardinal accepts the Earle Grey Award for her contributions to the industry and the Canadian experience at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto on Sunday, March 12, 2017. Renowned Metis performer Cardinal has won this year's Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie is photographed at her office in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, December 15, 2017. Skyrocketing rents and dwindling affordable-housing units in Vancouver are driving seniors to the brink of homelessness, forcing some to couch surf, seek roommates or even live in cars, advocates say. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong receives the Japanese Prime Ministers special envoy Kentaro Sonoura in Hanoi on November 5th (Photo: VNA) At the meeting, Sonoura handed over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes letter of congratulations to the chief of the Communist Party of Vietnam on his election as President of Vietnam. In the letter, PM Abe expressed his belief that under the leadership of Party General Secretary and President Trong, Vietnam will continue developing prosperously. He also wished to continue his close cooperation with the Vietnamese leader to help the Japan-Vietnam extensive strategic partnership grow in a result-oriented and comprehensive manner. The Vietnamese leader thanked Japanese King Akihito for offering his congratulations and PM Abe for sending a special envoy to deliver the letter. He expressed his delight at the comprehensive, strong, and practical expansion of the extensive strategic partnership, affirming that the Vietnamese Party and State have always and will continue to treasure its relations with Japan. General Secretary and President Trong appreciated Japans effective cooperation and assistance in various fields, while also applauding the two sides coordination in holding various meaningful activities to mark the 45th founding anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties throughout the year. The Vietnamese leader asked the two sides to maintain regular high-ranking visits and meetings so as to enhance political trust; promote economic connectivity through stronger ties in investment, trade, ODA provision, agriculture, and labour; boost locality-to-locality links; step up joint human resources training; and make connections between the countries development strategies. The two nations should also intensify friendship between the Vietnamese and Japanese people, he added. For his part, Sonoura thanked his host for the sentiment towards and respect for Japanese leaders. He emphasised that Japan highly values Vietnams recent development successes, as well as its role and active contributions to international and regional affairs. The official affirmed that his country attaches special importance to its cooperation and friendship with Vietnam, and it will work hard to bring their extensive strategic partnership to a new stage of development./. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Dang Minh Khoi and newly-accredited Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo attended the inauguration ceremony, among others. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Tuan Anh said that by holding strengths in foreign trade, e-commerce, manufacturing, and seaport services, Zhejiang and the eastern region of China in general will continue to take the lead in the countrys reform process, thereby fueling economic and trade ties between China and countries across the region and even the world. While Vice Governor of Zhejiang province Zhu Congjiu said that via the newly-opened office, provincial leaders expect that Vietnamese and Chinese companies can gain a deeper insight into opportunities for the import-export of goods in demand, especially Vietnams agro-forestry-fishery products which are popular in China. Dao Viet Anh, Trade Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in China, said the event is meant to realize the agreement signed by the two governments in 2013, as well as the joint statement inked during Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinpings visit to Vietnam from November 10th-13th last year. Viet Anh said trade between Vietnam and Zhejiang hit USD7.92 billion in 2017 and Vietnam is now the largest trade partner of the province. The first Vietnam trade promotion office in China was established in Chongqing city in 2015./. By Lee Kyung-min Korean banks are beefing up their services for foreign residents here in a bid to build a new customer base amid rapid saturation of the domestic financial market. They see the expat banking market as a blue ocean because the number of foreigners in Korea has been increasing steadily over the past few years. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of foreigners in Korea is well over 2.3 million as of July 2018, a near three-fold increase from about a decade ago. The number was 747,000 in 2005 and first surpassed 1 million in 2007. The number is expected to reach 3 million accounting for 5.8 percent of the country's population in 2021. To attract more foreign customers, they are offering multiple foreign language services while opening desks exclusively for expats at some branches where many foreign workers reside. The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said its webpage is undergoing an upgrade to set up more bulletin boards to promote new financial products and share up-to-date information, as part of its efforts to strengthen online platform. The bank will consider increasing available foreign languages to up to 10 from the current four English, Chinese, Thai and Indonesian. A special unit established in 2016 under the state lender is continuing efforts to strive for customer satisfaction including regular visits to foreign customers at their work to offer consultations on online banking services and help with foreign currency remittance. The service has been well received by many full-time workers for whom finding the time to go to bank during working hours proves difficult, the bank said. KB Kookmin Bank offers KB One Asia, an overseas cash wire service within 24 hours with only a 1,000 won ($0.88) fee. The popular service is available through the bank's global network in 18 countries. KB conducts foreign currency transactions in 144 countries. Its currency remittance service is available in 200 countries. The bank launched KB Account Free, a cash wire service without a bank account, to better tend to the needs of people whose home country has limited to no financial infrastructure to send and receive money through banking systems. The service, available in 26 regions in nine countries, enables people in one of those countries to receive money by confirming a code only given to the sender in Korea. Funds wired are not paid in cash unless verification is complete, the bank said. Real-time information on wire transfer status is possible with the bank's Swift Global Payments Innovation (GPI) service launched in June 2018. KB said the foreigner-targeted measures will be strengthened amid growing number of service users. It engaged in 200,693 foreign currency remittance transactions totaling $635 million (723 billion won) in September 2018. The number of transactions and amount transferred increased by 4.1 percent and 6.2 percent from a year earlier, respectively. "The number of foreigners is expected to increase up to 5 million over the next decade, a reason why we deem them our new, significant customers," a KB official said. "We will continue to provide our customers here with quality services including foreign currency remittance via close cooperation with the bank-affiliated entities overseas," she added. In March, Shinhan Bank opened a "Sunday Foreign Currency Center," in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, where a large number of foreign workers live. The branch opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. On Sunday, it opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. Consultations will be available in Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Russian there. Various bank charges will be exempt for foreigners. Korean learning programs and other cultural activities will be offered on the fourth floor of the branch building. KB operates similar centers in seven regions including five in Gyeonggi Province, and one each in Seoul and Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. In March, Woori Bank singed an MOU with Talking Korea, an education business that organizes mock exams for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), a Korean language test for nonnative speakers of Korean. The two agreed to seek cooperation in developing a Korean-language education models for foreigners to help boost their financial knowledge Marketing strategies for foreigners will seek to increase their "brand loyalty," according to a Woori Bank official. "Once we establish ourselves as a customer-friendly, reliable provider of banking services, a large number of foreigners will likely maintain a relationship with us and possible recommend us to their acquaintances, a great way for us to expand our presence both here and overseas," he said. By Park Hyong-ki KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin Britain, Spain propose digital taxes on global tech giants By Lee Kyung-min Google is likely to face new taxes in Korea on revenue from digital services, as the country has vowed to join a global wave of tackling tax avoidance by internet media companies. Following Spain, Britain proposed a 2 percent tax on global technology giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook, Tuesday, on profits they make through search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces. Recently, a growing number of countries are moving to update their taxation regimes as economic activities are shifting rapidly online, making it difficult for governments to levy taxes on such online platforms. The moves come as discussions on imposing a heavier tax on Google are gaining momentum in Korea as part of efforts to make it shoulder an amount corresponding to its lucrative business here. In 2016, Naver, Korea's largest search engine and portal site, paid 400 billion won ($353 million) in corporate tax, nearly 10 percent of its annual sales figure of 4 trillion won, whereas Google Korea paid only 5 percent of that figure, or 20 billion won. Many global tech heavyweights have long managed to pay only a fraction of their profits as taxes here, largely by routing them to lower-tax jurisdictions where their headquarters are based. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Oct. 24 it will join global efforts to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), or tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules through artificially shifting profits to low- or no-tax locations. "We are actively participating in the ongoing global discussion to fight the strategy," the ministry said in a statement. "Under an OECD-led initiative, over 100 countries and jurisdictions are collaborating to implement measures to tackle this." The broad statement came four days after remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon. Kim said that government measures were "in store" including on corporate taxes, indicating a review was underway to revise the law. "Currently, global IT companies that operate here with overseas servers are subject to only value-added tax, not corporate tax," he said at the National Assembly audit of the ministry. The remarks reflected a growing need to require them to pay a "fair share" of taxes here where they do business. However, concerns over fairness arose as Korea's global firms doing business overseas could be subject to "double taxation," as the government is seeking to tax revenue instead of profit. By Jung Min-ho The Korean government is considering launching a group visa system for Indian tourists as early as the start of next year. The ministries of justice and foreign affairs said last month in response to Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea that they were considering the system, which would make Indian tourist groups' entry to Korea cheaper and more convenient. The ministries have not finalized their decision. But expectations remain high, with first lady Kim Jung-sook visiting India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Korean government is pressing ahead with the visa policy as part of efforts to diversify incoming tourist markets, after learning a lesson that relying too much on one country, China, is risky. Korea's tourism industry took a major blow following China's revenge against deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system here in 2016. Currently, Indians traveling to Korea need an individual tourist visa from the Korean Embassy in India. Under the proposed system, a representative of a tourist group (five or more) can get the visas for all. Tourists from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines are the beneficiaries of the system. Many in the tourism industry here have demanded the government expand the system to India, which is among the world's fastest-growing outbound markets. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Indian outbound tourism has the potential to grow to 50 million by 2020, from about 25 million now. Ten years ago, 8 million Indians traveled overseas. Song is confident the government will adopt a group visa system soon and it will benefit both countries. "About 70 percent of Indian tourists travel in groups," Song, head of the Korea-India lawmakers' friendship association, said. "The new policy will strengthen Korea's position as an aviation transport industry powerhouse and revitalize its tourism industry that is still reeling from the 'THAAD revenge.'" A stone monument in front of Yoon Dong-ju's birthplace in Longjing, Jilin, now Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, in China, reads "China's Chaoxianzu/ Joseonjok patriotic poet Yoon Dong-ju's birthplace," both in Chinese and Korean. Yonhap By Jung Da-min Late poet Yoon Dong-ju. Korea Times file By Lee Min-young The parents of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. college student who died after he was reportedly mistreated in a North Korean labor camp, will be in court next month as the trial of their lawsuit against the North Korean regime begins. According to a Voice of America (VOA) report on Tuesday, the U.S. federal court notified the Warmbiers that the first hearing will be held on Dec. 19. The Warmbiers filed the suit in April, accusing the North of violating international law by killing their son. The Warmbiers, Lee Sung-yoon, assistant professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and David Hawk, a member of the National Committee on North Korea, will testify at the trial. North Korea has denied accusations that torture caused Otto Warmbier's death. The VOA said North Korea is yet to take official steps in response to the lawsuit. Warmbier, 22, a Virginia University student from Ohio, was detained in North Korea on subversion charges after North Korean security forces caught him taking a propaganda poster from his hotel in 2016. He was sentenced to 15 years' hard labor. North Korea released him in June 2017, but he was in a coma. His body had signs of trauma and torture and he died in hospital six days after his release. Baek Jong-deok, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's lawyer, announces Lee's decision to scrap his plan to file a complaint against the police for what he claimed were "false investigations" into multiple criminal allegations, outside the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, Tuesday. The lawyer said Lee accepted his Democratic Party of Korea's request not to file the complaint, which could be seen as confronting law enforcement. / Yonhap Mr. Huynh Cach Mang congratulates Cambodia Independence Day at Cambodian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh city. (Photo: VNA) He sent his congratulations on Cambodias achievements under the reign of King Norodom Sihamoni and the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Stressing the good traditional relationship, comprehensive and sustainable cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia, he confirmed that the city always does its utmost to foster the relationship between the two countries, as well as between their localities. He informed that Ho Chi Minh city and Phnom Penh had exchanged diverse delegations, creating new impetus for increasing bilateral trade, promoting specific projects, and benefiting the two sides. Trade promotion, educational and social cooperation between the city and Cambodian localities have contributed to fostering the two countries good relationship, he added. Expressing his thanks to Ho Chi Minh citys leaders, Im Hen, Cambodian Consul General to the city, shared information about his countrys socio-economic development. Accordingly, over the past 10 years, Cambodias economy has obtained high and stable growth at some 7% per year, with per capita income increasing year by year. According to Mr. Im Hen, the Vietnam - Cambodia economic relationship has continued to develop with two-way trade turnover of USD3.8 billion in 2017. Vietnam continues to be one of the leading investors in Cambodia when it pours some USD582 million in investment last year, he said. In 2017, some 835,000 Vietnamese tourists travelled to Cambodia and some 222,000 Cambodian arrivals were reported in Vietnam./. Seoul is shrouded in fine dust, Tuesday. The ultrafine dust level reached "bad" in most parts of the country, pushing the government to issue alerts and advise people to refrain from outdoor activities. The level is forecast to a high on Wednesday as well, and Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon will ban vehicles of public servants based on license plate number. / Yonhap By Park Ji-won Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has complained again over a South Korean court ruling that ordered a Japanese firm to compensate South Koreans who were forced to work during the 1910-1945 Japanese occupation, urging Seoul to "take care of this issue" first. Kono said the South Korean Supreme Court's decision posed a "serious challenge" to South Korea-Japan relations, according to Bloomberg. "If any country gets into an agreement with the Korean government in international law and the Korean Supreme Court could overturn the agreement any time they wish to, it would be difficult for any country to do anything with the South Korean government," Kono was quoted as saying to Bloomberg News in Tokyo. "So they have to take care of this issue first," or ties cannot move forward, he said. "It's obvious: they are responsible for taking care of all the claims from the Korean people," Kono said. "So that's what they have to do. That's what's in the 1965 agreement." The top Japanese diplomat's remark is likely part of the country's publicity strategy to emphasize Japan's position to the international community. He reiterated his recent remarks with U.S. media, which also criticized the South's court decision, citing the two countries' treaties in 1965, according to Japanese media reports. The response came after the Supreme Court ordered a Japanese steelmaker last week to compensate South Korean victims during the period. The final ruling calls for Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal to pay each of the four plaintiffs 100 million won ($89,445). It retained the adjudication of the ruling in 2012, that the 1965 bilateral treaty does not terminate individuals' rights to claim damages. Japan all-out to protest Meanwhile, four Japanese lawmakers, led by congressman Yasuhisa Shiozaki, protested against the decision during a courtesy visit Tuesday to South Korea's National Assembly speaker and opposition parties, which is against protocol, South Korean lawmakers said. Commenting on the Japanese lawmakers' claim that the court's decision is against the treaty that established diplomatic relations, Rep. Kang Chang-il of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), told The Korea Times: "It is a country's court decision. Japan and Korea are democratic countries with separation of powers. It is discourtesy to talk about it." Kang was with the Assembly speaker as leader of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union during the Japanese lawmakers' visit. "I told the Japanese lawmakers that it is time for lawmakers to resolve this rather than provoking controversy by making remarks about it repeatedly," Kang said. "It could be interference in domestic affairs." Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, said: "I express regret over the remarks Shiozaki made here. "I think we should develop what is good to each other, apologize for histories of conflicts and undesirability and make compensation on what should be compensated so that we can advance to the future." Kim Byoung-joon, interim leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, also attacked Shiozaki, saying "you should consider Koreans' anger over what Japan's damage posed to Koreans." The interior of Victor Ha's newly opened Look Beyond Music & Skate shop in Cheonan / Courtesy of Look Beyond By Jon Dunbar Cheonan, a relatively minor stop on the cross-country rail networks, seems an unlikely place to find indie music, but 23-year local resident Victor Ha has made it his mission to put this South Chungcheong Province city on the map. "Indie music is what I enjoy the most," he told The Korea Times. "I just wanted to put on shows with my favorite bands wishing people could recognize a live music scene exists in Cheonan." Ha has done it all: singing for the now-defunct , making merch for the scene through his micro-enterprise , and self-publishing fanzines "Break the Shell" (started in 2004) and "In Walnut We Trust" (2011), both clearly referencing Cheonan's staple food, the walnut. Oh, he's also into competitive downhill skateboarding and kendama, a Japanese cup-and-ball skill toy. Somehow on the side of all this he's found the time to raise a family of three daughters. Victor Ha performs with his band Things We Say at Skunk Hell in Seoul on June 30, 2007. / Image by Jon Dunbar "I don't think everyone should listen to hardcore, but I think K-pop fans need to know that K-pop idol groups don't represent the whole of Korean music. All kinds of music genres exist here and more of them are independent and do a lot of stuff on their own. To me, hardcore music taught me the true DIY culture. I could just start a band, write songs and play shows without thinking of any big goal." These days, Ha, now in his early 40s, is all about , his own brand which encompasses a newly opened skateboard shop next to Cheonan Station and a growing project to promote indie music in Cheonan. He runs the shop in the off hours after he's finished work at his academy. "Everyone is welcome to visit me at the shop," Ha said. "Both music and skateboarding are my passions in life and I've been always wanting to own a skateboard shop where bands play every weekend." The shop is too small to hold concerts, but with local government support he's been able to hold concerts in various other spaces. He receives support from the Chungnam Culture Technology Industry Agency (CTIA) through its division Chungnam Music Factory. He also has a concert coming later this month supported by Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). And last month he held the three-day Look Beyond Urban Rock Festival with support from the urban regeneration division of Cheonan City Hall. "I try to apply all the programs they have, if I think it suits me," he said. "The local government is trying to restore the area around Cheonan Station. It was the busiest back in the day but it ran down. Many stores shut, and there are many empty buildings. The city thinks the shows I do can bring young people to the area. So it looks like the local government and I have something for each other." Ha says he's "definitely" made progress since starting Look Beyond last year, putting on six shows and the festival, as well as opening the skateboarding shop and putting on two more upcoming shows this month. Seoul band Se So Neon performs at Cheonan's CN Music Factory Live Hall for the first official Look Beyond concert on Nov. 4, 2017. / Courtesy of Look Beyond This Friday at CN Music Factory Live Hall, he offers the free with bands , and , as well as and a . On Nov. 17, with KOCCA support he presents the at In the Gallery, with bands , Frame and . "It is going to be greater every year," he said. Members of women's rights groups, led by the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center, hold a joint press conference at the Korea Press Center to call for a stronger investigation into key players of the country's spycam porn platforms, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Lee Suh-yoon By Lee Suh-yoon The investigation into Yang Jin-ho, the IT CEO who was recently condemned for bullying employees, should rather focus on his companies' gains from illegal spycam content, as he is the ringleader of Korea's spycam porn industry, women's rights groups said, Tuesday. Activists fear the sensational media coverage of and police probe into Yang's violent, almost comical, abuse cases involving a Japanese sword and live chickens could shift the much-needed focus away from the spycam industry cartel itself. "This is not a simple case of abuse because of CEO Yang Jin-ho's conceited character; this is an organized crime by multiple guilty cartel actors who have accumulated huge wealth by disseminating spycam content," Choi Ran, a counseling manager at the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center (KSVRC), said during a press conference at the Korea Press Center, downtown Seoul. By Kang Seung-woo Five people have been booked without detention for last month's massive explosion at an oil storage facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, with police wrapping up their one-month investigation, Tuesday. On Oct. 7, an oil tank storing 4.4 million tons of gasoline at the facility caught fire and exploded. The 17 hour-blaze caused 4.3 billion won ($3.8 million) in damage although there were no casualties. The facility is owned by Daehan Oil Pipeline Corp. (DOPCO). Later, police found an immigrant worker from Sri Lanka accidentally triggered the fire after launching a sky lantern, which landed in the grass at the oil facility. Those who have been indicted are the head of DOPCO's Gyeonggi and Incheon branch office, its safety management chief and deputy, as well as a labor supervisor from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Sri Lankan. The supervisor is suspected of fabricating a document to say the oil tank was fully equipped with a fire prevention system. According to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, DOPCO neglected its safety management, as evidenced that flammable haystacks were near its 14 oil tanks and some of its flame arresters did not work. In addition, the oil tank was found to have only one fire prevention system in its 10 ventilation ducts although there were 10 on paper. Also, DOPCO's weak management of the site also took flak although it did not violate the law. According to police, there were four staffers on duty at the time of the fire, but only one was in charge of the control office monitoring the oil tanks via CCTV. And the staffer was even doing another job at the time. As a result, it took about 18 minutes after the grass started to smoke before the tank exploded, but no one detected the fire during that time which could have prevented the explosion. Three days after the fire broke out, police asked the prosecution to request an arrest warrant for the Sri Lankan, but prosecutors dismissed the request, demanding a supplementary investigation. The public was not on the police's side, blaming them for making a scapegoat of the migrant worker. In the wake of the oil tank blaze, there are growing calls on the government to reinforce safety measures at oil storage facilities and similar sites. Currently, DOPCO operates eight oil storage facilities nationwide, including ones in Pangyo in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and Daejeon, among others. National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, right, answers questions during a government audit of Cheong Wa Dae and the presidential national security team at the National Assembly, Tuesday. On the left is presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok. Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chul South Korea is still trying to work out a deal to officially declare an end to the Korean War by the end of this year, expecting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit Seoul "soon," presidential National Security Office (NSO) chief Chung Eui-yong said Tuesday. "Seoul is discussing with key stakeholders in denuclearization talks to make a declaration ending the Korean War by the end of this year," Chung said during a National Assembly audit of Cheong Wa Dae and the presidential national security team. "Regarding the format (of the war-ending declaration), lots of options remain wide open. It seems like there is much possibility and there are many variables." Chung, who is also Seoul's top envoy in denuclearization talks, said South Korea is expecting to see "substantial progress" in the North's denuclearization from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol early Friday (KST) in New York. "Following the Pompeo-Kim meeting, Seoul expects working-level talks to follow," Chung said. Some critics say Seoul's push to end the war is a goal seen as increasingly doubtful in the face of opposition in Washington. The U.S. has retreated from the formal announcement of the Korean War's end, saying Pyongyang must first present more detailed and concrete plans for giving up its nuclear warheads. But North Korea demands simultaneous moves from the United States in return for its initial steps to dismantle some of its nuclear facilities, with a peace declaration its first priority. Separately, an official at Cheong Wa Dae said efforts for a peace declaration that would eventually lead to a peace treaty are in line with President Moon Jae-in's greater engagement policy with the North through dialogue and compromise. He said Washington may grant Pyongyang a peace declaration as a "confidence-building measure" after the North discloses the full inventory of its nuclear warheads and agrees to allow nuclear watchdogs to inspect its facilities. Meanwhile, Chung declined to comment on what conditions are required to finalize the end-of-war declaration. He said Seoul would deliver humanitarian aid to North Korea if the high-level meeting between the United States and North Korea produces acceptable results. During the audit, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) engaged in a war of words with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) over presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok's recent visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) while President Moon was traveling to European capitals. The LKP said Lim's visit to inspect mine removal with the unification minister and national security chief was "very inappropriate," claiming the role of the presidential chief of staff is limited and intended to support the President behind the scenes. The DPK said because Lim is also chief of the presidential committee on inter-Korean affairs, the trip was necessary to check progress on the easing of border tensions. Process may slow down in case Democrats win By Kim Bo-eun The U.S. midterm elections today (local time) will likely not affect Washington's policy toward Pyongyang, analysts said Monday. Votes will be cast for 35 senators and all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 36 governors and dozens of local legislative officials. Republicans are forecast to retain control of the Senate, while Democrats are expected to seize control of the House of Representatives, according to recent polls. "It appears a major loss for U.S. President Donald Trump will be unlikely. Even if the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives, it will likely be by a small difference," Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said. "This would signal that there will be no change in Trump's North Korea policy in that the U.S. will continue to keep pressure on North Korea through sanctions," he said. While the U.S. policy of engaging with the North through dialogue to achieve denuclearization will likely remain unchanged, if the Democrats do end up controlling the House, this could slow the process down to some extent, according to analysts. "If the Democrats take the House, they may put the brakes on Trump's policies toward the North, so that there is more of a cautious approach," Park Won-gon, a professor at Handong Global University said. "Trump faced criticism for the statement released with the North Korean leader following their summit in June, as having no substance. The Democrats will likely attempt to hold Trump in check," he said. Meanwhile, Park pointed out that differences with the U.S. president appear more evident in the Trump administration. A survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Center conducted in September showed that both Republicans and Democrats have "very cold feelings toward North Korea." Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State confirmed a high-level meeting will take place between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterpart Kim Yong-chol in New York, Thursday (local time). The meeting is expected to address inspections of North Korea's Punggye-ri and Tonchangri nuclear and missile testing sites, as well as plans for a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Discussions may also take place on permanently shutting down North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility and corresponding measures that the U.S. could offer. Park said recent developments of the U.S. re-imposing sanctions on Iran could affect its talks with North Korea. "It will likely continue to take a strong stance on North Korea, especially with regards to inspections," he said. By Jung Hae-myoung A job fair will be held for those interested in foreign-invested companies at Grand InterContinental Hotel Seoul Parnas in southern Seoul, Nov. 8. The event is part of the Invest Korea Week 2018 event co-hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Ministry of International Trade, Industry and Energy. According to the city government, 92 foreign companies including Boeing, Adidas Korea and Siemens will hire 800 employees. About 80 percent of the companies will hire employees with no experience. The companies will conduct interviews at booths, either one-on-one or in a group. Some 8,890 people had submitted their resumes to apply for interviews through the job fair's website until Oct. 23. Those who haven't done so online will have an offline chance on the spot, as 60 companies will accept interview applications if jobseekers submit Korean and English resumes. Eight companies will give company presentations, along with career counseling, to provide guidelines and tips for getting hired by foreign companies. "More than 7,000 foreign-invested companies are operating in Seoul. We hope the job fair will give a great opportunity to young jobseekers to have jobs in the global market," said Cho In-dong, head of the city government's economic planning headquarters. By Choi Sung-jin They are at it again. Over the past seven decades since Korea was liberated from Japan's colonial rule, their bilateral relationship has gone through numerous ups and downs. The diplomatic friction was mainly due to Korea's persistent demand that its former colonial rulers apologize for past wrongdoings and compensate victims, and Japan's obstinate refusal. Now the ties between Seoul and Tokyo are hitting their lowest point in years in the wake of a landmark ruling at the Supreme Court here. On Oct. 30, the top court ordered a leading Japanese steelmaker to compensate Korean men forced to work as slave laborers. Japan, however, is reiterating its position that all matters concerning the allegations of forced labor were settled by a 1965 agreement that normalized the two countries' relations. At that time, Tokyo provided $5 billion a $3 billion grant and $2 billion loan on the condition that Seoul would not make any further claims from the situation that "arose during colonial rule and wartime." But the highest court ruled rightly that this deal should not impede individual victims' rights to seek redemption. The ruling reversed the previous decision by its Japanese counterpart, saying the Japanese court's ruling was "contrary to good morals and social order of our nation," choosing Korea's judicial sovereignty. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the ruling "an impossible judgment in light of international law." Abe's foreign minister, Taro Kono, went one step further, saying the court's ruling "overturns the legal basis for the friendly cooperative relationship between Japan and South Korea." The Japanese government is considering taking phase steps, including bringing the case to the International Court of Justice. Tokyo may have every right to defend its position in the international community. However, if Japan only adheres to accords made more than 50 years ago when the Korean government under the pro-Japanese military dictator Park Chung-hee, who was bent on receiving money to jumpstart economic growth to make up for his lack of legitimacy, building future-oriented ties between the two countries will be next to impossible. Prime Minister Abe revealed his narrow-minded historical viewpoint once again last Thursday, saying the victims were not "forced laborers but workers from the Korean Peninsula," meaning the victims answered the call for volunteers. Abe's intention was too clear to ignore denying the forcefulness of worker mobilization. Maybe some of the workers like some female sex slaves were duped into applying for the recruitment. Had they known that what lay ahead of them was ceaseless toil, hunger, vicious beatings and no wages, however, none in their right mind would have volunteered. It is this mean twisting of facts by some Japanese leaders that make Koreans keep trying to settle the old score and pursue historical revision at all costs. Nippon Steel, the company that benefited from unpaid forced labor, was initially ready to accept the Korean top court's ruling, but changed its mind following its government's guidelines. The decision on forced laborers may prove to be the last straw that breaks the camel's back in the relationship between the two countries. Already, bilateral ties were chillier than ever following the Moon Jae-in administration's decision to dismantle the Foundation for Reconciliation and Healing, an outcome of a hurriedly and wrongly arranged agreement to settle the sex slavery issue. It may not be a coincidence that the Korean leader who tried to patch up the matter was the dictator's daughter _ disgraced former President Park Geun-hye. Moreover, Japan decided to boycott a naval review in Korea recently, in protest of Seoul's request for its ships not to hoist the Rising Sun Flag, viewed here as a symbol of Japanese aggression during World War II. Diplomatic pragmatists, while not denying the need to resolve the historic grudges, call for "cooling heads and minimizing diplomatic losses" caused by provoking Japan. Tokyo, of course, is an important economic and national security partner of Seoul. The Korean economy will suffer heavily if Japanese businesses scale down their presences, and the multinational efforts to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs will also falter without Tokyo's cooperation. However, any temporary stitch-up of cracks will rupture soon as long as Japan deals with Korea with only petty legal logic instead of moral conscience. Koreans suspect some Japanese look down on their former colony. Strengthening such a suspicion is Tokyo's recent decision to create a joint fund with Beijing and businesses of the two countries to compensate Chinese forced laborers. Japanese officials say this is because China was a belligerent power while Korea was its colony. Koreans also remember the United States' role in the two agreements between Korea and Japan the 1965 normalization accord and the 2015 agreement on sex slaves twisting the arms of Korean governments for the sake of America's strategic interests. Going further back in history, Japan's colonization of Korea was next to impossible without Washington's consent. Korea needs to deal with Japan more squarely under the global cause of respecting and strengthening human rights. America if it is to maintain a "genuine and enduring" three-nation alliance should at least be an impartial referee between the two nations. Choi Sung-jin is a Korea Times columnist. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com. Korea should eye Washington's tough stance on Iran Tension in the Middle East is escalating after the U.S. revived sanctions against Iran, Monday, that were lifted after the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran is reacting very sternly to the renewed sanctions, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warning of a "war situation." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin explained during a press conference in Washington, D.C. that their objective was to "starve the Iranian regime of the revenue it uses to fund violent and destabilizing activities throughout the Middle East, and indeed around the world." Pompeo added that their ultimate goal was to convince Iran to abandon its revolutionary course, while underlining that the U.S. will be relentless in exerting pressure on Iran. The sanctions will affect Iran's oil, banking, shipping and shipbuilding industries. Washington granted a temporary waiver to a handful of countries China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey allowing them to continue to import crude oil products from Iran without penalty despite the renewed sanctions. Cheong Wa Dae said Korea being listed as one of the countries to receive the waiver reflects the strength of its alliance with the U.S. The waiver is also a relief for the relevant industries in Korea and companies that export unsanctioned goods to Iran. There are two reasons Seoul should be paying keen attention to these sanctions. First, Korean companies doing business with Iran could suffer disadvantages in the future as the Iranian economy takes a blow from the sanctions. "Today's sanctions will accelerate the rapid decline of international economic activity in Iran," Pompeo said. Korea was the biggest importer of Iranian crude oil after China and India last year. Any disruption in the imports or oil price hikes could hurt our economy. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy convened a meeting with related agencies and Korean firms doing business in Iran. Seoul should continue to closely monitor the situation and prepare pre-emptive measures to protect our businesses from any negative impact. Second, the Moon Jae-in administration should be mindful that the U.S. resolve to maintain maximum pressure will continue to apply to North Korea if it does not fully commit to denuclearization. Washington has been displeased with Seoul's rush toward inter-Korean projects with Pyongyang remaining in defiance of U.S. sanctions. Ahead of a high-level U.S.-North Korea meeting this week, Seoul should closely consult with the U.S. and adjust the pace of economic cooperation with Pyongyang. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2018.(Xinhua/Yao Dawei) by Xinhua writers Wang Xiuqiong, Xu Xiaoqing and Li Zhihui SHANGHAI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the opening of the world's first import-themed national-level expo in Shanghai on Monday, calling it a "trail-blazing" move in the history of international trade development. A total of 172 countries, regions and international organizations from five continents will showcase their development achievements and international image at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE). More than 3,600 companies from different countries will hold discussions and seek common development with over 400,000 purchasers from China and overseas. The CIIE is "a major policy for China to push for a new round of high-level opening-up and a major measure for China to take the initiative to open its market to the world," Xi said when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. He again underscored the role of economic globalization, saying that it is "an irreversible historical trend" and provides strong momentum for world economic development. "All countries should be committed to opening up and oppose protectionism and unilateralism in a clear-cut stand," Xi said, calling for joint efforts to build an open world economy. In a time when the waves of protectionism and unilateralism are threatening global growth, the expo is expected to muster support for free trade and inject certainty to the world economy. The fair will be the epitome of the global economy, with various quality exhibits ranging from German machine tools, Japanese robots and U.S. medical equipment to Australian wine, Brazilian farm produce and South Sudanese handicrafts. With the slogan "New Era, Shared Future," the expo is the brainchild of Xi and is set to become a platform for win-win economic cooperation and a landmark project in the country's higher-level opening up. China will stimulate the potential for increased imports, continue to broaden market access, foster a world-class business environment, explore new horizons of opening up, and promote international cooperation at multilateral and bilateral levels, Xi said. "We are encouraged to hear from President Xi the reaffirmation of China's support of global trade, and China's plan to further open itself to the world," said Robert Aspell, president of Asia Pacific for the U.S. agribusiness company Cargill, which is an exhibitor at the CIIE and has already decided to participate in the second expo. "This is a great start of the first CIIE," Aspell said. The inaugural expo comes at an inflection point as China transitions to high-quality development and shifts from the world's workshop to the world's market, with the world's biggest middle-income population demanding higher-quality consumer products. Xi announced Monday China's imported goods and services were estimated to exceed 30 trillion U.S. dollars and 10 trillion U.S. dollars, respectively, in the next 15 years. China has been the world's second largest merchandise importer for nine consecutive years. Joseph Boahen Aidoo, chief executive of Ghana's cocoa industry regulator Cocoa Board, expressed hope that the fair would open a new chapter in the west African country's cocoa exports. "We believe that we can expand our market horizons in China. We are talking about 1.3 billion people, and even if we can get one percent of that market, it is very huge. So everybody is looking to China," Aidoo said. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, and has seen a flurry of concrete measures taken by the country to open its doors wider. "China will not its door to the world and will only become more and more open," Xi said. 5 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] By Bernard Rowan Lacquerware, "najeonjang" or "najeon chilgi," is Intangible Cultural Property No. 10 for Korea. Made with abalone inlay, precious materials, and lacquer ("ottchil"), these wood and metal works are a beautiful adornment for any home. One of my favorite memories of a first visit to Korea was walking through Insa-dong and buying several modest boxes for my mother and sisters. Their variety and beautiful colors are so appealing. I remember another that now adorns my wife's dresser and is beautiful to see each day. Any piece of lacquerware makes a special gift or possession for use and appreciation. The Korean art of fine lacquerware products is on par with its counterparts in China, Japan and Uzbekistan among others. It's curious to note that Wikipedia's page on lacquerware nearly bypasses the contributions of Korea to the art form. Koreans often take offense at the misunderstanding of Korean culture in official histories and publications. Never fear in this case. Experts can change Wikipedia; it's publicly open to improvement! Korean experts and authorities, please share the storied history of beautiful lacquerware. In 2016, the San Francisco Asian Museum of Art hosted a months' long display of Korean lacquerware. Visit their website to view the excellent video on restoration. It taught me a lot I didn't know. The use of ultraviolet x-ray and chemical analysis techniques reveals the kinds of materials employed: abalone, crushed animal bones, wiring plated in gold, and even dried ray skin. Classic Korean motifs, sometimes adapted from China, Buddhism and elsewhere, have influence. There are distinctive Korean tendencies in producing lacquerware objects and furniture too. Go find the Antique Alive website. It features an excellent introductory discussion on lacquerware. It also showcases the life and work of Song Bang-ung, one of our era's finest lacquerware artisans. I learned here of a key difference between Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions of the art form involving how the abalone is inlaid. The Korean art uses thin strips of abalone interior lining to perfect the coloring effects. One also learns of the conscious cultivation through government policies during the Three Kingdoms period. This excellent website details the major steps in Korean lacquerware making. It's the most comprehensive source I've found in English to understand this precious art form. The two major forms of Korean lacquerware technique concern the use of mother-of-pearl. Filing or jereumjil fits pre-set abalone patterns on the lacquerware, it's more present-day form. Kkeuneumjil, or cutting, uses thin strips of abalone inlay to apply designs directly. This older, more painstaking version dates to the Goryeo period. The USC Pacific Asia Museum web discussion of Korean lacquerware notes other important points. They include copper wiring in the kkeuneumjil method and the art form's popularization during the Joseon era. It also presents Jung Myung-che, named as Intangible Cultural Property of Seoul, and his work. Another valuable website on Korean lacquerware is the Victoria and Albert Museum. Its page on a more recent exhibition discusses the 45 steps involved in the art form and features the work of Lee Hung-man. I liked the related V and A video, "How was it made? A traditional Korean inlaid lacquer box" on YouTube. It shows the work of Lee Kwang-woong. The less than five-minute video made me want to try! This master artisan makes it look easy, but the artwork shown took twelve months to complete! In reading further about Master Lee, I found that ottchil, the lacquer itself, comes from the toxic sap of the tree, rhus verniciflua. It's highly durable, not losing luster after hundreds of years or more. The sap endures water, acid, and heat. Each global society contains various distinctive traditions, practices, and arts. The art of Korean lacquerware is not dying but needs continual cultivation. It forms a nontypical and specialized skill that keeps currency and marketability today. A 2010 Korea Times article bemoaned the "doldrums" of lacquerware and the need to adopt new forms. I'm not so sure. The phase of modernization saw cheap versions of traditional products for mass consumption. That continues, but alongside has arisen a trend of "artisanal" products and niche markets. This better fits traditional and newer versions of cultivating the fine art. I hope I'm wrong, but I've not succeeded in finding a few institutions or universities, companies, NGOs or government-sponsored institutes dedicated to cultivating the practice of this art form. That'd be a great idea for the 21st century. Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. By Jun Ji-hye The government will move quickly to impose taxes on Google, Apple, Amazon and other global IT companies. This follows policymakers and lawmakers paying greater attention to growing criticism that the firms earn billions of dollars in sales here annually but pay no taxes. Google Korea CEO John Lee Naver, Kakao and other domestic companies have been complaining for years about "an uneven playing field," arguing their foreign rivals should pay corporate income tax on the revenue they generate in Korea. Under the law, the government is unable to tax global companies as it is not mandatory for them to disclose their sales and operating profit here. The Corporate Tax Act stipulates that global companies must pay taxes when they have fixed places of business in Korea. This law has provided global companies with an excuse to avoid taxes while they expand their businesses rapidly here as their bases are established in other countries such as the United States, China and Ireland. This has provoked criticism that these companies are contributing little to Korea through taxes and corporate social responsibility activities although they are doing business here on a large scale. Amazon is one of the global IT firms actively targeting the Korean market as it has recently begun the free shipment of goods purchased by customers here. Google and Apple are gaining huge profits through the sales of apps, with the former actively expanding its businesses here by, for example, launching its in-car infotainment application Android Auto. By Jun Ji-hye LS Cable & System is one of the business partners selected to establish optical communications networks in Oman, in a project sponsored by the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Korean company said Tuesday. The project, led by the government of Oman, will proceed in two stages. The first calls for constructing optical communications networks in major cities including Muscat by the end of 2021. The second will see networks expanded to rural areas by 2030. Korea's leading power cable maker said the scale of the first stage is estimated at 200 billion won ($178 million). Of this, the Korean firm is expected to secure tens of billions of won. The company said the scale of the second stage is expected to be more than the first. The firm will be in charge of designing communications networks, supplying optical fiber cables and engineering. "I expect the participation of LS Cable & System in the AIIB-sponsored project will offer opportunities for Korean companies to participate in other AIIB projects," LS Cable & System CEO Myung Roe-hyun said. The project is especially meaningful as it is the first telecommunications infrastructure that the AIIB has invested in, the company said. The AIIB has so far mainly invested in projects to build power grids and roads. By Baek Byung-yeul Damien Wong, vice president and general manager for Asian Growth & Emerging Markets at Red Hat, speaks during a press conference at the InterContinental Seoul COEX, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Red Hat Korea Hansae YES24 Holdings Chairman Kim Dong-nyung, left, and actor Lee Jong-suk / Korea Times file By Park Jae-hyuk YES24, a subsidiary of Hansae YES24 Holdings, is facing a lawsuit filed by actor Lee Jong-suk's agency regarding the K-pop star's temporary detention at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after a fan meeting in Jakarta last weekend. Hansae YES24 Holdings holds a 50.01 percent stake in YES24, which specializes in the operation of bookstores and concert halls. The agency named A-man Project said Tuesday it hired Yulchon lawyer Ahn Jeong-hye to take legal action against YES24, which served as a local promoter for the event. Lee, who initially planned to return to Korea, Sunday, was delayed in Indonesia until Tuesday. Indonesian news outlets reported the actor was then "deported" from the Southeast Asian country. "YES24, the local promoter, tried to evade taxes, so the Indonesian authorities confiscated the passports of me and my staff, who are not involved in the tax evasion charge," Lee wrote on his Instagram, Monday. The detention delayed the actor's participation in the filming of a new tvN romantic comedy episode. He was also scheduled to visit Manila to meet his fans in the Philippines. "The poor management of YES24 resulted in the late return, so we worried many people," A-man Project said in a statement. "We could return to Korea, thanks to support from the Korean Embassy in Indonesia." The agency criticized the local promoter for flip-flopping on this issue. "Just before our scheduled departure from the airport at 8 p.m. Sunday, we heard the head of YES24's Indonesian subsidiary disappeared with the passports of Lee and 11 staff members," the agency said. "We were only able to contact the local head at 2:30 a.m. the next day and heard that the Indonesian tax authorities had confiscated the passports. The local head added the company will pay a fine to solve the problem." However, Lee and the staff, who contacted the Korean Embassy afterwards, realized they had visa issues. Indonesian news outlets reported the actor and staff had the wrong visas as YES24 had not applied for short-term work permits. "Until now, YES24 has continued telling lies to us, so the actor and our company have suffered severe damage from these," the agency said. "We are considering taking legal action against YES24, the local promoter." A-man Project emphasized the company and the actor were not responsible for the detainment, saying it will not overlook any rumors that defame the artist. YES24 has yet to comment on the issue, saying it was holding a meeting. Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe California has a long, fraught history when it comes to caring for mentally ill inmates. Currently, almost one in three inmates in the state prisons are considered mentally ill. The latest twist came on Nov. 13, when U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller ordered an independent investigation into allegations contained in a scathing report written by the state prison system's chief psychiatrist. Dr. Michael Golding's 161-page report accuses the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of providing below-par psychiatric care to prison inmates and, perhaps more significantly, providing misleading reports to Mueller about that care. The report claims that state officials misreported data on how often inmates see psychiatrists. Among the issues it raises: Less than 50 percent of inmates are seen on time. Patients are not being seen in confidential spaces. Some inmates don't get appointments at all because they are transferred to new prisons and then their wait time starts all over. Some patients transferred more than once "might not have another psychiatry appointment for eight months." Golding also claimed in the report that "appropriate consultation is not occuring, and worse, appropriate medical decision making by psychiatric physicians have been overridden." Mueller said the investigator will explore "whether [Department of Corrections staff] have committed fraud on the court or intentionally misled the court or the Special Master" regarding Golding's claims. The judge has not yet named the investigator. Mueller's order last month to release Golding's previously sealed report may deal a blow to the state's efforts to end more than two decades of federal oversight of psychiatric care in California's prisons. Some of the incidents Golding describes are stomach-turning. At a women's prison in Chino in San Bernardino County, a psychotic inmate screamed about every 15 minutes over a four-hour period. Staff did not contact a psychiatrist or give the inmate any emergency medication, according to Golding's account. During that time, the inmate pulled out her eye. When correctional officers entered the cell, she put the eye in her mouth and swallowed it. Nearly 60 percent of the state prisoners come from Southern California counties. In fact, 33 percent of inmates are from Los Angeles County alone. "The department strongly disagrees with [Golding's] allegations, and looks forward to a fair and thorough review and hearing of all the facts, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Vicky Waters said in a statement. "We worked closely with lawyers representing prisoners, as well as the court appointment monitors, for many years to improve the mental health of inmates, and our dedicated and well-trained staff will continue to provide appropriate care and treatment," added Waters. The issues being raised by Golding are tied to a 1990 class action lawsuit, now known as Coleman v. Brown. That suit alleged the state prison system was not caring appropriately for mentally ill inmates. In 1995, a federal judge in Sacramento ruled that the prisons were indeed providing substandard mental health care. The court ordered the state to improve care in six areas: Treatment programs Suicide prevention Mental health screening Medication distribution Staffing Record-keeping THEN WHAT? The judge appointed a Special Master to monitor the state's efforts. It looked like the state was close to ending that supervision earlier this year, said Michael Bien, the attorney who sued on behalf of the mentally ill inmates. Then Golding turned in his report to Mueller and word began to circulate that it was highly negative, ultimately leading to Mueller's decison to unseal the document. Plaintiffs' attorney Bien told KPCC/LAist, "We depended on the defendant's honor system. Now we have to go back and build trust and make sure the [state's] data is accurate." HAVE YOU HAD EXPERIENCE WITH MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN THE PRISONS? TELL US YOUR STORY READ THE FULL REPORT: UPDATES: Nov. 14: This article was updated with information about the judge's order for an independent investigation. 4:50 p.m.: This article was updated with information from Monday's hearing. This article was originally published at 12:30 p.m. Hey, thanks. You read the entire story. And we love you for that. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you, not advertisers. We don't have paywalls, but we do have payments (aka bills). So if you love independent, local journalism, join us. Let's make the world a better place, together. Donate now. Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe There's been a lot of talk about how voters will turn out for what's being billed as "the most important election" of our lives (at least until the next one). But for many eligible voters in Los Angeles County -- and across the nation -- getting to the polls can be a challenge. "There is some research to suggest that transportation is in some ways a significant barrier for voters," said Mindy Romero, director of USC's California Civic Engagement Project. "Say you're working a long day and you normally take public transportation, it's not a matter of simply driving by after work and stopping by to vote. You have to plan it out, you have to take a different route... something like that can add a hour or longer for people to exercise their right to vote." If you're registered and want to vote but feels hindered by transportation, here are a few options to help get you there on the cheap (or free). And while you're in transit, study up with our voter guide. GO METRO Rides on Los Angeles Metro's trains and buses will be free all day Tuesday in an effort to boost voter turnout. The county sure could use the help. In the 2014 midterms, turnout was a measly 17 percent. Yikes. Rides on Metro bike, bus and rail are FREE on #ElectionDay. #PedaltothePolls and use promo code 1162018 at any Metro Bike Share station to redeem your free bike ride! (First 30 minutes is free on Metro Bike Share. $1.75 for each half hour after.) @metrolosangeles pic.twitter.com/SFJg9Jtx19 Metro Bike (@BikeMetro) November 3, 2018 Romero said the people who use public transit tend to have lower incomes, as do the people who vote the least. If the financial impact of a trip to the polls is taken out of the equation, that could lead to better turnout -- and better representation. "By making it easier for the population that rides public transportation you'll hopefully, in the long run, be aiding the electorate to be a little more representative," she said. Check out Metro's website to see the nearest bus or train stop to you and plan out your route. MORE PUBLIC TRANSIT OPTIONS Several other local and regional transit agencies are offering free rides on Tuesday. Those include: RIDESHARING Lyft and Uber announced last month that they are offering discounted and, in some areas, free rides to the polls on Nov. 6. Over 15 million people cited transportation as their primary barrier to voting in the 2016 election thats why were introducing The Ride to Vote. Lyft will provide free and discounted rides to the Polls. #TheRidetoVote https://t.co/E8GVhNNkE8 pic.twitter.com/1kmqWlSpsB Lyft (@lyft) August 23, 2018 Lyft said riders in "underserved communities" are eligible for free rides through partnerships with several nonpartisan, nonprofit groups. Uber had a similar initiative and is also offering $10 off a single ride to the polls on Election Day. SCOOT TO THE POLLS It is 2018, so of course e-scooters are now part of the democratic process. Lime announced users will receive free 30-minute rides on its scooters and bikes on Nov. 6 when users enter the promo code "LIME2VOTE18." Just be sure you're caught up on the rules of riding. NEIGHBORHOOD CARPOOLING Some Nextdoor users have also reported that their neighbors are offering rides to their polling places tomorrow. So if you're on the hyperlocal site and need to get to the polls in a pinch, you can check if anyone in your community can help you out. And if you're feeling patriotic -- or just have some free time -- you could offer to shuttle neighbors yourself. Take Two host A Martinez and producer Sue Carpenter contributed to this story. Hey, thanks. You read the entire story. And we love you for that. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you, not advertisers. We don't have paywalls, but we do have payments (aka bills). So if you love independent, local journalism, join us. Let's make the world a better place, together. Donate now. Chinese President Xi Jinping and foreign leaders who are attending the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) tour around the Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment, which showcases development achievements and feature products from more than 80 countries, in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) SHANGHAI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and foreign leaders who are attending the first China International Import Expo Monday toured around the Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment, which showcased development achievements and feature products from more than 80 countries. They visited the booths of Hungary, Egypt, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Kenya, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Laos, Georgia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Russia at the Country Pavilion. During the visit, Czech President Milos Zeman improvised a melody on a Czech-made piano and invited Xi to taste beer from his country. Flowers from Kenya, coffee from El Salvador and fruits from the Dominican Republic also attracted the leaders. At the Russian booth, Xi was accompanied by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and was introduced to the achievements of both sides' cooperation in nuclear power, natural gas and plane manufacturing, as well as local exchanges. Xi noted the exhibits from all the countries are various and distinctive, and he expected all sides to take the advantage of CIIE to discover market opportunities, enhance cooperation and improve their competitiveness, so as to achieve mutual benefits from exporting quality products that can enrich the Chinese market and satisfy the increasingly diversified demands from Chinese consumers. The group of leaders also visited the Chinese booth that is organized around the country's vision of innovative, coordinated, green, and open development that is for everyone, which showcased the country's achievements since the reform and opening-up and new opportunities brought to the world by the Belt and Road Initiative. Laotian and Vietnamese prime ministers had a simulated ride on the Fuxing, China's latest generation of high-speed trains, which run at 350 km per hour. China's independently developed C919 large passenger aircraft and a model of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge that opened recently also interested the visitors. The leaders said CIIE shows China's open mind for inclusiveness and responsibility as a major country. They spoke highly of and warmly welcomed Xi's keynote speech at the opening ceremony. They noted China is an important and promising market, and they will tap the potential for cooperation and promote bilateral trade growth and the development of free trade globally. With an area of 30,000 square meters, the Country Pavillon for Trade and Investment is an important part of CIIE, held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from Nov. 5 to 10, where 82 countries and three international organizations set up 71 booths. A total of 12 countries, namely Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Russia, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Mexico, attended the expo as guest countries of honor. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Election Day's upon us and, for many people voting at the polls, things will go smoothly. But as the June primary proved, things can also go wrong. Perhaps your name's not on the voter roster or you ended up at the wrong polling spot. Here's some information so you can know your rights (and what to do) in case the unexpected happens. Read on: MY NAME IS NOT ON THE ROSTER First, make sure you're at the correct polling location. You can check your sample ballot for the right location or if you vote in L.A. County, you can look up where to vote here. If you're at the correct place, ask the poll worker to check the supplemental roster if they can't find your name. Those are printed later and have additional names on them. If all else fails, you can vote provisionally. With a provisional ballot, you cast a ballot and your county election officials check your eligibility to vote. Once you are verified, your ballot will be counted. In Los Angeles County, you can track the status of your provisional ballot 30 days after the election. I WAS TURNED AWAY AT THE POLLS Again, don't leave without asking to vote provisionally. It's your right to ask to cast a provisional ballot if any issue arises at the polling place. I NEED A BALLOT THAT'S NOT IN ENGLISH In L.A. County, election assistance is available in Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin), Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese. In certain communities, help is also available in Bengali, Gujarati, Russian, Armenian, Punjabi, Urdu and Farsi. If a translator in your language is not available at your polling place, ask that one be reached by phone. You can also bring a friend or family member into the voting booth to assist you, along with any notes or resources that you may find helpful. I'M DISABLED. HOW CAN I VOTE IN PERSON? In L.A. County, every sample ballot pamphlet indicates if a polling place is accessible to voters using wheelchairs. Presently, 95 percent of the county's polls are accessible and have wheelchair-accessible booths. If your polling place is not accessible, you can vote at a nearby accessible poll. You can use the county's polling place locator to check for accessibility. If you can't reach the voting area because of barriers or other reasons, you can opt for curbside voting. A pollworker will bring a ballot and a voting device to you, assist you if need and place your ballot in the ballot box. SOMETHING ELSE WEIRD HAPPENED If you run into any problems at your polling place on Election Day, keep in mind that California's laws generally favor voters. You can ask your poll workers questions or raise any concerns that you have with them directly. If you still need help there are various hotlines available on Election Day. California's Secretary of State runs a hotline that offers help in various languages. You can also reach out to KPCC/LAist for help. Our Human Voter Guide team will be answering your questions from 7 am to 8 pm on Nov. 6. You can reach us via email at humanvoterguide@kpcc.org or call 424-377-8683. Get ready for the Nov. 6 election. Here at LAist, we want to make sure Angelenos have all the information they need to cast their votes. To get prepped on deadlines, candidates and ballot measures, check out our Voter Game Plan. And if you liked this election guide, consider supporting us! You can donate here. Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe The rewards of living in a democratic nation where venal, power-hungry politicians can be voted out of office should be enough. But a free cookie and a cheap cocktail never hurt. Los Angeles restaurants and bars are offering some great perks for anyone who voted in what might be The Most Important Election Of Your Life. So go vote in the 2018 midterms. Then whip out your "I Voted" sticker and enjoy these food and drink deals, because they're only valid on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. At The Village Bakery & Cafe in Atwater Village, your "I Voted" sticker gets you a free "I Voted" cookie. Customers who come to CREAM (it stands for "Cookies Rule Everything Around Me") in North Hollywood or Northridge wearing an "I Voted" sticker will get 20% off their entire order. (it stands for "Cookies Rule Everything Around Me") in North Hollywood or Northridge wearing an "I Voted" sticker will get 20% off their entire order. Klatch Coffee will offer guests with an "I Voted" sticker a 6-ounce traditional cappuccino for $2.18. The deal is good at their Redondo Beach, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and San Dimas locations. will offer guests with an "I Voted" sticker a 6-ounce traditional cappuccino for $2.18. The deal is good at their Redondo Beach, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and San Dimas locations. One cent beers are the big draw at several bars including Tony's Darts Away in Burbank, Mohawk Bend in Echo Park, Beelman's and Spring St. Bar in DTLA, Bluebird Brasserie in Sherman Oaks and Miracle Mile . They're all part of Artisanal Brewers Collective, a hospitality group. in Burbank, in Echo Park, and in DTLA, in Sherman Oaks and . They're all part of Artisanal Brewers Collective, a hospitality group. Sage Vegan Bistro, with locations in Echo Park, Culver City and Pasadena, is discounting their Russian Collusion cocktail, a riff on the White Russian. At The Oinkster in Eagle Rock, mention voting when you buy any sandwich and they'll upgrade it to a combo, for free. in Eagle Rock, mention voting when you buy any sandwich and they'll upgrade it to a combo, for free. Visit Plush Puffs Hand-Crafted Marshmallows in Burbank with proof that you voted and you'll get a free s'more. in Burbank with proof that you voted and you'll get a free s'more. At Shake Shack , which has several locations around SoCal, score free fries with any purchase either by showing your "I Voted" sticker or by adding crinkle cuts to your order and using the code "ivoted" in the Shack App. , which has several locations around SoCal, score free fries with any purchase either by showing your "I Voted" sticker or by adding crinkle cuts to your order and using the code "ivoted" in the Shack App. British pub The Fox and Hounds in Studio City will give you a free draft pint or soft drink when you show your ballot stub or "I Voted" sticker. in Studio City will give you a free draft pint or soft drink when you show your ballot stub or "I Voted" sticker. Visit one of the three Go Get Em Tiger locations -- in Larchmont, Los Feliz and Highland Park -- while wearing your "I voted" sticker to receive $5 toward any beverage. This deal is also good at G&B Coffee in DTLA. One week from today, visit the polls to make your voice heard , and then show us your voter sticker or stub to get a free single! #vote #electionday #icecream #mcconnells pic.twitter.com/5P7SQ99mSO McConnell's Fine Ice Creams (@mccsicecream) October 31, 2018 Buy one beer and you'll get get another beer for a penny at DTLA's Corner Cantina . Yes, you will need to show your "I Voted" sticker. . Yes, you will need to show your "I Voted" sticker. Ester's Wine Shop & Bar in Santa Monica will host an all-night happy hour from 3 p.m. until closing. in Santa Monica will host an all-night happy hour from 3 p.m. until closing. Highland Park bar The Greyhound Bar & Grill -- which we recently featured as one of the most accessible bars in northeast L.A. -- is offering 50% off their signature chicken wings or veggie wings with an "I Voted" sticker. Little Tokyo in DTLA has a few deals. Visit Prime Pizza for a free slice of cheese pizza then head to Cafe Dulce for a free donut hole. Both deals are only good while supplies last and you'll need your "I Voted" sticker. for a free slice of cheese pizza then head to for a free donut hole. Both deals are only good while supplies last and you'll need your "I Voted" sticker. Also in Little Tokyo, Baldoria DTLA is offering extended happy hour deals from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. along with a live election results watching party. Be sure to bring your "I Voted" sticker. is offering extended happy hour deals from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. along with a live election results watching party. Be sure to bring your "I Voted" sticker. Lemonade -- with locations in downtown, Glendale, mid-city, Pasadena, Studio City, the westside, the South Bay and Orange County -- will be offering a free cold-pressed lemonade with purchase when you display your "I Voted" sticker. This deal is available at all locations. -- with locations in downtown, Glendale, mid-city, Pasadena, Studio City, the westside, the South Bay and Orange County -- will be offering a free cold-pressed lemonade with purchase when you display your "I Voted" sticker. This deal is available at all locations. At HomeState, known for its queso and breakfast tacos, show up to either location wearing your "I Voted" sticker and get one of their house-made salted chocolate chip cookies for free. The Los Feliz location closes early, at 3 p.m., but the Highland Park location stays open until 10 p.m. When you come into any of the various Roy's locations -- Pasadena, Newport Beach, Woodland Hills, Anaheim -- on Election Night, you'll get a three-ounce pour of Dom Perignon for only $1 when you purchase an entree. locations -- Pasadena, Newport Beach, Woodland Hills, Anaheim -- on Election Night, you'll get a three-ounce pour of Dom Perignon for only $1 when you purchase an entree. Wine bar Melody in Virgil Village says if you show your ballot stub or "I Voted" sticker or simply shout, "Kurt Vile for president," you'll get 15% off all beverages. They'll also be extending Happy Hour deals all night for those who voted today. in Virgil Village says if you show your ballot stub or "I Voted" sticker or simply shout, "Kurt Vile for president," you'll get 15% off all beverages. They'll also be extending Happy Hour deals all night for those who voted today. Granville Cafe in WeHo will let you pick a complimentary appetizer, cocktail or dessert when you show your "I Voted" sticker. in WeHo will let you pick a complimentary appetizer, cocktail or dessert when you show your "I Voted" sticker. Coolhaus will be giving out free election dips and toppings on any ice cream sandwich that you buy at its flagship location, in Culver City. will be giving out free election dips and toppings on any ice cream sandwich that you buy at its flagship location, in Culver City. Blaze Pizza is offering free delivery all day from any of its gajillion locations. Order your favorite pizza through the company's app or online ordering system and they'll take care of the delivery fees. Now, get out there and vote! You made it! Congrats, you read the entire story, you gorgeous human. This story was made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism costs $$$$$. And now that LAist is part of KPCC, we rely on that support. So if you aren't already, be one of us! Help us help you live your best life in Southern California. Donate now. Fox News issued a rebuke of on-air hosts Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro for appearing onstage Monday night at President Trumps Missouri rally in support of Republican candidates. Fox News does not condone any talent participating in campaign events, a spokesperson said in a statement. We have an extraordinary team of journalists helming our coverage tonight and we are extremely proud of their work. This was an unfortunate distraction and has been addressed. The network did not reveal whether Hannity or Pirro faced disciplinary action for taking the stage at the event in Cape Girardeau the night before the midterm election, a major breach of standards for a news organization. Hannity issued a statement claiming he did not know Trump would call him onstage. He said in a tweet Monday that he was at the rally only to interview the president for his program. Advertisement What I said in my tweet yesterday was 100% truthful, Hannity said in a statement. When the POTUS invited me on stage to give a few remarks last night, I was surprised, yet honored by the presidents request. This was NOT planned. However, the explanation is at odds with a news release issued by the Trump campaign Sunday that promoted the appearances of Hannity and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Hannitys status as a commentator allows him to give voluble support of Trump every night on his program. But his appearance at a campaign event made him part of the story and reinforced Fox News Channels image among critics as a media tool of the White House. Fox News has attempted in the past to rein in Hannitys political activities outside his program. He was not allowed to appear at a 2010 tea party fundraising event in Cincinnati. Fox News management also had Hannity refrain from appearing in promotional campaign videos for Trump in 2016 after he showed up in one. But Hannity who also failed to reveal to his bosses that he retained former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for legal advice has never been suspended for any of his conflicting actions. Hannity is the most-watched personality on Fox News, with a program that draws more than 3 million viewers every night. Fox News did not provide a comment from Pirro, who has a high-rated Saturday program called Justice With Judge Jeanine and is also a staunch Trump supporter. Hannity also had to clarify his onstage statement at the Missouri rally in which he described the journalists in the hall as fake news, echoing a popular taunt used by Trump. Some of the reporters in the room were from his own network. I was not referring to my journalist colleagues at Fox News in those remarks, Hannitys statement said. They do amazing work day in and day out in a fair and balanced way and it is an honor to work with such great professionals. stephen.battaglio@latimes.com Twitter: @SteveBattaglio Activision Blizzard Inc.s stock price got hammered as video gamers took to social media to criticize a new mobile game that they say failed to live up to the storied franchise. The new Diablo Immortal mobile offering fell short of some fan expectations for the popular desktop games. Players lashed out on Twitter and in the comments section of the YouTube trailer with the hashtag, #NotMyDiablo. Theres even a petition on change.org to cancel the launch, and it has more than 31,000 supporters. Activision shares sank $4.65, or 6.7%, to $64.34, its lowest close since Jan. 2. Im not against having a mobile game too, but not INSTEAD of a PC game, Weve been waiting for far too long for another Diablo 3 expansion or better yet, Diablo 4, one petitioner said. Another called it an absolute slap in the face of all the fans who stuck with blizzard through the mess that was diablo 3 , hoping that wed finally get a good diablo game. The criticism stands in contrast to stock analysts, who have applauded the Santa Monica companys efforts and defended its rationale. Advertisement Diablo was supposed to be Blizzards first shot on goal into the big global mobile game market, Jefferies analyst Timothy OShea wrote, noting the criticism from Blizzards PC fanbase. Games like these attract large, harder core mobile audiences in Asia, and the Diablo franchise is popular in the U.S., China, Europe and Korea. Wedbush, one of 20 sell-side brokerage firms that carry a buy-equivalent rating on Activision, estimated Diablo Immortal could contribute annual revenue of as much as $300 million after its rollout, and that it should expand the franchises audience to hundreds of millions of players. The video games trailer on YouTube racked up more than 2.9 million views in the last three days. However, more than 431,000 viewers elected to dislike the video, compared with 16,000 likes. Comparatively, video-game rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.s recent smash hit Red Dead Redemption 2 has notched more than 16 million views for its trailer since its release, with fewer than 10,000 dislikes. Activision Blizzard representatives didnt immediately respond to voicemails seeking comment. The announcement comes shortly after the debut of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which was released in October and posted initial sales figures that appeared to fall short of some analyst expectations, while others were more bullish on strong engagement trends. Three years after Boeing Co. officially ended production of the C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane, the aerospace giant has put up for sale the 90-acre Long Beach facility where the aircraft was built. Chicago-based Boeing listed the property Monday, a move that signals the end of Boeings military aircraft production in Southern California, at least for the foreseeable future. For the record: An earlier version of this story said Douglas Aircraft Co. built the C-17 factory in the late 1980s, before becoming McDonnell Douglas Corp. The company was already McDonnell Douglas, and it expanded an existing building to create the factory. The earlier version also identified an Air Force official as a man. She is a woman. Maintenance and modernization of the current C-17 fleet still takes place in Southern California. Boeing said its efforts to find a buyer were being coordinated with city of Long Beach stakeholders to provide the best opportunity for new businesses in the city. Advertisement The property is adjacent to Long Beach Airport and includes two primary manufacturing buildings and multiple additional structures. The first round of bids will be due in mid-December, according to NKF Capital Markets, the real estate brokerage working with Boeing. The 1.1-million-square-foot main assembly building where C-17s were built is part of a sprawling aircraft manufacturing site dating from World War II. Tens of thousands of people once worked in the facilitys hangars and on assembly lines to produce planes such as the MD-80 jetliner and the B-17 bomber. In the 1980s, McDonnell Douglas, which owned the Long Beach site at the time, expanded a building there to manufacture C-17 planes. Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and sold a large portion of the site a parcel known as Douglas Park in 2012 to Irvine developer Sares-Regis Group. Part of that site is now occupied by small-satellite launch firm Virgin Orbit. Virgin Orbit is building a rocket that will drop from the wing of a flying Boeing 747 airplane and carry satellites the rest of the way into space. An Air Force official told reporters last month that her branch of the military may need additional C-17 cargo planes, according to trade publication Defense News. That led to speculation that the C-17 production line could restart. But rebooting a production line involves significant costs and time, and Boeing was already evaluating options for the Long Beach property, company spokesman Todd Blecher said in an email. However, he said Boeing is always ready to speak with customers about future needs. The wide-bodied C-17 plane has a wingspan of almost 170 feet and can carry more than 80 tons of troops, supplies and large equipment, including the U.S. Armys M-1 Abrams tank. samantha.masunaga@latimes.com Twitter: @smasunaga Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2018.(Xinhua/Yao Dawei) SHANGHAI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who attended the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Both China and Russia are in a crucial stage in achieving national development and revitalization, Xi said. Facing an unprecedentedly complex international environment, it is more important to keep bilateral ties at a high level and reinforce strategic coordination between the two countries, Xi said. He said a priority for the two sides' work in the next phase is to comprehensively implement the consensus between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin on practical cooperation between the two sides. Xi welcomed Russia to attend the expo as one of the guests of honor. China and Russia are firm in pursuing peaceful development and are committed to upholding international fairness and justice, reflecting their resolve and responsible attitude as major countries, Xi said, noting that under new circumstances, China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with the Russian side and continuously deepen strategic coordination. Medvedev said Russia is willing to work together with China to implement the important consensus reached by heads of state of the two countries, expand practical cooperation in various areas, carry out r coordination and cooperation in international affairs, safeguard international rules, and maintain world peace and stability. 2 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Davids Bridal is making preparations for a bankruptcy filing if the retailer cant reach an out-of-court deal with its creditors, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The goal is to ease the chains debt load of about $760 million with a prenegotiated restructuring plan either in or out of court, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are supposed to be private. Either way, Davids has no plans for major store closures or liquidations, and the business would keep operating regardless of a court filing, the people said. The wedding gown merchant has until Nov. 14 to make an interest payment that it skipped last month after initial negotiations with three creditor groups stalled. Active discussions with debt holders are still underway and the situation remains fluid, the people said, with no guarantee that a filing will happen or end with a prepackaged plan in place. Marriage rates have fallen since the 1980s, and though the amount Americans typically spend on weddings has risen, the wedding industry has been thrown into chaos by intense competition, online options and shifting fashion tastes. In April, Gap Inc.s Weddington Way bridal brand announced plans to close within the next few months, following J. Crew Group Inc.s decision in 2016 to shut its wedding dress business. Davids competitor Alfred Angelo abruptly closed its doors in 2017, leaving brides stranded as orders went unfulfilled. Advertisement Davids and three creditor groups have gone back and forth with out-of-court restructuring proposals for weeks. Early discussions contemplated a rights offering backed by existing noteholders, including Solace Capital Partners, and Oaktree Capital Group, a majority bond and loan holder, the people said. Those talks broke down after the financing from the funds did not materialize and creditors failed to agree on the pricing and terms of the proposed new debt structure, the people said. We are engaged in discussions with our lenders in order to reach a mutually agreed-upon resolution designed to strengthen our balance sheet so we can increase our financial flexibility and further invest in our business, a representative for Davids said in an emailed statement. Davids said it doesnt expect the process to materially affect its business or interfere with day-to-day operations or its relationships with vendors and customers. Davids based in Conshohocken, Pa., and owned by the Clayton Dubilier & Rice buyout firm skipped an Oct. 15 interest payment on its $270 million of 7.75% unsecured notes due 2020 at the request of its creditors in order to allow more time to continue negotiations about reworking the companys debt load. The talks involve the company and advisors for both loan and bondholders, the people said. Advisory team Davids is working with investment bank Evercore Inc. and legal counsel Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Oaktree, which owns a majority of the companys $491-million term loan and unsecured notes, enlisted the help of financial advisor Moelis & Co. and law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP. Unsecured noteholder Solace is working with Fried Frank, while an ad hoc group of lenders is working with law firm Jones Day and investment bank Greenhill & Co. Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Fried Frank, Greenhill, Jones Day and Paul Weiss didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Solace, Debevoise & Plimpton, Evercore, Moelis and Oaktree declined to comment. One proposed out-of-court scenario would include a paydown of Davids existing bank debt using cash from the rights offering backed by existing noteholders, as well as an extension of the companys bank debt, two people said. Existing bondholders would likely take equity as part of the paydown. But an in-court restructuring may leave the bond owners getting little more than the currently depressed market value of their holdings, while a group of senior lenders could take equity in lieu of not having their holdings fully reinstated, one of the people with knowledge of the discussions said. Doherty writes for Bloomberg. In the United States more than almost anywhere else, wealth and income are concentrated among business owners and landlords. That club, blessed by capitalism, is becoming increasingly difficult to join. Business owners and landlords tend to be about four times as wealthy as the average American. Thats more than in almost any other country included in a new study. On the other end of the spectrum, renters in the United States tend to have about an eighth as much wealth as the average American. In the recent working paper, Austrian central bank economists Pirmin Fessler and Martin Schurz used a long-running U.S. wealth survey and its newer European counterpart to compare wealth across continents. Its one of the first such comparisons to look at wealth in terms of what people use it for, rather than at arbitrary percentile cutoff points. The widest inequalities, they find, are between groups inside countries, not across country borders. In their analysis, they split households into three groups. Homeowners, whose primary wealth is also their primary residence, form the bulk of the middle and upper-middle class. Business owners and landlords (about 15% of U.S. households), tend to be among the wealthiest. Their wealth is typically used to generate additional income. Those who pay to rent their residences (about 35% of households), and whose wealth is typically used to cover needs such as emergency expenses or retirement, fill out the bottom of the spectrum. Theyre joined by homeowners and business owners whose debt exceeds their equity. Advertisement The bottom 40% are most likely to be renters. The top 5% are most likely to own businesses or rental properties. The authors found this polarization has increased since 1962. In every country Fessler and Schurz studied, homeowners wealth hovers near the national average. The biggest gaps are between those who own businesses and rental properties and their customers and tenants. In terms of wealth, that gap is widest in the United States and Austria. In terms of income alone, the United States tops the list. This divergence between worker and owner is perhaps the oldest take on wealth inequality. Yet economists who measure these things on a global scale have sidelined it in favor of comparisons between the 1 percenters and the other 99%. They had to. Many data sets dont include an individuals housing- or business-ownership status, for reasons of availability or privacy. Without those identifiers, researchers can only measure wealth distribution in terms of the wealth itself. James Davies, an economist at Canadas Western University whose work on international wealth measurement spans four decades, observed that large-scale stock ownership performs a function similar to owning rental properties or businesses. If Fessler and Schurz had taken equities into account, the differences between the United States and other countries would probably have been larger. Davies said the share of business owners and landlords across countries is similar enough to make him think the measure leaves unexplained a significant proportion of international variations in inequality. Understanding how ownership of real estate and financial assets differs across levels of wealth helps economists evaluate other consequences of wealth inequality, such as disparities in safety, social power and consumption, said Maximilian Kasy, a Harvard University economist who has collaborated with Fessler in the past. The analysis helps with understanding the causes and consequences of differences in the distribution of total household wealth across time and across countries, Kasy said. Those differences arise when people use their savings to make up for missing or inefficient public pension systems, higher-education opportunities, housing and healthcare. Fessler says social relationships reveal how wealth levels and wealth uses interact. A renter might use her wealth to fund retirement, while a business owner might use her wealth for technology, machinery or even influence by making political donations or running for office. It is not the same to save for an emergency, or to accumulate wealth in order to exercise power in society, said Schurz, Fesslers coauthor. When researchers only measure the distribution of net wealth between households, they risk overlooking these distinctions. University of Michigan economist Gabriel Ehrlich said the underlying inequality squares with his understanding of the gulf between renters and owners in the United States, but he questioned the broader applications of the sociological frame used by Fessler and Schurz. In a working paper released in 2016 by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Ehrlich and University of Illinois economists David Albouy and Yingyi Liu write that because housing is a basic need and an expense that cant be avoided, price increases hit poor Americans hardest. They find increases in the relative price of housing have increased real income inequality by 25% since 1970. In terms of well-being, the gap is even wider than it first looks, Ehrlich said. Its precisely because lower-income households spend more of their money on housing. They are getting hurt more than the official statistics would suggest. Housing costs have risen 40% more than the prices of other goods since 1970, Albouy, Ehrlich and Liu found. The share of renters who spent more than half of their income on housing doubled between 1970 and 2011. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, as they say, but homeownership has traditionally propelled people up the ladder from renting to owning to selling things to renters and customers of their own. A 2016 study by sociologists Alexandra Killewald of Harvard and Brielle Bryan, now of Rice University, supported this. After controlling for other factors, they wrote, each year of homeownership between 1986 and 2008 is associated with about $4,400 more in midlife wealth. But its getting harder for renters to become homeowners. Prices have gone up relative to income, Ehrlich said. A 20% down payment is a lot more money now than it was 30 years ago. According to Ehrlich, zoning restrictions have helped raise home prices, especially in high-cost communities. He said that, according to another recent analysis he conducted with Albouy, the effect in terms of raising home prices turns out to be bigger than any of the benefits. He pointed to an analysis by University of Minnesota economist Kyle Herkenhoff and collaborators. Their work reveals that decades of rising land-use restrictions have slowed economic growth and made homes more expensive. Stricter lending rules in the wake of the housing crisis also put homeownership out of reach, Ehrlich said. Until recently, homeownership hadnt budged for a decade, even as the number of renter households climbed. The next step on the ladder owning a business or renting out property also seems to be slipping out of reach. Small-business start-ups in the United States cratered during the recession and havent recovered. When the avenues of mobility dry up, the differences between renter and landlord, and between customer and business owner, calcify. Rent keeps flowing up the ladder, from renter to landlord, but the renter doesnt get the same opportunity. Van Dam writes for the Washington Post. Anna will not stop calling. She really, really wants to sell you health insurance. What a lot of consumers really, really want is to smack Anna upside her robocalling head. As health insurance open-enrollment season gets underway in California and nationwide, automated phone calls offering Affordable Care Act or other health plans are spiking and driving many consumers to the brink. California residents may have it worst because their open-enrollment period is twice as long as in other parts of the country. Its at epidemic levels at this time of year, said Aaron Foss, founder of Nomorobo, who estimates his spam call-blocking service, based on New Yorks Long Island headed off more than 850,000 health-related robocalls in October alone nearly five times its interceptions in September, Foss said. Advertisement Nomorobo tracked about 820 different robocall pitches for health insurance in the last week of October. More than 100 of them were from the robot Anna. Almost all of these calls are illegal, according to rules published by the Federal Trade Commission in 2009. Many offer skimpy health plans that dont cover what you might need, insurance regulators and consumer advocates say. Others, they say, are downright fraudulent, with unscrupulous insurance brokers taking payment and promising insurance that never comes through. Alice Cave, 62, a retired data analyst from Alexandria, Va., who spends winters in Tucson, said she has gotten so many of these calls, she typically wont answer her phone unless she recognizes the number. On Monday, expecting a call from a California reporter, she answered her cellphone. It was Anne. (Annas robot cousin? Other relatives include Jordan, Allison and Mandy, though variants on Anna remain most prevalent.) She was saying, I really need to talk to you weve got deals on health insurance. I thought, God, what a crock, Cave said. If its too good to be true, it probably is. Anything that comes in on the phone, Im going to be skeptical. Why would they offer me this deal? I already have great insurance. Its crazy. Some fed-up people try to stymie robocallers, with amusing results. Twitter user Jon Heise in June confounded his robot by insisting, after whatever it said, that he was a meat popsicle. Eventually, it hung up. Dealing with a scam robocall yesterday Scammer: I understand you are looking for new insurance Me: Negative, I am a meat popsicle. Scammer: Im sorry I didnt under stand, I heard youre looking for insurance Me: Negative, I am a meat popsicle. Scammer, hangs up jon heise (@jubei) June 8, 2018 Its not all fun and games. In California, the Department of Insurance is investigating health insurance robocalls, said Janice Rocco, deputy commissioner for health policy and reform. In late August, the agency filed a court order against Health Plan Intermediaries Holdings LLC, accusing the Florida company of deceptive and misleading practices in selling Obamacare plans that didnt comply with the health law. The company could face fines of up to $10,000 per violation, Rocco said. In this case, the companys robocalls featured Anne, according to the court order. In its legal response, the company did not admit to the agencys allegations and denied responsibility. A hearing date has not yet been set, Rocco said. (Arkansas insurance commissioner issued a cease and desist order against the company in 2016.) Under federal law, calls using prerecorded messages are legal only for such things as doctor appointment reminders, flight cancellations, credit card fraud alerts and political candidates. Calls using prerecorded messages to sell products and services are not. In a typical robocall sales pitch, a friendly female voice comes on the line. Sometimes the call appears to originate from a major insurer like Blue Cross Blue Shield or Aetna or from a local number a caller might suppose is a school or neighbor. Often, the voice will ask the consumer to dial 1 to enroll or 2 to opt out of future calls. Both options can be a trap, experts say. If you pick up, you become a lead thats sent to health insurance agents or brokers, Nomorobos Foss said. And option 2 doesnt put you on a do-not-call list; it merely lets the spammers know theyve hit a working number, he added. A reporter from Kaiser Health News connected with one of the insurance brokers behind one of these robocalls by pressing the dreaded 1. A man identifying himself as Ray Khan said hes a licensed insurance broker and provided a National Insurance Producer Registry number. The reporter was unable to locate Khan in that national registry with that number, which was not assigned to anyone. Khan asked for the reporters Social Security number and other personal information. He said that he did not have an office and that enrollment needed to be done over the phone. He referred the caller to a website that does not provide information about plans offered but is a platform for consumers to be contacted by brokers. Its a legitimate company. We work for different insurance carriers, Khan said. You have to trust someone if you want to do it. How to file a consumer complaint about health insurance robocalls: Contact your states insurance department. Use this interactive map to find your state agency. Contact the FTCs consumer complaint website. Contact the Federal Communications Commissions consumer complaint website. Remember: Your robocaller may sound friendly, but she is not your friend. You shouldnt trust folks who call you out of the blue, according to the Department of Insurances Rocco. Someone selling a comprehensive medical plan is not going to be reaching you via a robocall, Rocco said. Most of whats sold through these automated calls are skinny plans that dont comply with Affordable Care Act requirements or are short-term insurance plans, which typically offer coverage for only a few months and often dont cover preexisting conditions or prescription drugs. Such plans have been outlawed in California, starting Jan. 1. Despite state and federal crackdowns some involving multimillion-dollar fines robocalls arent going away anytime soon. So the best thing for consumers to do when they receive one is to just hang up or not respond to unfamiliar numbers, advises the FCC. Instead, check out the federal Obamacare exchange at healthcare.gov or find your states marketplace. Barbara Feder Ostrov is a senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent publication of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Wells Fargo & Co. acknowledged Tuesday that it failed to offer mortgage modifications to hundreds more borrowers who were due them and that many ultimately lost their homes because of the error. The San Francisco bank reported in August that it miscalculated certain fees when determining whether borrowers were eligible for mortgage modifications and that it improperly denied modifications to 625 borrowers, 400 of whom eventually lost their homes to foreclosure. Now, in a regulatory filing released Tuesday, the bank said it improperly denied modifications to 870 borrowers nearly 40% more than first thought and that 545 of those borrowers later lost their homes. The bank initially looked at homes that were in the foreclosure process between April 2010 and October 2015. The bank later extended the review through April of this year, accounting for the new, higher figures. Advertisement In August, when the problem was first announced, the bank said it had set aside $8 million to compensate borrowers. Tuesdays filing does not indicate whether the bank will be paying more now that more problems have been found. Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Goyda said he could not provide an estimate of how much the bank will pay or how much individual customers will receive. Our plan is to work with each customer to arrive at a resolution that addresses their particular situation, he said in an email. Every customer situation is different. As a result, we dont have any details on the amount we expect to pay out in remediation. R. Scott Siefers, an analyst at Sandler ONeill + Partners, said he doesnt expect much market reaction to the news the banks many problems and reputational issues are already baked into its stock price, he said though he said its bad news for the bank to continue to expand the scope of those problems. The bank has similarly had to raise the numbers of harmed customers in other business lines. When the bank in 2016 admitted to creating accounts without customers authorization, it estimated that as many as 2.1 million such accounts might have been created. But later, after the bank was pushed to broaden its investigation, it estimated the number could be as high as 3.5 million. You dont like to see the further dribs and drabs, Siefers said, though he noted that the mortgage modification problems are small in scale. Were not talking about millions of foreclosures, he said. Its a small, small fraction of the account scandal, but Im sure it doesnt feel that way to the people involved. The bank remains under pressure from federal regulators to clean up its practices. Last year, the bank acknowledged that it had forced hundreds of thousands of automobile loan customers to pay for unnecessary insurance policies, with the added expense leading some borrowers to default and lose their vehicles. Wells Fargo also admitted to charging improper fees to some mortgage borrowers. In February, the Federal Reserve cited those and other issues when it ordered the bank to stop growing until it can prove to regulators that it has systems in place to prevent consumer abuses. The Feds asset cap remains in place, and bank executives have said they expect to continue to operate under that order into next year. Other regulatory agencies fined the bank $1 billion over those issues, in addition to the $185 million Wells Fargo paid in 2016 over the unauthorized accounts scandal. Shares of Wells Fargo closed down 11 cents to $53.55. james.koren@latimes.com Follow me: @jrkoren UPDATES: 2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with Wells Fargos closing stock price. This article was originally published at 10:40 a.m. For most of Myanmars 20 million internet users, Facebook is effectively the internet. The social network comes pre-loaded on mobile phones in the Southeast Asian nation, often providing people there with their first portal to the Web. But for all the good that did, it also provided a means to exploit deep-rooted ethnic and religious strife in Myanmar that saw the slaughter of tens of thousands of the countrys Rohingya minority, a human rights report commissioned by Facebook concluded. The findings underscore how the worlds largest social network is often ill-equipped to fight rumor-mongering, hate speech and calls for mob violence, especially in unstable societies still developing digital literacy. Advertisement Contributing to the potency of misinformation in Myanmar, the study said, A large population of internet users lacks basic understanding of how to use a browser, how to set up an email address and access an email account, and how to navigate and make judgments on online content. Facebook Inc. faces similar conditions in Sri Lanka, South Sudan and, to a lesser extent, the Philippines and India. Its messaging app WhatsApp has been used in India to spread hoaxes and rumors that led to murders. The human rights report released Monday was conducted by the San Francisco-based Business for Social Responsibility, which deemed Facebook a conduit used to fan tensions in Myanmar, a country that spent decades under a military dictatorship before introducing a weak civilian government in 2010. Instability in the country has led to the demonization of the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority group who until recently numbered a million in Myanmars western Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh. The group has long been the target of ultra-nationalists, who belong to Myanmars Buddhist majority. In Myanmar, hatred for Rohingya Muslims runs so deep that a diplomat called them ugly as ogres and got promoted In 2016, Myanmars military launched a crackdown on the Rohingya, committing atrocities and driving an estimated 700,000 of them out of the country and into squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh. Military leaders disseminated misinformation on Facebook to stir hatred of the Rohingya to help justify the campaign. Civil society groups, researchers and journalists had already documented the spread of harmful content on Facebook in the nation as the terror inflicted on the Rohingya reached a crescendo in 2017. Facebook was criticized for not employing Burmese-speaking employees to flag and stop the torrent of posts that called for the mass murder of Rohingya. This weeks report does not address those criticisms in detail. In a blog post, a Facebook official reiterated the companys position that it fell short of expectations in handling the situation in Myanmar. The report concludes that, prior to this year, we werent doing enough to help prevent our platform from being used to foment division and incite offline violence, said Alex Warofka, product policy manager for Facebook. We agree that we can and should do more. The report acknowledges that some of its recommendations build on efforts Facebook is already making. It does not say the company has solved the problem. Business for Social Responsibility recommends that Facebook develop a robust human rights policy, establish teams that understand local conditions better, and engage with local stakeholders to prevent the problems that marred the social network in Myanmar from occurring again. The changes are all the more urgent as the country prepares for elections in 2020. Facebook said it was already undertaking many of the recommendations, including hiring human rights specialists to sharpen its policies. It said it has almost made good on its promise to hire 100 content moderators fluent in local languages in Myanmar, though its unclear whether that just means Burmese, the countrys main language. There are now 99 such moderators, Warofka said. None of those reviewers is based in Myanmar, however. Facebook cited safety concerns. Facebook has also been used as a vector for misinformation in the United States. After underestimating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, it has been working to crack down on political influence campaigns. On Monday, the Menlo Park, Calif., company announced that it recently blocked 115 accounts that may be engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior. The accounts 30 of them on Facebook and 85 on Instagram were initially flagged by U.S. law enforcement, the company said. Facebook did not say what the accounts were aiming to do, but said it felt it needed to disclose the findings because of the U.S. midterm elections Tuesday. The company said the Facebook accounts used mostly French and Russian while the Instagram accounts were mostly in English. I didnt want this baby: Rohingya rape survivors face a harrowing choice Worldwide, 1 in 110 people is displaced from home. Heres what life is like for some of them Muslims faced hatred and violence in Sri Lanka. Then Facebook came along and made things worse david.pierson@latimes.com | Twitter: @dhpierson UPDATES: 2:10 p.m.: This article was updated with Facebooks blocking of 115 accounts. This article was originally published at 1:15 p.m. Richard Madden has two main criteria for selecting a new project. First, does it involve horses or swords? And second, is it something he would want to watch? Thats a lot of the thing when Im choosing a role, the Scottish actor says, sitting in a corner of the bar in Londons Dorchester hotel. When I pick up a script, I have to work out if I would watch it. If I want to read it again, thats my big litmus test. If I do, then its right for me. As for the horses and the swords, well, hes had enough of those for now. Ever since departing Game of Thrones during the infamous Red Wedding episode, which killed off his character Robb Stark (along with many, many others) in 2013, Madden has been looking to do things that are as different as possible. Thats one of the reasons he said yes to Bodyguard, a six-episode miniseries that originally aired on BBC in the U.K. earlier this year before being picked up by Netflix for worldwide distribution. The series was the most-watched new drama in the U.K. in a decade, compelling viewers week after week with its nail-biting storyline. I want people to see different aspects of me. And I want to keep finding different aspects of myself, says Madden, who is filming the upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman as the pop stars manager and lover. I dont want to get typecast into one kind of genre. And Ive tried my hardest to do that since Game of Thrones, since the beginning of that, when I said I dont just want to be defined as the guy from Game of Thrones. You have to really try and resist doing that or you can get stuck in a hole. Advertisement In Bodyguard, created and written by Jed Mercurio, Madden embodies a specialist protection officer for Londons Metropolitan Police Service, tasked with protecting Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes). His character, David Budd, is grappling with PTSD from serving in the British army and is attempting to piece his crumbling marriage back together. Hes doing his best to be a father to his two young children, but Budd is a victim of his anxiety and lingering stress. When he finds himself mixed up in a plot on the Home Secretarys life which may involve a terrorist threat hes immediately in over his head. Richard Madden, left, and Keeley Hawes in a scene from Bodyguard. (World Productions / Netflix) Theres a recurring thing that happens in his life about the prince that saves the day and rescues the woman, Madden says of Budd. Hes up in his life with his wife and his kids. And all of it is actually him trying to save himself. To look after the home secretary is again him trying to save the damsel. And if he can save her, if he can fix everything, if he can make her right and safe, then hes done his job and hes the hero. Thats the hangover from the war and its a big subconscious driving force in him. If he does his job right, then hell be fixed. But thats not how it works. Madden accepted the role after reading the first three episodes, which conclude with a massive plot swing that shifts the series into something else entirely for the remaining three. Because of this, the actor didnt want to know what came next when shooting the initial episodes. I got the information as I went, and it gave me a lot more to play with, he notes. I didnt end up playing episode six in episode three I had to wait. That made it more interesting for me. Beyond the plot, he wasnt even clear on his own characters motivations going in. Richard Madden, left, and Keeley Hawes in Bodyguard. (Sophie Mutevelian / World Productions / Netflix) I was pitched on this first concept of this bodyguard guy and not knowing if he was bad or good, Madden says. Thats something I tried to hold on to as much as I could through the show, because it gives an ambiguity to him. Its not just Maddens character; youre never quite sure who is bad or good in the series. Bodyguard purposefully withholds essential information from the viewer throughout, which adds to the thrilling aspect of the show. You may think you know, but Bodyguard is all about upturning those expectations. The series filmed for five months last winter in Central London, and the production managed to keep its spoilers a secret even as Madden was acting out pivotal scenes in the middle of very public locations. The filming was intense for the actor, who lived and breathed his lines throughout and ultimately had trouble letting go of David. It was kind of relentless, Madden says. You do take a lot of things home with you, and thats difficult. Im not method in any way or anything like that, but you live in someone elses clothes every day, and I said his words more than I said my own, I think. You cant help but be infected by him. And hes not a character that you want to be infected by that much. So thats something you have to deal with. You have to check yourself, like, OK, lets get out of his head. To better understand PTSD and its effects, Madden spoke with several army vets and did as much research as possible. He wanted to ensure that the way it was depicted wasnt cliched in any way. Ive had some really nice messages from people that are overwhelmingly positive and supportive, saying, Thank you, Madden says. Ive had a few people say, Thanks for portraying him how you did because theyre so used to PTSD being portrayed as wacky flashbacks when youre sitting in a restaurant or as crazy things. And thats just not how it is. Sometimes its just underlying, devastating anxiety or versions of panic attacks that override your day or are subtly with you all the time. Its not just someone smashes a glass and you duck for cover. Theres a big blanket with PTSD where its very different for everyone, and I had to try and think what that was for David and try to play that. Richard Madden He adds, Theres a big blanket with PTSD where its very different for everyone, and I had to try and think what that was for David and try to play that and sew it into his life. Even the British government has commended the show for its realistic portrayal of those who work to protect politicians. Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd wrote an article for Londons Sunday Times saying the show offered an accurate depiction of the job. One of my big worries about the show coming out was that we worked so hard for it, and we tried our best to be as accurate as we can, and people could have said, Oh, yeah, just another show; we dont care, Madden says. And actually people have had such a good response to it. It is fiction. Its not a nonfiction piece. But we tried really hard to make something that was accurate and that was entertaining. Madden says he hasnt seen a real career shift from the show yet. Still, rumors have been flying that Madden is being tapped as the next James Bond thanks to his performance as David Budd. The British tabloids have recently claimed that producer Barbara Broccoli is planning to reach out to Madden with the role. Is it true? Well, not that hes saying. Richard Madden in Bodyguard. (Sophie Mutevelian / World Productions) I try to avoid reading any of the tabloids, Madden says. Its very flattering to have my name even mentioned in that conversation, but its all just hearsay to the best of my knowledge. I worked really hard on this, and you never know how a jobs going to turn out or whats going to come out of it. But people really enjoyed the show, which is brilliant, and if that leads to me doing this more and keep in this profession and keep working, then Im really thankful for that. After this, hes not sure. But hell know it when he sees it. I dont have a clue whats next, the actor says, laughing. Ill just have to wait to find a script I want to read twice. Bodyguard Where: Netflix When: Now streaming Rated: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under 17) calendar@latimes.com ALSO Reviews: With love, sex and mystery from the U.K., Wanderlust, Bodyguard and The Woman in White Game of Thrones fans see red over Red Wedding See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Tsujita Noodle Production Tsujita Noodle Production, a new outpost of the Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle restaurant on Sawtelle, is scheduled to open Friday on Fairfax Avenue. The restaurant will serve popular items from the brands four Tsujita restaurants, including the char siu tsukemen ramen and dan dan noodles. Tsujita Noodle Production will be open daily for lunch and dinner. 109 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 591-0470, tsujita-usa.com. Trois Mec Ludo Lefebvres French restaurant is hosting a new dinner series called Table dhote. Lefebvre is making some of his favorite southern French recipes including rack of lamb, grilled spot prawns and white truffle profiteroles, all served family style. There will be two nightly seatings through Nov. 24, with reservations at $110 per person. 716 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 484-8588, resy.com/cities/la/trois-mec. Advertisement Daddys Chicken Shack The fried chicken pop-up that started at Downtowns Smorgasburg has opened a bricks-and-mortar in Pasadena. The business not only serves buttermilk fried chicken and chicken sandwiches on brioche bread, but also a vegan version made with coconut-curry-milk-brined cauliflower. For dessert, options include Coolhaus ice cream and salted miso chocolate chip cookies. 11 W. Dayton St., Pasadena, (626) 469-0017, daddyschickenshackla.com. Girasol Top Chef alum CJ Jacobsons Studio City restaurant is now closed. Jacobson opened the restaurant in 2013. The restaurant was a fixture on Jonathan Golds 101 Best Restaurants list. 11334 Moorpark St., Studio City. Paperboy Pizza Paperboy Pizza, a new restaurant at the Gallery on Third Street Promenade, is now serving thin-crust slices and pies with toppings like fried chicken and chipotle sauce. The restaurant is also serving potato-chip-crusted mozzarella sticks, beer and housemade wine coolers. 1315 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, (310) 319-6211, paperboypizza.com. Crack Shack A location of Crack Shack, the fried-chicken-centric restaurant that originated in San Diego, will open in Old Pasadena on Monday. The restaurant will serve fried chicken, sandwiches and the occasional matzo ball pozole, as well as a chicken thigh pastrami sandwich with Emmentaler cheese. 30 W. Green St., Pasadena, (424) 901-0077 , crackshack.com. Chulita A new Mexican restaurant called Chulita is scheduled to open soon in the former Superba Snack Bar space on Venices Rose Avenue. The kitchen is run by Alex Silva and Vanessa Salas.. Their menu includes squash blossom quesadillas with pumpkin seed dukkah, beef cheek barbacoa with Mexican furikake and pescado zarandeado with black cod and nixtamalized celeriac. 533 Rose Ave., Venice, chulita.com. food@latimes.com @latimesfood UPDATES: 5:19 p.m.: The opening date for Chulita was updated. This article was originally published at 9 .m. By any measure, what happened outside Reed Middle School one day last month was scary: A man with an arsenal of weapons was found hanging out on the edge of campus the same man who just the week before had tried to lure schoolgirls to his truck. School police thwarted any possible bad outcome, and the man is now headed to prison. But for some parents at the Studio City campus, relief mixed with anger because the Los Angeles Unified School District waited more than two weeks to acknowledge what had happened. We receive robocalls from LAUSD and Reed when someone even sneezes but arent made aware of this until weeks after his arrest, said Michelle Vick, whose daughter is in eighth grade. Beyond maddening! In a statement, the district indirectly acknowledged the frustration, noting that the administrative office in that area is reviewing its protocols for parent notifications. Advertisement The events leading up to the arrest of Russell Polsky, 60, began on Oct. 5, according to accounts by district and law-enforcement sources. Polsky had parked his red truck during school hours at the end of a cul-de-sac abutting the fenced southeast perimeter of the school. He was on one side of the fence, and three girls were on the other. He asked them aggressively if they wanted to pet his dog. The students were unsettled enough to run away, but they did not report the incident to the administration, according to a district spokeswoman. On Oct. 8, a parent called in a report but a police patrol could not find the suspect. Then on Oct. 11, one or more of the girls reported seeing the truck again. School police confronted Polsky, approaching him and asking, What are you doing here? said Gilbert Gamez, president of the Los Angeles School Police Assn., who described the encounter at a recent school board meeting. He said something to the effect: Im just kicking back, Gamez said. Next, the officer asked him if he had any weapons. He said, `Yes, I do. Officers arrested Polsky and recovered a loaded short-barreled shotgun, an unloaded AK-47-style assault rifle, an unloaded and unregistered semiautomatic handgun, loaded rifle magazines and a bag containing ammo. School police said that Polsky did not appear poised to use his weapons. At no point, starting from the beginning on Oct. 11, did we feel there was any threat or any serious cause to alarm anybody about this arrest, said Sgt. Julie Spry, public information officer for the school police. It was unusual in this location, but it is not unusual to recover these kinds of weapons from adults. According to public records, Polsky was born in New Mexico, has lived at times in Studio City and Venice and may have worked in the past as a production assistant. He had a previous conviction on an alcohol-related offense. Booking photo of Russell Polsky (Armando Viera Jr. / Los Angeles School Police) The district attorney charged Polsky with three gun-related felonies and three misdemeanor counts of child annoyance. He pleaded no contest on Oct. 24 to one felony count of possession of an assault weapon and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison, said Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the L.A. County District Attorney. The school police department on Oct. 30 mentioned the arrest on social media to highlight the departments good work. The department didnt post sooner, Spry said, to avoid interfering with the investigation. That same day, Reed Principal Jeanne Gamba sent the districts first campuswide message to parents: I am calling to share that school police successfully filed multiple charges against an individual who was found in possession of firearms in our area recently. After seeing the incident reported more fully on local TV news stations the next day, some parents felt the district intentionally understated the incident. The message was vague and gave so few details that my takeaway was it had nothing to do with the school, Vick said. The next day, Gamba sent a second message, acknowledging the media reports: Please know that we worked closely with school police on this matter, and that our students and staff were not in any danger. L.A. Unified and other districts have struggled with how much to tell families about distressing incidents. Parents at numerous schools in recent years have been angered to find that the district has frequently failed to disclose information about employees accused or convicted of sexual misconduct. Parent fury led the school system to establish a policy that it would provide basic information within 72 hours about the misconduct-related removal of an employee, provided that such notice would not compromise an investigation. The districts regional superintendents can choose to limit or prohibit disclosures. The Reed incident, however, did not involve an employee and so did not fall under this policy. Still, the common-sense test should have applied, said parent Julia Bricklin, whose daughter matriculated from Reed in June. Even before finding the weapons, the school had knowledge of somebody trying to lure young females and didnt alert the parents. There were two lapses in reporting. howard.blume@latimes.com Twitter: @howardblume Two death row inmates have died after they were found unresponsive in their cells, less than 48 hours apart, at San Quentin State Prison. Authorities believe Andrew Urdiales, 54, and Virendra Govin, 51, killed themselves over the weekend, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. There is no indication the two deaths are related, but the back-to-back incidents raise questions about security measures at the prison. Both inmates had their own cells. Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the department, said correctional officers are required to check on inmates in segregated housing at least every 30 minutes, but she did not know the time of Urdiales and Govins last cell visits. She said inmates under suicide watch have constant supervision, though neither of the inmates had that designation. The first incident began about 11:15 p.m. Friday, when staff found Urdiales a former Marine who brutally killed eight women, including five in Southern California unresponsive during a security check in the prisons highest security unit, the Adjustment Center, where new arrivals are housed while they are processed. Advertisement Correctional officers tried to save him with CPR, but he was pronounced dead a minute after midnight. About 10:15 p.m. Sunday, staff found Govin unresponsive in his cell in the North Segregation housing unit. He was pronounced dead 15 minutes later. Since California reinstated capital punishment four decades ago, 25 condemned inmates have committed suicide. In that same period, 79 have died of natural causes, 13 have been executed by the state, and 11 have died of other causes. California has more people on death row 740 than any other state. Florida is second, with 346, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Urdiales was sentenced to death a month ago by a jury in Orange County for the Southern California slayings he carried out while stationed at various U.S. Marine Corps facilities in the area. His spree began in 1986, when he attacked Robbin Brandley, 23, as she walked to her car in a dimly lit parking lot after a piano concert at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. He stabbed her 41 times in the back, neck, chest and hands with a hunting knife. He was also convicted in the 1988 murders of Maryann Wells, 31, in San Diego, and Julie McGhee, 29, in Cathedral City, as well as the Palm Springs killings of Tammie Erwin, 18, in 1989, and Denise Maney, 32, in 1995. They were all shot in the head. Urdiales killed three women in four months in Illinois before he was arrested in November 1996 in Indiana after officers saw him in his truck loitering in an area known for prostitution. Officers found a gun in his car that he was not permitted to carry and confiscated it. A year later, Chicago police matched Urdiales gun to bullets recovered from the bodies of the three victims. Urdiales was linked to the Southern California slayings after his arrest. He gave a chilling confession in 1997 that stunned veteran investigators, offering calm and calculated descriptions of the killings. He had been sentenced to death for the Illinois murders, but after the death penalty was outlawed in the state, he was ordered to serve life in prison without parole. In 2011, Urdiales was extradited to Orange County to stand trial. Govin, who owned a Studio City motel, had been on death row much longer. He was sentenced to death in 2004 by a Los Angeles County jury in the slayings of a business rival and her three relatives during a bitter dispute over an alley that separated their properties. The family members were strangled with plastic garbage bag ties, beaten and burned when Govin, his brother and a business partner set the womans Hollywood Hills home ablaze. Govins brother has been on death row since 2005 in the same case. Times staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Twitter: @AleneTchek A man was arrested Monday evening in Fresno after he tried to hijack a bus full of elementary school students, police said. Forty-one students from Reagan Elementary School were returning from a science camp in Oakhurst and stopped at a gas station in Fresno about 6:30 p.m. so the children could use the restroom. While the bus was stopped, police said, Christopher Martinez, 47, stepped inside and shouted to the driver that he needed to go to the mission Jesus is coming! Im taking over the bus. Get out of your seat. I need to take the bus to San Gabriel Mission, Martinez said, according to Fresno police spokesman Mark Hudson. While a teacher was escorting some children to and from the bus, Martinez grabbed the bus driver by the collar and pulled her from her seat, saying he needed to take the kids with him, Hudson said. Advertisement The driver snatched the keys from the ignition, setting off an alarm on the bus, and shouted at the man to get off, police said. With lights flashing and the alarm sounding, the driver continued shouting at the man to leave and told him the bus would not move while the alarm was on. He walked to the back of the bus and returned to the front, but he did not touch any of the children seated inside, Hudson said. The teacher soon joined the driver in demanding that Martinez leave the bus, and then a gas station clerk stepped in and, in a calm voice, asked Martinez to exit the vehicle, Hudson said. Martinez obeyed and walked toward the nearby gas station as police arrived and took him into custody. Martinez was booked into a Fresno jail on suspicion of attempted carjacking and attempted kidnapping and is being held on $27,500 bail, according to jail records. alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. President Donald Trump said here on Monday that he was not sure if he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris next week. "I am not sure that we will have a meeting in Paris, probably not," Trump told reporters at the Joint Base Andrews as he was heading for campaign rallies for the coming mid-term elections. Both the U.S. and Russian officials have previously confirmed that a meeting between two leaders would be held in Paris on the sidelines of events on Nov.11 to commemorate the 100th years anniversary of the end of the World War I. Trump added that he and Putin will be meeting at the G-20 Summit, which will be held at the end of this month in Argentina. The U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said last month in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, that the Paris meeting between Trump and Putin "would be brief." With the ongoing U.S. sanctions on Russia and Washington's recent stance on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the bilateral ties between Washington and Moscow have been strained recently. [ Editor: WPY ] Immigration officials have stopped allowing a volunteer group to visit people at Otay Mesa Detention Center unless its members agreed not to talk with the media or other groups about conditions inside. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said members of Souls Offering Loving and Compassionate Ears must sign the Volunteer Code of Ethics to be in compliance with the agencys detention standards. The group so far has refused, arguing that detention standards dont require them to sign away their 1st Amendment rights in order to visit detainees. I think theyre circling the wagons to stop people from knowing whats going on inside, said SOLACE volunteer Steve Gelb of Mission Valley. It gives ICE more impunity. Since 2012, SOLACE volunteers have made more than 1,450 visits to at least 800 immigrants at Otay Mesa. They try to give detainees who dont have anyone to visit them a feeling of humanity, emotional support and hope. Advertisement Without SOLACE, people who are detained at Otay have very little way to communicate with the outside world, said Angela Fujii, who coordinates the program through the First Unitarian Universalist Church. Its a very vulnerable population that we know is now suffering and being neglected. The new requirement took volunteers by surprise. They thought they had a good relationship with ICE and had been told the agency appreciated their work. At recent meetings, volunteers speculated that either the political climate or critical media coverage of conditions in immigration detention facilities may have led to the change, but they could not think of a specific report that might have triggered the codes restrictive language. The confidentiality sections of the new code require volunteers to agree not to share information they acquire without written permission from the warden. The volunteers worry that if a detainee told them about abuse at the facility, they wouldnt be able to speak up. They also took issue with a part of the form that says they represent CoreCivic, the for-profit prison company that owns and operates Otay Mesa. It seems like were being put in a straitjacket, said volunteer Kathy Smith of Scripps Ranch. ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said the change came from an internal pre-audit of volunteer programs that found SOLACE was not in compliance with the Performance-Based National Detention Standards, which is what the agency uses for its facilities. Each volunteer must go through a facility orientation and agree to applicable facility rules and procedures, Mack said. Volunteer applicants are required to complete the code of ethics package and required dress code. SOLACE volunteers hadnt signed the form but had submitted information, including Social Security numbers and photo IDs, for background checks when they joined the program. The detention standards do not require the facility rules to include confidentiality clauses in CoreCivics volunteer form. All religious volunteers seeking access to any of CoreCivics immigration facilities are required to undergo an approval process which is at the direction and discretion of our partner agencies, said Amanda Gilchrist, spokeswoman for CoreCivic, when asked about the form. To David Loy, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego, the restrictions in the code are unconscionable. I dont say that kind of thing lightly, Loy said. This is an absolutely unconstitutional attempt to stifle speech and evade accountability. Loy has sent a letter threatening legal action if ICE doesnt reinstate SOLACE. Immigrants previously detained at Otay Mesa said visits from program volunteers were life-changing. It gave me hope to be free again, said Yousra, who preferred not to give her last name because shes still in fear of the country she fled. They are still supporting me and being by my side to stay strong and keep on fighting. Sylvester Owino, who came to the U.S. from Kenya and now has his own business selling food at farmers markets, spent more than nine years in immigration detention while his case was being appealed. Its a blow to the detainees, Owino said of the programs suspension. They have nobody to talk to, nobody to go to. He recalled the changes he felt when he started getting visits from SOLACE volunteers. In detention, they make us feel like were nothing, Owino said. Youre missing the outside world. By [SOLACE] coming to visit you, its not just the inside world. We feel more welcome. Volunteers said they speak up for detainees who dont appear to be receiving appropriate medical care. Sometimes they help detainees contact relatives in the U.S. who dont know where they are. Detainees phones are confiscated when they enter Otay Mesa, and they often dont have phone numbers memorized to call from the centers phones. This isnt the first time ICE has suspended the San Diego visitation program over refusal to sign forms that had confidentiality clauses. In 2013, after volunteers raised concerns about alleged sexual abuse at Otay Mesa, ICE introduced a similar form and temporarily suspended SOLACE. After the media got involved, the volunteers were allowed to continue without signing the form. Freedom for Immigrants, an Oakland-based national organization that coordinates visitation programs at immigration detention facilities, tried contacting ICE in October on SOLACEs behalf. Shortly after the organization sent its letter, ICE blocked Otay Mesa detainees access to the organizations hotline, Executive Director Christina Fialho said. It seeks to silence critics and prohibit the public from learning important information about treatment in detention, said Fialho, whose group released a report in July documenting more than 800 complaints of hate-related abuse in immigration detention, including at Otay Mesa. This week, SOLACE volunteers began meeting with staff at congressional offices around San Diego to ask for help. The people we tend to see are the people who have suffered incredibly, Gelb told one offices staff. Its not for us that we want it reinstated. This is a service for people with nothing. Morrissey writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. A federal judge on Monday said she plans to appoint an investigator to launch a probe into whether California has painted an inaccurately rosy picture of psychiatric care inside its prison system as part of a lawsuit against the state that has spanned nearly three decades. U.S. District Judge Kimberly Muellers move comes on the heels of a 161-page report written by the chief psychiatrist for the prison system alleging the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has concealed issues surrounding the adequacy of mental health care and staffing in prisons from officials who could mandate changes. This group has created a biased and inaccurately positive picture of what is actually a troubled system of care, Dr. Michael Golding wrote. Goldings report, based on his visits to various state prisons, was filed in federal court as part of a lawsuit against the state that began in 1990 which asserts that psychiatric care in prison is a constitutional right. Advertisement Details about what the investigator will study have not been hammered out. Mueller is expected to file a written explanation detailing the specific allegations in the document that she wants investigated. Attorneys will be able to weigh in on the issue again before someone is appointed. To highlight how the states alleged deficiencies have affected psychiatric care for people behind bars, Goldings report details a gruesome incident last year at the California Institution for Women in Chino in which an inmate who had not been medicated during a psychotic episode ripped out her own eye and swallowed it inside her prison cell. A key problem, Golding said, is that medical decisions, including the drugs inmates need and the type and frequency of care they require, often are assigned to psychologists inside prisons rather than psychiatrists, who are medical doctors. This can lead to discrepancies in decisions that can be problematic for patients, he said. In the case of the woman who ripped out her eye, the psychologist who evaluated her did not call a psychiatrist to administer drugs, despite doctors later saying the patient had given every indication that she needed medication immediately, even if it was given by force. Nurses and psychologists later said the failure to provide medicine was not a root cause of the patient removing her eye. The tragedy is that any competent psychiatric physician or general medical physician would have medicated the patient, and likely the patients eye would still be in her head had that happened, Golding wrote. Golding also said patients frequently arent seen on time or in spaces that give them the freedom to talk openly with mental health staff. The report alleges that the state Department of Corrections mischaracterized how frequently inmates are seen by psychiatrists in data provided to the court in 2017 and 2018, which boasts that 90% and 94% of appointments in those years, respectively, were on time. Golding contends that less than 50% of inmates are seen on time by mental health staff. Patients also arent brought to psychiatry appointments in confidential offices, Golding wrote. Instead, the psychiatrist searches the prison yard looking for patients or communicates with them through a crack in a nearly solid-metal cell door where conversations can be overheard by others, according to Golding. The system, he wrote, is by no means conducive to good patient care. Sometimes inmates face significant delays between scheduled appointments because they are transferred to a another prison, Golding said. With each transfer, the agency resets the clock on appointment times, so if an inmate is transferred multiple times, he or she can wait up to nine months between psychiatrist appointments, despite the courts having mandated that patients wait no longer than three months between appointments, the report states. Vicky Waters, press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, rejected Goldings allegations in a statement last week. The department strongly disagrees with this individuals allegations, and looks forward to a fair and thorough review and hearing of all the facts, she said. We have worked closely with lawyers representing prisoners, as well as the court appointment monitors, for many years to improve the mental health of inmates, and our dedicated and well-trained staff will continue to provide appropriate care and treatment. The report has come at a precarious time for the state prison system. A federal court determined in 1995 that prisons had failed to provide proper treatment for thousands of mentally ill inmates. A judge at the time ordered the appointment of a special master to oversee psychiatric care reforms and to work with experts to develop improved programs. Headway in recent years has led both sides to anticipate a return to state oversight, but the latest report could throw a wrench in that plan. Michael Bien, an attorney representing state prisoners receiving mental health treatment in the case, said he was prepared to accept a proposal to reduce psychiatric staff positions by nearly 20% when he received Goldings report. That agreement has since been called off. The bigger impact is we felt we were ticking off the last couple of issues before we could end the case, Bien said. Now I have to go back and check all those assumptions. The most serious thing is the allegation that misrepresentations were made to the court. That really forces all of us to question whats been going on. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @Hannahnfry With ballots from just a few precincts left to count Tuesday night, San Francisco voters appeared to give handy approval to a ballot measure that will tax corporate businesses to fund services for the homeless. Proposition C, a tax on gross annual receipts of the citys largest companies, will nearly double San Franciscos budget dedicated to the curbing homelessness by adding $300 million a year to fund housing, shelters, mental health services and preventive measures. About 400 businesses, which make up the top 20% of the citys job base, will be subject to the tax, according to an analysis by City Controller Ben Rosenfield. The city already taxes businesses on the total amount they receive each year. Proposition C will impose an additional tax, of varying amounts but about 0.5%, on businesses with receipts of $50 million or more. Businesses with more than $1 billion in receipts and 1,000 employees nationwide will pay 1.5% of payroll expenses. Advertisement Half the money goes toward housing programs, including short-term and permanent rent subsidies, as well as permanent supportive housing. A quarter provides services for people with mental health issues or drug or alcohol addiction. The heads of two of San Franciscos biggest companies lead the pushes for and against the tax. Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce, the citys largest private employer, supported it, while Twitter and Square Chief Executive Jack Dorsey opposed it. The campaign in favor of Proposition C, Our City, Our Home, raised about $5.6 million, including $1 million from Benioff personally and more than $4 million from Salesforce, CityLab reported. The campaign against it raised significantly less: About $1.4 million, with the biggest donors including Visa and Stripe. Last month, Benioff and Dorsey took to Twitter to hash out their opinions. Homelessness is all of our responsibility, Benioff said in an Oct. 8 tweet. I want to help fix the homeless problem in SF and California. I dont believe this (Prop C) is the best way to do it. I support Mayor @LondonBreed and @Scott_Wieners commitment to address this the right way. Mayor Breed was elected to fix this. I trust her. https://t.co/EsxapfDvtI jack (@jack) October 12, 2018 In a response a few days later, Dorsey said hed rather let new San Francisco Mayor London Breed address the issue. I want to help fix the homeless problem in SF and California, he said. I dont believe this (Prop C) is the best way to do it. Breed, a Democrat, was also against the proposition. Last month, she released a statement saying it lacks accountability, throws money at an issue that cant be solved that simply, and could make it harder to fund homelessness services if opponents sue to invalidate it by rendering the money inaccessible. We all recognize the crisis on our streets; we see it every day, she wrote. So I understand why Proposition C sounds appealing, and I know those who support it are well-intentioned. But as mayor, I must weigh more than popularity and good intentions. andrea.castillo@latimes.com | Twitter: @andreamcastillo UPDATES: 11:41 p.m.: This article was updated to reflect that measure is leading with nearly all precincts counted. 10:50 p.m.: This article was updated with early election returns. This article was originally published at 3:30 a.m. When I head down to Logan Elementary School this morning to cast my vote in the general election, I must remember to take a good look around. This neighborhood school has been my main polling site for more than a decade. But it will probably be the last time I cast a vote here. In fact, everyone who votes Tuesday at one of Los Angeles Countys 4,800 election day neighborhood polling stations should be prepared to say goodbye to the place. Most will close for good after this election, as the county prepares for a major update of its voting processes in time for the March 2020 presidential primary as part of the states 2016 Voters Choice Act. Voting in Los Angeles County has changed little in the past 50 years. The only significant change was to replace punch cards with ink-marked cards. So the next election is bound to be a bit jarring. Virtually everything about in-person voting will be different. Instead of thousands of polling stations opening at 7 a.m. in school auditoriums, community center common rooms, fast-food restaurant lobbies, retail display rooms and other locations, there will be 200 to 300 strategically located one-stop vote centers opening 10 days before the election, increasing to at least 1,000 for the final four days of voting. For me, voting is associated with people and places, and some of the places have been odd. Advertisement Voters will no longer be tied to one specific neighborhood polling place on one particular day; they will be allowed to show up at any of the countys voting centers on any day they are open. There may even be pop-up voting centers at farmers markets and other places where people congregate for short periods of time. Even the countys odd InkaVote contraption will be gone, replaced with sleek touch-screen set-ups that allow voters to enter their selections in newly designed voting stations (no more narrow, rickety privacy booths) or to download their selections from a smart phone, then print out a completed ballot. It is expected to be an altogether improved voting experience efficient, convenient and cost-effective. So why do I feel a little melancholy about it? I guess its because the new system sounds impersonal, the civic engagement version of a big box store thats automated to the point that you can be in and out with little or no human interaction. Thats fine for buying groceries, but casting a vote feels more satisfying to me when I recognize my neighbors and theres a little bit of a line and some effort required to remind me that Im participating in a sacred democratic act with millions of other people. Its why Ive never switched to mail voting. Filling out a form on the couch doesnt deliver the same sense of accomplishment as marking up a ballot standing with my fellow citizens. Theres something cathartic, too, about punctuating each vote with firm thrust of the ink pen, something you just cant replicate on a touch screen. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion For me, voting is associated with people and places, and some of the places have been odd: a two-car garage at a private home in Riverside festooned with American flags; a lighting store in West Los Angeles; a tiny cafe in Echo Park that squeezed a few voting booths between the bar and tables. I seem to remember casting my first-ever ballot in a church basement in San Francisco. But I cant promise thats correct. It was a long time ago, and I was more interested in participating in my first election than in my surroundings. There were times when I was the only person at a polling station. Other times, I had to wait for an open booth, giving me time to chat with the always-friendly poll workers, say hi to neighbors and pat their dogs. In November 2008, the line outside the school was so long a friend had time to make a sandwich run. Yet the people queuing up were so excited to take part in what would be a historic election of the first black U.S. president that I heard no grousing about the wait. Its possible my neighborhood school will be selected as a one-stop voting center in March 2020. Its a fairly big space, centrally located and just a block away from a major transit corridor. But that doesnt mean it will be the same, or that I will be back. Not with so many other convenient options. Thats good for democracy, I know, but maybe not great for the memories. Mariel Garza Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook It is perhaps the central irony of our politics today: We live in an incredibly polarized and partisan moment, but our political parties have never been weaker. As odd as it sounds, political parties in democracies have an important anti-democratic function. Traditionally, the parties shaped the choices put to voters. Long before voters decided anything in the primary or general elections, party bosses worked to groom good candidates, weed out bad ones, organize interests and frame issues. In the modern era, the story of party decline usually begins in the aftermath of the 1968 presidential election. The move toward primaries and the democratic selection of delegates took power away from the bosses. After Watergate, there were more reforms, curbing the ability of the parties to raise and spend money freely. This led to the rise of political action committees, which raise cash independent of the formal party structure. As Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said during the floor debate over the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill in 2001, We havent taken a penny of money out of politics, weve only taken the parties out of politics. Advertisement Outside groups often do more to organize voters effectively around single issues or personalities than the parties do. Outside groups the National Rifle Assn., Planned Parenthood, unions, etc. often do more to organize voters effectively around single issues or personalities than the parties do. The Kochs, Tom Steyer, George Soros and Sheldon Adelson serve as party bosses, only outside the parties. Technology is another, less obvious force siphoning power from the parties. For instance, as political historian Michael Barone has noted, the telephone dealt a grievous blow to political conventions, where insiders have outsize power. Until the 1960s, the national convention was a communications medium, Barone writes. Political leaders in the various states seldom met each other, outside of sessions of Congress, during the four years between presidential elections. The telephone eliminated the need for the face-to-face negotiations. Today, political conventions are little more than infomercials for presidential candidates. The internet and cable TV have accelerated the eclipsing of parties. Opinion websites and TV and radio hosts now do more to shape issues and select candidates than the parties do. Its a bit like comic books. Readership of comics has been in steady decline, but movie studios and toy manufacturers still feed off the brands created generations ago. The weird thing is the American people didnt seem to notice. The largest voting bloc in America today call themselves independents, but most of them tend to be as partisan as everybody else, while pure independents are less likely to vote at all. And yet, Americans keep talking about partisan politics as if the parties are in charge, and base voters on the left and the right keep railing against the party establishments, like mobs unaware that theyre kicking dead horses. Among the many problems with the rotting out of the parties is that the rot spreads. The parties are supposed to be where politics happens. McConnells point about money in politics is analogous to the larger trend. When you take political power out of the parties, other actors seize it. When wielded by people who arent supposed to be in the politics business, that power corrupts. This is why every Academy Awards ceremony is peppered with asinine political jeremiads, and why late-night comedy hosts serve as de facto Democratic Party organizers. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion Its why people like Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, act like social gospel ward heelers. Its why the cable news networks spend so much of their time rallying voters in one direction or another. And its why countless pundits and allegedly objective reporters serve as unofficial political consultants. Its also why Donald Trump could leverage his celebrity to seize the GOP nomination, and why someone like Oprah Winfrey could be next. There are other, larger forces at work. The decline of strong independent institutions religious, civic and familial has people searching for other outlets to find a sense of meaning and belonging. Identity politics, populism and nationalism are filling that void. Thats happened before, but when it did, the parties were there to filter, constrain and channel those passions in a healthy direction. The Potemkin parties cant, or wont, do that anymore. The result is a nation of partisans decrying partisanship. jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook To the editor: If Americans are wondering why our democracy is in shambles, they would be wise to finally pay some attention to U.S. foreign policy. As evidenced in the Nov. 1 article White House denounces Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua as a troika of tyranny, U.S. foreign policy is aggressive in nature one could even say it is predatory. For decades it helped to topple elected foreign governments around the world in the name of fighting the Cold War. Americans cannot be outraged only by this administrations domestic lunacy; they must also resist U.S. aggression abroad. In two weeks, a group of concerned people from Los Angeles will be going to the border in solidarity with the caravan of Central American migrants. To us, they are refugees of U.S. military and economic policy chickens coming home to roost. Advertisement Rachel Bruhnke, San Pedro .. To the editor: One great achievement of the Obama administration was to begin opening American doors of friendship to the millions of Cuban citizens who had been economically oppressed for more than 50 years. Now, the national security advisor to the president, John R. Bolton, announces that our Treasury Department has expanded the list of businesses that it believes are controlled by Cubas military or intelligence services and are off-limits to U.S. trade or commerce. In other words, the doors that had been opened by President Obama will soon be shut. According to Bolton, the United States should step back from Cuban tyranny and terror. Instead of moving forward, Trumps administration continues to step backward in the quest to make America great again. David N. Hartman, Santa Ana Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Thousands of active-duty U.S. troops likely will not be spending this Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. They have been ordered to our southern border to assist efforts to stop the men, women and children who may ask for asylum in the United States. The asylum-seekers know our president does not want them. They know the obstacles that await them. But they seem to have an unwavering confidence and hope in the humanity and righteousness of the United States that drives their continued trek toward a better life in a perceived promised land. Their perseverance resembles a pilgrimage. President Trump has not extinguished their hope, nor should he extinguish ours. The caravan should serve as an inspiration and a reminder to all Americans of who we are and what we still represent. William Goldman, Palos Verdes Estates Advertisement .. To the editor: While Trump persists in labeling the thousands of people approaching our southern border an invasion, his critics have insisted that the caravan is nothing of the sort. If that is the case, why is a home invasion considered an illegal and forceful entry to an occupied private dwelling? According to many news reports, participants in this caravan have made clear that regardless of the opposition of the U.S. government to their activity, they plan to cross the border any way they can. If a homeless person looking for food and shelter breaks in and enters the Los Angeles Times offices, what would security personnel do? They would call the police, and the homeless person might be charged with a crime. Isnt that what the caravan intends to do? Why should they be treated differently? Anybody who wishes to come to this country should do so legally, as I did many years ago. Raul De Cardenas, Los Angeles .. To the editor: Regardless of what we think about immigration or the plight of the approaching migrant caravan, we should consider the causes that drive hordes of people away from their homes, precipitating crises worldwide. Among them are corruption, hunger, warfare, poverty and environmental degradation. One rarely mentioned cause is climate change. Central America and Mexico are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise and the droughts, floods, hurricanes and deadly heatwaves it makes worse and more frequent. Perhaps walls and soldiers can keep the migrants out this time, but not the next time or the next as climate change worsens. Strategies to exclude migrants cant exclude climate change, which must be confronted aggressively both to save ourselves and to solve immigration. Otherwise, any attempt to keep migrants out will be doomed to failure. Carol Steinhart, Madison, Wis. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook TRIPOLI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN on Monday condemned an attack by a militia on a local hospital in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement. "The United Nations condemns the attack against Jalaa Hospital for Women and Childbirth in Tripoli, by militias. The attackers shot one doctor and threatened the safety and security of the medical staff at the hospital, resulting in a three-day halt of all non-emergency medical services," the statement said. Armed groups bomb hospitals, assault medical staff, loot medicine, equipment and ambulances, and clash inside hospitals, all with impunity, the statement revealed. Libyan health system already suffers lack of resources, and such attacks threaten lives of innocent patients and medical personnel, the statement added. "The UN warns the perpetrators that attacks against medical facilities and healthcare providers are prohibited under International Humanitarian Law and that those responsible must be brought to justice for what may amount to war crimes, under the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court," the statement warned. On Thursday, the UNSMIL said that armed groups have been using force and intimidating public and private institutions in Tripoli recently with the aim of getting access to financial resources. Libya has been suffering political division and insecurity ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. Authorities struggle to impose their control in the country, as many armed groups operate independently. [ Editor: WPY ] Californias 21st Congressional District is somewhat anomalous: Its represented by a Republican even though Democrats have a 16-percentage-point voter registration advantage and nominee Hillary Clinton won the district by more than 15 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election. Rep. David Valadao of Hanford has won his previous three elections with more than 55% of the vote, and the nonpartisan handicapper Cook Political Report has the district in the likely Republican column. That hasnt prevented Democratic challenger TJ Cox from pushing Valadao on his voting record and what Cox calls inaction on local issues. An engineer by training, Cox ran into some trouble when a tax form showing primary residency in Maryland surfaced. He later explained the house was purchased as a temporary home for his wife, an intensive care physician who was studying at Johns Hopkins University. Advertisement Immigration A man holds his daughters hand after picking her and his wife up at an air base in Guatemala City on July 10, after they were deported from the United States. (ORLANDO ESTRADA / AFP/Getty Images) Taxes Covered California is the states state health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act. Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) voted to repeal the healthcare act. (Associated Press) Healthcare President Trump Californias 22nd Congressional District is seen as a safe seat for Republicans, even though theres been more of a push this year from a Democratic challenger whos pulled in millions in donations. Republicans have a nine-point voter registration advantage, and the district within Fresno and Tulare counties went for President Trump by 10 percentage points in 2016. But its seven-term incumbent, Rep. Devin Nunes of Tulare chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has faced criticism for his handling of the investigation into Russian meddling in the election and the Trump campaigns ties with Moscow. Fresno County prosecutor Andrew Janz, who has drawn praise from locals for his moderate positions on gun control and immigration, is trying to unseat Nunes. Advertisement Although Nunes support for Trump helped Janz raise a record-setting $4.3 million last quarter, the incumbent holds a eight-point lead in the district, according to a recent poll from UC Berkeleys Institute of Governmental Studies. District voters are most concerned about water, the economy, taxes and healthcare, according to the IGS poll. Water policy Well water is pumped from the ground in April 2015 in Tulare during the drought. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Taxes Russia Investigation Supporters of the Affordable Care Act hold up signs outside the Supreme Court in June 2015. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) Healthcare Climate change Of all the things nobody can predict in the epic congressional contests in California on Tuesday, the biggest is just who will show up to vote and who wont. Nearly 4 million Californians cast their ballots early, mostly by mail. That suggests higher-than-average turnout for a midterm, but short of a presidential-election spike. For the record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that San Clemente is in Californias 48th Congressional District. It is in the 49th. Voters who lean toward Democrats are most prone to skip elections, strategists say, so the higher the turnout, the better the prospects for Democrats. If youre having a big turnout, its coming from somewhere, and its more likely to be coming from the low-performing universe of voters historically, said Bill Carrick, a Democratic consultant in Los Angeles. Advertisement The Republican Party holds just 14 of Californias 53 House seats, and that turf could shrink still further Tuesday if the voter backlash against Donald Trumps presidency is as strong as polls suggest. Most of the nearly $300 million spent on the states House campaigns has gone to just a half-dozen races, according to the nonpartisan California Target Book election guide. In all six of those districts, Republicans are defending a seat that Democrats are trying to snatch away. The concentration of spending in districts now held by Republicans is a sign of the lopsided state of play nationwide in the battle for control of the House. In Orange County, where four of the partys House seats are in jeopardy, and in other suburbs from coast to coast, many voters repelled by Trump are shifting toward Democrats, endangering the Republican majority, polls show. GOP leaders have all but given up on one of the races, offering virtually no help to Diane Harkey, the Republican vying against Democrat Mike Levin to succeed GOP Rep. Darrell Issa in the coastal 49th Congressional District straddling San Diego and Orange counties. Democrats need to gain 23 seats across the country to win control of the House, giving California an outsize role in the battle for control of Congress. Californias vote count is notoriously slow, so the results in multiple contests could remain uncertain Tuesday night. This thing could stretch out for weeks, said Kevin Spillane, a Republican strategist in San Diego. Here are five things to watch for in the California contests: How many besieged Republicans will survive the early-vote test? Shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m., the first tallies to be released will be the mail ballots that arrived before election day. Republicans tend to outperform Democrats among voters who cast ballots early by mail, so the evenings first tally should not look too bad for the GOP, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data, a nonpartisan firm that tracks voting patterns. Voters who cast ballots in person typically skew toward Democrats, so the outlook is unlikely to improve for Republicans once the initial numbers are reported, Mitchell said. If Republicans are losing any of those seats in the early vote, they are going to lose the seat, he said. Can party loyalty save Rep. Dana Rohrabacher? In coastal Orange County, GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher faces a storm of attack ads by Democrat Harley Rouda and his allies in the 48th Congressional District. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), right, has a larger foundation of Republican voters in his district than other besieged GOP House members in California. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Rohrabacher, who has weathered years of sour headlines over his friendly posture toward Russia, has been badly outspent, and he has attracted less help from national party leaders than similarly endangered Republicans. But Republicans hold a 10% advantage in party registration over Democrats in the district, giving the incumbent a stronger foundation than any of the other five GOP candidates in close races in Southern California and the Central Valley. Conservative bastions like Newport Beach and Huntington Beach voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, even though Rohrabachers district as a whole favored Democrat Hillary Clinton. Will they stick by Rohrabacher? Will Latinos vote in large numbers? The rising clout of Latino voters is the primary reason California has drifted from the Republican Party over the last two decades. Its also one of the main forces eroding Orange Countys standing as a GOP stronghold. But interest in the midterm election among Latino voters hasnt matched the intense levels seen among white voters with college degrees, especially women. Latinos are a younger population, on average, with less voting history. In past contests, many have focused on the election only in the final weeks. A big Latino turnout on Tuesday could put Democrats over the top in key races. One of them is in the 10th Congressional District in the Modesto area, where 28% of registered voters are Latino. Republican Rep. Jeff Denham is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Josh Harder. Will party leanings transcend ethnicity? Latinos typically favor Democrats in California and, for the most part, so do Asian Americans. In the 39th Congressional District race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton, philanthropist Gil Cisneros, a Latino Democrat, is facing Republican Young Kim, an immigrant from South Korea. The inland Orange County districts voters are 24% Latino and 21% Asian. If Kim, a former state Assembly member who was a longtime aide to Royce, can attract an unusually high number of Asian American voters, it might be enough to keep this seat Republican. How badly will Democrats perform with white blue-collar voters? In upscale suburban districts like the 45th in the Irvine area of Orange County, white voters with college degrees pose a major threat to the GOP incumbent, in this case Rep. Mimi Walters. Those voters have turned especially hard against Trump, and their support for Democrat Katie Porter, a consumer lawyer, could cost Walters her seat. Democrat Katie Porter is challenging GOP Rep. Mimi Walters in the 45th Congressional District. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) But more blue-collar suburban districts, such as Republican Rep. Steve Knights in the 25th Congressional District on the northwest edge of Los Angeles County, could be a tougher challenge for Democrats. Trumps strongest base of support is white men with no college degree. Knights Democratic rival, Katie Hill, a former leader of a nonprofit that provides services to the homeless, has attracted more than $18 million in independent spending by Democratic groups, in part to help her overcome this obstacle. michael.finnegan@latimes.com Twitter: @finneganLAT The Supreme Court, in its first decision of the new term, ruled Tuesday that the federal ban on age discrimination applies broadly to state and local governments, even to a small fire department that has only a few employees. The unanimous decision clears the way for two laid-off firefighters in Mount Lemmon, Ariz., to sue the fire department for age discrimination. They were the two oldest full-time firefighters, but the citys lawyers argued the federal law did not cover them. At issue was how to read the definition of an employer in the 1974 law. It defines an employer as someone who is engaged in commerce and has 20 or more employees. It also says an employer is a state or a political subdivision of a state. Writing for the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said those two provisions combine to establish separate categories. For private employers, small firms with fewer than 20 employees are not covered. However, all state and local governments are covered, she said, regardless of how small they are. Advertisement Congress did not repeat the twenty or more employees qualifier when referencing state and local government entities. This court is not at liberty to insert the absent qualifier, she wrote in Mount Lemmon vs. Guido. The ruling upheld a decision of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, but several others, including the 7th Circuit in Chicago and the 10th Circuit in Denver, had ruled earlier that the federal age bias law did not cover employees in small local government agencies. Tuesdays decision dealt only with who was covered by the age bias law. In the past, the court has made it difficult for older employees to prove they were victims of age bias if the employer could cite other reasons for layoffs. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh took no part in the decision because the case was heard in October, a week before he took his seat. The latest from Washington More stories from David G. Savage david.savage@latimes.com Twitter: DavidGSavage We need a voice: Latino voters hope for surge in turnout Terry Avalos, 69, and her husband, Ricardo Avalos, 71, were among those who voted Tuesday in South Gate. (Ruben Vives / Los Angeles Times) It took only two minutes maybe less for 28-year-old Christian Martinez to drop off his vote-by-mail ballot at American Legion Post 335 in South Gate. I dropped it off because I wanted to make sure they got it, he said. Wearing a green jacket and black pants, Martinez said he voted mostly for Democratic Party candidates, because they fell in line with his beliefs. He said President Trump and his Republican Party also played a factor in how he voted today. I didnt like the candidates, he said. Im not gonna lie, everything that has been going on has played a part, not just I dont like Donald Trump, but more like all the people around him, all the people supporting him and everyone else saying we should do what he says, thats the right thing to do. I disagree, so I chose not to vote on the Republican side. Martinez and others like him will play a pivotal role in todays election, particularly in key battleground states where the Latino vote could mean the difference between winning and losing. Still, Martinez makes up a relatively small percentage of eligible Latino voters who cast ballots. Those numbers are lower during non-presidential elections. There are 29 million Latinos who are eligible to vote in this years midterm election, making up about 13% of all eligible voters in the United States. About 44% of Latinos who are eligible to vote are between the ages of 18 and 35. But thats also the same age group that has contributed to low turnout rates among Latino voters. Martinez said he began voting when he was 18. He said his parents vote, but his civic life began to take shape as he read and watched the news more often. I felt it was important, he said. Since an early age, Ive been aware that if youre not active in politics, youre going to be affecting stuff and just by not voting, by not taking action, youre allowing other people to take action and do things their way. Farther down the street, Ricardo and Terry Avalos had just voted. The husband and wife said they hoped the election would send a blue Democratic wave washing across America. Hopefully things will change for the better, said Terry Avalos, 69. They said they voted to oppose President Trump, to save healthcare and to also help Democrats take control of the Congress. We need a voice, Terry Avalos said. Weve had plenty of Republican presidents before and we had no issues, but this is bad. Ricardo Avalos, 71, said he doesnt like Trump and his rhetoric, but admits he has made some smart financial moves for the country by making sure other nations pay their fair share. The couple said they voted for Gavin Newsom as governor, but when it came to Proposition 10, the rent-control measure, they couldnt agree on whether they voted the same. We voted yes, Ricardo Avalos said. No, Terry Avalos said at the same time. Yes, her husband responded. We voted yes. One thing they could agree on was that they had noticed younger people voting. More women too. Usually its old people, Ricardo Avalos said. He said it was a positive thing to see. He hopes that younger Latino men and women turn out to vote and they continue to do so in future elections. The couple said they were cautiously optimistic about how the election would turn out. Last we saw with Hillary [Clinton] and Trump, we went to bed and she was winning. The next morning we woke up and learned she lost the election. It was like a funeral. Perhaps no one sees a more grim view of election day than Maria Arriaga, 55. She said that even though she was a registered voter, work was going to prevent her from going to the polls. Inside the South Gate market she works at, the Huntington Park resident said she feels left out and guilty. I know my vote matters, she said. I know it counts and it can help someone. Arriaga said she didnt know how to fill out a vote-by-mail ballot and didnt know how to figure out who to ask. She said she did receive text messages about Propositions 8 and 10, and even got one from Ed Hernandez, who is running for lieutenant governor. She also received one in Spanish about the importance of voting. I feel terrible, she said, adding she wanted to vote against Republicans because of Trump. Its the way hes spoken about women, how he said that woman had a horse face, and Republicans have supported him throughout all the things he has done and said. Arriaga was referring to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who is in a legal dispute with Trump. Arriaga said this is the first election she has missed. She began voting in 1995 after she became a citizen. She said she has missed some midterm elections, but has shown up to cast a ballot in every presidential race. Not far from Arriagas workplace, Florentino Mata, 81, was walking home from his polling station. He said he voted for mostly Democratic candidates. I have hope that they can help us, even if I dont believe they can keep their promises, he said. But its some hope. He said he wants Democrats to take back the House and Senate to prevent any more attacks on immigrants. Despite the streak of votes he gave to Democrats, he decided to lean toward Republican candidate for governor, John Cox, because he felt he was the better candidate. Mata said he took some advice from his daughter, too. All you can do is wait for the results now. Thierry Monasse/Getty Images(PARIS) -- Six people were arrested Tuesday morning in France for allegedly planning a "violent action" against French President Emmanuel Macron, a source close to the investigation told ABC News. The suspected plan was "imprecise and loosely formed," according to the source. The arrested include five men and one woman, the source said. The suspects range in age from 22 years old to 62. The Paris prosecutors office has opened a preliminary investigation for criminal terrorist association. Elysee Palace, the official residence of the French president, told ABC News it would not comment on an ongoing investigation. President Donald Trump will travel to Paris to participate at an international ceremony to commemorate the end of World War 1 on Nov. 11. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Monday said Brazil attaches great importance to relations with China and considers China as a "great cooperation partner." Bolsonaro made the remarks at a meeting in Rio de Janeiro with China's ambassador to Brazil, Li Jinzhang. Bolsonaro, who is scheduled to take office in January, said his government will actively seek to broaden and expand ties of cooperation with China, and will strengthen the bilateral relationship. China's top envoy in Brazil said his country was willing to work with Brazil to promote the continued development of their comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual respect, equality and benefit. Joining forces to pursue win-win cooperation would fulfill the goal of improving the wellbeing of both countries and strengthen cooperation between the two emerging markets, added Li. [ Editor: WPY ] President Trump held the stage last month in Mississippi and, amid his usual attacks on Democrats and immigrants, told the crowd why he was really there. Im not on the ballot, but in a certain way, Im on the ballot, he said. I want you to vote, he added. Pretend Im on the ballot. Since that declaration, by Monday on the eve of the midterm election, Trump has held two dozen rallies in nearly as many states. He has fired off dozens of endorsements on Twitter, flooded Fox News with his allies and aides, and stood onstage with candidates whose names hed just learned to pronounce. He has implausibly promised a tax cut before the election, ordered troops to the border and released a campaign ad that drew such widespread criticism for its naked appeals to the racial resentment undergirding his political strategy that even Fox stopped running it. Advertisement In short, Trump has made the midterm election about himself and his rhetoric to stoke fear and resentment of immigrants more than any predecessors in memory. Presidents historically have realized that the midterm elections are referendums, at least in part, on their performance. Trump, as he so often does, has said the unspoken part out loud: He is on the ballot. Whether we consider it or not, the press is very much considering it a referendum on me, and us as a movement, Trump reportedly told supporters during a phone call Monday. Later, when a reporter asked whether the election is more about his style than anything else, he replied: I dont think so, but I mean, I am willing to accept that. Its a high-risk strategy for Trump. If Republicans emerge better than projected in Tuesdays results, he can claim another unexpected victory, demoralizing Democrats and striking fear into a party already worried about defeating him in 2020. If Republicans do poorly, losing one or both chambers of Congress, Trump will bear much of the blame and have to contend with a description he hates more than any other: loser. Regardless of Tuesdays outcome, Trumps immersion in the campaign has tethered the Republican Party to its outsider president more fully than ever. Two years ago, disclosure of the Access Hollywood tape which revealed Trump boasting of sexual assault years ago forced Republicans to decide whether to stick with Trump. Now the midterm election replete with the presidents appeals to racial resentment has forced them to decide whether to embrace him as well as all he stands for. He owns the Republican Party even more than Reagan, said Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and close ally to Trump. He has polarized the election on the issues he believes in, on his terms, despite the news media. You can argue whether or not its the right gamble. But its his gamble. Trumps allies say his decision was relatively easy: Hes essentially on the ballot anyway; he might as well own it. Democrats have chosen not to overtly frame the election around Trump, emphasizing issues such as healthcare instead, in part because they know that he is omnipresent in voters minds. Of course its a referendum on him, said Matt Schlapp, a Trump loyalist who is chairman of the American Conservative Union and whose wife is a top White House communications aide. Hes dominating politics. Hes dominating every news cycle. If the Republicans have a halfway decent night, hes going to deserve a lot of credit. And if they dont? The same, Schlapp acknowledged. In recent days, Trump has tried to diminish expectations some, stepping back from his predictions of a red wave that would carry Republicans into Congress, statehouses and governors mansions. On Monday, Trump first said Republicans would do very well in the House and Senate races. Then he pointed to the tough history of presidents parties in midterm elections only three times in the last century has the presidents party gained House seats in a midterm election before settling on a prediction that Republicans would do pretty well. Privately, allies inside and outside the administration say they believe Republicans will maintain control of the Senate, perhaps winning another seat or two, but they expect Democrats to win control of the House. By most accounts, that would count as a loss for Trump, especially given his personalization of the election and his talk of red waves. Yet members of both parties expect Trump will accept little in the way of blame, no matter what happens. He doesnt operate by the usual rules, said Jim Manley, a Democratic consultant who was a senior advisor to the former Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada. I dont expect any sort of introspection from this president. Manley worked in the Senate in 2010, when Democrats lost control of the House in that years midterm election and came away with a narrower majority in the Senate. Then, President Obama grappled publicly with what he labeled a shellacking, just as President Bush lamented his thumping in 2006 when Republicans lost their majorities in both the Senate and House. Like other presidents following defeat, Obama and Bush were forced to rethink their agendas and their strategies, and at least make overtures to the opposing party. No one expects that sort of language from Trump, should Republicans endure big losses. If they lose the House, the casualties are likely to be most, if not all, of the partys remaining moderates, the Republicans willing to be occasional Trump critics, leaving the most conservative lawmakers in his own mold. Based on the last year, I cant possibly think of anything that would get them to challenge Trump, Manley said of those lawmakers. Gingrich said he is confident that Sen. Mitch McConnell, assuming the Kentucky Republican is back as the majority leader, would continue to help Trump stock the courts with conservatives and thwart attempts by House Democrats to pass their agenda. That would leave Trumps legal team to fight off House investigations. Gingrich, who led the House after President Clinton and Democrats forfeited control of the House and Senate in 1994, predicted Trump might split Democrats in the House by proposing bipartisan infrastructure legislation. But Trump talked of doing that after his election in 2016, then failed to follow through. And most observers say, dont bet on Democrats cutting a deal with him. Especially after the last few months of campaigning, Democrats know their voters are enraged by Trump, so rather than compromise, they are expected to pursue investigations that would further polarize the parties. His rhetoric has become so unhinged, I think its going to be much more difficult for him to do stuff, said Manley. Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington noah.bierman@latimes.com Twitter: @noahbierman The final days of Californias 2018 race for governor unfolded more as an extension of the contentious battle between California and President Trump than a contest pitting Democrat Gavin Newsom against Republican John Cox. Newsom, the clear front-runner, glided into election day rallying for a Democratic incursion into Orange County and other long-held Republican turf. As he aids fellow California Democrats locked in tight congressional races, Newsoms efforts to help his partys quest to take control of the House of Representatives could add to his political cachet as a top leader of the Trump resistance. Cox, meanwhile, continued to offer a bleak portrait of Democratic control in California, accusing Newsom and other party leaders of turning the state into a den of homelessness and economic despair. His rallies with GOP congressional candidates ginned up some media coverage, providing Cox with with a small dose of much-needed public exposure before election day. Newsom really doesnt have a path to lose, and Cox doesnt have a path to win, said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State Los Angeles. The incentive for Newsom is that, if hes seen as helping Democrats win House races in Southern California, which is where the real action is this year, his political influence will grow. Advertisement The most recent public opinion polls show Newsom with a seemingly insurmountable lead. Democratic backlash against Trump is expected to spike voter turnout in California, giving Newsom even more of an edge. Newsom was careful to avoid appearing overconfident as he campaigned around Southern California last weekend. But his caution was belied by the significant time hes spent helping other campaigns in the past month. The two-term lieutenant governor rarely uttered Coxs name, instead focusing on the president. Trump and Trumpism is on the ballot, Newsom told reporters during a campaign stop in Baldwin Hills on Monday morning. As long was we have some stability, California will thrive. But if we dont take back the House and Trump succeeds, and then doubles down on everything hes done the last two years, California will be in the crosshairs. Where John Cox and Gavin Newsom stand on the top issues in the state At a rally in Newhall on Saturday for Democrat Katie Hill, who is trying to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), Newsom roused a packed auditorium of campaign volunteers and supporters, calling on them to be the antidote to the fear and anxiety he said has been stirred by Trump and his allies in Congress. Newsom ridiculed Trump for trying to rally his political base by fearmongering over the caravan of Central American migrants making their way to the United States. He noted that California, in contrast, welcomed more than 100,000 refugees over the last 15 years, saying the state embraces diversity and human rights. We are here at this critical moment, not just to step up and step in because I dont think its a gross exaggeration, the world is looking to California at this moment to make the right decision, Newsom said to the crowd Saturday. Annie Guidice, a film editor from Woodland Hills, drove up to Newhall to hear Newsom speak. She also volunteered to help the Hill campaign with its get-out-the-vote efforts, in her first experience assisting a political campaign. Its just such a critical, immensely terrifying time, said Guidice, 49. I personally feel like I have to be engaged in the process whether or not someone is involved in my local area. Newsom was joined by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as he campaigned in Orange County, a onetime Republican stronghold. They joined rallies for Democratic congressional candidates Katie Porter in Irvine, Harley Rouda in Costa Mesa and Gil Cisneros in Buena Park. On Monday, he began his final stretch of campaigning in Los Angeles before heading up to Modesto for a rally with Democrat Josh Harder, who is trying to unseat Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock). He ended the day with an election eve party in San Francisco with Harris and Gov. Jerry Brown. Brown told the crowd some of whom waited in line for two hours beforehand that Newsom is the energetic, visionary young governor California needs. People get a little tired of you in politics, they do, Brown said at the rally in the citys Mission District. Weve had two terms of a Democrat, me. Then we get two more terms of another Democrat. And luckily were going from the oldest governor to one thats pretty young. Aboard his Help is on the Way campaign bus, Cox hit many of the same contested congressional districts. He threw a rally in Carlsbad on Friday with Republican congressional candidate Diane Harkey, who is vying to succeed retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista). Over the weekend, Cox stumped for GOP congressional candidate Young Kim in Rowland Heights and incumbent Republicans Knight in Santa Clarita and Denham in Modesto. Republican candidate John Cox, right, takes a photo with a supporter during a campaign event with congressional candidate Young Kim, left. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) As Newsom cast Trump as Californias bogeyman, Cox branded himself a political savior to end the gloom and doom in the state created by decades of Democratic rule. The people of this state have been taxed enough. They have been paying so much for housing, for food, for electricity that have been driven up by the special-interest groups that control Gavin Newsom, that control the Legislature, told the crowd gathered at Kims campaign headquarters on Sunday. When Coxs bus rolled into Santa Clarita on Saturday, he was met with supporters festooned in red, white and blue. One wore a shirt that read, If you live here, Trump is your president. Cox whipped up the crowd with a chant of Yes on 6, a reference to the ballot proposition that would repeal the states increased gas tax and vehicle fees. Another roar of approval came when he promised to cancel plans for the states $77-billion high-speed rail system. He again took aim at Newsoms tenure as mayor of San Francisco, repeating his claim that the Democrats policies hurt the city. Who are we fighting? The San Francisco values, Cox said at a Sunday rally for Denham, as dozens booed at the citys mention. Take a look at that city. It used to be a wonderful city. It was run by my opponent I would say run into the ground. FULL COVERAGE: Election Day 2018 Cox, a wealthy businessman from Rancho Santa Fe, seemed to relish his final days on the campaign trial. He said he remains confident that hell do well on Tuesday. And Newsom let down his guard on Monday, laying out plans for his transition to the governors office. Weve got a lot of work to do on housing, homeless, issues of affordability. Those remain stubborn, Newsom told reporters. The governor, I hope its me, we got to hit the ground running this week in a transition to start to address those issues issues in a much more meaningful and deliberative way. In a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released in mid-October, Newsom dominated Californias two biggest population centers, the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, home to just under half the voters in California. Thanks to his San Francisco roots, the Bay Area has long been one of Newsoms strongest bases of support, but hes also proved resilient in Southern California. In the June primary, Newsom won Los Angeles County handily, despite facing L.A.s former mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. He also finished a sliver behind Cox in San Diego County, the Republicans home base. As a candidate and as lieutenant governor, Newsom says hes visited Southern California on almost a weekly basis for nearly a decade. He has joked that hes been eyeing a run for governor ever since being elected lieutenant governor in 2010. Hes been working toward this moment for eight-plus years, said Rusty Hicks, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Its undeniable that the message that he has had throughout his campaign has resonated with voters, which put him in a great position to carry that message all across the state as a standard bearer for California values. Times staff writers Christine Mai-Duc and Jazmine Ulloa contributed to this report. Coverage of California politics phil.willon@latimes.com | Twitter: @philwillon dakota.smith@latimes.com | Twitter: @dakotacdsmith Teenage vaping will be the center of discussion Wednesday evening as the Burbank Council PTA, Burbank Teachers Assn. and Burbank Unified School District host an information session in the library at Burbank High School. The nonprofit, nonpartisan clean-air organization called BREATHE California of Los Angeles County will give a presentation titled, Clearing the air about vaping; safer does not mean safe. The event will run from roughly 7 to 8 p.m., with child care available. There will also be translation services in Spanish and Armenian as well as for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. The vaping seminar is one of two scheduled, with another slated for Nov. 27 at Luther Burbank Middle School, also from 7 to 8 p.m. The Centers for Disease Control has issued several statements indicating that they are seeing an increase in the use of E-cigarettes and vapes among middle schools and high schools across the country, said Johanna Chase, Burbank Unifieds director of wellness. Burbank Unified recognizes how important it is to take a proactive approach to educate and inform, she added. Some of the topics to be discussed will help identify the ways in which teens are accessing E-cigarettes, understanding the major health concerns related to E-cigarette use and realizing what it means to vape. I am so excited about this coming together because I really do feel that we need to be more informed about the impacts of vaping, said Diana Abasta, president of the Burbank Teachers Assn., about the seminars during a school board meeting on Nov. 1. E-cigarettes are any of several devices, some disposable and others rechargeable, that include pipes and cigars along with medium and large tank devices. Most are battery powered, have some way to heat up, can hold liquids and can be used for other products, such as marijuana. The Centers for Disease Control do report that E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products. However, the CDC also states that E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, pregnant women or adults who do not currently use tobacco products. The main reason behind the health risk, according to the CDC, is that most E-cigarettes contain addictive nicotine, which can harm adolescent brain development. It is an increasing concern in our community about the lack of awareness of students and parents about the harms of vaping, Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill said during the Nov. 1 board meeting. A lot of people see it as an alternative, a safe alternative to cigarette smoking, and its just the opposite, he added. andrew.campa@latimes.com Twitter @campadresports Authorities say a 55-year-old woman was robbed at knifepoint in Glendale late last month after she was approached by a stranger asking her for directions. The woman was walking to her car in the 900 block of Alma Street around 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 26 when another woman approached her asking for directions. As she stopped to help, the second woman waved over a man who was standing nearby to come over near the two. Sgt. Dan Suttles, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, said the man was waved over under the auspices of offering additional help. When he approached the pair, he pulled out a knife and threatened the first woman into handing over her money. The man and other woman then fled in a white sedan. Officers were able to track down the vehicles registration information after getting a partial license plate number from surveillance camera footage that caught the fleeing car. Based on the registration information, police tracked down and arrested 50-year-old Rodolfo Sanchez and 53-year-old Olga Serrano on suspicion of robbery. Sanchez is a resident of Los Angeles, while Serrano is a Compton resident, according to Glendale police. Its unknown how the pair know each other, and the case remains under investigation. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc Three local authors were featured speakers last month when the La Canada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild, an auxiliary of Charitable Childrens Guild, held its annual Book & Author Luncheon. The Oct. 23 festivities got underway at 10 a.m. at the La Canada Flintridge Country Club, with writers Karin Esterhammer, Anne Wheaton and Chris Erskine signing copies of their books for guests prior to the main event. In a nearby room, beautifully wrapped and displayed silent auction items awaited bidders. During the days program, Esterhammer introduced her latest work, So Happiness to Meet You Foolishly, Blissfully Stranded in Vietnam, Wheaton talked about her childrens book, Piggy and Pug and L.A. Times columnist and La Canada resident Chris Erskine spoke about his book, Daditude: The Joys and Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood. Mary Beth Perrine, assistant vice president of development for Orthopaedic Institute for Children, who has an amazing line of patter, led the days live auction. Jennifer Kumiyama, an Orthopaedic Institute for Children patient ambassador, spoke about the care she received at the hospital. She is a gifted vocalist and sang for the audience. She received in return an enthusiastic standing ovation. Guild members working to make this such a successful event included Marie Baker, president of the group, Elinor Bunn, Jeanne Long, Arlene Massimino, Marilyn Center, Judith McClure, Joan Cleven, Wendy Nicoll, Louise (Easy) Delaney, Caryl Petit, Danette Erickson, Joanne Ploszaj, Maria Gero, Ginney Pruitt, Elinor Bunn, Marianne Jennings, Marie Gilhooly, Patty Rademacher, Marianne Jennings, Barbara Self and Linda Labrie. Provisional members assisting included DeeDee Nuanes, Christine (Chris) Wright Roper and Alicia Thompson. -- Halloween was such an exciting evening at my house. I love seeing the little kids all dressed up in their costumes and their unbridled exuberance. Because I live so close to the center of the Montrose village where they have a Halloween party each year, the kids just naturally migrate down the hill to my street. Im not exaggerating when I say we have several hundred trick-or-treaters. Kids costume favorites change from year to year so it is always fun to see whats in. This year I was visited by a couple of cute little girl unicorns with golden horns, an Egyptian queen, several of the big blow-up dinosaurs, a 6-foot-tall bright pink flamingo, an entire female Dodgers team and about three girls dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, their costumes complete with glittering red slippers. It is great that so many of the moms and dads dress up also to take their kids trick-or-treating. Several of the families brought along their dogs that were also in costume cuteness personified! The most unusual family included a mom dressed as an anthill with her son and husband as the ants. Their costumes were so clever and the mom made them all. Dont ask me to describe them because it would be too hard, but the end effect was amazing. Another thing I thought was pretty wonderful was that, without exception, each trick-or-treater said thank you and wished me a Happy Halloween. I think that was pretty darn remarkable! I usually run out of candy within the first half hour and then have to close up my candy store and turn the lights out. I wouldnt miss this fun adventure for the world I love our neighborhood on Halloween night. JANE NAPIER NEELY covers the La Canada Flintridge social scene. Email her at jnvalleysun@aol.com with news of your special event. Fur was flying on the first day of November at the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station, where several employees marked the end of a monthlong commitment to grow mustaches and funds for a local childrens charity with a brief but satisfying shaving party. Its just awful, said a mustachioed station Capt. Chris Blasnek, who once sported the look but quit 25 years ago and never looked back. I cant believe people like this. Several station employees, some to the chagrin of wives and girlfriends, grew out their staches to raise funds for 999 Kids, a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department relief organization that provides items for children with special needs living in the foster care system. Named for the officer in need radio code, 999 Kids provides about 1,000 children each year with specialized equipment and services such as sport wheelchairs, computers, special education classes and medically oriented toys and games. Its all about Sheriffs Department personnel working to get these kids what they need, Blasnek said of the effort. The fundraiser was the brainchild of Field Sgt. John Gilbert, whod taken part in similar mustache-growing events at other stations and asked permission to organize such a campaign at the CV Station. As of last week, participants had raised $515, with more coming in. Gilbert reminded the captain of a promise hed made at the beginning of the October. Early on, the captain made the commitment, Ill match whatever you collect, John, Gilbert reminded Blasnek. Famous last words, Blasnek replied with a laugh. The money collected, it was time to get shaving. Detective Sgt. Alan Chu had brought his own razor, while Sgt. Jeff Curran snagged a tiny red disposable one from a hygiene kit. Standing in front of the mens restroom mirror, Chu, Blasnek and Curran made short work of the task. They rinsed and dried their new smooth faces, smiling from a sense of relief. That feels so much better, Blasnek said. Even the air smells better. sara.cardine@latimes.com Twitter: @SaraCardine Voters began pouring into polling places across the country Tuesday in a caustic midterm election that offered Democrats their first opportunity to claw back to power in the Trump era. Party strategists were quietly confident Democrats would gain the 23 seats needed to seize control of the House for the first time since losing the chamber in a 2010 GOP landslide. Republicans hoped to pad their thin 51-49 Senate majority and, defying the pollsters and most pundits, hang onto the House by the most slender of margins. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times Helping hand: Shantel Monk holds her brother Zachariah Johnson, 4, as she votes at the Watts Tower Arts Center in Los Angeles. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times Stepping into the light: Voters check in at a polling station at the Watts Tower Art Center in Los Angeles. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times Tutorial: Poll inspector Adrianna De La Rosa, right, helps guide Jose Gonzalez and his wife Socorro Gonzalez, on how to use the ballot at a polling location in Boyle Heights. Mark Boster / For the Times Ruffing it: Zelda waits for her owner, Tony Payan, to cast his ballot at the Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach on election day. Mark Boster / For the Times Reflecting: Voters line-up at the Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach to cast their ballots on election day. Mark Boster / For the Times Cheerleader: Harley Rouda, candidate for the 48th Congressional District greets supporters during an Election Day Get Out The Vote rally at Main Beach in Laguna Beach. Rouda is vying for the seat held by 30-year incumbent Dana Rohrabacher. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times Family affair: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher walks with his family, wife Rhonda, daughters, Annika, left, Tristen, right and son, Christiran, back, as he drops off a mail-in ballot to the Boys and Girls Club of Costa Mesa. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times Still dreamin': A tired 3-year- old Van Mayer rolled out of bed to vote with Mom, Jocelyn Mayer, as the polls open at the LUXE Sunset Blvd Hotel in Brentwood. Vans next appointment is off to pre-school. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times Midterm Elixir Tea: Mylien Collins sips tea before casting her ballot at the LUXE Sunset Blvd Hotel polling station in Brentwood. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times Surf n' vote: Voters line up to casts their ballots at the Venice Beach Lifeguard Operations polling location near the Venice Pier. Mark Boster / For the Times Lunch time: Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox delivers a pizza lunch to Rep. Mimi Walters at her campaign headquarters in Newport Beach on Election Day. Walters the incumbent Republican candidate for the 45th Congressional District is being challenged by Democrat Katie Porter. Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times Cameras rollin': Katie Hill is running for Congress in Calif.'s 25th Congressional District cast her ballot under the watchful eye of the media at Shepherd Of The Hills Church in Agua Dulce. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times Passing through: Firefighter paramedic Brice Reiner weaves his way through voters and polling stations as he arrives for his shift at Orange County Fire Station 32 in Yorba Linda. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times Decision time: Aimee Kungl goes over her choices while waiting in line to vote at Orange County Fire Station 32 in Yorba Linda. Complete eletion coverage Fresh off his surprise election victory in the Maldives, President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had a warning for his economic team. The island nation had racked up huge debts to China during an unchecked, five-year building spree by the autocrat he had just defeated. Be prepared for it to be worse than we think, one advisor recalled Solih saying. He was right. Soon after the Sept. 23 election, Solih met the Chinese ambassador and learned that the Maldives owed the Chinese government not $1.5 billion, as had been widely estimated, but nearly $3 billion. Thats more revenue than the Maldivian government raises in two years a staggering figure that makes the diffuse island chain a prime example of how Chinese loans have swamped smaller economies. Advertisement As Beijing has pursued a mammoth infrastructure-building program spanning dozens of countries, it found perhaps its most pliant partner in the president of the Maldives, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who silenced opposition and shrugged off corruption allegations while steering his country firmly into Chinas orbit. With minimal oversight, Yameen leased an island near the capital to Beijing at a cut-rate price and invited Chinese state-owned developers to build a mile-long bridge, thousands of apartments and a new runway, fuel farm and passenger terminal at the main international airport. Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, right, met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing in December 2017. (Fred Dufour / AFP/Getty Images) It was more construction, more quickly, than had ever been seen in this Indian Ocean archipelago of fewer than half a million people. And nearly all of it was done under secret terms, without other bids and at inflated prices that raised questions of graft, according to people with knowledge of the contracts. Details of the debt and how much might have been stolen will only begin to emerge after Solih takes office Nov. 17 and his aides gain complete access to documents that Yameens government hid from lawmakers and the public. But information already collected by Solihs transition team indicates that the liabilities are greater than initially believed and will soon outpace the islands ability to pay. We have to find out exactly what happened, because nobody really knows, said Ahmed Naseem, a former Maldivian foreign minister. Its a huge amount of money, and we need Chinas help to get to the bottom of it. Read more: How politics spoiled the Maldives tropical paradise The Maldives offers one of the starkest examples of the scope of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinpings multi-trillion-dollar effort to build transport, energy and communications links across nearly 70 countries. China bills it as friendly development assistance. But critics say that the bridges, highways, power plants and ports are mainly designed to further Chinas diplomatic and security objectives, and that poorer countries could be forced to surrender land or other resources as collateral. In several Asian countries, concern over Chinese debt has become a political issue as newly elected governments search for ways out of deals struck by predecessors. This year, Malaysias new prime minister canceled two projects worth $22 billion. Pakistan where $60 billion in Chinese-funded infrastructure is planned, the most of any country is trying to delay or revisit some projects. From left, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Maldivian President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. All three leaders have pushed back against Chinas Belt and Road Initiative projects in their countries. (Associated Press) The scenario that most worries leaders in the Maldives is what happened in nearby Sri Lanka, which tried to renegotiate loan payment schedules but failed and last year ceded a port on its southern coast to China under a 99-year lease. The Maldives consists of 1,192 palm-fringed coral islands, most of which are uninhabited, with about 120 developed for high-end hotels. Yameens government changed a law to allow islands to be leased to tourism companies in closed bidding, paving the way for dozens more unpopulated islands to be turned into resorts. At least seven islands went to Chinese companies, according to a foreign official in the region who was briefed on the plans. One island a short speedboat ride from Male, the capital, was leased to a Chinese developer for $4 million for 50 years far below market value. I dont think anyone should view what Chinese companies have done in the Maldives or anywhere else as development assistance or commercial arrangements, said former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed. This is a land grab. Nasheed, the father of Maldives multi-party democracy and a close friend of Solih, returned this month after 2 years in exile during which he became a vocal critic of China. Stung by the backlash against Xis signature initiative, Beijing recently lashed out at Nasheed for irresponsible remarks and said its relationship with the Maldives would continue on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Former President Mohamed Nasheed, center, waves during a rally in Male, Maldives, celebrating his return from exile. President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is on his right. (Mohamed Sharuhaan / Associated Press) But the Maldives is now dependent on China in a way few could have imagined. Eight years ago, Beijing didnt even have an embassy here. Now China accounts for one-quarter of the Maldives foreign tourists and some two-thirds of its external debt. It has become one of the islands main sources of imports, on par with longtime trading partner India. China has opened the tap, and if they decide to close it, that would be horrifying for the Maldives, said the foreign official, who requested anonymity under diplomatic protocol. The growing relationship has most alarmed South Asias biggest power, India, which worries that China is attempting to establish a permanent presence on its doorstep. Last year, Yameen pushed through parliament a free trade agreement with China that makes explicit reference to provisioning a military establishment and nuclear materials. Indian officials speculated that Beijing could deploy a nuclear submarine. A few months later, China denied a report in the Indian news media that a marine observatory it was developing in the northern atoll of Makunudhoo 250 miles from Indian shores, along a key shipping lane between Asia and the Middle East would be used for military purposes. A Chinese family is seen on vacation at a resort in the Maldives in 2016. (Giulio Di Sturco / Getty Images) Eager to ratchet down the tensions, Solihs incoming administration has told the Indian government it plans to examine that lease and those involving other islands. I dont know the purpose for it but I believe this arrangement has to be carefully looked into, said Naseem, the ex-foreign minister. Maldives cannot be the center of a cold war in the Indian Ocean. Solih has also pledged to investigate whether Yameen and cronies profited from foreign deals. In 2014, a government audit found that tens of millions of dollars in tourism revenue had been diverted to private accounts belonging to Yameens vice president and others. Yameen denied wrongdoing and jailed the vice president. The auditor lost his job and went into exile. The soaring costs of Chinese-backed projects have made them a focus of corruption allegations. Five years ago, plans for a mile-long, six-lane bridge connecting Male with the airport put the cost at about $100 million. Under Yameen, the bridge was narrowed to four lanes but the cost jumped to nearly $200 million, more than two-thirds of which was covered by a loan from Chinas Export-Import Bank. In the airport renovation, Yameens predecessor in 2012 abruptly canceled a $500-million contract with an Indian company, GMR. After an arbitrator ordered the Maldives to pay GMR $271 million in damages, Yameen raised cash by issuing a $200-million sovereign bond last year through BoCom, a Chinese investment bank. By then, the cost of the airport expansion had doubled to $1 billion. Yameens government brought in a new developer to start work: Chinas Beijing Urban Construction Group. Solih said in an interview that he would consider asking the FBI and other U.S. agencies to help trace missing funds and unravel contract details. A senior State Department official said the U.S. government was prepared to help them in any way. Solihs aides are still trying to determine whether debt to China could rise beyond $3 billion. The Maldives government backed some loans with sovereign guarantees, meaning the recipient assumes liability if projects flop. The fastest ongoing project in Phase II is the development of #Hiyaa 7000 social housing units. This is the largest housing initiative ever in the country, aimed to provide affordable housing in #Hulhumale to the public. pic.twitter.com/1dealIBgZ0 HDC (@hdcmaldives) September 5, 2018 One guarantee, worth $370 million, was issued last year for the construction of 7,000 public housing units on reclaimed land north of Male, where more than 140,000 people are squeezed into two square miles. But the state-owned Maldivian developer is close to bankruptcy. Last month the government had to inject $24 million to prop up the company, raising questions about the projects viability and the Maldives ability to repay the loan. We will have to talk to China not necessarily about canceling deals, because we need development, but about renegotiation, Naseem said. We cant pay something that is ridiculous. We cant give them our blood, can we? shashank.bengali@latimes.com Shashank Bengali is South Asia correspondent for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @SBengali French authorities Tuesday arrested six suspects in several regions of the country in connection with an alleged plot to attack President Emmanuel Macron. French intelligence services had evidence suggesting the six suspects had a vague and unfinalized, but violent plan to attack the president, according to a judicial official. Public prosecutors launched an investigation into criminal terrorist association. The suspects, who were not immediately identified, were detained in three regions: one in the Alps, one in Brittany and four in the Moselle region near the border with Belgium. Advertisement Macron on Tuesday was in the city of Verdun as part of the commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. On the Nov. 11 anniversary of Armistice Day, dozens of heads of state and other government leaders are expected to attend a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. French TV channel LCI reported that one suspect had told friends he wanted to attack Macron with a ceramic knife, which he said would not be detected by security checks, at some time during the commemorations. In July 2017, a suspect was arrested and accused of planning to assassinate Macron at Frances Bastille Day military parade. In 2002, a suspect tried to attack President Jacques Chirac on the Champs-Elysees in Paris during Bastille Day celebrations. Willsher is a special correspondent. PM Phuc praised Hapro for developing plans to boost the exports of Vietnamese agro products, including rice - the main export item of Vietnam to the Chinese market, to overseas markets in recent years. On the first day of the fair, Hapro signed several export contracts. It is expected that by the end of the fair, the corporation will welcome nearly 200 customers at its booth to make transactions on goods trading. Hapros participation in CIIE 2018 aims to realise the National Trade Promotion Programme 2018, contributing to promoting the image of the country and Vietnamese businesses, while promoting the exports of Vietnam's key products. Through the Shanghai fair, Hapro aims to boost the exports of other agricultural and food products, thereby boosting its export growth to the Chinese market from 20-30% by 2019. After Hapro's first shareholders' meeting on June 24, 2018, Hapro's production and business activities have gained positive results, especially in exports. Its development orientation has been stated by BRG Groups President cum Chairperson of Hapro, Nguyen Thi Nga, that after equitisation, Hapro will develop towards an import, export and trading corporation, capable of competing and developing sustainably, as well as promoting its role as a major economic and trade enterprise, contributing greatly to Hanois economic development. Hapro focus on promoting and increasing export turnover to turn it into a leading international brand in the region and become the group's main subsidiary in the field of exports, attaching the Hapro brand name to the BRG brand of the group. It also targets to successfully promote five export items to bring Hapro into the list of the top five exporters in Vietnam in terms of rice, cashew nuts, pepper, coffee and handicrafts. Hapro targets to earn a total revenue of approximately VND9 trillion (US$387.7 million) by 2020, up 45% compared to 2018, with 80% of the revenue coming from exports, and an export turnover at US$200 million, up 66% compared to 2018. Based on the aforementioned major orientations and specific objectives, Hapro's Board of Directors has focused on implementing multiple breakthrough solutions to increase export turnover and maintain their foothold in foreign markets. Hapro has actively participated in major trade fairs and conferences around the world in agriculture and the food industry, joined information communication programmes with foreign enterprises, and maintained contact with Vietnamese embassies and trade offices in foreign countries, as well as foreign trade offices and diplomatic missions in Vietnam, thereby facilitating the trade of Vietnamese goods to the international market. Thanks to the implementation of synchronous solutions, including efforts in trade promotion activities, after nearly four months of operation as a joint stock company, Hapro has maintained its development pace in production and business activities. Its export turnover in the first nine months of 2018 reached US$89 million, equal to 120% over the same period in 2017. Total revenue reached VND3.9 trillion (US$168 million), equaling 120% over the same period last year. Several export items continued to witness a high growth rate, such as cashew nut exports reaching US$62 million, up 15%, and rice exports reaching nearly US$18 million, an increase of 22% over the same period in 2017. Properties Nov 06, 2018 | By Joe Lim Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIPs) really kicked off in the 1980s and since 2016 programmes are available in more than 57 countries with the numbers still growing. Thats more than 50 per cent growth since the turn of the century. If the world economy starts to dip back towards recession territory, then it can be safe to say that even more countries will offer accessible citizenship through investment programmes. According to Dominic Volek Head of Henley & Partners, Southeast Asia, On the supply side, the second half of 2018 will see the launch of two very exciting and affordable new European Citizenship by Investment Programmes, in Moldova and Montenegro, both of which offer strong travel freedom and citizenship in stable, fast-growing European countries. As for demand, Dominic stated, We expect that demand for CIPs will grow in equal measure, as the public becomes more informed about their investment migration options and about the benefits of obtaining a second citizenship in general. WHY INVEST IN A CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMME? There are many reasons why one would want to change their citizenship. The two primary reasons tend to be freedom of travel and hedging against political and economic risk. Many countries offering programmes provide the opportunity for more visa-free travel than the investors home country. VISA-FREE TRAVEL Each year, Henley & Partners publishes a report on the countries with passports that allow them to travel visa-free to the greatest number of countries. The information attained for the report is provided by the International Air Transport Association. In 2018, Singapore and Japan ranked number one with their citizens allowed access to 189 countries with Germany coming in a close second with access to 188. Other European countries such as Austria came in fourth with visa-free travel to 186 countries. That ties it with the United Kingdom and the United States. If youre from somewhere like China which ranks 69th with visa-free access to only 72 countries, having citizenship elsewhere can prove extremely useful. OPPORTUNITIES TO INVEST THE CARIBBEAN The Caribbean is not all cruise ship goers and honeymooners, its also rapidly becoming an investors paradise. The island nations may offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, however, they also offer some of the most sought-after Citizenship by Investment Programmes currently available. The countries of Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis all provide investors with fast and efficient pathways to a secondary citizenship. Citizenship in Grenada can be attained for USD 150,000 for a single applicant and USD 200,000 for a family of four. This requires that a nonrefundable investment is made into the National Economic Fund. The other option to citizenship includes a real estate purchase with a minimum value of USD 350,000. Grenada gets even more interesting due to the fact they have an E2 treaty with the United States, which if youre final plan is to head to America, will greatly speed up the process. An investor also does not need to travel to or reside in Grenada for any period of time. Staying in the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda offers citizenship options starting from as little as USD 100,000. Antigua and Barbuda investors must invest in a National Development Fund, which is non-refundable. They also have the option to invest in real estate valued at least USD 200,000 and a couple other higher-priced investment options. You must also stay for five days over a five-year period. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK MOLDOVA & MONTENEGRO The latest country to launch a Citizenship by Investment Programme with Henley & Partners is The Republic of Moldova. The relatively new country, which gained its independence in 1991, offers fairly-accessible opportunities for individuals looking to invest in the nation of 4 million. Like many other nations, investors must contribute to a government fund, however, Moldovas scheme is reasonable, with prices starting at EUR 100,000 (USD 116,000) and going up to EUR 155,000 (USD 180,000) for larger families. Moldovas passport offers access to 121 countries visa-free and allows for parents aged 55 and up as well as dependents up to the age of 29 years to be included in an application. Also new is Montenegro, which when launched will offer CIPs starting from EUR 250,000 (USD 291,000), plus an EUR 100,000 (USD 116,000) fee charged by the government per application. Only 2,000 applicants will be accepted, meaning this small country will have a very exclusive programme. Although offering visa-free access to 123 countries, it may very well be worth the investment. EUROPEAN UNION If youre interested in settlement in the European Union, then things get a bit pricier. Malta, which is the crown jewel of European citizenship by investment requires a contribution of approximately EUR 1 million (USD 1.16 million). This can be attained through the following three steps and you must partake in several investments. The first being an investment of EUR 650,000 (USD 756,000) in the National Development and Social Fund. The second enables a little more leeway. Property can be purchased at a minimum of EUR 350,000 (USD 407,000) and held for five years or a residential lease of a minimum value of EUR 16,000 (USD 18,600) per annum may be attained. The final step is a non-property option in the form of an EUR 150,000 (USD 174,000) investment in an approved financial instrument, which must also be held for five years. Investment into the island of Cyprus starts at EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) plus property transaction costs and several fees. Introduced in 2013, their Citizenship by Investment Programme has become one of the most popular in Europe. The EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) can be invested into a real estate, development, or infrastructure project. There is also the option to invest in Cypriot businesses and certain types of Cypriot funds. ANOTHER BOOST FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY As more and more options become available for ways to spend, several new cryptocurrencies and Citizenship by Investment Programmes can be added to the list. Thats not all you can do with the technology behind the digital currency. Volek opines, There are also a number of independent tech companies and NGOs exploring how blockchain technology can be used to protect and digitise identity, which would have important implications for both HNWI and refugee populations, and which could really advance the cause of global citizenship in coming years. If youre looking to become a citizen of a new country, with so many options available, theres never been a better time. FIVE THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMMES BY DOMINIC VOLEK, HEAD OF HENLEY & PARTNERS, SOUTHEAST ASIA Due diligence Our industry upholds some of the most stringent and advanced due diligence standards in the world, with all the major programmes implementing not one background check but a series of intensive know your customer and anti-money laundering checks that are designed to select only the most suitable candidates, and with countries such as Malta holding a rejection rate as high as 24 per cent. History The concept of economic-based citizenship has been around since as farback as Roman times, and it was also a prominent feature of 18th- and 19thcentury Europe: in the 1700s, for example, an investment of GBP 83 in the Royal Bank of Scotland allowed a foreign citizen to become a citizen of Scotland. EU citizenship Although Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIPs) have recently come under scrutiny in Europe, the fact is that in the EU, over 900,000 citizenships are granted through regular naturalisations each year, while only 700 or so naturalisations less than 0.1 per cent of the total are granted through CIPs with every single CIP naturalisation being subject to intensive due diligence checks, which is not necessarily the case for regular naturalisations. Societal benefits While the media focus is often on the benefits to individuals, CIPs are in fact only feasible and sustainable because of the enormous socio-economic benefits they bring to host countries: countries such as Malta, Cyprus, and St. Kitts and Nevis have all been seen to achieve an economic turnaround through the funds generated by their CIPs. Industry size Investment migration is a far larger industry than most people realise: the Citizenship By Investment sector currently contributes about USD 3 billion a year, and the related Residence By Investment sector contributes about USD 15 billion a year, which puts the total industry size at roughly USD 18 billion per annum. The information was released at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on November 6. Notably, the logo of Vietnam's national rice brand will be announced at the opening ceremony for the festival. The festival will feature numerous activities, including a rice contest, an exhibition on Vietnamese rice exports and a number of important seminars. The festival aims to provide trade promotion solutions in the field of agriculture and rural development, as well as support enterprises and farmers in their operations, contributing to improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice in the world market. The event also offers an opportunity for managers, businesses, scientists and farmers to approach and update market information and advanced technologies in rice production and business from around the world. So far, over 400 organisations and enterprises around the country have registered to take part in the third Vietnam Rice Festival. The first and second editions of the festival were held in Hau Giang province in 2009 and in Soc Trang province in 2011, respectively. Stock Market Calm Before The Storm With very strong US jobs data hitting the news wires this morning and an incredible upside price swing overnight because of expectations and hope of a US/China trade deal in the works, we were not surprised by the downside rotation in the US stock market this morning. As weve been warning for the past 3+ months, we expect the US stock markets to trade very narrowly headed into the US mid-term elections and begin a breakout upside price move sometime between November 8 and November 12. The news events, recently, and the relatively strong earnings data suggest the US stock market and economy should continue an upward bias throughout most of the end of 2018 and into early 2019. If President Trump were to secure a favorable trade deal with China, we expect the US stock market could surge 4~8% over a few days/weeks on that news alone. Our opinion is that few traders want to hold any positions over the weekend headed into a potentially tumultuous election cycle next week. This Daily ES chart illustrates where we believe the price will stay before the US elections (The YELLOW arrows/box drawn on the chart). This range is roughly from 2690 to 2750 on the ES. Weve also drawn two thin blue vertical lines that represent Nov 8 and Nov 12 the dates which we expect the markets to establish a true price bottom and begin an upward price rally from. Additionally, we are displaying what we call True Fibonacci Levels on this chart in reference to key price target levels. We believe the initial upside price target will focus on the 2816 price level in the ES, then potentially push higher to the 2942 range. These True Fibonacci Levels are derived from our modeling systems calculations of Fibonacci Number Sequence relationships. Additionally, the October 12th date aligns with Fibonacci Time/Price cycles as a key inflection point in price. Therefore, we strongly believe skilled traders should begin taking strategic positions in select markets/stocks prior to this point as we believe the price could move in a very dramatic and aggressive form after November 12th. Please take a minute to visit our website to learn how we can help you stay ahead of these market moves. Visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com and see just how easy and inexpensive it is to have a team of dedicated professionals working to help you become a better trader and deliver proprietary research, daily videos and more. If youve been following our research, you already know how accurately weve called these past market moves. Pay attention to how the rest of this year plays out and see how accurate our predictions really are. Weve called the moves in Oil, Gold, Technology, China/Asia, the US stock market and many more weeks or months before these moves happened. Isnt it time you invested in your future success too? Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Business has a political responsibility to encourage employees to vote. Despite the fact that the United States is the largest, most powerful and longest continuously existing democracy in the world, many Americans do not vote. In 2016, only 60% of eligible voters cast ballots, even in a divisive year with a presidential election at the top of the ticket. In the last midterm election in 2014, turnout was even worse. Only 37% of eligible citizens voted. Flagship http://www.flagshipprogram.org/ serves more than 1,700 students in Missoula each year, with more than 400 free after-school and summer programs. Students from eight different Missoula County Public Schools helped themselves to NASA stickers and an assortment of snacks as they gathered for an event to celebrate Missoulas after-school programs recently. Missoulas "Lights On" event was one of more than 8,000 celebrations of after-school programs across the nation that keep the lights on and doors open for students after school. Students in the Flagship http://www.flagshipprogram.org/ programs attended this years space-themed event at the University of Montanas University Center Theatre, where they listened to speakers and watched "Earthrise," a film about Apollo 8 astronauts who captured the first image of Earth from outer space. CAMERON EVANS [email protected] https://missoulian.com/news/local/hall-passages-missoula-schools-join-nationwide-celebration-of-after-school/article_2633b885-7598-5dc4-a2a7-67ff9668d873.html Seeking the origin of the ancient pottery genre More than 30 years ago, it seemed unlikely that Chu Dau village (Thai Tan commune, Nam Sach district) - a tranquil village on the left bank of Thai Binh River, where locals earned their living by weaving shichitoi mats and agricultural production, was associated with a pottery genre that had a brilliant development history. The trace of the ancient pottery village was discovered by accident. In 1980, Makato Anabuki, former Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, on a business trip to Turkey, saw a 54cm tall blue ceramic pot displayed at the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul. On the jar were written ancient Chinese words saying: "The eight Thai Hoa Year (in 1450), made by a potter of the Bui family, from Nam Sach district. The vase is a national treasure of Turkey and covered by an insurance contract worth millions of US dollars. Makato Anabuki then sent a letter to Ngo Duy Dong, Secretary of Hai Hung provincial Party Committee (Hai Hung then divided into Hai Duong and Hung Yen provinces as today) to verify whether the pottery had originated from any local pottery villages. This information helped the authorities concerned to seek and collect the traces of Chu Dau ancient pottery village. In April 1986, Hai Hung provinces Department of Culture and Information excavated the relic site. After eight excavations on an area of 70,000 m2 in Chu Dau village, Thai Tan commune and Minh Tan commune, archaeologists discovered multiple ancient ceramic artifacts, with more than 100 underground pottery oven bottoms. The findings affirmed that Chu Dau was a high-grade pottery producing location from the 14th to 17th centuries. According to scientists, when the Trinh-Mac Civil War broke out, the Nam Sach region, including the Chu Dau pottery village had been destroyed. Local artisans were forced to travel to other regions, establishing new pottery villages. Then, in 1993 and 1997, Chu Dau potteries were found on a shipwreck offshore of the Philippines and Cu Lao Cham islet in Vietnams central province of Quang Nam province. More than 240,000 artifacts were salvaged, most of which were Chu Dau ceramics, showing that Chu Dau ceramics not only flourished in Vietnam, but were exported to many foreign countries at that time. Chu Dau pottery is rated as an elite ceramic genre, which is "thin as paper, pure as jade, white as ivory, and sounds like bell ringing". All of its appearance, enamel, motifs and decorative patterns exemplify the Vietnamese cultural essence very closely and also bear the traditional values, beliefs, philosophy and spirit of the Vietnamese people from the ancient period. The patterns on Chu Dau pottery are highly artistic, depicting the natural scenery and life of the Red River delta inhabitants, such as the herds-man with buffaloes, birds sitting on flowers, fish in the water, and roofs by the rivers. The manufacturing method of Chu Dau reached a high level, which is, making raw ceramic on a turntable, before the product is separated into several stages and reassembled in later processes. The products are shown on white glaze, green enamel, or tam thai enamel (painted in the three colours of green, red and yellow glaze). Currently, 46 museums around the world have Chu Dau ceramic artifacts on display. Revitalisation and strong growth Recognising the significance and value of Chu Dau pottery, the Nam Hanoi Production, Import and Export Service Company (now the Hanoi Trade Joint Stock Corporation (Hapro) - a member of the BRG Group) decided to set up a pottery production facility to restore the ancient ceramic genre that was lost hundreds of years ago, developing it into a high-end ceramic brand to be consumed in both domestic and export markets, while turning this countryside into a tourist village. With the support of the local government and people, in October 2001, Chu Dau Pottery Enterprise (now Chu Dau Ceramic Joint Stock Company) was established. The 33,250 m2 production base was built on the foundation of the ancient pottery village. Director of Chu Dau Pottery JSC, Nguyen Huu Thuc, said that the unit has invited artists from Hanoi, Binh Duong province, Bien Hoa city (Dong Nai province) and Hai Duong province to study the characteristics of Chu Dau pottery, and then instruct the local potters. Hundreds of workers, mainly local people, have been recruited for training. Most of the young workers at that time have now become skilled potters and many of them have been honoured as Artisans. Employees have been treated with a good working environment, accompanied with support policies to assure them in dedicating themselves to the work and remaining close to the unit. In order to create high-quality products with typical artistic values, the company has focused on reproducing ancient, valuable and unique ceramic samples, which are stored in 46 museums in 32 countries around the world. Meanwhile, it has developed new product lines with designs suitable to consumers' tastes. At present, the unit focuses on producing and trading the main product lines, including worshiping ceramics, high-grade gift items, ceramic products for interior display and exports, and household ceramic products. In particular, the line of high-grade gold-lining ceramic products has a high average growth rate of 25% per year. In addition, the company has strengthened the trade promotion and market expansion for both domestic and export markets. From the first batch of Chu Dau ceramics exported to Spain in May 2003, the company's products have been exported to more than 20 countries in the world and expanded into other provinces and cities across Vietnam. Chu Dau pottery has been chosen as gifts for heads of state in multiple major diplomatic events hosted in the country, or accompanied Vietnamese leaders when they travelled abroad, contributing to promoting the Vietnamese culture to the world. Not only focusing on promoting production and business operation, the companys showrooms and workshops have also become an attractive place for tourists and students to experience the process of making pottery. In recent years, on average, the facility has received more than 20,000 visitors each year to visit and shop. Thanks to these achievements, the company has created stable jobs for hundreds of local workers with a high income, while fulfilling its responsibility in contributing to the State budget, as well as helping promote the development of the local countryside. In the coming years, Chu Dau Ceramics JSC will intensify its trade promotion and market expansion for their products in both domestic and export markets. In order to improve the quality of Chu Dau products and create new products to meet the needs of the market, the company will restore the ancient models and enamels with sophisticated patterns and high artistic values to create sets that bear the characteristics of the prototype versions. Furthermore, it will continuously promote the brand, in addition to establishing links between tourism and culture with the traditional handicraft village, making Chu Dau pottery become a major export item of Hapro, with a firm foothold in the domestic market, thus contributing to the promotion of Vietnamese culture. With the efforts to revive and develop the Chu Dau high-class pottery bearing the typical Vietnamese cultural identities, in early 2018, the Chu Dau Pottery JSC was granted by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc with honoured words: "Chu Dau pottery - Vietnamese identity, shining across the five continents. The Deputy PM made the affirmation when explaining the pact and related documents to the legislature during the debate of lawmakers. The Governments assessment report said joining the pact as one of the found members demonstrates Vietnams policy on international integration and affirms the countrys important geo-political position in the region and the international arena. Economically, CPTPP can boost Vietnams GDP and export by 1.32 percent and 4.04 percent, respectively by 2035. In terms of investment, CPTPP commitments relating to services and investment are expected to have positive effects on the investment environment. The pact will also help push the process to complete economic institutions. Socially, the pact will contribute to job generation, enhancement of incomes and poverty reduction. Most NA deputies approved the necessity to ratify the CPTPP, stressing that it is a new generation free trade agreement with high quality and the highest level of commitment so far. At the same time, many deputies also cautioned about possible challenges and difficulties that will come with the CPTPP. Bilateral and multilateral trade may face difficulties. Several sectors such as advertisement and logistics are expected to face fierce competition. However, the competition also forces domestic enterprises to reduce operation costs. The deputies said a number of domestic enterprises could fall into difficulties due to increasing competition after the CPTPP takes force, resulting in loss of jobs. They noted that the country will have to adjust and revise legal regulations on trade, customs, intellectual property and labour to comply with CPTPP commitments. At this point, we dont need to spend much time on discussing whether we should or should not join the CPTPP. The most important thing now is to make clear what we should do to make use of advantages and opportunities brought by the pact while minimising its adverse impacts on domestic production and business, said deputy Hoang Van Cuong of Hanoi. Speaking on the sidelines of the debate, many deputies wanted the Government to do more research on the impacts of the deal on Vietnam. They also urged the Government to take the initiative in reviewing and adjusting related laws to ensure the effective implementation of the CPTPP and prevent risks to the most, while maintaining national sovereignty and avoiding becoming dependence on others. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Dang Minh Khoi and newly-accredited Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo attended the inauguration ceremony, among others. Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that by holding strengths in foreign trade, e-commerce, manufacturing, and seaport services, Zhejiang and the eastern region of China in general will continue to take the lead in the countrys reform process, thereby fueling economic and trade ties between China and countries across the region and even the world. Vice Governor of Zhejiang province Zhu Congjiu said that via the newly-opened office, provincial leaders expect that Vietnamese and Chinese companies can gain a deeper insight into opportunities for the import-export of goods in demand, especially Vietnams agro-forestry-fishery products which are popular in China. Dao Viet Anh, Trade Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in China, said the event is meant to realise the agreement signed by the two governments in 2013, as well as the joint statement inked during Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinpings visit to Vietnam from November 10-13 last year. Trade Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in China Viet Anh said trade between Vietnam and Zhejiang hit US$ 7.92 billion in 2017 and Vietnam is now the largest trade partner of the province. The first Vietnam trade promotion office in China was established in Chongqing city in 2015. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Welcoming Lich and his high-ranking military delegation to New Zealand, Mark said New Zealand is committed to enhancing defence cooperation with Vietnam in peacekeeping, maritime security, professional military education and training and through strategic dialogue. Minister Lichs visit is an opportunity to further deepen regional security cooperation and to support the elevation of bilateral relations between our two countries, he said. Gen. Lich, for his part, affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to the Comprehensive Partnership with New Zealand. He expected that the visit would be a success, marking a new milestone in the bilateral defence partnership and helping to deepen the Vietnam-New Zealand bilateral ties. The two ministers exchanged views on issues of mutual concern and updated each other on the socio-economic development of each country. They also reviewed the bilateral defence ties and outlined steps to foster the future cooperation. They agreed that the defence cooperation between the two nations has proven effective in line with signed agreements, particularly a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation inked in 2013. However, there is still huge room for the two sides to further step up their defence ties, they said. On that basis, the ministers agreed to continue regular exchange of visits at all levels, effectively promote current dialogue mechanisms and enhance collaboration in foreign language training. The two countries will also reinforce the exchange of experiences in naval and peacekeeping operations as well as coordination within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) and other multilateral forums. In addition, they will take into account expanding their defence cooperation to other potential realms, such as natural disaster relief that both sides are capable and experienced. Gen. Lich told his host that Vietnam will assume the annual rotating ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020 and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence will host the ADMM-Plus and celebrations for the mechanisms anniversary the same year. Vietnam looks forward to gaining support from New Zealand for the success of these events, he said. I am confident that the bilateral defence relations will see new progress in line with benefits of both our countries and for regional and global peace, security and development, he said. Regarding issues in the East Sea, the two ministers agreed that territorial disputes must be settled via peaceful measures on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Lich is on an official to New Zealand from November 5-9 at the invitation of Minister of Defence Ron Mark. [November 05, 2018] HS2 Solutions Announces Rebrand to Bounteous, Deepens eCommerce Capabilities, and Expands into Canada HS2 Solutions, a leading creator of big-picture digital solutions, today unveiled the new brand Bounteous, uniting its deep capabilities in strategy, customer experience, engineering, eCommerce, analytics, and digital marketing across North America. The Bounteous brand combines HS2, LunaMetrics, Infield Digital, and now, Demac Media, under an integrated offering of digital competencies, providing more comprehensive digital transformation solutions for clients than ever before. The Bounteous new brand identity, logo, and website, www.bounteous.com, celebrate the team's premier capabilities, unsurpassed talent, and expanded geographic reach. Bounteous, meaning "generously given" or "plentiful," speaks to the flow of insights, ideas, imagination, and innovation across disciplines and business functions. "The best digital brand experiences are created when we activate the abundance of data and insights across all the digital touchpoints that permeate our lives. Everything we do is designed to optimize that flow, so we can create big-picture digital solutions that drive results for our clients," said Phil Hollyer, Bounteous co-founder and CEO. Keith Schwartz, Bounteous co-founder and President added, "We are fueled by the boundless energy, passion, and pure talent that flows through our team. Now one company united by a shared set of values, we'll continue to provide top-notch client service, deep critical thinking, flawless execution, and excellent business results to our valued clients and partners." Bounteous also announced the acquisition of Demac Media, Canada's largest and most established eCommerce agency, and that it will become Bounteous Canada. Bounteous Canada leverages strategic partnerships with world-class commerce platforms including Adobe (News - Alert)/Magento, Shopify, and Workarea. Withthis acquisition, Bounteous now employs close to 400 experts across offices in Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Denver, Berlin, and Toronto. Bounteous Canada brings its expertise in digital commerce solutions to the North American enterprise, leveraging more than a decade of experience across hundreds of leading companies including Sleep Country, Staples (News - Alert) Canada, and the Government of Alberta. Bounteous Canada is the largest Magento Gold partner in Canada and one of the top Magento partners globally. "Bounteous Canada is dedicated to being the best customer experience, eCommerce, and strategic partner for clients across North America," said Mike Brown, who joins Bounteous Canada as its new president with the acquisition. Brown is the former Chief Growth Officer for ICF Olson (News - Alert) and president of its Canadian subsidiary, where he built what began as a small mobile technology startup into one of the country's top digital agencies, and subsequently guided it through two successive acquisitions. "By aligning with the strength of Bounteous, we're able to both expand the reach of our eCommerce leadership into the U.S., and also strengthen the complementary capabilities that can deliver results for our Canadian partners." In November 2016, Bounteous announced its partnership with private equity firm Mountaingate Capital to accelerate growth through acquisitions, talent additions, international expansion, and increased services. Since that time, Bounteous has acquired LunaMetrics, a Google (News - Alert) Analytics and digital marketing consulting firm, and Infield Digital, a customer experience management solutions firm partnering with Adobe, Magento, Elastic Path, and Digital River. About Bounteous Founded in 2003 in Chicago, Bounteous delivers comprehensive strategy, customer experience, engineering, eCommerce, analytics, and digital marketing solutions to leading Fortune 1000 companies. The company helped build Domino's Pizza into one of the world's most successful eCommerce brands and serves as the agency of record for Domino's Canada. It was recognized as 2018's Adobe Emerging Partner of the Year, and is an Acquia Preferred Partner and Google Marketing Platform Sales Partner. For more information, please visit www.bounteous.com. For the most up-to-date news, follow Bounteous on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181105005848/en/ [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com/wimax's Homepage ] This article is part of State of Health, a series examining health disparities, how they affect Michigan's children and seniors, and the innovative solutions being developed to address them. It is made possible with funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. With pristine waters and rolling farm fields, on the surface West Michigan seems a perfectly healthy place to live. So why do rural residents of Michigan tend to have more chronic illness and higher mortality and morbidity rates than their urban and suburban counterparts? It's a complex question, according to Dr. Dawn Contreras, senior specialist with the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension Health and Nutrition Institute, who has researched rural and urban health disparities. She says there are no definitive answers, but there is one undeniable contributing factor. "The research clearly shows there's isolation, both physical and social isolation," Contreras says. That means the nearest supermarket is often miles away for rural residents, and so is the nearest trauma center. Health challenges of rural life Rural Michigan residents' access to healthcare depends on many aspects of their lives, not only their income or what kind of insurance they carry. Health care providers have long known that these social determinants have a major impact on health. In city or country, a person isolated by lack of reliable transportation or affordable childcare is less likely to follow up on a referral to a doctor's appointment in the city, even if that city is only an hour away. Working even more subtly, language or cultural barriers may also cause patients to hesitate to ask questions or even report symptoms. "We have to understand as providers (that social determinants) contribute to impacts of disease and disparities we see," says Dr. Cheryl Dickson, associate dean of health equity and community affairs at the Western Michigan University (WMU) Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo. To address these disparities throughout western Michigan, Dickson and others are creating new ways of structuring hospitals and clinics, reaching out to patients, and training the doctors that will care for them. For example, in rural Allegan County, a local hospital has implemented a new team approach to use technology to help stroke victims beat a race against time. Doctors have long known that a clot-busting drug administered to patients in the earliest stages of a stroke can dissolve the blockage in the brain before long-term damage is done. "It's like a miracle drug," says Jim Connell, secretary of the board of trustees of Allegan General Hospital. A miracle with one hitch: the drug has to be administered by a neurologist in the very earliest stages of the stroke. "So people come into the emergency room exhibiting signs of a stroke and, of course, because country folk are strong-willed, the patient likely has been exhibiting those signs of a stroke for about an hour and a half before the wife finally decides to drag him in," Connell says. There is no neurologist on staff at Allegan General Hospital, so in the past, Connell says, "the ER staff would load up the ambulance, go red lights and siren, and do everything they could do" to get stroke patients to a neurological unit in Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo before time ran out. Now there's another option. The new TeleStroke system allows emergency physicians to connect the patient with the neurology department of a neighboring urban hospital for diagnosis. Under the neurologists' guidance, doctors at Allegan General can then proceed to treat the patient with the proper medication. Allegan General Hospital's TeleStroke system. "They hook up the leads (and) push a button to teleconference with a neurologist," Connell says. "That's like working a miracle right there in our ER." Bringing care closer Other new approaches are as old-fashioned as a house call in their simplicity. For example, in the fields of Van Buren County, a mobile clinic from Hartford-based Holy Family Healthcare parks in the fields to serve migrant workers during peak harvest season, from asparagus in April to apples in October. The practice accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and nearly all major insurance plans; uninsured adults are seen by appointment as well. Holy Family Healthcare's mobile clinic. Holy Family staff also offer food and clothing for workers. The clinic's Saturday session now gets staffing help from volunteer medical students at the WMU Stryker school. The program helps medical students learn about the challenges patients face and gives them practical experience, Dickson says. Holy Family Healthcare's mobile clinic delivers Gatorade to migrant workers. Similarly, in some rural towns, local hospitals are bringing in specialists from larger cities to hold office hours a few days a week. There are benefits both for rural patients, who can avoid the long drive, and doctors, who are able to expand their patient base. "We added a pulmonologist from University of Michigan to come here one day a week and in short order that has expanded to three days a week because of patient load," Connell says. "(Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is one of the big healthcare issues in this county." Jim Connell. Connell, a retired rural veterinarian, has himself been helped by a visiting specialist. He first saw a cardiologist from Kalamazoo at the doctor's weekly office hours in Allegan, a convenience Connell says likely saved his life last November. Connell says he'd had no symptoms of heart trouble and was training for a triathlon when his primary care physician recommended a cardiac workup after an annual physical last year. It was a matter of walking down the hall. Fully expecting to get a clean bill of health there, Connell was instead scheduled for open heart surgery two days later. Without such easy access to a cardiologist's expertise, Connell says he could easily have become just another statistic the seemingly healthy guy who collapses and dies from undetected heart disease. Equity in times of health Important as these changes are, Dickson says rural health equity goes beyond creating quick, convenient access to doctors during times of illness. Health care providers and service agencies are partnering up to study how changes in policy and practice can improve rural health outcomes before people get sick. A new MSU Extension program called Managing Farm Stress works with families suffering from the stresses of farming volatile prices, unpredictable weather, and financial uncertainties which are especially severe right now, Contreras says. In addition to working directly with farm families, the program also reaches out to loan officers and other professionals in the community who work with farmers. They are trained to teach coping strategies and to help families reduce stress. Families and associates alike have been receptive, Contreras says. "(They) are stepping forward and saying 'We could use the help,' and we find they are reaching right out," she says. In an effort to lessen childhood trauma among migrant children, Holy Family Healthcare has launched La Escuela Familiar, a program in Paw Paw to help bilingual students who speak Spanish in the home become proficient in applying English to their studies in school. Don Bouchard, president and medical director of Holy Family Healthcare, says educators have found that children raised speaking Spanish for their first five years often have trouble making the transition to English in school. La Escuela Familiar is conducted entirely in Spanish, and seeks to give children and their families a place to grow together in academic language so they can excel in both English and Spanish. Dr. Don Bouchard with a young patient. This program is intended to help them keep up with their peers, and also to reduce the constant anxiety inherent in their situation as migrants here, "which is made worse by taunting and teasing about their family situation," Bouchard says. In times of sickness and in times of apparent physical health, these programs and others are helping rural Michiganders of all walks of life better enjoy the many positives their community has to offer. "There are benefits to living in a rural area," Contreras says. A gap in health equity should not be drawback. Rosemary Parker has worked as a writer and editor for more than 40 years, most of that time in Southwest Michigan. Photos by Susan Andress. Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung made the remarks in his interview granted to the press following the conclusion of the PM's trip to China to attend the CIIE 2018. The diplomat said that PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc led a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the CIIE 2018 from November 4-5 at the invitation of Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping. The PM's visit marks the first trip to China by a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (October 2017) and the second trip to China by PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc as the Prime Minister of Vietnam. During his visit, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with senior leaders of the Chinese Party and State, and leaders of ministries and localities, and held talks on Vietnam's priorities for socio-economic development and integration as well as the cooperation between ministries, localities and enterprises of the two countries. China is currently the largest trading partner of Vietnam while Vietnam is the largest trading partner of China in ASEAN and the eighth largest trading partner of China in the world. The two-way trade revenue between the two countries reached US$93.7 billion in 2017, up 30.2% compared to 2016 and accounting for one fourth of Vietnam's total import and export revenue. However, Vietnam suffered large trade deficit with China at US$22.8 billion in 2017 and both sides face unsolved problems including smuggling, tax evasion and counterfeit goods regarding cross-border trade. Deputy FM Trung noted that the PM's trip is of political and economic significance, contributing to strengthening political trust, maintaining positive development of the bilateral ties, promoting the settlement of unsolved problems and expressing the mutual support in the organisation of international forums and events. The PM's trip aimed to take advantage of the great economic potential and large market of China; promote the positive factors in the trade relations between the two countries, to boost sustainable exports to China while reducing trade deficit; and introduce Vietnamese images to the world. Deputy FM Trung said that the PM's trip was also an opportunity for senior leaders of both countries to discuss orientations to boost bilateral relations in all areas, including consolidating the mutual political trust and neighbouring friendship, creating a motivation for substantial cooperation in economics and trade, and controlling conflicts and maintaining peace and stability on the sea. The diplomat noted that Vietnam sent 25 companies with high prestige and export capacity in the areas of agricultural products, seafood, food processing and trade services to attend the expo, alongside more than 3,000 enterprises from 130 countries and territories across the world. Vietnamese firms also signed a number of deals with other firms to export their products. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivered a strong message of supporting trade and investment liberalisation and highlighting Vietnam's willingness to work with other countries to effectively cope with global challenges, Deputy FM Trung said. The Vietnamese Government leader also introduced the potential of Vietnam, especially in terms of market, business and investment environment, competitiveness, and innovation, as well as Vietnamese key products such as rice, coffee, fruit, processed products, apparel, and high-tech electronic products. The senior leader affirmed that Vietnam always creates a favourable and equitable business and investment environment for foreign investors, while also calling on parties to facilitate enterprises by means of increased dialogue and policy-exchange between their governments and enterprises. The diplomate stated that Vietnam's performance at the expo contributed to fostering the practical cooperation between the two countries in various areas, promoting the exports of Vietnamese commodities and facilitating Vietnamese businesses to seek markets and expand their business. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. on Friday opened COVID-19 booster shots to all adults and took the extra step of urging people 50 and older to seek one, aiming to ward off a winter surge as coronavirus cases rise even before millions of Americans travel for the holidays. Education Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu. Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu. Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events: International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu. EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu. Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets June Homecoming: Participant $18 per person; Sustainer $25 per person; Benefactor $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events: SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available for information call 610-275-1960 Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above) SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m. Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. computers are available during those hours. Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863. Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376. Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com. The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes: Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020. CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313. The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events: Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m. Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m. Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30. Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301. For Kids & Families The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443. Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950. Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required. The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950. Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus. Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage. Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun. Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train. Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world! Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class. Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org. Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583. Community Events at the Ambler Y: -YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register. Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org. Health Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot. The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net. The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863. The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information. Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245. Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net. Spring Aquatic Programs UDHS Pool: -Summer is just around the corner Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required. Shallow Water Aerobics Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR. Adult Swim Instructions Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR -Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21. -Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m. -Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons. -Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates. Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994. SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com. Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org. Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs: FITNESS CLASSES Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month. Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30 9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly. SUPPORT GROUPS Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000. Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30 7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047. New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. 12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30 4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931. Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325. Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes. Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com. Librarytalk Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744 www.upperdublinlibrary.org APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS: Storytimes: Please register in the library. o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m. o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m. o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6. APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS: North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS: NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org. One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register contact info above. Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744. o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register. Meetings: Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m. Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m. Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org. For children and teens at Blue Bell: * Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian. * Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages. * Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m. * May 14 Despicable Me * June 11 Alpha and Omega * Special Events * April watch for date of spring/Easter events * April 14 at 4:30 p.m. Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children. * April 14 at 7 p.m. Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided. * April 16 at 1 p.m. Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King. * April 16 at 1:30 p.m. Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes? * April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button. * April 30 through May 3 Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults. * May sign up for Science in the Summer * June sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children * June sign up for Summer Reading, all ages For adults at Blue Bell: * Daytime Book Discussion Group fourth Tuesday, Jan April at 1:30 p.m. * April 26 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester * Night-time Book Discussion Group third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. o April 19 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester * Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked? *Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs * Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class. * Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class. * Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m. * Giant Book Sale, April 29 May 3 o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults! o Held during library hours. o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m. o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join. * Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series o May 11 at 1 p.m. Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society * Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room. * Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read. * Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome. * Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome. *Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older. * Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours * Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours * Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday! Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library. * Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian. * Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages. * For adults: * Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn. * Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net * Special Events: * April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. * April 19 at 7 p.m. Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m. * April 21 at 7 p.m. Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades. *May 2 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time. *May 10 Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. *May 12 at 1:30p.m. Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. *May 17 Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. *June 13 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time. Meetings and Lectures The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833. The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313. Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200. The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/. LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings. Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment. The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org. Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org. The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org) -Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them. The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter. For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps. Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin. Special Events The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County. The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065. Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org. The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org. The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members. Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex. The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com. The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348. The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org. Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163. The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu. The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com. The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net. Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd. The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages. 13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries. Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler. The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family. The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler. JPRN Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike. Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies. Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately. Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways. Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table. Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443. Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374 Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall: -Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store. Music and Theater The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html. Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free. The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org Religious News The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276. Reunions St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net. Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572. Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779. Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411. Support New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149. PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931. The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296. Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656. Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group every other Wednesday, 7 8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information. CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7 8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich, Pennsylvania Horticulture Societys Harvest program ends season with almost 19,000 pounds of produce donated and $30K raised to fight food insecurity Phong affirmed that the Vietnamese NA has always supported the intensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan, which has been developing strongly, comprehensively, and practically, as well as forming a strong political trust between senior leaders of both sides. She hailed the role that incumbent and former Japanese parliamentarians play in fostering the relationship between the two countries. Describing Japan as one of Vietnams leading economic partners, Phong expressed her hope that the two countries will continue expanding their partnership in all fields, meeting the expectation of peoples of both sides for peace and prosperity in the region and the world. The NA Vice Chairwoman told her guest that the Vietnamese NA is scheduled to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on November 12. She hoped that the Japanese side would support Vietnam during the implementation of the deal. Regarding the Vietnam-Japan university project, Phong affirmed that Vietnamese leaders have been paying great attention to the project, with hopes of making the university a symbol of Vietnam-Japan ties. The Vietnamese NA will ask relevant agencies and localities to speed up the project, she stated. For his part, Saito Toshitsugu hailed important achievements that Vietnam has gained during its process of national construction and development, as well as the active role of Vietnam in regional and international issues. He pledged to exert efforts to lift the extensive strategic partnership between the two countries to a new height. During a reception in Hanoi on November 6 for Deputy Chairman of the National Congress Party of Sudan and Presidential Assistant Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, Vuong suggested the continuation of high-level visits, improving the efficiency of cooperation mechanisms, stepping up people-to-people diplomacy, and working closely together at multilateral forums. He asked Sudan to support Vietnams bid to be a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure. Speaking highly of Vietnams prestige and stature in the region and the world, Faisal Hassan Ibrahim expressed his belief that under the sound leadership of the Communist Party, the Vietnamese people will reap greater victories in the period of national construction and development. He affirmed a determination to further promote friendship and cooperation between the two parties, countries, and peoples. The guest suggested further tapping into opportunities so as to boost bilateral ties in the near future. During his stay, Faisal Hassan Ibraham held talks with Hoang Binh Quan, member of the Party Central Committee and head of its Commission on External Relations. Both sides informed each other about the current situation in each party and country, as well as discussing global issues of concern and ways to extend ties between the two parties and countries. The visiting delegation held working sessions with various ministries and departments, visiting the northern province of Quang Ninh to reach a consensus on measures to promote ties between the two parties and peoples. E-levy is not the best of ... WINDSOR LOCKS Multiple power outages at Bradley International Airport early today caused several flights to be delayed and stranded travelers in the dark, according to the airports social media accounts. As of about 8:20 a.m., power was fully restored and Transportation Security Administration screening had resumed. At about 8:40 a.m., inbound roadway access to the airport was reopened. At about 5:30 a.m., airport officials tweeted from the airports Twitter account that the airport had experienced a power loss from its main power source. Terminal A was operating on backup power, the tweet said, with some areas operating with lights, and others without. The power loss also prevented TSA screening from taking place. Shortly after that initial tweet, airport officials tweeted that power had been restored, but an hour later, they tweeted that it had been lost again. The tweet said that airport officials were working closely with Eversource to determine the cause of the power loss, restore power, and return to full operations. As of about 7 a.m., power had been partially restored, and TSA screening resumed, however inbound roadway access was closed. Travelers were encouraged to contact their airline to check on the status of their flights, and airport officials thanked customers for their patience. On the airports Facebook account, one traveler posted a photo of the closed entrance to the airport, while others vented their frustration and requested updates. Weve been here since 4 a.m. we get zero questions answered by any employees why no back up generator? How are you going to compensate us for the inconvenience youve caused, a traveler identifying himself as David Phaneuf wrote. Officials handling the Facebook account responded with apologies, and thanked travelers for their patience. As of 8 a.m., 11 flights scheduled to depart from Bradley were delayed, according to the airports website. WALLINGFORD Tractor Supply Co. has opened its doors on North Colony Road. Located at the intersection with Beaumont Road, the 19,000 square foot store began welcoming customers Friday. There was an insane amount of people, store manager John Cipriano said. We sent out 300 invites to local businesses in town, and it wound up being a great showing. There are 17 Tractor Supply Co. locations in Connecticut, but the closest to Wallingford is in Middletown. I think this is a really good spot, Cipriano said. All weekend, we kept hearing of customers that had been shopping in Middletown. Now they have one here at home. Customers shopping through the store, at 801 N. Colony Road (Route 5), echoed Ciprianos observations. I used to have to go out to Guilford, Wallingford resident Bill Levine said. It sure is easier having one in town. Its good to see whats new here. The actual inventory of the store is one of the companys most common misconceptions, according to Cipriano. The company specialized in tractor parts and animal feed when it originally opened in Nashville 80 years ago, but the business has evolved over the years. It has about 1,700 locations in 49 states. Were more of a pet food store with a small hardware area, and also a lot of clothing, Cipriano said. Mostly outdoors stuff. We sell a little bit of everything. People that dont know who we are are shocked when they come in.we tend to have a loyal customer base. The store also has a 15,000 square foot outdoor sales area and 81 parking spaces. The company will celebrate a formal grand opening on Saturday. Members of the Future Farmers of America will be on hand, as will a number of animals, including goats. Customers who arrive early will also receive a free Tractor Supply Co. hat. rchichester@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @ryanchichester1 Lameness prevention: it's all in the head An understanding of how cows think, how they see the world and how they move is essential for lameness prevention. The project, approved by Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee, also aim to honour domestic coffee growers and traders while encouraging the community to join hands and work together to create and develop coffee culture, particularly in Dak Lak, but also in Vietnam in general. The festival will feature a diverse range of activities including an exhibition on coffee, a seminar on the development of Vietnamese specialty coffee, an exhibition on the worlds coffee history, a street festival, a contest for farmers, a Vietnamese specialty coffee quality competition, free coffee tasting sessions, a Buon Don elephant festival, and an international paragliding contest. Through the chain of activities, the festival is expected to continue to introduce the image, potential and strength of the province; promote investment in processing coffee and agricultural products in the area; and attract domestic and foreign tourists to Dak Lak. The event is also one of the practical activities commemorating the 44th anniversary of the Buon Ma Thuot Victory (March 10, 1975 - March 10, 2019). By Online Desk The standoff between the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turns even uglier with new report emerging that the Finance Ministry has asked the RBI to transfer a surplus of Rs 3.6 lakh crore, more than a third of the total Rs 9.59 lakh crore reserves of the central bank, to the government, according to an Indian Express report. The Finance Ministry has suggested that the surplus money should be jointly managed by the government and RBI. Ther RBI refused to oblige Centre's suggestions saying this move can adversely impact macroeconomic stability. The government believes that RBI has over-estimated its capital reserves requirements resulting in the excess capital of Rs 3.6 lakh crore. And this is the money the government wants to use for recapitalisation of PSU banks. The finance ministry has objected to RBI's staggered surplus distribution policy (SSDP) under which the bank must transfer its surplus to the government. The ministries says RBI acts 'arbitrarily' when it came to the transfer of the interim surplus, the report further said. In 2017-18, Centre received a surplus of Rs 50,000 crore from the RBI. In the previous year, RBI transferred a surplus of Rs 30,659 crore to the government. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Every Deepavali, people throng hospitals after suffering injuries due to firecrackers. A majority of the cases involve children and consist of minor injuries. However, in some cases people have gone completely blind. We want to ensure that people do not have to hunt for a hospital in case of an emergency. They can walk in at any time to our hospitals which will remain open for 24 hours on November 6, 7 and 8. Like every year we will be provide free consultations and primary treatment for eye injuries caused by firecrackers, said Dr. Bhujang Shetty, founder of Narayana Nethralaya. Eye injuries can range from mild burns on the skin, eyelashes, to more serious ones like damage to the cornea, bleeding inside the eye, tearing and detachment of the retina, injury to the optic nerve, etc. which can lead to permanent loss of vision said Shetty. If you get injured, wash your eyes with clean water and rush to the hospital. Clinical treatment ensures that the chemicals which have entered the eye do not corrode the various eye layers, worsening the condition. In case of a severe injury, bandage the area and rush to the hospital immediately. If brought to the hospital on time the chances of preventing more damage and loss of vision are better. Avinash Budi Bhat By Express News Service BENGALURU : On Saturday, the Delhi Police fired the opening salvo by arresting a man when his neighbours complained that his children were bursting crackers outside of the Supreme Court mandated two-hour window. The judgment, delivered by the apex court recently, had attracted a lot of criticism by those looking to celebrate Deepavali with crackers, and the subsequent action by the Delhi police has thrown a dampener on Bengaluru residents who were hoping that they would not have to toe the line when it came to bursting crackers in the city. No announcement has been made by the state government regarding what action will be taken against offenders While the Supreme Court gave each state the freedom to fix its own two-hour slot for allowing crackers, Karnataka decided to stay with the 8pm to 10pm slot initially recommended by the SC. However, in the absence of the notification providing any information on penal action, citizens had their hopes up about being able to burst crackers well beyond the deadline. After the Delhi case, however, they are not sure anymore. "It is unheard of to arrest someone and book a case for bursting crackers. It is unfortunate that the court had to intervene in such a matter. There are lots of causes of air pollution that our government is least bothered about tackling. They just want to pick on the easiest one to regulate, the citizens," said an irate resident of Domlur, who did not want to be identified. When asked if he or his family members would adhere to the time slot, he said, "We will just have to be on the lookout for trouble. It is not our intention to spoil people's sleep, but Deepavali comes once a year." Across town, in Jayanagar on RV Road, residents are worried, but say they will burst crackers. "Two hours is a decent time slot in my opinion. But I don't agree with the judgment as regulations must also include more long-term polluters like factories, vehicles and even our local BMTC buses that belch black smoke every day. Hopefully, our neighbours won't call the police if we end up bursting crackers beyond the deadline," said Ashish M, a resident. This year, due to the several campaigns against crackers and the judgment by the Supreme Court, cracker sales have dropped significantly. "Most of our sales are for crackers that do not burst or create much noise. A lot of people are saying no to bombs this year," said Mahesh, who owns a cracker shop on Avenue Road. Interestingly, while the Delhi Police has put in force a plan of action, there is no such announcement made by the State Government, which has been mum on the action that will be taken against those who break the deadline. Police to check for violators In a circular dated November 2, the state government also banned the manufacture and sale of ladis. Owing to noise pollution, air pollution and the pollution caused by the remains of the crackers after they have exploded, the state government is prohibiting the manufacture and sale of series crackers or ladis, the circular said. District administration officials have been asked to carry out awareness programmes about the ill-effects of firecrackers in schools and colleges. The KSPCB will inquire about anyone bursting crackers 7 days before and after Deepavali, the circular said, adding that officials have been directed to keep watch for those who do not follow SC orders. All municipal corporations, district administrations, Zilla panchayats and gram panchayats will keep an eye on people who burst crackers as part of a community-organised event. Police personnel must ensure that the court order is followed and must take action against violators. Police should ensure banned firecrackers are not sold, it said. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Arjun Sarja, who has been accused of sexual harassment by actor Sruthi Hariharan, appeared at the Cubbon Park Police Station on Monday for questioning in connection with the case. Sarja was questioned by the police for three hours about the allegations made by Sruthi against him during the shooting of the film, Vismaya. According to the police, Sarja was asked over 50 questions based on the statements given by Sruthi, her make-up artiste Kiran, and assistant director Monica. Investigating officer Annayya Reddy and SI Renuka asked him about the events listed in Sruthis complaint. Sarja said the allegations were made to malign his reputation, the police said. When asked if he knew Sruthi before the shooting, Sarja replied that he was not present during the audition, and first met her the day the shooting began.According to the police, Sruthi stated in her complaint that Sarja introduced unnecessary romantic scenes, to which he replied that it was the directors decision. He also denied any sexual harassment during rehearsals, saying that rehearsals happen in front of many people, the police stated. ALSO READ | Arjuns injunction plea against Sruthi Hariharan adjourned Sarja was asked about allegedly meeting Sruthi at the Devanahalli traffic signal and inviting her to a resort. He replied that though he did encounter her, he never spoke to her, and only a smile was exchanged, according to the police. When Sarja was told that she had eyewitness accounts about his inviting her to the resort, he said, They are her people and they can claim to witness anything. Arjun was accompanied by his cousin Dhruva Sarja, friend Prashanth Sambargi, BJP MLC Tejaswini Ramesh, and a few others for the questioning. Tejaswini told the media that she had come to support Sarja in her personal capacity and not as party representative. Some left-leaning people are trying to target PM Modi by targeting Sarja. His father was an RSS follower. Prakash Raj, Chetan and Kavita Lankesh are all against the PM, Tejaswini said.Meanwhile, police said that Vismaya director Arun Vaidynath, producer Umesh, executive producer Arinith and cinematographer Arvind supported Sarja. Rahul V Pisharody By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Hyderbadi marksman Nawab Shafat Ali Khan, who has been facing all the flak for his son shooting down a "man-eater" tigress believed to have taken 13 human lives in last 19 months, says he is ready to take on the high and mighty campaigning against him. This comes on a day, union minister Maneka Gandhi shot a series of tweets with hashtag #Justice4TigressAvni. In one such tweet, she attacked Khan saying "Shafat Ali Khan has killed 3 tigers, at least 10 leopards, a few elephants and 300 wild boar in Chandrapur, #Maharashtra. He is a criminal known for supplying guns to anti-nationals and for a suspected case of murder in #Hyderabad." He has been doing this regularly and this is the third tiger being murdered besides several leopards and wild boars. #Justice4TigressAvni Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) 4 November 2018 Every time he has used Hyderabad-based shooter Shafat Ali Khan, and this time his son has also appeared in the scene illegally to murder the tigress. #Justice4TigressAvni Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) 4 November 2018 I am definitely going to take up this case of utter lack of empathy for animals as a test case. Legally, criminally as well as politically. #Justice4TigressAvni Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) 4 November 2018 When contacted, the ace-shooter said: "I was merely carrying out orders of the forest department, confirmed by High Court and the Supreme Court. My job is only of a hangman." Further, he said, "No FIR is pending against me. An FIR was registered against me in 1991 under arms act and my pistol was seized. I was acquitted later." READ HERE: Maneka slams Maharashtra government over tigress killing He went onto challenge anyone to prove him guilty. "Inspite of all authorisations, if anyone is going to say anything slanderous against me and my family, I will not hesitate to take them to court, how high and mighty they are. I am not scared of man-eating tigers, do you think I will be scared of my critics?," he asked. The 60-year-old also produced letters undersigned by chief conservator of forest(CCF) Yavatmal authorising a five member team, including Asghar Ali Khan, as Khan's team members. According to him, five sharp shooters of police department were also authorized to do the task. Responding to other allegations if Asghar was authorised to shoot, or if the Vet experts were present at the time of incident, Khan said that as soon as the tigress was sighted at around 6.30pm Friday, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) AK Mishra assembled the team of two guards, forester Muqbir Shaikh who is an expert in firing tranquilisers, Vet expert Dr Kadu and Asghar was only accompanying the team as backup. READ HERE: Killed man-eater tigress Avni leads to new controversy According to him, it was Muqbir shaikh who fired the dart that was prepared with right dosage by Dr Kadu. As it takes at least 10 minutes for the drug to take effect, the tigress charged at the team. "There was no intention to kill. It was a desperate attempt to save the tigress. Had she ran away, she could have been alive today. But the man-eater that she was, she charged at the team and in self-defence, Asghar had to fire," added Khan. The same team of 200 frontline staffers with 100 camera traps are already in the process of tracking the cubs. "They are semi-adult and weighs around 60kgs. In a month's time, we will have them rescued. Young pigs and goats are being arranged at places where they might be spotted," he added. (Photo: sast.net) China has officially launched the development of satellites and rockets of the Tianhe Project, which aims to move water vapor in the sky from the damp west part of the country to the arid north. Tianhe can be translated as river in the sky. A model of an observation satellite that is part of the first phase of the Tianhe Project will make its debut at the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China 2018), according to Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). Liu Weiliang, the general commander of the satellite team, said that the Tianhe Project satellites and rockets are developed by SAST. SAST plans to launch the first batch of Tianhe-1 satellites by 2020 and carry out a demonstration of the viability of the Tianhe Project. SAST is also planning to complete a six-satellite network by 2022, providing technical support for the construction of an air corridor transmitting water vapor to arid north China. Chinese scientist and academician Wang Guangqian and his team found that there are water vapor channels from the West Indian Ocean, the East Indian Ocean, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and Central Asia. These cloud water resources have great potential for development. The Tianhe Project is a special project for the development and utilization of air water resources. Through scientific analysis of the distribution and movement patterns of water in the atmosphere, a new type of manual intervention technology will be adopted to realize the overall regulation and utilization of air water resources and surface water resources in different regions. According to Zhu Wei, the chief designer of Tianhe satellite, the Tianhe-1 satellite is equipped with payloads such as microwave temperature and humidity meters, precipitation measurement radar and cloud water detectors. The satellite can achieve high-precision detection through a combination of active and passive measures. Among these payloads, the microwave temperature and humidity meters can accurately detect the vertical distribution of atmospheric temperature and humidity, capturing the distribution of water vapor in the air. The precipitation measurement radar can monitor the three-dimensional distribution of precipitation. The water vapor detector can make an atmospheric cloud map and detect the surface environmental characteristics of the Sanjiangyuan area on the Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai Province, the origin of much of the water vapor that will be moved to more arid areas. The 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition will be held at the Zhuhai International Airshow Center from November 6 to 11. V Nilesh By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Has the Telangana Rashtra Samithis government failed on education front? It looks so if one goes by the partys inability, during its close to four and a half year rule, to bring any major positive improvements or qualitative changes in the higher education in the State. A look at the situation of major institutions shows that all 17 State-run universities are beset by problems ranging from faculty crunch -- lack of permanent vice-chancellors in some cases -- to poor infrastructure. In almost all universities, close to 60 per cent of the sanctioned teaching posts are vacant. For example, in Osmania University about 769 of 1,264 sanctioned posts are vacant and in Kakatiya University 251 of 391 posts are yet to be filled. The situation is even more worse in some of the recently established varsities like Satavahana University and Palamuru University, which are being run with just skeletal teaching staff as more than 70 to 80 per cent positions are vacant. Recruitment of teachers in State universities was delayed by the TRS government for four years and it was only this year the government gave clearance of recruiting teachers for 1,061 posts in 11 universities. However, recruitment to universities were put on hold this year across the country due to an ongoing case in Supreme Court. None of the universities have appointed Executive Council as prescribed by the University Grants Commission. All State universities have just four to five ex-officio members from the government in namesake EC instead of 19 members prescribed by UGC and as a result important decisions in the universities are being taken with no questions asked. Infrastructure in all universities is crumbling with no extra fund allocation by State government, apart from minimum amount of money required to pay salaries. Lack of enough hostels is a common problem in all State universities, including Osmania University (OU). The quality of higher education can be gauged from the fact that only six State universities have been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Universities like Palamuru University, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, PVNRT Veterinary University, PJTS Agricultural University and Satavahana University have been running unaccredited. Many universities are not even recognised by UGC under section 12(B). Poor private colleges It is not just the State government-run higher educational institutions but even most of the private colleges are of poor standards in the State with just about 160 colleges having been accredited by NAAC, compared to more than 300 colleges in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.Osmania University Teachers Association (OUTA) President, Prof Battu Satyanarayana said: In its four and half years of rule, the TRS has completely ignored higher education. Every UGC guideline has been violated and government institutions have been left to rot, while TRS government passed the private universities bill.It is not just the State universities but even government degree colleges did not receive any special attention during the TRS rule. Dr K Surender Reddy, General Secretary of Telangana Government College Gazetted Teachers Association (TGCGTA), points out that the only good thing in the last four and half years has been sanctioning of 1,214 posts of lecturers for recruitment in government degree colleges. However, recruitment is yet to be conducted for these posts. He also said there has not been any special allocation of funds by the State government to improve quality of infrastructure. Of the 3,975 lecturer posts in the 126 government degree colleges in the State, 2,487 posts are vacant. More than 80 colleges do not have permanently appointed principals. In aided degree colleges, 1,361 of 1,686 posts are vacant.One high point was that this year government degree colleges gave admissions to about 40,000 students, the highest ever number but Surender Reddy quips that this has been mainly due to the interest taken by Commissioner of Collegiate Education to find out courses that are in demand and providing them top the students. Positive changes One major positive change in Telanganas higher education, especially in Hyderabad, has been the cracking of whip by Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) on substandard of engineering colleges, resulting in shutting down of about 90 engineering colleges since 2014, reducing the number of engineering seats in the State by more than 60,000.Another positive development has been the setting up of Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK), that has been proving helpful for students, especially those pursuing technical courses, to get internship. The State government also took initiative of establishing incubators in universities and colleges to promote entrepreneurship. Osmania University ignored The most shocking part of four and half years of TRS rule is the neglect of Osmania University, that played an important role in Telangana statehood agitation and is also alma mater to few law makers of TRS party who were elected in 2014. The university, which last year celebrated its centenary, had submitted to the government two proposals -- refurbishing of existing buildings at a cost of Rs 212 crores and developing student amenities with an outlay of around Rs190 crores. However, the State government sanctioned only Rs 200 crore of which just Rs 50 crore has been released till date. Not a single new building has been constructed despite promises of new hostels, amenities, buildings and centres as part of centenary celebrations. Many departments of the university are on the verge of virtual shut down with just one permanent faculty. Krishnachand K By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the district administration promised to finish the first phase revamping of Parvathy Puthanar including its cleaning work two months ago, the authorities are dragging its feet on the project. The work has been slowed down owing to uncertainty of land acquisition on both sides of the canal which have been encroached. Though the cleaning of the canal is in progress using slit pusher and shredders, the work of the two km stretch from Vallakadavu to Karikkakom is moving at a snails pace. The authorities said the first phase of the cleaning will be completed within two months time. We are in the process of acquiring more land for the project. The government has to take a decision on removing the encroachments. Since these encroachments are a decade old, we cant remove it overnight. However, we are going ahead with the cleaning work despite the hurdles. Discussions are on with the Kerala Waterways and Infrastructures Ltd (KWIL) to begin the second phase of the project, V R Vinod, additional district magistrate. KWIL an SPV formed by the state government and the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), has been entrusted with the development of the canal to make it navigable at a cost of Rs 150 crore. As per the proposal, the 18.50 km Kovalam-Akkulam Lake stretch is being developed in the first phase and made navigable with minimum land acquisition. According to top officers of KWIL, efforts were on to remove the weeds and debris for reinstating the water flow. Cleaning machines and shredders have been brought here to remove the weeds and pollutants. Slit pusher, imported from Holland, has also been brought for cleaning purpose. In the second phase, the two tunnels at Varkala will be cleaned so as to ensure free flow of water from Kovalam to Kollam. The officials added that a three-phase development of Parvathi Puthanar is being planned and that work - including cleaning of the canal and rehabilitating people living on its banks - will be undertaken in a time-bound manner. As per the action plan, boat jetties and tourism villages will be set up at selected places on the two sides of the canal from Kovalam to Kollam in the second phase of the project.The approximate length of the states inland waterways fit for navigation is 1,680 km. It includes the 590 km of the West Coast Canal from Neeleswaram in the north to Kovalam in the south. Rehabilitation The biggest challenge for the authorities is to rehabilitate around 1,500 families who have encroached upon the canal and constructed houses. As per government plan, the residents will be rehabilitated under LIFE Mission. However, the survey which is being carried out by the Revenue Department has not yet been completed. The Kovalam-Kollam stretch will form part of the larger National Waterway dream that envisages a water route linking Kovalam in the south with Neeleswaram, Kasargod, in the north. The Parvathy Puthanar was developed during the Travancore days with the intention of linking the capital to Kollam via Kadinamkulam lake, Vamanapuram river, Ashtamudi lake and further north to Kochi. The man-made canal was created in the 18th and 19th centuries as a water route linking Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam and beyond for trading purposes. By Express News Service BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Ajay Singh 'Rahul' chose the auspicious day of Dhan Teras on Monday to file the nomination papers for the November 28 polls. While Chouhan filed the nomination as BJP candidate from his hometown Budhni in Sehore district, Singh filed his nomination paper as the Congress candidate from his family's pocket borough Churhat seat in Sidhi district. Chouhan filed nomination after offering prayers along with wife Sadhna Singh on the banks of river Narmada and at the temple of his Kuldevi in his native village Jait. Later, Chouhan took a jibe at the opposition Congress. "The Congress politicians keep on taking my names, if they chant the name of god in similar manner, they will attain 'moksha' (salvation)." "The Congress leaders keep on making accusations against my family, but forget that entire 7.5 crore population of the state is my family. I take a vow to make a Samridh Budhni and Samridh Madhya Pradesh," he added. The CM appealed the people of Budhni to ensure that he achieved a record win, while he would create history by forming the government again. "I will focus on winning the remaining 229 seats for the BJP and leave Budhni to the people. The people of Budhni will work for my win, just like I'll work for the party's win on remaining 229 seats of the state." About 550 km away, Ajay Singh filed nomination papers from Churhat seat of Sidhi district. Singh, a former MP minister, filed the papers after offering prayers at a temple and the 'samadhi' (memorial) of his illustrious father in Churhat (Sidhi). Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service AIZAWL: A conglomerate of some influential NGOs in Mizoram has threatened not to allow the holding of November 28 Assembly elections in the state. The NGO Coordination Committee on Tuesday staged a massive sit-in demonstration outside the state Assembly demanding that the states chief electoral officer (CEO), SB Shashank, leave the state. Thousands of people took part in the protest which brought normal activities to a grinding halt in Aizawl. A number of Mizo NGOs are at daggers drawn with the CEO as it was based on his complaint that the Election Commission of India (ECI) removed the states principal secretary (home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo. He is a local and Gujarat-cadre IAS officer. Until and unless he (Shashank) moves out, we will continue with the protests. If he doesnt leave Mizoram, possibly, even the elections will not be held, warned Vanlalruata, president of Young Mizo Association. He accused the CEO of creating a rift in the Mizo society and acting arbitrarily. He is acting without consulting the state government. He is so arrogant that he doesnt listen to anybody. When a good officer (read Chuaungo) says things should be like this or like that, he immediately lodges a complaint with the ECI and it takes action against the good officer. What he did was shocking and we never experienced anything like this before. It seems he is not ready to conduct free and fair election, Vanlalruata said. In his complaint to the ECI, Shashank alleged that Chuaungo had interfered in the electoral rolls revision of the displaced Brus and meddled in the process of security management of conduct of election. Earlier, there was an incident of theft and destruction of 5,400 roll revision forms from Mamit district where most Brus reside. Brus are ethnic minorities. Some 40,000 of them had fled to neighbouring Tripura following clashes with the Mizos in 1990s. While a few thousand returned to Mizoram in due course, there are still over 32,000 of them lodged in six relief camps in Tripura. The protesting NGOs accused the CEO of hurting the sentiments of the Mizos by his pro-Bru stance for conducting the elections. As they intensify their agitation, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking Chuaungos reinstatement. He wrote that the government fully supports their (NGOs) long-standing demand that the Brus, now living in Tripura transit camps, should come and cast their votes inside Mizoram which every other Mizo from outside the state does at the time of elections. Meanwhile, the NGOs appealed to commercial vehicle owners to not rent out their vehicles for transporting central paramilitary forces from other states to Mizoram. The protestors on Monday sent back dozens of vehicles which were travelling to Assam to bring central paramilitary forces to Mizoram. J Deepti Nandan Reddy By Express News Service HYDERABAD: The Grand Alliance is yet to catch a break. Congress, TJS, CPI and TDP, who came together on an anti-TRS agenda, have still not finalised seat-sharing. Congress, considered to be the big brother in the alliance, is now being pressed by its allies to finalise the much-delayed seat sharing at the earliest. Sources say that talks between the parties are set to prolong owing to differences between them. While TDP, TJS and CPI has asked for a cumulative 30 seats, Congress is willing to part with no more than 24. CPI, that was rumoured to be getting only three seats, has warned Congress that if it didnt finalise the seats soon, and if it werent given at least nine seats, it would go solo. The party would fight at least 20 seats if it breaks away. CPI can influence polls in about 40 constituencies and has been asking Congress to allot at least 5 seats. In spite of several discussions, Congress has not finalised seat sharing. This is not just humiliating for a national party like us, but it will also harm the prospects of the alliance. We have announced 9 constituencies where we are planning to contest. If Congress agrees for giving 5 seats, then we will stay in the alliance. Or else we will implement Plan B and contest from more than 20 seats on our own, said CPI Telangana secretary Chada Venkat Reddy after announcing the names of Kothagudem, Pinapaka, Wyra, Mancherial, Husnabad, Alair, Munugode, Bellampalli, Devarakonda as their seats of choice. However, sources claim that CPI will not leave the alliance, and that its latest move is just a pressure tactic to make Congress agree to its demands. Besides CPI, even TJS has been pressuring Congress to finalise seat sharing. There has been an inordinate delay in finalising seat-sharing agreement. We cannot delay further as there is no time. The alliance has come as a boon for pro-Telangana and anti-KCR forces. And it is the responsibility of Congress to take along all parties and finalise seats and candidates soon, said the partys chief Kodandaram after launching TJS office in Malkajgiri constituency on Monday. TJS chief reiterated that it would need at least 10 constituencies as part of the alliance. Sensing the unease among allies, Congress called for a meeting with them at Park Hyatt on Monday evening. TPCC chief Uttam, partys Telangana in-charge RC Khuntia, campaign committee chief Bhatti Vikramarka, TJS chief Kodandaram took part in the meeting which went on for one and a half hour. We discussed with Professor Kodandaram and will also speak to Chada Venkat Reddy. Discussions with allies are going on in an amicable atmosphere. No party will be left out of the alliance, Uttam Kumar Reddy said. Seats in demand The following constituencies are being sought by two or three parties in the Grand Alliance and are the cause of delay in seat sharing: Malakjgiri, Medchal, Serilingampally, Rajendranagar, LB Nagar, Amberpet, Khairatabad, Tandur, Mahabubnagar, Jadcherla, Munugode, Kodad, Miryalguda, Devarakonda, Alair, Jangaon, Husnabad, Khammam, Palair, Chennur, Mancherial Alliance leaders criticise TRS friendly party MIM TRS, AIMIM and BJP have forged an unholy alliance, said State Congress affairs in-charge RC Khuntia. TRS has betrayed Muslims on all fronts and is enacting a drama now by joining hands with AIMIM. After the polls, TRS will join hands with BJP for general elections. Both KCR and Asaduddin Owaisi are agents of Modi, said RC Khuntia, speaking after Indian Muslim League announced its support for Congress. Leader V Hanumantha Rao said, Does Asaduddin belong to Kalvakuntla company and is Owaisi silent partner of KCR? Matchbox will burn away TRS autocratic rule TJS chief Kodandaram released his partys symbol, a matchbox, on Monday. The Telangana movement veteran said that the humble matchbox would put an end to TRS autocratic rule. Some people made fun of match box being our symbol. But match box is used to light a lamp and also to burn dirt. In a similar way, we will burn the autocratic rule of TRS and illuminate a new path of development for Telangana and its people, said Kodandaram speaking in Hyderabad. He urged people, activists and civil society groups to join and help grand alliance put an end to TRS rule in the State. By IANS PUNE: A special Court sent three activists -- Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon S. Gonsalves and Arun T. Ferreira -- to judicial custody for 14 days in the Koregaon-Bhima caste riots case. The three accused, first arrested on August 28 and kept under house arrest as per Supreme Court orders, were re-arrested on October 26 after their bail pleas were rejected. They were produced before the Special Court today which sent them to police custody. During the hearing today, accused Ferreira claimed he was allegedly assaulted by police during his custodial interrogation in the past 10 days. The three are among the prime accused in the cases related to the Elgar Parishad of December 31, 2017, leading to the Koregaon-Bhima caste riots of January 1 this year. In August, the Pune Police had raided and arrested two others Gautam Navlakha (now released) and P. Varavara Rao (currently under house arrest in Hyderabad), besides Bharadwaj, Gonsalves and Ferreira. Earlier in June, the Pune Police carried out nationwide raids to nab human rights activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling and Mahesh Raut in the same case. Besides the Koregaon-Bhima violence, the police charged the accused with having links with Maoist and Kashmiri terror groups, hatching a conspiracy to carry out a high-level political assassination in a 'Rajiv Gandhi-style operation', procuring arms and ammunition, seeking to incite disturbances and violence in the country to topple the democratically elected government. By PTI NEW DELHI: The CBI denied Monday reports that it has questioned Assam minister Himant Biswa Sarma in connection with its probe into the multi-crore Louis Berger bribery scam case. CBI Spokesperson RK Gaur dismissed reports that Sarma was questioned by the agency in connection with the case as reported by some news organisations. "No such questioning has taken place as reported in a section of the media," Gaur said. In its order on September 1, 2017, the Gauhati High Court had asked the CBI to take over the probe, saying the state police's investigation was not satisfactory. It is alleged that US-based Louis Berger had adopted illegal means for obtaining three water supply projects in Goa and Guwahati. Unidentified officials of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, the US-based multinational company, Louis Berger International, and the Assam government have been booked on charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption, according to the CBI FIR. By PTI PUNE: Activist Arun Ferreira, who was arrested in August for alleged Maoist links along with others, Tuesday told a court here that he was "hit" by the investigating officer. In a submission made before additional sessions court judge R V Adone through his lawyer Sidharth Patil, Ferreira said he was "hit" on his face "eight to ten times" by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shivaji Pawar on November 4 during interrogation. The ACP is the investigating officer (IO) in the Elgar Parishad case. He was not available for comments. Police had claimed that violence erupted in Koregaon-Bhima near Pune on January 1, a day after "provocative speeches" were made at the Elgaar Parishad conclave held in Pune city. They had also alleged that Maoists supported the conclave. Ferreira claimed that there was swelling on his right cheek due to the "attack", and during the medical examination the next day, the medical officer at Sassoon General Hospital in Pune had recorded the same in the medical report. His lawyer requested the court to preserve the report to avoid any "tampering". On Ferreira's application seeking recording of his statement before the special court in this regard, the prosecution sought time till November 12 to file its response which was granted by the court. In a simultaneous development, the court remanded Ferreira and activists Vernon Gonsalves and Sudha Bharadwaj to judicial custody till November 19, as sought by special public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar. The prosecution said they were seeking the judicial custody of the trio "by reserving their right of police custody in future". The three accused were produced in the court, after their police custody expired Tuesday. Ferreira and Gonsalves were taken into custody by Pune Police on October 26, after their bail pleas were rejected by a local court. District and Sessions Judge (Special Judge) K D Vadane had rejected the bail applications of Ferreira and Gonsalves along with that of Bharadwaj, observing that the material collected by the police, on the face of it, showed their alleged links with Maoists. The Pune Police had arrested Ferreira, Gonsalves, Bharadwaj and two others -- Telugu poet Varavara Rao and activist Gautam Navlakha -- in August this year in connection with its probe into violence in Koregaon Bhima. The police had claimed to have seized emails exchanged between them and top Maoist leaders following which the accused were put under house arrest on Supreme Court's orders. However, Navlakha was later released by the Delhi High Court. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service AYODHYA: If not temple, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Tuesday, met another long-pending demand of the saints, seers and people of Ayodhya by renaming district Faizabad as Ayodhya. Now Faizabad will be known as Ayodhya after the name of the temple town which signifies the birthplace of Lord Ram. Coming close on the heels of renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj, the announcement to rename Faizabad was made by Yogi on Diwali eve during Deepotsav amidst loud cheers and spells of huge applause from around a 15,000 strong crowd in Ayodhya. "Ayodhya is a symbol of our 'aan, baan aur shaan' (honour, pride and prestige)" he said in the pilgrim town, about 120 km from state capital Lucknow. "Nobody can do injustice to Ayodhya," he said, adding that the holy city is identified by Lord Ram. "Deepotsav is about starting a new tradition," Adityanath said at the event at Katha Park which was also attended by South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook. Faizabad district comprises the twin towns of Faizabad and Ayodhya, which is a town area on the banks of the river Saryu. Notably, last year when the Yogi government had upgraded Faizabad municipal board to municipal corporation, it was rechristened Ayodhya Municipal Corporation. However, much against the expectations of a major announcement either related to the Ram temple or a huge statue proposed to be installed in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took many by surprise by suddenly and quite dramatically changing the Ayodhya narrative and pegging it at development in the name of Lord Ram. The CM made two more key announcements in the temple town besides renaming district Faizabad as Ayodhya for Lord Ram. He also announced an airport in Ayodhya to be known as Raja Ram airport and a medical college in the district named after Lord Rams father king Dashrath amidst the chants of Mandir ka nirman karo (build the temple). (With inputs from PTI) By PTI NAGPUR: A police sub-inspector (SI) was crushed to death allegedly by liquor smugglers while he was on duty in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district Tuesday morning, police said. Chhatrapati Chide, attached as SI to the Nagbhid police station in the neighbouring Chandrapur, and four other police personnel were conducting a routine check on vehicles against illegal transportation of liquor on the Gosikhurd canal road near Maushi-Chorgao village around 8 am. On spotting a sport utility vehicle (SUV) heading towards Brahmapuri town, located about 110 kms from here, the policemen tried to stop it, an official at Nagbhid police station said. While the police personnel were approaching the SUV, its driver took a reverse turn and allegedly crushed Chide under the vehicle's rear wheels before speeding away, he said. Chide was rushed to a hospital in Bramhapuri where he succumbed to his injuries, the official said. Chandrapur's Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Reddy said, "Our team was on a regular anti-liquor drive in the morning hours when the incident occurred." A search was on for the SUV and its driver, he added. The Gosikhurd canal road was being used by the liquor mafia for illegal transportation of liquor to Chandrapur district where its sale and manufacture is banned, another police official said. Apart from Chandrapur, Wardha, a place associated with Mahatma Gandhi, and Gadchiroli have also been declared 'dry' districts by the state government. Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping and a goodwill ambassador of the World Health Organization for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, met with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, in Shanghai on Monday. Peng said that the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation has, for a long period of time, carried out effective and fruitful cooperation with relevant Chinese departments in prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction in the field of healthcare, and capacity building in global public health. Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping and a goodwill ambassador of the World Health Organization for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, meets with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, in Shanghai on Monday, November 5, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua] "We support the foundation continuing to enhance bilateral and trilateral cooperation with the Chinese side, in such field as improving capability building of China's health professionals and global health professionals' pool," Peng said. Gates said Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the China International Import Expo Monday was encouraging. "China deserves praise for having been following the principle of openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win result." The U.S. billionaire philanthropist said his foundation is willing to continue cooperation with China in the fields mentioned above. By ANI AMRITSAR: A Pakistan national was apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel here at Border Out Post Rania on Monday. One United States-made rifle, two magazines and 28 live rounds were recovered from him. In further search, three packets of heroin were also recovered within 100 metres of the International Border. Deputy Inspector General of the BSF, JS Oberoi, said, "Around 3:00 am, we noticed some movement at the Amritsar Border. One jawan saw that an anti-national element getting closer to the fence. Our jawan was forced to open fire when he did not stop. The anti-national element ran and hid behind the standing crop. Conducting a search was not possible at that time, so the area was kept under observation and the search was started in the morning. Our team caught him before he could do anything." Divulging further details about the nabbed Pakistani national, he said, "It would be wrong to call him a smuggler at this moment, considering the sophisticated weapons recovered from him. His motive can only be ascertained after a detailed investigation." "Our agencies and troops are alert. We are getting inputs every day. And hence, we could get hold of the armed anti-national element today. In the coming days, fog would be a challenge. We have deployed our assets and manpower keeping that in mind," he added when asked about steps taken for the winter season. By PTI AYODHYA: South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook arrived in Ayodhya Tuesday to attend Diwali festivities in the holy city and began her tour by offering tribute at the Queen Heo Memorial. Kim visited the site, along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and attended a ground-breaking ceremony for upgrade and beautification of the memorial dedicated to the legendary princess of Ayodhya who went to Korea. Later she went to the banks of the Saryu river to welcome artists donning the avatar of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita, who arrived at Ram Katha Park in a ceremonial chopper as part of 'Ram Durbar'. Kim garlanded 'Sita' as they descended from the helicopter and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Adityanath welcomed Lord Ram and Laxman by garlanding them. Union Minister V K Singh also attended the grand event in Ayodhya. Kim's stand-alone visit to India, which began on November 4, has rekindled interest in the legendary princess who married a Korean king. According to Korean legend, the Princess of Ayodhya went to Korea in 48 AD and married King Kim-Suro. A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to this legendary princess, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok. "The legend of Queen Heo Hwang-ok binds the two countries together culturally, and her visit will further promote our people-to-people ties," a senior official at the cultural wing of the South Korean Embassy in India told PTI. Huge hoardings, bearing message -- 'South Korean First lady Kim Jung-sook - Welcome to Ayodhya ' and her picture, have been put up across the city. An agreement regarding the Queen Suriratna Memorial Project was signed to facilitate upgrade and expansion of the existing monument commemorating Princess Suriratna (Queen Hur Hwang-ok). In July, the two countries signed the agreement for expansion of the Suriratna memorial project. Uttam Das, a seer from Ayodhya, told PTI, "It was a matter of honour for Ayodhya that the she was visiting Ayodhya." "A princess of Ayodhya had gone there around 2,000 years ago, and now the First Lady is visiting Ayodhya, life has sort of come full circle," he said. Bihar Governor Lalji Tandon, South Korean envoy Shin Bongkil also took part in the celebrations. Ramananda Sengupta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo has said that US sanctions which went into effect at midnight on Sunday are the toughest sanctions ever put in place on the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, in separate interviews to Fox News and CBS, Pompeo sidestepped questions on whether India and China, two of Irans largest oil importers, which had been given temporary waivers from the sanctions, had agreed to cut down imports to zero within a specified time frame. Japan, Italy, Greece, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey are the other countries temporarily exempted from the US sanctions for buying Iranian oil as they showed significant reduction in oil purchase from the Persian Gulf country, Pompeo said.Watch what we do. Watch as weve already taken more crude oil off the market than any time in previous history, he replied. The sanctions were aimed at a singular purpose: denying the worlds largest state sponsor of terror the capacity to do things like they did this past couple weeks, attempt an assassination campaign in the heart of Europe, he said. However, theres a handful of places where countries havethat have already made significant reductions in their crude oil exports need a little bit more time to get to zero, and were going to provide that to them, he said. A Singapore-based oil market analyst was quoted as saying that Indias crude oil imports from Iran dropped from 690,000 barrels per day in May to around 400,000 barrels per day in August. Pompeo also clarified that businesses and entities that violated these sanctions, and not countries, would be punished under the sanctions. The Islamic republic, however, remained defiant, with its military chief, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, warned: I want to say something to America and its weird president.Never threaten Iran. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: A bail petition on behalf of J Srinivasa Rao, the prime accused in the attack on Leader of the Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was filed in the Visakhapatnam III Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday. The court may take up the petition on Tuesday or Wednesday. The petition was filed by city-based advocate Saleem. He also lodged another petition citing the health condition of the accused and appealed to the court to issue directions to the authorities to take steps to privide suitable medical care to Rao. Interacting with the media on the court premises, Saleem said, We are hopeful of getting bail for Srinivasa Rao within a few days. Today, we filed a petition seeking bail for Rao in view of his ill health and mental condition. I have met him twice in the Central Prison and collected some case-related information from him. The accused stated that his life is under threat. This was also mentioned in the bail petition, he explained. Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials are planning to file a petition in the court seeking police custody of the accused for a week. The officials say that they are unable to extract full information from the accused during the previous custody period. The accused did not cooperate with us. He did not reveal the motive behind the murder attempt. We have to cross-check several information extracted from other persons related to the case with the accused. We are going to explain the same to the court with full details soon, an SIT official explained. In another development, an airport security officer was reportedly transferred to Chennai in connection with the attack on Jagan. The official was reportedly transferred based on the report submitted by CISF officials on the attack at the VIP lounge of the Vizag Airport on October 25. However, the CISF authorities are tight-lipped about the development. Bullet-proof vehicle for Jagan in TS Hyderabad: The Telangana police would provide a bullet-proof vehicle to YSRCP president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy during his visits to the city. The decision was taken during a review meeting held on security to political leaders. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: The Maoist activists warned ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders that the latter would pay heavy price for the governments illegal arrests and suppression of activities in the Agency areas of the State. They made serious allegations against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his TDP government. Chandrababu Naidu came to power by making false statements that he would fight against the BJPs fascist policies and the people lost their faith as they consider him as a cunning fox, said Jagabandhu, the official spokesman of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOB- SZC) of CPI (Maoist). He lambasted the government in a hand-written letter which was released to media on Monday evening. Through the five-page release, Jagabandhu stated that the TDP government led by Chandrababu has been suppressing innocent tribals and adivasis of the Agency area to trace Maoists hideouts which is highly condemnable and inhuman in nature. Police forces are treating tribals and adivasis very cruelly by beating, kidnapping, making illegal detentions, foisting false cases, destroying thatched huts, houses, assets and household articles. Now there is unrest in the Agency area due to the security forces, he said. Lastly, Jagabandhu appealed to all the Opposition parties, including YSRC, Congress, CPI and CPM along with peoples organisations, civil/human rights organisations and lovers of democracy to pull up the TDP government for the latters violent, anti-public, undemocratic and in-human activities. The Reds strongly warned the TDP leaders that if the ongoing forceful suppressive activities continue further, they would meet a similar fate soon. Akram Mohammed By Express News Service RAMANAGARA: One of the highlights of the bypolls held in Karnataka on Saturday was the vehicle arrangement made by the Election Commission of India for the first time for the benefit of the specially-abled. Several people with disabilities, along with a few senior citizens, were seen availing the facility at various polling booths in the constituency during the day. At Hulugondanahalli, 42-year-old specially-abled person Lokesh and 67-year-old Chennamma were beneficiaries of the unique scheme launched by the EC. Chennamma, who is a relative of Lokesh, told The New Indian Express that such initiatives helped people like him cast their vote. Despite his limited motor and verbal abilities following a gruesome accident, he always votes. Earlier, we had to arrange a vehicle to take him to the polling booth. Now, the officers have arranged for autorickshaws to pick up and drop off specially-abled people, she said. Ramanjaneya, an official of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department responsible for arranging vehicles, said they had identified people who can avail the facility based on village documents. In Hulugondanahalli village, we have identified six people. While one is of critical health, all others will vote and benefit from the facility, he said. An official of the gram panchayat said 750 was being paid by the EC to provide the facility at the polling booth. Apart from specially-abled people, several senior citizens also have benefitted from the scheme, he said. Naushad Bijapur By Express News Service BELAGAVI: A major controversy broke out on Sunday after it came to light that several farmers in Belagavi district have been issued arrest warrants by a Kolkata magistrate court, prompting the state government to step in. The Kolkata court charged the farmers with offence of (2) U/S 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and directed the local police to arrest and produce them before the court by February 18, 2019. According to sources, many farmers from Saundatti and other taluks have availed loans from the private sector Axis Bank.The development has come as a shock to farmers already reeling under the burden of farm loans which the government has announced will be waived. On getting word about the warrants, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy asked the Belagavi Deputy Commissioner to initiate necessary measures to protect the interests of all farmers in Belagavi and also sought a report on why the warrants were issued despite his directive to the banks. The Belagavi DC has called upon farmers not to panic and said steps will be taken to protect their interests. He said he had already spoken to officials concerned in Axis Bank and appealed to them against taking any measures against farmers who have availed loans. While warrants are said to have been issued against over 100 farmers, The New Indian Express has photo copies of the warrants issued to five such farmers, all hailing from Enagi village in Saudatti taluk, by the Metropolitan Magistrate 15th Court of Calcutta. The warrants were received by the office of Belagavi Police Commissioner on October 9 and forwarded to the Saundatti police for further action. The five farmers are Balappa Mugappa Kurbgatti, Yallappa H Pujer, Bhimappa H Pujer, Channamallappa Karadigudda, Basappa G Hubballi. By PTI BENGALURU: Buoyed by the victory in the bypolls, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao Tuesday asserted that they would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together against the BJP. The two leaders gave credit for the electoral success to the policies of the Congress-JD(S) coalition, which bagged two Lok Sabha seats and two assembly segments in the by-elections held on Saturday. Speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy hailed the people for their support to the coalition government of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress and said the two parties would contest the 2019 polls together in all the 28 constituencies in the state. "We will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together. As we did this time, we will sit together to chalk out strategies to fight the Lok Sabha election in a coordinated manner," Kumaraswamy said. "We took many pro-people measures which are at the stage of implementation. The benefits have not reached them yet," the chief minister said. However, people liked our policies, be it the crop loan waiver or financial aid to the street vendors, he said. At a separate press conference, Rao said their sounding victory was an indication that the people of Karnataka had given their approval to the coalition government's policies. "It has rejected the BJP, its divisive politics and dictatorial tendencies. We will contest the 2019 election together," he said. Rao charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with forgetting its duty as a responsible opposition. "The power hungry BJP did not fulfil its responsibility of an opposition party. They set aside ethics and morality due to which they faced defeat at four places while its victory marginshrunk substantially in Shivamogga," Rao said. Anitha Kumaraswamy, who won the election from the Ramanagara assembly constituency, gave credit for her victory to the tireless efforts of her chief minister husband Kumaraswamy, her father-in-law and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Congress leaders. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah tweeted, "A meaningful celebration of Naraka Chaturdashi in Ballari. People's march from darkness to light. Wishing the people of Karnataka a happy Deepawali." Tuesday happened to be Naraka Chaturdashi, a festival to mark the death of Narakasura, who was killed by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Siddaramaiah tweeted further, "My thanks to the people of Ballari. People have cursed the inhuman behaviour of Janardhana Reddy." In the run-up to the bypolls, Janardhana Reddy had kicked up a storm, saying that God cursed Siddarmaiah with the loss of his son for him (Reddy) languishing in jail for four years, though nothing incriminating was found from him. Reddy was criticised not only by the Congress leaders, but also by the BJP, with its state chief B S Yeddyurappa even asking Reddy to apologise for his remarks. By Express News Service BENGALURU: On the day people of Karnataka celebrate Deepavali, political parties and voters of three parliamentary and two assembly seats will sit tight for the results of bypolls. The counting of votes for Jamkhandi and Ramanagara assembly seats and Shivamogga, Ballari and Mandya Lok Sabha seats, which went to polls on Saturday, will begin at 8 am on Tuesday. While it could be a walkover in Ramanagara for the JD(S)-Congress combined candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy, wife of the Chief Minister, especially after BJPs Chandrashekar withdrew from the contest and joined the Congress, Ballari, Jamkhandi and Shivamogga are expected to be nail-biters. In Shivamogga, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappas son B Y Raghavendra is testing his fortunes against another former chief minister S Bangarappas son Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S). The much-anticipated fight in Ballari, a BJP bastion, is expected to be a photo finish. Senior BJP leader Sriramulus sister J Shantha is fighting against V S Ugrappa of the Congress, considered an outsider, but strongly backed by party leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar.Yeddyurappa is confident that the party will win Ballari and Shivamogga Lok Sabha seats and also Jamkhandi assembly seat. The party will give a tough fight in Mandya, he had said. Though the Congress-JD(S) alliance is sure of winning the Mandya parliamentary seat, the BJP hopes to gain its vote share. An increase in vote share is all that the party needs to boost the cadre and capitalise on the infighting with the Congress-JD(S) workers in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao claimed that the coalition partners, Congress and JD (S), will win all five seats. There is a wave in our favour in all five constituencies. The alliance will benefit both of us, he said on Monday. While BJP is confident of a victory in Shivamogga, albeit with a smaller margin, the fight in Jamkhandi is expected to be neck and neck with a small percentage of votes set to decide the fate of both parties. In Jamkhandi, it remains to be seen whether Congress Anand Nyamagowda will be able to make his successful electoral debut, riding on the sympathy wave due to death of his father and former MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, by defeating Srikant Kulkarni of the BJP.In the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S)s L R Shivarame Gowda, is pitted against a fresh face in Dr Siddaramaiah from the BJP. The bypolls saw JD(S) and Congress going out of the way to prove their allegiance to each other and to send out a message to cadres. How the alliance fares is sure to set a trend for all other non-BJP parties across the country in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. Alliance partners are bent on making an example out of the bypolls while the BJP is looking to capitalise on the chinks between coalition partners, especially in the Old Mysuru region. However, Chief Minister H D Kumamaraswamy claimed that the JD (S) will win three seats, including Shivamogga, while the Congress-JD(S) coalition will win two other seats. Deciding day Counting to begin at 8 am Early trends to be out by 10 am Clear picture for parliamentary and assembly seats expected to emerge by 2pm For updates and results, visit www.newindianexpress.com By Express News Service BENGALURU: As Deepavali gift to farmers, the state government announced the rollout of loan waiver scheme on Monday from two taluks; Sedam (Kalaburagi district) and Doddaballpur (Bengaluru rural). The CM is personally reviewing implementation of the scheme and eligible farmers need not panic, according to a statement issued by the Chief Ministers Office. A team led by Commissioner of Land Records and Survey Settlements has developed a software specially for loan waiver scheme and steps are being taken to implement the scheme transparently. Farmers eligible under this scheme need not panic, the CM stated.Nationalised banks have provided details of loan accounts and the information is uploaded in the software and is being verified, the release stated. As a first step, pilot project is rolled out in Sedam and Doddaballapur taluks from Monday (Nov 5). After banks complete verification of information, farmers will be asked to visit the respective banks where they had taken loan and furnish documents and information such as Aadhar card, Ration card and details of land they own from November 12 onwards. Later this process will be started in other talukas, the CM stated. In the cooperative sector verification process of 20 lakh loan accounts is under progress in 6000 branches, which is expected to complete by the end of this month. Deputy Commissioners are appointed as Nodal officers for the implementation of this scheme. Soon a helpline will be launched to guide the farmers, the CM said. The The state government will soon start a helpline to address farmers concerns or doubts about implementation of the scheme. Farmers plan to lay siege to bank in Hassan Hassan: Farmers attached to Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha are planning to lay siege to branches of Axis Bank in the district for issuing loan recovery notices to farmers who allegedly failed to clear loans. Bank officials issued a notice to one Shashikumar of Doddametikurke in Arsikere taluk who allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison after he got the notice. Protest staged in front of bank in Mysuru Mysuru: Following the notices served by Axis Bank to farmers who had availed various loans, members of Federation of State Farmers Associations on Monday staged a protest outside the bank in the city. The agitators also made a vain bid to barge into the branch of the bank near post office at V V Mohalla here. The farmers led by state secretary of the federation Attahalli Devaraj who staged a protest for sometime, also raised slogans against the bank authorities for serving notices along with arrest warrant to over 150 farmers in both Chamarajanagar and Belagavi districts. The area for high-end equipment (Photo/Zhang Hengwei) Among all the products, nine products attracted the most attention at the worlds first-ever import-themed national exhibition which started on Nov. 5, China News Agency reported on Nov. 4. No. 1 Smallest pacemaker The worlds smallest pacemaker made by Medtronic, a US medical service company with world leading medical technology will appear at the Expo. Weighing just two grams, the new type is only one tenth of the traditional one in terms of size. No. 2 Planer milling machine (Photo/Zhang Hengwei) The largest product at the Expo is a planer milling machine that weighs 200 tons and covers an area of 200 square meters. It can be used to produce various types of complicated components and has attracted potential buyers to spend over 2 million Euros on it. No. 3 Most dazzling diamond shoes The worlds first pink diamond shoes will meet the public at the Expo. They are decorated with a total of 10,000 pink diamonds and priced at 30 million yuan. No. 4 Leonardo Helicopters (Photo/Zhang Hengwei) Leonardo Helicopters from Italy will unveil the AW189, a helicopter worth 200 million yuan, making it the most expensive piece at the Expo. No. 5 Flying car (Photo/Zhang Hengwei) The Slovakian company AeroMobil will launch the worlds first flying car in China at the CIIE. Its known that the price of the coolest vehicle at the Expo has reached 1.2 to 1.5 million Euro. No. 6 Flexible glasses Italian eyewear brand Nannini will present a new type of highly flexible glasses. The lens and frame can be folded down to 9 millimeters. Its customized for the Chinese market, said a senior executive. No. 7 Lego wall The cutest product must be the panda Jinbao in a 7-square meter wall made of 112,000 Lego blocks. Its a piece of work created by eight people over a four-day period. No. 8 SVH robotic hand The anthropomorphic 5-finger hand gripper is amazingly similar to the human model in terms of size, shape and agility with nine drives enabling the five-finger hand to carry out gripping operations including the ability to hold a needle. German Chancellor Angela Merkel once shook hands with it at the Hannover Messe. No. 9 Biofore Concept Car The Biofore Concept Car from Finland was the first overseas product arriving at the convention center about 55 days prior to the opening. In the Biofore Concept Car, the majority of parts traditionally made from plastics are replaced with high quality, safe and durable biomaterials. The vehicle runs on wood-based renewable diesel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80-percent compared with fossil fuel. Ajay Kanth By Express News Service KOCHI: For the first time in the history of Sabarimala, women police personnel were deployed at Sannidhanam for security duty on Monday. But the state government was very much considerate to the sentiments of devotees and brought in only women police personnel above 50 for the duty. Senior government officers told Express the government could have deployed young women police officers for duty but desisted from it and opted for officers above 50 years, giving due to consideration to the sensitive issue. ALSO READ | Massive protests at Sabarimala after woman reaches Sannidhanam It was in a high-level meeting of police officers the need for women police personnel for duty at Sannidhanam was raised. The department immediately decided to rope in senior women police officers for the purpose. Thrissur Range Inspector General M R Ajith Kumar, who is in charge of the police force at Sannidhanam, said: All the 15 women police officers deployed at Sannidhanam are in the rank of Sub-Inspectors and Circle Inspectors. They have been picked from the police wings across the state for Sabarimala duty. We are here to do our duty and the women police officers have been deployed as part of the tight security measures devised for the security of devotees, he said. Though the department initially decided not to deploy women police officers and keep them on standby at Sannidhanam, the decision was changed after rumours spread like wildfire the government has brought young women police officers to provide darshan. The women police officers, aged above 50, were put on duty at Sannidhanam to dispel the rumours, said another senior police officer. Meanwhile, there was some confusion within the Police Department as senior officers had to make last minute changes in security planning due to unexpected leave applications from senior IPS officers. Three top police officers - ADGP (Intelligence) T K Vinod Kumar, Inspector Generals P Vijayan and Vijay Sakhare - have gone on leave. P Vijayan, who was entrusted with the security of Sannidhanam from November 3-6, has sought leave for two weeks citing personal reasons. The government finalised Vijayan for monitoring security duty at Sannidhanam because he had years of experience as Special Officer in Sannidhanam during the annual pilgrimage season. Arun Lakshman By Express News Service Sabarimala Sannidhanam on Tuesday morning witnessed massive protests by devotees after a woman managed to reach the holy steps of the hill shrine. It was a cool morning on Diwali day and devotees were chanting prayers in front of Sannidhanam when suddenly the commotion started. Around 6.50 am, news came trickling in that a woman seemingly below the age of 50 was coming for Darshan along with a group. The chanting of the horde of devotees turned to sloganeering and they blocked her entry. The woman was 51 years old, said the policemen deployed at the shrine, but protestors claimed she lied to the cops on her age. Police remained helpless and young policemen got beaten up while trying to bring her to safety. Media was attacked and Amrita TV senior cameraman, Biju Muraleedharan was hit on his forehead with a coconut wound in a bathtowel. He was seen bleeding profusely. Asianet reporter Anoop Balachandran was also waylaid and attacked and several media persons were attacked. Speaking to TNIE, BJP leader K Surendran said, " The devotees protested with chants after they found a woman being forcibly brought by the cops to Sannidhanam. However, they stopped protest after she furnished documents to prove her claim." The woman devotee was identified as one Lalitha, w/o Ravi, from Tirur in Thrissur district of Kerala. ALSO READ: Sabarimala doors open, 30-year-old woman seeks protection to enter temple #Kerala: Lalitha (Pic 1: in the centre), a 52-year-old woman devotee from Thrissur, whose entry to #SabarimalTemple was opposed by protesters, offered prayers at the temple under police protection. She had come along with her family. pic.twitter.com/RdJeWflhk4 Even after it was confirmed that Lalitha was above 50, the mob was reluctant to disperse. Later, some women BJP leaders escorted her to Sannidhanam. Women devotees led by Tamilnadu BJP's Anumouli while speaking to media said " We are not against Lalitha. We have taken her for Darshan and we are against the anti-Sabarimala policy of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his police" MT Ramesh, BJP state general secretary, said, "The police and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan are behind the havoc in Sabarimala. Devotees are pained at the high-handedness of police who are trying to make women enter Sannidhanam at any cost. This is highly deplorable and BJP protests against the police acting like CPM goons in Sabarimala." Lalitha's presence saw devotees sit on the sacred eighteen steps in protest. It may be noted that the eighteen steps cannot be climbed without Irumudi kettu . However, this protest has turned into a big embarrassment as the very people who are clamouring for the respect and retainment of customs and rituals are blatantly breaking them. A devotee from Andhra's Guntur, Vijayalakshmi, was also blocked from entering the shrine and was allowed only after she showed her identity card. Vijayalakshmi told Express, "Things have reached such a situation that women above the restricted age are also blocked and scrutinised. This is new to Sabarimala and this is happening after the Supreme Court verdict." RSS leader Valsan Thillankery, Swami Bhargava Ram and BJP leader VV Rajesh are at Sannidhanam. National leader of RSS J Nandakumar left the shrine early in the morning. RSS leader Valsan Thillankery who is in charge of coordinating the devotees while speaking to Express said, "We are not aware of who conducted these attacks and we give lot of respect to media persons. Several anti-social elements have percolated among the devotees and I believe that this attack is the handiwork of these miscreants. We strongly disapprove of these attacks". The doors to Ayyappa temple opened on Monday for the second time in three weeks for a two-day special puja amid unprecedented security over apprehension of protests by those opposing the Supreme Court order allowing women of all age groups into the shrine. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR/ANGUL: After two weeks of struggle, an expert team of Forest Department succeeded in tranquillising tigress Sundari in Satkosia Tiger Reserve on Tuesday morning.Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) (wildlife) Sandeep Tripathy said Sundari was tranquillised by the Satkosia TR expert team at a location between Behera Sahi and Majhipara village at around 10.45 am. The operation was conducted by experts, including officials from Nandankanan Zoo and Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary, who shot the dart while the tigress was feasting. The expert team took help of Yashoda, a Kunki elephant from Chandaka, in the operation. The tigress was staying at the location after coming from Kadalikhole jungle near Purunakote two days back. The team was monitoring her movements. On Tuesday morning, the tigress was spotted at a plain area near Majhipara. ALSO READ | Tigress lynched in Duhdwa Tiger Reserve; FIR filed As Yashoda was reluctant to go to the spot through bushes, the team went to the plain area by a vehicle and fired the dart that hit the backside of the tigress. She was immediately examined by the doctors and put in a cage. The cage was loaded in a carrier which travelled to special enclosure at Raigoda. Tripathy said after tranquillisation, the big cat has been brought back to the holding area in Raigoda where she was lodged after its translocation from Madhya Pradesh before being released in Satkosia on August 17. Sundaris health is in good condition and she will be kept in a special enclosure for now, Tripathy said. ALSO READ | Killed man-eater tigress Avni leads to new controversy The local villagers have been demanding relocation of the tigress after it allegedly mauled two persons to death in the forest areas. Demand for her relocation from Satkosia gained momentum after the death of Trinath Sahu on October 22. On September 12, a woman was killed. Tripathy said the future course of action will be decided by a joint team of experts comprising officials of state Forest and Environment Department, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and experts from Wildlife Institute of India. The NTCA and WII officials will reach Odisha soon to observe the behaviour of the tigress, he added. Sundari was brought to Odisha from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve for its release into Satkosia Tiger Reserve on June 28 as part of Indias first ever inter-state tiger relocation project. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Stating that the city police would take action by registering cases on Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violators during the general elections, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar on Monday said that they would utilise central forces along with the law and order police for smooth conduct of elections. The police along with the Task Force sleuths conducted raids and searches by nabbing a number of miscreants for indulging in hawala cash transactions. A total 8.76 crore cash was seized in recent time. As per rules and regulations, at least 4,049 license holders have deposited their weapons before the police and bank security and national rifle association members are allowed to use their weapons under security reasons. As many as 2,095 history sheeters were bound over and kept close vigil on miscreants who have criminal past, Police commissioner said. There are 13 counting centres located in the city. The Police Commissioner said that three-tier security would be deployed at the counting centres to prevent untoward incidents. By Express News Service NALGONDA: In what came as a shock to Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Nagarjunasagar constituency, hundreds of its members joined Congress on Monday in the presence of senior leader K Jana Reddy. The reasons for these members switching parties involve a lot of infighting between TRS leaders Nomula Marsimhaiah and MC Koti Reddy. The TRS had announced the ticket for Nomula Narsimhaiah, who had in 2014 lost to Congress K Jana Reddy. TRS leader MC Koti Reddy had lobbied hard for the ticket but when he failed to get it, he dissented against the party. Sensing the situation, ministers G Jagadish Reddy and KT Rama Rao summoned Reddy to Hyderabad to convince him to stay in the party. After the discussions, Reddy pledged his allegiance to TRS yet again. But his followers were going to have none of this. They asked Reddy to exit the party and contest as an Independent. He refused. Disappointed by their leader playing second fiddle to Narsimhaiah, they decided to join Congress. Welcoming the new members, K Jana Reddy assured them Congress would come to power after the elections. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao failed to fulfil any of his partys promises. He gave more importance to welfare of his family as opposed to welfare of the people. But we will govern the State well. As soon as Congress comes to power, we will release a DSC notification to fill thousands of posts, he said. TRS leaders and municipality councillors join Cong in Huzurabad Karimnagar/Peddapalli: Intensifying its poll campaign in Huzurabad and Manthani Assembly constituencies, the Congress party organised a series of rallies on Monday. During a rally in Jammikunta which comes under Huzurabad constituency led by TPCC working president Ponnam Prabhakar, several TRS party leaders & Huzurabad municipality councillors joined Congress party. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: A local TRS leader from Parigi in Vikarabad district was found brutally murdered suspected to be by a group of men Tuesday early morning. Based on preliminary probe, police said a group of miscreants is believed to have attacked Narayana Reddy with boulders and bludgeoned him to death as he came to their agriculture well in their field. Fifty-five-year-old Narayana Reddy was a resident of Sultanpur village in Parigi Mandal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. On Monday, there was an argument between two groups over the love affair of a couple. Elders from both sides tried to settle the matter and strike a compromise. But due to difference in opinion, both parties left the discussions abruptly. As Narayana Reddy allegedly dominated the discussion to settle the matter, the elders from opposite side were not happy and didn't continue further. As a result, they developed a grudge against him, said police. The group of youngsters who participated in the heated discussion with Reddy will be questioned soon as part of the probe. As per the plan when Narayana Reddy came to the agriculture field on Tuesday morning as usual, the gang attacked and killed him. The news of Narayana's death spread like a wildfire with his followers suspecting role of opposition Congress leaders. The followers then ransacked the houses of a few Congress workers and also attacked them, leaving a couple of the workers injured. Police rushed to the village and controlled the situation. Parigi Inspector Y Mogulaiah said a case is registered and the investigation is underway. Additional forces are also deployed in the village to avoid any untoward situation. The body has been sent for postmortem examination. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Ten years back, with the familys economic liabilities on his shoulders, Malavath Srinu left for Dubai in search of a livelihood. His daughter was 6-years-old at the time. Like any other emigrant, he hoped the Middle East would relieve his financial crunch and he would be heading back home after a few years of earning good money. Years went by, one after other. Srinu shifted many places living first in Dubai then Oman, Iran and finally to Iraq. Meanwhile, the Iraqi rebellion picked up pace and before he knew it, the economic have of the Middle East was caught in the crosswires of war. He lost touch with his family for three long years while they lost all hopes that he would come back. Finally, Srinu is back home for this Deepavali, in a desi Saturnalia miracle of sorts! Srinu, who is relieved to be back in his hometown Nizamabad, says he was doing well in Dubai until a middleman messed him up. He spent three years in Dubai and managed to save some money. The middleman promised better prospects in Oman and sent him there, but he held back Srinus passport. But as fate may have it, Srinu broke his hip in an accident at the work site. He was bed-ridden for a year with no escape as his passport was confiscated by the middleman. Finally, he managed to contact his family to inform of his situation. His mother Gheni Bai and wife Anguri Bai approached the members of Telangana Jagruthi and later its president and Nizamabad MP K Kavitha. Just 20-days after she was involved, Srinu was back with his family. By PTI Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday said his three-nation Africa visit was "extremely productive" and has taken the India-Africa relations to next level by reinforcing existing ties and forging cooperation in new areas. Naidu returned to New Delhi this morning after his six-day visit of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi. "In the last four and a half years of this government, 29 visits to Africa have taken place at the level of president, vice president and prime minister. This is truly unprecedented," Naidu told media on board the special Air India aircraft. India gives high priority to relations with Africa, Naidu said. "You are aware of the high priority government gives to our relations with Africa. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently set out 10 guiding principles to enhance our engagement with Africa. My visit to these three countries was in this context," he said, adding that the tour was "extremely productive". Naidu said his tour was the first high-level visit to these three countries after a significant gap. "In fact, in Zimbabwe, it was after 21 years and the president of Zimbabwe was appreciative that I visited the country soon after his election as the president," he added. "The leadership of these countries received me with great warmth. The president of Botswana flew back from his visit to Mozambique to meet me at the airport on his arrival. The President of Zimbabwe spent more than an hour with me to discuss various issues of mutual interest. M Venkaiah Naidu and President of Malawi. (Photo | Twitter) The Malawi president was himself my host and even hosted a vegetarian luncheon banquet in my honour where the First Lady was also present. These were special gestures shown to me," he said. India and the three African countries share similar values, common bonds of democracy and shared history of colonialism, he said. "My visit was to build on these strong foundations and take our relations to next level by reinforcing existing ties and forging relationship in new areas," he said. "The outcome of my visit clearly indicates that this has been achieved. These are also countries which India has strongly supported in their socio-economic development. This was unequivocally acknowledged by all the three presidents," he said. The president of Zimbabwe "openly thanked India" for standing by them during their period of isolation, he said. ALSO READ | India on the move: M Venkaiah Naidu tells diaspora in Malawi At the India-Africa Summit III, India had agreed to extend Lines of Credit to Africa of USD 10 billion over 5 years in addition to USD 600 million as grant, he said. "During my visit, I made substantial commitment to them on development partnership and assistance. Major commitments made includes, inter-alia, USD 350 million for projects in Zimbabwe and USD 220 million of Lines of Credit for water supply projects in Malawi and setting up of the Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre in Zimbabwe and Malawi as grant assistance," Naidu said. "The president of Malawi specifically asked our assistance for skills development which I readily agreed to. I invited all of them to participate actively in the tele-education and tele-medicine project India has launched recently across Africa," he said. "India will also be gifting one lakh NCERT school textbooks for classes 8 to 12 in Malawi, he said. During his Africa visit, there were discussions on encouraging engagement, especially in the areas of agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, ICT, minerals and mining, diamond trading, railways and infrastructure and logistics, Naidu said. (Photo | Twitter) "All the three leaders were appreciative of the role the Indian private sector was playing in investing in their respective countries and contributing to their development," he said. Minerals, especially rare earth minerals and their trading came in for specific discussion since all these three countries are rich in minerals including uranium, copper, nickel etc, he said. "We signed an MoU with Malawi on providing capacity building in nuclear energy regulatory framework, and its protection, safety etc. keeping in mind the rich deposits of uranium and rare earth minerals in Malawi. We also signed an MoU on geology, mining and minerals with Zimbabwe. Direct trading in raw diamonds was also discussed with Botswana and Zimbabwe," he said. The three countries were "deeply appreciative" of medical services in India as well as the services being rendered by India's private sector hospitals in their respective countries and the ever-increasing need for Indian pharmaceuticals products, Naidu said. Agriculture was another area of focus during the visit, he said. "We are setting up the India-Africa Institute for Agriculture and Rural Development in Malawi which will cater to Africa on training and capacity building," he said. "We also agreed to import mangoes from Malawi as a special gesture," he added. Defence cooperation is another area where there is promise of greater cooperation with these three countries, Naidu said. "We have been able to successfully conclude negotiations during my visit for sending Indian army training team to Botswana, with whom we have had close defence relations since 1978," he said. On his meetings with the Indian community in all the three countries, Naidu said he is happy to say that the Indian diaspora and NRIs in these countries are playing an important role in their economic development and are highly regarded by their leadership for their industry and hardwork. By Online Desk Despite objections raised by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the private bus service between Pakistan and China, which is operated under CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor), was launched late Monday night. According to a report by a Pakistani news agency, the first bus which will cover the one-way journey in 36 hours, left for Kashgar in Xianjing, China, from the Gulberg terminal in Lahore. Earlier this month, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar stated that any bus service between Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and China violates India's sovereignty. "We have lodged a strong protest with China and Pakistan on the proposed bus service that will operate from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir to China under the so-called CPEC. Any such bus service through areas occupied by Pakistan will be a violation of India's sovereignty and territoriality, said Kumar. During the two-day journey, which will have buses being operated after authorisation by North-South Transport Network (NSTN), the passengers will have multiple stops, including one at Islamabad or Rawalpindi to pick passengers, and scheduled stops at Mansehra and Besham in Pakistan and Chilas and Gilgit in PoK on the first day. On the second day of the journey, a breakfast halt will be made at Sost before heading towards the border for immigration procedures. The bus will cross over to China through the Khunjerab Pass at the border, where checking will take place twice -- once on the Pakistani side and once on the Chinese side. Special arrangements have been made for the security of the passengers and the service, while the driver will have all information to contact security guards at various check posts. While a one-way ticket from Lahore to Kashgar and Kashgar to Lahore costs PKR 13,000 and RMB 600 respectively per head, a round trip will cost PKR 23000. To avail the service, passengers are required to carry a valid passport, visa and a return ticket as travel documents and baggage not weighing more than 20kgs per head. Being an initiative under the CPEC, the bus service seeks to cater small-scale businessmen from both the countries. (With ANI inputs) Journalists work at the media center of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2018. The first CIIE opened here on Monday and has drawn much attention from domestic and international media. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday announced the opening of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. The international community has high expectations for the event and praised China for its efforts to promote free trade and an open global economy. In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the expo, Xi called on all countries to uphold the principle of inclusive development and share benefits and promised that China will continue its non-stop efforts to open up. Singapores Straits Times responded to Xis address at CIIE and believed that it underscores China's pledge to open up its markets to foreign goods and services. The Economist pointed out that for much of the past three decades the promotion of exports was central to China s economic strategy. In promoting the expo, Xi is showing that the government not only welcomes Chinas transformation into an import superpower, but wants to speed it up, wrote the magazine on its website. Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce, told the Financial Times that the expo demonstrates Chinas transformation from an exporter to a global importing nation. This is a positive opportunity to highlight China's success and the strength of Australia-China relationship, ABC reported, quoting Australias Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Simon Birmingham. Singapore companies, with their strong branding and commitment to high quality standards, are in a good position to introduce differentiated products and services to China's huge and growing domestic market, said Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry in a press statement. According to The Express Tribune, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the CIIE will serve as a great opportunity for Pakistan to increase its exports to narrow its trade deficit and earn more revenue to address its looming debt issues. The Egypt Today observed that talks at the CIIE will cover the means of boosting joint cooperation and investment opportunities in Egypt. The CIIE provides tremendous opportunities for the Egyptian services sectors to tap into the promising Chinese market, said Daily News Egypt. (Compiled by Xiong Ting, Li Siying and Jiang Yuge) By AFP JERUSALEM: A Palestinian woman tried to stab Israeli officers with scissors in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday before being shot and wounded, police said, the second such incident in as many days. "Female terrorist attempted to stab border police officers at the petrol station near Mishor Adumim," a desert area east of Jerusalem, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. "Female terrorist neutralised at the scene. No injuries to officers," he said in a statement. A separate police statement identified her as a 37-year-old Palestinian from Yata, a town south of Hebron in the southern West Bank. Police had been alerted to the scene after a civilian reported she was acting in a suspicious way at a falafel shop in the gas station complex and located her, the statement said. After calling on her to stop, she pulled out scissors from her bag and ran at the officers while yelling in Arabic, it said. She was shot in the leg and moderately wounded, police said, noting she had also been in possession of a knife. A wave of mainly lone-wolf Palestinian attacks against Israelis broke out in 2015. The number of attacks has decreased since, but still occur sporadically. On Monday, a Palestinian man tried to stab Israeli civilians and a soldier at a gas station near Hebron before being shot and lightly wounded by a soldier. On October 22, a Palestinian was shot dead when attempting to stab soldiers in Hebron. An aerial picture of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), the venue of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE). Photo by Fan Jun from Xinhua News Agency The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) starts in Shanghai Monday. It is an event in which 82 countries and three international organizations showcase their economic and trade achievements at the country pavilions, with more than 3,000 companies and 160,000 purchasers from over 130 countries and regions displaying their products at the enterprise and business exhibitions. As the first import-themed national expo in the world, CIIE marks a major step of China to proactively open itself wider to the world, said an official of the Shanghai municipal government. To enlarge the driving effect of the CIIE and further improve development quality, Shanghai has established an organization system for trade, including a6 days+365 days one-stop trading service platform for both online and offline deals, 4 coalitions of purchasing agents and 18 sub-trading groups. The6+365 platform offers services all year round. The food and consumer products all over the world will continue to be displayed at 13 exhibition sites in Shanghai after the 6-day expo ends and be traded all year round in Shanghais duty-free zones. In the Lingang Area of Pudong District, the factory of US carmaker Tesla Inc. is under construction on a tract of land of more than 860,000 square meters. On July 10, Shanghai municipal government signed an agreement with Tesla on the construction of the factory. On the same day, the Shanghai government introduced a total of 100 new measures covering five areas such as finance, industry and intellectual property protection, in a bid to further expand the city's opening-up. The measures marks a breakthrough of policy restrictions to introduce foreign investment in advanced manufacturing sectors such as the automobile, aircraft and shipbuilding industries. There were worries about Teslas possible impacts on domestic new-energy vehicles after it enters China, said Chen Jie, secretary of the Party committee of Shanghai Lingang Area Development Administration. But after surveys, the government found that Chinas market demand is big enough for the development of more new-energy vehicles, and the country should open up boldly. Instead of protecting the Chinese enterprises, self-seclusion only means falling behind. Shanghai aims to step up the construction of a higher-quality modern industry system by taking the advantage of a higher level of opening up. The city is expanding the opening up of its modern service industry and advanced manufacturing industry, increasing the added value and competitiveness of products, and introducing more headquarters of transnational corporations and foreign-invested research and development centers, said Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong. The time taken to introduce Tesla into China was reduced from more than half a year to just three months, thanks to both comprehensive and tailored services to facilitate the project. Through meeting the highest international standards, Shanghai is striving to build a global first-class business hub with more legalized, international, convenient environment. Shanghais business environment will become more attractive as long as it is legalized, internationalized and convenient, said Li Qiang, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). There is no best, only better business environment, Li said. On Oct. 28, the 30th International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai kicked off, themed a higher level of opening up under the new circumstance. More than 30 presidents and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies submitted their plans and proposals to the meeting, including trimming down Shanghais negative list for foreign investment and supporting trade finance. Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche Group, who attended the meeting almost every year, said he would like to come because his proposals were always taken seriously. As the business environment continues to improve, more and more transnational corporations are increasing investments in Shanghai. On Oct. 27, several world-renowned companies signed agreements on 12 big projects involving foreign investment of 23.4 billion yuan (about $ 3.4 billion) with the Shanghai municipal government. Swiss industrial giant ABB Group said it will invest $150 million in Shanghai to build the world's most advanced, automated and flexible robotics factory, with the aim of manufacturing robots with robots. By the end of this September, the number of countries and regions investing in Shanghai has increased to 178. Shanghai is home to more than 50,000 foreign-funded companies, including headquarters of 653 transnational corporations and 438 research and development centers. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 39F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 39F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. (Photo/Xinhua) The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) is scheduled from Nov. 5 to 10 in Shanghai. On the eve of the expo, the Peoples Daily published an article under the byline of Guo Jiping, expounding on Chinas sincerity to promote win-win cooperation through the expo. Its excerpts are read as follows. The first CIIE will undoubtedly bring remarkable benefits to the world. The current economic globalization is faced with a series of new challenges, and more uncertainties and instabilities have been brought to it amid rising unilateralism and protectionism. In the face of such complex situation, China acts proactively by sharing its development opportunities with the world, and supporting other countries to board the express train of its development. It shows China's responsibility as a great nation. Proactively expanding opening up is a natural choice based on the Chinas achievements and experiences over the 40 years of reform and opening up. The CIIE is held in the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up. Four decades ago, Chinas GDP per capita was $156, less than one third of the average of African countries south of the Sahara at $490, according to World Bank standards. Now, China has become the worlds second largest economy, largest trader of commodities and largest holder of foreign reserves. Its foreign trade volume grows by 14.5 percent annually in US dollars. Over the past 40 years, more than 700 million Chinese people have shaken off poverty, accounting for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction in the same period. The Chinese people have walked out of shortages to affluence and from poverty to moderate prosperity. Different from the one merely relying on exports, the Chinese economy is now driven by both exports and imports. It is a natural step toward a big country in economics and trade. This change takes places as China integrates into the world more deeply. China participates in the effective allocation of global resources, which has helped production factors circulate in an orderly manner. The country also promotes deep integration of the global market, which has provided a better supply system for itself. Chinas benign interaction with other countries makes it gain more from global trade. A countrys opening should never just benefit itself. It is the common expectation of people of the world that the dividends of economic globalization are shared by different countries, social strata and groups of people. Through the CIIE, China will not only serve its own demand for development, but also build a public platform to boost global trade, thus helping pull economic globalization out of the wood. The CIIE benefits both China and the world. Chinese authorities expect that the country will import goods worth $24 trillion in the next 15 years. The huge Chinese market provides great potential for the world. At the CIIE, Japanese, German and 69 French enterprises will have 15,000, 31,000 and 5,000 square meters of exhibition areas respectively, to showcase their products. In addition, 180 Internet, auto, home appliance, manufacturing and agriculture companies from the US have signed up for the CIIE. About 3,000 companies will attend the event, including 200 Fortune 500 companies and leading companies. Twenty firms even have confirmed their participation in the 2019 CIIE. China has exempted the least developed countries from paying exhibition stand fees, in an effort to help them integrate into the global value chain and share the benefits of economic globalization with them. The CIIE is on an unprecedented scale. Different from other exhibitions, it sends a clear signal that China opposes protectionism and builds and safeguards an open global economy. It showcases Chinas consistent stance on supporting a multilateral trade system, and developing free trade. Additionally, it expels the cloud of anti-globalization featured by trade protectionism. The CIIE is expected and believed to inject strong positive power into economic globalization. Guo Jiping is a well-known pen name used for Peoples Daily editorials meant to outline Chinas stance and viewpoints on major international issues. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Becoming partly cloudy after some morning rain. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 22F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. China and Singapore concluded their negotiations for the upgrade of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) on Monday. Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying(right) and Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing. [Photo:CGTN] The announcement was jointly made by Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying and Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing after their meeting on the sidelines of the first China International Import Export in Shanghai. The two countries will sign the upgrade protocol after performing related domestic procedures, said the Chinese Commerce Ministry in a statement. Under the current CSFTA, all Chinese exports to Singapore enjoy zero tariffs, while 95 percent of Singapore's exports to China enjoy zero tariffs. The upgraded CSFTA will further improve Singapore businesses' market access to China, and strengthen protection of their investment. It will also cover cooperation in new areas, including legal and financial services, e-commerce and the environment. Chan said this development marks an important step forward for bilateral economic relations between Singapore and China. "The upgrade signals our joint commitment towards greater economic collaboration and trade liberalization. Singapore businesses can expect to enjoy greater access to the vast Chinese market and greater certainty in their investments when the upgraded CSFTA takes effect, said Chan. The CFSTA was China's first such agreement with an Asian country. The current FTA between the two countries was signed into force in January 2009. And the talks to upgrade it started in 2015 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Singapore. Economic relations between China and Singapore have been close. China has been Singapore's largest trading partner, while Singapore has been China's top foreign investor for five years in a row since 2013. Portland Brewing announced the closure of their MacTarnahan's Taproom today, Tuesday, November 6th 2018. The full restaurant and bar on-site of the breweries production facility that produces both Portland Brewing and MacTarnahan's beers as well as Pyramid Breweries has been a Portland classic since 1986. The Portland Brewing Taproom was one of the oldest (it opened in 1994) still operating brewpubs in Portland until today.Portland Brewing and Pyramid Breweries General Manager Robert Rensch said in an email today, "This is a bittersweet announcement coming in a year where we successfully relaunched the brand, are seeing increased rate of sale for our beers, launched our New Way IPA, and earned our 5th medal for MacTarnahans at the Great American Beer Festival." Anyone who has visited Portland Brewing knows that the location was always a struggle and it's amazing the retail/hospitality side lasted as long as it did. It's in a neighborhood with almost no foot traffic with just industrial warehouses and offices. Most of the areas population is blue collar workers driving trucks in and out of the area and not spending much time in the otherwise desolate neighborhood outside of their 9-5. The quality of the establishment and it's food and drink were high, the building and its pub are one of the nicer places to enjoy lunch in town, I loved the patio and would try to stop in if I was in the neighborhood, but that was rare. Last year I spoke to Portland Brewing employees who were hopeful that the just opened Sasquatch Brewing NW taproom and the upcoming Great Notion Brewing NW would bring people to the area. Great Notion is still not fully open and I am not sure if the Sasquatch NW taproom has panned out. In any case it would seem too little too late. In the email announcement, Rentsch wrote: "Earlier today we notified and thanked our employees who brought a love of beer and great service to work every day. We are providing the 20 full and part-time restaurant employees a comprehensive severance package. We also want to extend a big thank you to our customers, including many long-time regulars, for supporting us over the years. We will miss them. We will be keeping the space formerly occupied by the restaurant, and are actively exploring alternate concepts to connect Portland Brewing Company brewers and their beers with the community. Our direct-to-consumer dock sales of kegs and cases will also continue." Perhaps in a year or two we will see the NW industrial neighborhood take off a little more and they can reopen the pub, its a special part of Oregon beer history. More details have emerged of rabble-rousing influence peddler William Gerald Mutumanjes recent hatchet job on top Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) officials and businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei all of whom he has fingered in corruption and the illegal trading of foreign currency before backtracking spectacularly. This comes as the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) commissioner in charge of investigations, Goodson Nguni, told the Daily News yesterday that the graft body was itching to probe Mutumanje who is more commonly known as Acie Lumumba. We are waiting for someone to write a letter with the allegations against Lumumba and after that we will ask the police to arrest him, he said. In the new details contained in another explosive recording of discussions on the hatchet job on senior RBZ officials and Tagwirei for which Mutumanje was paid $40 000 and which the Daily News has got in its possession he emphatically affirmed what he was reported saying by, the Daily News on Sunday, yesterday. I want to go to Joburg for like a week and disappear from the noise. I dont want to be part of this mess (the State capture saga and his allegations of corruption), however it ends. You know, my greatest worry with stopping or quitting or even changing narrative is will I be able to look after myself afterwards? The only reason why these people got me is they knew I was really in a tough corner. They knew my father wasnt feeling well. My father needed an operation. It was actually almost like they tricked me because inini ndakaenda kuna (I went to) ... (name of individual withheld on legal advice) and said aah vakomana (gentlemen), how can you guys leave my father suffering like this? You people makashanda mese (you worked together) and you are really going to leave him? Then they said no problem, we will look after him. But theres something we want you to do, Mutumanje said in the latest recording. But because at the time I wasnt thinking, the only thing that was on my mind was can you look after my father. I made commitments and said yes, I will do it without knowing what it is. Mdhara akaenda kunorapwa zvakanaka (my father went for his treatment in India and all went well). I didnt know I had signed my life away, he added. So, pandakapihwa basa rekunzi enda kuministry of Finance (when I was given the Finance ministry job), in my head I thought I was going to assist the minister of Finance to communicate zvinhu zvekuministry of Finance. What I didnt know is they already knew the detail. But I didnt know the detail. I knew the position, not the detail, Mutumanje said. Asked by the person he was recorded talking to whether Finance minister Ncube was part of the plot, Mutumanje answered in the affirmative, claiming that the former banker had been heavily involved. Im saying there is nothing that Im saying that is coming from my head. Hapana guess work paya paya, confirming further that he had been paid $40 000 in hard currency for the hatchet job. It was real desperation. I just lost my mother. So, psychologically the thought of losing a father right after losing a mother is traumatising. So, I panicked and I went to the only place I thought I could get help, he added. Pressed to come clean on the matter by his partner in the recorded message, Mutumanje said he knew how to get myself out of it. You know what I would like, if I had it my way. I want to be able to say, vakomana (gentlemen), so that you dont say ... I owe you anything, here is your money. So, lets agree that I dont owe you anything. But after that I know that theyll be so bitter about it. You know OB once said never get into a fight with someone who has more money than you, because they can do so much more than you can, he said. This bombshell story comes after Mutumanje was last month briefly and irregularly appointed as the head of a communications taskforce in the Finance ministry. Ncube was later pressured to sack him after he made staggering allegations on Facebook, on supposed illegal foreign currency dealings at the central bank claims which shook Zanu PF and the government to their core. In that social media blast, Mutumanje named the four senior RBZ officials and Tagwirei as being at the centre of illegal foreign currency dealings leading to the precautionary suspension of the central bank executives by governor John Mangudya. Mutumanje was first reported by the Daily News on Sunday claiming that he had been paid $40 000 dollars to smear the RBZ directors Mirirai Chiremba, Norman Mataruka, Gresham Muradzikwa and Azvinandaa Saburi. In the first recorded voice message, Mutumanje also revealed seemingly nonchalantly that he had sold his soul to the devil by accepting the money which he claimed he needed desperately to send his ailing father for treatment in India. Hi mukoma (brother), please get hold of me, I have been trying to get hold of you. Ndakakumbira sisi (I asked sister) Linda to get you through Tineyi, but no one is getting back to me. I need you kuti mundisvitsirewo message kuna mukoma K (Tagwirei). I have no way of getting through to him and you know I am very compromised at the moment. I cant even call him directly without compromising myself. From the bottom of my heart, and anyone who knows my heart and you know me, there is no way I would do this (smear people), Mutumanje said in his intercepted first message, apparently meant for an associate of Tagwirei. I know I am even compromising myself by sending this audio note. Its just that I really need you to get the message to him. Please get hold of me. I need you to help me navigate myself out of this mess. Its an absolute mess. Very frightening, gory things are being plotted. How I found myself right in the middle forget even the middle, in the front of it is a myth to me. I know I am compromised, Mutumanje added. I know I had a problem and you know what my problem was and you know I asked for help. There wasnt anyone paying attention to my needs and in the end I think I sold myself to the devil to get it done and here we are, for nothing in return. I just want you to get the message kuna mukoma. You know there is no way people can be fired from the RBZ because of Lumumba. Are you serious? Makazvitarisa imimi (looking at it) knowing this system you really think Lumumba is the reason why people were fired from RBZ, Mutumanje said. He also made it clear in the first voice recording that he had been used by politicians in the hatchet job, before making further astonishing claims that a war was about to erupt between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga. This fight is inevitable. There is a real fight starting between number one (Mnangagwa) and number two (Chiwenga). If I am going to be useful, can I please be useful to people who are my friends and who will also look after my interests than for people who are simply using me like the way you use a condom ... you use it and throw it away. I hope you get back to me, Mutumanje said. Meanwhile, the former Zanu PF youth league official posted a new message on his Facebook page yesterday, saying this time that he never received payment from Ncube. Lets set the record quickly, I have never received any money from @MthuliNcube, clearly Queen Bee has now set sights on destroying his image so he can be replaced with someone you can capture. Oh Queen Bee, I almost let you go, I really did, now PLEASE google cuddle death, he said. The message was curious as he did not deny the substance of the Daily News on Sundays story. In addition, his reference to not getting payment from Ncube was interesting, as the paper never made that claim. Daily News FORMER managing director of Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) Noah Gwariro yesterday testified against former Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge in connection with a case in which Intratrek Zimbabwe was corruptly awarded the Gwanda solar power plant tender by Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC). Prosecuting, Mr Zivanai Macharaga from the Presidents Special Anti-Corruption Unit argued that Intratrek was awarded the said tender at the instigation of Undenge resulting in ZPC losing over $5 million, charges which Undenge denies. Gwariro, who signed the contract yesterday appeared in court as a witness claiming that Undenge was the one who gave him the directive to pay Intratek for the pre-commencement of the project even though he knew that Intratek had not provided a bank guarantee. I notified the accused that the contractor (Intratek) had not provided the bank guarantee which is to safeguard the company in case the contractor fails to deliver. He was also aware that the contractor wanted to be paid for the pre-commencement work before starting the project. He said he would get back to me after consulting his principal in the Cabinet, and after a few days he came back to me through a phone call saying I should proceed to make the payment so the project could proceed. I only acted on his directive. Mr Muchadehama responded saying that Gwariro was framing Undenge because he does not want to be in the dock with him as he claims that Gwariro was a co-accused when the matter was brought in by the police. He also claims that Gwariro was suspended from his position by the ZPC board because he had made the payments to Intratek without their approval, so he should not implicate Undenge for the decisions he made alone. It was you and you alone responsible for issuing the contract without the bank guarantee which is why you were suspended the board blames you. To begin with you were a co-accused in this matter. I am surprised that you are a witness. You do not want to be in the dock yourself, which is why you are framing the accused. Undenge appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Barbara Chimboza who rolled over the case to today for continuation. Undenge is currently on bail pending appeal on a separate charge in which he was jailed for prejudicing the same power company of $12 650 after handpicking a public relations company called Fruitful Communications owned by Psychology Maziwisa and former ZBC news anchor Oscar Pambuka to do work for ZPC. This was done without going to tender. He was sentenced to four years in prison, with one-and-a-half years suspended on condition he does not commit a similar crime. The latest charges arose after businessman Chivayos company, Intratrek Zimbabwe, was corruptly awarded the Gwanda solar power plant tender. When Chivayo initially appeared in court, the prosecution told the court that Undenge should also be arrested in connection with the offence. It is alleged Chivayo failed to execute the project despite getting $5 607 814,24 from Government. Herald Embattled Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries (PHD) leader Walter Magaya has poured his heart out about his legal woes, but said the silver lining was that government has agreed to put his controversial HIV/Aids drug through clinical tests to ascertain its safety and authenticity. Speaking at his Waterfalls church during a Friday service held just after attending court where he was charged with distributing and advertising his medicine without regulatory approval, Magaya said he was happy he has been given a chance to prove the efficacy of his product. His arrest came moments after he appeared at a press conference in Harare with Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo, where he apologised for making a much criticised claim that he had discovered a cure for HIV/Aids, through a herbal mix called Aguma. After I had given my public apology, with the minister, when I was going down from the ministry building, I saw a lot of police, riot, but after talking to them, they responded well and we went to the police camp. So, I went to the police, gave my statement, after giving my statement, they asked me some questions, around 12 midnight, I was then released, came back home, went to court today (Friday). I am not allowed to speak (on why he was arrested) and to comment on the matter because its already in the courts, but I will just tell you one sentence. The reason why I was arrested is because of the... announcement, they said I did break the law by announcing what I have without a licence, but the good news of it is that I met the government yesterday, the minister, the deputy ministers and other officials and we have agreed, they have agreed to test, he said amid uproarious applause from his congregants. So, the stage we are getting into now, my cry has always been, give me a chance, so I thinkthrough the voice of the minister, they have agreed to give the product a chance, Magaya said to wild and animated guffaws from his congregants. Moyo yesterday told the Daily News there are certain processes that need to be followed for the drug to be tested. No one is above the law when dealing with clinical processes, they should follow the countrys laws, even when he (Magaya) apologised we said its okay, but we cannot stop the raids. Let me stress no one is above the law. The countrys laws have to be respected by everyone. He has to apply through the permanent secretary and then a team will be set up to look into his drug, Moyo said, insinuating the process has not yet started. Magaya, who is out of custody on $300 bail, is alleged to have destroyed some of the exhibits by flushing his herbs down the toilet and burning their containers, but some half-burnt containers were allegedly recovered during a search at his Marlborough premises. According to court papers, the charismatic preacher is accused of announcing on his television channel that he had discovered Aguma, which he claimed was a cure for HIV/Aids, cancer and other ailments. These sensational claims triggered a fierce backlash from both authorities and medical experts, who robustly criticised the claim, saying it had the potential of destabilising the governments fight against HIV/Aids as some people were likely going to default on their medication. However, Magaya on Friday said he was willing and able to have the product tested. Not even a single person is allowed to have it until they have (been) satisfied. My words still stand the same, I have never, there was never any day that I have said people must stop taking ARVs. I have neversaid that. People must take their medication and its very, very important. Remember, I have always said that medicine is a blessing from God, so they are going to give what I have a very tight test, very tight one to see if what I said is there. So, today, we are actually preparing the schedule of how we are going to do it. I dont know how the scientists are going to decide, but (based) on my general knowledge, we are going to choose volunteersits a process that needs the scientists to describe, so I will give them a chance to describe how the process goes. But the good newsafter all thisis they have agreed to test. To mejust for them to agree to testthats the good news, thats the best news I received yesterday (last Thursday).. Please forgive whoever needs to be forgiven, educate whoever needs to be educated. What the police did was okay in terms of the law, he said. Magayas claims, however, comes at a time when government is currently on an ambitious $103 million five-year HIV-testing strategy to raise the number of people who know their status. Zimbabwe has an HIV prevalence rate of 13,7 percent according to 2016 national estimates and has been making strides to fight the disease through procuring essential drugs for people living with the virus. Daily News (Newser) Two St. Louis day care workers are facing felony charges after preschool children in their care were encouraged to fight each other. St. Louis prosecutors charged 28-year-old Mickala Guliford and 22-year-old Tena Dailey with first-degree endangering a child. A summons was issued Monday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports charging documents allege the two women encouraged the fistfights on Dec. 7, 2016. The fights were caught on video, per the AP. story continues below They allegedly lasted 35 minutes and involved at least six children. The children each had a padded glove on one hand. One 4-year-old suffered a black eye and other injuries. Mothers of two children are suing the Adventure Learning Center. No lawyer is listed for the women, who have both been fired. An attorney for the day care declined comment, citing the pending litigation. (While no children were seriously hurt in St. Louis, an incident at a New York day care left three infants stabbed.) (Newser) A former boxer has choked to death during a televised croissant eating contest in Argentina. The death of 56-year-old Mario Melo was announced by his sister Monday. Per the AP, Aida Melo told the local TN television channel that she was watching as her brother collapsed behind the contest's announcer as he was choking on a medialuna, a traditional Argentine croissant. story continues below She said that people thought he was pulling a prank. But he kept desperately gesturing to the announcer for help. She said a doctor finally was summoned from the audience and Melo was rushed to a local hospital in the town of Pinamar, where he was later declared dead on Sunday. Melo was a light heavyweight and heavyweight champion of South America in the 1980s and 1990s. (Deaths during eating contests have happened before. At least two were reported just last year.) (Newser) Harvey Weinstein's lawyers want the New York sexual assault case against him dismissed, the AP reports. In a court filing Monday, the former Hollywood producer's attorneys said his indictment was "irreparably tainted by police misconduct," among other problems. Per Page Six and TMZ, those other problems involve one of Weinstein's accusers: Production assistant Mimi Haleyi alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at his home in 2006, but his lawyers say that in 2007, she texted Weinstein's phone asking to see him. "This message makes clear that Mimi Haleyi wished to continue seeing Mr. Weinstein even after the alleged sexual assault," the filing reads. She is one of three women Weinstein was originally charged with assaulting, but a charge involving one of them has already been dismissed. (Weinstein was recently accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old.) BEIJING - A public welfare program aiming to share stories of panda-human relationships has been unveiled to the public, presenting China's tremendous ecological conservation achievements in protecting the endangered species. China Network Television's iPanda channel and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding jointly launched the Worldwide Giant Panda Keeper Volunteer Program in order to enable the public at home and abroad to gain a better perspective of giant panda breeding. A total of 27 young people from around the world are selected to come to Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province and known as "home of the panda", to undergo closed-door, professional training and witness the breeding of giant pandas. A number of other events have been hosted by the base in recent years to present scientific research on giant pandas, calling on the public to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle. (Newser) Death was apparently preferable to life on California's Death Row for serial killer Andrew Urdiales. The 54-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell at San Quentin State Prison on Friday night and authorities believe he killed himself, News 10 reports. Urdiales was sentenced to death by an Orange County judge Oct. 5 for killing five women in California between 1986 and 1995, four of them while he was stationed at Marine Corps Base Pendleton, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. It was the third time he had been sentenced to death: He was sentenced to die in 2002 for two murders in Illinois, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, along with all other death sentences in the state, by Gov. George Ryan in 2003. story continues below Urdiales was then tried for a third Illinois murder and sentenced to death again in 2004. After Gov. Pat Quinn abolished the death penalty in Illinois in 2011, Urdiales was extradited to California. Urdiales "remained a callous coward until the end as he robbed the victims' families of the right to be present when the state put him to death," Orange County DA Tony Rackauckas said in a statement. Less than 24 hours after the death of Urdiales, a different Death Row prisoner was found dead of an apparent suicide in a different area of San Quentin. Authorities do not believe the death of 51-year-old Virendra Govin, who was sentenced to die in 2005 for killing a business rival, her two children, and her mother-in-law, is related to that of Urdiales. (California hasn't executed anybody since 2006, and San Quentin is running out of space.) (Newser) Rebel Wilson is making the rounds to promote her upcoming rom-com Isn't It Romantic, but she had less than perfect pitch on Ellen DeGeneres' show last week. Per HuffPost, the Australian actress told DeGeneres she's glad Hollywood is starting to see less-stereotypical roles for plus-size actors, and that "I'm proud to be the first-ever [plus-size] girl to be the star of a romantic comedy." Which may have been a simple bit of self-promotion, except for the fact there have actually been other plus-size women to star in such movies, including Mo'Nique and Queen Latifah, as one Twitter user pointed out. Yet Wilson tweeted back that it was somewhat of a "grey area," splitting hairs on whether the movies those actresses had starred in fell under the "studio rom-com with sole lead" category, and whether the actresses had actually been plus-size during filming. story continues below Making things worse, per Monique Judge on the Root: Wilson seemed to only respond to white women who corrected her on Twitter, while blocking black women who did so (the Daily Dot notes a #RebelWilsonBlockedMe hashtag emerged). Mo'Nique herself responded, tweeting: "Take a moment and know the history. DON'T BE A PART OF ERASING IT." Wilson issued an apology, per the Sydney Morning Herald, noting that "in a couple of well-intentioned moments ... I neglected to show the proper respect to those who climbed this mountain before me like Mo'Nique, Queen Latifah, Melissa McCarthy, Ricki Lake, and likely many others." As for the Twitter blocking, she said it was "because I was hurting from the criticism, but those are the people I actually need to hear from more, not less. Again, I am deeply sorry." (Wilson had a record defamation payoutand then didn't.) (Newser) A shark has killed a man in an island harbor on Australia's Great Barrier Reef where two tourists were mauled on consecutive days in September. The spate of attacks has left authorities struggling to explain an apparent escalation in danger in an internationally-renowned vacation destination, the AP reports. The 33-year-old victim was among 10 friends who set out from Airlie Beach on the Queensland state mainland on Monday morning on a rented yacht to sail themselves on a five-day cruise through the idyllic Whitsunday Islands, Police Inspector Steve O'Connell says. They anchored 14 miles from Airlie Beach in Cid Harbor, intending to spend their first night in the popular, protected anchorage on Whitsunday Island, the uninhabited largest island in the group, he says. story continues below The victim was taking turns with a woman standing on a paddle board or swimming in the harbor late Monday afternoon. He had dived into the water to give the woman her turn on the board when he was attacked, O'Connell says. French-speaking tourists launched a dinghy from another yacht and rescued the man, O'Connell says. They brought the victim to his own yacht, where most of the group had medical backgrounds, including two doctors. "Despite their best efforts, the injuries were too severe," O'Connell says. A 46-year-old tourist, Justine Barwick, was attacked on Sept. 19 while swimming from a yacht in Cid Harbor and is recovering. A 12-year-old tourist, Hannah Papps, was attacked in the same harbor while swimming from a yacht the next day, losing a leg. (After this attack in California, the shark followed rescuers.) (Read more shark attack stories.) (Newser) The driver of a freight train in Western Australia got out to inspect an issue with one of its 268 wagons early Mondayand it kept going without him. The train, loaded with iron ore, hurtled across 57 miles of the remote Pilbara region before it was deliberately derailed from a remote control center hundreds of miles away while traveling at almost 70mph, the Guardian reports. BHP Billiton has suspended iron ore operations while the incident is investigated, 9News reports. The train, which had been traveling from Newman to Port Hedland, sustained serious damage, as did around a mile of track, but nobody was injured. (This train in India was carrying around 1,000 people when it rolled away without a driver.) (Newser) A British-Australian man who claimed his American wife was lost at sea when their sailing catamaran sank off the coast of Cuba has admitted to killing her. Lewis Bennett, facing a second-degree murder charge, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Miami on Monday, reports the BBC. Bennett, 41, had been sailing from Cuba to Delray Beach, Fla., with his wife of three months, Isabella Hellmann, when he sent out an SOS call on May 15, 2017. Bennett said he'd been awoken by a jolt of impact to find the boat taking on water and his wife missing. After he escaped on a life raft, however, authorities noted damage to the boat appeared to have been caused from the inside and portholes below the waterline had been opened. Text messages also revealed Hellmann was "afraid to get home," as her husband was "an angry person" who did not "respect her anymore," per the Sun. story continues below Though the guilty plea means family members may never know how Hellmann dieda body wasn't found"the US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners hope that the defendant's admission of guilt is a step toward justice for the victim," US Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan says, per ABC Australia. In a statement issued through a lawyer, however, Hellmann's family says "there is nothing that Lewis can do to ease the pain he has caused them by taking Isabella from them." Bennett, who would've inherited Hellmann's apartment and bank accounts, was discovered three hours after the SOS call on a life raft with various belongings, including a tea set and $40,000 in antique coins stolen from a yacht where he'd previously worked. Now serving seven months for transporting the coins, Bennett will face up to eight years in prison at his Jan. 10 sentencing. (Read more manslaughter stories.) (Newser) "Uncle Aigali," as Kazakhstan's Aigali Supygaliev is known to those close to him, is also known for wandering off from time to time, sometimes for a week or two at a stretch, so when the 63-year-old vanished from his hometown of Tomarly in June, his family waited a whole month before they reported him missing, per the BBC. But bad news soon came via the police, who turned up a charred body and forensic evidence that stated "with 99.2% certainty" that the remains were those of Supygaliev. His brother tells the Azh.kz site, via Sky News, that the family held a wake, buried the body in September, and mourned his loss. Which is why their hearts stopped when Supygaliev nonchalantly strolled through the door two months after he'd been supposedly been interred. story continues below Supygaliev's explanation for his absence: He'd met someone at the market in June who offered him work in a neighboring village, so he accepted the job. Meanwhile, the forensic scientist who'd thrown out that 99.2% surety claim on the dead man's DNA simply shrugged and said, "You must never forget that other 0.8%." Supygaliev's family is considering legal actionthey're miffed about the money they laid out to bury the body and for the pension funds in Supygaliev's name they'd sent backand want to identify the person they laid to rest. "Perhaps his family are looking for him," his brother notes. (A "dead man" in Brazil showed up at his own wake.) (Newser) Amazon can expect to send fewer packages to Saudi Arabia in the wake of Jamal Khashoggi's murder. Thousands of social media users in the country are urging a boycott of Amazon.com and Dubai-based subsidiary Souq.com over coverage of the writer's killing published by the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On Friday, for example, the Post published an op-ed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the "inexplicable" killing in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was ordered by "the highest levels of the Saudi government." CNN reports the boycott was mentioned in more than 8,000 tweets Mondayit was one of the top trending hashtags in Saudi Arabia, per the Hillthough Bloomberg found several tweets "appeared to be automated or copied and pasted." story continues below Noting the use of pro-government bots to promote certain messages, the Post likewise describes "similar if not identical language, suggesting some degree of coordination." Still, some users appeared serious, sharing images of the Amazon app deleted from smartphones, per Bloomberg. Describing an "organized media war" in which the Post "consistently publishes articles that are defaming," Saudi journalist Bandar Otyf urged his followers to "boycott Amazon to send a message to its owner so he is aware of the scale of the damage." Another user said it was unacceptable that the Post "attacks our nation and its leaders." One man found some hypocrisy in the whole idea, however. "Amazon's owner has a stake in Twitter, so if you were serious, then boycott Twitter too," he wrote, per CNN. (Saudis who assisted in an investigation into the killing allegedly hid evidence.) (Newser) President Trump famously doesn't like to dwell on past missteps in public, but when asked in an interview about his biggest regret over the last two years, he had a ready answer: "I would say tone," the president told the interviewer from Sinclair Broadcast Group, per WJLA. "I would like to have a much softer tone. I feel to a certain extent I have no choice, but maybe I do." Trump said he thought he needed to be harsh to get things done, and he said his political enemies likely would have "swamped" him had he been nicer. "But that would be something I would say that I'll be working on." story continues below Trump also chalked up recent vitriol on both sides to the necessities of the midterms, and he suggested that he's open to better relations with Democrats. (Business Insider wonders if he's worried about the GOP losing control of the House.) "I would love to get along, and I think after the election a lot of things can happen," said Trump. "But right now they are in their mode, and we are in our mode. And you know if you're criticized you have to hit back, or you should." (NBC and Fox have stopped running a controversial immigration ad that Trump has supported.) (Newser) More than 200 mass graves containing between 6,000 and 12,000 bodies have been found in Iraq from the time of the Islamic State group's three-year reign, UN investigators said Tuesday. The 202 graves verified by investigators dot northern Iraq and are a "legacy of (ISIS') terror," according to a joint report by the UN mission to Iraq and the UN office for human rights. Findings from the gravesites can be used as evidence of the group's crimes, they said. The graves date from 2014 to 2017, when the militant group ruled some of Iraq's largest cities and towns. As the militants swept through Iraq and neighboring Syria, they killed captured members of the security forces en masse, expelled or killed minorities, and enslaved women from the Yazidi sect. The UN says the widespread violations could amount to genocide, reports the AP. story continues below Several graves found in Iraq's Salahuddin province contain the remains of victims of the 2014 Camp Speicher massacre, when the militants killed around 1,700 Iraqi security forces and army cadets. In some cases, the militants dropped their victims or the bodies of their victims in wells or sinkholes instead of digging graves. Investigators said there could be thousands of bodies in the Khasfa sinkhole south of Mosul, the largest city once under ISIS control. Iraqi authorities have exhumed the remains of 1,258 victims from 28 graves. The UN urged authorities to identify the remains of all gravesite victims, return them to their families, and seek justice. Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December last year, but the militants still control pockets just across the border in Syria and continue to claim responsibility for bomb blasts and abductions around the nation. (Mass graves were recently found in Mexico.) (Newser) "If we didn't come up here she could have been dead." Such is the realization of a 15-year-old boy who helped rescue a lost teen in Idaho over the weekend. Ryle Gordon and stepdad Chris Trumbich had traveled to Hayden for a hunting trip. Driving toward their last trail around 4:30pm Saturday, the hunters noticed something: the world "HELP" scrawled in the dirt, per KREM. Trumbich wondered if the message could've been left by another hunter, but Ryle recalled passing a command post set up for a missing teen some four miles away, reports KHQ. story continues below Per KREM, more than 60 search and rescue crews had been on the lookout for 19-year-old Katie Ogle, who authorities say has the cognitive ability of a 10- to 12-year-old. She had been reported missing Nov. 1. The hunters turned around to notify the crews, who returned to the area with them. Some 30 yards past the scrawled message, Ogle was spotted alongside a small fire and a sleeping bag that had been taken from the hunters' cabin. She looked "scared she was going to get in trouble for being in the cabin," but "we're just happy [she's] alive," Ryle says. "Right place right time," Trumbich adds, per KHQ, noting he nearly drove over the teen's plea. Ogle was taken to a hospital for treatment but is said to be in fair condition. (A woman's phone call saved a hiker near death.) A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops in northern Gaza Strip near the border with Israel, on Nov. 5, 2018. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in an e-mailed press statement that 21 demonstrators were injured, 13 by gunfire and eight by suffocation from tear gas, during their clashes with Israeli border soldiers on Monday. (Xinhua) GAZA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior Islamic Hamas official said on Monday that the anti-Israel March of Return rallies and protests will continue until their goals are achieved. "Our people and their factions are those who control the tools of the protests based on the national interests," Issam Daalees, one of Hamas leaders in central Gaza, said in a press statement. In reference to the mediation by the Egyptian security intelligence, Daalees said such efforts will also continue "until we reach an agreement that deserves the sacrifices of our people." Earlier in the day, an Egyptian delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip through the Erez Crossing with Israel to resume the dialogue with the Palestinian factions over a peace deal with Israel. Local media said the delegation held talks with senior Hamas officials and leaders of other factions on the arrangements of a possible cease-fire between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza factions. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrators joined on Monday the weekly maritime rallies and protests in northwestern Gaza to the border with Israel, according to the Gaza-based local radio station al-Shaab. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in an e-mailed press statement that 21 demonstrators were injured, 13 by gunfire and eight by suffocation from tears gas, during their clashes with Israeli border soldiers. According to the Gaza health ministry, the Israeli army have killed 2,018 Palestinians and wounded 23,000 others, around 40 percent of whom were shot with live ammunition, since the beginning of the March of Return rally on March 30. (Newser) French security agents have arrested six people on preliminary terrorism charges for allegedly plotting to attack French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a French judicial official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the allegations, said intelligence agents detained the six in three widely scattered regions, including the Alps, Brittany, and near the Belgian border. He said the plan to target the French president appeared to be vague and unfinalized but violent, reports the AP. The Local cites sources who characterized the plot as "imprecise and poorly defined at this stage." story continues below Authorities released no further details about the six suspects and did not say if they were suspected of working together or separately. Reuters cited a local media report that said the six were members of the far right, but it did not confirm that report. The suspected plot against Macron was uncovered days before President Trump and dozens of other world leaders are due in France this weekend for centennial commemorations of the signing of the Nov. 11 armistice that ended World War I. French presidents have been targeted several times over the decades, including in 2002 when a far-right sympathizer tried to attack President Jacques Chirac on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris during Bastille Day celebrations. (Read more Emmanuel Macron stories.) (Newser) Tragic news for Japan: The nation's youth suicide rate has reached its highest point in 32 years, the New York Times reports. The government says 250 children from elementary to high-school levels killed themselves in 2017, a slight uptick from the year before in a nation already grappling with high suicide rates. Most of the children left no notes, but those who did often worried about life after graduation, while others cited bullying and family issues. Japanese officials have already noted a rise in suicides after Sept. 1, when children return to school. "The long break from school enables you to stay at home, so it's heaven for those who are bullied," a former bullying victim in Japan told CNN a few years ago. "When summer ends, you have to go back." story continues below Experts say the nation's stigma about mental health issues doesn't help. There are also changes in family life, which used to include several generations under one roofan arrangement less common today. "We can't expect parents or grandparents to provide the support they used to," a professor says. "And in this situation, children remain alone." Japan pledged in 2016 to cut suicides by 30%, particularly among young people, but officials say it can be hard to reach students in time, the Japan Times reports. A junior high school apologized this summer for failing to help a 13-year-old bullied into taking her own life. "The report is filled with my daughter's wish to eradicate bullying," says her father, per Asahi. "I am grateful." (In America, a serial killer took his own life after getting bad news.) (Newser) A former SS guard is on trial for allegedly serving as an accessory to hundreds of mass killings at a Nazi concentration camp, the AP reports. Johann Rehbogen, 94, isn't accused of a specific crime, but he served at Stutthof concentration camp in what is now Poland. More than 60,000 Jews and other Holocaust victims were killed thereby gas chamber, lethal injection, exposure, starvation, or simply being shot. Rehbogen, who was at the camp from 1942 to 1944, denies knowing about the killings. But others say he had to know: "Anyone who heard the screams from outside the gas chamber would have known that people were fighting for their lives," says prosecutor Andreas Brendel. story continues below As he was under 21 at the time, Rehbogen is being tried in juvenile court in Germany and faces a possible 15-year sentencewhich he likely wouldn't serve if found guilty due to his age, per the BBC. He's only appearing in court for two hours at a time but seems alert when asked questions by the judge. For the grandson of one survivor, seeing Germany continue to prosecute Holocaust perpetrators is empowering: "Her being able to witness even some of this process, even from afar, is a sense of closure," says Ben Cohen of his grandmother, Judy Meisel. "To have Germany listening to her is very powerful for her." (A "hero" who foiled the Nazi's nuclear dreams is dead.) A man walks gingerly over a small field in rural Cambodia, pushing a lawnmower-like contraption that deploys ground-penetrating radar to unearth clues of mass graves. The pilot project is twinning technology and fieldwork to locate remains of victims of the Khmer Rouge, the ultra-Maoist regime whose quest to build an agrarian utopia from 1975-1979 left an estimated two million Cambodians dead. 1 Hacked to death, starved, overworked or ravaged by illness, their bodies were dumped in hastily dug pits all over the country. They were thrown in rice paddies, down caves and on the grounds of Buddhist monasteries. Many of the Killing Fields have been logged, providing experts with an estimate of 20,000 mass graves -- which is defined as a pit containing four or more bodies -- throughout the country. But researchers are now turning to radar to uncover more details on the existing sites -- such as how many bodies they might contain -- and find new ones. This is the first time ever that we have used high-end technology in Cambodia to locate mass graves created by the Khmer Rouge, said Pheng Pong-Rasy from the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), which is overseeing the effort. He added that DC-Cam decided to start the new search in the eastern province of Prey Veng, where the Khmer Rouges revolutionary movement had some of its early gains. The children must know their own history, what happened in their location, he said. How many victims They began in late October next to buildings at Mesang High School -- specifically plots close to some concrete toilets and an outdoor cafeteria. The area was once a worship site but the Khmer Rouge converted it into a place for executions. After the regime fell a school was built nearby. Students and residents helped clear the overgrown area and operators from SparrowHawk Far East, a new Phnom Penhbased company tapped to test out the idea, walked over it sending radar signals below that can later be developed into three-dimensional images. When there is an object underground or the ground has been disturbed before, if there was a hole dug, it will give off a different signature, managing director Michael Henshaw said. Its good for finding underground utilities like water pipes and electric pipes, its good for archeology to find old structures underground, he said. But its also been used to find mass graves. Khmer Rouge researchers have since the 1990s relied mainly on meticulous interviews with the regimes victims and perpetrators to pinpoint the locations of mass graves. Elsewhere radar has helped locate indigenous burial sites -- graves from the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939 and victims of the 1990s conflict in Bosnia. In September, it also aided in the discovery of at least 166 bodies in the Mexican state of Veracruz, a territory plagued by drug cartels. Died without justice As curious students look on, Henshaw examines preliminary results on a screen while the sun, interrupted by the occasional rainshower, beats down. He points to what he calls anomalies, which look like small ridges next to each other, possibly signifying decomposed remains. But this definitely tells you that there is something under the ground, and theres a lot of it. SparrowHawk is plugging the data into special software and preparing a full report on their findings, and DC-CAM will then make a decision on how far to replicate the study. No matter the results from Prey Veng there will be no excavations and reburials. In keeping with local tradition, the remains will not be disturbed and will will stay where they are. They already died without justice, so if we dig up graves, it will destroy their souls, Pong-Rasy said. We just want to know how many bodies are in the graves. DC-Cam maintains a database of mass graves previously discovered and it has provided information on sites to a war crimes tribunal that has convicted two top Khmer Rouge officials and a chief jailer. But Youk Chhang, DC-Cams director, said the picture is still incomplete. Crimes do not end at a tribunal, he told AFP, adding that a better future for Cambodia required understanding the horrors of its past. We should not stop searching for the answers. Bahrain has the most liberalised and competitive IT sector in the region, a new study finds. The report on The Cost of Doing Business in the GCC in the ICT sector says that the Kingdom leads on most indicators for the cost of doing business in the GCC region a market worth $1.5 trillion. The report by KPMG further reveals that Bahrain has lower costs than any other GCC country for cross-border internet connectivity, a critical metric for an ICT hub. Overall, the total average cost of operating in Bahrain for ICT dependent enterprises was 16 per cent less than the GCCs average, according to the report. The report states that recent policy reforms enable start-ups to test, innovate and scale quickly, establishing Bahrain as a fast-growing, highly-connected business hub with accessibility at its core. Bahrain has updated its bankruptcy law; introduced data protection law; adopted a cloudfirst policy as well as reduced the minimum capital requirements for starting a business. Commenting on the report, Dr Simon Galpin, Managing Director, Bahrain Economic Development Board said, Our Cloud First commitment and the launch of the Middle Easts first hyper-scale data centre by AWS will further advance our ICT readiness, opening up new sectors, increasing productivity and enabling businesses of all sizes to scale faster at a lower cost. This recent report from KPMG is a testament to our innovative and progressive approach. Bahrains Cloud Computing scheme provides 100pc financing support of the cost for any Bahrain-registered business subscribing to a hyperscale data centre for 18 months. I f youre wondering what attacks on the news media around the world mean for the future of democracy, its worth a trip to Budapest. Consider it a cautionary-tale vacation. When I visited Hungary recently, I knew I was entering a waning democracy thats become increasingly authoritarian. I knew that Prime Minister Viktor Orban won a third term in April by convincing voters that a phantasmic combination of Muslim migrants, the Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros and European Union bureaucrats was coming to get them. But I only understood how Orban pulled this off when I spoke to Hungarian journalists. They explained that Orban first criticised the press for being biased against him. Then he and his allies took over most of it, and switched to running stories that promote Orbans populist agenda and his party, Fidesz. This happened fast. The investigative website Atlatszo estimates that more than 500 Hungarian media titles are now controlled by Orban and his friends; in 2015, only 23 of them were. Loyalty trumps experience: Hungarys biggest media mogul is a former pipe fitter from Orbans hometown. In some cases, Orban allies bought publications and shut them down. One morning in 2016, journalists at Nepszabadsag, one of Hungarys biggest dailies, were simply locked out of their offices. Its new owner, an Austrian businessman, claimed financial problems; the paper had just run a series of articles exposing government corruption. Other news organisations were bought and transformed from within. Some now reportedly take their talking points directly from the government. Recent headlines at Origo once a respected online news site were a numbing assortment of articles about migrants wreaking havoc on various European cities and conspiracies about Soros. Headlines were strikingly similar on the website of Lokal, co-founded in 2015 by one of Orbans top advisers. Its free print version, handed out at train and bus stations, is now Hungarys highest-circulation newspaper. Theres still independent news online, but most Hungarians dont see it. And when one of these websites exposes corruption, Orban-friendly publications align to attack it. This is what the government would like to teach society that there are no reliable sources at all among those who criticise the government, explained Attila Batorfy, who tracks the Hungarian media for Atlatszo. Hungary was especially vulnerable to this kind of takeover. The country became a democracy only in 1989. And government advertising for everything from the national lottery to the state opera is still a key source of revenue for media companies, and has long been doled out to friends. Still, journalists I met in Budapest were struck by how quickly the press had changed, and that all it took to break this pillar of democracy was a combination of money and fear. Its not Russia, Lukacs Csaba told me. No one thinks that someone will be shot. Everyone thinks that he will lose his job. Its enough. Csaba was a senior reporter at Magyar Nemzet, an 80-year-old daily newspaper that closed in April. (Its government advertising evaporated after its owner broke with Orban.) In May, Csaba and two dozen former colleagues started a weekly called Magyar Hang (Hungarian Voice), which operates out of a one-room Budapest storefront. Most of its issues have no advertisements, because companies fear drawing the governments ire by association, Csaba said. The paper is printed across the border in Slovakia, because no Hungarian printer would do it. One of the biggest problems is that people are afraid to be subscribers, he added. Its journalists worked unpaid for the first two months. Now they sell enough copies just under 10,000 per week, mostly at newsstands to pay themselves the minimum wage. Magyar Hang is a conservative, centre-right newspaper no more radical than The Wall Street Journal. Some of its writers, including Csaba, used to support Fidesz. But because theyre willing to criticise the ruling party and report on official malfeasance, the government hasnt credentialed its reporters, so they cant attend its news conferences and question officials there, Csaba said. And no state entity responds to their calls. If we ask someone from the governmental hospital, How many cases of infections? they will not answer us, he said. For Fidesz, its not enough to be loyal, you have to be servile. You have to follow their instructions without questions, without any doubt. The news media isnt Orbans only victim. Last week, Central European University, co-founded by Soros, announced that, barring a last-minute deal, it will move its main operations from Budapest to Vienna, because of the governments attacks. But the media is a special target for autocracies and waning democracies everywhere. Brazils president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, has threatened to pull state advertising from Folha de Sao Paulo. The Brazilian newspaper ran an expose describing how supporters of Bolsonaro financed a WhatsApp misinformation campaign to help him win. Trump regularly claims that articles critical of him are simply made up, and calls journalists the enemy of the people. And Saudi Arabias government apparently masterminded the murder of its critic Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post. Hungary shows that under the right circumstances, attacks on the press can keep getting worse. And voters might respond by just tuning everything out. A Pew survey this year that looked at 10 European countries found that Hungarians were least likely to closely follow local and national news. Near the end of my trip I spoke with Gyorgy Zsombor, the editor in chief of Magyar Hang. We couldnt imagine 10 years ago that it would happen in Hungary, he told me. We thought democracy was stronger. With the approach of every municipal and parliamentary elections, we biennially observe a disturbing phenomenon that accompanies this season; the spread of rumours and gossips. In the Middle East region, alike many other countries across the globe, elections are usually accompanied by a cold war of rumours. The most recent example is the presidential elections in the United States, where a fierce competition arose between candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. This competition fuelled a war of rumours and accusations between both parties, eventually affecting the choice and trust of the American people in the 2016 elections. But, what can be observed from such harmful phenomenon is that rumours usually backfire and eventually have a negative impact on those who created and spread them. In many times, rumours fail to serve the purposes they were created for, as they are based on lies and baseless facts, with the sole goal of weakening opponents and eliminating other candidates from the competition. Its noticeable that they quickly vanish with the same speed that it took them to be spread. A storm in a tea cup. Nowadays, with the rapid advance in information and communications technology, we witness a significant role of the different social media platforms in supporting or denying rumours. Some rumours are spread online and quickly vanish before it could be actually discussed. This has occurred recently as certain political parties and blocs have targeted a candidate who announced his intention to contest in the upcoming elections. The false news spread about the candidate wouldnt have only affected his stance in the polls, but wouldve also impacted his personal and professional life. The rumours accompanying the elections season has become a phenomenon that occurs every four years, but the type of lies and false news spread could seriously harm some individuals who only wanted to participate in an honest competition to serve the country. Those who create serious accusations and spread such baseless rumours, with the aim of eliminating and harming certain candidates, should be described as criminals and must be legally held accountable for defamation. Unfortunately, therere certain individuals, who work in several campaigns promoting certain candidates, with the only purpose of spreading lies to harm and eliminate competitors. This is considered a crime that should be promptly dealt with legally and the punishments should be announced before the elections season concludes, to warn of the hazards such phenomena have on the society. The Bahraini society has always been a fair society that rejects rumours and considers it an enmity and a great sin. This was mentioned in a recent Friday sermon here in Bahrain, as the Khateeb (the person delivering the sermon) stressed that backbiting and spreading rumours are great sins, whether they were committed against candidates or any other individuals. Such acts could not be justified and are unacceptable. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Jair Messias Bolsonaros victory in the October 28th elections has raised concerns and speculations about the nature and traits of this future government. This is also the case when it comes to international matters, and in particular in the case of China-Brazil relations. However, although legitimate, the concerns raised by media, entrepreneurs, investors and some scholars are not entirely justified. Just the opposite, China-Brazil relations are now and will likely continue to be promising. The first positive trait is the robustness of these relations. Since established in August 1974, China-Brazil relations have only deepened through time and adversities, regardless of the form of government or the internal junctures of each nation. By the way, the principle of non-interference in third parties internal affairs is one of the common principles guiding both Brazil and China. Secondly, sincerity, mutual respect and the search for convergence are the basis sustaining China-Brazil relations. In almost 45 years of friendly relations these principles have served as a solid foundation for continuous exchange. This historical legacy of this relationship is by and large positive, and this was built with effort and much care. For this reason, even when we look and see some turbulence and noise, we must be mindful of this long legacy. The solidity of these relations is not seating on the passing numbers of our trade balance, in the buying and selling of commodities, or in the voluptuous and needed foreign investment. Put in another way, the importance of the relations between China and Brazil did not come about with our current commercial numbers. The strength of this relationship resides since its genesis in its carefully constructed principles. These paved the way for such robust economic relations in our times. Those principles are the ones that must prevail in this new phase when Brazil is governed by Jair Bolsonaro, and China by Xi Jinping. However, the uneasiness raised by investors and fellow colleagues is comprehensible. These are legitimate and were evoked mostly because of a visit of the then congressman Bolsonaro to Taipei in February 2018. Also, during the electoral process, the same Jair Bolsonaro affirmed that China was not buying in Brazil, but is buying Brazil itself. On these matters, Professor Severino Cabral from the Superior War College highlights that the fact a candidate said something that was a bit odd comes with the campaign, and should be thus understood. Since one thing is to be president, a statesman, and another is the day-to-day of ideological positioning (Statements to the Lusa News Agency, published on 24/10/2018). To people not familiar to the environment of political disputes in Brazil, it might be a bit hard to distinguish a candidates behaviour during the campaign, and his posterior actions as president. It is important to understand that this is unexceptional behaviour in Brazilian political culture. During the exercise of power, institutional settings, common sense and strategic interests tend to prevail. A third consideration are the general lines of a new foreign police signalled by the government-elect. There should not be doubt that some things will change, but these could be actually beneficial for the specific framework of China-Brazil relations. One is the role Brazil will attribute to Mercosur. Another is the matter of relations with neighbouring countries when it comes to the intensification of combating arms and drug trafficking. Another matter is the pragmatism advanced by the president-elect. He claims that his government foreign policy will not be guided by an ideological bias. This last point is, in my understanding, quite convergent with the current line of action adopted by China. President Xi Jinping has frequently advanced the necessity for a friendly and honest dialogue among civilizations, where differences are to be respected and celebrated. He has also steered China to follow a dialogue-centred model of international relations, guided by cooperation and the search for mutual benefits. Of course, it comes to each and every country to sovereignly decide what it considers to be in line with its interests. It should also be highlighted that, in 2012, China-Brazil relations was raised to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Further, it is important to notice that this partnership transcends the bilateral spheres, involving other levels of concertation in the global scenario like the G20, the World Trade Organization and the BRICS. Finally, more than mere word-play, it is necessary to keep in mind the information brought to us by our historical reality, and by the multiple interests in play. In this sense, I do not believe in the rise of confrontations or big ruptures that would change the profitable path so far trailed by this relation. Some tensions should be seen as normal given the diversity of interests and the complexity of our current world. As a conclusion, I will transcribe here a thought advanced in May 1984 by then Brazilian president General Joao Baptista Figueiredo. This was conveyed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with the presence of then Chinese president Li Xiannian. Figueiredo, who was the first Brazilian president to visit China appropriately put: The main question today for our relationship is, without a doubt, to know what countries like Brazil and China can do to strengthen our current ties. I believe the answer to this question is not theoretical or rhetorical. It is practical, concrete and fundamentally constructive. This is a very current statement and it serves for us to think about the future of this new era of China-Brazil relations. Although our own challenges and internal difficulties are also extremely present and pressing, these should be dealt with by us and among ourselves. Jose Medeiros da Silva has a PhD in Political Science by the University of Sao Paulo and is currently a Professor at Zhejiang International Studies University in Zhejiang, China. (Translated from Portuguese by Renato de Gaspari) Have an opinion on a recent story or event around the University of Cincinnati? Let us know what you think! If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click the button below to email David Rees, editor-in-chief. For news tips or story ideas, contact one of our editors. Email the editor South Africa's Minister for Trade and Industry Rob Davis has praised the first China International Import Expo, saying that it represents an important opportunity for his country to expand exports to the Chinese market, during an exclusive interview with People's Daily Online on the opening day of the CIIE in Shanghai, Nov. 5. Davis is leading a delegation of 27 organizations and companies to the CIIE, bringing with them a wide variety of products from wine and fruit to technology and engineering products. He explained, This is the first time a major economy anywhere has organized an import expo, so it represents an important development. More than 3,000 companies from over 130 countries and regions have flocked to Shanghai to paticipate in the CIIE, and South Africa is attending as one of 12 guest countries of honor and will host a national pavilion. For us, this event takes place at a very important moment in the history of the world economy, but also at an important juncture in the relations between South Africa and the People s Republic of China. In terms of the economy, we know that we have moved into a period which is characterized by unilateralism and increased protectionism, and there are some very serious challenges to the future of the multilateral trading system, said Davis. As an individual country, China is South Africas largest trading partner - both for exports and imports. However, Davis notes that South Africa is currently in a trade deficit with China, and that further investment is the key. Our present pattern of trade is that we supply primary mineral commodities and we buy finished products. It is, as our Strategic Partnership Agreement says, a structural imbalance. In particular, as the mineral commodity prices have fallen from their historic highs, thats resulted in quite a large deficit. What were looking to do is to export more valueadded products into China, and weve been showing our wares, but what I think it actually requires is that we develop more of our capacity. Weve been looking at investment-led trade, investment partnerships that can create opportunities for us to move up the value chain and even become suppliers of intermediate products. (Photo/Morag Hobbs) Davis will also be attending an investment forum on Nov. 6, because he believes that trade will be driven by investment and that there is a need now to promote investment led trade. Through investment, we develop productive forces that will then create the opportunity for a more mature and a more value-added pattern of trade including trade in intermediate products. Davis notes that Chinese investment in South Africa is bringing in manufacturing capabilities and capacity, creating jobs and opportunities to produce local goods which otherwise might have been imported, as well as new technologies. He explained that efforts [at the CIIE] as well as in other aspects of bilateral relations are on trying to draw the attention of Chinese investors in many mining, manufacturing, infrastructure, and development sectors among others that South Africa is an investment destination worth taking seriously. We think that it's in building stronger and deeper investment relationship, in supporting the development of stronger, more sustainable industries in bringing in the new technologies of the fourth Industrial Revolution, that we can begin to lay the foundations that will allow us to work effectively for a stronger, more inclusive, more developed and fairer global and trading environment. An event like the CIIE, Davis adds, gives South Africa the opportunity to show their products which can find their way into the Chinese market and narrow the trade deficit. A high court in Kano on Monday ordered the Kano state house of assembly to stop investigating allegations that Abdullahi Ganduje, go... governor of the state, received bribe from contractors. A high court in Kano on Monday ordered the Kano state house of assembly to stop investigating allegations that Abdullahi Ganduje,governor of the state, received bribe from contractors. This followed a legal action taken by a pro-democracy group called Lawyers For Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. After videos of the governor allegedly receiving kickback went viral, the assembly set up a panel to investigate the issue. The panel summoned Jafar Jafar, publisher of Daily Nigerian, the platform which released the materials and subsequently summoned Ganduje who failed to honour the invitation but sent a representative. The panel had slated November 6 for playing the video clips in the process of investigation. At the court on Monday, A.T Badamasi, the presiding judge, ordered the assembly to suspend the probe. Badamasi gave the order on Monday while ruling on an ex parte application by one Muhammad Zubair, the National Coordinator of Lawyers for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. Badamasi also issued a four-day ultimatum for the respondents to respond to the application and ordered the parties involved to maintain status quo ante pending the hearing of the motion on notice. He thereafter adjourned the case till Monday next week for the hearing. A Deputy Director with the Independent National Electoral Commission, Sylvester Aigbogun, on Tuesday told the Ekiti Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the FCT High Court, Apo, that the July 14 governorship election in the state was free and fair.Aigbogun, who was the Electoral Officer for Ikole Local Government Area of the state during the election, stated this while testifying for the electoral body in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the election, Prof. Olusola Kolapo.The petitioners dragged INEC, the All Progressives Congress and Governor Kayode Fayemi, the winner of the election in contention, as respondents before the tribunal.The petitioners are challenging the declaration of Fayemi as the winner of the election by the first respondents, INEC.Aigbogun, while being cross examined by counsel for APC, Yomi Aliyu, SAN, stated that his assertion that the election was free and fair was based on what he saw while visiting some polling units in the local government during the election, as well as what was presented to him from various units and wards.The election was free and fair. This was based on what I saw and what was presented to me.PDP and its candidate, Prof. Kolapo, did not make any complaint to me on the conduct of the election in my local government.While answering question from R. O. Balogun (SAN), counsel for Governor Fayemi, the witness stated that APC won in Ikole LGA without any hitches, with a total of 14,522 votes, as against PDPs 13,961.He asserted that the election was conducted substantially in line with the Electoral Act and the manual for the election issued by INEC earlier tendered and admitted as Exhibit RA9.The witness stated that he did not see any presiding officer or other persons deliberately voiding ballot papers during his visit to some polling units in the course of the election.Aigbogun told the tribunal, under cross examination by the counsel for the petitioners, Adebayo Adelodun SAN, that entries on Form EC8A had to tally with those on the pink copy issued to agents of parties at polling units.According to him, wherever an alteration in the entries was not initialed by either the presiding officers or collation officers, there was no way he could know that such was an honest mistake.Another witness, Akinyemi Shamsudeen, who was the Electoral Officer for Ido-Osi LGA, informed that he did not receive any complaints from the petitioners in his local government on the conduct of the election.He informed that the ad hoc staff deployed in the election were trained to initial any mistakes made, adding that when they failed to initial such mistakes and there was no complaint from anybody, I would take it as an honest mistake.Akinyemi stated that there was no report from PDP that there was no compliance with procedural steps as contained in Exhibit RA9.While being cross examined by the petitioners counsel, the witness stated that a void ballot could not be caused by deliberate action, declaring that, I am not familiar with the word voided as far as our work is concerned.Dada Emmanuel, the Electoral Officer for Ilejemeje LGA, said there was no protests from any agents of parties in the local government, adding that none of the presiding officers who worked under him reported any problems to him.He also said that there was no complaint from the petitioners about the conduct of the election in Ilejemeje LGA, declaring that Exhibit RA8 tendered by INEC was the true result of the July 14 election from his local government.Emmanuel, told the tribunal during cross examined by the petitioners counsel that void ballot could be as a result of deliberate action, though he said voided ballots were not deliberately done by INEC officials.Another witness, Kayode Bamidele, the Electoral Officer for Ikere LGA, told the tribunal that there were no irregularities in the election as complained by the petitioners.He stated that he would be surprised if anyone says INEC officials deliberately voided ballot papers and thumb printed ballot papers.Meanwhile, INEC, through its counsel, Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan SAN, tendered in evidence the certified true copy of the certificate of return it issued to Governor Fayemi after the election.While counsel for the other respondents did not oppose its admissibility, Adelodun said the petitioners had issue with its certification and would address it later.The document was admitted by the tribunal and marked as Exhibit RA10.The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Suleiman Belgore, later adjourned to Wednesday at the instance of the first respondent. Gunmen invaded the home of Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, in the early hours of Tuesday while he was at home with his family... Gunmen invaded the home of Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, in the early hours of Tuesday while he was at home with his family. Uche Anichukwu, media aide to Ekweremadu, described the incident as an assassination attempt. In a statement, Anichukwu said armed men discreetly bypassed the security in the home of the deputy senate president located at Apo, Abuja. Anichukwu said the attackers could not shoot because they did not want to attract the attention of security personnel on duty. He said they took hold of the senators son and asked him to lead them to his fathers bedroom. It was at the senators bedroom that a struggle ensued, leading to the arrest of one of the assailants with dangerous weapons and housebreaking devices, while the rest managed to escape, the aide said. The arrested member of the gang has, however, refused to divulge any information on the operation and has been handed over to the police. Ekweremadu, his wife, and one of his sons were in the house at the time of the attack. It could be recalled that the lawmaker narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in Abuja on November 17, 2015. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has commended the national leadership of organised labour over its resilience in the struggle for a n... The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has commended the national leadership of organised labour over its resilience in the struggle for a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers. Mr Leonard Nkah, state chairman of NLC, gave this commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abakaliki. According to him, the successful negotiation of a new wage for Nigerian workers by the leadership of the organised labour is a demonstration of good virtues and strength of character. He, therefore, called on the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to expedite action to get the new wage passed into law to enable Nigerian workers enjoy a living wage. The organised labour in Ebonyi just ended its meeting this morning, whereby we extolled the virtues and strength of character exhibited by our national leadership, including the Trade Union Congress (TUC), United Labour Congress (ULC) and NLC. We commended them for holding on tenaciously on the new national minimum wage until government came around to accept what had earlier been agreed upon. So, we are very happy and we praise the leadership of organised labour in Nigeria for being undaunted in the struggle, Nkah said. He opined that once the new national minimum wage was signed into law, that state governors were bound to pay. Once the new figure is signed into law, nobody not even the governors, has the powers to say that they cannot pay. Anybody who refuses to pay will be going against the law and we dont envisage that any governor will refuse to pay the new wage once it is signed into law. In our own state, the governor has stated his willingness to pay once any amount is agreed upon. Once it comes out, organised labour in various states will approach their various state governors for implementation. So, we are hopeful and we are not being negative that governors may not pay the new wage once signed, but if it happens we will rise to the occasion, he added. The organised labour unions had suspended the nationwide strike initially scheduled for Tuesday, November 6, to press home workers demand for a new national minimum wage. The agreed figure for the new national minimum wage would be announced on Tuesday. There was partial compliance by universities across the country on Monday with the nationwide strike called by the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Sunday.The national President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had on Sunday announced the unions decision to go on an indefinite strike.Ogunyemi said the union was embarking on strike following the failure of the Federal Government to implement the Memorandum of Action it signed with ASUU.Despite the strike, however, academic activities continued on Monday at the Taraba State University, Jalingo.Checks by one of our correspondents, who visited the university campus, revealed that lecturers were busy with classes and other academic activities.But when contacted on the telephone, the Chairman of ASUU, Taraba State University chapter , Dr Samuel Shiikaa, explained that he was on his way to Jalingo after attending ASUUs meeting in Akure, Ondo State where the national ASUU took the decision to go on strike.Shiikaa said Taraba State University would join the strike.He said, I am still on my way to Jalingo from Akure where we held the meeting and the decision to embark on the strike was taken.We will hold our local congress hopefully tomorrow (Tuesday) to declare the strike; its a collective decision and we all are going to abide by it.Some of the students including Theophilus Akinde, Ella Audu and Mohammed Sani, who spoke to one of our correspondents, lamented the strike and called on the Federal Government to invite the union for a discussion to forestall the negative effects of the strike.Akinde said, Some departments are billed to start examination this month while undergraduates are supposed to start and end their examination in January before the elections.With this strike now, we are not sure of when session will end.At the Umaru Musa Yaradua University, Katsina State, where ASUU members could not join the nationwide strike on Monday, because they were awaiting the arrival of their leaders who attended the Akure meeting some of the students called on the Federal Government to settle the matter with ASUU.Our correspondent, who was at the institution, reported that academic activities were not hampered, despite the strike by ASUU.A member of the union, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, explained that, It is our leaders who went for the Akure meeting who will properly call another congress here where a referendum would be taken by members on whether to join the strike or not.As of now, we are still awaiting the arrival of our leaders who went to Akure and we wish them safe arrival. Until they are around, there is nothing we can do.At the Federal University of Akure and the Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa the strike had no effects as the institutions were not in session.Checks revealed that students of the two institutions are on holidays as the academic session had reportedly ended in the varsities.A source at FUTA told one of our correspondents on Monday that the strike had commenced in the university but the academic activities were not affected due to the end of the academic session.He said, Though the strike has started here, we are lucky that the 2017/2018 academic session has ended.So, the strike will not tell on the students as the students are not in school currently.Similarly, it was gathered that academic session in OSUSTECH had ended and the students had vacated campus.A lecturer in the institution, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the strike had started at the school but it might not have effect on the academic activities because the school was not in session.However, the Chairman of ASUU at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Dr Sola Fayose, said the chapter had directed all the members to join the strike in line with the directive of the national body of the union.In line with the principles of our union, we just have to obey the directive of our national body.So, our congress met today ( Monday) to take the report from NEC and the strike has started at AAUA, Fayose stated.At the Federal University, Dutsinma, and the Al Qalam University, both in Katsina, the lecturers said they dont belong to ASUU.At the University of Lagos, Akoka the strike did not take full effect on Monday.The University of Benin, Edo State, on the other hand, was reported to have stopped all forms of academic activates.Even though most students of UNILAG had gone on holidays, students in the College of Medicine, particularly those in Medicine and Surgery, who had clinical and pre-clinical classes, were in school.According to a student of the school, Ola Adebisi, who spoke with one of our correspondents, it was business as usual in the College of Medicine, especially for those who had clinical classes with doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Nothing really is happening; everything (classes) held as far as I can tell, he said.However, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, who did not want his name in print, said he was marking examination scripts ahead of the institutions resumption on November 19.Meanwhile, at UNIBEN even though the school is not in session, postgraduate students who were to have classes had to return home as lecturers did not go to class.According to a lecturer in the university, Dr Daniel Ekhareafo, the strike had commenced in the school.I came to school in shorts; we have completely downed tools. However, it does not affect non-academic staff, he said.The Chairman of UNIBEN chapter of ASUU, Prof Julius Iyasele, said members of the union would would comply with the decision to go on strike.Iyasele said, We are already aware because the national (body) has declared the strike. By 10am tomorrow (Tuesday), we will have a congress. After then, we expect our people to go (on strike).At Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, the ASUU chapter in the institution disowned a lecturer, Prof Suny Edeko, who refused to join the strike.The chapter said Edeko was not its member, adding that he had been suspended for anti-union activities.Edeko had reportedly in a piece, titled, Why I WILL NOT GO ON STRIKE, which he shared on his Facebook page, said he would not take part in the strike as it was an outdated means of negotiation.He argued that poor funding by government was not peculiar to the education sector.Strike, no matter how strong, can never end plans to increase school fees or establish education bank meant for the interest of students. Should these deserve a strike that will further destabilise the already destabilised academic calendar?I think it does not deserve strike . But it deserves negotiations without strike, Edeko ws quoted to have said,But the Chairman of the chapter, Dr Monday Igbafen, described the professors comments as inconsequential.The ASUU President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, told The PUNCH on Monday that ASUU strike was not a solidarity strike with with the strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress, stressing that even if the NLC called off its strike, ASUU would go on.Ogunyemi said, ASUU has only resumed its strike action; it is not a fresh strike. It is the continuation of an action we suspended in September 2017, which means our action predated that of the NLC. We were forced to go back to it because it appears that the government is just dribbling us.Weeks and months are rolling by and we dont think ASUU is an organisation you can just toy with, because this is about the future of Nigeria and Nigerian children.So, we were forced to resume our strike action. It is not a solidarity strike. Our strike was there before the NLC issues came up. Oby Ezekwesili, presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), says it is time to take Nigeria out of clutches ... Oby Ezekwesili, presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), says it is time to take Nigeria out of clutches of old order. Ezekwesili, who has been an advocate of the younger generation taking over power in the country. She said that was what she told former military President Ibrahim Babangida in Minna, Niger state, during the weekend. Recall that we had reported that Ezekwesili held talks with IBB. Ezekwesili, a former vice-president of World Bank (African region) and former minister of education, said she hopes to send the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) packing in 2019. I had a very candid conversation with former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida in Minna after my speech on human capital development at El Amin School yesterday (Sunday), she tweeted. I made it clear that Nigeria must be taken out of the clutches of the Old Order. This is our mission. When they tell you we cannot win, you just focus donate, sign up, volunteer via oby2019.com and watch us build the structure that will shake the system, overwhelm it and send #APCPDP packing. They wont see us coming. A Cairo criminal court sentenced two low-ranking policemen to three years in prison on Tuesday after they were convicted in a retrial of incitement against the Ministry of Interior in Sharqiya governorate. A first-degree court had sentenced Essam Ezz El-Ragal and Ayman Mohamed to five years in prison in absentia at their first trial in April. The prosecution accused El-Ragal and Mohamed of inciting a work stoppage at the ministry through plans to speak on television, inciting co-workers on the job, and joining an illegal group. Both men were leading figures in a movement among low-ranking police officers in Egypt to demand more rights at work. According to the prosecution, the pair participated in a protest against the interior in August 2015 at Zagazig police station in August 2015 where they attacked security forces, as well another protest in February 2017 at Sharqiya security directorate where they again attacked security forces. Search Keywords: Short link: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has said that Egypt seeks formal agreements with Ethiopia to cement the East African countrys assurances that the dam it is building on the main tributary of Egypts Nile would not be exploited for political purposes. Egypt fears that the filling process for the $4 billion hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam could threaten its Nile water supply, which is Egypts main source of water. "We want to turn Ethiopia's good intentions into concrete agreements," El-Sisi was quoted as saying by state news agency MENA during a meeting with local and foreign media representatives in Sharm El-Sheikh on Tuesday. He added that Cairo seeks guarantees that filling the dam will not affect Egypt's water share and that the project "will not be used for political objectives." The president said the new Ethiopian leadership has shown "positive signs" in this regard, referring to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came in to office in April. Technical committees from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, which supports the dam project, have not reached an agreement regarding the filling process. Ethiopia maintains that the 6,000 megawatt dam, which it hopes will make it the continents biggest power exporter, will not harm Egypt. In August, Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed said that the dam, initially planned to be completed by 2020, would be delayed for several years. Search Keywords: Short link: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has said that the media has played a negative role in their coverage of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said that the army will defend Gulf countries against threats. The president added that Saudi Arabia's stability cannot be undermined, according to Egypts state news agency MENA. "We are confident about the wise and rational administration of the kingdom under the leadership of Saudi King Salman Bin Abdel Aziz," El-Sisi said during a meeting with foreign media journalists in the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The president called on the public to wait for the results of the Saudi investigation into the killing, which has sparked an international outcry. Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi journalist who was critical of some of the policies of the kingdom, disappeared after entering his country's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. The international community and major international media outlets have called on the Saudi government to account for the killing of Khashoogi in a transparent manner. Saudi officials, who initially said that Khashoggi had left the consulate, later announced that he was killed inside the consulate. The Saudi authorities have since arrested 18 Saudi nationals in connection with Khashoogi's murder and opened an investigation into the case. Egypt has warned against the case being used to politically exploit Saudi Arabia and hailed the kingdom's "transparent investigation" into the case. Gulf security During Tuesday's meeting, El-Sisi said that Egypt's army will defend Gulf Arab countries against any direct threats. Our Arab peoples must remain aware and have real consciousness of what the region is going through, Al-Ahram Arabic new website quoted El-Sisi as saying. We stand by our brothers in the Gulf wholeheartedly, and if Gulf security is directly threatened, Egypt will mobilise its forces to protect its brothers. In response to a question about US sanctions on Iran, El-Sisi said that instability affects all of us," urging other countries to respect national Arab security, namely that of the Gulf. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid inspected on Tuesday the forces participating in the joint Arab military drills dubbed Arab Shield 1, which are taking place in Egypt from 3 to 16 November. Military forces from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan are participating in the drills, with Morocco and Lebanon observing. The major joint Arab military exercise is taking place at the Mohamed Naguib Military Base in Egypt's northwestern governorate of Marsa Matrouh. 'Arab Shield 1' involves land, naval and air forces, special forces, and air-defence exercises. Army Chief-of-Staff Farid said that the training stages include exercises with live ammunition as well as non-traditional anti-terrorism drills. Farid praised the outstanding performance and coordination between the various forces, which are efficiently carrying out all the exercises. Farid added that Arab Shield 1 is one of the most important Arab military exercises in the region. The exercise comes in the framework of strengthening joint military cooperation between Egypt and Arab countries to build the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces and achieve common objectives, according to the Armed Forces spokesperson. The drill comes as part of the joint training plan carried out by the Egyptian Armed Forces with many other countries to develop military relations, face common challenges and support efforts for security and stability in the region. Search Keywords: Short link: Egyptian and French naval forces have carried out a maritime training exercise in the northern Mediterranean. The training activities included drills to meet the challenges facing maritime security, combating terrorism as well as protecting vital sea targets such as ships carrying gas and oil. The training included anti-air defence and protecting ships with important cargo while crossing dangerous areas. The forces were also trained to inspect suspicious vessels. In March, the Egyptian and French navies conducted a joint military drill in the Red Sea as part of the ongoing military partnership and cooperation between the two countries. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended side-by-side with Sudanese counterpart Omar Al-Bashir the closing ceremony of the second edition of the World Youth Forum in South Sinai's Sharm El-Sheikh. The closing ceremony of the forum, which ran from 3 to 6 November, will see an announcement of the recommendations of the international forum, which attracted 5,000 participants this year. Earlier on Tuesday, El-Sisi spoke with Al-Bashir on bilateral ties on all fronts, which, according to Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady, comes in line with extending historical ties between the two countries. The talks reflected a strong will and determination to bolster ties, according to Rady. Search Keywords: Short link: The battle for a crucial Yemeni port is endangering the lives of dozens of hospitalised children, the United Nations' children's agency said Tuesday. "Intense fighting in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida is now dangerously close to Al-Thawra hospital -- putting the lives of 59 children, including 25 in the intensive care unit, at imminent risk of death," UNICEF said in a statement. Search Keywords: Short link: We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. US voters decide Tuesday whether President Donald Trump will keep his Republican majority in Congress or face a hostile Democratic majority after a bitter campaign for midterm elections described by both sides as a battle for America's soul. For almost two years, Trump's rule-breaking, sometimes chaotic administration has enjoyed a largely free hand from the twin Republican-controlled chambers, but the midterms could finally see his wings clipped. The entire 435-member House of Representatives and a third of the 100-seat Senate are up for grabs. According to nearly all pollsters, the Democrats have a good chance of winning the House, while the Republicans are likely to retain the Senate. But with turnout a key unknown factor and pollsters still unsure about the effect of Trump's maverick style on voters, both parties admit that they may be in for nasty surprises. After a campaign in which Trump was accused of race-baiting with repeated and unsubstantiated references to an "invasion" of undocumented immigrants bent on rape and murder, left-right divisions in America could not be deeper. Although not on the ballot, Trump made himself the focus of the entire contest, jetting around the country to hold rallies, including in three states on Monday alone. Trump declared "the Republican agenda is the American dream" and at his final event, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, he called on supporters to seize their "righteous destiny as Americans." Democrats saw the election in equally historic terms. Voters will "define the future, not just of Texas, but of this country, not just of this generation but every generation that follows," said Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who is challenging Senator Ted Cruz in traditionally deep-Republican Texas. At every rally, Trump has vowed to his supporters that they will "win, win, win." But as he touched down in Indiana for the second leg of his final-day tour Monday, even Trump conceded that the House may slip from his party's grasp. "We'll just have to work a little bit differently," he told reporters when asked how he'd live with a Democrat-controlled lower chamber. The party of a first-term president tends to lose congressional seats in off-year elections. However, a healthy economy favors the incumbent, so Trump may yet defy the historical pattern. New figures on the eve of the polls confirmed that job growth is soaring and Trump gives himself credit for the "hottest economy on Earth." But to the dismay of some Republicans he has often pivoted away from that message in the final week of campaigning to emphasize a hardline crackdown against undocumented immigrants. Trump has sent thousands of soldiers to the Mexican border, suggested that migrants who throw stones at law enforcement officers should be shot, and made wild claims about the Democrats planning to turn the country into a crime-and-drugs black hole. Stirring fear of foreigners and trumpeting American nationalism worked for the real estate billionaire in his 2016 election victory against the Democrats' establishment candidate Hillary Clinton. But the angry tone has also turned off swaths of Americans. Bernie Sanders, the leftist populist who some feel would have had a better chance than Clinton to take on Trump in 2016, lashed out Monday at the president, calling him a "pathological liar." "He is a sexist, a racist, a homophobe, a xenophobe and a religious bigot. He is trying to do what we have never seen in the modern history of this country, to do what he is doing right now, to gain votes by trying to divide the American people up based on where we came from," Sanders said on SiriusXM Progress radio. Trump's ultra-loyal white base laps up his colorful style, often cheering and chanting as he makes jaw-dropping insults against opponents and factually erroneous claims. However, even some Republicans became jittery after a Florida man and ardent Trump supporter was charged with sending homemade bombs to more than a dozen senior Democrats and other high profile opponents of Trump. Days later, a gunman walked into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shot 11 worshippers dead. He had allegedly lashed out online against Jews he accused of transporting Central American "invaders" into the United States -- in language that echoed Trump's attacks on impoverished migrants coming through Mexico. Search Keywords: Short link: Glatfelter Reports Third Quarter 2018 Results "The sale of the Specialty Papers business and the acquisition of a nonwovens business in Steinfurt, Germany, support our strategic focus and further solidify our platform for long-term growth." Dante Parrini, Chairman and CEO, Glatfelter. Nov. 06, 2018 - Glatfelter (NYSE:GLT) a leading global supplier of engineered materials, today reported its results for the third quarter of 2018. As part of the Company's strategic transformation, Glatfelter completed the sale of its Specialty Papers business unit on October 31, 2018. Accordingly, Specialty Papers' results are classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented in this release including the recognition of a $97.5 million after-tax impairment charge in connection with the sale of the business unit. On an adjusted basis, earnings from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2018 were a loss of $0.2 million, or $0.00 per share compared with adjusted earnings of $7.6 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Corporate shared services costs totaling $6.9 million and $7.2 million for the third quarter of 2018 and 2017, respectively, previously included in Specialty Papers' results are required to be included in income from continuing operations. Adjusted earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure for which a reconciliation to the nearest GAAP-based measure is provided within this release. Consolidated net sales totaled $209.9 million and $210.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. On a constant currency basis, Composite Fibers' net sales decreased by 0.8% and Advanced Airlaid Materials' net sales increased by 4.8%. We made significant progress on our previously announced strategy to transform Glatfelter into a leading, global engineered materials company, said Dante C. Parrini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. We successfully completed two major transactions, both of which closed in October. The sale of the Specialty Papers business and the acquisition of a nonwovens business in Steinfurt, Germany, support our strategic focus and further solidify our platform for long-term growth. In addition, we are well positioned for growth to accelerate in our airlaid business driven by our new Fort Smith, Arkansas, facility and the Steinfurt acquisition. Mr. Parrini continued, While we made progress on our transformation, we continue to face competitive market conditions and the impact of the rapid rise in raw material prices in our Composite Fibers business. We have maintained our focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency to address these challenges and we recently announced price increases for this business. We are also launching a plan to right-size our corporate cost structure now that the sale of the Specialty Papers business is complete and we expect to eliminate $14 million to $16 million of expenses by the end of 2019. The growth opportunities we see in front of us and these actions continue to give me confidence in the longer-term potential of our engineered materials businesses and the value they will deliver to our shareholders. THIRD QUARTER BUSINESS UNIT RESULTS Composite Fibers Composite Fibers' net sales decreased $3.2 million, or 2.2%, primarily due to a 5.8% decline in shipping volumes. Higher average selling prices totaling $2.2 million offset a $2.0 million impact of unfavorable currency translation. Composite Fibers' third quarter of 2018 operating income totaled $11.9 million, a decrease of $4.5 million compared to the year-ago period. Operating results were adversely impacted by $4.7 million of higher input costs, primarily due to significantly higher woodpulp prices. Currency translation unfavorably impacted results by $1.8 million. Advanced Airlaid Materials Advanced Airlaid Materials' net sales increased $2.9 million primarily due to $2.0 million from higher selling prices and a 1.0% increase in shipping volumes. Operating income for the third quarter of 2018 decreased $2.7 million compared to the year-ago period primarily due to higher raw material prices of $1.6 million, a $1.2 million increase in depreciation expense related to the investment in the Fort Smith facility and the impact of higher fixed costs from the new facility with limited shipping volume growth. Currency translation unfavorably impacted operating income by $0.8 million. Other Financial Information In the third quarter of 2018, the Company recorded a tax provision of $3.5 million on pre-tax income from continuing operations of $2.8 million. On adjusted pre-tax income of $2.0 million, income tax expense was $2.2 million including a $0.9 million impact to deferred taxes from a state tax law change. Discontinued Operations On October 31, 2018, we completed the previously announced sale of our Specialty Papers business unit on a cash free and debt free basis to Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC, an affiliate of Lindsay Goldberg (the Purchaser) for $360 million. Cash proceeds from the sale were approximately $323 million reflecting estimated purchase price adjustments as of the closing date and the assumption by the Purchaser of approximately $38 million of retiree healthcare liabilities. In addition, the Purchaser assumed approximately $220 million of pension liabilities relating to Specialty Papers' employees and will receive approximately $270 million of related assets from the Company's existing pension plan. The results of operations for our Specialty Papers business unit have been classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented in the consolidated statements of income. The related assets and liabilities of this business unit have been classified as held for sale in the consolidated balance sheets for all periods presented. During the quarter we recognized an after-tax loss from discontinued operations of $95.1 million including an after-tax impairment charge of $97.5 million in connection with the sale of the Specialty Papers business unit. Glatfelter's full third quarter 2018 report with tables can be found on the company's website: www.glatfelter.com . Glatfelter is a leading global supplier of engineered materials. The Company's high-quality, innovative and customizable solutions are found in tea and single-serve coffee filtration, personal hygiene and packaging products as well as home improvement and industrial applications.To learn more, please visit: www.glatfelter.com . SOURCE: Glatfelter Not for the first time in her career, Rebel Wilson came under fire on Twitter last week. The source of controversy: her easily disprovable claim to being the "first ever" plus-sized star of a Hollywood romantic comedy her upcoming film Isn't It Romantic? offers up a gentle spoof of the genre made famous by size-zero actresses like Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts. Critics were quick to point out Wilson's careless erasure of classic '90s rom-com leads Queen Latifah and MoNique, but unfortunately Wilson doubled down on her comments, and even blocked a number of black film critics from interacting with her account. Well, it looks like either somebody's PR team stepped in or Wilson saw the light. She has issued a three tweet apology both for making the comments in the first place, and blocking those who disputed them. She names a number of plus-sized actresses who you may recognize as having helmed some pretty successful films over the years. It's a shame that the apology came so late and that this conversation will overshadow a valid point that a satirical movie like Isn't It Romantic? is presumably trying to make: fat women are rarely shown in supporting movie roles, let alone as leads. A 2016 study found that female characters were three times as likely to be thin as their male counterparts. With so much work to be done, here's hoping that's the line that goes viral next time a plus-sized actress is promoting a movie on Ellen. The Director for Advocacy and policy engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Kojo Pumpuni Asante, has described the suspension of the Eastern Regional boss of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) Fred Denzy as unfair. Dr Kojo Pumpuni in an interview on Starr FM explained that Fred Denzy was only being honest when he asked the president to prosecute incumbent and previous government officials involved in corruption. The president has urged Ghanaians to be citizens and not spectators hence, he was only being a vigilante citizen and these comments are true because if you dont prosecute your own people, how will you be able to prosecute others, therefore, I am just hoping and expecting that EOCO pulls back on this suspension decision, Mr Asante said. The ruling government should be ready, first and foremost, to prosecute their own officials when the slightest incident of corruption is raised against them then they can also get the guts to prosecute the opposition, Mr Asante added. The Eastern Regional boss of EOCO however appealed to Government to resource the anti-corruption institutions to be able to execute their mandates satisfactorily. He bemoaned the Challenges facing EOCO adding that it is inhibiting it to the fight against corruption. But a statement by EOCO on Monday stated that the conduct of Mr. Dzeny is against the ethical and professional standards of the Office. He has therefore been suspended and the matter referred to the appropriate unit for investigation. Source: the publisher Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nissan Group of Africa for the establishment of an automotive manufacturing industry in Ghana, which will make Ghana the hub for sales and marketing of Nissan in West Africa. This was announced on Tuesday, 6th November, 2018, when the Managing Director of Nissan Group of Africa, Mike Whitfield, paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo. According to Mr. Whitfield, Nissan aims to be the first carmaker to assemble vehicles in Ghana, building on its market leadership in the country. Nissan models, he explained, accounted for 32.8% of vehicle sales in Ghana last year, with the companys cars, pickups and SUVs sold through a national network of six sales and service outlets. Nissan is the most popular auto brand in Ghana because the quality of our products and services has won the trust of our customers, Whitfield said. He continued, We want to build on our leadership by supporting the government to create the environment for a successful automotive manufacturing industry in the country. Building vehicles in Ghana will enable us to further improve the products and services we offer to our customers here and will have significant, long-term benefits for the economy in terms of jobs and growth. On his part, President Akufo-Addo welcomed strongly the decision by Nissan to establish an automotive manufacturing industry in Ghana. The President explained that his administration had embarked on a journey on moving the country away from being mere producers and exporters of raw materials, with a focus on value-addition and industrial activities. One of the areas of focus, he stressed, was the automotive industry, the reason why his administration has spent the last 22 months strengthening the fundamentals of the Ghanaian economy to attract such investment. To have at A+ company like yours in Ghana is positive, and we welcome you strongly. We hope that the MoU that will be signed will not just remain an MoU but will translate into concrete benefits for us all, President Akufo-Addo said. The MoU seeks to unlock economic potential, promote development of the automotive sector and promote investor-friendly regulatory frameworks that encourage sustainable car manufacturing. The aim is to promote infrastructure development, job creation and skills development in Ghana. The Minister for Trade, Alan Kyerematen also praised Nissans commitment to Ghana, saying, we welcome this MOU and commit ourselves in turn to working with Nissan to create the necessary environment for the level of investment that will make Ghanas automotive sector a reality. Industrywide vehicle sales in Ghana have been growing steadily at an annual rate of about 10% and now stand at about 9,150 vehicles a year. Working closely with the government of Ghana and with other members of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, Nissan will provide its global expertise to establish a sustainable auto manufacturing industry in the country. The agreement builds on Nissans investment in Nigeria where, in 2013, the company became the first major automaker to assemble cars. About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissans global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is today the worlds largest automotive partnership, with combined sales of more than 10.6 million vehicles in calendar year 2017. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The South African Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Madam Lulu Xingwana has expressed satisfaction with Ghanas rolled-out digital property address system. Ambassador Lulu believes Ghanas digital address system is innovative and shows Ghanas readiness to leapfrog its technological drive for rapid economic development. The ambassador made this observation when she led a team of MBA students from the University of Witwatersrand Business School (WBS) to pay a courtesy call on the Vice President as part of their annual global tour, a requirement for all MBA students at the School. At the meeting Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia took the students and academic leads from the Wits Business School (WBS) through the mandate and operations of the Economic Management Team (EMT) and the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU). The Vice President also touched on how policy decisions are made at the appellate level of government at the EMT and devolved for implementation. Key among the highlights made by the Vice President were the steps Ghana is taking in the area of economic formalization through digitization. He expounded on some projects such as the digital property address system, national identification, mobile money interoperability, land records digitization etc. On her part, the Ambassador to South Africa congratulated the government of Ghana for the many bold initiatives it has undertaken in the last 22 months. I must say from where I stand that I am happy for your government and South Africa is prepared to take a cue from the many good things you are doing, especially the digital address system. We dont have such a robust address system in South Africa as yours and we will be glad to tap from your experiences. Ambassador Lulu further mentioned that currently in South Africa there are so many places without addresses but Ghanas digital address system guarantees every 5 by 5 square meter location a unique address. This, she said is a step in the right direction for economic development. The Academic Director of the Wits Business School, Prof. Paul Alagidede similarly expressed satisfaction with the current state of affairs of the Ghanaian economy and, together with some of the students wished that the current economic progress is sustained. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video WaterAid Ghana is delighted to have met His Royal Highness (HRH) The Prince of Wales during his visit to Accra, Ghana. HRH The Prince of Wales, who has been President of WaterAid since 1991, examined a table top model depicting the charitys Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Public Health (WASH4PH) project in the Upper East Region. This work includes rainwater harvesting systems, a solar generator-powered water system, bio-digester toilets, a biogas-fuelled school kitchen and biogas-fuelled health clinic incinerator. He also met five school girls trained as water, sanitation and hygiene champions, who went on to promote the importance of provision of clean water, good sanitation and hygiene promotion in their schools and with local authorities in Ghana. The girls told how this training has empowered them to help change their schools and communities. The children sang Happy Birthday and presented HRH The Prince of Wales with small gifts ahead of his birthday on 14 November. Abdul-Nashiru Mohammed, the Country Director of WaterAid Ghana, said: We at WaterAid Ghana were honoured and delighted to meet HRH The Prince of Wales, to have him to meet some of the children with whom we work, and to show some examples of our transformative work on water, sanitation and hygiene. With about 10,000 children under five dying each year in Ghana of diarrhoeal illnesses directly related to dirty water, poor sanitation and poor hygiene, our work is vital and there is no time to waste in addressing this crisis. We are grateful for HRH The Prince of Wales support as WaterAid President in our quest to ensure everyone, everywhere has access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene as promised by UN Sustainable Development Goal 6. HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall are touring The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria at the request and on behalf of the British Government to celebrate the UKs partnerships with these Commonwealth nations on shared priorities. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Russian actors believed to be connected to the government have been actively involved in spreading divisive content and promoting extreme themes in the run-up to Tuesday's U.S. mid-term elections, but they are working harder to hide their tracks, according to government investigators, academics and security firms. Researchers studying the spread of disinformation on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other platforms say the new, more subtle tactics have allowed most of the so-called information operations campaigns to survive purges by the big social media companies and avoid government scrutiny. "The Russians are definitely not sitting this one out, said Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab. They have adapted over time to increased (U.S.) focus on influence operations." U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies say Russia used disinformation and other tactics to support President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. The Russian government has rejected all allegations of election interference. One clear sign of the continued Russian commitment to disrupting American political life came out in charges unsealed last month against a Russian woman who serves as an accountant at a St. Petersburg company known as the Internet Research Agency. After spending $12 million on a project to influence the U.S. election through social media in 2016, the company budgeted $12.2 million for last year and then proposed spending $10 million in just the first half of 2018, court filings showed. The indictment said the Internet Research Agency used fake social media accounts to post on both sides of politically charged issues including race, gun control and immigration. The instructions were detailed, down to how to mock particular politicians during a specific news cycle. If the goals of spreading divisive content have remained the same, the methods have evolved in multiple ways, researchers say. For one, there has been less reliance on pure fiction. People have been sensitized to look for completely false stories, and Facebook has been using outside fact-checkers to at least slow their spread on its pages. Weve done a lot research on fake news and people are getting better at figuring out what it is, so it's become less effective as a tactic, said Priscilla Moriuchi, a former National Security Agency official who is now a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future threat manager. Instead, Russian accounts have been amplifying stories and internet "memes" that initially came from the U.S. far left or far right. Such postings seem more authentic, are harder to identify as foreign, and are easier to produce than made-up stories. Renee DiResta, director of research at security company New Knowledge, said her company had compiled a list of suspected Russian accounts on Facebook and Twitter that were similar to those suspended after the 2016 campaign. Some of them seized on the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court to rally conservatives, while others used memes from the leftist Occupy Democrats. Some operators of the accounts in the collection established themselves as far-right pundits and had accounts on Gab, the social network favored by the far right. Brookie said that while the Russian accounts might jump on a hot topic, the payoff would often come by throwing in related issues. But that need not be necessary when the main topic is divisive enough. Take the idea of Blexit, a call for black Americans to exit the Democratic Party. The Daily Beast said it captured 250,000 tweets with the Blexit hashtag during a 15-hour burst last week and found that 40,000 of them came from handles that had previously participated in Russian information campaigns. Though jumping on existing bandwagons is easier than what Russia did in 2016, other new tactics have been more complex. In the October indictment and an earlier operation uncovered by Facebook, records showed that the instigators used Facebook's Messenger service to try to get others to buy advertisements for them and to recruit American radicals to promote real-world protests. Those moves allowed the Russians to evade strengthened detection systems and blend in with the crowd. They are baiting Americans to drive more polarizing and vitriolic content, Brookie said. Any given solution needs to focus on basing our politics on facts, first and foremost, and to focus on what holds our country closer together. Search Keywords: Short link: Two university students have died after they fell into a river while taking photographs. Ms Sharlet Atieno and Mr Derick Ouka went out on Saturday to Siaya town in Kenya for a photo shoot on the bank of River Yala together with two other friends. While there, Ms Atieno, a first-year student at Bondo Technical Training Institute, posed for photos on the rocks as Mr Ouka, a second-year student at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, snapped pictures of her. Suddenly, Ms Atieno slipped and fell into the river. At first, her friends thought it was a prank and they burst out laughing. When she didn't surface, Mr Ouka dived in to rescue her but he drowned too. The two friends with them, Ms Beatrice Stephanie Atieno, a Kabianga University student, and Steven Omondi tried to save the pair all to no avail. Steven Omondi who witnessed the incident said: I jumped into the river too and got hold of Sharlet but she slipped and disappeared. The search for the two bodies, which began on Saturday afternoon, was still going on as at Monday evening. Mr Ouka's mother, Jacinta Adhiambo was taken to Avenue Hospital in Kisumu when she fainted after receiving the news of the drowning. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has disclosed that he had not stepped into the kitchen since he got married and that it was not a mans role to cook. His statement led to him being roasted from every angle. Speaking on Sunday, Museveni, while giving an example of how politicians and civil servants should stick to prescribed roles, said cooking is a woman's job and men shouldn't cook. He said: The head of the home never goes into the kitchen. It is now 45 years with Mama Janet. I have never stepped into the kitchen. That is how it should be. As soon as his statement went viral, he was called out on social media by Ugandan citizens. Oxfams International Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, said she was "disappointed" at the 74-year-old president. She tweeted: Cooking isnt a womans job. Its a life skill. All people men and women should cook. When cooking, cleaning and doing other domestic chores are left to women, they are denied an equal chance to raise incomes or to be politically active. Beatrice Alaso from the opposition Forum For Democratic Change told AFP said: Museveni has revealed to the world what he has always believed in: that women can never be the same as their male counterparts. According to Watchdog Uganda, Musevenis comments is consistent with the countrys culture, which sees men cooking as "taboo." The publication stated that some ethnic groups in the country have a word referring to men who cook as a "transvestite or a man dressing and behaving like a woman." Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Brong-Ahafo has likened President Nana Addo Dankwa AKufo-Addos administration to the biblical New Testament concept that requires absolute patience to see the realisation of Gods promises in ones life. According to Mr. Debie Appiah-Mensah, a former Brong-Ahafo Regional Organiser of the NPP, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under former President John Dramani Mahama, left the economy in the wilderness, thus, making it difficult for Nana Akufo-Addos administration to resuscitate and build on it. That notwithstanding, Mr. Appiah-Mensah said most of the social intervention programmes being implemented by the government would be fruitful from 2019, and appealed to Ghanaians to be patient and hopeful for better socio-economic living conditions. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, he observed that in the spiritual perspective, it took unwavering faith for a promise of God to be fulfilled in ones life, and that required complete patience, if Ghanaians could witness remarkable improvement in their socio-economic livelihoods. Mr. Appiah-Mensah noted that discerning citizens were aware it had been tough for the government to bring the economy back on course to spur rapid socio-economic growth and development, and called on the government to shun her critics and detractors and concentrate in re-building a better Ghana. We want to remind Nana Akufo-Addo that his government is threading on a good path. We are aware it has not been easy, but we believe that with time, majority of Ghanaians will understand him better and enjoy, he said. Mr. Appiah-Mensah said the Free Senior High School programme, Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo), Planting for Food and Jobs (PfFJs) and the restoration of Nurses and Teachers allowances alone were great achievements of the government. He reminded the NPP hierarchy that that the 2020 electioneering campaign begins next year, and advised the Party to settle all differences and internal misunderstandings for a unified front. Mr. Appiah-Mensah underscored the need for the NPP leadership to strengthen Party structures and adequately resourced various polling station and Constituency executives, which remained the strong pillars and hopes of the Party if it could retain power in Election 2020. We must work hard, search, identify and embrace all defectors and disgruntled members, bring them on board and promote vigorous electioneering, he added. The former NPP Regional Organiser, indicated that the government had achieved a lot, but it required the Party to sell these achievements to the electorate and see the hopes of the nation. Until this was done, Mr. Appiah-Mensah said, critics and detractors would peddle lies, making the government unpopular and influence the voting masses. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Paul Biya has been sworn in as Cameroon's President for a seventh term. The 85-year-old, who has ruled the country for 36 years, pledged to uphold the "integrity" and "unity" of the country in a ceremony overseen by parliamentary speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril. Biya secured 71% of the vote in the October 7th election but opposition parties said the election was marred by fraud. The swearing in ceremony was however clouded by Monday's kidnapping of 80 people, including 79 students, in a school in the restive North-West region. The government and separatists who are pushing for an independent state in mainly English-speaking areas have been trading accusations as to who is behind the kidnapping. More than 300,000 people have fled the violence in the North-West and South-West regions with some crossing the border into Nigeria. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NLA Boss, Kofi Osei-Ameyaw has debunked cliams that he is gunning for Asuogyaman Parliamentary Seat on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). According to a statement issued from his camp and copied to Peacefmonline.com, the NLA boss has no intention to contest the seat, stating emphatically that "Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw has NOT officially or openly declared his intention to contest the Asuogyaman Parliamentary Seat in the 2020 General Elections". Read full statement below: Our attention has been drawn to a publication by the respected Daily Guide dated Tuesday, November 6, 2018 captioned "2 NPP Kingpins Battle for Asuogyaman Seat". We wish to state emphatically that Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw has NOT officially or openly declared his intention to contest the Asuogyaman Parliamentary Seat in the 2020 General Elections. For now, Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw is more focused and committed to the mandate and favour given to him by President Akufo-Addo at the National Lottery Authority. Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw as a good servant and steward is determined to the implementation of President Akufo-Addo's transformation agenda for the Lottery Industry in Ghana. For avoidance of doubt, Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw will not make any move on the Asuogyaman Seat without first consulting and seeking approval from President Akufo-Addo and the Leadership of the New Patriotic Party. The prevailing circumstances ahead of 2020 will determine whether Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw will contest the Asuogyaman Seat or not. Hon. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw would like to use this opportunity to encourage and wish Party Members who have openly declared their intention to contest the Asuogyaman Seat in the 2020 General Elections well and to state that he is ever prepared to support the Party's chosen Parliamentary Candidate for the 2020 General Elections. Signed Razak Kojo Opoku (Aide to Hon Kofi Osei Ameyaw) Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Daughters Ministries International, together with Abena Tay Ministries , has held this years edition of When Women Worship in a grand style over the weekend at the National Theatre in Accra. The event which was the 5TH edition, dubbed: When Women Worship, created a spirit-filled atmosphere for people, mostly women, to pray to God and also render worship to Him. Over the years, this magnificent event has been a haven of worship to women from all walks of lives. In an interview with Lady Rev. Dr. Abena Tay, the President and Founder of the Abena Tay Ministries (ATM),who is the brain behind the concert explained that her Ministry joined the race in the month October to help sensitize the general public against diseases such as breast cancer and other ailments that affect women in the country. As part of the sensitization, a Pink Market Day event was held at Tema Station on the 6th of September, where over 800 women undergo screening exercise. This she said, after the project there was the need to climax the whole event with When Women Worship by bringing all women under one umbrella to render thanks God for His unflinching support. Today we are also here to award women who have impacted positively the lives of other women in their various communities. And also, outdoor my Chavvah magazine. Chavvah simply means Life-Giver. The Chavvah magazine, basically has stories about women who have experienced a lot things in life. In this magazine the opportunity have been given to these women share their experience with other women in other to encourage them, she explained. Under Chavvah Life-Givers Award: six women have were awarded; including Tagoe Sisters, Nana Kofi Abuna V, Akumaa Mama, Edith Uyovbukerhi and Mary Kuffour for using their inward ability to create change in their communities and those around them. Dr. Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, President of BCI and CEO of Peace and Love hospitals was also awarded with Chavvah Health Awards. This years When women Worship also featured celebrated gospel music icons such as Tagoe Sisters, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Celestine Donkor, Kekeli, Becky Bonney, Kekeli and Cece Twum who set the stage ablaze with their angelic voices. This years When Women Worship will definitely be a nostalgic experience which will arguably be very difficult for its witnesses to forget. Source: Ike Dzokpo Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Video Designer/Set Designer Stephanie Jasmin is seen in an undated handout photo. Jasmin has been named the winner of the 2018 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, National Arts Centre *MANDATORY CREDIT* Martin Prud'homme, newly-appointed interim chief of police in Montreal smiles after he was decorated Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces at Citadelle in Quebec City on Thursday, December 7, 2017. The interim chief brought in to clean up problems in the Montreal police says the internal climate remains fragile and the next chief should come from outside the force. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot More than 2,000 migrants have died since January trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, the UN said Tuesday, adding that more than half of them were headed for Italy. "The number of lives lost on the Mediterranean this year has now exceeded 2000" after 17 people were found dead off the Spanish coast this week, said Charlie Yaxley, spokesperson for the UNHCR refugee agency. He said some 105,000 migrants and refugees seeking asylum have reached Europe so far this year, representing a drop to pre-2014 levels. But the drownings this year mean that the rate of deaths has escalated sharply. The UNHCR "has called repeatedly for urgent action to address this situation," he said. "The Mediterranean has for several years been the world's deadliest sea route for refugees and migrants. That it continues to be so should be unacceptable to all." A spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, Joel Millman, said it was the fifth consecutive year that arrivals have topped 100,000. But he noted that in previous years that threshold was crossed much earlier in the year. Last year that figure was reached in July, as it was in 2014. In 2015, arrivals topped 100,000 by June and in 2016 it was in February. Spain was the top destination for migrants and refugees this year, with more than 49,000 arrivals by sea, ahead of Greece with more 27,700 and Italy with over 22,160. But of the more than 2,000 who died, some 1,260 were en route to Italy, according to the IOM. Many of the migrants make the perilous crossing on overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels. Yaxley also said the UNHCR remains "very concerned about the legal and logistical restrictions that have been placed on a number of NGOs wishing to conduct search and rescue operations" in the Mediterranean. These included operations by the civilian rescue ship the Aquarius, which was chartered by the charities Doctors without Borders (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee. Search Keywords: Short link: The British government raced Tuesday to build on a chance of a Brexit compromise on Northern Ireland, but Prime Minister Theresa May promised her fractious party she would not strike a deal with the EU "at any cost". Negotiations have stepped up with Brussels as London seeks a divorce agreement within weeks, to allow time for it to be passed by parliament before Brexit day on March 29, 2019. The Irish government opened the door on Monday to a possible concession on the final sticking point -- how to avoid border checks between British Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. But British eurosceptics fear May is planning to give too much ground, and her Northern Irish allies warned that unless the EU moved further, Britain could leave with no deal at all. At a weekly cabinet meeting, May told ministers she expected an agreement and wanted it as soon as possible -- but it would "not be done at any cost", according to her spokesman. "We will need to be satisfied in the negotiations that we have achieved the best deal that we possibly can for the UK," he said. Meanwhile the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told reporters in Slovakia that "we are not there yet". Earlier Tuesday he told Belgian television RTBF that, as of that moment, there remained "a real point of divergence" on the Irish issue. Britain has indicated it is seeking a deal before the end of November, although one official admitted Tuesday that "it would be a stretch". - Irish border checks - The Brexit talks are stuck on the details of a "backstop" arrangement to avoid checks on goods crossing the Irish border until a new trade deal can be signed. London suggests Britain could temporarily stay aligned with the bloc's trade rules but wants to reserve the right to exit the arrangement. In a phone call with May on Monday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he would consider a "review mechanism" for the backstop. But he rejected the idea Britain could unilaterally end the arrangement, something Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and other eurosceptics in May's Conservative party want. Jeffrey Donaldson, an MP from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose support props up May's government, said Dublin's refusal to budge could scupper a deal. "Looks like we're heading for no deal," he wrote on Twitter, adding: "Can't understand why Irish government seems so intent on this course." May's spokesman said ministers agreed at cabinet on the need for an "effective mechanism" within the backstop to ensure "that the UK cannot be held in the arrangement indefinitely". Work is continuing on this, he said, adding: "Don't be under any illusions that there remains a significant amount of work to do." Search Keywords: Short link: KAMPALA The Uganda Road Fund (URF) has released 152 billion shillings for the second quarter of the 2018/2019 Financial Year to renovate roads in Kampala, municipalities, town councils, districts and sub-counties countrywide. Mr Andrew Namanye, URF manager for programmes, said the money is part of the 527 billion shillings allocated for road maintenance countrywide in the budget for the current Financial Year. This money is intended to ensure roads that have been denying people access to certain places because of their unpleasant state are renovated. We want farmers to be able to take their produce to markets. We, however, caution district, sub-county and urban council leaders to have proper accountability and use this money for the intended purpose, Mr Namanye told journalists in Kampala on Tuesday. He explained that of the 152 billion shillings, the Uganda National Roads Authorities (URA) has got 92 billion shillings, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) 6 billion shillings, districts 17 billion, municipalities 8 billion, town councils 7b, community access roads 17b, distressed areas 325m, emergency 891m and bridges 445m. Mr Michael Odongo, the URF executive director, appealed to the public to ensure that the money is put to the right use. We call upon people to be vigilant and inform us when they see irregularities during maintenance of roads. Having good roads it is not an offer but an individual right. You, therefore, have rights to monitor the effective use of these funds, Mr Odongo said. He said that for a district or urban council to benefit from funds, it must have signed a performance agreement with the road fund, must have submitted a satisfactory annual work plan, a general receipt with evidence of timely receipt and transfer of funds to sub-agencies. Eng Odongo said funds for Kole and Pakwach districts have been withheld because they have not filed their quarter four for financial year 2017/2018 accountabilities with the URF secretariat. Related An officer with the Cleveland Division of Police was shot in the early morning hours on Sunday. The officer was responding to a call for a man who had been shot. When officers arrived they were quickly met with gunfire. The officer was still in his cruiser when he was shot multiple times in both legs, according to ABC News. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. The suspect fled the scene but was later taken into custody by Cleveland police's Gang Impact Unit, authorities said. K-9 Axe had served with the St. Clair Shores Police Department for two years. Image courtesy of ODMP. A K-9 with the St. Clair Shores (MI) Police Department was shot and killed on Sunday while tracking a suspect who had allegedly brandished a gun at a social hall in St. Clair Shores. Police were called to the scene, and saw a man matching the description outside the building, according to ClickOnDetroit.com. Police said he ignored multiple demands from officers and fled from the scene on foot. K-9 Axe was deployed for an apprehension and was shot by the man. Police returned fire, striking the man. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. K-9 Axe had served with the St. Clair Shores Police Department for two years. The K-9 was named in memory of U.S. Navy SEAL Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson who was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2005, according to ODMP. Highland Station received a call regarding a pig "the size of a mini horse" running around the neighborhood. Deputies Shelly Ponce and Ashleigh Berg found the animalnamed "Smalls"and due to previous calls, knew where he lived. Image courtesy of San Bernardino County (CA) Sheriff's Department / Instagram. A short video of two deputies with the San Bernardino County (CA) Sheriff's Department luring a wayward pig to safety by luring him with Doritos went viral after it was posted to social media two weeks ago. Now, they have been rewarded with snacks from Doritos. Highland Station received a call regarding a pig "the size of a mini horse" running around the neighborhood. Deputies Shelly Ponce and Ashleigh Berg found the animalnamed "Smalls"and due to previous calls, knew where he lived. "They lured him back home with @Doritos one of our deputies had in her lunch bag," the Instagram post said. "They made a trail and he followed." Doritos learned of the good deed done using their snacks, and sent a massive delivery of assorted Doritos flavors to the station. Deputies Ponce and Berg recently made another video, this time thanking Doritos for the kind gift. In the video, the two deputies munch on chips and wonder whether or not to share them with the rest of the department, all while contemplating their newfound Internet fame. "So, is this your first time going viral? Berg asks Ponce in the video. "Yup," Ponce replies. "Do you think we're supposed to share these with everyone at the station?" They refer the question to "Smalls"whose grunts they interpret as a "no." In a Tweet of the video the deputies said, "Thanks for the snacks @Doritos!" They added, "P.S. we did share them with the troops." The Buffalo Grove (IL) Police Department posted an image on Facebook of the "care package" they assembled, containing three versions of the agency's patch, a plush K-9, an American flag patch, a challenge coin and numerous other items. Image courtesy of Buffalo Grove PD / Facebook. An Indiana boy battling cancer wants police officers from across the country to send him one of their patches. According to WTTV News, 12-year-old Jeremiah Derks was diagnosed with cancer in July and is currently going through chemotherapy following surgery. Jeremiah had received a visit from Howard County sheriff's deputies, making him an honorary deputy at the time. Then, a Kokomo police officer stopped by Jeremiah's home and delivered a police patch. That little gesture sparked an idea to build a collection of patches. Jeremiah's mom posted the thought to Facebook, and soon the family started seeing patches flooding in. The Buffalo Grove (IL) Police Department posted an image on Facebook of the "care package" they assembled, containing three versions of the agency's patch, a plush K-9, an American flag patch, a challenge coin and numerous other items. The department said in the social media post, "The Buffalo Grove Police Department learned of a request from a 12-year-old Indiana boy named Jeremiah Derks, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Due to his strong interest in law enforcement, Jeremiah has been reaching out to different police agencies and requesting that they each send him a patch to add to his collection. Buffalo Grove Police prepared a care package, which included the Department's patch, in addition to a number of other items for Jeremiah." Anyone wishing to send Jeremiah a police patch or card can mail those items to: 229 Luke Court Kokomo, Indiana 46901 The Southport (NC) Police Department was "functionally closed" in July amid allegations of corruptio, but the department has resumed operations with the hiring of Chief Todd Coring. Chief Gary Smith and Lieutenant Michael Simmons were arrested for conspiracy to obtain property through false pretenses, willful failure to discharge duties, and obstruction of justice, according the Port City Daily. Accused of working second jobs while on duty with the Southport Police Department, Simmons and Smith were operating a local trucking company. The trucking company made regular trips across state lines as Simmons and Smith were being paid for their policing duties, according to District Attorney Jon David. The Brunswick County Sheriff's Office had taken over the policing of the city while the search for a new chief was conducted. Incumbent Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell finds himself in a much tighter race than expected, with voters heading to the polls on Tuesday. Image courtesy of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department / Facebook. Incumbent Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell finds himself in a much tighter race than expected, with voters heading to the polls on Tuesday. Retired Sheriff's Lieutenant Alex Villanueva stunned observers by knocking him into a runoff, according to the Los Angeles Times. Villanuevawho is of Puerto Rican and Polish-American heritagehas made immigration enforcement issues a significant focus of his campaign, saying at a recent public appearance, "We will not allow our jails to be a pipeline to deportation." If Villanueva wins, he'll become the first person to unseat a living Los Angeles County Sheriff in more than 100 years. Prior to retirement, Villanueva served three decades with the department. Moody's 2019 outlook on global sovereigns still stable, but risks mount The outlook for sovereign creditworthiness in 2019 is stable, balancing the global economy's continued but slowing growth momentum against rising uncertainty over longer-term economic and financial stability, Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Tuesday. Although a number of risks could affect credit conditions over the next 12 to 18 months, three-quarters of the 138 sovereigns that Moody's rates currently have a stable outlook and 15 hold a positive outlook. Nineteen sovereigns have a negative outlook, compared to 22 a year ago, said Moodys.Subscribers can access the 12-page report, "Sovereigns -- Global, 2019 outlook still stable, but slowing growth signals increasingly diverging prospects", by clicking here Our stable outlook for sovereign ratings in 2019 balances the benefits of continued global growth against emerging domestic and geopolitical risks. Despite the stable outlook overall, we are more mindful than in previous years of the potential for unforeseen shocks to disrupt economic and financial stability over the next 12-18 months , said Alastair Wilson, Moody's Managing Director -- Global Sovereign Risk.Hungary has a Baa3 rating at Moodys, and is among the countries with Stable outlook. Moodys has a rating review for Hungary scheduled for 23 November, when it might change either the rating or the outlook.Moody's expects G-20 growth to peak in 2018 at 3.3% before slowing to 2.9% in 2019. For advanced economies in the G-20, Moody's believes growth will fall to 1.9% in 2019 from 2.3% in 2018, a pattern that is mirrored in key economies, including the US and Germany. The picture in G-20 emerging markets is more varied: their growth in 2019 will be meaningfully slower in 2019 than in 2018, at around 4.6% against 5.0% in 2018.Slowing growth means that the window for global sovereigns to address longstanding credit challenges - including high levels of public and private debt, as well as longer-term trends related to ageing and inequality - is closing.High debt, falling growth and rising rates expose sovereigns to the risk of shocks that undermine debt affordability and sustainability. A number of emerging and frontier markets are particularly exposed to tightening global financial conditions and rising US trade protectionism.Around the world, the longer-run credit trajectory for sovereigns will depend on the success of reform efforts that address these vulnerabilities.As in previous years, the potential for disruptive domestic or geopolitical events poses the greatest tail risk. Geopolitical risks could have implications beyond a particular country's economic and fiscal fundamentals and affect cross-border capital flows and thus funding conditions for many sovereigns.Geopolitical risk is a broad category that encompasses US trade and foreign policy which poses an increasingly far-reaching threat to global confidence and growth; conflict on the Korean peninsula; regional conflict in the Middle East; and ostensibly domestic political events, including Brexit and recent events in Italy. Former Rivigo CTO Hemant Khandelwal Tapped to be Head of R&D Center BANGALORE, India, Nov. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Harness , the industry's first Continuous Delivery-as-a-Service platform leveraging artificial intelligence, today announced plans to accelerate hiring at its recently opened R&D center in Bangalore, India. The company plans to hire over 100 engineers over the next few years. Interested applicants can apply here . The aggressive plans for the Bangalore facility mirror Harness' growth trajectory since it came out of stealth in late 2017. The company was co-founded by Jyoti Bansal after the sale of AppDynamics to Cisco for $3.7 billion, and was the first company to be spun out of Bansal's new startup studio BIG Labs. The company quickly achieved traction among both enterprise and medium-sized organizations; early customers include McAfee, NCR, New York Life, Build.com. Soulcycle, and Jobvite. The company was named a Gartner "Cool Vendor in DevOps" for 2018 and also won the Barclay "Technology Open Challenge Award" in 2018. Hemant Khandelwal has been appointed head of the facility, bringing years of experience creating and inspiring industry-acclaimed teams. Khandewal most recently served as CTO of Rivigo, where he helped the company become a unicorn in three years building its technology platform and putting together a high performing, 100+ team from scratch. Khandelwal also had successful runs at Adobe Systems, Pramati, and Infosys. "I couldn't be more enthusiastic about taking the reins of the new Harness R&D facility in Bangalore, and I urge talented engineers to reach out to me," said Hemant Khandelwal. "Harness is on fire from both a customer acquisition and brand awareness standpoint. We all know the kinds of products that Jyoti Bansal brings to market, and Harness has already proven to have his magic touch. This is truly 'the place to be,' and I hope to bring aboard the next members of this fast-growing team very soon." "The Harness mission is to simplify the Continuous Delivery process for every engineering team on the planet, using Machine Learning to ensure that code is delivered into production safely, securely, and repeatably," said Jyoti Bansal, Harness co-founder & CEO. "Our Bangalore R&D facility is a critical component of our overall strategy, and I'm excited that an executive of Hemant's caliber will be doing for us what he has done many times in his careerbuilding legendary teams that make an immediate and lasting impact. I look forward to seeing his team grow." Harness brings the power of enterprise Continuous Delivery to every business, empowering engineering teams to move fast and ship code without the fear of failed deployments. With its Smart Automation technology, Harness provides the first ever solution to automate the entire continuous delivery process. By applying unsupervised machine learning to the process a new technology called Continuous Verification the platform understands an application's baseline environment and can initiate automatic rollbacks when irregular activity is detected, avoiding application downtime or widespread failures. To date, Harness has reduced deployment time from many weeks to a few hours, and has reduced errors by nearly 99 percent. About Harness Based in San Francisco, Harness is the industry's first Continuous Delivery-as-a-Service platform designed to provide a simple, safe and secure way for engineering and DevOps teams to release applications into production. Harness uses machine learning to detect the quality of deployments and automatically roll back failed ones, saving time and reducing the need for custom scripting and manual oversight. Harness was started and launched by Jyoti Bansal's BIG Labs, and is backed by top-tier venture capital firm Menlo Ventures; customers include NCR, Soulcycle, Jobvite, Build.com, McAfee, and New York Life. Follow us on Twitter and try for free at harness.io. Related Links https://www.harness.io/ SOURCE Harness Gates Foundation and Global Partners Announce Commitments to Advance Commercialization of Disruptive, Off-Grid Toilet Technologies BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), today joined global innovators, development banks, private-sector players, and governments at the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing. Together, they committed to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of disruptive sanitation technologies world-wide over the next decade. Rapid expansion of new, off-grid sanitation products and systems could dramatically reduce the global human and economic toll of unsafe sanitation, including the deaths of half a million children under the age of 5 each year and the more than $200 billion that is lost due to health care costs and decreased income and productivity. A range of companies from around the world came together at the Expo to display a new class of sanitation solutions that eliminate harmful pathogens and convert waste into by-products like clean water and fertilizerall without connections to sewers or water lines. Companies from China (Clear, CRRC, EcoSan), the United States (Sedron Technologies), India (Eram Scientific, Ankur Scientific, Tide Technocrats), and Thailand (SCG Chemicals) announced the availability of the world's first pathogen-killing reinvented toilets and small-scale waste treatment plants (called omni-processors), which are now ready for sale to municipal and private entities. LIXIL, headquartered in Japan, announced plans to bring to pilot a household-level reinvented toilet based on a leading prototype. "This Expo showcases, for the first time, radically new, decentralized sanitation technologies and products that are business-ready," said Bill Gates during the opening plenary of the Reinvented Toilet Expo. "It's no longer a question of if we can reinvent the toilet and other sanitation systems. It's a question of how quickly this new category of off-grid solutions will scale." Development finance institutions at the Expoincluding the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bankannounced commitments with the potential to unlock $2.5 billion in financing for City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation projects that provide people in all parts of a cityincluding the poorest neighborhoodswith safely managed sanitation services. The banks' pledges represent the biggest-ever coordinated set of commitments exclusively for urban sanitation. Significantly, these efforts will accelerate the adoption of novel non-sewered sanitation solutions in low- and middle-income countries. UNICEF announced an ambitious, new sanitation market-shaping strategy to help scale and deploy product and service innovations and increase private-sector engagement. The French Development Agency committed to double its funding for sanitation work globally by 2022, up to 600 million euros (US $683 million) per year. "Rapidly scalable systems that can deliver safe, sustainable sanitation to communities is fundamental to quality of life and the development of human capital," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, who participated in the Expo plenary. "Sanitation is a growing priority for the World Bank Group and many global leaders. I'm pleased to announce our new partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will help catalyze a new generation of solutions that can bring safe sanitation to everyone, everywhere on earth." According to a recent Boston Consulting Group analysis, there are considerable untapped opportunities for companies that come early to the new non-sewered sanitation category. The reinvented toilet market alone is conservatively estimated to become a $6 billion global annual revenue opportunity by 2030. It could help open the door to a new, potentially larger sanitation sector and value chain supported by private and public investments in products, jobs, and services. A World Health Organization study showed an even bigger return on investment for broadly advancing safe sanitation globally: Every dollar invested in sanitation provides, on average, an economic return of $5.50.1 LIXIL's announcement of its entry into the reinvented toilet market at the Expo signalled an important milestone for sanitation industry leaders. "Now is the time," said Kinya Seto, president of LIXIL. "Innovative companies have a golden opportunity to do well by doing good. We can help jumpstart a new era of safe sanitation for the 21st century by developing solutions that can leapfrog today's existing infrastructure, functioning anywhere and everywhere." More than half of the world's population, 4.5 billion people, continue to live without access to safely managed sanitation. In many cities in the global south, more than 50 percent of human waste escapes into the environment untreated. Emerging trends, from climate change to demographic shifts, signal an intensification of the sanitation crisis and a need for faster progress. The United Nations estimates that by 2050, close to 70 percent of the world's population will live in dense urban areas, putting a strain on already-inadequate city-level sanitation systems and infrastructure. Much of the growth will occur in low-income countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where water scarcity is likely to hit hardest. Off-grid innovations such as mobile phones have dramatically improved economic opportunity, safety, and quality of life for billions of the world's poorest in recent decades. But while global leaders hasten investments in smart sustainable cities, the global sanitation sectorfrom utilities to products and servicesrisks lagging far behind unless concerted action is taken. Senegal's minister for water and sanitation, Mansour Faye, who has supported early piloting and development of the Gates Foundation-funded omni-processor, commented on the progress demonstrated at the Expo: "Visionary governments that welcome these new, non-sewered sanitation solutions into communities and cities will help people live healthier and more prosperous lives. There has never been this much opportunity for countries to use innovation to improve sanitation, and to partner with the private sector to deliver it effectively to people who need it most." "Thanks to the joint effort of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the China Chamber of International Commerce and the Gates Foundation, the Expo aims to showcase and promote a new generation of toilet technologies, concepts, materials, equipment and management systems that are both revolutionary and innovative. Together, we aim to accelerate the application of these new concepts, materials and technologies, and promote the wide adoption and commercialization of new toilet technologies," said Chen Zhou, vice chairman of the CCPIT. The Gates Foundation has invested more than $200 million since 2011 in early-stage reinvented toilet and omni-processor R&D aimed at lowering barriers and risk for the private sector and governments to adopt new sanitation solutions. At the Expo, the foundation shared its plans to invest an additional $200 million to support continued R&D that can help bring down the costs of new sanitation products for the poor and bolster market development in regions where new, non-sewered sanitation products can have the greatest impact. Twenty reinvented toilet and omni-processor technologies and products rooted in the foundation's portfolio of investments are now available for commercial licencing and production. Many are expected to meet newly published international standards, known as International Organization for Standardization 30500, created to define the operational requirements for the reinvented toilet, as well as other existing and future stand-alone, non-sewered sanitation technologies. The standards set targets for safety, processing capability, operational performance, and waste by-products to ensure product safety for users. Information about available reinvented toilet and omni-processor technologies and products can be found at: www.stepsforsanitation.org/rte. For more information about the Reinvented Toilet Expo, please contact: [email protected]. A digital press box with press materials, b-roll, and images for publication is available at RTE Beijing 2018. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all peopleespecially those with the fewest resourceshave access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. www.gatesfoundation.org / @gatesfoundation 1 5 WHO, "Global Costs and Benefits of Drinking-water Supply and Sanitation Interventions to Reach the MDG Target and Universal Coverage," 2012, http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2012/globalcosts.pdf Related Links https://www.gatesfoundation.org SOURCE Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Based on projections of research from 2009 and 2012, the adventure travel industry has grown exponentially from a $263 billion USD sector in 2012 to $683 billion in 2017, and makes up an estimated 30 percent of global tourism spending. This explosive growth signals an opportunity for India to position itself more prominently in the adventure travel spotlight. One of the highlights of the three-day event is Marketplace , a dedicated time for one-on-one meetings facilitating productive partnerships. Nearly 50 global buyers have registered and will connect with attending suppliers to expand their itinerary offerings; more than 20 media will meet regional representatives for story ideas. These foundational relationships between Indian travel companies and international operators and media offer an opportunity to propel adventure travel growth in the region for years to come. The event's theme, Pulse of Tomorrow, reflects the rich array of content for professionals to hone in on their calling and explore future-driven business opportunities. The agenda features topics such as today's adventure traveler, immersive technology, and branding, while region-specific topics include a deep look at guide standards and the economics of wildlife tourism. "I'm so excited at the possibility of bringing our customers to this region of the world," said Eric Aguirre, a buyer attending AdventureNEXT India representing Under30Experiences. "We're hoping that through AdventureNEXT India we'll be able to form the connections necessary to bring our travel community to this culturally rich country." Tourism companies wishing to connect are encouraged to register soon . Since 1990, the ATTA has been the leading voice and partner for the adventure travel industry. More than 1,300 member organizations including tour operators, tourism boards, specialty agents, and media share a vested interest in the sustainable development of adventure tourism. With specialized expertise in research, events, and education the ATTA's business services and events division, Adventure 360, delivers strategic solutions and a robust ecosystem of global events. CONTACT: Amy Brown (509) 863-5309 [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/779441/ATTA_India.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/734087/Adventure_Travel_Trade_Association_Logo.jpg Related Links www.adventuretravel.biz SOURCE Adventure Travel Trade Association Gates Foundation and Global Partners Announce Commitments to Advance Commercialization of Disruptive, Off-Grid Toilet Technologies BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), today joined global innovators, development banks, private-sector players, and governments at the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing. Together, they committed to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of disruptive sanitation technologies world-wide over the next decade. Rapid expansion of new, off-grid sanitation products and systems could dramatically reduce the global human and economic toll of unsafe sanitation, including the deaths of half a million children under the age of 5 each year and the more than $200 billion that is lost due to health care costs and decreased income and productivity. A range of companies from around the world came together at the Expo to display a new class of sanitation solutions that eliminate harmful pathogens and convert waste into by-products like clean water and fertilizerall without connections to sewers or water lines. Companies from China (Clear, CRRC, EcoSan), the United States (Sedron Technologies), India (Eram Scientific, Ankur Scientific, Tide Technocrats), and Thailand (SCG Chemicals) announced the availability of the world's first pathogen-killing reinvented toilets and small-scale waste treatment plants (called omni-processors), which are now ready for sale to municipal and private entities. LIXIL, headquartered in Japan, announced plans to bring to pilot a household-level reinvented toilet based on a leading prototype. "This Expo showcases, for the first time, radically new, decentralized sanitation technologies and products that are business-ready," said Bill Gates during the opening plenary of the Reinvented Toilet Expo. "It's no longer a question of if we can reinvent the toilet and other sanitation systems. It's a question of how quickly this new category of off-grid solutions will scale." Development finance institutions at the Expoincluding the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bankannounced commitments with the potential to unlock $2.5 billion in financing for City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation projects that provide people in all parts of a cityincluding the poorest neighborhoodswith safely managed sanitation services. The banks' pledges represent the biggest-ever coordinated set of commitments exclusively for urban sanitation. Significantly, these efforts will accelerate the adoption of novel non-sewered sanitation solutions in low- and middle-income countries. UNICEF announced an ambitious, new sanitation market-shaping strategy to help scale and deploy product and service innovations and increase private-sector engagement. The French Development Agency committed to double its funding for sanitation work globally by 2022, up to 600 million euros (US $683 million) per year. "Rapidly scalable systems that can deliver safe, sustainable sanitation to communities is fundamental to quality of life and the development of human capital," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, who participated in the Expo plenary. "Sanitation is a growing priority for the World Bank Group and many global leaders. I'm pleased to announce our new partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will help catalyze a new generation of solutions that can bring safe sanitation to everyone, everywhere on earth." According to a recent Boston Consulting Group analysis, there are considerable untapped opportunities for companies that come early to the new non-sewered sanitation category. The reinvented toilet market alone is conservatively estimated to become a $6 billion global annual revenue opportunity by 2030. It could help open the door to a new, potentially larger sanitation sector and value chain supported by private and public investments in products, jobs, and services. A World Health Organization study showed an even bigger return on investment for broadly advancing safe sanitation globally: Every dollar invested in sanitation provides, on average, an economic return of $5.50.1 LIXIL's announcement of its entry into the reinvented toilet market at the Expo signalled an important milestone for sanitation industry leaders. "Now is the time," said Kinya Seto, president of LIXIL. "Innovative companies have a golden opportunity to do well by doing good. We can help jumpstart a new era of safe sanitation for the 21st century by developing solutions that can leapfrog today's existing infrastructure, functioning anywhere and everywhere." More than half of the world's population, 4.5 billion people, continue to live without access to safely managed sanitation. In many cities in the global south, more than 50 percent of human waste escapes into the environment untreated. Emerging trends, from climate change to demographic shifts, signal an intensification of the sanitation crisis and a need for faster progress. The United Nations estimates that by 2050, close to 70 percent of the world's population will live in dense urban areas, putting a strain on already-inadequate city-level sanitation systems and infrastructure. Much of the growth will occur in low-income countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where water scarcity is likely to hit hardest. Off-grid innovations such as mobile phones have dramatically improved economic opportunity, safety, and quality of life for billions of the world's poorest in recent decades. But while global leaders hasten investments in smart sustainable cities, the global sanitation sectorfrom utilities to products and servicesrisks lagging far behind unless concerted action is taken. Senegal's minister for water and sanitation, Mansour Faye, who has supported early piloting and development of the Gates Foundation-funded omni-processor, commented on the progress demonstrated at the Expo: "Visionary governments that welcome these new, non-sewered sanitation solutions into communities and cities will help people live healthier and more prosperous lives. There has never been this much opportunity for countries to use innovation to improve sanitation, and to partner with the private sector to deliver it effectively to people who need it most." "Thanks to the joint effort of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the China Chamber of International Commerce and the Gates Foundation, the Expo aims to showcase and promote a new generation of toilet technologies, concepts, materials, equipment and management systems that are both revolutionary and innovative. Together, we aim to accelerate the application of these new concepts, materials and technologies, and promote the wide adoption and commercialization of new toilet technologies," said Chen Zhou, vice chairman of the CCPIT. The Gates Foundation has invested more than $200 million since 2011 in early-stage reinvented toilet and omni-processor R&D aimed at lowering barriers and risk for the private sector and governments to adopt new sanitation solutions. At the Expo, the foundation shared its plans to invest an additional $200 million to support continued R&D that can help bring down the costs of new sanitation products for the poor and bolster market development in regions where new, non-sewered sanitation products can have the greatest impact. Twenty reinvented toilet and omni-processor technologies and products rooted in the foundation's portfolio of investments are now available for commercial licencing and production. Many are expected to meet newly published international standards, known as International Organization for Standardization 30500, created to define the operational requirements for the reinvented toilet, as well as other existing and future stand-alone, non-sewered sanitation technologies. The standards set targets for safety, processing capability, operational performance, and waste by-products to ensure product safety for users. Information about available reinvented toilet and omni-processor technologies and products can be found at: www.stepsforsanitation.org/rte. For more information about the Reinvented Toilet Expo, please contact: media@gatesfoundation.org. A digital press box with press materials, b-roll, and images for publication is available at RTE Beijing 2018. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all peopleespecially those with the fewest resourceshave access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. www.gatesfoundation.org / @gatesfoundation 1 5 WHO, "Global Costs and Benefits of Drinking-water Supply and Sanitation Interventions to Reach the MDG Target and Universal Coverage," 2012, http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2012/globalcosts.pdf Related Links https://www.gatesfoundation.org SOURCE Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation VANCOUVER, British Columbia, November 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NetCents Technology Inc. ("NetCents" or the "Company") (CSE: NC / Frankfurt: 26N) is pleased to announce that its integration with SoftPoint LLC (SoftPoint) is now complete and has been pushed live in the SoftPoint ecosystem. On October 22, 2018, the Company announced that it had entered into a long-term mutual referral agreement with SoftPoint. Through the agreement, the companies agreed to work together to integrate NetCents into the SoftPoint ecosystem, enabling thousands of merchants to accept cryptocurrency as an additional payment option. This integration has now been completed and merchants using SoftPoint's technology are now able to accept cryptocurrency payments. The companies are now working together to promote the integration to merchants currently using SoftPoint as well as to new merchants who will benefit from the integration. SoftPoint anticipates that it will be servicing over 10,000 merchant locations by the end of 2019. Through this integration, NetCents is now integrated into the following POS and terminal systems: Clover, PAX, Poynt, Ingenico, ExaDigm, Micros, NCR, Squirrel, and Dinnerware to name a few. SoftPoint is the first fully integrated management and payment system for restaurants, retail, spa, ticketing, and over fourteen (14) additional markets. SoftPoint uses cutting edge technology, smart terminals, and innovation that results in applications and solutions that enhance merchant operations and back office management, providing merchant customers a better overall experience. One of SoftPoint's key value propositions is their ability to integrate into legacy POS and payment solutions and update them with the latest payment innovations and offer full PCI and GDPR compliance. About SoftPoint SoftPoint is the first fully integrated hospitality management system designed to centralize Restaurant, Retail, and Hotel activities while offering products and services to other synergistic markets. With the use of cutting-edge technology, smart devices, and innovation; SoftPoint provides applications to better run your front of the house operations and back-office management. SoftPoint provides customers with a better overall experience. The SoftPoint team is spearheaded by various industry professionals from all areas of point of sale operations that have united to create one fully integrated platform. https://www.softpointcloud.com About NetCents NetCents is a next-generation online payment processing platform, offering consumers and merchants online services for managing electronic payments. The Company is focused on capturing the migration from cash to digital currency by utilizing innovative Blockchain Technology to provide payment solutions that are simple to use, secure and worry-free. NetCents works with its financial partners, mobile operators, exchanges, etc., to streamline the user experience of transacting online. NetCents Technology is integrated into the Automated Clearing House ("ACH") and is registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) with FINTRAC, which ensures our consumer's security and privacy. NetCents is available for deposits from 194 Countries around the World, providing you with the freedom to choose to Pay. Your Way. On Behalf of the Board of Directors NetCents Technology Inc. "Clayton Moore" Clayton Moore, CEO, Founder and Director NetCents Technology Inc. Suite 880, 505 Burrard St (Bentall 1), Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M4 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates, and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. please visit the corporate website at http://www.net-cents.com or contact Gord Jessop, President: gord.jessop@net-cents.com . SOURCE NetCents Technology Inc. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Rantoul, IL (61866) Today Becoming partly cloudy after some morning rain. High 52F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low 22F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Ex-prison officer to stand trial on bribery charges www.votermedia.org 17:59 06/11/2018 MOSCOW, November 6 (RAPSI) A former officer of a prison in the Volgograd Region charged with taking bribes from an inmate will go on trial, the press service of Russias Prosecutor Generals Office reports Tuesday. The prisoner is also a defendant in the case, he stands charged with giving bribes. According to investigators, the penitentiary officer regularly delivered items prohibited in the colony to the convict for a money reward from April to July 2017. In total, he received over 50,000 rubles (about $600) for his services. The prison employee has been fired on disparaging grounds. Russias DIA seeks to seize property of Admiralteysky banks ex-heads RIA Novosti 10:59 06/11/2018 MOSCOW, November 6 (RAPSI) Russias Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) has challenged the Moscow Commercial Courts refusal to seize property belonging to three former heads of the Admiralteysky bank, amounting to 1.9 billion rubles ($28.7 million), the court documents read. The appeal has been filed with the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals. On September 27, the lower court ruled that the plaintiff did not provide evidence that recovery of property may prevent enforcement of a court ruling or is crucial for plaintiff. Earlier, the DIA filed a lawsuit against the defendants: Yelena Chervyakova, Nina Maksimenko and Ivans Kuznetsovs. During analysis of the Admiralteyskiys bankruptcy it was found that former heads of the bank provided credits to legal entities that did not engage in economic activity and did not have money to pay back their debts. In May, the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow returned to prosecutors a criminal case against five defendants charged with unlawful bank activity in Admiralteysky bank estimated at 7 billion rubles (about $120 million) and credit fraud. The defendants pleaded not guilty. According to investigators, the defendants acted as members of an organized criminal group from January 2012 till September 2015. They allegedly used sham firms and Admiralteysky bank accounts to cash out 7 billion rubles and receive additional 250 million rubles ($4.3 million) as commission income. Moreover, two of the defendants allegedly embezzled 150 million rubles ($2.6 million) by providing false data to the bank. In January 2017, the Khamovnichesky District Court sentenced Musa Israilov to 3.5 years in prison for illegal banking activity and embezzlement of more than 23 billion rubles (over $370 million) from Admiralteysky bank. The court also collected 210 million rubles ($3.6 million) from Israilov on a civil claim. Underage suspect in manufacturing explosives put in detention RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 14:59 06/11/2018 MOSCOW, November 6 (RAPSI) Moscows Presnensky District Court on Tuesday detained a teen suspected of manufacturing explosives until December 2, the courts spokesperson Alexey Chernikov told RAPSI. However, both defense and prosecutors asked the court not to place the suspect in detention. The teen of fourteen was arrested on November 2. During the arrest a homemade explosive device was seized from his apartment. A criminal case was opened over illegal purchase, sale, storage or transportation of explosive substances and illegal manufacture of improvised explosive devices. Disclosure of the minor suspects name is prohibited by law. Photos of Russian road police inspectors included in list of extremist materials RIA Novosti, Aleksey Kudenko 12:59 06/11/2018 MOSCOW, November 6 (RAPSI) Russias Ministry of Justice has included photos picturing inspectors of the General Administration for Traffic Safety into the list of extremist materials. A collage made of six photos picturing road police inspectors in rain, storms, mist and frost has been accompanied by a caption stating that the officers are ready to fine drivers in any weather conditions. This image was published on VKontakte social network alongside other extremist materials like quotes of Hitler. In May 2015, the collage was included in the list of extremist documents by a ruling of a court in the Arkhangelsk region, the information published on the General administrations official website reads. So far in November the list of extremist materials was expanded by 35 new items. Overall, their number reaches 4,572. The government wants the RBI to part with most of its profit as dividend. The central bank, however, feels that it needs to retain a share of profits to make its balance sheet stronger, as per media reports. Keeping up the heat on the Reserve Bank of India, the government will continue to press the central bank to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.6 lakh crore reserve, sources familiar with the discussions said. In recent weeks, the rift between the RBI and the government has been widening over various issues. Recently, the government cited never-used before provisions of law that gives it powers to issue directions to the RBI on mattes of public interest to resolve certain issues. Citing Section 7 of the RBI Act -- an unprecedented move in the 80-year history of RBI -- the government wants RBI Governor Urjit Patel to address three prime concerns. They pertain to transfer of surplus funds, easing of non-performing assets norms to kick start lending and support growth, and easing liquidity crisis facing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), sources had said. These issues may figure during the RBI's board meeting on November 19. According to the sources, the government would continue to press the RBI to relax norms to boost lending and transfer at least a third of its Rs 9.6 lakh crore reserve. The government wants the RBI to part with most of its profit as dividend. The central bank, however, feels that it needs to retain a share of profits to make its balance sheet stronger, as per media reports. The government wants Rs 3.6 lakh crore of surplus to be transferred to it, the reports said. In its attempt to clean up the banking system, the RBI introduced Prompt Corrective Action framework that places curbs on lending, expanding branch network and dividend distribution on weak banks. It has also mandated banks to declare a delinquent borrower even if payments were overdue by a day. The government wants some of these strictures to be eased to kick start lending and support growth, the sources said. One of the nominee director on RBI's Central Board S Gurumurthy has reportedly written to RBI Governor Urjit Patel regarding Deputy Governor Viral Acharya raising the issue of the bank's autonomy at a public event recently. Sources had said that the RBI's board meeting on November 19 was pre-scheduled and routine. The last meeting of the board was held in October. Apart from Patel and his four deputies, there are 13 nominated directors on the RBI's board. The reports of rift between the RBI and the government surfaced last month following the Finance Ministry reportedly started discussion with the RBI under the never before used Section 7 of the RBI Act. In a statement last week, the ministry said the RBI's autonomy is 'essential' and will be 'nurtured'. Last week, Economic Affairs Seceretary Subhash Chandra Garg and government nominee on the Board took an apparent dig at Acharya's 'wrath of financial markets' comment in a tweet saying vital indicators of the economy were showing improvement. Acharya, in his much talked about speech last month, raised the issue of autonomy of the central bank and said that undermining the central bank's independence could be 'potentially catastrophic'. "Governments that do not respect central bank independence will sooner or later incur the wrath of financial markets, ignite economic fire, and come to rue the day they undermined an important regulatory institution; their wiser counterparts who invest in central bank independence will enjoy lower costs of borrowing, the love of international investors, and longer life spans," Acharya had said. The deputy governor's comment had generated controversy, hinting at the growing rift between the government and the central bank. If a name does not unify the three, there could be continued clash of identities, which could splinter the brand even before it takes shape, say Abhijit Lele and Nikhat Hetavkar. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com Even as the three public sector banks grapple with a tangled legacy of financials, software and branch rationalisation and employee relations, there has been some speculation over what may appear to be a trivial issue: the name of the future entity. Will it be, as some initially suggested, Bank of Baroda (BoB) with Dena and Vijaya as sub brands? Or will there be an umbrella name that captures a little bit of all banks? There are no clear answers yet and while the matter of a name may not be of pressing importance, especially when the banks are still setting up coordination panels to drive the merger forward, it could be critical in defining the ethos and nature of the future brand. Besides it could well be the first big speed breaker in the merger process, say brand experts. Ambi Parameswaran, brand strategist and founder Brand-buiding.com says, The merging companies need to be under a unified brand. If a name does not unify the three, there could be continued clash of identities, which could splinter the brand even before it takes shape. Parameswaran brings up the example of another big merger, Vodafone-Idea. Even in the case of Idea and Vodafone, I see the two brands consolidating eventually. Ashish Mishra, managing director of Interbrand offers another view. The current merger seems to be bringing in more disparate entities across regions. "The opportunity of creating a salad bar with individual brands held through an umbrella so that their identities and strengths are leveraged better, may be worth exploring, he said. He believes that this is more effective than the melting pot approach that was the case with the SBI merger, where the merged banks lost their identities altogether. A lot rides on a name The brand is more than its moniker but, a name works as an identity holder. A study by Nielsen Global done in 2015 for the consumer goods sector showed that the name of a brand had the biggest influence on purchase decisions. We buy because a familiar name inspires trust, said more than two-thirds of developing-market respondents (68 per cent). Many also said that they bought brands that had a name they liked. It is a different story for banks. Still, finding a name and fixing the character of the future brand has the full attention of those in charge of the merger process, say sources in all the banks. None is willing to speak officially, but they said that senior management is vexed over the right name; one that helps not just customers, but employees too, to make a smooth transition. A senior executive with Bank of Baroda said that it is too premature to arrive at a name, but the nature of the brand and the future character that the three banks will embody as a single entity is of paramount importance. The name should reflect that. A senior Dena Bank executive said that there has to be a way to retain the identity of each bank under the merged brand. And the name should convey the strengths of all three. We cannot afford to lose out all that was built over period of time. Our brand equity has to be protected, he said. Parameswaran believes that the merging banks must understand the underlying principles of consumer behaviour for the name change. The customer will not change banks due to a change in name. Research has shown that customers mostly change banks only when there has been a major life change - like marriage, moving to a new city, a new job, he says. In his view, the three banks should be unified under BoB, for as long as staff and service remain the same, a name change wont upset customers. Mapping relationships, building trust A 2018 study by Brand Finance on Indias most valued brands found that public-sector banking brands have taken a big hit in both their brand value ranks and growth in 2017-18. Most of the top 100 PSU banks have seen a decline in brand value growth: SBI at 19 per cent, IDBI Bank at 30 per cent, Punjab National Bank at 16 per cent, Syndicate Bank at 9 per cent, Central Bank of India at 21 per cent, and Bank of Baroda at 14 per cent. Trust has been a casualty in the customer-brand and the employee-brand relationship for public sector banks. How does an old brand, beginning life anew under a new name, address this? Mishra said that the transactional culture of the sector makes it difficult for the banks to appreciate the nuances for employee, customer and brand navigation especially during a merger or a big transition. But it is an opportunity for signalling change, of telling customers and employees that the new bank offers a new way of banking within the old system. The most important thing that banks must look at is maintaining employee morale, says Parameswaran. Employees need to be reassured that their jobs will not be lost. Mishra says that employees and customers, in that order, need to be constantly communicated with. A larger vision and purpose needs to be framed as a guiding principle for the merger, thereby projecting a superior branded future for stakeholders. According to the senior BoB official, the new brand must reflect a combined force. It is important that both internally and externally, through the merger process and afterward, the brand is viewed as a joint force rather than three regional entities working together. And that is the biggest challenge. Sukanya Verma recaps all the action at this year's MAMI. Every year the Mumbai Film Festival strives to make the world a smaller place by putting together a feast for cinephiles across various countries, cultures, regions, languages and genres. Every year I hold my breath to catch some of the world's best minds at work on celluloid. I am happy to report the 20th edition of MAMI does not disappoint. Sure, it had its share of technical hiccups, like when preregistration-eager delegates woke up early morning to a conked-out server or that dreaded error message. While some cinema buffs fought loudly and angrily over unreasonable number of seats reserved for erratic Gold-pass holders, others barked at those blocking seats and spots in the serpentine queue for latecomer friends in that familiar local train fashion. Yet, no sooner the lights went off and the screen let loose its artistic beast, all was forgiven and forgotten. United in awe and applause, the spirit of Mumbai is ever so unswerving. As is its sense of style. It's a mixed bag -- from Fabindia kurtas to distressed jeans, life jacket resembling hoodies to curious tattoo designs, Brad Pitt's vampire-length hair from the 1990s to Pinterest-worthy array of facial hair prototypes, handloom saris teamed with big bindis to seriously tiny shorts. The latter earns my genuine admiration since the chilly air conditioning ensures I turn into a sheep wool-swaddled Thakur Baldev Singh during every single screening. One of the most fun things about film festivals are the crowds and the conversations you eavesdrop. Celebrities like Sriram Raghavan, Imtiaz Ali, Ishaan Khattar, Rasika Duggal, Radhika Madan, Sean Baker, Shakun Batra are strewn all over the place. Somewhere, a volunteer is yelling, 'Last call for Audi 4' upholding a film is as urgent as a flight. Elsewhere, a lady is juggling a Tabu interview and a Hungarian heist. A film-maker, whose movie was unceremoniously dropped in view of MAMI's support to the #MeToo movement, hopes to move on and pitches a new project to another film-maker on the phone. A self-proclaimed dubbing artist dabbling in a bit of everything to no avail aggressively networks her way around an unenthusiastic bakra. But it's the gyaan givers flaunting their vast world cinema knowledge only to snore midway into the movie that are truly impossible to ignore. Seven days and 23 movies later, my thoughts on the ingenuity I witnessed at the 20th Mumbai Film Festival. Birds of Passage What it is about: The Wayuu people feud over honour, greed and betrayals as business becomes increasingly personal and less professional in this generation spanning epic. What I thought: Birds of Passage chronicles the early Columbian crime and drug trafficking scene among clans, their ethics and fallibility with haunting sensuality and cool, composed aggression. Its scale and slow burn doom stun and suck the viewer in despite knowing how it all ends. Roma What it is about: Set in 1970s Mexico, a young domestic help cum nanny of Mixteca heritage goes about her endless chores while experiencing life, its disappointments and heartbreaks in an almost invisible manner. What I thought: Roma's emotionally wrenching, visually rich monochrome imagery reveals its many, many layers. Its recreation of lived-in memories reveals Alfonso Cuaron's sensitive soul across a story that endears as much as it shatters while building something more powerful than cinema -- life. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota What it is about: A youngster suffering from a strange disorder. A childhood companion all set to marry a chauvinistic twerp. Their combined love for movies and martial arts cobbled up between twins who could not be more different. What I thought: MAMI's opening film is a unanimous crowd favourite and fitting way to kick-start the proceedings. Director Vasan Bala's wacky imagination, remarkable love for the movies and pure, preserved innocent memories of childhood rock every frame of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. 3 Faces What it is about: An actress and film-maker's frantic search for the sender and subject of a disturbing video brings them to a remote village inhabited by patriarchal mind-sets as well as disarming charm. What I thought: A gentle gem. Jafar Panahi's relaxed presence on screen extends to his film-making as he dwells on the degree of agency available to women through three actresses of the past, present and future. Border What it is about: Distinguished by her exceptional olfactory skills and peculiar appearance, a lonely customs officer comes across a mystery man she is increasingly fascinated by whilst cracking down a case of child pornography on the side. What I thought: Ali Abbasi adapts John Lindquist's strange short story to create a parable about minorities alternating between weird and warm. But it is Eva Melander's compelling vulnerability under those layers of prosthetic makeup that lingers on long after you've left the theatre. Hamid What it is about: A Kashmiri kid's efforts to dial God's number connect him to a bitter, guilt-ridden Central Reserve Police Force jawan. What I thought: A picturesque fairy tale of humanity in the time of hostility. As war-torn Kashmir is consumed in a relentless conflict of 'us' and 'them', the innocence enveloping Aijaz Khan's drama sheds all cynicism to appeal for hope deploying abundant grace and a dash of humour. Shoplifters What it is about: A family of little means, not always related by blood, learn they cannot go living the way they do after they unlawfully adopt a girl facing abuse from her actual parents. What I thought: Japanese film-maker Hirokazu Kore-eda is a master of complex emotions and establishes how crime and morality aren't mutually exclusive in his moving masterpiece that questions the structure of the traditional family through the interactions of a phony but fond assembly of unrelated individuals. The Heiresses What it is about: A pair of wealthy companions from Paraguay faced with financial crunch have no option but sell their prized possessions even as one of them is sent off to jail for fraud. Forced to step out of her sheltered cocoon, the other one discovers an excitement within she didn't know she was capable of. What I thought: The seductive equation between the elderly heiress and the younger, hotter woman doesn't go in the dark places like Notes On A Scandal. Instead, it delicately examines the hesitation and instincts of a woman no longer in her prime through Ana Brun's astute delivery. BlacKkKlansman What it is about: Inspired by true events, BlacKkKlansman centres on Colorado Spring's first African-American detective for whom his Jew colleague proxies to gain access into the Ku Klux Klan. What I thought: Spike Lee's caustic, cheeky entertainer doesn't pull its punches to highlight America's constant state of racism when not slaying as an exhilarating undercover thriller. Wildlife What it is about: An adaptation of Richard Ford's novel of the same name, Wildlife is about a soft-spoken 14 year old's world falling apart after his father loses his job and his mother loses her mind. What I thought: There's an attractive meditative quality to Paul Dano's directorial debut, quite like his acting, which pervades through Wildlife's imperfect family picture and haunting melancholy. But it is the sheer bitterness conveyed in Carey Mulligan's astonishing performance that becomes its focal point. Burning What it is about: An out-of-work man's encounter with his childhood acquaintance and her unusual friend leads to strange findings. What I thought: The slow burn mystery is eventually rewarding, very rewarding. Best if you step inside its lyrical, allegorical, cryptic world sans any knowledge or expectations. Non-Fiction What it is about: Debating between modern and old against the backdrop of anxious literary scene in the face of growing digital domination with muddled-up adult relationships thrown in for good measure. What I thought: Armed in zingers and wit, writing is everything here. It's breezy, hilarious and accessible but Olivier Assayas' Non-Fiction is also sly and telling as it embraces all perspectives and possibilities. Sivranjani and Two Other Women What it is about: Three short stories inspired by the works of Ashokamitran, Jayamohan and Aadavan respectively. Three women across different timelines. Three stories of suppression. And emancipation. What I thought: In this riveting Tamil anthology full of long takes and life-like performances, misogyny is the order of the day from which women break through on their own or owing to circumstances or never at all leaving us with a sense of bittersweet. Nancy What it is about: A woman disposed to lying introduces herself as the daughter of a couple, who lost her 30 years ago after she herself lost her ailing, pernicious mother. What ensues is both creepy and heartbreaking. What I thought: A premise tailor-made for a tense thriller acquires heart and mystery under director Christina Choe's keen eye that studies a dishonest, damaged and lonely nobody as discreetly as possible. Amal What it is about: A teenager comes of age against the backdrop of Egyptian revolution. What I thought: Amal Gamal draws you into her world as her spirit is challenged and crushed amidst Egypt's troubled political climate in Mohammad Siam's riveting documentary. Sorry to Bother You What it is about: An African-American telemarketer pays the price for selling his soul to the kooky mastermind of a disconcertingly dystopian society. What I thought: Satire and science fiction collide in this wackier by the second treat from rapper, activist and film-maker Boots Riley. Riley fearlessly reaches for the most farfetched corners of his political imagination and comes out trumps. Los Silencios What it is about: Columbian conflict drives a mother and her two kids to take refuge in a small island of Amazonia. One fine day, her missing husband mysteriously reappears. What I thought: The scenes are composed like poetry in the incredibly serene Los Silencios, but the movie arrives too late to truly move. Nevertheless, I loved the supernatural surprise and 'it's us against us' conversation very much. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs What it is about: A Western anthology of six short stories that take place in 19th century post-Civil War America. What I thought: Usually, anthology films feel inconsistent or wanting but The Coen Brothers and their inimitable treatment lends itself to every single segment. The upshot is alternately quirky, explosive, humorous, whimsical, tragic, bizarre and unswervingly breathtaking. The Miseducation of Cameron Post What it is about: A teenager is dumped in a conversion therapy institution for her same sex preferences in 1990s America. What I thought: Director Desiree Akhavan's insights into the teen world and their so-called problematic traits are highly intimate and searching. And the subtle talents of Chloe Grace Moretz shine in her understanding of it. A Land Imagined What it is about: A Chinese construction worker and his Bangladeshi friend go missing while a cop investigates around a land reclamation site of Singapore. What I thought: Who knew Singapore had this side? But for all its noir-themed drama and despair, A Land Imagined is really a poignant immigrant drama that speaks of the human condition without as much as uttering a word. One Cut of the Dead What it is about: A 'fast, cheap and average' film-maker is hired to shoot a zombie movie. On the sets, things get bloody and bizarre as the line between film and fiction gets crazy blurry. Except you have no idea what's in store. What I thought: Sometimes 'fast, cheap and average' can bring the house down with blood-soaked, genre bending, deceptively cheese, chuckle-vending winners like One Cut of the Dead. Shinichiro Ueda's insane, infectious love for film-making is stuff cult movies are made of. Ruben Brandt Collector What it is about: A psychotherapist assigns his clients to steal world famous artwork for him from all over the world to get over his own anxieties. A cop and cinema prop collector is hot on their trail. What I thought: It's no surprise Milorad Krstic's hyperventilating animation took more than half a decade to get ready. Its spiffy imagery and nutty script has no room for dull moments taking the viewer on an action-packed rollercoaster across the globe. Widows What it is about: A quartet of women plans a robbery inside a mayor elective's house to save their heads in the middle of racial and gender politics. What I thought: Race and gender politics woven into an edge-of-the-seat heist drama, crackerjack stuff from Steve McQueen, this! Viola Davis's Oscar nomination is certain but Elizabeth Debicki's iron fist in velvet glove and Daniel Kaluyya's cold brutality stand out equally. What a perfect pick for a closing film. Well done, MAMI! 'They have started an institute, the Academy of Training and Sensitisation, for prison officials near Vellore.' 'This institute has been started by the Union home ministry and it is meant for all the four southern states.' The Madras high court, which recently observed that a detailed study was needed to improve medical and other facilities in jails in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, appointed senior advocate R Vaigai as amicus curiae and ordered the two governments to furnish her all particulars on the medical facilities available in its prisons. The court action followed the Tamil Nadu home department submitting a report to the court that between 2012 and 2016, a total of 109 prisoners had died of illness and old age, two due to accidental falls. 22 prisoners allegedly committed suicide. A bench comprising Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad passed the order on a PIL initiated suo motu as directed by the Supreme Court on September 15, 2017. The apex court had requested the chief justice of the Madras high court to register the public interest litigation to identify the next of kin of prisoners who had admittedly died an unnatural death between 2012 and 2015 and even thereafter as revealed by the National Crime Records Bureau, and award suitable compensation. "Money speaks a lot inside prisons and we have to find a way to stop it," Vaigai, a senior advocate and well-known human rights activist, tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar. There are two figures for deaths in Tamil Nadu prisons in the last four years put out by the state government -- 109 and 157. Which is the correct one? They have filed two affidavits and thus you have two figures. One was submitted by the home department and the other by the chief secretary. I will be checking both. Any idea how 22 prisoners committed suicide? I have only been appointed three weeks back. I have asked for details and will be studying them The Supreme Court talks about compensation to families. What kind of compensation? Will it be for all deaths? No, not for all deaths. It will be only for deaths where an inquest has been held and death was owing to the negligence of prison officials. Earlier, this compensation was Rs 1 lakh and I think in 2015 it was increased to Rs 5 lakh. I have called for all the inquest reports. Do you think lack of medical attention is the leading cause of death in prisons? Or is it the general apathy towards prisoners? The Supreme Court has said that the present medical care is not enough. We have to improve them. About apathy towards prisoners, they have started an institute, the Academy of Training and Sensitisation, for prison officials near Vellore. This institute has been started by the Union home ministry and it is meant for all the four southern states. On one hand we hear about prisoners having access to mobile phones, television, home cooked food, designer clothes etc and on the other hand we hear about deaths. Are there two classes of prisoners in jails? Officially, there are three classes. A for political prisoners, B for routine criminals and C for hardcore criminals, but I don't think you are referring to that. Even I have seen media reports about the extra facilities enjoyed by prisoners who have a lot of money. Money speaks a lot inside prisons and we have to find a way to stop it. How many jails are there in Tamil Nadu? Will you be visiting all of them? I will be visiting quite a few of them. There are nine central jails, three special jails for women, three open jails, several hostels for juveniles, and 138 district jails and sub-jails. The central jails have only convicts. People serving less than three months are also kept in the district jails. The remand prisoners are in district and sub-jails. Unnatural deaths is what the Supreme Court is emphasising on, will the post mortem reports reveal that? Post-mortem reports are there, but there are also other facts like if the hospital says 'brought dead', we have to know whether (it was) on the way or in the prison. Then we go into the negligence part and if they could have saved the prisoner. Do you expect the jailers and other jail staff to cooperate in this investigation as it is essentially an inquiry against them? I have met a few officials and told them that this is not an adversarial enquiry. We are both working in the public interest and in this case the prisoners' interest and welfare. We both agree that reforms are needed. I have asked them for their ideas to improve the system. Has the Tamil Nadu police assigned a high-ranking officer to assist you as directed by the high court? The DIG prisons will be the nodal officer in this inquiry and he will assist me. How long do you think this investigation will take? The Supreme Court has taken up prison reforms in 2017 and there is no time line. It is a work in progress. Will it interfere with your normal regular work? (Smiles) All pro bono work does. I was also appointed amicus curiae to investigate the Sumangali schemes for young girls in the textile industry. That too I did free, as I strongly believe in human rights. Is the spotlight only on Tamil Nadu and Puducherry prisons? No, it is not. The Supreme Court has asked all high courts to do the needful and the Madras high court has ordered for those states under its jurisdiction, which is Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. How do prisons in other states compare to those in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry? From what I hearm the facilities here are better. Like, they have phones to talk to their family. This facility is not there for foreigners as you cannot make ISD calls from prison. There are also CCTV cameras everywhere. How will you ensure/verify that the information being given is correct? I will visit the prisons and interact with officials and the prisoners there. Local judges are also responsible for prisons in their area. Moreover, what the prison officials don't tell me I will get from rights activists and also NGOs who work in prisons. What about the mental health of prisoners? Exactly. Are there counsellors in prisons? Are they qualified? You know getting arrested is a traumatic experience. Being confined is a traumatic experience. There has to be someone who can take them through this trauma and guide them how to deal with it. I will be paying great attention to this. Mental health is very important. It cannot be allowed to degenerate after the person is in prison. The idea is to improve people even in prison. The railways, the country's largest employer, will be hiring 127,000 people in 2018-2019, for which 23.7 million are competing. Shine Jacob and Sanjeeb Mukherjee report. The central and state governments seem to be on a hiring spree ahead of the 2019 general election in which unemployment could be a key issue. This includes the world's largest recruitment drive by the Indian Railways at a time when the Narendra Damodardas Modi government is facing criticism over alleged jobless growth. The unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent in August 2018 compared to 4.1 per cent a year ago. Conservative estimates show that over 330,000 people could be recruited for various posts and categories across the country by the end of 2019. The railways, the country's largest employer, will be hiring 127,000 people in 2018-2019, for which 23.7 million are competing. The posts range from assistant loco pilots, technicians, gangmen and trackmen to technicians, cabinmen, welders and porters in Group C and D categories. The railways started the online recruitment in August. This is the second time in Modi's tenure that the railways is hiring candidates for vacant posts. In 2016-2017, the transporter had conducted exams to hire about 18,000 people, for which 9.2 million applications were received. According to official sources, major Central Public Sector Enterprises are likely to provide over 25,000 jobs this year. "Oil sector PSUs might hire around 5,000 people. While Indian Oil Corporation is set to hire 1,000, ONGC could offer 800 to 1000 jobs," said an industry source. Several companies are doing so in line with the government's target under Make in India of creating 100 million jobs by 2022. Twelve oil companies have seen a 13 per cent decline in its workforce in the last 15 years, excluding the contractual workforce. According to the data available with the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises, the apex body of public sector enterprises, CPSEs employ 1.13 million people, excluding casual and contractual workers. Meanwhile, states have also come forward with their own contributions to the job mart. According to multiple sources, around 78, 000 teaching posts have opened in 10 states at various levels. Of these, 51,000 are in the election-bound states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Officials said the Uttar Pradesh government would recruit 100,000 policemen, mostly constables, by June 2019. As many as 42,000 are already in the process of getting recruited, which is being billed as one of the biggest employment drives of policemen in UP. Besides, jobs are being created in other departments as well at the Centre and states. Officials said a big reason for rise in recruitment was that several posts had been vacant for years in many state and central government departments. The Opposition has taken on the Modi government over failing in its commitment to generate one million jobs a year. There are arguments and counter-arguments over this due to lack of job data in the country. Critics claim that the country is unable to meet the needs of 12 million new job entrants every year. According to a study by Azim Premji University, the unemployment rate in India is the highest in the last 20 years. However, the government relied on figures released by the Employment Provident Fund Organisation to claim that jobs were being created in the economy. A study by SBI group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh and Pulak Ghosh, a professor with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, estimated on the basis of this data that seven million jobs were created in the formal sector in 2017-2018. Prime Minister Modi had talked about this study in an interview where he cited the much-criticised example of 'pakoda wala' to emphasise the point that job generation in the unorganised sector should also be taken into account. Now, the EPFO data has been put in the public domain. It shows that 3.2 million jobs were created in the formal sector in the first four months of the current financial year. However, the data suffers from various limitations, including duplication. Also, the latest data showed that nearly a fourth of the net payroll in the formal sector comprises people who are switching their jobs. A scene from the film Bangalore Days. Kindly note that the photograph has been published only for representational purposes. IMAGE: A sign directs voters towards a polling place near the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tueday. Photograph: Nick Oxford/Reuters Indian Americans, constituting just one per cent of the United States population and considered to be one of the richest ethnic communities after Jews, hope to celebrate Diwali this year with a record number of wins from city councils, state legislatures to the Congress, as millions of Americans went out to vote on Tuesday in the midterm polls. A record number of 11 Indian Americans are on ballot for the US House of Representatives. Of these nine are from the opposition Democratic party and two are Republicans. The four incumbents -- Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California, Pramila Jayapal from Washington State and Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois -- are expected to be re-elected. All are from the Democratic party. In fact they have been so confident that they went out of their constituencies and campaigned for other candidates in various parts of the country as well. Among these included, campaigning for the first time -- Indian American House candidate -- Aftab Pureval from Ohio, Sri Preston Kulkarni from Texas and Hiral Tipirneni and Anita Malik in Arizona. All are from the Democratic party and have chances to flip the elections. The two Republicans in the race for the House are Harry Arora from Connecticut and Jitender Diganvker from Illinois while Shiv Ayyadurai is the sole Indian American running for Senate as an independent. "There is tremendous energy within the Indian American community this election. You can see it in the unprecedented number of candidates who ran for office as well as enthusiasm among Indian American voters, 90 per cent of whom say they plan on voting in this election, Gautam Raghavan from the 'Impact' organisation told PTI. 'Impact' has been identifying and campaigning for Indian American candidates across the country. According to its tracking system, as many as 103 Indian Americans ran for office in 2018; of these, 79 ran as Democrats, 15 as Republicans, and nine as non-partisan or independent candidates. Of these 50 Indian Americans were on the ballot Tuesday in what is being described as the most competitive mid-term election. The Impact Fund says 30 of the races are competitive. This does not include the 13 Indian Americans including four for the House who are seeking re-election. All 13 are expected to be re-elected. Among these include long-time public servant Kumar Barve, who in 1990 became the first Indian American ever elected to any state legislature. Indian Americans serve in the state legislatures of Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, and Texas. That's about to change, according to 'Impact'. "We are closely monitoring the 30 most competitive races across the country, from City Council to Congress, and are optimistic that we will elect a number of incredibly talented public servants who will expand our ranks and speak up for our community in the halls of power," said Raghavan, who worked in the previous Obama administration. The planning for the next election would begin Wednesday, Diwali day. "Starting tomorrow, we'll start planning for the future with the hope of electing even more Indian Americans to state legislatures, Congress, and perhaps even the Presidency," Raghavan told PTI. Meanwhile Indian American candidates made their last-minute pitch, mostly through social media. In Washington state, Jayapal, the first Indian American woman elected to the House joined her supporters in downtown Seattle for some last-minute rallying. 'Every call and conversation matters!' she tweeted. 'HAPPY ELECTION DAY! Before polls open Team Bera is reminding commuters one thing -- go vote!!' tweeted Bera. "Don't let a busy work schedule prevent you from voting in today's pivotal midterm elections," said Khanna. Buoyed by the victory in the bypolls, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday asserted that they would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together against the Bharatiya Janata Party. IMAGE: Congress members and workers celebrate outside party office in Bengaluru. Photograph: ANI/Twitter The two leaders gave credit for the electoral success to the policies of the Congress- Janata Dal-Secular coalition, which bagged two Lok Sabha seats and two assembly segments in the by-elections held on Saturday. Speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy hailed the people for their support to the coalition government of the JD-S and the Congress and said the two parties would contest the 2019 polls together in all the 28 constituencies in the state. We will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together. As we did this time, we will sit together to chalk out strategies to fight the Lok Sabha election in a coordinated manner, Kumaraswamy said. We took many pro-people measures which are at the stage of implementation. The benefits have not reached them yet, the chief minister said. However, people liked our policies, be it the crop loan waiver or financial aid to the street vendors, he said. At a separate press conference, Rao said their sounding victory was an indication that the people of Karnataka had given their approval to the coalition governments policies. It has rejected the BJP, its divisive politics and dictatorial tendencies. We will contest the 2019 election together, he said. Rao charged the BJP with forgetting its duty as a responsible opposition. The power hungry BJP did not fulfil its responsibility of an opposition party. They set aside ethics and morality due to which they faced defeat at four places while its victory margin shrunk substantially in Shivamogga, Rao said. Anitha Kumaraswamy, who won the election from the Ramanagara assembly constituency, gave credit for her victory to the tireless efforts of her chief minister husband Kumaraswamy, her father-in-law and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Congress leaders. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah tweeted, A meaningful celebration of Naraka Chaturdashi in Ballari. Peoples march from darkness to light. Wishing the people of Karnataka a happy Deepawali. Tuesday happened to be Naraka Chaturdashi, a festival to mark the death of Narakasura, who was killed by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Siddaramaiah tweeted further, My thanks to the people of Ballari. People have cursed the inhuman behaviour of Janardhana Reddy. In the run-up to the bypolls, Janardhana Reddy had kicked up a storm, saying that God cursed Siddarmaiah with the loss of his son for him (Reddy) languishing in jail for four years, though nothing incriminating was found from him. Reddy was criticised not only by the Congress leaders, but also by the BJP, with its state chief B S Yeddyurappa even asking Reddy to apologise for his remarks. Defending his decision to give temporary exemptions to eight countries, including India and China, from the ban on Iranian oil imports, US President Donald Trump has said it was done so to keep global oil prices down. The US on Monday imposed the toughest ever sanctions on a defiant Iran aimed at altering the Iranian regimes behaviour. The sanctions cover Irans banking and energy sectors and reinstate penalties for countries and companies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere that do not halt Iranian oil imports. However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that eight countries -- India, China, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey -- were temporarily allowed to continue buying Iranian oil as they showed significant reduction in oil purchase from the Persian Gulf country. We have the toughest sanctions ever imposed. But on oil, we want to go a little bit slow because I dont want to drive the oil prices in the world up, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington on Monday before leaving on a campaign trail for the mid-term polls. He, however, emphasised that his effort to keep the oil prices down has nothing to do with Iran. When asked about his decision to give temporary exemptions to eight countries from the ban on Iranian oil imports, Trump said, Im not looking to be a great hero and bring it down to zero immediately. I could get the Iran oil down to zero immediately, but it would cause a shock to the market. I dont want to lift oil prices. If you notice, oil prices are going down very substantially, despite the fact that already half of their capacity is gone. But I dont want to do that, he said. I saw some people saying, Oh, why arent you tougher on that? Well, the sanctions are very tough and I dont want to lift the oil prices worldwide by clamping down 100 per cent. It will be gradual, the US president said. However, the Democratic Party leadership criticised Trump for giving exemptions to some of the major Iranian oil importers. House Democratic Whip Steny H Hoyer said, Rather than achieving its stated goal of eliminating Irans oil exports altogether, the administration has issued exemptions for major Iranian oil importers, allowing Iran to earn billions of dollars from oil sale. These exemptions are premised on significant reductions of Iranian oil imports by countries such as China and Turkey when there is minimal evidence of such reductions. This waters down the integrity of sanctions and communicates to the rest of the world that others do not have to abide by the US restrictions, he said. Hoyer alleged that by tearing up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Trump administration has isolated the United States and undermined the multilateral efforts to curb Irans dangerous behaviour. US National Security Advisor John Bolton claimed that the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran failed to permanently block all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb. US President Donald Trump had in May pulled out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, an Obama-era accord which he has repeatedly criticised as disastrous. Democratic Senator Tom Udall, who is also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, Led by people like John Bolton, who believe that we should bomb Iran, I fear the Trump administration is marching toward another catastrophic war in the Middle East. This administrations reckless withdrawal from the JCPOA has squandered our best opportunity to prevent a nuclear Iran, moving us closer to a military conflict that the American people dont want all while undercutting our most importance alliances abroad, he said. But Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration deserves credit for re-imposing sanctions and dramatically reducing Irans oil exports and revenues. Imposing maximal economic pressure on Iran is vital for getting Tehran back to the table, he said. After spending his previous four Diwalis with the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is breaking with tradition and spend Diwali this year in Kedarnath, setting off speculation that the decision was taken with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As the Festival of Lights is on us, heres looking back at Modis Diwali celebrations. >> 2014 in Siachen Shortly after coming to power, Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to spend Diwali at Indias coldest and highest battlefield, the Siachen glacier, with our brave jawans. The PM spent an hour with the soldiers at a base camp situated at a height of over 12,000 feet. On his surprise visit to meet the troops, Modi had said, "I have specially come on the occasion of Diwali to be with you. I am aware how it feels like to spend Diwali with your family. The happiness is different, but you are so involved in the devotion to your motherland that your family is spending Diwali somewhere else and you are somewhere else guarding the motherland." >> 2015 in Amritsar In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with the troops for the second successive year. He visited the Dograi War Memorial in Khasa, Amritsar, and placed a wreath at the venue of one of the toughest battles fought and won by Indian forces on September 22, 1965. According to reports, Modi had made the visit without any prior intimation to to the civil administration, including the police, and the media. His visit came against the the backdrop of protests by a section of ex-servicemen over the dilution of the One Rank, One Pension scheme. Several of the war veterans had returned their medals as part of their protest. >> 2016 in Himachal Pradesh Keeping with his practice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met jawans of the Indo Tibetan Border Police, Indian Army and Dogra Scouts in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. In 2016, Modi also launched the #Sandesh2Soldier campaign through which people could send their Diwali greetings and messages to soldiers guarding the nation's frontiers. Addressing the soldiers, Modi had said, "It's when you guard the border, people sleep without fear. If you were not there, people would not have been sleeping comfortably." Modi also made an unscheduled trip to a village, Chango, and said he was deeply touched by the impromptu reception and their joy. The PM also met personnel of the General Reserve Engineering Force, a wing of the Border Roads Organisation that maintains highways, at Sumdoh. >> 2017 in Jammu-Kashmir's Gurez In 2017, the PM took out two hours from his busy schedule and spent Diwali with Indian Army and Border Security Force soldiers posted along the Line of Control at Gurez in Jammu-Kashmir. Gurez is within shouting distance of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and has witnessed many gunfights with infiltrating insurgents in the past 27 years. Modi offered sweets to and exchanged greetings with the jawans. The PM said he receives new energy when he spends time among the jawans and soldiers of the armed forces and appreciated their penance and sacrifice amid harsh conditions. A 52-year-old female devotee from Thrissur offered prayers at the Sabarimala Temple on Tuesday, amid agitation by protesters regarding her entry. Lalithas entry into the holy shrine was opposed by protesters suspecting that she belonged to the age group of 10-50. However, she was allowed to enter after verification under police protection. During the protests, a number of media persons, including a cameraman of a Kerala-based television channel, were attacked by agitating devotees. The doors of the Ayyappa Temple reopened on Monday for two days for a special prayer amid tight security. On Monday, the Kerala high court had ruled that devotees and media persons should not be barred from entering the temple. In the wake of violent protests, the Kerala Police issued prohibitory orders at Pamba, Nilakkal and other areas near the shrine. The Sabarimala Temple and its surrounding areas witnessed a series of protests in October over the Supreme Courts decision to quash restrictions on the entry of females between 10 and 50 years age group into the holy shrine. However, in spite of the apex courts order no female in menstruating ages were able to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple when it opened last time. More than 3000 protesters were arrested for instigating the violence that broke out in the state, while around 529 cases were registered. Photographs: ANI/Twitter From devising a seat-sharing formula for the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha election to wooing young voters, the former poll strategist has ensured his position as number 2 within the party. Satyavrat Mishra reports. IMAGE: Prashant Kishor's rise within the party has caused heartburn in the ranks. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters When poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor joined the Janata Dal-United last month in the presence of the media, he was sitting beside party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He is the future, I tell you, said a jubilant Kumar, looking at Kishor, who smiled back. The unusual introductory remarks made Kishors role explicitly clear to the old guard. Within a couple of days, he was asked to take up the challenging task of devising a seat-sharing formula for the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. A month later on October 16, he was made national vice-president of the JD-U and given the charge of managing the partys campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. These steps effectively made him number 2 within the JD-U. The move, however, caused heartburn in the ranks. These are very important and prestigious tasks, said a senior political analyst. The emergence of Kishor has been a cause for displeasure, if not unrest, in the ranks. To rub salt into the wound, Kumar also sounded out most of his senior party leaders. As a result, the stature of other party leaders has been diminished. Hands-on job As soon as he joined the JD-U, Kishor started preparing the ground. The poll strategist ensured that Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party remained on the JD-Us side during the seat-sharing negotiations, strengthening Kumars position in the talks. The effort spectacularly paid off with the JD-U and the Bharatiya Janata Party deciding to contest an equal number of seats in Bihar in 2019. Kishor has also started wooing young voters to support the party and in this connection, he met members of the partys youth and student wings. The invitees to the two four-hour interactions on October 21 and October 22 were selected through a carefully constructed vetting process by Kishors Indian Political Action Committee, in which the number of Facebook friends was a key criterion. Those who were invited asked questions and sought tips from the former pollster. According to the people who attended these meetings, Kishor appeared confident while speaking on his role in Bihars development, Kumars vision and the opposition, but he ducked queries on issues such as prohibition and caste politics. Political pundits see these meetings as a show of strength by Kishor. But, a senior JD-U leader said: It was all about building a new vote-bank... While other leaders are busy organising caste-based meetings, Kishor wants to repeat what Nitishji did. As Nitishji built a unique vote-bank of women, Kishor wants to attract young voters. IMAGE: Prashant Kishor joined the Janata Dal-United in September and has in this short period of time acquired great importance within the party. Photograph: PTI Photo Others lose clout With the meteoric rise of Kishor in the JD-U, the stature of R C P Singh in the party is the worst hit. Singh, a former IAS officer, has been close to Kumar since 1989. He took voluntary retirement in 2010. A week after his retirement, Singh was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the JD-U. Singh is currently touring the state and organising Aati Pichada Sammelans (meetings of extremely backward castes). Earlier, there used to be good numbers in these meetings, but after Kishors emergence, the crowd in Singhs events has dwindled. Even at his Patna house, fewer people are coming to meet him, said a junior legislator in the JD-U. The failure of other senior leaders to emerge in their own right is considered a reason for Kumar roping in Kishor. No member of Kumars kitchen cabinet is a mass leader. Singh, at the best, is a boardroom politician, said an analyst. A shot in the arm When Kumar reached New Delhi recently for meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah to finalise the seat-sharing formula for 2019, Kishor was by his side; Singh was conspicuously missing. Soon, Kumar and Shah announced the agreement of the two parties contesting an equal number of seats in Bihar. What Singh couldnt achieve in six months, Kishor did in one month, said a senior party functionary. Singh, however, still looks after the financial health of the party. As a former bureaucrat, he has close relations with senior officials of the state government. Its said that he plays an important role in major administrative decisions. Therefore, itll not be easy for Kumar to replace him, said another JD-U lawmaker. Other senior party leaders, however, do not enjoy the same protection. Future tense According to a political analyst, the results of the 2019 election would decide the future of Kishor within the party. Securing the seat-sharing formula is a big win for Kishor, said a JD-U leader. Now there will be deliberations on constituencies. "If we get the constituencies we want, there is a good chance that we will perform better than the BJP. In this scenario, Kishor will be the undisputed successor to Kumar in the JD-U. However, if the JD-U performs poorly, the knives will be out for him. Though Kishor has reportedly said that he would not contest any election for the next 10 years, analysts see a strong possibility of him entering Parliament via the Rajya Sabha route. The BJP, however, remained sceptical of Kishor. He had tried to broker peace between Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad and Kumar earlier this year, but the initiative fell through. This revelation has made the saffron party wary of its former campaign manager. IMAGE: Sabarimala Thathri Kandarau Rajeevararu and Melsanthi A V Unnikrishnan Namboothiri perform Padipooja at Sabarima Temple on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo A row broke out on Tuesday over the violation of tradition by an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader and a temple board official, who climbed the sacred 18 steps without carrying the customary 'Irumudikettu' (offerings carried by devotees for the deity). Television channels aired visuals of state RSS leader Valsan Thillankeri at the golden 18 steps leading to the sanctum sanctorum sans the 'Irumudikettu'. Responding to the issue, he said he had not violated any customs and claimed that he ascended the 18 steps carrying the sacred offerings. Shortly after K P Sankaradas, member, Travancore Devaswom Board which manages the shrine, said a probe would be conducted, much to his embarrassment, visuals of him climbing the holy steps on Monday surfaced. Sabarimala tantri (head priest), Kandararu Rajeevaru made it clear that only the tantris and members of the erstwhile Pandalam Royal family could climb the steps without 'Irrumudikettu'. As a tense situation prevailed at the temple complex on Tuesday morning when frenzied devotees tried to prevent a 52-year-old woman devotee from offering prayers suspecting that she was of menopausal age, Valsan had appealed to the ayyappas (as the devotees are commonly called) to maintain calm. He also addressed the pilgrims using a microphone. Valsan, who has been camping at the shrine complex since Monday, also cautioned them against alleged 'unruly elements', who could intrude to create trouble at the hill shrine. Slamming the sangh parivar, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said its leaders were going to the temple complex without following the customs and traditions. Bharatiya Janata Party-RSS were not interested in maintaining the purity of Sabarimala, he said at Kozhikode. "I am not a person who goes to the temple. Even then, when I visited Sabarimala recently, I went to the sannidhanam without climbing the holy steps as I had not carried the Irumudikettu," he said. Hitting out at the state government, Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, in a Facebook post alleged that the RSS was 'controlling' the matters at Sabarimala and not police. The RSS leader violated the temple customs by ascending the steps without carrying the customary offerings to the deity, he said. Chennithala also criticised the attack on the woman devotee and media personnel. KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran alleged that RSS had taken complete hold of the shrine complex. Attacking the Communist Party India-Marxist led Left Democratic Front government, BJP president P S Sreedharan Pillai said pilgrims have been denied the basic facilities like rooms, drinking water and wash rooms at Sabarimala and this was a violation of human rights. He also written to the National Human Rights Commission in this regard. Freedom on the Net 2018 - Sri Lanka Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Sri Lanka, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16af813.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 47/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 21,444,000 Internet Penetration: 32.1% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: No Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The proliferation of rumors and disinformation on social media led to communal violence in February and March 2018 (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). The government ordered a nationwide block of Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and Instagram for just over a week in March 2018 (see Blocking and Filtering and Restrictions on Connectivity). The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission reported that it was ordered to instruct mobile operators to restrict 3G and 4G connectivity to the Kandy district in the wake of violence (see Restrictions on Connectivity). A few arrests were reported for inciting hatred and spreading hateful messages on social media (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). The e-NIC Project, a new electronic national identity card, was introduced, raising privacy concerns about a central database storing wide-ranging information and biometric data (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Introduction: Internet freedom declined dramatically in Sri Lanka following major restrictions to connectivity and social media platforms during communal violence in March 2018. An atmosphere of political instability prevailed following the local government elections in February. The newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, which includes former President Mahinda Rajapakse among its membership, received 44.65 percent of the vote,1 indicative of growing factionalism within the ruling coalition2 and the electorate's dissatisfaction with the government's performance since it was elected in 2015. Building off of existing tensions between the country's majority Sinhalese Buddhist citizens and Muslim minority, disinformation and rumors on social media played a pivotal role in engendering violence in Ampara on the east coast in February 2018 and in Digana in Kandy in March 2018.3 After anti-Muslim violence in Ampara and the death of a Sinhalese man by Muslim men in Kandy, a wave of riots led predominantly by members of the Sinhalese ethnic group resulted in numerous restrictions to internet freedom. The government declared a state of emergency for the first time since 2011, which lasted for nearly two weeks. Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and Instagram were all temporarily blocked nationwide from March 7-15,4 and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) reported that it was instructed to slow internet speeds in Kandy on March 7, promising that it would be restored within the day.5 Almost 300 individuals were arrested in the wake of the riots. Three of them were schoolchildren, arrested in relation to social media content they had posted. Hate speech both online and offline continues to be a pressing concern, and senior ministers have commented on the need to curb content that promotes ethnic hatred and potentially incites violence. In the aftermath of the violence in Digana, there were additional discussions about regulating social media.6 Obstacles to Access: Internet penetration in Sri Lanka has continued to increase in recent years, but there remains a digital divide between urban and rural areas. Regulatory reform is needed to ensure independence and transparency, as Sri Lanka's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission continues to operate under the authority of President Sirisena. In March 2018, the government ordered the TRC to restrict ICT connectivity in the Kandy district and instituted a nationwide block of social media platforms in an effort to prevent the spread of misinformation and stop communal violence. Availability and Ease of Access Internet connectivity remains affordable for individual subscribers. However, the government introduced a new tax on cellular towers in the 2018 budget on telecommunications operators.7 The LKR 200,000 levy is meant to reduce the proliferation of new towers, and operators warned this might cause towers to close in unprofitable areas, reducing internet coverage.8 A tax was also imposed on bulk SMS advertisements, with the levy paid by the advertiser. Despite these additional taxes, there was a steady rise in mobile broadband subscriptions during the coverage period.9 Mobile penetration reached 135 percent in 2017.10 However, fixed broadband penetration was relatively low due to the dominance of the mobile platform. Low digital literacy represents a major barrier to ICT use. An average of only 27 percent of the population was comfortable using computers in 2017 according to census data. Younger age groups had a larger percentage of computer literacy, with ages 15-19 at 57 percent, 20-24 at 53 percent, and 25-29 at 44 percent.11 Schools with digital facilities often lack corresponding literacy programs. For a number of years, the Information Communications and Technology Agency (ICTA) has promoted digital literacy in rural areas by establishing community-based e-libraries and e-learning centers,12 though some local journalists have criticized aspects of the initiative.13 In January 2017, the Ministry of Education inaugurated the country's first "cloud smart classroom," a pilot project for digital interactive learning.14 Those who participated in the cloud smart classroom reported higher attendance rates and performance.15 In February 2018, another project planned to provide schoolchildren with computer tabs. However, President Sirisena cancelled the project, estimated to be worth LKR four billion, just one week after approving it,16 possibly due to concerns raised over violating tender procedures.17 Compared to urban areas, rural and Up-Country Tamil communities have a significantly lower digital literacy rate, primarily due to the high cost of personal computers.18 In urban areas, digital literacy increased to 55 percent. There were also increases in literacy in rural areas and Up-Country Tamil communities, though those rates remained comparatively low at 37 percent and 16 percent, respectively. Other factors such as infrastructure development perpetuate a digital divide between urban and rural areas. There are more households accessing and using the internet in the Western Province, the most populated of the country's nine provinces,19 due to the infrastructure concentration that supports Colombo and other urbanized areas. The civil war caused severe lags in infrastructure development for the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Despite the lack of substantive development across key sectors, telecommunications infrastructure has expanded, creating a steady growth in internet usage. For example, in 2017, 31 percent of households in Vavuniya used the internet, making it the second highest rate of internet usage in the country behind Colombo. Jaffna too showed significant growth in 2017, as 26 percent of households actively used the internet compared to 15 percent in 2016. Mannar saw a growth from 13 percent of households to 17 percent, and Trincomalee showed a sharp increase from 3 percent to 13 percent. Only Mullaitivu, where the last stretch of the war was fought, and Monaragala showed a drop in the percentage of households using the internet.20 The current government has committed to substantial investment in digital infrastructure projects.21 Providing free internet access was a key campaign promise of President Sirisena, and the government pledged to provide Wi-Fi access to over 2,000 public locations by the end of 2016.22 By early 2018, there were 1,173 hotspots around the country, according to the ICTA-implemented Public Wi-Fi Initiative,23 though experts voiced concerns about the speed and quality of service in some locations.24 Currently, over 280,000 people have registered on the service, with the ICTA planning to expand it to schools as well.25 In January, an e-governance initiative led by the ICTA was launched, which aimed to connect 341 local government bodies and would allow the public to access government services. However, several shortcomings were identified with this project, including the need for users to physically visit local government bodies to register, security issues, and other difficulties with the registration process.26 Private companies are also trying to extend service. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) Dialog reported over 2,500 pay-to-use Wi-Fi hotspots around the country,27 while the majority government-owned Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) reported almost 200 operational Wi-Fi hotspots for both broadband and prepaid customers nationwide as of May 2017, with a significant concentration in the Western Province.28 Google's Project Loon continues to be at a standstill, but Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando hoped in September 2017 to renew negotiations with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for its approval of the project. The government has blamed the ITU for the delay, while the ITU has claimed the government has not communicated the necessary requirements properly.29 There was one reported infrastructure-related disruption during the reporting period. In September 2017, Dialog's service and network coverage were disrupted for less than an hour, affecting voice, data, and SMS on mobile phones, due to a power systems failure at one of the key network nodes.30 Users described minor inconveniences such as missed calls and being unable to book transportation. Restrictions on Connectivity In March 2018, the government implemented a nationwide block of social media platforms and ordered the TRC to restrict connectivity in the Kandy district in an effort to prevent the spread of misinformation and stop communal violence. The TRC, reportedly on request of the government, ordered mobile operators to restrict 3G and 4G connectivity to the Kandy district in the wake of communal violence. Although the official notice said the restriction would continue 'until further notice,' a TRC spokesman said connectivity would be restored within the day.31 In addition to network restrictions, the Ministry of Defense ordered a nationwide block of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber.32 Sri Lanka has access to multiple international cables, but most of the landing stations for these cables are controlled by the majority government-owned SLT.33 In October 2017, SLT completed34 a project for a new cable landing station for SEA-ME-WE-5 in the south, which provides roughly 24 terabits of content per second between the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.35 SLT formed a consortium with 15 international telecom operators to build the cable in 2014.36 SLT remains a key player in the ICT market and still dominates ICT infrastructure due to its imposition of price barriers by making competing players lease connectivity at significantly higher prices.37 In January 2018, SLT opened a Tier 3 "National Data Center,"38 which will host local data and serve as a cloud computing service. Also during the reporting period, SLT, along with the Chinese company Huawei, conducted the country's first successful trial of pre-5G LTE Advanced Pro technology.39 SLT hopes to launch 5G across the country by 2020. In August 2016, SLT announced that it would provide a global connectivity backhauling facility via Sri Lanka, thereby allowing the company to cross-connect to other cable systems and increase capacity.40 ICT Market Sri Lanka's telecommunications industry is generally competitive with retail tariffs considered to be one of the lowest in the world. There were five ISPs in 2018, according to the TRC,41 after the merging of Hutch and Etisalat in April 2018.42 Four43 key operators dominate the mobile market. Dialog Axiata is the largest, with over 13 million subscribers as of June 2018,44 followed by Mobitel, a subsidiary of SLT,45 with over 6.8 million subscribers by the end of 2017.46 Etisalat-Hutchison Telecommunications had the third largest number of subscribers with over 2.5 million in 2017.47 Dialog Axiata, Mobitel, and Hutch offer 4G LTE broadband services.48 The competitive nature of the market has led to some legal battles. In June 2017, for example, SLT sought enjoining orders against Dialog to prevent it from providing fixed telecommunications services including Gigabit Passive Optical Networks Active Solutions. The District Court of Colombo rejected the case in August 2017.49 Regulatory Bodies The TRC was established under the Sri Lanka Telecommunications (Amendment) Act, No. 27 of 1996. As the national regulatory agency for telecommunications, the TRC's mandate is to ensure the provision of effective telecommunications, protect the interests of the public, and maintain effective competition between commercial telecommunications enterprises. The TRC's lack of transparency with regard to license conditions, bad regulatory practices, and instances of preferential treatment have been noted in the past.50 Analysts have said that spectrum allocation and refarming, or the more efficient reallocation of spectrum, have been administered in an ad hoc manner, but over the years, procedural transparency has improved.51 However, regulatory reform continues to be a pressing issue, particularly in terms of strengthening the body's independence. In April 2018, a right to information inquiry filed by Dialog revealed that the TRC allocated a spectrum telecommunications frequency to Mobitel. The competitive bidding process was reportedly bypassed in this case, which suggests preferential treatment for Mobitel. Mobitel's chairman is President Sirisena's brother.52 During Rajapaksa's regime, the TRC's interventions to restrict online content and pronouncements on strengthening online regulation were partisan, extralegal, and repressive.53 In September 2017, the Colombo High Court found Anush Palpita, former TRC chairman, and Lalitha Weeratunga, secretary to former President Rajapaksa, guilty of misappropriation and using funds for Rajapaksa's presidential campaign. They were sentenced to three years and fined, but were released on bail while filing an appeal against the ruling.54 President Sirisena has also largely chosen political appointees to run the TRC. Like his predecessor, he appointed his permanent secretary, P. B. Abeykoon, as chairman.55 Sirisena also appointed then President's Counsel M. M. Zuhair as the director general,56 but Zuhair and the board of directors were dismissed in 2015 for violating TRC financial regulations.57 Zuhair was replaced by Sunil S. Sirisena, a more experienced senior civil servant who shares the president's name but is not related.58 In August 2016, however, President Sirisena appointed President's Counsel Hemantha Warnakulasuriya, a senior lawyer and former ambassador, as a TRC member.59 His qualification for the position, other than his position as President's Counsel, was unclear. The current director general is P.R.S.P. Jayatilake.60 Limits on Content: The government dramatically increased censorship online during the coverage period by instituting a nationwide block of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber for just over a week. The block was precipitated by the proliferation of misinformation and rumors online that engendered communal violence in March 2018. Despite these negative developments, content online remains diverse with a number of online journalism and citizen media sites freely publishing on political and socioeconomic issues. Blocking and Filtering During the reporting period, there was a nationwide block of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber from March 7-15, 2018, due to violence in Kandy for just over a week. A few webpages were also found to be blocked in November 2017, prompting a right to information (RTI) request into the website blocking process. The costs of the nationwide social media block were felt across the country. People in affected areas in Kandy had difficulty contacting friends and family about their safety, while small businesses and entrepreneurs could not connect with their customers. Civil society organizations and activists dependent on social media also lost contact with audiences.61 Several ministers blamed social media platforms for failing to curb the spread of hate speech as justification for the block, including Deputy Minister for National Politics and Economic Affairs Harsha De Silva,62 and Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando.63 The president64 and prime minister65 also both argued that the spread of hate speech and fake news during the violence necessitated the block. During the violence, some webpages were also unavailable and presumably blocked. The personal blog of author and data scientist Yudhanjaya Wijeratne was temporarily unavailable through one ISP,66 as were URLs from forum software Discourse.67 In addition to the blocking that occurred in March 2018, at least four websites were blocked68 during the coverage period, including two pornographic websites, a gossip site called gossipplanets.com, and the website Lankaenews.69 When civil society organizations learned that Lankaenews was blocked, three organizations filed an RTI request about its blocking and the blocking process.70 The TRC denied part of the request on national security grounds, and the case was appealed and heard before the RTI Commission in the spring of 2018.71 In the TRC's response, it was revealed that 13 websites had been blocked between 2015 and 2017, including some sites publishing political news or pornographic material. The response also revealed the blocking process for each website, noting that the presidential secretariat was involved in the blocking of at least four of the sites. As of July 2018, Lankaenews was inaccessible via SLT connection but available via Dialog mobile connection. No ISP is known to have challenged the TRC's requests to block content or sought judicial oversight.72 It is not clear if the TRC can impose other financial or legal penalties on uncooperative telecommunications companies since the conditions, if imposed, are not transparent. Under the Telecommunications Act, ISPs are licensed by the Ministry of Telecommunications, but the TRC can make recommendations regarding whether or not a license is granted. The ministry can also impose conditions on a license, requiring the provider to address any matter considered "requisite or expedient to achieving" TRC objectives.73 There is no independent body regulating content, which leaves limited avenues for appeal (see Regulatory Bodies). Content providers have filed fundamental rights applications with the Supreme Court to challenge blocking,74 but under former President Rajapaksa, the lack of trust in the country's politicized judiciary and fear of retaliatory measures represented significant obstacles for the petitioner.75 Content Removal Documented cases of content removal are uncommon. However, Google's Transparency Report identified that between July and December 2017 the company removed two videos for copyright violations after receiving removal requests.76 In March, in the aftermath of the violence, there were some concerns relating to content removal on Facebook. Facebook has shown a lack of support for Sinhala language moderation. Users have claimed that many posts flagged for offensive comments, including content that could incite violence, are not removed when reported.77 While Facebook was blocked in March, government officials stated that the platform's block would not be lifted until certain hateful posts were removed.78 In a meeting between Facebook representatives and Presidential Secretary and TRC Chairman Austin Fernando, Facebook reiterated its commitment to remove hate speech and the government said it would work with Facebook to do so.79 In June 2018, following the reporting period, Facebook representatives met with local civil society and made commitments to improve their language capabilities for moderation of Sri Lankan content.80 Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Diverse content is generally available online, and self-censorship is gradually lessening in the country. However, misinformation proliferating across social media was a disturbing development during the reporting period. Rumors that Muslims were attempting to forcibly sterilize the Sinhalese have persisted from as early as 2012. Recently, for example, a rumor spread across Facebook that 23,000 sterilization pills were seized from a Muslim pharmacist in a small Sri Lankan village.81 These rumors sparked violence in Ampara when a group of Buddhists found a lump of flour in their food that they believed to be a sterilization pill while eating at a Muslim-owned shop. The group accused the shop owner of planting pills in the food. The shop owner, who spoke Tamil and could not understand what the Buddhist men were asking, nodded in agreement to the group's questions. The group filmed the altercation, including when the shop owner accidentally agreed that he spiked the food. In the following weeks, the video was shared across social media, particularly Facebook, provoking emotional reactions. This example, along with the death of a Sinhalese man in Kandy, exacerbated online hate speech and content inciting violence, which resulted in real-world communal violence. For example, Facebook posts implored followers to "reap without leaving an iota behind" and "kill all Muslims, don't even save an infant."82 In a video shared on WhatsApp, an individual declared that "the sword at home is no longer to cut jackfruit so kindly sharpen that sword and go." Despite the government blocking Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Viber, some people, including those spreading misinformation, continued to use circumvention tools to post on Facebook.83 Twitter also became a platform of choice. For example, one tweet84 included an image of people on a road with accompanied text describing the image as "Muslim people in #kandy #digana waiting to attack innocent Sinhalese. #Aljazeera #cnn #bbc #Geneva what they publish pretending to be innocent and put the blame on Sinhalese people." The tweet did not mirror any of the reporting on the ground at the time, and it was determined that the tweet was published from Frankfurt, Germany.85 Following the violence in Digana, the president, prime minister, and law and order minister shared that the government was considering a new program regulating social media.86 The potential program was met with criticism from civil society. For example, in an official statement the Human Rights Commission noted that these considerations must be balanced with freedom of expression and the right to information.87 Previously in December 2016, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the government was monitoring social media platforms for extremist content, and that laws could be introduced to regulate the platforms "if they fail to listen to reason."88 Shortly after the riots, Twitter accounts of journalists, activists, diplomats, and lawyers experienced a sudden spike in followers.89 An April 2018 report titled "Weaponising 280 characters" 90 describes the accounts as having Sinhala, Muslim, and Tamil sounding names with many using the default Twitter profile picture or an image from another public profile. The accounts were mostly empty profiles with no tweets and it was not immediately apparent what they might be used for. Citizen media site Groundviews also found evidence of bots and trolls being used to boost the Twitter account of former President Mahinda Rajapakse's son, Namal Rajapakse. This was one of the first reports looking at misinformation of this kind in Sri Lanka and could be an indication of strategic moves to manipulate followers online.91 During the previous government, state news platforms and official government websites waged smear campaigns against their critics.92 Online campaigns targeting Muslims and other minority groups have been linked to former government actors.93 Social media apps, communications platforms, and blogs are popular and widely available, and they diversify traditional media coverage and spur local debate. Other diverse sources of information online in English, Sinhala, and Tamil are available, including on socioeconomic and political issues, despite a history of censorship. Citizen media sites such as Vikalpa and Groundviews feature citizen generated content that would otherwise not be covered by mainstream media.94 Groundviews also operates Maatram, a website publishing citizen journalism aimed at Tamil readers across Sri Lanka and the diaspora.95 Other curated websites contribute to the country's diverse online media landscape. Readme.lk offers news on technology and Roar.lk, a social content start-up, reports on cutting-edge political, social, and economic issues.96 Manthri.lk is a nonprofit platform that monitors elected officials' participation, attendance, the diversity of issues they discuss, and their contributions to legislative functions.97 Additionally, the new fortnightly news magazine counterpoint.lk, launched in February 2018, focuses on long-form journalism and investigative and political content.98 Self-censorship by journalists appears to be diminishing in response to the government's stated commitment to media freedom. Under President Sirisena, some traditional and new media outlets have become vocal critics of both sides of the political divide, indicating increased freedom. The government has maintained onerous news website registration requirements introduced by the previous administration. During Rajapaksa's presidency, the media ministry directed all "news" websites to register for a fee of LKR 25,000 (US$190) with an annual renewal fee of LKR 10,000 (US$75). The requirement threatens the economic viability of start-up platforms,99 and undermines privacy and anonymity (see Surveillance, Privacy and Anonymity). Digital Activism The web has provided an avenue for robust digital activism and engagement on political issues in Sri Lanka, although most campaigns progress in fits and starts. Many are hitched to specific short-lived events, crises, or stalled political processes, and campaigners are generally unable to gather the momentum needed to drive meaningful change and long-term participation. However, a number of social media campaigns occurred during the reporting period. The #IVotedSL campaign was used once again during the local government elections in February 2018, together with #LGPollSL, with many first-time voters sharing photos of themselves participating.100 Also in February, #lka70 was used to mark Sri Lanka's 70 years of independence.101 Activists and civil society used #DisappearedSL to draw attention to and track the protests by families of the disappeared across the north and east.102 Groundviews, Vikalpa, and Maatram utilized the #Celebrate150years hashtag marking 150 years of Ceylon Tea to highlight the plight of the Up-Country Tamil community.103 A new closed group on Facebook centered on feminist discourse engendered vibrant discussion and social media campaigns. For instance, a sexist billboard was taken down after lobbying from some of the group members.104 The website Bakamoono.lk also used memes to spread awareness of sexual health and reproductive health rights issues.105 Violations of User Rights: The enactment of a new electronic national identity card raised privacy and surveillance concerns. While arrests and prosecutions for users' online activity have remained relatively infrequent under President Sirisena, there were a few new arrests during the coverage period. Legal Environment Although internet access is not guaranteed as a fundamental right in Sri Lanka's legislation, Article 14 (1)(a) of the constitution protects freedom of expression, subject to restrictions related to the protection of national security, public order, racial and religious harmony, and morality. There are no specific constitutional provisions recognizing internet access as a fundamental right or guaranteeing freedom of expression online. A state of emergency was issued on March 6, 2018, following violence in Digana, and later lifted on March 18, 2018.106 These emergency regulations had some worrisome and broad components, such as a section making it an offense to "cause public alarm" by spreading rumors or sharing images or information on social media.107 Several laws with overly broad scope lack detailed definitions and can be abused to prosecute or restrict legitimate forms of online expression. Publishing official secrets, information about parliament that may undermine its work, or "malicious" content that incites violence or disharmony could result in criminal charges.108 Government Information Director General Sudarshana Gunawardena stated in March 2018 that incitement to violence, including on social media, is contrary to Article 28 of the constitution and to Section 100 of the Penal Code, as well as to Section 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party.109 A culture of impunity, circumvention of the judicial process through arbitrary action, and a lack of adequate protection for individuals and their privacy compounded the poor enforcement of freedom of expression guarantees under former President Rajapaksa's government. President Sirisena's administration has struggled to restore public trust, attempting to adhere to a policy of good governance and transparency. In 2016, Parliament convened for the first time as the Constitutional Assembly in order to discuss the first steps required to draft a new constitution.110 Though the assembly has released six subcommittee reports since then,111 many citizens say that the government has failed to keep them informed,112 and the process has been criticized for lacking transparency.113 In the wake of the government losing ground during local elections and a no-confidence motion levelled at the prime minister which, while defeated, deepened rifts within the coalition government, civil society noted that the constitutional reform process looked increasingly unlikely to be successful, as it would be difficult for the government to secure the 150 votes needed to pass a new constitution.114 Separately, in January 2018, President Sirisena asked the Supreme Court whether his term was bound by 2015 presidential term limits that he had introduced to limit executive power. The Supreme Court rejected his request.115 Sri Lanka's transitional justice process was initiated in 2016 with the appointment of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF). The process is intended to address the issues of truth, accountability, and reparations for human rights abuses committed during the decades-long conflict, including several which affected internet freedom. In March 2018, President Sirisena made appointments to the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), after a nearly 18-month delay since the OMP law's passage in August 2016.116 Civil society has raised concerns with the process of the office's operationalization.117Following appointments to the OMP, the government also approved the creation of a Reparations Office.118 Unfortunately, however, legislation for a Truth-Seeking Commission has yet to materialize.119 The government continued to make amendments to a draft counterterrorism law that would fulfill its promise to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979.120 The PTA was used by Rajapaksa's government to prosecute critics like web journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who was imprisoned in 2009 on charges of causing racial hatred and raising money for terrorism.121 The government said that it had wanted to pass the new counterterrorism law before the February-March 2018 UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva,122 but did not meet this self-imposed deadline. Some have critiqued the lack of transparency in this drafting process,123 and civil society actors who have read the bill are concerned about the law's broad scope, which could lead to a "chilling of expression and information."124 A previous draft counterterrorism framework leaked in October 2016 also raised serious concerns.125 Legal scholars said that the previous framework would criminalize "words spoken or intended to be read" that threaten the "unity, territorial integrity, security or sovereignty of Sri Lanka" (Clause 18), potentially making criticism of state policies a punishable offense.126 The RTI Act passed in June 2016 and went into effect in February 2017, promising to strengthen accountability and transparency within public institutions.127 Over 100 appeals to the RTI Commission related to state institutions refusing to provide information.128 Citizens reportedly submitted more than 300 RTI applications in the first week of its operations129 and over 1,000 applications in just over a month,130 ranging from legislation on the rights of persons with disabilities to the report into the death of the founder and leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, M.H.M. Ashraff.131 Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Several detentions for legitimate online activity were documented during Rajapaksa's presidency.132 Under the new government, there has been a very limited number of arrests and prosecutions for online activity reported. During the coverage period, a few arrests were reported for inciting hatred online. In wake of the violence in Digana, the TRC reported that the Ministry of Defense was monitoring social media for content that incited violence.133 Around 10 people were arrested for spreading provocative and hateful messages on social media.134 Also in March, a few students were arrested for instigating hate and "disharmony" on social media.135 Reports did not clarify the content of their social media posts. While Sri Lanka constitutionally protects freedom of expression through Article 14 (1)(a) of the constitution, Government Information Director General Sudarshana Gunawardena stated in March 2018 that incitement to violence, including on social media, is contrary to Article 28 of the constitution and to Section 100 of the Penal Code, as well as to Section 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party.136 Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity The National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights 2017-2021 outlined the goal of recognizing the right to privacy with the objective of ensuring constitutional recognition of this right. 137 During the reporting period, however, advocates raised privacy and surveillance concerns about some new initiatives. Most notably, concerns were raised over the introduction of a new electronic national identity card, the e-NIC Project. The project includes a central database storing wide-ranging information and biometrics with "family tree" data.138 Activists warn that this could be used to target political opponents and could be hacked and abused.139 However, there was hardly any opposition to the project when it was first introduced, presumably because the government justified the project's necessity as an improvement to the state's service delivery. In a statement following a Facebook representative's visit to the country in March 2018, President Sirisena said they were initiating steps toward "implementing necessary monitoring and surveillance methods to ensuring public safety," raising alarms about protecting privacy and freedom of expression.140 In another initiative, the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka partnered with Dialog to install a Smart Condom Vending Machine. This received some negative feedback, as the machine required a Dialog phone number to be entered to receive contraceptives.141 There are some limits to anonymous digital communication. Real-name registration is required for mobile phone users under a 2008 Ministry of Defense program to curb "negative incidents." It was bolstered in 2010 after service providers failed to ensure that subscribers registered.142 Access to public Wi-Fi hotpots requires a citizen's national identity card number,143 which could be used to track online activity. News websites continue to be required to register under a procedure that critics say lacks legal foundation (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). The registration form issued by the Ministry of Mass Media requests users to enter their personal details along with the name of the server, IP addresses, and location from which content is uploaded.144 The form does not refer to a law or indicate the penalty for non-compliance. Civil society groups fear the requirement could be used to hold registered site owners responsible for content posted by users, or to prevent government critics from writing anonymously.145 Extrajudicial surveillance of personal communications is prohibited under the Telecommunications Act No. 27 of 1996. However, a telecommunications officer can intercept communications under the direction of a minister, a court, or in connection with the investigation of a criminal offense. In 2013, Dialog CEO Hans Wijesuriya denied the existence of a comprehensive surveillance apparatus in Sri Lanka but agreed that telecommunications companies "have to be compliant with requests from the government."146 The nature and number of such requests is unknown, since there is no provision under the legislation that requires officials to notify the targets. Some companies disclose some information: Facebook's Government Requests Report showed that from June to December 2017, there had been six requests for user data pertaining to a legal case and five preservation requests for six accounts.147 State agencies are believed to possess some technologies that could facilitate surveillance. In 2015, leaked documents indicated that the Milan-based firm Hacking Team was approached by several state security agencies seeking to acquire the company's digital surveillance technologies.148 The leaks revealed that in March 2014 the Ministry of Defense was planning on developing an electronic surveillance and tracking system with the help of a local university.149 While no purchases of the company's equipment were confirmed in the leaked documents, they included a 2013 email exchange between a Hacking Team employee and an individual claiming to represent Sri Lankan intelligence agencies describing confidential acquisitions of "interception technologies" he had brokered in the past.150 Separately, digital activists in Sri Lanka believe Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei, which collaborated with Rajapaksa's government in the development and maintenance of Sri Lanka's ICT infrastructure, may have inserted backdoor espionage and surveillance capabilities.151 Intimidation and Violence Intimidation and violence are still reported in Sri Lanka under the new government. A February 2018 report from the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice interviewed 27 individuals in the north who detailed excessive and ongoing surveillance, harassment, and intimidation by an array of state security agencies, including over phone and via SMS.152 The report notes that among those targeted were human rights activists, survivors of Sri Lanka's civil war, and ordinary citizens. In November 2017, two young men were questioned by police for an image posted on Facebook taken outside of the Nedunkerny Divisional Secretariat office in the Vavuniya district. The image focused on a poster of a local tree planting campaign with a cut-down tree behind the poster. The police warned the two youth to not critique government work and that they could lose their jobs in the future for this activity. The police also made them sign an affidavit in Sinhala.153 Progress of investigations into past killings and disappearances of journalists was either slow or stagnant during the coverage period.154 A conference commemorating the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists did see the police reopen a case involving attacks on Tamil newspaperUthayan.155 In 2016, Sri Lanka was dropped from the Committee for the Protection of Journalist's Impunity Index because no new attacks took place.156 Women have been subjected to misogynistic and intrusive commentary and content on social media, especially on Facebook. For example, personal and intimate images have been shared in Facebook groups, often with abusive or derogatory captions.157 Female activists and politicians have been subjected to threats and intimidation online that have impacted their work.158 Technical Attacks Cyberattacks occasionally targeted government critics, such as Tamilnet, under former President Rajapaksa.159 No similar incidents have been reported under President Sirisena. Hackers frequently attack government and business websites, and one technology company placed Sri Lanka among the top ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region with respect to growing threats to cybersecurity.160 On the 2018 National Remembrance Day, held on May 18 to mark the end of the civil war, the Tamil Eelam Cyber Force hacked161 the Ministry of Tourism website and at least one other government website and posted the symbol of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Sri Lanka's Computer Emergency Readiness Team and Coordination Centre (CERT) noted that it had issued a warning to key government departments that there was a risk of cyberattacks around this day.162 CERT is tasked with protecting digital data under the Computer Crimes Act, and operates a security arm to protect digital banking infrastructure.163 Notes: 1 Sri Lanka Ruling Coalition suffers defeat in local polls, Al Jazeera, February 11, 2018: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/sri-lanka-ruling-coalition-suffers-local-polls-180211094940172.html 2 From an electoral drubbing to a manufactured crisis, Tisaranee Gunaekara, Groundviews: February 18, 2018: http://groundviews.org/2018/02/18/from-an-electoral-drubbing-to-a-manufactured-crisis/ 3 Compiled Situation Updates: Kandy and related incidents, Groundviews, March 11, 2018: http://gr oundviews.org/2018/03/11/compiled-situation-updates-kandy/ 4 Sri Lanka blocks Facebook, Instagram, Viber and WhatsApp as anti-Muslim riots flare up: South China Morning Post, March 7, 2018: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2136196/sri-lanka-blocks-facebook-instagram-viber-and-whatsapp-anti 5 TRC Instructs to slow Internet speeds in Kandy, Ada Derana, March 7, 2018 http://www.adaderana.lk/news/46277/trc-instructs-to-slow-internet-speeds-in-kandy 6 PM: Laws to curb social media hate speech soon: Daily Mirror, March 15, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/PM-Laws-to-curb-social-media-hate-speech-soon-147288.html 7 Budget Speech 2018, Colombo Telegraph: November 9, 2017 https://www.colombotelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/budgetspeech.2018.English.pdf 8 Sri Lanka's mobile telecommunication industry calls for fee reversal Lankabusinessonline December 4, 2017 http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lankas-mobile-telecommunication-industry-calls-for-fee-reversal/ 9 Bulletin Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Volume 67, Number 10, November 2017, http://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/statistics/monthly_bulletin/Monthly_Bulletin_2017/bulletin_october_2017e.pdfp. 9 10 International Telecommunication Union, "Mobile-cellular Telephone Subscriptions,"http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx; SL's mobile broadband penetration gathers pace, fixed broadband penetration remains very low Daily FT, November 11, 2017 http://www.ft.lk/business/SL-s-mobile-broadband-market-gathers-pace--fixed-broadband-penetration-remains-very-low/34-643177 11 Table 7: Percentage distribution of Computer literate household population (aged 5 69 years) by sources of receiving computer knowledge* and sector 2017(during 1-6 months) Department of Census and Statistics, January June 2017, http://www.statistics.gov.lk/samplesurvey/ComputerLiteracy-2015Q1-Q2-final%20.pdf 12 Nenasala, "Establishment of Nenasalas," accessed July 2013, http://bit.ly/1W4XODp. 13 "ICTA Responds to Business Times report on e-government project," The Sunday Times, January 6, 2013, http://bit.ly/1bmHPwO. 14 "Sri Lanka launches first 'cloud smart classroom', DailyFT, January 16, 2017, http://www.ft.lk/article/591574/Sri-Lanka-launches-first--cloud-smart-classroom- 15 CodeGen's XOLO Cloud Smart Classroom is a hit: Readme.lk October 5, 2017 http://www.readme.lk/xolo-cloud-smart-classroom-codegen/ 16 President cancels Rs. 4 billion tab project: BBC Sinhala, February 20, 2018 http://www.bbc.com/sinhala/sri-lanka-43125310 17 Concerns raised over tab tender procedure Daily Mirror February 15, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/expose/article/Concerns-raised-over-tab-tender-precedure-Questions-raised-regarding-Education-Ministry-procedure-145858.html 18 The historically marginalized Up-country or Malaiyaha Tamil communities trace their roots to Tamil Nadu and are concentrated in the Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces. The Citizenship Acts of 1948-9 made the communities stateless and denied their civil and political rights. See "Sri Lanka Tamils", Minority Rights Group International, http://minorityrights.org/minorities/tamils/; Final Report of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, Inclusion of the Malaiyaha Makkal, 346-350, November 2016, https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxbk4wYolphwRTZETF9fM1JBUEk. 19 Census of Population and Housing 2012, Department of Census and Statistics, http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2012Visualization/htdocs/index.php?usecase=indicator&action=Map&indId=10 20 Percentage distribution of Internet and E-mail using household population (aged 5 69 years) by District 2016 & 2017 (during 1-6 months) Department of Census and Statistics January June 2017 http://www.statistics.gov.lk/education/ComputerLiteracy/ComputerLiteracy-2017Q1-Q2-final.pdf 21 "Sri Lankan Government Pumps Rs. 10 Billion For Digital Infrastructure", Readme.lk, April 5, 2016, http://www.readme.lk/sri-lankan-government-pump-rs-10-billion-digital-infrastructure/ 22 "ICTA plans ambitious digital infrastructure, Google Loon by March", LBO, November 6, 2015, http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/icta-plans-ambitious-digital-infrastructure-google-loon-by-march/ 23 Public Wi-Fi Initiative An Initiative of ICTA Agency of Sri Lanka, http://publicwifi.lk/, accessed on March 3rd 2018 24 Rohan Samarajiva, "Morning after: Thinking through Sri Lanka President's free Wi-Fi promise," LirneAsia, February 28, 2015, http://bit.ly/1iRO7Kr; YudhanjayaWijeratne, "Why Yahapalanaya's Train Wi-Fi might not be as cool as you think," Readme, February 28, 2015, http://readme.lk/free-wifi-train-stations/. 25 ICTA seeks Rs. 6 billion govt funding to expand free public Wi-fi facilities Daily Mirror, December 22, 2017 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/ICTA-seeks-Rs-bn-govt-funding-to-expand-free-public-Wi-Fi-facilities--142661.html 26 Sri Lanka's failing romance with e-governance Readme.lk February 2, 2018 http://www.readme.lk/sri-lanka-failing-romance-e-governance/ 27 "Wi-Fi Hotspots in Sri Lanka", Dialog, https://www.dialog.lk/wi-fi; "Dialog's Giving Everyone Free Wi-Fi. For 30 Days," Readme, September 22, 2014, http://readme.lk/dialogs-giving-free-wi-fi-30-days/. 28 SLT, Wi-Fi Coverage, https://www.slt.lk/en/personal/broadband/wi-fi/coverage; "SLT launches free 'prepaid' public Wifi Promo Daily Mirror, June 21, 2017 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/SLT-launches-free-pre-paid-public-Wi-F... 29 Sri Lanka's Google Loon dream still alive, says Harin Daily Mirror September 14, 2017 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Sri-Lanka-s-Google-Loon-dream-still-alive-says-Harin--136569.html 30 #DialogDown: Tracking the Network Disruption on Twitter Groundviews September 21, 2017 https://groundviews.org/2017/09/21/dialogdown-tracking-the-network-disruption-on-twitter/ 31 Twitter: Azzam Ameen March 7, 2018 https://twitter.com/AzzamAmeen/status/971244912518844420; Racial Violence and Censored Social Media: Digital Curfew in Sri Lanka : ReadMe March 7, 2018 https://www.readme.lk/kandy-sri-lanka-digital-curfew-social-media/; TRC Instructs to slow Internet speeds in Kandy, Ada Derana, March 7, 2018http://www.adaderana.lk/news/46277/trc-instructs-to-slow-internet-speeds-in-kandy 32 All social media sites in the country blocked: TRC Sunday Times March 7, 2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1040291/all-social-media-sites-in-the-country-blocked-trc 33 Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, Update Report, Fitch Ratings, January 21, 2013, http://bit.ly/2fn0vlk; "Who We Are Our geographic, divisional and market capabilities", SLT, www.slt.lk/en/about-us, accessed on 15th March 2017 34 SLT inaugurates submarine cable landing station, Sri Lanka Telecom, October 2, 2017 http://www.slt.lk/en/content/slt-inaugurates-submarine-cable-landing-station-matara-and-laying-foundation-stone-cable 35 "SLT introduces SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable system and first tier 4 ready data station", The Island, February 1, 2016, http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=139608; Mazin Hussain, "Sri Lanka has a new pathway to the Internet", README, February 3, 2016, http://www.readme.lk/sri-lanka-pathway-internet/. 36 Raj Moorthy, "Facebook and Google to enter Sri Lanka in June this year", The Sunday Times, February 7, 2016, http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160207/business-times/facebook-and-google-to-enter-sri-lanka-in-june-this-year-181941.html 37 HelaniGalpaya, Broadband in Sri Lanka: Glass Half Full or Half Empty? (Washington, D.C.: infuse/The World Bank, 2011), http://bit.ly/1izou0Y. 38 SLT announces grand opening of state of the art Tier 3 data centre in Sri Lanka, SLT, January 17, 2018 http://www.slt.lk/en/content/slt-announces-grand-opening-state-art-tier-3-%E2%80%9Cnational-data-center%E2%80%9D-sri-lanka 39 SLT successfully tests 5G LTE A Pro Technology, SLT, June 2017, https://www.readme.lk/slt-5g-test/ 40 "SLT to provide global connectivity backhauling facility via Sri Lanka", SLT, August 11, 2016, http://www.slt.lk/en/content/slt-provide-global-connectivity-backhauling-facility-sri-lanka 41 Internet Service Providers, TRCSL, http://www.trc.gov.lk/internet-service-providers.html, accessed on July 14, 2018 42 Hutch, Etisalat merge Sri Lanka mobile ops: Sunday Times April 29, 2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180429/business-times/hutch-etisalat-merge-sri-lanka-mobile-ops-291937.html 43 Hutch-Etisalat merger will ease competitive pressure: Fitch Sunday Times May 1, 2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1042741/hutch-etisalat-merger-will-ease-competitive-pressure-fitch 44 Dialog Axiata PLC Fact Sheet, https://www.dialog.lk/fact-sheet 45 Subsidiaries, SLT.lk, https://www.slt.lk/en/about-us/profile/subsidaries, accessed in May 2016; "Mobitel finalizes terms of Hutch takeover, report says," TeleGeography, February 11, 2014, http://bit.ly/1izpDpo. 46 SLT Annual Report 2017, http://www.slt.lk/sites/default/files/sustainability_reports/SLT_AR_2017.pdf (p 6) 47 The customer base figures for Etisalat, and Hutchison received from sources in each company (according to customer churn rates for the first quarter of 2017). 48 "Dialog launches first mobile 4G-LTE service in Colombo," Daily FT, April 2, 2013, http://bit.ly/1gukvRx; DuruthuEdirimuniChandrasekera, "Etisalat to head start on 4G," The Sunday Times, February 10, 2013, http://bit.ly/1KswESY; "Hutch to go 4G in 2018 Hutch website https://www.hutch.lk/hutch-go-4g-2018/ 49 Courts to SLT: No, You're Not Stopping Dialog ReadMe August 2017; https://www.readme.lk/slt-dialog-court-case-2017/ 50 Malathy Knight-John, "Telecom Regulatory and Policy Environment in Sri Lanka: Results and Analysis of the 2008 TRE Survey", Institute of Policy Studies, November 26, 2008, http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/TRE_SriLanka_Final_2008Nov28.pdf 51 "TRC raises Rs. 3.28 bn from LTE mobile spectrum auction", DailyFT, March 29, 2013, http://www.ft.lk/2013/03/29/trc-raises-rs-3-28-b-from-lte-mobile-spectrum-auction/; Issuance of Licenses TRC, http://www.trc.gov.lk/component/k2/itemlist/category/66-issuance-of-licenses.html, accessed May 10, 2017 52 RTI discloses TRCSL's administrative decision to give spectrum frequency to Mobitel, Colombo Telegraph, April 8, 2018 https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rti-discloses-trcsls-administrative-decision-to-give-spectrum-frequency-to-mobitel/ 53 "Colombo Telegraph blockade: TRC clueless," Daily FT, August 27, 2013, http://www.ft.lk/2013/08/27/colombo-telegraph-blockade-trc-clueless/; Sarath Kumara, "Sri Lankan government prepares new Internet restrictions," World Socialist Web Site, February 15, 2010, http://bit.ly/1QkpyA3. 54 Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita granted bail in 'sil redi' case Colombo Gazette September 20, 2017 http://colombogazette.com/2017/09/20/weeratunga-and-anusha-pelpita-granted-bail-sil-redi-case/ 55 Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, "Chairman and the Director-General Assume Duties," http://bit.ly/1Qkqq7P. 56 "M.M. Zuhair appointed Director General of TRC", News.lk, January 29, 2015, http://www.news.lk/news/politics/item/5952-m-m-zuhair-appointed-director-general-of-trc 57 NiranjalaAriyawansha, "DG and Board of TRC fired by President", October 18, 2015, https://www.ceylontoday.lk/51-106844-news-detail-dg-and-board-of-trc-fired-by-president.html 58 "Mr. Sunil S. Sirisena is the new Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka", TRC, http://www.trc.gov.lk/mr-sunil-s-sirisena-is-the-new-director-general-of-telecommunications-regulatory-commission-of-sri-lanka.html 59 "President's Counsel HemanthaWarnakulasuriya appointed to TRC", News1st, August 2, 2016, http://newsfirst.lk/english/2016/08/hemantha-waranakulasuriya-appointed-board-member-trc/143648 60 TRC website (accessed May 2018) http://www.trc.gov.lk/mr-p-r-s-p-jayathilake-is-the-new-director-general-of-trcsl.html 61 Sri Lankan Shut down of Web Based services creates huge social costs: Internet Society March 26, 2018 https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2018/03/sri-lankan-shutdown-web-based-services-creates-huge-social-costs/ 62 Sri Lanka blocks social media as deadly violence continues The Guardian March 7, 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/07/sri-lanka-blocks-social-media-as-deadly-violence-continues-buddhist-temple-anti-muslim-riots-kandy 63 Sri Lanka accuses Facebook of hate speech after deadly riots The Guardian, March 14, 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/facebook-accused-by-sri-lanka-of-failing-to-control-hate-speech 64 Fake news on social media hampering country's good name, development: Daily News, April 19, 2018 http://www.dailynews.lk/2018/04/19/local/148649/fake-news-social-media-hampering-countrys-good-name-development 65 PM: Laws to curb social media hate speech soon: Daily Mirror, March 15, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/PM-Laws-to-curb-social-media-hate-speech-soon-147288.html 66 Nalaka Gunawatdena, Twitter, March 11, 2018 https://twitter.com/NalakaG/status/972833530022584323 67 Twitter, posted by @drac- https://twitter.com/drac/status/973052659736354817 68 Blocked: RTI Requests reveal process of blocking websites in Sri Lanka, Groundviews December 8, 2017: https://groundviews.org/2017/12/08/blocked-rti-requests-reveal-process-behind-blocking-of-websites-in-sri-lanka/ 69 On the Blocking of Lankaenews in Sri Lanka, Centre for Policy Alternatives 13th November 2017: http://www.cpalanka.org/on-the-blocking-of-lanka-e-news-website-in-sri-lanka/ 70 Blocked: RTI Requests reveal process of blocking websites in Sri Lanka, Groundviews December 8, 2017: https://groundviews.org/2017/12/08/blocked-rti-requests-reveal-process-behind-blocking-of-websites-in-sri-lanka/ 71 Groundviews, February 16, 2018, https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/964428832798208000 72 'Dialog CEO Hans Wijesuriya: "No surveillance program in Sri Lanka, but telecoms have to comply",' The Republic Square, September 28, 2013, http://bit.ly/1QkqZOZ. 73 Centre for Policy Alternatives, Freedom of Expression on the Internet, 30. 74 In 2011, one website operator who challenged blocking settled out of court, agreeing to several TRC conditions such as removing links to blocked content in return for restored access. After a complaint was made to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka about the blocking of two websites in May 2014, the commission said it would investigate, but that freedom of expression was subject to constitutional limits. See, S.S. Selvanayagam, "Website previously blocked now permitted to operate by SC," DailyFT, December 16, 2011, http://bit.ly/1NFYH3Q; WaruniKarunarathne, "HRC To Study Complaint on Websites", The Sunday Leader, May 25, 2014, http://bit.ly/1W55qWs 75 International Crisis Group, "Sri Lanka's Judiciary: Politicised Courts, Compromised Rights," Asia Report No.172, June 30, 2009, http://bit.ly/1KsA8oz. 76 Google, "Sri Lanka," Google Transparency Report, accessed May 2018: https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/LK/?hl=en 77 Did Sri Lanka's Facebook ban help quell anti Muslim violence? Al Jazeera, March 14, 2018 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/sri-lanka-facebook-ban-quell-anti-muslim-violence-180314010521978.html 78 Azzam Ameen, BBC (accessed March 16, 2018) https://twitter.com/azzamameen/status/972733314925608961 79 President's Media Dvision (March 15, 2018) http://www.pmdnews.lk/restriction-to-access-social-media-removed-on-the-instructions-of-president/ 80 Daily Mirror (accessed October 26, 2018) "FB staff to learn Sinhala insults after Sri Lanka riots" http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/FB-staff-to-learn-Sinhala-insults-after-Sri-Lanka-riots-150982.html 81 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-clashes-socialmedia/sri-lanka-to-lift-social-media-ban-minister-idUSKCN1GP2LO; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/world/asia/facebook-sri-lanka-riots.html 82 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/world/asia/facebook-sri-lanka-riots.html 83 Twitter: Raisa Wickrematunge https://twitter.com/raisalw/status/971426541925146624; Fake news on social media hampering country's good name, development: Daily News, April 19, 2018 http://www.dailynews.lk/2018/04/19/local/148649/fake-news-social-media-hampering-countrys-good-name-development 84 https://twitter.com/cattomm2/status/971448347927236611 85 http://groundviews.org/2018/04/23/weaponising-280-characters-what-200000-tweets-and-4000-bots-tell-us-about-state-of-twitter-in-sri-lanka/ 86 "Though the doors should be open for and medium for progress, there is a need to control those are harmful to the society," President's Media Unit, March 14, 2018 http://www.presidentsoffice.gov.lk/?p=5413, "PM says new laws will be introduced to regulate Facebook" http://www.hirunews.lk/185882/pm-says-new-laws-will-be-introduced-to-regulate-facebook and "Intelligence services a must for national security" Daily Mirror, March 15, 2018: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Intelligence-services-a-must-for-national-security-147296.html 87 Policies to regulate social media must strike a balance: HRC Daily Mirror March 16, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Policies-to-regulate-social-media-must-strike-a-balance-HRC-147386.html 88 Amali Mallawaarachchi, "Laws needed to regulate social media: Premier", Daily News, December 14, 2016, http://dailynews.lk/2016/12/14/local/101872 89 Weaponising 280 characters: What 200,000 tweets and 4000 bots tell us about the state of Twitter in Sri Lanka Groundviews, April 23, 2018 http://groundviews.org/2018/04/23/weaponising-280-characters-what-200000-tweets-and-4000-bots-tell-us-about-state-of-twitter-in-sri-lanka/ 90 http://groundviews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Weaponising-280-characters.pdf 91 Namal Rajapaksa, bots and trolls: New contours of digital propaganda and online discourse in Sri Lanka January 24, 2018 http://groundviews.org/2018/01/24/namal-rajapaksa-bots-and-trolls-new-contours-of-digital-propaganda-and-online-discourse-in-sri-lanka/ 92 World Organization Against Torture, "Sri Lanka: Smear campaign against Ms. Sunila Abeysekara, Ms. Nimalka Fernando, Dr.Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya," March 27, 2012, http://bit.ly/1LAs55A; Committee to Protect Journalists, "In Sri Lanka, censorship and a smear campaign," July 14, 2009, http://cpj.org/2009/07/in-sri-lanka-censorship-and-a-smear-campaign.php. 93 Shilpa Samaratunge and Sanjana Hattotuwa, "Liking Violence: A study of hate speech on Facebook in Sri Lanka," Centre for Policy Alternatives, September 2014, 67-202, http://www.cpalanka.org/liking-violence-a-study-of-hate-speech-on-facebook-in-sri-lanka/. 94 "#UPRLKA: Complete Tweet Archive and Related Visualisation Around Sri Lanka's UPR Review," Groundviews, November 2, 2012, http://bit.ly/1gupD89. 95 "Announcing the launch of Maatram: Citizen journalism in Tamil," Groundviews, January 20, 2014, http://bit.ly/1W52ngY. 96 Roar.lk, http://roar.lk/about-us/ 97 How it works, Manthri.lk, http://www.manthri.lk/en/how, accessed May 30, 2017 98 http://counterpoint.lk/ 99 "Rs.100,000 to be Charged from News Websites," Daily Mirror, July 12, 2012, http://bit.ly/1KoO9zk. 100 Groundviews, February 10, 2018 https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/962284287809785856 101 #LKA70 hashtag, Twitter (accessed on March 18, 2018) https://twitter.com/hashtag/lka70 102 #DisappearedSL, Twitter (accessed on March 18, 2018) https://twitter.com/hashtag/disappearedsl 103 150 years of tea: Hidden Stories, Groundviews August 17, 2017 https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/898002429899403264 104 Sri Lankan women take on body shaming barrel ad BBC News January 26, 2018 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42788799 105 www.bakamoono.lk 106 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-clashes-emergency/sri-lanka-lifts-nationwide-state-of-emergency-idUSKCN1GU02R 107 The Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2018/3/2061-21_E.pdf; Gehan Gunatilleka March 15, 2018, Twitter https://twitter.com/GehanDG/status/974182983564447744 108 Respective legislation: Official Secrets Act No. 32 of 1955; Parliament (Powers and Privileges) (Amendment) 1997; Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979. 109 Media cautioned against inciting hate speech, Daily News, March 8, 2018 http://www.dailynews.lk/2018/03/08/local/144962/media-cautioned-against-inciting-hate-speech 110 "Sri Lanka parliament appoint members to committees at the first sitting of Constitutional Assembly", Colombo Page, April 6, 2016, http://www.colombopage.com/archive_16A/Apr06_1459923593CH.php 111 Sub-committee reports, Constitutional Assembly, http://english.constitutionalassembly.lk/interim-report, accessed April 2017 112 Opinion Poll on Constitutional Reform Topline Report, Centre for Policy Alternatives & Social Indicator, March 2017, http://www.cpalanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Rapid-survey_final-report_March-2017.pdf 113 "Sri Lanka TJ process too slow and non-transparent, Amnesty tells UNHRC 34", Sri Lanka Brief, February 2017, http://srilankabrief.org/2017/02/sri-lanka-tj-process-too-slow-and-non-transparent-amnesty-tells-unhrc-34/ 114 The Impact of the No Confidence Motion: A Round Up Groundviews April 6. 2018 https://groundviews.org/2018/04/06/measuring-the-impact-of-the-no-confidence-motion/ 115 Sri Lanka court dashes President's hope of extending his term in office South China Morning Post January 15, 2018 http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2128367/sri-lanka-court-dashes-president-sirisenas-hope-extending-his 116 Commissioners appointed to OMP Daily Mirror March 1, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Commissioners-appointed-to-OMP-146609.html 117 CPA Concerned with process to operationalize the Office of Missing Persons Centre for Policy Alternatives, September 13, 2017 http://www.cpalanka.org/cpa-concerned-with-process-to-operationalize-the-office-on-missing-persons-omp/ 118 Cabinet nod to set up a Reparation Office Daily Mirror March 16, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Cabinet-nod-to-set-up-Reparation-Office--147338.html 119 Truth seeking Commission legislation in 2 months: Mangala Daily Mirror February 28, 2017 http://www.dailymirror.lk/124633/Draft-on-Truth-Seeking-Commission-within-two-months-Mangala 120 Resolution 30/1, Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka, paragraph 12, OHCHR, Human Rights Council, September 29, 2015, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G15/220/93/PDF/G1522093.pdf?OpenElement 121 "Sri Lankan president pardons convicted Tamil editor", BBC News, May 3rd, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8657805.stm 122 Counter terror draft to be amended again ahead of UNHRC session: Sunday Times, February 19, 2018: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1039513/counter-terror-draft-to-be-amended-again-ahead-of-unhrc-session 123 Will this coalition government never learn? Sunday Times February 25, 2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180225/columns/will-this-coalition-government-ever-learn-283615.html 124 The Gloves Are Off: Reactions to Ben Emmerson's Statement on Torture, Counterterrorism: Groundviews, July 20, 2017 http://groundviews.org/2017/07/20/the-gloves-are-off-reactions-to-ben-emmersons-statement-on-torture-counterterrorism/ 125 "Policy and Legal Framework of the Proposed Counter Terrorism Act of Sri Lanka", The Sunday Times, October 16, 2016, http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161016/Cabinet%20Version%20-%20CT%20Poliyc%20and%20Bill.pdf 126 Gehan Gunatilleka, "Speech and Spies: Why Sri Lanka's New Counter-Terrorism Law is a Terrible Idea", OHRH, November 9, 2016, http://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/speech-and-spies-why-sri-lankas-new-counterterrorism-law-is-a-terrible-idea/ 127 "RTI Act comes into force in Sri Lanka", The Hindu, February 4, 2017, http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/RTI-Act-comes-into-force-in-Sri-Lanka/article17190752.ece 128 RTI Commission to act on appeals over refusal to provide information: NewsFirst 22 February, 2018: https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/02/right-information-commission/ 129 "10 days of RTI in Sri Lanka", RTIWire, February 13, 2017, http://rtiwire.com/one-week-of-rti-in-sri-lanka/ 130 "Sri Lanka's War Survivors Hope New Law Will Unlock State Land Holdings", NDTV, March 18, 2017, http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sri-lankas-war-survivors-hope-new-law-will-unlock-state-land-holdings-1670716 131 Ashraff crash: not an explosion but maintenance negligence: Sunday Times: March 4, 2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180304/news/ashraff-crash-not-an-explosion-but-maintenance-negligence-284592.html 132 See Sri Lanka Report: Freedom on the Net 2016 for previous cases of detention for online activities. 133 Slowdown of social media platforms as TRC starts monitoring content Sunday Times, March 7, 2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1040233/slowdown-of-social-media-platforms-as-trc-starts-monitoring-content 134 Police say 85 arrested after violence Daily FT: March 9, 2018 http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Police-say-85-arrested-after-violence/44-650938 135 Student arrested for inciting racial hatred Colombo Page March 12, 2018 http://www.colombopage.com/archive_18A/Mar12_1520875852CH.php; Two youth arrested for causing communal disharmony via social media, NewsFirst, March 9, 2018 https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/03/09/two-youth-arrested-for- 136 Media cautioned against inciting hate speech, Daily News, March 8, 2018 http://www.dailynews.lk/2018/03/08/local/144962/media-cautioned-against-inciting-hate-speech 137 National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights 2017-2021 (accessed March 16, 2018) http://www.pmoffice.gov.lk/download/press/D00000000063_EN.pdf 138 "We need to talk about that e-NIC project" Groundviews August 31, 2017 https://groundviews.org/2017/09/01/we-need-to-talk-about-that-e-nic-project/ 139 e-NIC project to come into operation amidst concerns Daily Mirror November 13, 2017 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/e-NIC-project-to-come-into-operation-amidst-concerns-140222.html 140 President's Media Division (March 15, 2018) http://www.presidentsoffice.gov.lk/?p=5426 141 Vendom: The smart condom vending machine Yamu November 25, 2017 https://www.yamu.lk/place/vendom-the-smart-condom-vending-machine/review-206225 142 Bandula Sirimanna, "Sri Lanka to tighten mobile phone regulations," The Sunday Times, October 31, 2010, http://bit.ly/1UYM0FC. 143 "Sri Lanka to have 500 public Wi-Fi spots before end 2016", LBO, October 31, 2016, http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lanka-to-have-500-public-wi-fi-spots-before-end-2016/ 144 Application for Registration of News Casting Web Sites, Ministry of Mass Media and Information, http://www.media.gov.lk/images/pdf_word/news_casting.pdf, accessed on March 15, 2016 145 Centre for Policy Alternatives, "Arbitrary Blocking and Registration of Websites: The Continuing Violation of Freedom of Expression on the Internet," press release, November 9, 2011, http://bit.ly/1guxKkU. 146 'Dialog CEO Hans Wijesuriya: "No surveillance program in Sri Lanka, but telecoms have to comply". 147 Facebook Transparency Report (January to June 2017) accessed March 16, 2018 https://transparency.facebook.com/country/Sri%20Lanka/2017-H1/ 148 "Hacking the hackers: Surveillance in Sri Lanka revealed", Groundviews, July 15, 2015, http://groundviews.org/2015/07/15/hacking-the-hackers-surveillance-in-sri-lanka-revealed/ 149 "Wikileaks The Hackingteam Archives", https://wikileaks.org/hackingteam/emails/emailid/238000 150 "Wikileaks The Hackingteam Archives", https://wikileaks.org/hackingteam/emails/emailid/577225 151 ZTE Corporation signed an agreement with Mobitel to develop its 4G LTE network and carried out successful trials in 2011, while SLT's ADSL infrastructure is supported by Huawei. See, ZTE, "Sri Lanka's Mobitel and ZTE Corporation Carry Out the First Successful 4G(LTE) Trial in South Asia," news release, May 17, 2011,http://wwwen.zte.com.cn/pub/en/press_center/news/201105/t20110517_234745.html; Ranjith Wijewardena, "SLT Tie Up With Huawei to Expand Broadband Internet Coverage," The Island, September 29, 2006, http://www.island.lk/2006/09/29/business11.html; Sanjana Hattotuwa, "Are Chinese Telecoms acting as the ears for the Sri Lankan government?," Groundviews, February 16, 2012, http://groundviews.org/2012/02/16/are-chinese-telecoms-acting-as-the-ears-for-the-sri-lankan-government/; "The President of Sri Lanka His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa holds discussions with Huawei Chairwoman Ms. Sun Yafang, Expressing thanks and acknowledgement on Huawei's contribution to ICT industry and Education locally," Lanka Business Today, May 27, 2014, http://pr.huawei.com/en/news/hw-340356-ict.htm#.Vg2CUvlVhBc 152 "I live in fear and go to work": Ongoing surveillance, harassment and intimidation in Sri Lanka's North Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice (February 2018) https://www.srilankacampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/I-Live-in-Fear-and-Go-To-Work-Sri-Lanka-Campaign-February-2018-compressed.pdf 153 #justaphotolka : Highlighting and pushing back against ongoing surveillance in Vavuniya: Groundviews December 14, 2017 http://groundviews.org/2017/12/14/justaphotolka-highlighting-and-pushing-back-against-ongoing-surveillance-in-vavuniya/ 154 Lots of talk but little progress in Sri Lanka over journalist murders, Committee to Protect Journalists January 9, 2018 https://cpj.org/blog/2018/01/lots-of-talk-but-little-progress-in-sri-lanka-over.php 155 Report on the Seminar, ""Reinforcing regional cooperation to promote freedom of expression and the rule of law in Asia through ending impunity for crimes against journalists" UNESCO, December 4, 2017 http://groundviews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Report-IDEI-Seminar-Colombo.pdf 156 Sri Lanka drops off Impunity Index for First Time The Sunday Leader November 2, 2016 http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2016/11/06/sri-lanka-drops-off-global-impunity-index-for-first-time/ 157 Technology-related violence against Women and Girls: Key Trends: Groundviews, Hashtag Generation and Ghosha, January 15, 2018 https://groundviews.org/2018/01/15/technology-related-violence-against-women-and-girls-in-sri-lanka-key-trends/ 158 Invisible Barriers: The Struggle to Combat Violence, Online and Off Groundviews May 29, 2018 http://groundviews.org/2018/05/29/invisible-barriers-the-struggle-to-combat-violence-online-and-off/; An Uneven Playing Field, Groundviews, https://groundviews.org/2018/05/04/an-uneven-playing-field-harassment-of-female-politicians-in-sri-lanka/ 159 Sri Lanka, March 12, 2012 January 20, 2016, Reporters without Borders, https://rsf.org/en/news/sri-lanka-3 160 NistharCassim, "Sri Lanka among top 10 counties in Asia facing threats to cyber security", DailyFT, June 8, 2016, http://www.ft.lk/article/546719/Sri-Lanka-among-top-10-countries-in-Asia-facing-threats-to-cyber-security 161 Tourism Ministry hacked by Tamil Eelam Cyber Force Daily Mirror, May 18, 2018 http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Tourism-Ministry-website-hacked-by-Tamil-Eelam-Cyber-Force-150113.html 162 Website defacements during the period 18 to 20 May 2018 CERT 21 May 2018 http://cert.gov.lk/news_info.php?id=19 163 Data and Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka, "CSIRT system launched in Sri Lanka to prevent cyber attacks on banks," July 2, 2014, http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201407/20140702csirt_system_launched_sl_prevent_cyber_attacks_banks.htm. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - South Africa Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - South Africa, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16afa13.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Free Total Score: 25/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 56.7 million Internet Penetration: 54% Freedom in the World Status: Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 Proactive government initiatives has helped expand access to the internet across the country (see Availability and Ease of Access). The Electronic Communications Amendment (ECA) Bill has been criticized for granting extensive powers to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services at the expense of regulatory body's independence (see Regulatory Bodies). The Films and Publications Amendment Bill, which aims to protect children from racist, harmful, and violent content online, may give the FBP sweeping powers to censor internet content if passed (see Content Removals). Digital activism has led to regulatory outcomes that benefit consumers (see Digital Activism). Actively under review, the draft Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill includes provisions that may threaten freedom of expression and privacy rights (see Legal Environment). Introduction: Internet freedom in South Africa remained free and open in the past year with access to the internet available to nearly two-thirds of the population. There were no internet freedom issues documented surrounding the resignation of President Jacob Zuma and the subsequent election of Cyril Ramaphosa to the presidency in February 2018. The policy and legal environment in South Africa continued to swing between progressive inclinations and regressive reactions to changes in the ICT sector. Consequently, mechanisms to regulate the sector and bodies established to implement key policy directives have been caught in bureaucratic limbo and unable to effectively fulfill their mandate. Key among these inconsistencies is the introduction of a draft Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, which seeks to implement the policy objectives set out in the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper. While the white paper attempts to map out a vision for ICTs in South Africa, it also introduces a host of proposals that have the potential to expand the influence of government, undermine the independence of regulators, and stifle competition and innovation the sector. Other legislative initiatives have the potential of compromising internet freedom for South Africans. In the past year, the Film and Publications Board (FPB) pushed for the adoption of the Film and Publications Amendment Bill, which may impose intermediary liability and reintroduce a new censorship regime for South Africa's online content in pursuit of protecting children from racist, harmful, and violent content online. On other fronts, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development forged ahead with plans to introduce the problematic Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill that includes a vague provision could be interpreted to censor political speech as well as problematic provisions that may enhance the state's surveillance powers. Obstacles to Access: Access to the internet continued to expand across the country. The Electronic Communications Amendment (ECA) Bill has been criticized for granting extensive powers to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services at the expense of regulatory body's independence. Availability and Ease of Access Internet penetration has expanded rapidly in South Africa. According to the latest data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), internet penetration reached 54 percent of the South African population in 2016. More recent access rates have been reported by Statistics South Africa, the national statistics agency, in the 2017 General Household Survey, which noted that nearly 62 percent of South African households have at least one member who can access the internet at home, work, school, or internet cafes,[1] up from 53 percent in 2015.[2] However, this figure is significantly biased towards urban users; more than half of households in metropolitan areas such as Gauteng (74 percent) and Western Cape (71 percent) have access to the internet by any means (at home, work, school, etc.).[3] In contrast, only 44 percent of households in Limpopo, a predominantly rural province, have access to the internet. Mobile phone penetration is much more extensive than internet penetration, reaching 65 percent in 2017.[4] The majority of internet users (60 percent) access the internet through their mobile devices.[5] Nevertheless, the high cost to access remain a primary obstacle to access. Recent market trends show that users are spending a greater proportion of income, at the individual and household level, on data, and less on voice or SMS services.[6] The government has prioritized access to free public Wi-Fi through the SA Connect program. SA Connect aims to provide an alternative means to broadband access, particularly among underserviced communities. Although the program has not yet significantly increased connectivity in the poorest communities, several other initiatives in metropolitan areas have enjoyed modest success, including the cities of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and the Ekurhuleni municipality.[7] Similar projects are expected to be rolled out in other provinces and towns across the country.[8] Restrictions on Connectivity The South African government does not have direct control over the country's internet backbone or its connection to the international internet. International internet connectivity is facilitated via five undersea cables SAT-3, SAFE, WACS, EASSy, and SEACOM all of which are owned and operated by a consortium of private companies.[9] Several operators oversee South Africa's national fiber networks, including partly state-owned Telkom and privately-owned MTN, Vodacom, Cell-C, Neotel-Liquid, and Broadband Infraco, among others. Internet traffic between different networks is exchanged at internet exchange points (IXPs) located in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, which are operated by South Africa's nonprofit Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) and NapAfrica.[10] The three internet exchange points are hosted in vendor neutral data center facilities owned by Teraco.[11] ICT Market ISPA currently has 178 members in South Africa made up of mostly privately own enterprises.[12] However, the fixed-line connectivity market is dominated by Telkom, a partly state-owned company, of which the government has a 40 percent share and an additional 12 percent share through the state-owned Public Investment Corporation.[13] Telkom effectively possesses a monopoly, despite the introduction of a second national operator, Neotel, in 2006.[14] In the mobile market, there are four major mobile phone companies Vodacom, MTN, Cell-C and Telkom Mobile all of which are privately-owned except for Telkom Mobile. The fiber market in South Africa has grown at an exponential rate. Most suburban areas of the major urban centers (including Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg, Durban, and Port Elisabeth) are already covered with fiber-optic cables, and new "last mile" providers of fiber have begun to wire homes by connecting to competitive internet backbones run by larger operators. The model that most of these providers have adopted is open access: they provide FTTH (fiber to the home) or FTTB (fiber to the building), and the customer can select an ISP from a large number of competitive options. Access providers and other internet-related groups are active in lobbying for better legislation and policy affecting the sector. In 2009, ISPA was recognized as a self-regulatory body by the Department of Communications, and exercises authority over its members through transparent processes.[15] Regulatory Bodies The autonomy of the regulatory body, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), is protected by the constitution. However, ICASA's independence has been compromised due to encroachments on its mandate by a number of entities. In addition to ICASA, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services, .zaDNA, and the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) have regulatory power over ICTs. The proliferation of regulatory bodies has led to redundancy and poor coordination, and contributes to the perception that the country lacks a comprehensive approach to the regulation of ICTs. In October 2016, the cabinet approved the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper,[16] which outlines the overarching policy framework aimed at transforming South Africa into an inclusive and innovative digital and knowledge society.[17] The white paper also details the government's approach to supply-side interventions relating to infrastructure rollout, fair competition, facilitating innovation, and policies to protect the open internet, as well as demand-side interventions to facilitate inclusive digital transformation. In order to enable the full implementation of the white paper, new legislation and amendments to existing legislation are required. One of the bills proposed in the white paper is the ICT Sector Commission and Tribunal Bill. This bill is expected to consolidate regulation of the ICT sector through the introduction of an ICT Sector Commission and Tribunal.[18] The bill will necessitate an amendment to existing laws, including the ICASA Act. The authority of the tribunal is expected to include regulation of the electronic communications sector; internet governance; and the licensing and regulation of electronic communications networks and services, spectrum and other scarce resources, and postal services. Another key bill emanating from the white paper that will significantly impact supply-side aspects of the ICT sector is the Electronic Communications Amendment (ECA) Bill, which was published in November 2017 for public comment. The bill has been widely criticized for granting extensive powers to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services, which would have a greater role in oversight of the sector, raising concerns that it will erode the independence of ICASA.[19] The ECA Bill would also facilitate the implementation of a wholesale open access network (WOAN) as a model for spectrum allocation.[20] This aspect of the legislation has drawn further criticism for undermining the role of ICASA, which is currently central to the allocation and management of spectrum.[21] At the end of May 2018, the bill was still under review and various stakeholders were engaged to provide recommendations for revision. Evidence of the government's interest in the allocation of spectrum has already been seen in its effort to halt ICASA's proposed auctioning of spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, and 2,600MHz bands.[22] This followed a successful interdict by Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Siyabonga Cwele, preventing ICASA from proceeding with the auction.[23] This move was widely criticized as an impediment to competition and investment.[24] The Ministry justified its position by asserting that auctioning spectrum to private companies would result in the duplication of infrastructure; shared infrastructure would ultimately drive down the cost of communication through competition among services.[25] Another key actor in the regulation of ICTs is the Film and Publications Board (FPB), which traditionally regulates the distribution of films, games, and other publications. However, recent proposals to amend the Film and Publications Act, 1996 (see Content Removal) may extend its authority to regulate internet content. In March 2016, the FPB signed a memorandum of understanding with ICASA to address regulatory overlaps created by the proposed amendments, which will effectively create co-jurisdiction over online content.[26] These proposals further complicate the regulation of online content. However, as of May 2018, it remains unclear how the two bodies will implement the agreement. Limits on Content: The Films and Publications Amendment Bill, which aims to protect children from racist, harmful, and violent content online, has drawn criticism for giving the FBP sweeping powers to censor internet content. Blocking and Filtering Under the current legal and regulatory framework, neither the state nor other actors block or filter internet and other ICT content, and there is no blocking or content filtering on mobile phones. However, government officials have increasingly pronounced the need for social media regulation, leading to concerns about online censorship. In March 2017, Minister of State Security David Mahlobo reiterated calls to regulate social media, stating that it was being abused to, among other things, peddle false information.[27] Media freedom advocacy groups sounded alarms over the potential political agenda behind the government's repeated fear-mongering tactics around fake news.[28] Content Removal In July 2017, a controversial case of content removal made headlines when the news website Black Opinion was taken down by its web host after ISPA received a complaint that the site was inciting racial hatred.[29] Linked to a land rights lobby group called Black First Land First, the news site had published articles criticizing "white monopoly" over capital.[30] The website was restored two weeks later.[31] In March 2018, the National Assembly passed the Films and Publications Amendment Bill, which will be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence before it can be signed into law by the president.[32] The bill, which was ostensibly drafted to protect children from racist, harmful, and violent content online, has drawn sharp criticism for giving the FBP sweeping powers to censor internet content, including the ability to regulate content on platforms such as YouTube and block websites.[33] Section 77 of the Electronic Communications Act of 2002 (ECTA) requires ISPs to respond to takedown notices regarding illegal content such as child pornography, defamatory material, or copyright violations. Members of the ISPA the industry's representative body are not held liable for third-party content that they do not create or select, though they can lose their protection from liability if they do not respond to takedown requests.[34] As a result, ISPs often err on the side of caution by taking down content upon receipt of a notice to avoid litigation, and there is no incentive for providers to defend the rights of the original content creator if they believe the takedown notice was requested in bad faith. Meanwhile, any member of the public can submit a takedown notice, and there are no existing or proposed appeal mechanisms for content creators or providers. Takedown notices (TDNs) lodged with ISPA increased from 355 in 2016 to 464 in 2017; of those, 210 were accepted (down from 220 in 2016), 229 rejected, and 25 were either withdrawn or duplicate requests. Of the 464 notices accepted, 203 requests resulted in content being removed; 7 TDNs were rejected. The main reasons for removals included copyright or trademark infringements, fraud, malware or phishing, defamation, hate speech, harassment, and invasion of privacy.[35] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Online media in South Africa is vibrant, representing a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives. Web-only news platforms, such as the Daily Maverick, have become particularly popular in recent years, with key news stories often broken online before print or broadcast outlets, illustrating how online media is growing as a primary news source. In line with this development, recent anecdotal evidence suggests that South African youth are increasingly reliant on the internet and radio for information, and are less dependent on television and print news for current affairs.[36] Similarly, there are indications that in rural areas with internet access, the online versions of community newspapers are being accessed ahead of their print versions.[37] Nevertheless, while both English- and Afrikaans-language content is well represented online, 9 of South Africa's 11 official languages are underrepresented, including on government websites. In September 2017, the FPB proposed revisions to the tariff structure that will require online content distributors with more titles to pay the licensing fee per film and per series season that they offer.[38] If adopted, these revisions would benefit content distributors with fewer titles, while those with more content would pay significantly more than the initially prescribed fee of ZAR 795,000. In March 2016, the FPB directed video streaming services, including Netflix, to pay a ZAR 795,000 (approximately US $50,000) registration fee to distribute content under the self-classification criterion imposed on online distributors by the FPB.[39] The size of the fee was criticized by industry stakeholders as unjustifiable (in relation to the actual cost of classification) and prohibitive for smaller competitors providing content streaming services.[40] Although some major content distributors such as Google, Apple, and MultiChoice had paid the license fees by the end of 2017, other major players such as Netflix and Microsoft had not yet paid. Netflix continues to lobby the FPB for continued self-regulation of content on their platforms.[41] In October 2017, the Department of Communications announced plans to introduce a Draft White Paper on Audio-Visual and Digital Content Policy.[42] The white paper is intended to revise the Broadcasting Act (1999) and align it with the changes in technology, convergence of traditional and new media platforms, and the recent trends in media consumption. As of May 2018, the mooted white paper had not yet been released for public comment. Although the government does not limit or manipulate online discussions, online self-censorship is a growing concern in South Africa. In line with the growing trend of online manipulation disrupting democratic processes in countries around the world, news reports in July 2017 revealed the existence of hundreds of automated bots on Twitter that harassed journalists who reported critically about the wealthy Gupta family and their influential ties to former president Zuma.[43] The harassment may have the effect of increasing self-censorship among critical reporters and distorting the online information landscape with misleading narratives and false information. Digital Activism The internet has become a successful tool for online mobilization and democratic debate in South Africa, and the use of the internet and other ICTs for social mobilization has been uninhibited by government restrictions. In September 2016, civil society groups advocated to bring down the high cost of digital communications, using the hashtag #DataMustFall.[44] Eliciting a positive response, parliament's portfolio committee on telecommunications and postal services convened a hearing with submissions presented by the communications department, the regulator (ICASA), civil society organizations, telecom operators, and the public on the cost to communicate and on mobile data in particular.[45] In March 2017, the minister of telecommunications issued a policy directive to ICASA to hold an inquiry, which would finalize regulations to ensure effective competition within broadband markets.[46] Through ICASA, the Competition Commission launched this inquiry in August 2017 with the aim of understanding critical elements within the market and value chain that lead to high prices for data services, and ultimately to make recommendations that would result in lower prices for data services.[47] The Competition Commission is expected to conclude its inquiry by August 2018. The pressure by advocacy groups has had an impact. ICASA announced the final End-User and Service Subscriber Charter Regulations in April 2018. The regulations are intended to protect the rights of consumers by requiring that mobile network operators (MNOs) provide sufficient information on usage and allow the opportunity for redress when user rights are infringed. Among other stipulations, the charter requires that MNOs provide usage notifications on data bundle depletion levels, rollover unused data, allow the transfer of data on the same network, and allow end users to opt out of bundle data billing.[48] Violations of User Rights: Actively under review, the draft Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill includes provisions that may threaten freedom of expression and privacy rights. Legal Environment The constitution provides for freedom of the press and other media, freedom of information, and freedom of expression, among other guarantees. It also includes constraints on "propaganda for war; incitement of imminent violence; or advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender, or religion and that constitutes incitement to cause harm."[49] Libel is not a criminal offense, though civil laws can be applied to online content, and criminal law has been invoked on at least one occasion to prosecute against injurious material.[50] The judiciary in South Africa is generally regarded as independent. In a worrisome development for internet freedom, South Africa voted against the UN Resolution for "the Promotion, Protection and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the Internet" in July 2016, siding with repressive countries such as China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia among the few objectors. In its opposition, South Africa's deputy permanent representative to the UN noted concerns that the resolution failed to take into account hate speech and incitement, which pose unique challenges to freedom of expression in South Africa's post-apartheid society.[51] Meanwhile, the draft Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill first published in August 2015 for public comment has been criticized by civil society for its ambiguous language that has the potential to infringe on freedom of expression.[52] In the 2017 version of the bill introduced in February 2017, a chapter on "Malicious Communications" penalizes the dissemination of a "data message which is harmful," the definition of which includes content that is "inherently false," without further specifications.[53] Human rights advocates worry that the vague provision could be interpreted to censor political speech.[54] The bill also includes problematic provisions that may enhance the state's surveillance powers (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Public hearings were convened by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services in September 2017 and responses to the submissions presented by various stakeholders were published in November 2017.[55] A revised version of the bill is expected to be released for further deliberation and adoption by the committee before it can be tabled in parliament. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Individuals were not prosecuted, detained, or sanctioned by law enforcement agencies for political, social, or religious speech online during the coverage period. Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Concerns over the potentially unchecked government surveillance powers over online activity remain, but were addressed when Dr. Setlhomamaru Isaac Dintwe was appointed as the new inspector-general of intelligence in March 2017. The position had previously been vacant for an extended period due to challenges in the recruitment process.[56] As an independent actor accountable to parliament through the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence,[57] the inspector-general of intelligence is expected to strengthen oversight mechanisms of the activities of the South African Intelligence Services and determine their compliance with the legislative framework and constitution.[58] However, since assuming office, Dr. Dintwe has had difficulty fulfilling his mandate due to interference by leadership in the intelligence community. In April 2018, Dr. Dintwe filed an urgent court application to prohibit Arthur Fraser, the director general of the State Security Agency (SSA), from intervening in his office's activities.[59] The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act of 2002 (RICA) regulates the surveillance of domestic communications. Among its provisions, RICA requires ISPs to retain customer data for an undetermined period of time and bans any communications system that cannot be monitored, placing the onus and financial responsibility on service providers to ensure their systems have the capacity and technical requirements for interception.[60] While RICA requires a court order for the interception of domestic communications, the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Act (known locally as the "Spy Bill") passed in July 2013 enables security agencies to monitor and intercept foreign signals (electronic communications stemming from abroad) without any judicial oversight.[61] RICA also compromises users' rights to anonymous communication by requiring mobile subscribers to provide national identification numbers, copies of national identification documents, and proof of a physical address to service providers.[62] An identification number is legally required for any SIM card purchase, and registration requires proof of residence and an identity document.[63] For the many South Africans who live in informal settlements, this can be an obstacle to mobile phone usage. Meanwhile, users are not explicitly prohibited from using encryption, and internet cafes are not required to register users or monitor customer communications. Persistent concerns over government surveillance grew further after reports in 2015 found that state security organizations possess stingray (or "grabber") technology that can mimic cell phone towers and capture cell phone metadata within a certain vicinity. In September 2015, Hangwani Malaudzi, a spokesperson for the government investigation bureau known as the Hawks,[64] confirmed that South African security officials have access to grabber technology but noted that the technology was used specifically for national security matters only.[65] Nonetheless, consistent weaknesses in oversight mechanisms within the state security departments leave surveillance open to abuse. The proposed Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill revised in February 2017 includes a provision that may enhance the state's interception powers. According to the Centre for Constitutional Rights, section 38 of the bill, which provides for the interception of "indirect communication, obtaining of real-time communication-related information and archived related information," both conflicts with and echoes the problematic aspects of RICA, potentially infringing on privacy rights (see Legal Environment).[66] As a positive measure, the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, signed into law in November 2013, provides measures to protect users' online security, privacy, and data. No law ensuring the constitutional right to privacy existed before POPI, which allows an individual to bring civil claims against those who contravene the act.[67] Penalties for contravening the law are stiff, including prison terms and fines of up to ZAR 10 million (approximately US$650,000). To further strengthen the right to privacy enshrined in POPI, former president Jacob Zuma appointed Pansy Tlakula as information regulator in October 2016.[68] Known for her independence, Tlakula had previously served as the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission Advocate and as the special rapporteur on freedom of expression and access to information at the African Commission on Human and People's Rights. Primarily tasked with monitoring, enforcing compliance, and handling complaints related to POPI,[69] the Office of the Information Regulator is expected to give effect to the constitutional right to privacy by introducing measures that ensure personal information is processed legally by responsible parties.[70] Intimidation and Violence There were no cases of extralegal intimidation or violence reported against bloggers, journalists, or online users during the coverage period. Technical Attacks South Africa is highly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats on many fronts, though independent news outlets and opposition voices were not subject to targeted technical attacks during the coverage period. Government websites are often hacked. Most of the hacks are perpetrated by amateur hackers with no apparent political motivations other than to advertise their skills. Notes: 1 "General Household Survey, 2017," Statistics South Africa, June 2018, http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182017.pdf 2 "General Household Survey, 2015," Statistics South Africa, June 2016, http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182015.pdf 3 "General Household Survey, 2017," Statistics South Africa, June 2018. 4 "Global Digital Overview 2017 Facts And Figures," Cape Digital Foundation, accessed September 25, 2018, http://digitalfoundation.org.za/global-digital-overview-2017-facts-figures/ 5 "General Household Survey, 2017," Statistics South Africa, June 2018. 6 "UPDATE: State of prepaid market in South Africa: Submission to the Parliament of South Africa on 'The Cost to Communicate in South Africa,'" ResearchICT Africa, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/2o0fpnF 7 "Free WiFi for Ekurhuleni," IT Web, November 10, 2016, http://bit.ly/1XZT5mH 8 "Minister calls for more public WiFi zones," IT Web, February 2, 2018, https://goo.gl/hXuVkx 9 "This is what South Africa's Internet actually looks like," MyBroadband, March 9, 2014, http://bit.ly/1r5maRn 10 "These are the companies who control the Internet in South Africa," MyBroadband, November 5, 2015, https://goo.gl/8hoj44 11 "These are the companies who control the Internet in South Africa," MyBroadband, November 5, 2015, https://goo.gl/8hoj44 12 "ISPA membership shows solid growth," MyBroadband, January 26, 2017, http://bit.ly/2n27mHS 13 "Here is Government's shareholding in South African telecoms companies," MyBroadband, June 23, 2015, http://bit.ly/1MS4Vgf 14 Recently acquired by Liquid Telecom, now officialy rebranded to Neotel-Liquid Telecom (see: "The Neotel Way," Neotel Liquid Telecom, accessed October 4, 2018, https://www.neotel.co.za) 15 Internet Service Providers Association (see: "About ISPA," Internet Service Providers' Association, accessed October 4, 2018, http://ispa.org.za/about-ispa/) 16 "National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper," Telecommunications & Postal Service, September 28, 2016, https://goo.gl/Ycjzcd 17 "Cabinet finally approves SA ICT policy," Fin24 tech, September 29, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nOgLl5 18 "Integrated ICT Policy Translated Into ICT Sector Commission And Tribunal Bill," Tech Financials, October 10, 2017, https://bit.ly/2HIAaiU 19 "ECA Bill gives DTPS minister too much power," ITWeb, February 7, 2018, https://goo.gl/mdjvM5 20 "ECA Bill gets thumbs up," Telecoms, August 23, 2018, https://www.itweb.co.za/content/KPNG8v8dZlgv4mwD 21 "Government unrelenting about wholesale open access network," EE Publishers, February 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ov9rMg 22 "Spectrum auction postponed, BEE requirements relaxed," MyBroadband, September 25, 2016, http://bit.ly/2n1gRXJ 23 "Cwele gets interdict against Icasa: 4G spectrum licensing must stop," MyBroadband: September 30, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nwyryR 24 "Open Access wireless networks threaten competition and investment," Research ICT Africa, November 5, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nCqXKN 25 "Let's not build another monopoly," Tech Central, February 20, 2017. http://bit.ly/2r2WVpl 26 "Memorandum of Understanding Between ICASA and Film and Publications Board," Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, accessed September 25, 2018, https://www.icasa.org.za/memorandum-of-understanding-between-icasa-and-film-and-publications-board 27 "Social media in SA could be regulated," Mail and Guardian, March 5, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nz3zh8 28 "Panel slams Mahlobo's call for social media regulation," The Citizen, March 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nNtcvS 29 "Drive to shut down websites with links to BLF," Times Live, July 17, 2017, https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017-07-17-website-with--links-to-guptas-shut-down/ 30 "Why Hetzner shut down Gupta-linked website," My Broadband, July 17, 2017, https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/220116-why-hetzner-shut-down-gupta-linked-website.html 31 "Black Opinion is back online!," Black Opinion, July 24, 2017, https://blackopinion.co.za/2017/07/24/black-opinion-back-online/ 32 "Parliament has passed the 'internet censorship' bill here's what it means for you," Business Tech, March 8, 2018, https://goo.gl/PuWVL8 33 Paula Gilber, "Internet 'censorship' Bill may see changes," ITWeb, October 18, 2016, http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156791 34 Section 73 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002 (ECTA) reaffirms the limitation of service provider liability for information that is transmitted, stored or routed via a system under its control. (See: "Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002," accessed September 25, 2018, http://www.internet.org.za/ect_act.html) 35 "Take-down Statistics," Internet Service Providers' Association, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/2n3Kc3R 36 Suggested by Anton Harber, Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Witwatersrand. 37 Suggested in an access workshop held in East London in November 2013, run by Afesis-Corplan. 38 "What Netflix will get for its R1-million FPB licence fee," MyBroadband, October 4, 2017, https://goo.gl/8U7ZEC 39 Gareth van Zyl, "EXCLUSIVE: FPB asks Netflix to pay R795k licensing fee," FinTech24, April 6, 2016, http://bit.ly/1YUL2bz 40 Jan Vermeulen, "Netflix don't pay R795,000 to the FPB," MyBroadband, March 23, 2016, http://bit.ly/1XQcUPA 41 "Why Netflix isn't paying the FPB: We don't have to," Channel 24, October 23, 2017, https://goo.gl/KjQrQS 42 "Government set on regulating YouTube, Netflix and other streaming services in South Africa," Business Tech, October 6, 2017, https://goo.gl/omwztd 43 Katherine Child, "Pro-Gupta bots unmasked," Times Live, July 10, 2017, https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017-07-10-pro-gupta-bots-unmasked/; Andrew Fraser, "TechCentral: We go inside the Guptabot fake news network," Daily Maverick, September 5, 2017, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-09-05-techcentral-we-go-inside-the-guptabot-fake-news-network; "We go inside the Guptabot fake news network," Tech Central, September 4, 2017, https://bit.ly/2FzKpjA 44 "#DataMustFall: SA Twitter gives networks ultimatum to lower prices," htxt.africa, September 15, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oqrrb5 45 "Cost to Communicate: public hearings day 1," Parliamentary Monitoring Group, September 20, 2016, http://bit.ly/2rCp4SQ; "Cost to Communicate: public hearings day 2," Parliamentary Monitoring Group, September 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2qXIIpG 46 "Competition Commission probe on high cost of data on the cards," TimesLive, May 24, 2017, http://bit.ly/2s4UnHa 47 "Data Services: Market Inquiry," The Competition Commission South Africa, accessed September 25, 2018, https://goo.gl/zoYLCn 48 "Announcement of The Final End-User and Service Subscriber Charter Regulations Statement By CLLR Mokhele," Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, April 26, 2018, https://www.icasa.org.za/news/2018/announcement-of-final-end-user-and-service-subscriber-charter-regulations 49 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Bill of Rights, Chapter 2, Section 16, http://bit.ly/1RUcGly 50 See: "Freedom on the Net 2011: South Africa," Freedom House, accessed October 4, 2018, http://bit.ly/1PEi9Oa 51 Gareth van Zyl, "Why SA voted against internet freedoms at the UN," fin24tech, July 5, 2016, http://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/why-sa-voted-against-internet-freedoms-at-the-un-20160705 52 The Republic of South Africa National Assembly, Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill of 2015, proposed section 75, http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/invitations/cybercrimesbill2015.pdf 53 Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill 2017, Chapter 3, Section 17: https://www.ellipsis.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/b-6-2017-cybercrimes.pdf 54 South African Human Rights Commission Submission on the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill [B6-2017], https://www.ellipsis.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cybercrimes_Cybersecurity_Bill_2017_SAHRC.pdf; https://www.ellipsis.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cybercrimes_Cybersecurity_Bill_2017_CFCR.pdf 55 The Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill, https://www.ellipsis.co.za/cybercrimes-and-cybersecurity-bill/ 56 Chantall Presence, "Setlomamaru Dintwe appointed as SA's top spook," IOL, March 13, 2017, http://bit.ly/2n4DTNa 57 "Mandate: Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence," accessed 30 March 2017, http://bit.ly/2o39EFF 58 "Mandate: Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence," accessed 30 March 2017, http://bit.ly/2o39EFF 59 "Arthur Fraser vs Inspector General of Intelligence in court on Thursday over security clearance," News24, April 17, 2018, https://bit.ly/2KvlMZ8 60 Section 30, Act No. 70, "Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, 2002," Government Gazette, January 22, 2003, http://bit.ly/1M5uQSD 61 "Zuma passes 'spy bill,'" News24, July 25, 2013, http://bit.ly/1hQxVIf 62 Chapter 7, "Duties of Telecommunication Service Provider and Customer," Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1W2EbKc 63 Nicola Mawson, "'Major' RICA Threat Identified," ITWeb, May 27, 2010, http://bit.ly/16aWGqe 64 The Hawks are South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) which targets organized crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crime referred to it by the President or the South African Police Service. Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, "Grabber used for 'national security,'" ITWeb, September 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1RDPadu 66 Centre for Constitutional Rights, submission on the Cybercrimes Bill, August 10, 2017, https://www.ellipsis.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cybercrimes_Cybersecurity_Bill_2017_CFCR.pdf 67 Lucien Pierce, "Protection of Personal Information Act: Are you compliant?" Mail & Guardian, December 2, 2013, http://bit.ly/1ZUn16t 68 "Pansy Tlakula appointed as new information regulator," News24, October 26, 2016, http://bit.ly/2e35kRC 69 Protection of Personal Information Act (2013), Department of Justice, http://bit.ly/2ourhPs 70 "Minister Michael Masutha Meets with the Information Regulator to Ensure Effective Implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Act (PPI Act)," South African Government Media Statement, January 11, 2017, http://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/docs/ms-20170111-Minister-InformationRegulator.pdf Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Singapore Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Singapore, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16afb13.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 41/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 5.6 million Internet Penetration: 84.5% Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The Public Order and Safety Act, which went into effect in March 2018, drastically restricts online media and freedom of expression during "serious incidents" (see Legal Environment). The Parliament convened a Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods tasked with considering possible responses to the problem of "fake news" online (see Legal Environment). During public hearings, members of the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods questioned and intimidated a historian and journalist about their writings relating to the government (see Intimidation and Violence). The 2016 Administration of Justice (Protection) Act, which codifies the offense of contempt of court, came into force in October 2017. Contempt of court is one of the most frequently applied legal restrictions on public debate in Singapore (see Legal Environment and Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Introduction: Singapore's internet freedom environment was stable in 2018. The government continued to actively promote digital technologies while restricting their use for political dissent and for expression that could cause friction between ethnic or religious communities. Singapore topped the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index global ranking in both 2015 and 2016.[1] The internet remains the country's most vital platform for alternative voices, as it is much more open than other media or public spaces. However, online and offline restrictions mean that the internet cannot foster any significant challenge to the political dominance of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). The government has appeared less defensive about its free speech restrictions in recent years. This is partly because of its strong performance in the 2015 general elections, which it took as evidence of public support for a governance model that prizes order over personal liberty. It has also been noticeably emboldened by the troubled politics of major democracies. Government officials and supporters have not only pointed to the rise of irrational populism, Britain's Brexit referendum, and the election of Donald Trump as proof of the folly of too much democracy, but also used these developments to argue for more regulation, particularly in the case of "fake news." In January 2018, the government introduced a Green Paper by the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Law entitled "Deliberate Online Falsehoods: Challenges and Implications," which laid out the problems caused by the spread of online falsehoods as well as policy options for Singapore to consider in response.[2] A new public order law that took effect in May 2018 expands police powers during "serious incidents," such as terrorist attacks or acts "causing large-scale public disorder." It allows the police commissioner to issue a communications stop order that would ban the making or exhibiting of relevant films and images and the communication of text or audio messages for the duration of the designated incidents.[3] Obstacles to Access: As a wealthy and compact city-state, Singapore has highly developed information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. The government has achieved its target of 90 percent home broadband penetration as part of its Intelligent Nation 2015 master plan for an ultra-high-speed, pervasive network. The national wireless network offers free public access. Availability and Ease of Access The internet penetration rate is high, as is the general quality of service. Some 91 percent of resident households had broadband internet access as of 2016.[4] Mobile data usage reached 15.78 petabytes in the final quarter of 2017 an increase of almost three petabytes from the year before.[5] The fiber-based Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN), providing speeds of 1 Gbps or more, reaches more than 95 percent of homes and businesses. The national wireless network, [email protected], offers free public access via hotspots running at 5 Mbps. As of December 2017 there were over 3,900 [email protected] hotspots across the island.[6] The government is experimenting with a heterogeneous network (HetNet), a new wireless system that allows smartphone users to hop automatically across cellular and Wi-Fi networks for smoother mobile internet use.[7] The government's current information-technology (IT) master plan, called Intelligent Nation, aims to integrate technologies more seamlessly and improve Singaporeans' skills in creating, as well as using, new technologies. As part of the plan, the government is building the backbone infrastructure to support big data, the so-called internet of things, and other advances.[8] The digital divide cuts mainly along generational lines. While 99 percent of residents aged 15 to 24 reported in 2015 that they had used the internet in the past three months, the rate was 30 percent for those aged 60 and older.[9] The government's Digital Inclusion Fund aims to make internet connectivity more accessible and affordable to older and lower-income Singaporeans. Under its Home Access program, around 8,000 households will receive four years of fiber connectivity and a basic computing device for SGD 6 (US$4) per month.[10] The shutdown of the 2G mobile network in April 2017 raised concerns about the impact on people using older phones, particularly elderly Singaporeans and migrant workers.[11] Around 100,000 subscribers were still registered on 2G networks on the eve of the shutdown.[12] Restrictions on Connectivity No known restrictions have been placed on ICT connectivity, either permanently or during specific events. The Singapore Internet Exchange (SGIX), a not-for-profit entity established by the government in 2009, provides an open, neutral, and self-regulated central point for service providers to exchange traffic with one another directly instead of routing through international carriers, thus improving latency and resilience when there are cable outages on the international network.[13] Singapore has adopted a National Broadband Network (NBN) structure, with the network built and operated by an entity that supplies telecommunications services on a wholesale-only, open-access, and nondiscriminatory basis to all telecommunications carriers and service providers.[14] To avoid conflicts of interest, separate companies have responsibility for passive infrastructure and active infrastructure such as routers, as well as for retail service provision downstream. ICT Market The dominant internet access providers are also the mobile telephone providers: SingTel, Starhub, and M1. SingTel, formerly a state telecom monopoly and now majority owned by the government's investment arm, has a controlling stake in Starhub. The market is open to independent entrants. MyRepublic launched a broadband service in 2014. In October 2015, it started 4G trials to prepare for its bid for a telco (telephone company) license.[15] ViewQwest, another new player in the broadband market, was launched in 2015.[16] Circles.Life, the country's first fully digital telecommunications company, launched in 2016.[17] Zero Mobile, a new virtual mobile telco, launched at the end of 2017.[18] Regulatory Bodies The Infocommunications Media Development Authority (IMDA) develops and regulates the converging infocommunications and media sectors.[19] IMDA is not an independent public agency but a statutory body of the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), taking instruction from the cabinet Limits on Content: During the coverage period, there was no repetition of a 2015 order to shut down a website accused of inciting hatred against foreigners, the only known case of its kind to date. A licensing system introduced in 2013 has been used to limit the growth of independent online news start-ups by restricting their funding options. Despite such measures, the internet remains significantly more open than print or broadcasting as a medium for news and political discourse. Blocking and Filtering The government introduced internet content regulation in 1996 but promised that it would exercise its powers with a "light touch." As of 2018, it had apparently refrained from blocking or filtering any political content. The Broadcasting Act has included explicit internet regulations since 1996. Internet content providers and internet service providers (ISPs) are licensed as a class and must comply with the act's Class License Conditions and the Internet Code of Practice. Under this regime, ISPs are required to take "all reasonable steps" to filter any content that the regulator deems "undesirable, harmful, or obscene."[20] As a matter of policy, the IMDA blocks a list of 100 websites for the purpose of signposting societal values. This floating list has never been made public, but no political site is thought to have been blocked. Other than a few overseas sites run by religious extremists, the list is known to comprise pornographic sites.[21] Outside of this list, the Canada-based extramarital dating website Ashley Madison has been blocked since 2013, after it announced its plan to launch in Singapore.[22] No other site is known to have been singled out for blocking in this manner. The use of regulation to signpost societal values has been linked to the influence of religious conservatives (mainly evangelical Christians), who have asserted themselves more in public morality debates.[23] The Broadcasting Act empowers the MCI minister to prohibit disclosure of any directions to censor content.[24] This together with the fact that most ISPs and large online media companies are close to the government results in a lack of transparency and public accountability surrounding online content regulation. Content Removal Since the Class License system was introduced in 1996 (see Blocking and Filtering), it has been used once to ban a politically sensitive site. In May 2015, the Media Development Authority (MDA) since replaced by the IMDA declared that the Real Singapore website had violated the Internet Code of Practice and that its Class License was therefore suspended. The regulator said several of the site's articles had "sought to incite anti-foreigner sentiments in Singapore." Some articles were "deliberately fabricated" and "falsely attributed." The site was taken down soon after.[25] The information minister said that this was only the 27th intervention against online content since 1996. Previous cases apparently involved takedown notices for specific content, but these were not made public. However, in 2013 the minister informed Parliament that most takedowns were for pornographic content or solicitation; others were related to gambling or drugs. He told lawmakers that the MDA had never directed websites to take down content "just because it is critical of the government."[26] A separate notice-and-takedown framework exists for high-impact online news sites those receiving visits from a monthly average of at least 50,000 unique IP (internet protocol) addresses in Singapore. Since the IMDA is not obliged to make its takedown orders public, and there is no culture of leaks from major media organizations, it is not possible to gauge how often this mechanism is used. Introduced in June 2013, the framework removes the identified sites from the Class License and subjects them to individual licensing, under which they are required to comply with any takedown notice within 24 hours. The sites are obliged to put up a "performance bond" of SGD 50,000 (US$37,000) as an incentive to remain in compliance.[27] The bond is in line with the requirement for niche television broadcasters.[28] Eleven news sites have been licensed under this framework. Nine are run by either Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) or MediaCorp which, as newspaper and broadcasting companies, are already subject to discretionary individual licensing and traditionally cooperate with the government (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). The only such outlets that do not belong to national mainstream media firms are Yahoo Singapore's news site and an independent start-up, Mothership. After it was licensed, Yahoo's reporters were granted the official accreditation that they had sought for several years. In 2015, Mothership became the first individually licensed site not belonging to a major corporation.[29] It appears to have been designated purely because it had crossed the regulatory threshold of 50,000 visitors a month. Although it is popular for its irreverent commentary, Mothership is considered moderate and not antiestablishment. Apart from the IMDA's notice-and-takedown framework, critical content may be removed by bloggers under threat of criminal prosecution or defamation suits (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). In March 2017, the Attorney-General's Chambers told activist-blogger Han Hui Hui that she would be charged with contempt of court unless she removed a YouTube video and five Facebook posts alleging that judges were persecuting her for political reasons. She took down the offending statements and apologized.[30] Government officials are also known to demand retractions or apologies for comments on social media that they take issue with. In February 2018, a Facebook user who had posted a spoof of a Chinese newspaper's front page apologized for his actions after the Attorney-General's Chambers indicated that they were examining the spoofed image as a potential case of contempt of court.[31] The offending content was removed.[32] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation The online landscape is significantly more diverse than offline media. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and international blog-hosting services are freely available, and most bloggers operate openly. All major opposition parties and many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are active online. However, independent and opposition-oriented online news outlets are too small and weak to redress the imbalance in Singapore's media environment, which continues to be dominated by the PAP establishment. The biggest online news players, in terms of resources and viewership, are the internet platforms of the mainstream newspaper and broadcast outlets owned by SPH and MediaCorp. MediaCorp is state owned; while SPH previously held a 20 percent stake in MediaCorp Press, it sold its shares back to MediaCorp in September 2017.[33] SPH is a publicly listed company, but under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act, the government can nominate individuals to its board of directors. Since the 1980s, every SPH chairman has been a former cabinet minister. The government is known to have a say in the appointment of SPH's chief executives and chief editors.[34] Both companies' websites are subject to the notice-and-takedown framework (see Content Removal), but the main avenue of control is the routine self-censorship that also afflicts their parent news organizations. Online-only news outlets struggled to remain financially viable in 2017 and 2018. The Middle Ground, considered a more politically middle-of-the-road website, announced in October 2017 that it was winding down its operations, citing financial difficulties.[35] Its demise follows those of other independent sociopolitical projects, such as Inconvenient Questions and SIX-SIX, both of which shut down due to a lack of financial resources in 2016.[36] Meanwhile, the Online Citizen and the Independent, two sites known for critical commentary, have never had the capacity to generate original daily news or regular investigative features.[37] These sites come under special IMDA registration rules that prohibit foreign funding and require the sites to provide details about funding sources.[38] In effect, this shuts out grants and loans from foreign foundations, which have been essential for most independent political sites in the region. In April 2018, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority publicly declined to register a Singapore subsidiary of the British company that publishes New Naratif, a website founded by Singaporeans. In its statement, the authorities said that it would be "contrary to Singapore's national interests" to allow registration, pointing to the political purposes of the company and its work, such as "publishing articles critical of politics in regional countries" and organizing democracy classrooms.[39] So far, Mothership appears to be sustaining itself financially, though some of its sponsored content has been suspected of being paid for by the government. The site identifies its sponsored posts without naming the sponsor. This has contributed to what analysts call a "normalization" of online space, with the PAP's ideological dominance of the offline world increasingly reflected online.[40] Reinforcing the trend is the proliferation of social media, which seems to have encouraged a previously silent mainstream population to air their views more readily. Furthermore, especially since the 2011 general elections, individual ministers and government agencies have ramped up and professionalized their social media capacity. Major government campaigns regularly and openly commission bloggers and creative professionals. In January 2018, the Ministry of Finance paid over 50 "influencers" on Instagram to promote public awareness of the upcoming budget debate.[41] Certain pro-PAP websites and Facebook pages that attack the opposition have been described as engaging in "guerrilla-type activism," with supporters responding quickly to antiestablishment comments online.[42] Analysts described some possible content manipulation around the 2015 general elections, when online rumors in the form of bookies' odds gave detailed predictions of opposition victories in several constituencies. Since election laws ban opinion polling, these underground predictions were the only quantitative indicators of likely outcomes available to voters. Several versions were circulated widely via WhatsApp within the nine-day campaign period. The messages, pointing to an impending opposition landslide, may have spooked some swing voters and caused them to vote more conservatively.[43] The case illustrates how political operatives might be able to manipulate voter sentiment in an environment where high-quality information is limited by regulatory constraints. Bloggers have pointed out some (largely progovernment) online commentators who hide behind anonymous profiles; these accounts are often referred to as members of the "Internet Brigade," or IBs.[44] However, there is no concrete evidence of large-scale covert deployment of paid online commentators. Digital Activism The internet is regularly used for popular mobilization by groups from across the political spectrum. The success of these efforts is constrained less by online regulation than by offline restrictions on fund-raising and public assembly. There is only one location a small downtown park designated as a Speakers' Corner where Singaporeans can gather without a police permit. In May 2017, the organizers of Singapore's largest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) pride rally, Pink Dot, announced that barricades would be erected around Speakers' Corner during their event, in compliance with new regulations introduced by the government that ban the presence of foreigners at cause-related assemblies in the park.[45] The requirements were criticized by Singaporeans online; some declared that they would attend the event out of principle.[46] Pink Dot took place on July 1, 2017, filling the park to maximum capacity with only Singaporeans and permanent residents.[47] Violations of User Rights: Self-censorship in online discourse is mainly due to fear of postpublication punitive action especially through strict laws on defamation, racial and religious insult, and contempt of court. While citizens remain free from major human rights abuses and enjoy high levels of personal security in Singapore, the government places a premium on order and stability at the expense of civil liberties and political dissent. The authorities are believed to exercise broad legal powers to obtain personal data for surveillance purposes in national security investigations. Legal Environment The republic's constitution enshrines freedom of expression, but it also grants Parliament leeway to impose limits on that freedom.[48] As the ruling party controls over 80 percent of the seats in the legislature, the laws it passes tend to be short on checks and balances. Several legislative initiatives that were pursued over the past year have the potential to negatively affect internet freedom in Singapore. In January 2018, Parliament voted unanimously to convene a Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods tasked with considering possible responses to the problem of "fake news" online.[49] Although the Select Committee's terms of reference stated that it would look into a variety of options, new legislation seemed likely. The law minister had remarked in 2017 that new laws on "fake news" would be introduced.[50] The government's definition of false news appears to be fairly broad: In October 2017 the MCI accused Reuters of running a fabricated headline, as it disputed the news agency's interpretation of a comment made by a government minister.[51] The Cybersecurity Act was passed by Parliament in February 2018 and came into force the following month. The law requires owners of computer systems that deal with essential services pertaining to national security, public safety, or the economy to report cybersecurity incidents and conduct audits and risk assessments, among other obligations. The bill also allows authorized officers to take or make copies of hard disks as part of investigations or assessments of cybersecurity threats, prompting some members of Parliament to express concerns about privacy.[52] Parliament passed the Public Order and Safety (Special Powers) Act in March 2018, and the measure took effect in May. It gives the authorities the power to ban communications such as recording or distributing videos or images, or sending text or audio messages during a period of special authorization in the event of a "serious incident." The definition of "serious incident" encompasses terrorist attacks as well as peaceful protests like large sit-down demonstrations.[53] Being found guilty of violating this ban results in punishment of up to two years in prison and a fine of SGD 20,000 (US$15,200).[54] This new law gravely restricts online media and freedom of expression, impeding reporting and the dissemination of information once the government deems a situation a "serious incident." In August 2016, Parliament passed a new statute codifying the offense of contempt of court.[55] The Administration of Justice (Protection) Act, which officially came into force in October 2017, specifies that it is an offense to publish material that interferes with ongoing judicial proceedings or to "scandalize the court" by publishing anything that "imputes improper motives to or impugns the integrity, propriety, or impartiality of any court" and "poses a risk that public confidence in the administration of justice would be undermined." This lowers the previous threshold of a "real risk" of harm to the administration of justice. The act also allows the attorney general, with leave from the High Court, to "direct the publisher of any matter to refrain from or cease publishing" content that might be in contempt of court. The maximum penalty under the new act is three years in prison and a fine of SGD 100,000 (US$75,000), a harsher punishment than judges had previously imposed.[56] Contempt of court was already one of the most frequently applied legal restrictions on public debate in Singapore, invoked against bloggers who wrote about such issues as discrimination against LGBTI people and the treatment of opposition politicians in the courts.[57] Critics had been calling for Singapore's contempt laws to be liberalized in line with other Commonwealth jurisdictions, but the new law was passed with 72 votes to 9, with members of the opposition Workers' Party voting against. The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act and the Broadcasting Act, which also covers the internet, grant sweeping powers to ministers as well as significant scope for administrative officials to fill in the details through vaguely articulated subsidiary regulations, such as website licensing and registration rules (see Content Removal and Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Other laws that have been used to restrict online communication, such as the Sedition Act and the Political Donations Act, are open to broad interpretation by the authorities. The Sedition Act, which dates to the colonial era, makes it an offense "to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the Government" or "to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore," among other things.[58] Punishments for first-time offenders can include a prison term of up to three years. Newer provisions in the penal code (Section 298) provide for prison terms of up to three years for offenders who act through any medium with the "deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person."[59] In Singapore's first cases of imprisonment for online speech in 2005, the defendants were punished under the Sedition Act for posts that insulted Muslims.[60] Police appear to regularly investigate complaints of insult and offense. In most known cases, police intervention at an early stage has been enough to elicit apologies that satisfy complainants. Defamation is criminalized in the penal code, but to date, no charges have been brought under this law to punish online speech.[61] Civil defamation suits remain a powerful deterrent. PAP leaders have been awarded damages in the range of SGD 100,000 to 300,000 each (US$75,000 to 224,000) in defamation suits brought against opposition politicians and foreign media corporations.[62] In March 2016, for example, blogger Roy Ngerng reached a settlement in a 2014 lawsuit that called for him to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong damages of SGD 150,000 (US$112,000) in installments; he was expected to complete the payments in 2033.[63] Under the 2014 Protection from Harassment Act, a person who uses "threatening, abusive, or insulting" expression likely to cause "harassment, alarm, or distress" can be fined up to SGD 5,000 (US$3,700).[64] Victims can also apply to the court for a protection order, which could include a ban on continued publication of the offending communication. The government inserted into the law a section providing civil remedies for the publication of "false statements of fact" about a person. The affected party can seek a court order requiring that the publication of the falsehood cease unless a notice is inserted to set the record straight. The government quickly attempted to use the law against its critics: The Ministry of Defence applied for a court order against an article published in the Online Citizen. However, although a district court initially granted the order, it was overturned by the High Court in December 2015. The court ruled that government departments could not be considered a "person" under the act and therefore could not apply for protection from harassment.[65] In January 2017, the Court of Appeal, the country's apex court, dismissed the Ministry of Defence's appeal with costs.[66] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities A few individuals were charged for using the internet for social or political activities during this report's coverage period, though there were no new convictions leading to prison sentences. In November 2017, activist Jolovan Wham was charged with organizing public assemblies without a permit, vandalism, and refusing to sign statements to the police.[67] One of the assemblies in question was an indoor forum in which Hong Kong prodemocracy activist Joshua Wong participated as a speaker via Skype. The authorities argued that because Wong is a foreign speaker, a permit should have been obtained for the event.[68] Those convicted of organizing public assemblies without a permit can be fined up to SGD 5,000 (US$3,700); repeat offenders can be fined up to SGD 10,000 (US$7,500) and imprisoned for up to six months. Although the vandalism law provides for a fine of up to SGD 2,000 (US$1,500) or up to three years' imprisonment with three to eight strokes of the cane, first-time offenders who use nonpermanent substances will not be caned. The Attorney-General's Chambers sought in May 2018 leave to commence contempt of court proceedings against Wham and opposition politician John Tan the first since the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act came into force.[69] Wham was accused of scandalizing the judiciary by posting a link to a news article on a constitutional challenge in Malaysia on Facebook with a comment claiming that Malaysian judges were more independent than their Singaporean counterparts in cases with political implications. Tan was similarly accused of scandalizing the judiciary by writing on Facebook that the Attorney-General's Chambers decision to commence contempt of court proceedings against Wham "only confirms what he said was true." In August 2017, the Attorney-General's Chambers sought and was granted permission to begin contempt of court proceedings against Li Shengwu, the nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.[70] Li's father, Lee Hsien Yang, had been involved in a public feud largely conducted over social media with his brother, the prime minister. Li had shared a Wall Street Journal article in a friends-only post on his Facebook page with the comment that the "Singapore government is very litigious and has a pliant court system," which the Attorney-General's Chambers described as an "egregious and baseless attack" on the judiciary. Proceedings were initiated after Li refused to retract his statement and apologize. The authorities have been targeting internet users for online activities more aggressively in the past few years. In 2015, teenage blogger Amos Yee was sentenced to four weeks in jail. He was found guilty of wounding Christians' feelings under Section 298 of the penal code through an expletive-ridden video that likened the adulation of the late Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew to Christians' worship of Jesus. He was also found guilty of transmitting an obscene image under Section 292 of the penal code. Referencing a comment by the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher that Lee was usually right, Yee had posted a manipulated image depicting the two politicians having sex.[71] Following his release, Yee continued with his online commentary, including on religious themes. Again falling foul of Section 298, he pleaded guilty in September 2016 to six counts of posting videos and blogs that were derogatory of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail. Yee fled to the United States in December 2016 and was granted political asylum by a Chicago judge in March 2017. The US Department of Homeland Security appealed the decision, but it was ultimately upheld.[72] Human Rights Watch, supporting the asylum bid, said that Yee was being persecuted for his political opinions, which never amounted to advocacy of violence.[73] It also noted that Singapore had tried Yee as an adult even though under international human rights law he was still a child at the time of his trials.[74] In a separate case in June 2016, the owner of the Real Singapore website (see Content Removal), Yang Kaiheng, was sentenced to eight months in jail for posts that violated the Sedition Act.[75] His wife, Australian national Ai Takagi, had been sentenced to 10 months in jail in March. They were accused of using the site to exploit racial and xenophobic tensions in Singaporean society through posts that criticized foreigners from the Philippines, India, and China. The prosecution said that the couple had invented sensational stories in order to attract readers and advertising revenue.[76] Actions have also been taken against internet users in connection with election law violations. In August 2016, the police served the Middle Ground with a "stern warning" in lieu of prosecution for publishing an article on its street poll of 50 voters ahead of a May 2016 by-election.[77] The site had already complied with an order to take down the article.[78] The Parliamentary Elections Act prohibits the publication of election surveys during the official campaign period. The election law also prohibits campaigning on polling day and the day before ("cooling-off day"). The offense is defined broadly to cover commentary, including by individuals and groups with no party affiliations. In February 2017, police issued stern warnings to four individuals for breaching this rule. One was the founder of the pro-PAP Facebook page "Fabrications About the PAP," while the other three were associated with the Independent, which has no formal party links.[79] Two prominent activists, Roy Ngerng and Teo Soh Lung, were also investigated for breaches of cooling-off day rules; their phones and computers were confiscated (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity).[80] In contrast, the authorities do not appear to have investigated suspicious "fake news" that may have affected the 2015 general elections result (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Singapore has no constitutionally recognized right to privacy, and law enforcement authorities have broad powers to conduct searches on computers without judicial authorization.[81] While many people try to communicate anonymously online in Singapore, their ability to conceal their identities from the government is limited. Registration is required for some forms of digital interaction. Government-issued identity cards or passports must be produced when buying SIM cards, including prepaid cards, and buyers' details must be electronically recorded by vendors. Registration for the [email protected] public Wi-Fi network also requires identity details. The full extent of Singapore's surveillance capabilities and practices is unknown. However, according to the London-based organization Privacy International, "it is widely acknowledged that Singapore has a well-established, centrally controlled technological surveillance system" that includes internet monitoring.[82] According to one analyst, "few doubt that the state can get private data whenever it wants." The government justifies its surveillance regime on security grounds. "Whether by compulsion or natural tendency, most Singaporeans appear to be relatively sympathetic to this rationale and do not protest the government's collection, monitoring, or even transfer abroad of data about them," a recent study found.[83] Privacy International notes that law enforcement agencies have sophisticated technological capabilities to monitor telephone and other digital communications. Surveillance is also facilitated by the fact that "the legal framework regulating interception of communication falls short of applicable international human rights standards, and judicial authorization is sidelined and democratic oversight inexistent."[84] Under the sweeping Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, the minister for home affairs can authorize the collection of information from any computer, including in real time, when satisfied that it is necessary to address any threat to national security.[85] Court permission is not required. Failure to comply with collection orders is punishable with a fine of up to SGD 50,000 (US$37,000), a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Under the criminal procedure code, police officers investigating arrestable offenses may at any time access and search the data of any computer they suspect has been used in connection with the offense.[86] No warrant or special authorization is needed. Penalties for noncompliance can include a fine of up to SGD 5,000 (US$3,700), six months in jail, or both. With authorization from the public prosecutor, police can also require individuals to hand over decryption codes, failing which they are subject to fines of up to SGD 10,000 (US$7,500), jail terms of up to three months, or both. In mid-2016, police seized devices belonging to lawyer Teo Soh Lung from her home without a warrant after questioning her in relation to a Facebook post made prior to a May by-election. The police claimed that Teo's post violated restrictions on political advertising in the Parliamentary Elections Act, which bars campaigning and election advertising from the day before polling (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities).[87] Website registration requirements, though imposed on only a small number of platforms, have raised concerns about unwarranted official intrusion into the sites' operations (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). In 2013, the owner of one site, the Breakfast Network, declined to register because the MDA required the names of anyone involved in the "provision, management and/or operation of the website," including volunteers.[88] Responding to a parliamentary question, the government said in 2013 that, as part of the evidence gathering process, law enforcement agencies made around 600 information requests a year to Google, Facebook, and Microsoft between 2010 and 2012. Most were for Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act offenses, while the rest were for crimes related to corruption, terrorist threats, gambling, and vice. Although all requests were for metadata, agencies can request content data if it is required for investigating offenses, the government said.[89] The Personal Data Protection Act exempts public agencies and organizations acting on their behalf.[90] Recent transparency reports from various communications platforms indicate the extent to which the government seeks access to Singaporean users' data. From January to June 2017, Facebook reported receiving 204 requests for the details of 263 accounts from the Singapore government. Facebook provided data in 59 percent of the cases.[91] From January to June 2017, Google received 230 user data disclosure requests relating to 311 Google accounts.[92] According to information leaked by former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, SingTel has facilitated intelligence agencies' access to traffic carried on a major undersea telecommunications cable.[93] Singapore has adopted a US Defense Department concept, "Total Information Awareness," to gather electronic records en masse and look for evidence of impending security threats. The idea, which has proven controversial in the United States, has been incorporated into Singapore's Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning program. According to one analyst, "Singapore has become a laboratory not only for testing how mass surveillance and big-data analysis might prevent terrorism, but for determining whether technology can be used to engineer a more harmonious society."[94] Intimidation and Violence There were no violent incidents targeting internet users in the past year. However, the lack of protections for the expression of unpopular or dissenting views means that ICT users cannot be said to operate in an environment free of fear. Donald Low, associate dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, was required to retract comments and apologize twice to the law minister on Facebook in 2017 after the minister said that one of Low's posts had "seriously misconstrued" a comment he had made during an interview.[95] In April 2018, members of civil society criticized the way the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods held its public hearings, accusing the committee of not adhering to its own terms of reference.[96] Historian Thum Pingtjin was questioned for six hours about his work and expertise on Singapore history in response to a claim he made in his submission that the government had itself been guilty of spreading "fake news" when it carried out detentions without trial. During her session, journalist Kirsten Han was questioned about an article she had written in an exchange that ended with a committee member telling her that she had "not yet" been sued or jailed. Thum and Han are the managing director and editor in chief, respectively, of New Naratif. Shortly after the Select Committee sessions, the authorities rejected an application by New Naratif's parent company to register a subsidiary in Singapore (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Technical Attacks Hacking of public-sector websites in past years has prompted the government to strengthen safeguards against technical attacks. A Cyber Security Agency (CSA) was established in 2015 to mitigate attacks and protect critical sectors such as energy, water, and banking. In 2017, the Ministry of Defence announced that it would deploy conscripts to the CSA and its military equivalent as part of a long-term plan to train cybersecurity personnel.[97] Singapore has compulsory national service for all males. In 2017 the government implemented an Internet Surfing Separation policy for public-service officers to insulate its systems from attacks via the public internet.[98] In April 2017, Parliament approved the addition of new cybersecurity provisions to the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act.[99] The amendments make it an offense for a person to use or trade illegally obtained data even if they were not involved in the technical attack through which the information was obtained. Separately, the Cybersecurity Act was passed in Parliament in February 2018 and came into force in March (see Legal Environment). Notes: 1 World Economic Forum, "Singapore," in Global Information Technology Report 2016, http://reports.weforum.org/global-information-technology-report-2016/economies/#indexId=NRI&economy=SGP. 2 "Deliberate Online Falsehoods: Challenges and Implications," January 5, 2018, https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/dam/minlaw/corp/News/Annexe%20A%20-%20Green%20Paper%20on%20Deliberate%20Online%20Falsehoods.pdf 3 "Public Order and Safety (Special Powers) Bill," February 27, 2018, https://www.parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/public-order-and-safety-(special-powers)-bill-11-2018.pdf 4 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/infocomm-usage-households-and-individuals 5 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/telecommunications#9x 6 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/imda/files/community/consumer-education/wirelless-sg/hotspot-list1.pdf?la=en 7 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/infrastructure/next-gen-national-infocomm-infrastructure/heterogeneous-network-hetnet 8 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, https://www.imda.gov.sg/infocomm-and-media-news/buzz-central/2014/6/singapore-lays-groundwork-to-be-a-smart-nation 9 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, 'Annual Survey of Infocomm Usage in Households and by Individuals for 2015", https://www.imda.gov.sg/ /media/imda/files/industry%20development/fact%20and%20figures/infocomm%20survey%20reports/2015%20hh%20public%20report%20(120417).pdf?la=en 10 Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, https://www.imda.gov.sg/infocomm-and-media-news/buzz-central/2014/11/digital-inclusion-programme-extends-its-reach 11 https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pulling-2g-networks-singapore-affect-025814901.html 12 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/100-000-mobile-subscribers-still-on-2g-despite-start-of-the-netw-8708772 13 https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/infrastructure/next-gen-national-infocomm-infrastructure/singapore-internet-exchange 14 iDA, "Building Singapore's Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network, http://bit.ly/1LlvOnl. 15 Irene Tham, "MyRepublic starts 4G trials as part of bid for fourth telco licence," Straits Times, October 23, 2015, http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/myrepublic-starts-4g-trials-as-part-of-bid-for-fourth-telco-licence. 16 Shivaanan Selvasevaran, "ViewQwest sets sights on smart home market," Channel News Asia, November 19, 2015, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/viewqwest-sets-sights-on/2275218.html. 17 M Shazni, "Circles.Life Is Stealing S'porean Hearts With Their Cool Data Plans Here's the Untold Backstory," Vulcan Post, April 4, 2017, https://vulcanpost.com/607105/circles-life-founder-story/ 18 Irene Tham, "New virtual telco Zero Mobile to launch with unusual promotion," The Straits Times, December 8, 2017, http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/new-virtual-telco-zero-mobile-to-launch-with-unusual-promotion 19 Irene Tham, "Merger of IDA, MDA spurred by changes in tech," Straits Times, January 27, 2016, http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/merger-of-ida-mda-spurred-by-changes-in-tech. 20 Conditions of Class Licence, Section 2A (2), Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification under the Broadcasting Act (Chapter 28) Section 9, last revised May 29, 2013, http://www.mda.gov.sg/RegulationsAndLicensing/Licences/Documents/Internet%20Services%20and%20Content%20Provider%20Class%20Licence/Class%20Licence%20%28Post%20ONLS%29.pdf. 21 "Internet," Media Development Authority Singapore, Regulations & Liscensing, accessed July 9, 2014, http://www.mda.gov.sg/RegulationsAndLicensing/ContentStandardsAndClassification/Pages/Internet.aspx. 22 "MCI's response to PQ on the Ashley Madison website," Ministry of Communications and Information Press Room, November 11, 2013, http://www.mci.gov.sg/content/mci_corp/web/mci/pressroom/categories/parliament_qanda/mci-s-response-to-pq-on-the-ashley-madison-website.html. 23 Terence Chong, "Christian Evangelicals and Public Morality in Singapore," ISEAS Perspective 17 (2014): 1-11, accessed July 9, 2014, http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/ISEAS_Perspective_2014_17-Christian_Evangelicals_and_Public_Morality_in_Singapore.pdf. 24 Broadcasting Act (Chapter 28) Section 3(5). 25 Belmont Lay, "Media Development Authority statement on The Real Singapore," Mothership, May 3, 2015, http://mothership.sg/2015/05/media-development-authority-statement-on-the-real-singapore/. MDA statement: http://www.mda.gov.sg/AboutMDA/NewsReleasesSpeechesAndAnnouncements/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?news=661. 26 Chan Luo Er, "MDA was right to shut down The Real Singapore: Yaacob Ibrahim," Channel News Asia, August 22, 2015, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mda-was-right-to-shut/1837480.html; "MCI's response to PQs on Licensing Framework for online news sites," Ministry of Communications and Information, July 8, 2013,http://www.mci.gov.sg/content/mci_corp/web/mci/pressroom/categories/parliament_qanda/mci_s_response_topqsonlicensingframeworkforonlinenewssites.html. 27 Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification under the Broadcasting Act (Chapter 28) Section 9, revised May 29, 2013, G.N. No. S330/2013. 28 "Fact Sheet Online news sites to be placed on a more consistent licensing framework as traditional news platforms," Media Development Authority Singapore, May 28, 2013, http://www.mda.gov.sg/AboutMDA/NewsReleasesSpeechesAndAnnouncements/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?news=4. 29 "Mothership.sg to come under online news licensing framework," Channel News Asia, July 30, 2015, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mothership-sg-asked-to/2017168.html. 30 http://mothership.sg/2017/03/han-hui-hui-apologises-removes-posts-video-that-were-in-contempt-of-court/ 31 http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/facebook-post-with-falsified-headline-of-chinese-news-article-under-investigation-shanmugam 32 https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/man-who-posted-doctored-headline-chc-case-makes-public-apology 33 http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-completes-sale-of-mediacorp-stakes 34 Cherian George, Freedom From The Press: Journalism and State Power in Singapore. Singapore: National University of Singapore, 2012. 35 https://www.mumbrella.asia/2017/10/singapore-independent-news-site-the-middle-ground-to-shut-down 36 https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/lack-funds-so-socio-political-sites-iq-six-six-close 37 Walter Sim, "The Online Citizen now a one-man show," Straits Times, March 3, 2016, http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/the-online-citizen-now-a-one-man-show. 38 Wong Pei Ting, "MDA seeks registration of website The Middle Ground," Today, July 29, 2015, http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mda-seeks-registration-website-middle-ground. 39 https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/full-acras-statement-rejection-thum-ping-tjin-and-kirsten-hans-application-set-company 40 Tan Tarn How, "The normalisation of the political cyberspace since the 2011 GE," Today, August 26, 2015, https://nus.edu/2eGv727; Tan Tarn How, Tng Ying Hui and Andrew Yeo, "Whispers, not shouts: A re-reading of the social media space," Straits Times, December 4, 2015, https://nus.edu/2fwli8k. 41 http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mof-pays-for-instagram-influencers-to-promote-budget-2018 42 Tan Tarn How, "The normalisation of the political cyberspace since the 2011 GE"; Pearl Lee, "Supporters seek to amplify PAP voice online," Straits Times, September 20, 2015, http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/supporters-seek-to-amplify-pap-voice-online; Tan Tarn How, Tng Ying Hui and Andrew Yeo, "Battle for Eyeballs: Online Media in the 2015 Election," September 11, 2015,http://www.ipscommons.sg/battle-for-eyeballs-online-media-in-the-2015-election/. 43 Jeanette Tan, "7 illuminating conclusions two political analysts made of the GE2015 results," Mothership, November 5, 2015, http://mothership.sg/2015/11/7-illuminating-conclusions-two-political-analysts-made-of-the-ge2015-results/. 44 https://jesscscott.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/pap-ib/ 45 https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/pink-dot-event-will-be-barricaded-security-checks 46 https://tantarnhow.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/pink-dot-is-boring/ 47 https://mothership.sg/2017/07/full-capacity-20000-sporeans-pr-show-up-for-pink-dot-2017/ 48 Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, Section 14. 49 http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/parliament-proposal-to-appoint-select-committee-to-examine-online-falsehoods 50 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-laws-on-fake-news-to-be-introduced-next-year-shanmugam-8958048 51 http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/business-continuity-no-matter-whos-next-pm 52 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/cybersecurity-bill-passed-in-parliament-mps-raise-questions-on-9929208 53 https://www.parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/public-order-and-safety-(special-powers)-bill-11-2018.pdf 54 https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/12/singapore-reject-sweeping-public-order-bill 55 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/bill-on-what-constitutes/3044972.html 56 https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/07/12/new-bill-on-contempt-of-court-proposes-unusually-harsh-punishment/; https://law.nus.edu.sg/about_us/news/2016/AnyRiskWillDo(SepSLG).pdf 57 https://cpj.org/2015/01/singapore-blogger-convicted-of-contempt-of-court.php; https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/07/singapore-end-scandalizing-judiciary-prosecutions 58 Sedition Act (Chapter 290) Section 3. 59 Penal Code (Chapter 224), Section 298. 60 Jaclyn Ling-Chien Neo, "Seditious in Singapore! Free speech and the offence of promoting ill-will and hostility between different racial groups," Singapore Journal of Legal Studies 2011: 351-372, http://law.nus.edu.sg/sjls/articles/SJLS-Dec11-351.pdf. 61 Penal Code (Chapter 224), Sections 499-500. 62 Michael Palmer, "Damages in Defamation: What is Considered and What is Awarded?" Law Gazette, May 2005, http://www.lawgazette.com.sg/2005-5/May05-feature3.htm. 63 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/roy-ngerng-to-pay-s-150-000-in-damages-to-pm-lee-in-instalments-8136140 64 Protection From Harassment Act, https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act-Rev/PHA2014/. 65 Selina Lum, "Government cannot invoke harassment Act to make website remove statements on Mindef: High Court," Straits Times, December 9, 2015, http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/government-cannot-invoke-harassment-act-to-make-website-remove-statements-on 66 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/court-rejects-govt-s-appeal-to-invoke-anti-harassment-law/3442776.html 67 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/activist-jolovan-wham-charged-with-organising-public-assemblies-9450360 68 https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/11/28/singapore-charges-activist-for-holding-public-assemblies-including-a-skype-talk-with-joshua-wong/ 69 https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/agc-proceeds-contempt-court-case-against-civil-activist-jolovan-wham 70 http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/agc-given-permission-to-continue-contempt-of-court-proceedings-against-li-shengwu 71 Global Freedom of Expression, Columbia University, "Public Prosecutor v. Amos Yee Pang Sang," https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/public-prosecutor-v-amos-yee-pang-sang/. 72 https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/04/05/us-release-singaporean-blogger-amos-yee; http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/26/world/amos-yee-singapore-us-release/index.html. 73 https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/supporting_resources/hrw_letter_for_amos_lee_20170127_0.pdf 74 Singapore is a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 75 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/trs-trial-yang-kaiheng/2911566.html 76 Elena Chong, "TRS ad revenue 'used to pay mortgage on couple's apartment'," Straits Times, March 29, 2016, http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/trs-ad-revenue-used-to-pay-mortgage-on-couples-apartment. 77 http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/website-gets-police-warning-election-survey-results 78 "Our first take-down order from the MDA," The Middle Ground, May 6, 2016, http://themiddleground.sg/2016/05/06/first-take-order-mda/ 79 http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/warnings-issued-4-people-cooling-day-breaches-during-bukit-batok-election. 80 http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/elections-department-police-explain-cooling-off-day-probes 81 Privacy International, "The Right to Privacy in Singapore," Universal Periodic Review Stakeholder Report, 24th Session, June 2015, https://www.privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/Singapore_UPR_PI_submission_FINAL.pdf; M. Ravi, "At what cost of citizen's privacy, comes their freedom and security," The Online Citizen, May 12, 2016,http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/05/at-what-cost-of-citizens-privacy-comes-their-freedom-and-security/. 82 Terence Lee, "Singapore an advanced surveillance state, but citizens don't mind," Tech In Asia, November 26, 2013, accessed July 10, 2014, http://www.techinasia.com/singapore-advanced-surveillance-state-citizens-mind/. 83 Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, "Singapore," in Mapping Global Surveillance and Proposing Solutions to Respect Human Rights, Spring 2015, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/36a9/5f793d87f54b23fb36a8bedf43a765860440.pdf. 84 Privacy International, "The Right to Privacy in Singapore." 85 Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act (Chapter 50A) Section 15A. 86 Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter 68) Section 39. 87 Terry Xu, "Teo Soh Lung visibly shaken from police raid involving 7-8 officers without search warrant," The Online Citizen, June 1, 2016, http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/06/01/teo-soh-lung-visibly-shaken-from-police-house-raid-of-7-8-officers-without-search-warrant/. 88 Bertha Henson, "Singapore opinion news site Breakfast Network to shut down," Breakfast Network, via Yahoo Singapore, December 10, 2013, https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/kitchen-closed-161623269.html. 89 "Singapore Government's Requests to Web Services Companies for User Data," Singapore Parliament Reports, October 21, 2013, http://bit.ly/1OZ07H7. 90 "Personal Data Protection Act Overview," Personal Data Protection Commission Singapore, last modified February 28, 2014, http://www.pdpc.gov.sg/personal-data-protection-act/overview. 91 https://transparency.facebook.com/country/Singapore/2017-H1/ 92 https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview?user_requests_report_period=authority:SG 93 Phillip Dorling, "Australian spies in global deal to tap undersea cables," Sydney Morning Herald Technology, August 29, 2013, http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/australian-spies-in-global-deal-to-tap-undersea-cables-20130828-2sr58.html; Malay Mail Online, "Top-Secret expose: Singapore helping US spy on Malaysia," Yahoo! News Singapore, November 25, 2013, accessed July 9, 2014,https://sg.news.yahoo.com/top-secret-expos-singapore-helping-us-spy-malaysia-052600023.html. 94 Shane Harris, "The Social Laboratory," Foreign Policy, July 29, 2014, http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/07/29/the-social-laboratory/. 95 Channel News Asia, "'My first apology was insincere': Donald Low to Shanmugam," May 10, 2017, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/my-first-apology-was-insincere-donald-low-to-shanmugam-8833228 96 https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2018/04/02/civil-society-criticises-singapores-select-committee-hearings/ 97 http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mindef-introduces-cyber-defence-as-ns-vocation 98 http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-govt-agencies-delink-net-access-ahead-of-deadline 99 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/changes-to-singapore-s-cybercrime-law-passed-8712368 Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Russia Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Russia, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16afe21.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Not Free Total Score: 67/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 144,495,044 Internet Penetration: 76.0% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Not Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In April 2018, authorities blocked the communication app Telegram for refusing to provide encryption keys to the Federal Security Service, resulting in extensive collateral blocking and nationwide protests (see Blocking and Filtering and Digital Activism). Authorities continue to block websites, and new laws allow for the blocking of pirate mirror websites and those distributing online content that discredits "honor, dignity or business reputation" (see Blocking and Filtering). In November 2017, the government moved to designate media outlets receiving foreign funding as "foreign agents" (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Lawmakers sought to restrict anonymity online, passing legislation that limits the use of virtual private networks and requires messaging platforms to link users to their personal information (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Introduction: Internet freedom declined in Russia for the sixth year in a row, following the government's efforts to block the popular messaging app Telegram and numerous legislative proposals aimed at restricting online anonymity and increasing censorship. In the lead-up to the March 2018 elections, in which President Vladimir Putin secured his second consecutive term, authorities ramped up efforts to increase their already tight grip on the internet. Several new troubling pieces of legislation were passed and implemented. In June 2017, restrictions to virtual private networks (VPNs) were passed, while in November 2017 the government moved to designate media outlets receiving foreign funding as "foreign agents." A 2018 amendment to the Law on Information, Information Technology and Information Security requires social media and communication platforms to connect accounts with users' phone numbers, limiting the opportunity for anonymity online. Meanwhile, some components of the controversial Yarovaya Law came into force in July 2018, which require telecommunications operators and companies to store content of users' online communications for up to six months, in addition to metadata, and provide the Federal Security Service (FSB) with unfettered access to both. Blocking Telegram in April 2018 was one of this year's most obvious manifestations of the government's repressive approach to the internet. While other social media and communication platforms, such as LinkedIn and Zello, remain blocked in Russia, blocking a platform as popular as Telegram, with about 10 million Russian users, was unprecedented. Authorities restricted the platform after it refused to provide encryption keys to the FSB. When Telegram used various methods to overcome the initial blocking, Roskomnadzor, the state internet regulator, targeted millions of IP addresses, bringing down online stores, banks, airline ticketing systems, and other messaging platforms in the process. Many Russians made their frustrations known over the government's increasing online repression. In the summer of 2017, multiple demonstrations across the country focused on internet freedom and exonerating those arrested for their online activity. Following efforts to block Telegram in April, over 14,000 people protested in the country. Obstacles to Access: Access to the internet is affordable in Russia, and connection speeds are high compared with those in the rest of the region. Internet penetration rates continue to increase. However, the information and communication technology (ICT) industry is concentrated, with a state-owned internet service provider (ISP) dominating the market. Availability and Ease of Access Internet access in Russia continues to expand gradually. Internet penetration reached about 74 percent by the end of 2017, and the proportion of those who use the internet daily or at least several times a week is more than 50 percent.[1] Despite economic strains and recent currency fluctuations, connections to the internet remain relatively affordable for most of the population. The average cost is equivalent to about 1 percent of an average salary. Monthly fees for both fixed-line broadband internet and mobile internet service in Moscow are as low as US$5. High competition in the ISP market is one of the most important factors that restrain price growth.[2] However, while people with medium and higher incomes can easily afford access, a significant part of the population lives below the poverty line. In 2017, the total market volume of the telecommunications market reached RUB 1.62 trillion (approximately US$24 million). The revenue growth rate in the industry was 1.3 percent, which is higher than in the previous year. The broadband penetration reached 58 percent and the subscriber base increased by 4 percent.[3] The number of new mobile subscribers in 2017 dropped for the first time in 12 years.[4] However, in the first nine months of 2017, the number of mobile users increased to about 123 million people. During the same time period, Russian mobile subscribers transferred more than 4,480 petabytes of data, which is almost 90 percent higher than a year earlier.[5] A regional divide persists in Russia, with users in smaller, more remote towns and villages paying significantly more than users in major urban areas. Residents of the subarctic cities of Yakutsk and Novy Urengoy pay the highest prices in Russia, more than double the national average for monthly internet access. In most regions, the cost of internet connection is correlated with the average income level of the population. There are not clear religious, intergenerational, and gender divides related to the availability and ease of access to ICTs in Russia. Any existing divides do not differ significantly from the European Union (EU) countries. Internet speed in the country remains stable, with average connection speeds of 11.8 Mbps reported in the first quarter of 2017. This places Russia ahead of many of its Eurasian neighbors, but behind most EU countries.[6] Restrictions on Connectivity During the coverage period, the government did not intentionally restrict internet connectivity. However, in April 2018, the government blocked Telegram, the popular messaging service with over 10 million Russian users, because the platform refused to provide encryption keys to the FSB.[7] On court orders, Roskomnadzor began restricting access not only to IP addresses associated with Telegram, but also to cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Fiber, Microsoft Azure, and Alibaba Cloud. At one point, over 18 million IP addresses of popular hosting providers were blocked (see Blocking and Filtering).[8] As a result, from mid-April to early June, some third-party services were disrupted, including social networks, communication platforms, online shops, and payment systems. For example, users of messaging service Viber and social network Odnoklassniki experienced connectivity issues.[9] In May 2017, President Putin approved a new "Information Society Development Strategy," which aims to guide ICT policy development until 2030. The policy broadly seeks to increase the autonomy of Russia's internet, signalling the authorities' intention to wield greater control online. Among other things, the policy states that imported ICT equipment should gradually be replaced with domestically made alternatives.[10] The strategy document also directs officials to ensure that Russian "spiritual and cultural values" are represented in internet governance policy (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). ICT Market The communications market in Russia, despite high competition on the level of small ISPs, is still relatively concentrated on the national level. In 2017 and 2016, 68 percent of the market was controlled by five companies.[11] State-owned company Rostelecom holds 37 percent of the broadband internet market, followed by ER-Telecom with 10 percent, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) with 9 percent, VimpelCom (the brand Beeline) with 7 percent, and TransTeleKom (TTK) with 5 percent. The remaining market share is split among smaller local ISPs. The lion's share of the mobile communications market is controlled by four operators. According to the latest available data, from 2016, four large companies MTS, Megafon, VimpelCom, and Tele2 controlled 99 percent of the market.[12] In 2017, two prominent companies lost major Western investors. In October, the Swedish operator Telia Company sold all its shares in Megafon to Gazprombank.[13] The Norwegian Telenor company got rid of its stake in VEON, the owner of VimpelCom.[14] Regulatory Bodies The ICT and media sector is regulated by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), under the control of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media. The head of Roskomnadzor, Aleksandr Zharov, was appointed by executive decree on May 3, 2012. Roskomnadzor is responsible for implementing many laws regulating the internet. It carries out orders issued by the Prosecutor General's Office to block content deemed to be extremist or containing calls for participation in unsanctioned public actions, according to a law that went into effect on February 1, 2014. Roskomnadzor is also in charge of implementing the so-called "Bloggers' Law," requiring bloggers with more than 3,000 daily readers to register with the regulator; the data localization law requiring that international companies store the personal data of Russian users within the country; and the set of antiterrorism amendments known as "Yarovaya law" (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). In addition to conducting its own monitoring, Roskomnadzor fields complaints about online content from the public and "crowdsourcing censors," the courts, and other official bodies including the General Prosecutor's Office.[15] Russian citizens can visit a "Unified Registry" website to suggest websites to be blocked. The extent to which Roskomnadzor effectively blocks websites is unclear, and reports indicate that over half of the websites blacklisted by the regulator continue to operate.16 Limits on Content: The Russian authorities censor a wide range of topics online, most often under the pretext of combating "extremism." Content subject to blacklisting or removal includes LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) expression, information on the conflict in Ukraine, and material related to the political opposition. Authorities moved to block Telegram in April after the platform refused to provide the FSB encryption keys, resulting in massive collateral blocking and catalysing thousands of Russians to take to the streets in protest. Online outlets are subject to political and economic pressure to publish Kremlin-friendly content, and the government actively manipulates public opinion through state-controlled media and paid commentators. Blocking and Filtering Russian authorities have continued to develop and implement laws that allow government agencies to restrict access to websites and content related to the political opposition, the conflict in Ukraine, and the LGBTI community. Using a range of justifications, the government has attempted to restrict, with some success, many social media and communication platforms, including LinkedIn, Zello, Blackberry Messenger, Line, WeChat, and, most recently in April 2018, Telegram.[17] The authorities have wide discretion to block content online. From 2012 to 2013, the government enacted legal amendments that gave several agencies including Roskomnadzor, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), and the Federal Drug Control Service the authority to make decisions about blocking various categories of information. Currently, these agencies have the power to block the following types of content without a court order: information about suicide, drug propaganda, images of child sexual abuse, information about juvenile victims of crimes, materials that violate copyright, content related to extremism, and calls for unsanctioned public actions or rallies. Any other information may be blocked by a court order, provided that the court finds the content illegal. In most cases the legal framework offers no clear criteria for evaluating the legality of content, and authorities do not always offer a detailed explanation for blocking decisions. The lack of precise guidelines sometimes leads telecom operators, which are responsible for complying with blocking orders, to carry out the widest blocking possible so as to avoid fines and threats to their licenses. Telecom operators are obliged to regularly consult the "blacklist" of banned websites, updated by Roskomnadzor. Moreover, the law does not specify how ISPs should restrict access; they could focus, for example, on the IP address, the domain name, or the URL of the targeted page. Often the authorities do not consider it necessary to clearly indicate the specific pages that are meant to be blocked on a given site. According to RosKomSvoboda, which monitors online censorship, there were more than 10 million websites blocked by IP addresses as of March 2018.[18] Among accidental blockings, 97 percent were caused by blocking orders carried out on the basis of IP addresses.[19] In April 2018, the government moved to block Telegram.[20] On April 13, the Tagansky District Court ruled to block the messaging app for refusing to comply with Yarovaya law, which obliges online services to provide encryption keys to the government (see Legal Environment). The government has also repeatedly asserted that Telegram is used for terrorism-related purposes.[21] Telegram employed various methods to overcome the initial blocking, using other hosting sites to bypass it. Roskomnadzor then targeted these other hosting sites, which included Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Fiber, Microsoft Azure, and Alibaba Cloud, resulting in extensive collateral blocking. At one point, over 18 million IP addresses of popular hosting providers were blocked, affecting online stores, banks, airline ticketing systems, news sites, and other platforms such as Viber and Odnoklassniki.[22] Starting in mid-May, Roskomnadzor reportedly began unblocking IP addresses of cloud services and the number of blocks has stabilized.[23] Despite the government's efforts, Telegram remains available to many within the country; within a week of the blocking, there was only an estimated 7 percent decrease in Russian users of the app.[24] In addition to Telegram, the government has blocked a number of other communication and social media apps. Zello, blocked in April 2017, remained unavailable during the reporting period. The app, which allows mobile phones to be used like walkie-talkies, was blocked under the Law on Information, Information Technology and Information Security ostensibly for failing to register as an information disseminator, which would grant authorities access to much of the service's data.[25] Previously, Russian truck drivers had employed Zello to coordinate protests and strike actions against a controversial road-tax program.[26] Messengers like Line and BlackBerry Messenger are also blocked under the same law.[27] The Chinese messaging app WeChat was blocked in May 2017 also for failing to register as a disseminator of information, though it was subsequently unblocked after complying with Roskomnadzor's requests.[28] Data localization rules are also used as a pretext to restrict certain platforms. In November 2016, LinkedIn became the first major international platform to be blocked in Russia for failing to comply with data localization requirements (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity).[29] In April 2018, head of Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov announced a large-scale inspection of Facebook to be completed in 2018. The inspection will investigate whether the platform is adhering to data localization requirements, removing prohibited content, and complying with other relevant legislation. If Facebook is not properly complying, Zharov raised the possibility of blocking the platform.[30] In December 2017, the Prosecutor General's Office blocked a number of websites of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that were labeled "undesirable" under a 2015 law (see Content Removal). The websites included those of the National Democratic Institute, the Media Development Investment Fund, Open Society Foundations, the Institute of Modern Russia, and five websites connected to Open Russia, an NGO founded by Kremlin-critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.[31] The Russian Prosecutor's Office said that the Open Russia sites were "calling for disorder."[32] In February 2018, Roskomnadzor also blocked the news outlet MBK Media, which is funded by Khodorkovsky, after a request from the Prosecutor General's Office.[33] The government frequently relies on extremism laws to censor critical content. In November 2017, the Prosecutor General's Office blocked a page for containing "extremist" information due to its content about a rally and its call for the resignation of Kuban Cossack judges.[34] In January 2018, Roskomnadzor blocked the site Russiangate for "extremist" content.[35] A few hours before the blocking, Russiangate published an investigation into real estate holdings of the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov. A case of inciting hatred under article 282 of the criminal code was considered, but at the end of the reporting period the case had not been filed.[36] Websites with content relating to a broad host of issues, such as corruption, religious beliefs, traditional family values, and pornography, are also subject to blocking. Pages on opposition leader Alexei Navalny's website detailing an anticorruption investigation were blocked in February 2018 based on a decision of the Ust-Labinsky District Court of the Krasnodar Krai. The government justified the blocking because Navalny had failed to comply with a court order requiring removal of photos and videos from his website (see Content Removal). Navalny claimed that the blocking was to suppress his campaign to boycott the March presidential election.[37] Separately, some websites featuring the works of renowned American photographer John Sturges continued to be blocked during the reporting period,[38] despite the Russian Investigative Committee in November 2017 finding no signs of child pornography in his work.[39] In addition, in February 2018, it was reported that the local prosecutor's office in Kabardino-Balkaria sent four cases to the court in order to restrict access to the websites of Jehovah's Witnesses.[40] During the coverage period, several laws and amendments were enacted that affected blocking and filtering in Russia. In October 2017, legal amendments[41] that block pirate mirror websites went into effect, which led to Roskomnadzor blocking more than 600 such websites as of February 2018.[42] In November 2017, a law[43] went into effect regulating VPNs, anonymizers, and search engines, which requires VPNs to register or risk being blocked (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). However, the law had not been used as of February 2018.[44] At the end of April 2018, new amendments were adopted that established a mechanism for blocking websites that distributed online content discrediting "honor, dignity or business reputation" based on a court decision.[45] The law provides content owners 24 hours to remove the defaming content after first being notified, or risk being blocked.[46] In cooperation with specialists from various telecom operators, Roskomnadzor started testing a new content filtering system that is expected to significantly speed up the website blocking process.[47] At the end of March, new rules for blocking illegal content were published on Roskomnadzor's website.[48] The rules mentioned a new method of blocking at the IP address level called "blackholing," a method that allows for isolation of individual segments of the internet, preventing traffic from reaching its destination. Usually blackholing is used as a countermeasure against a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack; however, Roskomnadzor cites use of the method to block websites.[49] During the reporting period, Roskomnadzor did not employ the method, including when blocking Telegram. In September 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) began considering complaints about the blocking of the websites Kasparov.ru, Grani.ru, EZh.ru, RosKomSvoboda, and Worldview of Russian Civilization and its effects on freedom of expression.[50] The ECtHR has inquired with the Russian government, including a request on whether blocking laws are aYsufficiently accurate and predictable in their application." The Russian Ministry of Justice replied that restricting access to information by IP addresses is justified.[51] Providers of public internet access, including libraries, cafes, and educational institutions are responsible for ensuring that the content available to their users is filtered in compliance with Article 6.17 of the administrative code on protecting children from harmful information.[52] Content Removal Roskomnadzor typically receives orders from government bodies, including the Prosecutor General's Office and the Main Directorate for Drugs Control, to enforce the censorship of content deemed illegal; in some cases, Roskomnadzor itself identifies illegal content. The agency must then instruct the hosting provider to issue a warning to the website. Website owners have the right to appeal the restriction in court, but they are often given a short time interval in which to do so. As a result, most owners quickly delete the banned information rather than take a risk of having the entire site blocked. If the content is not removed, the page is included on a blacklist, and ISPs must block it within 24 hours of receiving a warning from Roskomnadzor or face fines. For websites that are registered as mass media, Roskomnadzor has additional powers to issue warnings to the editorial board about "abuse of the freedom of mass media." Article 4 of the Law on Mass Media indicates that such abuse can include, among other things, incitement to terrorism, extremism, propaganda of violence and cruelty, information about illegal drugs, and obscene language. If a media outlet receives two warnings within a year, Roskomnadzor has the right to apply for a court order to shut it down. By August 2017, Roskomnadzor had issued 10 such warnings for use of obscene language within the calendar year, compared to 34 in 2016 and 47 in 2015.[53] The total number of violations of the law in relation to the media has decreased by 25 percent.[54] During the reporting period, there were several cases in which Roskomnadzor mandated the removal of content. In August 2017, Roskomnadzor fined six media outlets for posting a video with obscene language of a rap-battle between Russian rappers Oxxxymiron and Gnoynoy. An additional 26 media outlets received warning letters for sharing the video.[55] On February 14, 2018, Roskomnadzor mandated that 29 internet sources, including Instagram and YouTube,[56] remove information about Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) investigation into the connections of businessman Oleg Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko.[57] This came as a result of a lawsuit Deripaska filed claiming that photos and videos of himself posted online included "unlawful information" about his private life. The photos and videos were of Deripaska and Prikhodko on Deripaska's yacht with model Nastia Rybka. After Navalny refused to comply with the removal order, on February 15, Roskomnadzor ordered communication service providers to block access to pages of his website (see Blocking and Filtering).[58] Most media outlets complied with the removal request and did not have their webpages blocked.[59] Russian website owners have been held liable for hyperlinks to materials from foreign organizations deemed "undesirable."[60] Between June and November 2017, the government charged eight Russian organizations under the 2015 law on "undesirable organizations." In all cases, the hyperlinks were posted prior to the banning of the foreign organizations. One example was an attempt to impose an administrative penalty on Russian extremism watchdog the SOVA Centre for Information and Analysis and its director Alexander Verkhovsky for hyperlinks to the National Endowment for Democracy and Open Society Foundations.[61] The case was dismissed by the court.[62] However, seven other organizations lost in court. In December 2017, Roskomnadzor stated that it considers hyperlinks to content from "undesirable organizations" as a means to distribute such content.[63] In February 2018, it was reported that Roskomnadzor was imposing penalties on certain regional telecom operators for using Google Global Cache, the servers of which increase the speed of access to Google resources. According to the agency, Russian operators cannot install or use these noncertified systems. Those that did not comply were fined approximately RUB 300,000 (US$4,500),[64] although the government reportedly stopped imposing fines in spring 2018. Roskomnadzor first informed operators in September 2017 about uncertified Google Global CaN?he servers, referring to information received from the FSB.[65] In July 2017, members of the United Russia party proposed a bill aimed at combatting "fake news." The initial bill received much criticism, and a revised version was passed in a first reading in April 2018.[66] The law would require webpages, including social media platforms, with over 100,000 visitors per day and comment sections to remove posts with inaccurate information within 24 hours of being notified.[67] If the information is not removed, a fine of up to RUB 50 million (about US$800,000) can be imposed. The legislation defines "inaccurate" information in a vague and broad way, allowing for politically motivated removals and threats to free expression. The bill also requests that tech companies that own major online platforms have a separate legal entity based in Russia. A second reading is scheduled for November 2018, however the bill has been criticized by Roskomnadzor officials and the Ministry of Digital Development. Foreign companies do not always comply with the Russian authorities' demands to remove content. Twitter, according to its transparency report, complied with only 51 percent of 1,292 requests for content removal from July to December 2017. Russia is second to Turkey for having the most such requests to Twitter.[68] During the same period, Facebook restricted access to 174 items that violated "laws related to extremism, self-harm, suicide promotion, and unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information" and one item relating to defamation.[69] Google received 12,060 requests from the Russian government to restrict content in that timeframe and complied in 78 percent of cases. Of the requests, 51 percent were on national security grounds and 22 percent related to regulated goods and services.[70] There were at least two cases of content removal under "the right to be forgotten" during the reporting period. In July 2015, President Putin approved the law requiring search engines to remove links to false or outdated information about an individual.[71] The petitioning individual must prove that the information warrants removal, though a court order is not required. In August 2017, a St. Petersburg court ordered internet company Yandex to remove search results regarding businessman Ilya Kligman.[72] In another instance, a court ordered Yandex to remove links with information that it said defamed the dignity and business reputation of former minister of agriculture Elena Skrynnik.[73] The SOVA Centre and RosKomSvoboda have unsuccessfully challenged the current application of the law in the Arbitration Court of the Moscow District.[74] Yandex has also opposed the law, arguing that altering search results violates the constitutional right to seek, obtain, produce, and spread information.[75] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation As the space for independent print and broadcast media in Russia shrinks, online publications and social networks have become increasingly important platforms for critical expression and civic mobilization. Several online resources, including Google, Yandex, VKontakte (VK), YouTube, and Mail.ru, are more popular than the biggest television channels among younger urban audiences.[76] Polls conducted in the first half of 2017 show the influence of video blogs in Russia. Between 20 and 25 percent of Russian adults watch video blog channels, and about 50 percent of Russians between the ages of 18 and 24 watch video bloggers.[77] While Russians are still able to access a wide variety of foreign sources, many independent online media outlets within Russia have been forced to shut down over recent years due to increasing government pressure. Self-censorship is encouraged by the vague wording of restrictive legislation, the seemingly arbitrary manner in which these laws are enforced, and the near-total ineffectiveness of judicial remedies.[78] Laws prohibiting "extremist" content and the government's crackdown on certain media outlets have had a chilling effect on free expression, particularly on sensitive topics such as governance failures, corruption, the conflict in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, human rights violations, religion, and the LGBTI community. The new "Information Society Development Strategy" adopted in May 2017 directs officials to ensure that Russian "spiritual and cultural values" are represented in internet governance policy,[79] potentially foreshadowing further censorship. The 2015 data localization law mandates an expensive exercise to place Russian users' data on local servers, one that Russian authorities have haphazardly enforced. LinkedIn was blocked in Russia in November 2016 for failing to comply with data localization requirements (see Blocking and Filtering). Government officials have indicated that larger foreign platforms, such as Facebook, could face a similar fate if they fail to comply with data localization rules (see Content Removal).[80] Twitter told the government that they planned to localize Russian users' data in 2018.[81] Prior to the presidential election in March 2018, authorities ramped up pressure on Russian platforms to comply with restrictive legislation. LiveJournal, a popular Russian-owned blogging platform with approximately 15 million active monthly users,[82] agreed to move its servers from the United States to Russia in December 2016 in compliance with the data localization law.[83] Following the move, LiveJournal updated its terms of service, banning "political solicitation" on the platform, as well as content that violates Russian law.[84] In January 2018, Roskomnadzor blocked the Russian news site Russiangate three hours after it published an investigation into real estate holdings of the head of the FSB Alexander Bortnikov (see Blocking and Filtering). Russiangate subsequently shut down after losing funding from investors.[85] Russian authorities use paid commentators to influence online content. This issue came to international prominence following revelations that Russian trolls had attempted to influence the US presidential election in 2016 by manipulating discussions and disseminating fake news.[86] Well before that controversy, however, journalistic investigations had revealed that a "troll factory," the Internet Research Agency located in St. Petersburg, stood at the center of coordinated Russian trolling activities, attacking both domestic and international targets.[87] The trolling company has uploaded content to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, blog platform Tumblr, and meme website 9gag.[88] Domestically, Russian trolls have been observed commenting on news sites and on social media, zealously defending Putin while smearing his critics. They frequently interject to promote a Kremlin-friendly narrative in response to controversial topics, asserting, for example, that opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was killed by his own friends, not at the order of the Kremlin.[89] Russian women have reported being subject to especially vicious, though less organized, trolling. An October 2017 Wired report[90] revealed that Anna Zhavnerovich, a Moscow woman who was severely beaten in a domestic violence incident, was subjected to a deluge of incessant online harassment after publishing her story online. The abuse focused on her gender, and images of her bloodied face were transformed into memes celebrating violence against women that were widely circulated on online forums. Onerous regulatory requirements and restrictive laws affecting online media have pushed some outlets to downsize, change owners, or exit the market altogether. Amendments to the Law on Mass Media that came into force in January 2016 prohibit foreign citizens and organizations from owning more than a 20 percent stake in a Russian media outlet. As a result, foreign media holdings have left Russia and, in some cases, transferred ownership to Russian entities.[91] According to Roskomnadzor, 821 media outlets changed their shareholder structure following the legislation's introduction.[92] For example, in 2015 German publishing house Axel Springer sold its Russian assets, including the Russian edition of Forbes magazine and website, to Aleksandr Fedotov, the owner of Artcom Media Group.[93] Authorities are increasingly using Russia's 2012 "foreign agents" law to smear organizations known to be critical of the government. The law, which was strongly opposed by Russian and international human rights organizations,[94] requires NGOs that receive some foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined "political activities" in Russia to register as "foreign agents." In November 2017, President Putin signed a law "On Mass Media Outlets as Foreign Agents and Simplification of the Blocking of Websites of Undesirable Organizations."[95] The legislation allows the government to designate media outlets receiving foreign funding as "foreign agents," thus requiring them to reveal their funding sources.[96] Outlets now considered as foreign agents include Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and local services of RFE/RL.[97] These changes were reportedly in response to the United States naming Russia Today a foreign agent. In January, the State Duma was also considering amendments to the Code on Administrative Offenses that would impose fines for violating the law on Mass Media.[98] In late May, the Ministry of Justice said it was ready to prosecute media outlets not complying with the latest amendments to the law.[99] In January 2018, the State Duma had a first reading of amendments to the "Law on Mass Media" and the "Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection."[100] The amendments would require media outlets recognized as foreign agents to establish a local "legal entity" and ensure that any content published is labelled in accordance with their foreign agent status.[101] If content is not accurately labeled, the website could be blocked. Additionally, individual journalists can be designated as foreign agents if they directly or indirectly receive funding from foreign organizations or countries.[102] A May 2015 law allowed the government to designate foreign organizations as "undesirable," barring the dissemination of information from them (see Content Removal). Individuals and smaller, independent outlets have been affected by the 2014 "Bloggers' Law," which requires sites with 3,000 or more daily visitors to register as mass media outlets. Such registration means bloggers can no longer remain anonymous and are held legally responsible for the content posted on their site, including comments made by third parties. Russian users can still access critical content online, but independent Russian outlets are increasingly publishing from abroad due to the repressive environment at home. Digital Activism Despite continued government pressure, the internet remains the most versatile and effective tool for activism in the country, hosting frequent efforts to confront state propaganda, fight corruption, and organize protests. Following the government's efforts to block Telegram, thousands took to the streets across the country against the restrictions and against internet censorship more broadly.[103] The unregistered Libertarian Party of Russia organized an April 30 rally in Moscow that over 12,000 people attended. #Digitalresistance was used during the protests on Twitter,[104] while Navalny livestreamed the rally on his YouTube channel.[105] Prior to the demonstration, all Russian Telegram users received a message from the app's founder, Pavel Durov, urging them to participate in order to change the course of Russian history.[106] On May 13 in Moscow, a broad coalition of opposition parties and organizations organized another demonstration against Telegram's blocking. Approximately 2,400 people attended.[107] During the reporting period, Durov announced the start of a "Digital Resistance," a decentralized movement to support digital rights.[108] Digital resistance communities online remain small, with only a few group and pages on Telegram, Twitter, and Russian social media site VK.[109] However, the movement gained more followers after Telegram was blocked, and Durov vowed in April that he would donate millions of dollars of his own money for the effort. In July 2017, approximately 1,000 people demonstrated in Moscow against increasing online repression and for the exoneration of people arrested for their online activity, including video blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky and a mathematician detained for allegedly advocating terrorism online (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities).[110] The protesters chanted "Truth is stronger than censorship" and "Free country, free internet." At least three were reportedly arrested.[111] A month later, in August, there were multiple demonstrations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several other cities in support of internet freedom. Demonstrators again rallied against online censorship and legal restrictions, and called for the release of those jailed for online activity.[112] During the demonstration in Moscow, more than 10 people were arrested.[113] Opposition politician and activist Navalny, who actively uses the internet to organize rallies and publish results of anticorruption investigations, continues to be a popular source for information on corruption. As of June 2018, over 2.1 million people were subscribed to his YouTube channel.[114] Violations of User Rights: In recent years, Russian authorities have substantially restricted user rights by passing laws that increase penalties for expression online while expanding the government's access to personal data. More social media users than ever before have been arrested for voicing dissent and many face lengthy prison sentences. The government has increasingly passed laws restricting anonymity online, and broad antiterrorism legislation compels service providers to grant authorities access to encrypted communications. Legal Environment Although the constitution grants the right to free speech, this right is routinely violated, and there are no special laws protecting online expression. Online journalists do not possess the same rights as traditional journalists unless they register their websites as mass media. Russia remains a member of the Council of Europe and a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which enshrines the right to freedom of expression. However, over the past few years, the country has adopted a set of laws and other acts that, coupled with repressive law enforcement and judicial systems, have eroded freedom of expression in practice. Courts tend to side with the executive authorities, refusing to apply provisions of the constitution and international treaties that protect the basic rights of journalists and internet users. In July 2016, the Russian government introduced some of the harshest legislative amendments in post-Soviet Russia. Collectively known as Yarovaya Law, they altered nearly a dozen laws with wide ramifications for internet freedom.[115] The changes introduced prison terms of up to seven years for publicly calling for or justifying terrorism online.[116] The harsh penalties and broad wording of the offenses open the door to abuse, namely the criminalization of legitimate, nonviolent expression on the internet. Penalties for extremism were increased in 2014 with the passage of a series of amendments to the criminal code. The maximum punishment for online incitement to separatism or calls for extremism was set at five years in prison,[117] while that for incitement to hatred was set at six years.[118] In addition, the mere opening of a criminal case could serve as a basis for the inclusion of the accused on a list of extremists maintained by the Federal Financial Monitoring Service. Individuals on this list are restricted from certain professions, and their bank accounts can be frozen, even if they have not been convicted. Russia's definition of extremism is particularly broad. Russia penalizes expression that is not necessarily abusive or discriminatory in nature.[119] Moreover, the interpretation of extremism has expanded to include not only incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity, or humiliation of national dignity, but also propaganda of exceptionalism, superiority, or inferiority of citizens on grounds of their religion, nationality, or race, and public justification of terrorism. Russian users may also be prosecuted under a host of older laws in the criminal code that can be applied to online speech. Russian law establishes penalties for general defamation (Article 128.1 of the criminal code), defamation against a judge or prosecutor (Article 298.1), insulting the authorities (Article 319), calls for terrorism (Article 205.1), insulting religious feelings (Article 148), calls for extremism (Article 280), calls for separatism (Article 280.1), and incitement of hatred (Article 282). The law also proscribes spreading false information on the activities of the Soviet Union in World War II (Article 354.1), displaying Nazi symbols or symbols of organizations deemed extremist (Article 20.3 of the administrative code), and the dissemination of extremist materials (Article 20.29 of the administrative code). Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Criminal charges are widely used in Russia to stifle critical discussion online. Individuals have been targeted for their posts on social media, including reposts. Most arrests within the coverage period fell under Article 282 ("actions aimed at inciting hate or enmity"), Article 280 ("public calls for extremist activity"), and Article 280.1 ("public calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation") of the criminal code. The total number of criminal cases related to internet activity or real threats of criminal charges being brought increased in 2017 to 411 compared with 298 in 2016.[120] Over the past 10 years, there have been 1,449 criminal cases or threats of charges being brought in connection with online activity, including 98 sentences requiring imprisonment.[121] An annual report from the SOVA Centre found that 96 percent of sentences for "extremism" in 2017 related to content posted online.[122] In the first six months of 2018, there were 762 "extremism" cases, many of which related to online activity.[123] On January 30, 2018, math teacher Dmitry Bogatov was released from house arrest. [124] He was originally charged in April 2017 with inciting mass disorder and making public calls for terrorism. The charges related to two comments on an online forum made by a user with Bogatov's IP address. One comment called on protesters to bring improvised weapons to a demonstration, and the other linked to a Kanye West video clip that depicts protesters attacking police with Molotov cocktails. Bogatov maintained that he did not post the comments, and insisted that, because he uses the Tor anonymity network, his IP address could have been shared by other users within the network. [125] In August 2017, Alexander Sokolov, an investigative journalist for RBC, [126] was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for "extremism." [127] He was originally detained in July 2015 for alleged involvement in a banned left-wing movement. He denies the charge, claiming that he is being punished for his reporting, which has included anticorruption investigations. Sokolov stresses that the case against him was opened soon after he defended his PhD dissertation about corruption within corporations Rosatom, Rostech, Rosnano, and Olympstroy. [128] Sofiko Arifdzhanova, a journalist with the online outlet OtkrytayaRossiya (Open Russia), was fined 10 thousand rubles in June 2017. [129] She was first detained after she reported on anticorruption protests in March 2017. She was one of 17 journalists arrested across the country during the demonstrations. [130] In June 2017, the Kaluga District Court sentenced Roman Grishin to 320 hours of forced labor on charges of inciting ethnic hatred under part 1 of Article 282 of the criminal code. Grishin shared a video on his VK page that included a song called "A new hit from Kharkov! This is Russism, baby . . . ." The song contains criticism of Russia's actions in Ukraine. [131] In November 2017, the Petrogradsky District Court of St. Petersburg convicted Anatoly Pleshanov to a year suspended sentence under part 1 of Article 282. Pleshanov was charged because of his comments on VK in the group "Konakovo and Konakovskiy district" on August 11, 2014. His post was critical of Ukrainians who move to Russia, as well as on the annexation of Crimea.[132] Russian authorities displayed an increasing intolerance for critical expression about religion, particularly any expression that could undermine the Russian Orthodox Church. Several social media users have been prosecuted for violating the 2013 law criminalizing public actions that "insult believers' religious feelings."[133] Ruslan Sokolovsky, a blogger from Yekaterinburg, was convicted of inciting religious hatred and insulting believers' religious feelings in May 2017 after posting a YouTube video of himself playing the popular gaming app Pokemon Go in a Russian Orthodox Church. The judge, declaring that Sokolovsky's video disrespected society and offended religious sentiments, handed down a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence. Sokolovsky said he would have likely been sentenced to prison if not for the significant media interest in the case. [134] In September 2017, musician Daniil Sukachev was fined RUB 30,000 after being found guilty of desecrating sacred objects. Sukachev posted to his VK page a video with a song by the Polish black metal band Batushka. The video included images of Orthodox worship edited with special effects.[135] A number of Russians have been charged in relation to satirical memes, often connected to religion, shared on social media. 19-year-old student Daniil Markin was charged with inciting hate speech for images posted on his VK page, including a picture likening Game of Thrones character Jon Snow to Jesus Christ with the caption "Jon Snow is risen!" [136] Police raided his home and seized his computer in July 2017 and the trial began in July 2018. [137] Markin faces up to five years in prison, and he has already been placed on the government's extremism list, which restricts access to his bank accounts. [138] Maria Motuznaya faces up to six years in prison on extremism and hate speech charges for memes she posted, including one with nuns smoking cigarettes. The police searched her apartment in May 2018 and her trial was expected to begin in August 2018. [139] The government has included her on its extremist registry. [140] Andrei Shasherin was charged with inciting hatred and "insulting believers' religious sensibilities" for images posted on VK. [141] In March 2018, police raided his home and detained him; he was pressured to confess to sharing images with "malicious intent," a statement that he later recanted. Shasherin has also been placed on the extremist list. In August 2018, after the reporting period, journalist and activist Oyumaa Dongak was charged for inciting hatred for an image[142] shared four years previously comparing Nazi Germany with the Soviet era.[143] LGBTI activists have been punished under Russia's law against promoting "nontraditional sexual relations" for their expression and activism online. Yevdokiya Romanova, an LGBTI activist, was found guilty of "spreading propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships among minors on the internet" in October 2017 after she shared information on Facebook about the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, a group that advocates for access to information about health and sexuality. Romanova was fined RUB 50,000 (US$865).[144] During the May protests against Putin's inauguration, more than 1,600 people were detained.[145] The authorities charged 28 people from Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation with inciting riots, using their tweets and retweets as evidence.[146] Many were fined, while some were sentenced to 30 days in prison. Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Russian lawmakers have continued to enact legislation giving authorities ever-increasing powers to conduct intrusive surveillance. In the year leading up to the March 2018 presidential election, the parliament also passed laws that erode opportunities for anonymous activity online. A law that calls for the blocking of VPN services that allow access to banned content was adopted in July 2017.[147] VPNs that agree to restrict their clients' access to websites deemed illegal will not be blocked. The government, however, has had difficulty limiting VPNs in practice, as most services have refused to comply with or have ignored the law.[148] In response to this, the State Duma passed amendments to the administrative code in a second reading in May 2018 that impose fines on both VPNs and search engines for providing access to prohibited sites.[149] Prior to these pieces of legislation, VPN provider Private Internet Access decided to pull out of the country in July 2016 after some of its servers were seized by authorities; it had refused to log user activity as required by Yarovaya Law.[150] Authorities have haphazardly blocked smaller VPN services (see Blocking and Filtering). Separately, In January 2018, an amendment to the Law on Information, Information Technology and Information Security went into force. Originally adopted in July 2017, the law prohibits social media and communication platforms from letting users remain anonymous.[151] Platforms must connect user accounts with their phone numbers, effectively linking online activity with their real identity.[152] The government has had difficulty with the law's implementation.[153] Courts have also blocked anonymity tools at the behest of regional prosecutors. For example, in March 2018, a prosecutor's office in the Kirov region found 10 anonymous websites that were making drug-related content accessible. The Perm Kirovsky District Court ordered the IP addresses blocked.[154] Russian lawmakers have also sought to limit the privacy safeguards of encryption. The package of antiterrorism amendments passed in July 2016, known as Yarovaya Law, mandates that online services offering encryption assist the FSB with decoding encrypted data. Though this is an impossible task for many service providers those, for example, that use end-to-end encryption companies that fail to cooperate could face a RUB 1 million fine (US$15,000). The Electronic Frontier Foundation has suggested that the impossibility of full compliance is a deliberate feature of the law, giving Russian authorities great leverage over the affected companies.[155] Yarovaya Law also gives the authorities increased access to user data by requiring telecoms and "organizers of information distribution on the internet" to store the content of users' online communications including text, video, and audio communications for up to six months, while metadata must be stored for up to three years in the case of telecoms and one year in the case of the other entities, such as websites and apps. Russian authorities will have access to this data without a court order.[156] Some of the law's provisions concerning data storage went into effect in July 2018, after the reporting period.[157] The FSB and Roskomnadzor continue to include Russian and foreign websites and platforms in the Register of Information-Dissemination Organizers.[158] Once a website or platform is included on the registry, it must begin to collect, store, and provide users' metadata to the Russian authorities.[159] The data localization law enacted in September 2015 requires foreign companies that possess Russian citizens' personal data to store their servers on Russian territory, potentially enabling easier access for security services.[160] Some foreign companies, such as Uber and Viber,[161] have reportedly moved to comply with the law. The blogging platform LiveJournal, which is Russian owned but was founded in the United States, transferred its servers from the United States to Russia in December 2016, sparking concerns about censorship and privacy on the platform (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). The Russian government employs SORM, or "system for operational investigative measures," for its online surveillance activities. Under current legislation, in order to receive an operating license, ISPs are required to install technology that allows security services to monitor internet traffic. ISPs that do not comply with SORM system requirements are promptly fined and may lose their licenses if problems persist. The current version, SORM-3, uses deep packet inspection technology, enhancing the ability of the security services to monitor content on all telecommunications networks in Russia. SORM has been used for political purposes in the past, including the targeting of opposition leaders. In a November 2012 Supreme Court case involving Maksim Petlin, an opposition leader in the city of Yekaterinburg, the court upheld the government's right to eavesdrop on Petlin's phone conversations because he had taken part in "extremist activities," namely antigovernment protests. Russian authorities are technically required to obtain a court order before accessing an individual's electronic communications data. However, the authorities are not required to show the warrant to ISPs or telecom providers, and FSB officers have direct access to operators' servers through local control centers. Experts note that there is no information about government efforts to punish security officers who abuse their power.[162] ISPs and mobile providers are required to grant network access to law enforcement agencies conducting search operations and to turn over other information requested by the Prosecutor General's Office, the Interior Ministry, the FSB, or the Investigative Committee. Intimidation and Violence Attacks on journalists are relatively common in Russia, and authorities display a lack of will to meaningfully investigate instances of violence. In its 2017 report,[163] the human rights group Agora marked the increase in violence against journalists and bloggers. More than 60 people were threatened or attacked, some of them repeatedly, because of their online activity. In 29 cases, the assailants were identified as police officers or local administrators. In 24 cases, the attackers remained unknown. For example, in August 2017, Znak.com orrespondent Ekaterina Vinokurova received death threats on her Facebook page after her article on the Orthodox activists' campaign against the movie Matilda.[164] In April 2018, investigative journalist Maksim Borodin, who reported for the independent news website Novy Den, was found unconscious after falling from his balcony.[165] He later died in the hospital and police treated his death as either an accident or suicide. Novy Den's editor-in-chief denied that Borodin's death was by suicide.[166] Borodin previously reported on sensitive topics including corruption, the prison system, and, most recently, the deaths of secret Russian military contractors in Syria. A number of NGOs have called for a full investigation into his death.[167] Previous attacks in Russia have not been investigated. For example, the murder of journalist Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev has been unsolved for more than four years, and the murder of journalist Gadzhimurad Kamalov has been unsolved for over seven years. In March 2017, the Investigative Committee of Russia refused to open a criminal case related to the beating of photographer David Frenkel while he was at the 78th police department of St. Petersburg.[168] Yelena Milashina, a journalist working for the independent newspaper and website Novaya Gazeta, was subjected to a campaign of threats after publishing an investigation about the systematic abuse and murder of gay men in Chechnya.[169] After the piece was published, religious clerics in Chechnya delivered a sermon calling for violent retribution against Milashina and other journalists. The sermon, read out in a mosque in the regional capital, Grozny, was broadcast on state television. Shortly afterward, Novaya Gazeta received envelopes in the mail containing an unidentified white powder.[170] Milashina has since fled Russia amid increasing threats to her safety.[171] In May 2017, Dmitriy Popkov, editor in chief of the local newspaper and online outlet Ton-M in Minusinsk, was shot and killed in his home by unidentified assailants. Popkov was known for his critical reporting on corruption and abuse of power in the city and its region.[172] Technical Attacks Cyberattacks against independent media, blogs, and news portals continue to inhibit Russian internet users' ability to access such sites. In October 2017, the websites of several websites and media outlets including Interfax, Fontanka.Ru, and Novaya Gazeta experienced powerful attacks from the badrabbit virus.[173] The virus hit nearly 200 targets in Russia and also affected sites in Ukraine, Germany, and Turkey.[174] Also in October 2017, the website of the popular Russian news source The Village was subjected to a large-scale DDoS attack.[175] Election officials reported that on March 17, 2018, the night before the presidential election, the website of the National Public Monitoring, an independent network that tracks up-to-date information on violations in the presidential electoral process, experienced a DDoS attack.[176] Officials claimed that the attack was sourced to 15 countries,[177] but others have seriously questioned the alleged attack's authenticity and suggested that it feeds into the government's narrative that foreign powers want to influence Russian elections.[178] In recent years, dozens of Russian civil society activists and journalists have been notified of attempts to compromise their accounts online, including Telegram and Gmail accounts, suggesting a coordinated campaign to access their private information. The pro-Russian "hacktivist" group CyberBerkut has been known to target Kremlin critics, leaking private information it obtained using phishing tactics. A May 2017 report by Citizen Lab found that personal files belonging to David Satter, an American journalist and author who has published books critical of the Kremlin, were stolen and leaked on CyberBerkut's blog. The documents had been modified in an attempt to create the appearance that opposition activists, including Navalny, were paid by foreign governments.[179] In February 2018, Putin signed a decree that gave the Federal Security Service power to fight cyberattacks and to protect the personal data of individuals and their families who are under state protections.[180] Notes: 1 "The use of the Internet" [in Russian], Levadacentre, January 18, 2018, https://www.levada.ru/2018/01/18/polzovanie-internetom/. 2 "Wired Internet connection is becoming more expensive in Russia" [in Russian], Vedomosti, November 1, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GO8N37. 3 "Russian Telecommunications Market: Preliminary Results for 2017" [in Russian], TMT Consulting, December, 2017, http://bit.ly/2sLnBfu. 4 "The number of new mobile subscribers decreased for the first time in 12 years" [in Russian], Vedomosti, December 19, 2017, https://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2017/12/19/745713-novih-abonentov. 5 "Mobile Internet traffic in Russia almost doubled" [in Russian], COMNEWS, December 25, 2017, http://www.comnews.ru/content/111114/2017-12-25/mobilnyy-internet-v-rossii-pochti-udvoilsya. 6 See Akamai, https://www.akamai.com/fr/fr/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/q1-2017-state-of-the-internet-connectivity-report.pdf. 7 "Russia starts blocking Telegram messenger," Reuters, April 16, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-telegram-blocking/russia-starts-blocking-telegram-messenger-idUSKBN1HN13J; "Russia Tried to Shut Down Telegram. Websites Were Collateral Damage," New York Times, April 18, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/world/europe/russia-telegram-shutdown.html. 8 "Roskomnadzor is getting closer to breaking the Runet in pursuit of Telegram" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, April 17, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/38093/. 9 "Who suffered from attempts to block Telegram in Russia" [in Russian], Vedomosti, April 17, 2018, https://bit.ly/2Lvz3EV. 10 "Russia approves new information society development strategy," Meduza, May 10, 2017, http://bit.ly/2G1EiW3; http://bit.ly/2G14oIO. 11 "TMT Rating: Broadband Networks B2C Q3 2017" [in Russian], TMT Consulting, November, 2017, http://bit.ly/2CCxgVd 12 See AC&M data: http://www.acm-consulting.com/data-downloads/doc_download/182-2016-cellular-data.html 13 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-telia-megafon/telia-sells-remaining-megafon-stake-to-gazprombank-for-1-billion-idUSKBN1D00OW 14 Results of the year: Telecom under the "Yarovaya's package" [in Russian], RIA Novosti, December 28, 2017, https://ria.ru/ny2018_resume/20171228/1511903247.html; https://www.ft.com/content/9d595a22-2d07-11e8-9b4b-bc4b9f08f381 15 Daniil Turovsky, "How Roskomnadzor operates" [in Russian], Meduza, March 13, 2015, http://ow.ly/ZTQ8J 16 "More than half of sites blocked by Roskomnadzor continue to operate" [in Russian], Meduza, February 16, 2017, https://meduza.io/news/2017/02/16/bolee-poloviny-zablokirovannyh-roskomnadzorom-saytov-prodolzhayut-rabotat 17 https://vk.com/doc1_451499493?hash=f45613990541c82af8&dl=136a40c575bfa82136 18 See RosKomSvoboda's data on website blocking: https://reestr.rublacklist.net/visual 19 See RosKomSvoboda's data on website blocking: https://reestr.rublacklist.net/visual 20 "Telegram Loses Free Expression Battle to Russian Authorities", Human Rights Watch, April 13, 2018, https://bit.ly/2rsC0cw 21 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/technology/telegram-apple-russia.html 22 "Who suffered from attempts to block Telegram in Russia" [in Russian], Vedomosti, April 17, 2018, https://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2018/04/17/766923-kto-postradal; "Russia's Telegram ban is a big, convoluted mess," The Verge, April 17, 2018, https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/17/17246150/telegram-russia-ban 23 "Russian watchdog unblocks seven million IP addresses," Crime Russia, June 8, 2018, https://en.crimerussia.com/gover/russian-watchdog-unblocks-seven-million-ip-addresses/. 24 "The blocking of Roskomnadzor scared off only a few percent of Telegram users" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, May 16, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/38927/. 25 See: Zello http://bit.ly/2mjBtub. 26 "Russia blocks walkie-talkie app Zello as truckers strike," Global Voices, April 10, 2017, https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/04/10/russia-blocks-walkie-talkie-app-zello-as-truckers-strike/. 27 "Online radio Zello has been blocked 77 times, but the application still manages to break through" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, July 28, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/30808/; "The banning campaign continues" [in Russian], Kommersant, June 27, 2017, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3336607; https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/damir-gainutdinov/russia-telegram-ban-battle-over-online-anonymity. 28 "We Chat: Not in Russia, you don't," Global Voices, May 7, 2017, https://globalvoices.org/2017/05/07/wechat-not-in-russia-you-dont/; See also: "Roskomnadzor unlocks WeChat messenger" [in Russian], RBC, May 11, 2017, https://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/11/05/2017/59142fac9a794774b5add598. 29 "LinkedIn in Russia: recedes, but does not give up" [in Russian], SPBIT.ru, November 17, 2017, https://spbit.ru/news/n150455; "LinkedIn ban in Russia is recognized as legal" [in Russian], Vedomosti, November 10, 2016, http://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2016/11/10/664394-blokirovka-linkedin. 30 "Everything is good with freedom, but bad with responsibility" [in Russian], Izvestia, April 18, 2018, https://bit.ly/2EWZgEb. 31 "The Prosecutor General's Office blocked the websites of a number of undesirable foreign NGOs" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, December 12, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/34279/. 32 "Russia's Media Monitor Moves To Block Websites Of 'Undesirable' Organizations," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, December 12, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-blocks-access-website-khodorkovsky-open-russia-prodemocracy-group/28910984.html. 33 "Roskomnadzor limited access to the website MBH Media in Russia based on the decision of the Prosecutor General's Office" [in Russian], Echo Moskvy, February 21, 2018, https://echo.msk.ru/news/2152562-echo.html; "Russian Media Regulator Blocks Website Backed By Khodorkovsky," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, February 21, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-blocks-khodorkovsky-website/29055300.html. 34 "Prosecutor General's Office found 'extremist' information on the site of hoodwinked investors" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, November 7, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/33291/. 35 "Russian Website Under Fire After Investigation of FSH Chief," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, January 25, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fsb-bortnikov-russiangate-real-estate/28998057.html. 36 "Russiangate publication closes after the article about the director of the FSB," Radio Liberty, January 24, 2018, https://www.svoboda.org/a/28994072.html. 37 "Russian opposition leader Navalny's website blocked before election," Reuters, February 15, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-election-navalny/russian-opposition-leader-navalnys-website-blocked-before-election-idUSKCN1FZ16Z. 38 See RosKomSvoboda's data: https://reestr.rublacklist.net/search/?q=Sturges. 39 "The Investigative Committee didn't find any signs of pornography in the works of John Sturges 'Without embarrassment 2.0'" [in Russian], Mediazona, November 27, 2017, https://zona.media/news/2017/11/27/bez-dela. 40 "In Kabardino-Balkaria, the prosecutor's office asks the court to block four websites of Jehovah's Witnesses" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, February 15, 2018, http://www.sova-center.ru/misuse/news/persecution/2018/02/d38872. 41 Federal Law of July 1, 2017, No. 156-FZ "On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection'" [in Russian], Rossiiskaya Gazeta, July 4, 2017, https://rg.ru/2017/07/01/fz156-site-dok.html. 42 "Roskomnadzor reported on blocking 'mirrors' of pirate websites" [in Russian], Kommersant, February 7, 2018, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3541188. 43 Federal Law No. 276-FZ of July 29, 2017, "On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection'" [in Russian], Rossiiskaya Gazeta, July 29, 2017, https://rg.ru/2017/07/30/fz276-site-dok.html. 44 "The blocking of VPN services in Russia was unclaimed" [in Russian], RBC, February, 20, 2018, https://bit.ly/2ofHR4f. 45 "No 430597-7: On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Enforcement Proceedings' and Article 15-1 of the Federal Law 'On Information, Information Technologies and on Information Protection,'" [in Russian], State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, accessed October 10, 2018, http://sozd.parliament.gov.ru/bill/430597-7. 46 "Putin signed a law on the blocking of websites with the information discrediting honor and dignity" [in Russian], Znak.ru, April 23, 2018, https://bit.ly/2v08HAL.; "Russian Lawmakers Pass Law Censoring Internet Defamation, The Moscow Times, April 12, 2018, https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russian-lawmakers-pass-law-censoring-internet-defamation-61146. 47 "Since the beginning of the year, more than 70 communication operators have implemented on their networks a new mechanism for obtaining unloading from the Common Register of Prohibited Information" [in Russian], Roskomnadzor, February 16, 2018, https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news55022.htm. 48 "The requirements for telecom operators to restrict access to Internet resources with unlawful information have been approved" [in Russian], Roskomnadzor, March 28, 2018, https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news56266.htm. 49 "On how Roskomnadzor is planning to break the Internet around the world" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, March 29, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/37531/. 50 "The European Court [of Human Rights] will consider a matter of Runet" [in Russian], Kommersant, September 19, 2017, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3413347. 51 "The Ministry of Justice of Russia confirmed to the ECtHR the validity of actions on blocking of Internet resources that post prohibited information" [in Russian], The Ministry of Justice of Russia, September 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2f9txoP. 52 "Sanctions of public prosecutor's offices addressed to heads of educational institutions for the lack of content filters in 2017" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, accessed December 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2Fiinuh; "Sanctions against library staff. Part 7" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, accessed February 20, 2018, http://bit.ly/2EYLOE6; "Sanctions against Internet providers. Part 3" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, accessed September 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2EHVJ1o. 53 "The use of obscene language in the media decreased almost five times for the last two years" [in Russian], TASS, August 17, 2017, http://tass.ru/obschestvo/4487140. 54 "Roskomnadzor reported on the results of the fight against obscene language in the media" [in Russian], RBC, August 17, 2017, https://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/17/08/2017/5995389b9a7947282e131914. 55 "Roskomnadzor fined six media outlets for the published rap-battle between Oxxxymiron and Gnoynoy" [in Russian], Interfax, August 21, 2017, http://www.interfax.ru/russia/575739. 56 K. Bolletskaya, "Instagram removed photos and videos about Deripaska's personal life by order of the court" [in Russian], Vedomosti, February 15, 2018, http://bit.ly/2CCkp5v. 57 "Roskomnadzor reported that all the media outlets had removed information from the FBK's film" [in Russian], Interfax, February 14, 2018, http://www.interfax.ru/russia/599948. 58 "Roskomnadzor ordered communication service providers to block access to the pages of Navalny's website" [in Russian], Interfax, February 15, 2018, http://www.interfax.ru/russia/600135. 59 "Roskomnadzor said that all media removed 'unlawful information' about Oleg Deripaska and NastyaRybka" [in Russian], Mediazona, February 14, 2018, https://zona.media/news/2018/02/14/rkn-wins. 60 "Russia: Punished Over Hyperlinks," Human Rights Watch, November 30, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/30/russia-punished-over-hyperlinks. 61 "The case has been open against The SOVA Centre for violating the law on undesirable organizations" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, September 7, 2017, http://www.sova-center.ru/about-us/nashi-%20slozhnosti/2017/09/d37827. 62 "The cases against The SOVA Centre and its director are dismissed after the statute of limitation expired" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, December 25, 2017, http://www.sova-center.ru/about-us/nashi-slozhnosti/announcement/2017/12/d38562. 63 "TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MEDIA OUTLETS: explanations in connection with publications of the media on the limitation of access to Internet resources with materials of organizations recognized as undesirable in Russia" [in Russia], Roskomnadzor, December 14, 2017, https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news53226.htm. 64 "Roskomnadzor began to fine operators for using Google Global Cache" [in Russian], Geektimes, February 21, 2018, https://geektimes.ru/post/298395. 65 "Suspicious cache: FSB became interested in Google servers" [in Russian], RBC, September 19, 2017, https://bit.ly/2OrN8kI. 66 "No. 223849-7, On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection.'" State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, accessed October 10, 2018, http://sozd.parliament.gov.ru/bill/223849-7 67 "Russia, Accused of Faking News, Unfurls Its Own 'Fake News' Bill," New York Times, July 22, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/world/europe/russia-fake-news-law.html. 68 See Twitter Transparency Report on Removal Requests, https://transparency.twitter.com/en/removal-requests.html#removal-requests-jan-jun-2017. 69 Facebook, "Government Requests for Content Restrictions: Russia, July 2017-December 2017," https://transparency.facebook.com/content-restrictions/country/RU. 70 See Google data on government requests to remove content, https://transparencyreport.google.com/government-removals/by-country/RU?hl=en&country_item_amount=group_by:totals;authority:%20RU%20&%20lu%20=%20country_item_amount. 71 "President Putin Signs Russian 'Right to Be Forgotten' Into Law," Global Voices, July 17, 2015, http://ow.ly/ZVkr3. 72 "Businessmen force Google and Yandex to delete links to the information about their ambiguous past" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, August 9, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/31022/. 73 "Elena Skrynnik sued the right to remove dubious references from Yandex" [in Russian], Komsomolskaya Pravda, August 21, 2017, https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/26720/3746405/. 74 "The Arbitration Court of the Moscow District rejected the cassation appeal of the SOVA Centre in the case of the right to be forgotten" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, December 15, 2017, http://www.sova-center.ru/about-us/nashi-slozhnosti/announcement/2017/12/d38502. 75 "Right to forget about search," [in Russian], Yandex, June 15, 2015, https://yandex.ru/blog/company/96625. 76 "'Yandex' is no longer the only Internet resource that has surpassed TV channels in its coverage" [in Russian], Vedomosti, September 10, 2016, http://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2016/09/13/656674-yandeks-telekanali-ohvatu. 77 "TV of the Future: How Video Bloggers Change the Landscape of the Media" [in Russian], Intersection, July 17, 2017, http://intersectionproject.eu/ru/article/politics/televizor-budushchego-kak-videoblogery-menyayut-medialandshaft. 78 "Censorship in many media exists by default" [in Russian], Open Democracy, November 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2zSinRM. 79 "Russia approves new information society development strategy," Meduza, May 10, 2017, https://meduza.io/en/news/2017/05/10/russia-s-approves-new-information-society-development-strategy-through-2030; Presidential Decree of May 9, 2017, No. 203, "On the Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation for 2017-2030," http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201705100002?index=0&rangeSize=1. 80 "Russia tells Facebook to localize user data or be blocked, Reuters, September 26, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-facebook/russia-tells-facebook-to-localize-user-data-or-be-blocked-idUSKCN1C11R5. 81 "Twitter promised Roskomnadzor to localize data of Russians in the first half of 2018" [in Russian], Interfax, February 20, 2018, http://www.interfax.ru/business/600732. 82 See: http://www.russiansearchtips.com/2016/03/top-social-networks-in-russia-latest-trends-in-winter-2015-2016/. 83 See: RosKomSvoboda, https://rublacklist.net/24441/. 84 See LiveJournal User Agreement: https://www.livejournal.com/legal/tos-en.bml. 85 "The Russiangate closes after the publication about the FSB director" [in Russian], Radio Liberty, January 24, 2018, https://www.svoboda.org/a/28994072.html. 86 "Russian propaganda effort helped spread 'fake news' during election, experts say," Washington Post, November 24, 2016, http://wapo.st/2GQwhEW. 87 "The former employee lost the court to the 'troll factory'" [in Russian], Meduza, February 22, 2017, https://meduza.io/news/2017/02/22/byvshaya-sotrudnitsa-proigrala-sud-fabrike-trolley. 88 "Prigozhin's trolls were found on Reddit and Tumblr" [in Russian], Secret Firmy, March 2, 2018, https://secretmag.ru/news/prigozhinskikh-trollei-obnaruzhili-na-reddit-i-tumblr-02-03-2018.htm; "Russians Used Reddit and Tumblr to Troll the 2016 Election", Daily Beast, March 1, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/russians-used-reddit-and-tumblr-to-troll-the-2016-election?ref=scroll. 89 See: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/06/troll-armies-social-media-trump-russian. 90 "Russian trolls attack," Wired, October 2017, https://www.wired.com/2017/10/russian-trolls-attack/. 91 "Foreign publishers quit Russia over media ownership law," Moscow Times, September 9, 2015, http://ow.ly/ZYf2C. 92 "Founders of more than 120 media did not limit the control of foreigner ownership Roskomnadzor" [in Russian], Vedomosti, August 1, 2016, http://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2016/08/02/651330-uchrediteli-bolee-chem-120-smi-ogranichili-kontrol-inostrantsev-roskomnadzor. 93 "Forbes has sold its media assets in Russia" [in Russian], RBC, September 17, 2015, http://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/17/09/2015/55fac4649a79475f61fcb158. 94 "The Council for Human Rights found out shortcomings in the draft law on media foreign agents" [in Russian], TASS, 19 November, 2017, http://tass.ru/politika/4741414. 95 Federal Law No. 327-FZ on Amendments to Articles 10.4 and 15.3 of the Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information and Article 6 of the Law on Mass Media [in Russian], RossiiskayaGazeta, November 27, 2017, https://rg.ru/2017/11/25/fz327-site-dok.html. 96 "Russia to amend law to classify media as 'foreign agents,'" Politico, November 10, 2017, https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-to-amend-law-to-classify-media-as-foreign-agents/. 97 "EU Criticizes Russia's 'Foreign Agents' Media Law," RFE/RL, November 26, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-signs-foreign-agent-media-law-rferl-voa-cnn-deutsche-welle/28876680.html; "Civic Freedom Monitor: Russia," International Center for Non-Profit Law, September 17, 2018, http://www.icnl.org/research/monitor/russia.html. 98 "The State Duma introduces fines of up to 5 million rubles for violating the law on media-foreign agents" [in Russian], TASS, January 24, 2018, http://tass.ru/politika/4899135. 99 "The Ministry of Justice was going to bring media-foreign agents to justice for non-compliance with the law" [in Russian], Interfax, May 25, 2018, http://www.interfax.ru/russia/614254. 100 "Peter Tolstoy: the law on persons -foreign agents is an insecticidal dust against ants" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, January 12, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/35097/. 101 "Joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the Russian Federation," Article 19, Mass Media Defence Centre, OVD-Info, PEN International, Roskomsvoboda, and the SOVA Center, October 9, 2017, https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Russia-3rd-UPR-Updated-Submission-090418-FINAL.pdf; "State Duma imposes fines of up to 5 million rubles for violating the law on foreign media," TASS, January 24, 2018, https://tass.ru/politika/4899135. 102 "Peter Tolstoy," https://roskomsvoboda.org/35097/. 103 "In Moscow and St. Petersburg rallies took place in defense of Telegram and Internet freedom" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, May 1, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/38542/. 104 "#DigitalResistance: Protest Grows in Russia," Medium, May 1, 2018, https://medium.com/dfrlab/digitalresistance-protest-grows-in-russia-b318b1304cc7. 105 "Rally against blocking Telegram," YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoJ0YzEff0Y. 106 "Pavel Durov got the Russian-language telegram-channel on the eve of the rally in Moscow" [in Russian], Iguides.ru, April 29, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LWwLe9. 107 "The second rally against the blocking of Telegram was attended by more than 2 thousand people" [in Russian], Daily Afisha, May 13, 2018, https://daily.afisha.ru/news/16883-na-miting-protiv-blokirovki-telegram-prishli-bolee-2-tys-chelovek/. 108 "Defying Russia's Ban With Bitcoin: Telegram CEO Launches 'Digital Resistance' Movement," Cryptoglobe, April 18, 2018, https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2018/04/defying-russia-with-bitcoin-telegram-ceo-ignores-ban-begins-digital-resistance-movement/. 109 "#DigtialResistance," https://medium.com/dfrlab/digitalresistance-protest-grows-in-russia-b318b1304cc7. 110 "Russians protest state censorship of the internet," Deutsche Welle, http://www.dw.com/en/russians-protest-state-censorship-of-the-internet/a-39807536. 111 "Thousands march through Moscow to call for internet freedom," ABC News, July 24, 2017, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-24/thousands-march-through-moscow-to-call-for-internet-freedom/8736736. 112 "Excised Freedom of Speech" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, August 28, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/31485/. 113 "A rally with the elements of censorship" [in Russian], Kommersant, August 28, 2017, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3395634. 114 See A. Navalny's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/NavalnyRu. 115 Consultant Plus, Act 375, Amendment to the Russian Criminal Code, Introducing Additional Counterterrorism Measures and Ensuring Public Safety, http://bit.ly/2dt782G. 116 Consultant Plus, Act 375, Amendment to the Russian Criminal Code, Introducing Additional Counterterrorism Measures and Ensuring Public Safety, http://bit.ly/2dt782G. 117 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 280.1, "Public calls to separatism," http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_10699/8b38952a3e743c7996551cbfe4b32d4d336a35ad/; Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 280, "Public calls to extremist activity," http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_10699/c10532ab76df5c84c18ee550a79b1fc8cb8449b2/. 118 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 282, "Incitement to hatred," http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_10699/d350878ee36f956a74c2c86830d066eafce20149/. 119 Written comment provided by Andrei Richet via LinkedIn on March 27, 2016. 120 "115,706 facts of restriction of freedom of the Internet were registered in Russia in 2017" [in Russian], Agora, February 5, 2018, http://agora.legal/news/2018.02.05/115-706-faktov-ogranicheniya-svobody-interneta-zaregistrirovano-v-Rossii/663. 121 "115 706 facts," http://agora.legal/news/2018.02.05/115-706-faktov-ogranicheniya-svobody-interneta-zaregistrirovano-v-Rossii/663. 122 "The SOVA Centre: The number of sentences on extremist articles is growing in Russia" [in Russian], Dozhd, February 28, 2018, https://tvrain.ru/news/sova-458540; "The SOVA Centre presented two annual reports" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, February 28, 2018, https://www.sova-center.ru/racism-xenophobia/news/counteraction/2018/02/d38929; "Sova Center: 96 percent of 'anti-extremist' sentences issued for posts on the Internet" [in Russian], Roskomsvoboda, February 28, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/36739/. 123 "The most extremist regions of Russia," https://tjournal.ru/74863-samye-ekstremistskie-regiony-rossii. 124 "Math teacher Dmitry Bogatov was released from the house arrest" [in Russian], Meduza, January 30, 2018, https://meduza.io/news/2018/01/30/matematika-dmitriya-bogatova-osvobodili-iz-pod-domashnego-aresta. 125 "Math lecturer Dmitry BogatovUnder House Arrest," The Moscow Times, July 24, 2017, https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/math-lecturer-dmitry-bogatov-under-house-arrest-58481. 126 "Investigation of RBC: who and how earned at the Vostochny cosmodrome," RBC, July 6, 2015, https://www.rbc.ru/investigation/society/06/07/2015/55958a469a794774f0921542. 127 "Russian Journalist Sentenced To Prison On Extremism Charges," RFE/RL, August 10, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-journalist-sokolov-sentenced-extremism/28669536.html. 128 "Russian Journalist Sentenced to 3.5 Years for 'Extremism,'" VOA, August 10, 2017, https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-journalist-sokolov-sentence/3980682.html. 129 "Report to the UN Committee against Torture on infringement of the rights of journalists and pressure on them in connection with their journalistic activities for the period 2012-2018," No Torture and OMCT, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CAT/Shared%20Documents/RUS/INT_CAT_CSS_RUS_31622_E.pdf. 130 See: Reporters Without Borders, https://rsf.org/en/news/reporter-trial-covering-protest. 131 "Illegitimate anti-extremist law enforcement in Russia in 2017" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, March 6, 2018, http://www.sova-center.ru/misuse/publications/2018/03/d38945. 132 "Annual report of the SOVA Centre on anti-extremism in 2017" [in Russian], MediaZone, February 28, 2018, https://zona.media/article/2018/02/28/sova-282. 133 "Holy Slight: How Russia Prosecutes For 'Insulting Religious Feelings,'" RFE/RL, August 15, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-prosecuting-insults-to-religious-feelings/28678284.html. 134 "Russian Who Played Pokemon Go in Church Is Convicted of Inciting Hatred," New York Times, May 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/world/europe/pokemon-go-ruslan-sokolovsky-russia.html?_r=0. 135 "Illegitimate anti-extremist law enforcement in Russia in 2017" [in Russian], SOVA Centre, March 6, 2018, http://www.sova-center.ru/misuse/publications/2018/03/d38945. 136 "'Jon Snow As Jesus' Image Could Land Russian Student In Prison," RFE/RL, July 26, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/game-of-thrones-russian-student-prison-jon-snow-jesus-image/29392780.html. 137 "Online Jokes Are No Laughing Matter in Russia," Human Rights Watch, August 21, 2018, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/21/online-jokes-are-no-laughing-matter-russia. 138 "Young Russians posting memes face jail for 'extremism,'" The Guardian, September 1, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/01/young-russians-posting-memes-face-jail-for-extremism 139 "Russian Woman Reportedly Faces 6 Years in Prison for Insulting Memes," Moscow Times, July 25, 2018, https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russian-woman-reportedly-faces-6-years-in-prison-for-insulting-memes-62341. 140 "Young Russians," https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/01/young-russians-posting-memes-face-jail-for-extremism. 141 "Another Russian Faces Criminal Probe Over Social-Media Memes," RFE/RL, August 3, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-faces-criminal-probe-social-media-memes/29410323.html. 142 Oyumaa Dongak, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1865887053481107&set=p.1865887053481107&type=3&theater. 143 Oyumaa Dongak, https://www.facebook.com/oyumaa.dongak/posts/1865861233483689. 144 See: Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/19/russian-activist-court-gay-propaganda-charge. 145 "He Is not Our Tsar: Aftermath" [in Russian], Mediazona, July 16, 2018, https://zona.media/chronicle/after-5. 146 "Russian anti-corruption activists are jailed for 'inciting riots' based on their tweets and retweets," Global Voices, May 25, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HkvCKg. 147 See: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201707300002?index=1&rangeSize=1. 148 "The blocking of VPN services in Russia was unclaimed" [in Russian], RBC, February, 20, 2018, https://bit.ly/2ofHR4f. 149 "The State Duma in the second reading approved the bill on fines for VPN and search engines" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, May 22, 2018, https://roskomsvoboda.org/39092/. 150 "We are removing our Russian presence," Private Internet Access, July 2016, https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/21779/we-are-removing-our-russian-presence. 151 "The Ministry of Communications and Mass Media developed a procedure for de-anonymization of users and blocking messages in instant messengers," RosKomSvoboda, September 30, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/32430/; "Russia: New Legislation Attacks Internet Anonymity," Human Rights Watch, August 1, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/08/01/russia-new-legislation-attacks-internet-anonymity. 152 See: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201707300031. 153 "Chats are not been registered" [in Russian], Kommersant, January 31, 2018, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3534657. 154 "Zakamsky court blocked ten websites-anonymizers" [in Russian], NovyiKompanion, March 6, 2018, https://www.newsko.ru/news/nk-4592556.html. 155 "Russia asks impossible in its new surveillance laws," Electronic Frontier Foundation, July 2016, https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/07/russia-asks-impossible-its-new-surveillance-laws. 156 "Yarovaya's law: what an 'anti-terrorist' law means for internet users," RBC, June 24, 2016, http://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/24/06/2016/576c0a529a79471bc44d2b57?from=rbc_choice. 157 "Russia: 'Big Brother' Law Harms Security, Rights," Human Rights Watch, July 12, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/12/russia-big-brother-law-harms-security-rights; "Russia's 'Big Brother' data law now in force: Kremlin spies are the big winners," ZDNet, July 2, 2018, https://www.zdnet.com/article/russias-big-brother-data-law-now-in-force-kremlin-spies-are-the-big-winners/ 158 See Roscomnadzor's data: http://97-fz.rkn.gov.ru/; see RosKomSvoboda's data: https://reestr.rublacklist.net/distributors_main/ 159 "Russia Adds First-Ever Foreign Messaging App to Federal Registry," Global Voices, March 10, 2017, https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/03/10/russia-adds-first-ever-foreign-messaging-app-to-federal-registry/. 160 "Journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan: the internet is for the enlightened," [in Russian], Horizontal Russia, February 26, 2016, http://ow.ly/ZVHMP. 161 "Uber agreed to move the personal data or Russians to Russia" [in Russian], Lenta.ru, July 19, 2015, https://lenta.ru/news/2015/07/10/uber/; "Viber moved its servers to Russia" [in Russian], Izvestia, December 19, 2015, http://izvestia.ru/news/593438. 162 "SORM in public," [in Russian], RusskayaPlaneta, July 29, 2013, http://rusplt.ru/policy/policy_3890.html. 163 "Internet Freedom 2017: Creeping Criminalisation," Agora, http://en.agora.legal/fs/a_delo2doc/16_file_AGORA_Internet_Freedom_2017_ENG.pdf. 164 See Agora's report on the Internet freedom in Russia: https://meduza.io/static/0001/Agora_Report_2017_Internet.pdf; "'Threats cannot be perceived really.' Police refused to initiate a case after threatening a journalist on Facebook," Meduza, October 16, 2017, https://meduza.io/news/2017/10/16/ugrozy-ne-mogut-byt-vosprinyaty-realno-politsiya-otkazalas-vozbuzhdat-delo-posle-ugroz-zhurnalistke-v-feysbuke?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=share_twitter&utm_campaign=share. 165 "CPJ calls for investigation into death of Russian journalist Maksim Borodin," CPJ, April 16, 2018, https://cpj.org/2018/04/cpj-calls-for-investigation-into-death-of-russian-.php. 166 "Russian Investigative Reporter Dies After Fall From Window; Editor Rejects Suicide," RFE/RL, April 15, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/yekaterinburg-journalist-dies-after-falling-from-apartment-window/29168826.html. 167 "OSCE media freedom representative shocked by death of journalist in Russia, calls for full, transparent and independent investigation," OSCE, April 16, 2018, https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/377914; "CPJ calls for investigation," https://cpj.org/2018/04/cpj-calls-for-investigation-into-death-of-russian-.php. 168 "SC will not give way to the case of strangling journalist 'Kommersant'" [in Russian], Radio Liberty, March 2, 2017, https://www.svoboda.org/a/28343355.html. 169 See: NovayaGazeta https://www.novayagazeta.ru/articles/2017/04/01/71983-ubiystvo-chesti. 170 "Threats over gay crackdown coverage force journalist into hiding," CNN, April 25, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/europe/russia-chechnya-gay-men-journalist-hiding/index.html. 171 See: Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org.uk/russian-journalists-fear-their-lives. 172 "Editor shot dead in Russia's Siberia," CPJ, May 2017, https://cpj.org/2017/05/editor-shot-dead-in-russias-siberia.php. 173 "The major Russian news websites and Ukrainian infrastructure facilities were attacked by the hackers" [in Russian], RosKomSvoboda, October 24, 2017, https://roskomsvoboda.org/32980/. 174 "Russian News Agency Interfax Faces 'Unprecedented' Hacker Attack," Bloomberg, October 24, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-24/russian-news-agency-interfax-faces-unprecedented-hacker-attack. 175 "The Village website was under harsh hacker attack" [in Russian], The Village, October 18, 2017, http://www.the-village.ru/village/city/news-city/287974-ddos. 176 "The websites of Russian election observers were under large-scale DDoS attack" [in Russian], TASS, March 17, 2018, http://tass.ru/politika/5039684. 177 "Russia goes to the polls in presidential election," BBC, March 18, 2018, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43445816; "Russia claims foreign hackers are trying to interfere with its election," Business Insider, March 18, 2018, http://uk.businessinsider.com/russia-claims-foreign-hackers-are-trying-to-interfere-with-election-2018-3. 178 "How Russia Meddled in its Own Elections," The Atlantic, March 18, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/russia-putin-election-disinformation-troll/555878/; "Another 400-Pound Hacker? Russia Says Election Site Hit By Global Cyberattack," Newsweek, March 19, 2018, https://www.newsweek.com/russia-says-its-election-was-hit-global-cyberattack-850891. 179 "Tainted leaks: disinformation and phishing with a Russian nexus," Citizen Lab, May 2017, https://citizenlab.ca/2017/05/tainted-leaks-disinformation-phish/. 180 "Putin wants FSO to join the fight against cybercrime" [in Russian], Novaya Gazeta, February 27, 2018, http://bit.ly/2prlSqV. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Philippines Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Philippines, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b004.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 31/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 105 million Internet Penetration: 56% Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The government ordered the shutdown of mobile phone networks during major events in several cities, citing public security reasons (see Restrictions on Connectivity). In January 2018, the online news network Rappler which had been critical of Duterte was ordered closed by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to comply with a rule limiting media ownership to Filipinos (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). A number of journalists and individuals were charged with libel for online criticisms, increasing from previous years (see Prosecutions and Arrests for Online Activities). Surveillance became a growing concern following reports that the government had purchased sophisticated equipment, including IMSI-catchers (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). At least two cases of technical attacks targeting independent media groups were reported (see Technical Attacks). Introduction: Internet freedom in the Philippines declined and became Partly Free in 2018 due to a growing number of libel cases filed against online journalists for their critical reporting and increasing surveillance concerns. In addition, mobile service shutdowns were implemented in major cities and content manipulation and cyberattacks threatened to distort online information. President Rodrigo Duterte, who was elected in May 2016, said that corrupt journalists deserved to be assassinated in his first press conference, a troubling omen for freedom of expression and press freedom. One online media the online news network Rappler was ordered closed for being critical of the administration and reporting that it has "weaponized" social media to discredit and sow online hate against vocal critics of the President. At least two organizations known for providing critical news were reported to have had their websites hacked. A number of journalists and individuals were charged with libel for online criticisms, increasing from previous years. Rappler was a frequent target with at least two libel charges filed related to the outlet's critical reporting of government officials and powerful business people. Libel complaints were also slapped on individuals for their critical Facebook posts. Surveillance of mobile and internet communications became a growing concern in the past year after leaked documents suggested the government's intentions to procure hardware and software for communications surveillance. The government had reportedly purchased high-tech spying equipment such as IMSI-catchers and surveillance tools to monitor internet activity from the British government. Duterte has also on occasion openly admitted to wiretapping opposition officials, exacerbating surveillance concerns. Obstacles to Access: Internet penetration and average connection speeds improved during the coverage period. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) launched the National Broadband Plan in June 2017 and began an effort to introduce a third telecommunications entity to the market, in the hopes of fostering more robust competition in the industry and improving service. The government also signed an agreement with Facebook to build high-speed internet infrastructure in the northern part of the country. However, authorities also ordered the shutdown of mobile phone networks during major events in a handful of cities in 2018. Availability and Ease of Access Internet penetration in the Philippines was reported at 63 percent of the country's total 105 million population in 2018. This translates to about 67 million Filipinos, with almost all of them active on social media.[1] However, connectivity is concentrated mainly in urban areas, while rural areas remain largely underserved.[2] To bridge this gap, the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte approved and launched through DICT the National Broadband Plan (NBP) in June 2017, which aims to bring affordable internet to communities and improve broadband connectivity in the country.[3] Alongside the launch of the NBP was the launch of the National Government Portal,[4] which is designed to allow more efficient delivery of public services. Mobile phones remain the most widely used wireless communication tool, though mobile internet usage has been slow to take off. There were 109.2 mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2016, compared to 46.3 active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. There were 5.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.[5] The slow uptake of broadband internet in the country is largely due to steep subscription fees. Meanwhile, both mobile and fixed broadband speed in the Philippines are low at 14.07 and 17.57 Mbps respectively compared to global averages of 22.99 and 47.83 Mbps.[6] In 2015, the then ICT Office of the Department of Science and Technology now the DICT launched a project that aimed to provide free Wi-Fi in selected public places in the country. To institutionalize the project, President Duterte in August 2017 signed legislation creating the Free Internet Access Program. The law requires public places like transport terminals, hospitals, schools, and government offices to provide free Wi-Fi in main congregation points.[7] To date, the DICT claims that it has provided free Wi-Fi access in more than 12,000 public locations.[8] In December 2017, the president approved the launch of the Government Satellite Network (GSN), to be implemented by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), to transmit government-created videos, photos, and audio.[9] The GSN is expected to provide internet connectivity to barangays, or local villages, that currently have none. Authorities have indicated that it at the same time will be used by government to fight the spread of disinformation, misinformation, and fake news, raising concerns that it could function as a government mouthpiece (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation).[10] The DICT and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority have signed a landing party agreement with Facebook for a project to build high-speed internet infrastructure that will improve the speed, affordability, and accessibility of broadband and internet access in the country.[11] In exchange for using the facility, which is set to open toward the end of 2019, the Philippine government will get 2 terabits per second (Tbps) of international bandwidth free of charge. The DICT hopes to use this bandwidth to support its free Wi-Fi program, and provide inexpensive internet to small service providers. The Open Access in Data Transmission Act has been filed in the upper and lower houses of Congress. The bill calls on providers of data transmission services to treat all traffic equally and without discrimination, restriction, or interference; offers protections for the rights of users of data transmission services; and gives additional powers to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).[12] Public hearings on the measure are being conducted. Restrictions on Connectivity The government ordered the shutdown of mobile phone networks during major events in several cities during the coverage period. Critics are wary that internet and mobile network shutdowns are becoming normalized and have called for a clearer policy that outlines the circumstances in which they may be implemented.[13] The industry regulator, the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), upon request from the Philippine National Police (PNP), ordered shutdowns for large festival gatherings, such as the MassKara festival in Bacolod in October 2017, citing security threats including that of remotely detonated bombs.[14] A mobile shutdown was also implemented during the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, in January 2018, also on grounds of security threats.[15] Mobile network shutdowns were also carried out at the Sinulog and Dinagyang festivals in Cebu and Iloilo respectively, in January 2018, again for security reasons. One provider, PLDT, plays an outsized role in the country's infrastructure. The company[16] owns the majority of fixed-line connections, as well as a 100,000-kilometer fiber-optic network that connects to several international networks;[17] it additionally fully or partly owns five out of nine international cable landing stations.[18] In line with its modernization plan, PLDT is investing US$136.7 million in a new Trans-Pacific cable system that will link its landing stations in Camarines Norte in the Philippines to Maruyama and Shima in Japan, and Los Angeles in the United States; the cable is expected to be operational in 2020.[19] Meanwhile, in August 2017, Globe Telecom launched a US$250 million submarine cable that links Davao and the United States.[20] ICT Market The telecommunications market is dominated by PLDT and Globe, which each have acquired a number of minor players over the last two decades.[21] As of 2016, PLDT held the majority of fixed-line internet subscriptions. The market for mobile services is mostly split between the two telecoms.[22] PLDT reported 58.29 million mobile phone subscribers as of December 31, 2017, while Globe had 60.68 million.[23] There were 400 ISPs registered with the NTC in 2013, according to most recent government data.[24] All of them connect to PLDT or Globe. Internet service is currently classified as a value-added service and is therefore subject to fewer regulatory requirements than mobile and fixed-phone services. Companies entering the market go through a two-stage process. First, they must obtain a congressional license that involves parliamentary hearings and the approval of both the upper and lower houses. Second, they need to apply for certification from the NTC. Globe Telecommunications has separately complained of needing to obtain 25 permits to build a single cell site, a process that can last 8 months.[25] The Philippine Competition Act was signed in 2015, 25 years after it was first filed.[26] The Act seeks to protect consumers and preserve commercial competition, and established the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).[27] The law, however, does not prohibit monopolies, and will not stop an entity from maintaining its dominance in the market as long as it does not commit certain legally prohibited abuses.[28] Since its establishment, the PCC has challenged the joint acquisition of the San Miguel Corporation's (SMC) telecommunications unit by PLDT and Globe Telecom, a deal that resulted in the two companies controlling about 80 percent of all available frequencies. In October 2017, the Court of Appeals affirmed the deal's validity.[29] However, the DICT has held consultations to set the criteria for the selection of a third major telecommunications entity,[30] which could boost competition in the industry and improve network services. Under the Public Services Act, foreigners may hold no more than a 40 percent stake in certain industries, including telecommunications.[31] Regulatory Bodies The Department of Information and Communications Technology is in charge of planning, developing and promoting the national ICT development agenda. There are three offices attached to the DICT: the National Telecommunications Commission, which regulates the industry with quasi-judicial powers; the National Privacy Commission, a regulatory and quasi-judicial body tasked with monitoring and ensuring the country's compliance with international standards set for data protection; and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center. On June 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed former Globe Telecom executive Rodolfo Salalima to serve as DICT's secretary.[32] However, Salalima quit his post in September 2017, citing corruption and interference as the reasons for his resignation.[33] President Duterte, in turn, said he had asked Salalima to resign because he was favoring Globe, and because he had failed to act on the entry of other telecommunication players in the country.[34] To date, the president has not named a new DICT secretary to replace Salalima. A departmental undersecretary is running the department on an interim basis. Limits on Content: Content is not subject to significant government control, but reports of commenters being paid to post political content persisted during the coverage period. In January 2018, the online news network Rappler which had been critical of Duterte was ordered closed by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to comply with a rule limiting media ownership to Filipinos, though it remained in operation while awaiting appeal. Digital activism is common, and several online campaigns for women's rights emerged during the coverage period. Blocking and Filtering No systematic government censorship of online content has been documented in the Philippines, and internet users enjoyed unrestricted access to both domestic and international sources of information during the coverage period of this report. Internet users freely access social networks and communication apps including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and international blog-hosting services. Although rare, content blocking is allowed under a law that requires ISPs to prevent access to pornographic sites.[35] The police may request that ISPs block sites hosting child sexual abuse images, and ISPs typically comply with such orders.[36] Content Removal The government does not usually order removal of online content. However, in May 2018, Senate President Vicente Sotto wrote a letter to Inquirer.net, the Philippine Daily Inquirer's website, asking them to take down three articles published between 2014 and 2016 that linked him to the 1982 rape of an actress.[37] As of this reporting period, the three articles have been removed from the website. The proposed Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom contains a provision that provides for court proceedings in cases where websites or networks are to be taken down, and prohibits censorship of content without a court order.[38] This legislation was later absorbed into another bill creating a government agency for ICTs (see Regulatory Bodies). The original bill has been refiled, but is pending in House and Senate committees. Google occasionally reports receiving content removal requests from the Philippine government or law enforcement agencies. For this reporting period, there was only one such request, related to purportedly obscene content.[39] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Many journalists whose work appears online practice self-censorship due to the high level of violence against journalists in the Philippines. Generally, though, the Philippine blogosphere is rich and thriving. However, reports of commenters paid to manipulate the online information landscape continued during the coverage period. News reports citing individuals involved said the commenters could earn at least PHP 500 (US$10) a day operating fake social media accounts supporting President Rodrigo Duterte, or attacking his detractors.[40] Other reports put the figure at PHP 2,000-3,000 ($40-60) a day.[41] Some reports noted the use of automated accounts or bots to spread political content.[42] Similar content was also posted by volunteers. Both state and nonstate actors actively use the internet as a platform to discuss politics, especially during elections, and the phenomenon of manipulation is not new. One commenter admitted being active in political campaigns dating back to 2010.[43] But reports published in the last two years provided the clearest evidence to date of widespread online campaigning with undeclared sponsorship. Even after the 2016 election, many of the accounts that actively supported Duterte during the campaign "continue to spread and amplify messages of support of [Duterte's] policies now he's in power."[44] Some high-profile bloggers who supported Duterte during the campaign were given positions in government or hired as government consultants.[45] In January 2018, the online news network Rappler which had been critical of Duterte and his violent war on drugs, and had suggested that he had "weaponized" social media to discredit his political opponents was ordered closed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating a legal provision mandating 100 percent Filipino ownership and control of mass media. The SEC based its ruling on depository receipts issued by Rappler Holdings to Omidyar Network Fund LLC, a fund created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, a U.S. citizen.[46] It was the first time that the SEC has invoked the closure of a Philippine media company, and the move came after Duterte had called for the investigation of the outlet's ownership in 2017, and had repeatedly called its coverage fake news.[47] Following the closure order, the accreditation of Rappler's reporter to Malacanang Palace was also revoked.[48] Additionally, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has also filed tax evasion charges against Rappler.[49] The outlet remains in operation while awaiting its petition against the closure at the Court of Appeals.[50] Separately, following a controversy in which an assistant secretary with the PCOO was accused of repeatedly spreading fake news on her Facebook page, the DICT drafted an Administrative Order that set guidelines for social media use by government agencies. It has not yet been signed by Duterte.[51] Authorities have indicated that the planned Government Satellite Network (GSN), which will transmit government-created videos, photos, and audio and establish better connectivity infrastructure in rural areas, will be used to fight disinformation and fake news, raising concerns that it could be used as a government mouthpiece.[52] Digital Activism Digital activism in the Philippines has had a significant impact in the past, making national and international headlines and at times prompting positive action from the government. The use of hashtags on social media is popular, both as a way to draw attention to individual events and as a means of participating in broader social movements. During the coverage period, the global hashtag #MeToo was adopted by local advocacy groups to strengthen campaigns against sexual abuse and violence. In 2018, women's rights group #EveryWoman launched the #BantayBastos campaign on March 8 International Women's Day which aims to hold elected public officials accountable for sexist or misogynistic comments.[53] The #BabaeAko (#IAmWoman) campaign was launched in May by women using social media to condemn a pattern of sexist and misogynistic remarks by Duterte. [54] Citizens also frequently employ online petitions to call for action on matters that are relevant to the public. One such petition, launched in late 2017, called for the ouster of the PCOO assistant secretary Mocha Uson, whom the petitioner claimed was a purveyor of fake news. By the fall of 2018 it had collected over 70,000 signatures, and in October 2018 after this report's coverage period she resigned.[55] Violations of User Rights: Lawmakers debated draft laws that would require telecommunications providers to register prepaid SIM card owners and impose stringent penalties for the dissemination of fake news. A number of libel cases were filed against journalists during the coverage period, many of them involving the Rappler. Technical attacks targeting media groups were also reported. Durterte admitted to several instances of apparently extralegal wiretapping. Legal Environment The Bill of Rights of the 1987 constitution protects freedom of expression (Section 4) and privacy of communication (Section 1).[56] However, some laws undermine those protections. Section 4c (4) of the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act classifies libel as a cybercrime. Section 6 prescribes prison terms of up to eight years for online libel,[57] which is almost double the maximum penalty for the identical offense perpetrated offline.[58] There are several pieces of pending legislation that could improve users' rights if approved. A measure filed at the House of Representatives in late 2017 seeks to repeal libel provisions in the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Electronic Commerce Act.[59] In July 2016, the Crowdsourcing Act was introduced; the bill would allow citizens to participate in the legislative process through the use of ICTs, and require lawmakers to include citizens' comments in committee reports concerning pending bills.[60] The Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom has been refiled as a stand-alone measure, after the original was incorporated into an ICT law. A bill penalizing those who spread fake news was introduced in June 2017 and is also pending.[61] The bill, which applies to online or offline communications, would penalize any person found to be disseminating false news or information that incites panic or hate, or which is deemed propaganda intended to tarnish someone's reputation. Those convicted under its provisions can be assigned fines ranging from PHP 100,000 to PHP 5,000,000 (US$1,800 to US$93,000) and imprisonment from 1 to 5 years. If the offender is a public official, he or she will be made to pay twice the standard fine, serve twice the standard period of imprisonment, and be disqualified from holding any public office. Domestic and international rights advocates have expressed concern about the bill, with one Southeast Asian lawyers' association saying that if passed, it will abridge freedom of speech and expression in direct contravention with the Philippine Constitution.[62] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Users can face criminal charges for online activity under the libel law, which the Supreme Court upheld in 2014. The number of journalists and individuals charged with libel for online criticisms increased from previous years. Several cases have been filed against journalists since Duterte took power in 2016. One of the cases involves Rappler, an online news source that has been critical of the administration. In October 2017, a businessman filed a complaint against Rappler for a May 2012 story suggesting he had given favors to impeached Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona. In January 2018, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) issued a subpoena against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and two others for violating the online libel provision of the anticybercrime prevention act in connection with the complaint. According to a lawyer from the Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance, since the Cybercrime Prevention Act was not passed until September 2012, the law does not apply to Rappler, which published the story in May 2012. The NBI, however, claims that the article falls under the theory of "continuous publication" where it can be assumed that the businessman saw the story only after the law was passed.[63] In another case involving Rappler, John Castriciones, an undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DLIG) in November 2017 sued reporter Rambo Talabong for a series of reports Talabong had published on Rappler claiming that DILG officials had petitioned Duterte for Castriciones's dismissal.[64] Separately, Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol filed an online libel complaint against reporter Frank Cimatu in September 2017 for alleging in a Facebook post that the secretary had somehow accrued PHP 21 million (US$390,000) in six months.[65] Senator Antonio Trillanes, a vocal critic of Duterte, in September 2017 filed three libel cases against PCOO Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson for alleged violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act. The charges stemmed from Uson's shared post on her Facebook account accusing the senator of hiding ill-gotten wealth in several bank accounts.[66] Trillanes has also filed libel charges against Duterte supporter and blogger RJ Nieto for "false and derogatory" statements on his Facebook account.[67] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Surveillance of mobile and internet communications became a growing concern in the past year after leaked documents suggested the government's intentions to procure hardware and software for communications surveillance.[68] In early 2018, the British government was reported to have sold high-tech spying equipment worth GBP 150,000 (US$200,000) to the Philippines, including IMSI-catchers, which are used to eavesdrop on telephone conversations, and surveillance tools to monitor internet activity.[69] In 2014, the Philippine government reportedly acquired a Radio Frequency Test Equipment (RFTE) from an electronic surveillance company based in Germany.[70] The Department of National Defense claimed that there was nothing unusual with the acquisition of an RFTE, which officials described as necessary to protect national security. Concerns were exacerbated when Durterte admitted to wiretapping politicians allegedly involved in the drug trade during his visit to Marawi in 2017.[71] Duterte implied possessing wiretapping or interception capabilities again in February 2018, when he said he knew in advance that the International Criminal Court was going to do an initial review of allegations against crimes against humanity that he committed.[72] There are no restrictions on anonymous communication in the Philippines. The government does not require user registration for internet and mobile access, and prepaid services are widely available, even in small neighborhood stores. However, there are legislative initiatives in both houses aimed at preventing mobile phone-aided terrorism and criminal activities that seek SIM card registration systems.[73] The Senate bill calls for a limit on the number of pre-paid SIM cards an individual can register in the system, and requires registered owners to be at least 15 years of age.[74] In 2015, the government issued rules under the Cybercrime Prevention Act, clarifying some sections of the law that pertain to surveillance (see Legal Environment). Under its provisions, ISPs must collect and preserve data for up to six months on request. Law enforcement authorities tasked with investigating cybercrime the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police cybercrime unit require a court order to access computer data.[75] The Data Privacy Act of 2012 established parameters for the collection of personal financial information, as well as an independent privacy regulator.[76] Other laws implications for user privacy include the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, which explicitly states that its section on ISPs may not be "construed to require an ISP to engage in the monitoring of any user,"[77] though it does require them to "obtain" and "preserve" evidence of violations, and threatens to revoke their license for noncompliance. The law also authorizes local government units to oversee and regulate commercial establishments that provide internet services. Under the Human Security Act of 2007, law enforcement officials must obtain a court order to intercept communications or conduct surveillance activities against individuals or organizations suspected of terrorist activity.[78] Intimidation and Violence Journalists and rights activists, especially women, were targets of increasing online attacks in the past few years. In March 2017, a bomb threat posted on Facebook by an account purporting to belong to Lyn Ouvrier, a Duterte critic, went viral. The post prompted severe online harassment of Ouvrier, who claimed that her account had been cloned and that she had not posted the threat.[79] She is now facing a criminal complaint filed by the Philippine National Police over the incident.[80] Another critic of the present administration, Jover Laurio, had to hire bodyguards due to harassment that followed her outing by Duterte's social media team as the person behind the Pinoy Ako Blog, which chronicles extrajudicial killings and dissects false claims by the president and his supporters.[81] Violence against journalists is a significant problem in the Philippines. As of early 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that at least 79 Philippine journalists had been killed in relation to their work most covering political issues like corruption since 1992, including 2 in 2017.[82] Attackers generally enjoy impunity. Technical Attacks At least two cases of technical attacks targeting media groups were reported during the coverage period of this report.[83] The website of Vera Files, a nonprofit online news resource, was put down by hackers in January 2018 through a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, which followed a story they published on undisclosed financial holdings of Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Carpio.[84] In February 2018, the website of Kodao Productions, which in addition to indigenous rights and environmental issues, also covers the peace process between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, experienced a code injection attack that prevented its website technicians from logging in. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines blamed the government for the attack, saying it was "part of the Duterte government's efforts to silence critical media."[85] The hacking of Uber in 2016 compromised the personal information of 57 million Uber users worldwide, including in the Philippines.[86] Government websites have also reportedly been hacked.[87] According to Facebook, information of 1.175 million Filipinos may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, the British consulting firm that is said to be behind the harvesting of millions of Facebook data for the Trump campaign.[88] The National Privacy Commission said it is looking into all these data breaches and leaks. Notes: 1 "PH now has 67 million internet users, all active on social media," Newsbytes Philippines, January 30, 2018, http://newsbytes.ph/2018/01/30/ph-now-has-67-million-users-all-active-on-social-media/ 2 John Carlos Rodriguez, "How many Filipinos are still not connected to Internet?" ABS-CBN News, October 3, 2014, http://bit.ly/1Nkv4nd. 3 Full text of Duterte's State of the Nation Address 2017, delivered on July 24, 2017 available at http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/07/25/1721355/full-text-dutertes-state-nation-address-2017. The National Broadband Plan was officially launched by the DICT on June 24, 2017. For copy of the NBP see http://www.dict.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017.08.09-National-Broadband-Plan.pdf 4 See http://i.gov.ph/ngp1/ 5 ITU, Measuring the information society report 2017, Vol. 2, ICT country profiles, https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2017/MISR2017_Volume2.pdf 6 Speedtest global index, February 2018, Accessed on March 9, 2018, https://www.speedtest.net/global-index 7 Republic Act No. 10929, available in http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2017/08/02/republic-act-no-10929/ 8 Free Public wi-fi, http://freepublicwifi.gov.ph/free-public-wi-fi-organizational-chart/ 9 Ruth Abbey Gita, "Duterte approves launch of government satellite network in 2018," SunStar Manila, December 06, 2017, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/12/06/duterte-approves-launch-government-satellite-network-2018-578444 10 Jelly Musico, "PCOO rolls out gov't satellite news network in 42k barangays starting June," Philippine News Agency, February 28, 2018, http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026826 11 Roy Stephen C. Canivel, "PH partners with Facebook to build high-speed interner infrastructure," Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 15, 2017, http://technology.inquirer.net/69252/dict-bcda-high-speed-internet-luzon-bypass-infrastructure#ixzz57XtuUgLA 12 For the text of House Bill 6557, see http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/first_17/CR00423.pdf 13 Jhoanna Ballaran, "Group criticizes gov't move shutting down cellphone signals during events," Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 26, 2018, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/963786/group-criticizes-govt-move-shutting-down-cellphone-signals-during-events-signal-jamming-cell-sites-fma-media-group-shutdown 14 Glazyl Y. Masculino, "Bacolod police seeks gun ban, signal jamming for Masskara, Sunstar, September 16, 2017, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/local-news/2017/09/16/bacolod-police-seeks-gun-ban-signal-jamming-masskara-564456 15 Rambo Talabong, "Globe, Smart to shut down signals in areas of Manila for Nazareno 2018," Rappler, January 9, 2018, https://www.rappler.com/nation/193184-globe-smart-signals-jamming-nazareno-2018 16 Mary Ann Ll. Reyes, "PLDT: From voice to multia?media (First of Two Parts)," The Philippine Star, http://bit.ly/1O45UKY. 17 FMA, Citizen Lab, "An Overview of Internet Governance and Infrastructure in the Philippines," research brief, March 2017, https://citizenlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/An-Overview-of-Internet-Infrastructure-and-Governance-in-the-Phillippines.pdf. 18 "Submarine Cable Map," TeleGeography, last updated March 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/181agjA 19 Jon Viktor Cabuenas, "PLDT earmarks P7B for new cable system linking PHL to Japan, US," GMA News, October 30, 2017, http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/631318/pldt-earmarks-p7b-for-new-cable-system-linking-phl-to-japan-us/story/ 20 "Globe commercially launches SEA-US cable system; Connects Davao to US for enhanced Philippine Internet Connectivity," August 11, 2017, http://business.globe.com.ph/news-and-events/sea-us-cable-system-connects-davao-to-us.html 21 PLDT Annual Report 2016 and Globe Quarterly Report submitted to SEC. 22 PLDT Annual Report 2016 submitted to SEC. 23 Carl Lamiel, "Globe vs. PLDT: Which had more subscribers in 2017?", YugaTech, March 13, 2018, http://www.yugatech.com/internet-telecoms/globe-vs-pldt-which-had-more-subscribers-in-2017/#jTxemDXTzCrEfP78.99 24 National Statistics Office, "Philippines in Figures 2016," September 19, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ppcWEk 25 Claire Jiao, "Globe will hold on to frequencies regardless of PCC decision," CNN Philippines, August 4, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ptyZXB 26 Louis Bacani, "PNoy OKs landmark Philippine Competition Act, Cabotage Law amendments," PhilStar.com, July 21, 2015, http://bit.ly/1V9oR1o. 27 http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2015/07/21/republic-act-no-10667/ 28 Josiah Go, "Finally, Congress passes Philippine Competition Act," Inquirer.net, July 10, 2015, http://bit.ly/1CsluuO. 29 Chrisee De La Paz, "PCC to exhaust options as CA affirms San Miguel Telco buyout," Rappler, October 23, 2017, https://www.rappler.com/business/186133-pcc-exhaust-options-ca-affirms-san-miguel-telco-buyout-pldt-globe 30 Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo, "DICT sticks to May target in naming third telco player," Business World, March 6, 2018, http://bworldonline.com/dict-sticks-may-target-naming-third-telco-player/ 31 "Public Service Act Amendments to Open Economy to More Investments, Generate More Jobs Poe," Senate of the Philippines, February 15, 2018, http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2018/0215_poe3.asp 32 Trisha Macas, Gma News, Amanda Lago, "Duterte schoolmate to be first DICT secretary," GMA News Online, June 22, 2016, http://bit.ly/2q7V2Dp. 33 Miguel Camus, "Salalima bares to DICT employees reasons for wanting to leave office," Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 22, 2017, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/932701/salalima-bares-to-dict-employees-reasons-for-wanting-to-leave-office 34 Leila B. Salaverria, "Duterte said he told Salalima to resign," Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 29, 2017, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/934190/duterte-says-he-told-salalima-to-resign 35 TJ Dimacali, "ISPs tasked to block just child porn, not all adult sites NTC," GMA News Online, March 17, 2014, http://bit.ly/1FnJD5x. 36 "Globe blocks nearly 2,500 sites with lewd, child porn content," Newsbytes Philippines, January 9, 2018, http://newsbytes.ph/2018/01/09/globe-blocks-nearly-2500-sites-with-lewd-child-porn-content/ 37 Leila B. Salaverria, "Sotto asks inquirer.net to remove Pepsi Paloma stories, Inquirer.net, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1001463/sotto-asks-inquirer-net-to-remove-pepsi-paloma-stories 38 Norman Bordadora, "Santiago Proposes Magna Carta for Internet," Inquirer, December 1, 2012, http://bit.ly/18rVQt6; Louis Bacani, "'Crowdsourcing' bill allows citizens' online participation in lawmaking," The Philippine Star, July 4, 2013, http://bit.ly/1DnofxQ. 39 Google Transparency Report, Government requests to remove content, "Philippines," https://transparencyreport.google.com/government-removals/by-country/PH . 40 Rizal Raoul Reyes & Mia Rosienna Mallari, "Money and credulity drive Duterte's 'keyboard army'," Business Mirror, November 27, 2016, http://bit.ly/2gxjT1K 41 Eric S. Caruncho, "Confessions of a troll," August 28, 2016, Inquirer.net, http://bit.ly/2oEf9ZQ 42 http://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2017/07/Troops-Trolls-and-Troublemakers.pdf 43 Rizal Raoul Reyes & Mia Rosienna Mallari, "Money and credulity drive Duterte's 'keyboard army'," Business Mirror, November 27, 2016, http://bit.ly/2gxjT1K 44 Bradshaw, Howard, "Troops, Trolls and Troublemakers: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation," University of Oxford Computational Propaganda Research Project, working paper 2017.12, http://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2017/07/Troops-Trolls-and-Troublemakers.pdf 45 Natashya Gutierrez, "State-sponsored hate: The rise of pro-Duterte bloggers," Rappler, August 18, 2017, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/178709-duterte-die-hard-supporters-bloggers-propaganda-pcoo 46 Carmela Fonbuena, "SEC orders Rappler to shut down," Rappler, January 15, 2018, http://www.sec.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018Decision_RapplerIncandRapplerHoldingsCorp.pdf 47 SONA 2017 http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/07/25/1721355/full-text-dutertes-state-nation-address-2017; https://www.rappler.com/nation/209159-mocha-uson-written-reminder-gender-rules-federalism-video 48 Nestor Corrales, "Roque: Duterte felt 'betrayed' by Rappler reporter," Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 21, 2018, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/970379/roque-duterte-felt-betrayed-by-rappler-reporter 49 Jhoanna Ballaran, "Palace welcomes filing of tax evasion case vs Rappler," Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 8, 2018, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/973777/palace-welcomes-filing-of-tax-evasion-case-vs-rappler-palace-bir-tax-evasion-rappler-roque 50 https://www.manilatimes.net/rappler-not-filipino-owned-and-violated-law-court-rules/423806/ 51 For the text of the draft Administrative Order, see http://www.dict.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DRAFT-AO-Social-Media-Use-for-Government.pdf 52 Ruth Abbey Gita, "Duterte approves launch of government satellite network in 2018," SunStar Manila, December 06, 2017, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/12/06/duterte-approves-launch-government-satellite-network-2018-578444 53 Rie Takumi, "Online campaign against verbal abuse committed by public officials launched," GMA News, March 8, 2018, http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/content/645921/online-campaign-against-verbal-abuse-committed-by-public-officials-launched/story/ 54 Rappler, "#BabaeAko campaign: Filipino women fight back against Duterte's misogyny," Rappler, May 21, 2018, https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/202990-babae-ako-social-media-campaign-filipino-women-fight-duterte-misogyny 55 "Oust Mocha as an ASec of the Presidential Communications Operations Office," change.org., Accessed on March 6, 2018, https://www.change.org/p/secretary-martin-andanar-and-president-rodrigo-r-duterte-remove-esther-margaux-mocha-uson-from-being-a-pcoo-asec?pt=AVBldGl0aW9uACRWvAAAAAAAWp4%2FIMrWr4BmOGIxNmIxOQ%3D%3D&source_location=topic_page ; https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/02/01/18/dict-bars-govt-officials-from-spreading-fake-news ; https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/03/18/mocha-uson-resigns 56 Cons. (1987), art. III, Bill of Rights, http://bit.ly/1Qrp8IT. 57 SC Decision, G.R. No. 203335, February 11, 2014, http://bit.ly/1EZnzAA ;"Concurring and Dissenting Opinion," C.J. Sereno, http://bit.ly/1KHhICy. 58 Purple Romero, "DOJ holds dialogue on 'E-Martial Law'," October 9, 2012, Rappler, http://bit.ly/1NXmTx2. 59 "New House bill deletes libel in cybercrime, e-commerce laws," Newsbytes Philippines, September 25, 2017, http://newsbytes.ph/2017/09/25/new-house-bill-deletes-libel-in-cybercrime-e-commerce-laws/ 60 For the text of the Crowdsourcing Bill see https://www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/2413420771!.pdf 61 For the text of SB No. 1492, see https://www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/2624822593!.pdf 62 Ellen T. Tordesillas, "Opinion: SEA lawyers groups call on Senate not to pass Villanueva bill on fake news," ABS-CBN News, November 23, 2017, http://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/11/23/17/opinion-sea-lawyers-groups-call-on-senate-not-to-pass-villanueva-bill-on-fake-news 63 Anjo Alimario, "Group defends Rappler in online libel case," CNN Philippines, January 20, 2018, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/01/20/group-defends-rappler-in-online-libel-case.html 64 "DILG official files libel complaint vs Rappler reporter," Rappler, November 23, 2017, https://www.rappler.com/nation/189253-dilg-undersecretary-castriciones-libel-rappler-reporter-rambo-talabong 65 Nicole Ann Lagrimas, "Pinol sues newsman over libelous FB post, "GMA News Online, September 28, 2017, http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/627553/pinol-sues-newsman-over-libelous-fb-post/story/ 66 "Trillanes sues Uson for spreading 'news' on alleged bank accounts," ABS-CBN News, September 22, 2017, http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/22/17/trillanes-sues-uson-for-spreading-news-on-alleged-bank-accounts 67 "Blogger RJ Nieto ordered charged for cyber-libel in 'defaming' Trillanes," GMA News Online, June 30, 2018, http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/658756/prosecutor-oks-cyber-libel-rap-vs-blogger-rj-nieto-for-defaming-trillanes/story/ 68 Foundation for Media Alternatives, "Tiktik: An overview of the Philippine surveillance landscape," September 2015 (unpublished) 69 Hannah Ellis-Petersen, "Britain sold spying gear to Philippines despite Duterte's brutal drugs war," The Guardian, February 21, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/21/britain-sold-spying-gear-to-philippines-despite-dutertes-brutal-drugs-war 70 Ibid. 71 "Duterte admits wiretapping alleged narcopoliticians," CNN Philippines, September 23, 2017, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/09/23/president-rodrigo-duterte-wiretap-narcopoliticians.html 72 Duterte said that a foreign country provided him with recordings of a phone conversation between Loida Lewis, a critic of the president based in the US, and another person in the Philippines. See, Virgil Lopez, "Duterte links Loida Lewis to ICC probe, she denies his info from 'foreign country'," GMA News, February 12, 2018,http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/643104/duterte-links-loida-lewis-to-icc-probe-she-denies-his-info-from-foreign-country/story/ 73 Ben R. Rosario, "SIM card registration bill's approval seen," Manila Bulletin, March 2, 2018, https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/03/02/sim-card-registration-bills-approval-seen/ 74 Section 4 of Senate Bill No. 7 filed by Sen. Vicente Sotto III 75 "Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10175," August 12, 2015, http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2015/08/12/implementing-rules-and-regulations-of-republic-act-no-10175/; B:Inform, "Philippine Government Issues Implementing Rules Under Cybercrime Law Part I" March 31, 2016, http://www.bakerinform.com/home/2016/3/31/philippine-government-issues-implementing-rules-under-cybercrime-law-part-i. 76 Alec Christie and Arthur Cheuk, "Australia: New tough privacy regime in the Philippines Data Privacy Act signed into law," DLA Mondaq, October 27, 2012, http://bit.ly/1HVsGie; Rep. Act 10173 (2012), http://bit.ly/PcYtpj; Janette Toral, "Salient Features of Data Privacy Act of 2012 Republic Act 10173," Digital Filipino, December 17, 2012, http://bit.ly/1Clq5hl/. 77 Rep. Act 9775 (2009), "Antia?Child Pornography Act of 2009," http://bit.ly/1Nshm2Y. 78 Rep. Act 9372 (2007), "Human Security Act," http://bit.ly/1UJSzXj. 79 Antonio P. Contreras, "The crimes of Lyn Ouvrier, a certified Leni Troll," The Manila Times, March 30, 2017, http://www.manilatimes.net/crimes-lyn-ouvrier-certified-leni-troll/319914/ 80 Natashya Gutierrez, "For anti-Duterte netizen, online troll attacks turn into real world nightmare," Rappler, September 15, 2017, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/182164-duterte-trolls-lyn-ouvrier-willyn-trabajador-nightmare 81 "Critics of Duterte inhale courage and exhale fear," New York Times, January 19, 2018, http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/01/19/nyt/critics-of-duterte-inhale-courage-and-exhale-fear/ 82 Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists killed in the Philippines since 1992, Accessed March 5, 2018, https://cpj.org/asia/philippines/ 83 CMFR, NUJP, PPI, PCIJ, "Speak truth in power, Keep power in check," PCIJ, May 3, 2018, http://pcij.org/uncategorized/speak-truth-to-power-keep-power-in-check/ 84 Nicole Anne C. Lagrimas, "Cyber attack downs VERA files website after report on Duterte, Sara's allegedly undeclared millions," GMA News, January 23, 2018, http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/640782/cyberattack-downs-vera-files-website-after-report-on-duterte-sara-s-allegedly-undeclared-millions/story/ 85 "NUJP slams cyberattack on Kodao Productions' website," Rappler, February 2, 2018, https://www.rappler.com/nation/195111-nujp-kodao-media-cyber-attack 86 Roy Stephen C. Canivel, "Uber PH confirms data of Filipino users among those hacked NPC," Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 28, 2017, http://technology.inquirer.net/69763/breaking-internet-hacking-uber-national-privacy-commission-breach-personal-information 87 "Hackers target Philippine military, Presidential websites," ABS-CBN News, November 8, 2017, http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/11/08/17/hackers-target-philippine-military-presidential-websites; See also Allan J. Dumanhug and Jason Te Occidental, "Filipino black hat hackers attack dozens of websites," Manila Bulletin, April 3, 2018,https://technology.mb.com.ph/2018/04/03/filipino-black-hat-hackers-attack-dozens-of-websites/ 88 https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/04/restricting-data-access/ Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Pakistan Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Pakistan, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b014.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Not Free Total Score: 73/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 197,015,955 Internet Penetration: 15.5% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The government continued to restrict connectivity during religious and national holidays, and several districts in the less developed regions of Baluchistan remained with no mobile internet access (see Restrictions on Connectivity). In November 2017, social media platforms were suspended nationwide for two days in the wake of protests that turned violent (see Restrictions on Connectivity and Blocking and Filtering). Two men were sentenced to death for blasphemy after sharing content on social media and communication platforms. Appeals of the convictions are pending (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Attackers targeted the accounts and devices of human rights defenders by installing spyware to monitor and conduct surveillance (see Technical Attacks). Introduction: Internet freedom declined in 2018 following two death sentences for online activity, technical attacks against human rights defenders, and restrictions to connectivity and social media platforms. A problematic cybercrime law also contributed to the ongoing deterioration of online freedom. General elections were held in July 2018, following the reporting period. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party secured the most seats, with Imran Khan becoming the new prime minister. In the lead up to the vote, bots supporting political parties surfaced online, including many spewing disinformation. The government continues to use national security to justify internet shutdowns and restrictions to social media and communication platforms. The National Assembly and Senate passed Pakistan's first comprehensive cybercrime act in 2016, including provisions that allow censorship and surveillance, and could be used to punish online speech. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act has come under intense criticism in Pakistan as well as from international rights organizations and the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. Rules governing its implementation were still pending during the coverage period. Internet users were again arrested and prosecuted for online expression. In a disturbing move, two men were sentenced to death for online speech, convictions that have been appealed. Meanwhile, torture and sexual violence in detention remain a pressing problem. New reports also detailed technical attacks targeting human rights defenders and their accounts and devices. Obstacles to Access: A lack of resources and underdeveloped infrastructure limits internet penetration rates in Pakistan, but mobile internet access is increasing following the recent launch of faster 3G and 4G service. However, Pakistani authorities frequently disable mobile internet access during times of perceived political or religious sensitivity, in addition to the long-term denial of service in marginalized areas. Availability and Ease of Access Internet penetration registered only marginal increases during the reporting period. While the cost of internet has fallen considerably in the last few years,[1] access remains out of reach for the majority of the population, and high taxes on internet service push prices higher. In the 2017-18 federal budget, the withholding tax on telecommunication services was brought down from 14 percent to 12.5 percent. In June 2017, the Punjab government re-imposed a 5 percent tax on all internet services, which will cost more than Rs1,500 (US$12) per month.[2] According to the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan is one of the ten countries with the most people not connected to the internet; 200 million Pakistanis do not have internet access.[3] In March 2017, the Peshawar High Court struck down a challenge by the telecommunications provider Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) against a 19.5 percent tax rate levied on internet, email, and data services by the government in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The court rejected the petitioner's arguments that the high cost restricted internet usage among students, small businesses, and others.[4] The affordability of telecommunications was a source of debate during the coverage period. In 2017, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) admitted that the mobile recharge tax included in the 2018 budget is "too high" and places an undue burden on users.[5] In May 2018, the chief justice of the Supreme Court took notice of the heavy tax on "mobile cards,"[6] which included charges for a prepaid mobile card, a 19.5 percent federal excise duty, a 12.5 percent withholding tax, and a 10 percent service fee.[7] There are 57 million broadband connections in Pakistan.[8] Broadband subscriptions based on DSL, which uses existing telephone networks or wireless WiMax technology, are concentrated in urban areas. Most remote areas lack broadband, and many users depend on slow dial-up connections or EDGE, an early mobile internet technology. In such areas, online activity that depends on high-speed connections, such as multimedia training, can be challenging, though faster 3G and 4G networks are making inroads, albeit at a slow pace. 27 percent of cellular subscribers (55 million people) used 3G or 4G connections as of April 2018.[9] According to the PTA, 87 percent of the population lives where mobile service is available, 70 percent of which have access to 3G and 30 percent have access to 4G.[10] Pakistan's internet speed is ranked 89th in the world, and first in South Asia, by the speed-testing company Ookla. As of December 2017, the average mobile download rate was 13.08 Mbps and the average fixed broadband download rate was 6.13 Mbps.[11] Parts of western Pakistan lack internet access, in many cases due to underdevelopment or ongoing conflict. According to one study, more than 75 percent of tribal areas and 60 percent of the impoverished southwestern province of Baluchistan lacked fiber-optic connections in 2013.[12] Smart phone penetration rates are estimated at 30 percent, and approximately 50 million people do not have mobile phones.[13] Government initiatives to promote access have made progress in recent years. In 2017, the Punjab government installed 192 free internet hotspots Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan,[14] though Pakistan's poor record of protecting user privacy may make some users reluctant to use them (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). In January 2018, it was announced that more than PKR 10 billion (US$81 million) worth of projects were launched, awarded by the Universal Service Funds (USF), to provide broadband service to remote areas, particularly Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region. In February 2018, 3G and 4G services were extended to Gilgit-Baltistan for the first time as part of infrastructural development in the region.[15] Low literacy, difficult economic conditions, and cultural resistance have also limited the proliferation of ICTs.[16] The digital divide between men and women in Pakistan is among the highest in the world as a result of religious, social, and cultural restrictions on women owning devices.[17] Even women who have access are likely to have their digital activities heavily monitored by family members and other social connections. Women who are active online report high levels of online harassment that discourages greater utilization of ICTs. At least one woman was killed during the reporting period in reprisal for sharing images of herself on social media (see Intimidation and Violence). Increasingly stringent security measures mean that users must register fingerprints along with other identifying information when applying for broadband internet packages and mobile service.[18] This has worrying implications for human rights activists and others who rely on anonymous internet access, and may discourage some from seeking home service. Unregistered phones have been subject to disconnection (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Restrictions on Connectivity The government restricts connectivity and social media and communication platforms routinely, and several districts in the less developed regions of Baluchistan have remained with no mobile internet access since early 2017. Damaged or inadequate infrastructure also periodically disrupts access. In February 2018, the Islamabad High Court directly addressed mobile internet shutdowns in the country. In November 2017, social media platforms were suspended in the wake of protests by Islamists that turned violent; the protestors objected to a new oath that lawmakers take when sworn into office that omits mention of the Prophet Mohammed.[19] The nationwide suspension lasted from November 25-26.[20] According to the Digital Rights Foundation, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram were restricted on mobile operators Mobilink, Zong, Telenor, and Ufone, and on fixed providers PTCL, Witribe, Zong, and Cybernet; while YouTube restrictions were only partially implemented.[21] There were also reports of DailyMotion being blocked.[22] Security considerations continued to intrude on telecommunication services during religious and national holidays: On September 29, 2017, mobile services were suspended for several hours in more than a dozen cities and towns due to security concerns surrounding processions scheduled during the Ashura holiday. Mobile services were suspended in Karachi, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Khairpur, Shikarpur, and other parts of Sindh province. [23] The Ashura holiday is observed most visibly by the Shiite sect, which is a minority group in Pakistan and often the target of sectarian terrorist groups. On December 1, 2017, mobile internet services were suspended in the major cities of Sindh and Baluchistan on account of 12th Rabiul Awwal.[24] The services were suspended for twelve hours, from 8 am to 8 pm, in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Quetta.[25] During the coverage period, 3G, 4G, and LTE mobile internet services were also shut down in areas that receive little media attention, such as the less developed regions of Baluchistan.[26] Several districts of Baluchistan, including Chagai, Pishin, Panjgoor, Killa Abdullah, Turbat, Qalat, Kharan, Panjgur and Dalbandin, have had no mobile internet service since February 2017. No reason or official notification has been given for the shutdown. Furthermore, no deadline has been provided for restoration.[27] The suspension was reportedly enacted with the consent of law enforcement agencies, but no specific security threat to justify the shutdown was disclosed.[28] The government briefly suspended mobile internet in different parts of the country in 2016 and 2017; the shutdowns were justified with the claim that terrorist groups could use the networks to coordinate attacks. Much longer shutdowns were implemented in restive border regions, including one lasting more than a year in FATA.[29] The state also controls most of the backbone infrastructure. It remains unclear whether the FATA merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was approved by parliament in May 2018, will lead to the restoration of mobile internet. Section 54 of the 1996 Pakistan Telecommunications Act grants authorities the power to suspend services, but only during a state of emergency. The law's use to support the routine shutdowns described in this report is being challenged in the courts. In 2017, the Sindh High Court had yet to issue a decision in cases brought in 2012 by Telenor Pakistan and a doctor who reported being unable to communicate with patients during a shutdown, among others.[30] In February 2018, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) held in a landmark ruling that mobile network shutdowns on the pretext of public safety under Section 54(3) of the PTA Act, including mobile-based internet suspension, infringed upon the fundamental rights of citizens and were thus illegal.[31] However, in March 2018, the IHC suspended the judgment and the matter is pending before the court.[32] The IHC was originally hearing a separate petition challenging telecommunications shutdowns during Pakistan Day celebrations. The economic cost of service disruptions is high. According to an October 2016 report by the Center for Technology Innovation at the Washington, DC-based Brookings Institution, internet shutdowns cost Pakistan's economy US$69.7 million between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016.[33] A separate 2015 report highlighted that shutting down cellular services places citizens at risk, rather than protecting them.[34] Damaged or inadequate infrastructure also restricts users' access to the internet.[35] In August 2017, damage to an international submarine cable system, I-ME-WE (India-Middle East-Western Europe), led to a nationwide disruption in service for approximately 48 hours.[36] The incident highlighted the need for diversified internet infrastructure, as another international cable system SEA-ME-WE 4 (Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4) that is key to internet access in Pakistan, was under repair at the time. Power outages, characterized as among the worst in Asia, also limited connectivity in 2016 and 2017.[37] The state also exerts considerable influence over the internet backbone. The predominantly state-owned PTCL controls the country's largest internet exchange point, Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE), which has three main nodes in Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore and 42 smaller nodes nationwide. PIE operated the nation's sole internet backbone until 2009, when additional bandwidth was offered by TransWorld Associates on its private fiber-optic cable, TW1.[38] PTCL also controls access to three international undersea fiber-optic cables: SEA-ME-WE 3 (South-East Asia-Middle East -Western Europe 3) and SEA-ME-WE 4 connect Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe; and I-ME-WE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) links India, the Middle East, and Western Europe.[39] In July 2017, PTCL joined the AAE-1 (Asia-Africa-Europe-1) cable system. The 25,000-kilometer-long cable was built as part of China's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative and provides the lowest latency route to several countries across three continents.[40] Internet rights groups have raised concerns regarding the dangers of a proposed terrestrial cable between Pakistan and China, given "China's model of internet regulation."[41] ICT Market The Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan reported that 50 ISPs were operational in the country as of October 2014, the latest available data; ten provided DSL services.[42] According to licensing information published by the PTA in 2018, there were 12 licensed wireless local loop (WLL) operators,[43] 16 long distance and international (LDI) operators,[44] and 21 operational fixed local loop (FLL) operators.[45] Several dozen licenses had also been issued for companies, providing value added services in the telecommunications sector.[46] The government regulator, the PTA, exerts significant control over internet and mobile providers through a bureaucratic process that includes hefty licensing fees.[47] The predominantly state-owned PTCL has long dominated the broadband market.[48] The Telecom Policy established in 2015 aimed to instill competitive practices in the telecom sector, though it led to overlapping regulatory powers for the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom (MoITT) and the Competition Commission Pakistan (CCP). However, since the introduction of high-speed mobile internet, mobile internet accounts for approximately 88 percent of the broadband market, which has changed the dynamics of the industry.[49] PTCL still dominates the fixed local loop market (95 percent),[50] but controls less of the wireless local loop market (37 percent),[51] just ahead of its main competitor, Wi-Tribe, a private company owned by the HB group (32 percent).[52] WLL penetration was less than 1 percent in November 2016.[53] There are four cellular mobile operators in Pakistan.[54] Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL) is operated by its parent company VEON, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, and has a market share of 37percent. It began phasing out the Mobilink and Warid brand names during the reporting period, merging them under the name Jazz to control the country's largest mobile subscriber base.[55] Jazz's main competitors are Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML), which is a PTCL subsidiary operating as Ufone (market share of 13 percent), Telenor Pakistan (market share of 29 percent), which is part of a Norwegian multinational company, and China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), with a market share of 21 percent).[56] The Special Communications Organization (SCO), a public-sector organization under the MoITT that is managed by the army, provides mobile service in the territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), due to security concerns and difficult terrain.[57] Seven operational LDI licenses[58] and one operational FLL license[59] have been issued for AJK and GB, which lack provincial status due to a long-running border dispute with India. In a worrying development, in October 2017, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology approved a proposal to allow the SCO "to operate commercially and compete with the private telecom operators."[60] This move will mark the entry of a state-funded and military-run company into the telecom sector at the national level, raising concerns about the potential threat it poses to competition, as well as the privacy of users. The decision has also been opposed by leaders in the private sector.[61] Internet cafes on the whole do not require a license to operate, and opening one is relatively easy.[62] Child rights groups have argued that cafes should be regulated to prevent children's access to pornography and gambling sites. [63] In February 2017, the provincial Sindh government issued a ban on all internet cafes "without a proper video surveillance and recording system."[64] Local owners are now "required to keep copies of all users' Computerized National Identity Cards, along with recording their cabin numbers and usage time."[65] Regulatory Bodies The PTA is the regulatory body for the internet and mobile industry, and internet freedom advocates and human rights groups have expressed concerns about its lack of transparency and independence.[66] The prime minister appoints the chair and members of the three-person authority, which reports to the MoITT.[67] The PTA plays an active role in implementing policies that undermine internet freedom. In March 2015, the PTA formally took responsibility for internet content management (see Blocking and Filtering). The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) codified those powers, and also authorized the PTA to develop "rules of business" regarding the investigations of cybercrimes. However, by mid-2018, the PTA had not yet produced any new rules, or shown transparency in the drafting process. Rules are needed to regulate the mode and quality of investigations, a major issue affecting the law's implementation. Limits on Content: The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act authorizes the PTA to undertake content management. Blocking of political content without transparency continued during the reporting period. Other platforms, media, and communication tools are popular and contribute to a vibrant online space. However, concerted steps have been taken to crack down on content the government judges to be antistate and blasphemous. During the lead-up to the July 2018 elections, online spaces were sometimes used to spread disinformation. Blocking and Filtering Access to political, religious, and social content online is limited through PTA orders to service providers, as well as through technical filtering technologies. The government blocks content relating to news, human rights, content critical of Islam, as well as sex and nudity, and circumvention and privacy tools.[68] According to a study carried out by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) and Bytes for All Pakistan, 210 URLs were blocked by 22 ISPs between 2014 and 2017.[69] PECA, passed in August 2016, gives the government broad blocking powers (see Legal Environment). Section 37 grants the PTA expansive powers to block or remove any online content that it deems unlawful, "if it considers it necessary in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court or commission of or incitement to an offense under this Act." Critics contend that such a wide mandate to restrict online speech violates Pakistan's commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).[70] In February 2018, the PTA invited applications for the development of a Web Management Solution that would identify and block content that the PECA deemed illegal.[71] Fears have been raised regarding the human rights and internet freedom implications of such a project. Apart from PECA, other regulatory provisions have long enabled politically-motivated censorship of dissenting voices and information perceived as damaging to the military or political elites. Broad provisions in the 1996 Pakistan Telecommunications Act support censorship for the protection of national security or religious reasons.[72] A Telecommunications Policy approved in 2015 utilized similar language. Section 9.8.3 enabled the PTA to "monitor and manage content including any blasphemous and pornographic material in conflict with the principles of Islamic way of life as reflected in the Objectives Resolution and Article 31 of the Constitution," as well as material that is considered to be "detrimental to national security, or any other category stipulated in any other law."[28] Section 99 of the penal code separately allows the government to restrict information that might be prejudicial to the national interest.[73] In April 2018, news website NayaDaur was blocked in Pakistan for over a week before the PTA restored it. No reason for the blocking was provided by the government, but it followed the online publication of an article sympathetic to the Pashtun human rights movement.[74] This is not the first time a website has been blocked for critiquing the state. In early 2018, a media blackout of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a grassroots civil rights movement, was ordered at the behest of the military establishment. There have been several instances of opinion articles relating to the PTM being removed from newspapers' websites.[75] The Twitter account of the leader of the PTM, Manzoor Pashteen, was suspended for a few hours in April 2018. The account was restored after supporters of the movement expressed outrage on social media.[76] No reason was given for the suspension. Social media applications and the websites of most news channels were blocked briefly in November 2017 throughout the country, due to what the government claimed were security concerns (see Restrictions on Connectivity). Platforms have also been blocked in the past, notably when the government blocked YouTube from December 2012 until January 2016 in response to the anti-Islamic video "The Innocence of Muslims."[77] In August 2016, the government banned websites operated by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a political party based in Sindh province, and said it would take steps to remove affiliated social media accounts after the party's exiled leader delivered what officials and news reports characterized as an "anti-Pakistan" speech.[78] The authorities accused MQM activists of launching a violent attack on a TV station in Karachi, but the party denied responsibility and said the army was using the attack to justify a crackdown on its membership.[79] The party's official website remained blocked in mid-2018. Political dissent and secessionist movements in areas including Baluchistan and Sindh province have been subject to systematic censorship for years.[80] In 2017, at least nine Facebook pages allegedly propagating antistate activities were blocked at the request of the PTA. The identified pages belonged to Baloch and Sindhi nationalist groups.[81] Nonpolitical content is also routinely affected by blocking and filtering. Censorship targeting pornography can restrict access to health information and other legitimate content like Scarleteen, a U.S.-based sex education website for teenagers.[82] In early 2016, the PTA ordered ISPs to block 429,343 supposedly pornographic websites, but the list and how it was vetted was not publicized.[83] As a condition of their licenses, ISPs and backbone providers must restrict access to individual URLs or IP addresses upon receipt of a blocking order.[84] Since 2012, successive administrations have sought to move from less sophisticated manual blocking towards technical filtering,[85] despite widespread civil society protests.[86] In 2013, the University of Toronto-based research group Citizen Lab reported that technology developed by the Canadian company Netsweeper was filtering political and social content at the national level on the PTCL network.[87] "In addition to using Netsweeper technology to block websites, ISPs also use other less transparent methods, such as DNS tampering," Citizen Lab noted, highlighting the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding censorship.[88] Despite its flaws, PECA introduced some stronger requirements for transparency and accountability. Section 37(2) requires that rules are drafted that will ensure a transparent and effective oversight mechanism for blocking or removing online content, but these had yet to be issued during the coverage period. Content Removal State and other actors are known to exert extralegal pressure on publishers and content producers to remove content, but these instances frequently go unreported, and the processes involved are not clear. The government has succeeded in getting international companies to remove content in Pakistan. In July 2017, a delegation from Facebook met with the interior minister, who lobbied the social media company to cooperate in removing content deemed blasphemous. Observers have pointed out that in return for Facebook's cooperation, the government will facilitate Facebook's Free Basics Program, which may violate net neutrality principles.[89] From July to December 2017, Facebook provided data for 59 percent of the 1,320 government requests.[90] In the same period, 301 pieces of content were removed by Facebook at the behest of the PTA.[91] In recent years, there has been an increase in content removal; From January to June 2016, there were 25 removals, while there were 117 from January to June 2017.[92] From July to December 2017, Pakistan made a total of 27 requests to Google seeking the removal of 259 pieces of content. Of the removal requests, 52 percent were related to religious offenses or blasphemous content.[93] Political content continued to be blocked without transparency during the reporting period. In May 2018, Facebook complied with a government request to remove a Facebook post from Dawn, a leading newspaper. The post included a report of a politician criticizing the military. The content was removed "based on local law" and is still accessible outside of Pakistan.[94] Section 38 of PECA limits civil or criminal liability for service providers for content posted by users, unless it is proven that the service provider had "specific actual knowledge and willful intent to proactively and positively participate" in cybercrimes committed under the act. Pakistan previously lacked explicit intermediary liability protections, though experts expressed concern about making intermediary liability contingent on the vague standards implied by terms like "willful."[95] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Despite content restrictions, most Pakistanis have access to international news organizations and other independent media, as well as a range of websites representing political parties, local civil society groups, and international human rights organizations.[96] There are no major economic constraints on digital media outlets intended to prevent them from publishing independent political news and opinion, though some struggle to stay financially viable. ICTs, particularly mobile phones, promote social mobilization. Since YouTube was unblocked, social networking, blogging, and voice-over-IP (VoIP) applications have been available and widely used. In September 2016, opportunities were extended to Pakistani content creators as the localized version of YouTube, YouTube.com.pk, announced that it would allow them to benefit from monetized partner videos.[97] Nevertheless, most online commentators exercise a degree of self-censorship when writing on topics such as religion, blasphemy, civil-military relations, separatist movements, and women's and other minority communities' rights.[98] There have been no documented examples of cybertroopers paid to distort the online landscape, but some individuals have sought to discredit others online, often by accusing them of blasphemy, a criminal offense which carries a death penalty (see Legal Environment). The blasphemy campaigns often appear coordinated. In one example from the reporting period, social media users poisoned hashtags being used to rally support for missing bloggers, accusing them of blasphemy (see Digital Activism). Separately, a student was murdered in reprisal for alleged blasphemy, shortly after he reported that someone was impersonating him with a fake account on social media (see Intimidation and Violence). In the lead up to the July 2018 election, each major political party had a social media team campaigning online.[99] Bots supporting certain political parties also surfaced online. According to a May 2018 report in the News International, 52 percent of accounts tweeting #PMLN, associated with the popular party, were bots, while another 46 percent of accounts using #PTI, another political party, were as well.[100] Social media campaigns purporting false information have also had negative repercussions in offline spaces. For example, online propaganda and misinformation have hindered efforts to fight polio.[101] Misinformation has fueled rumors that health workers are spies and the polio vaccine contains swine, and, in some cases, has led to parents refusing to have their children vaccinated. Digital Activism Human rights activists have galvanized public support using digital technology, including on internet freedom issues. Some have achieved limited success, and may have discouraged officials from adopting even more restrictive measures. Yet there is still significant resistance at the institutional level to grassroots campaigns, which limits the effectiveness of digital activism. Digital activism before the passage of the PECA in 2016, for example, failed to prevent problematic provisions from being adopted (see Legal Environment). One online campaign during the coverage period was to recover abducted activists, including Raza Khan who went missing in December 2017. The hashtag #FindRaza was used to highlight his abduction and call for his return.[102] Despite facing a complete blackout on print and electronic media, the PTM was able to maintain momentum on social media and mobilize its rallies across the country.[103] The global #MeToo movement has also been extensively used by feminists and women's rights activists to expose the sexual misconduct of powerful men in Pakistan. However, online accusations have also opened some women up to defamation lawsuits.[104] In a statement that appeared to narrow one potential avenue for digital activism, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan said in March 2017 that "crowd funding is not allowed in Pakistan."[105] The statement was issued to highlight activity by a single fraudulent website, but stated that "no company can raise funds" through crowd funding. Violations of User Rights: User rights continued to be violated during the coverage period, including two murders in response to online speech, and the abductions of five bloggers. Civil society groups say that PECA criminalizes legitimate online activity, and more problematic prosecutions based on allegations of online blasphemy were reported. Legal Environment Article 19 of Pakistan's constitution establishes freedom of speech as a fundamental right, although it is subject to several broad restrictions.[106] Pakistan became a signatory to the ICCPR in 2010.[107] Several laws have the potential to restrict the rights of internet users, including one passed during the coverage period. In August 2016, PECA became law, despite concerns from civil society organizations regarding the lack of transparency involved in the drafting process. Though it contains some procedural safeguards for cybercrime investigations by law enforcement agencies, international and local human rights groups condemned the law's overly broad language and disproportionate penalties, including a 14-year prison term for acts of cyberterrorism that the law failed to adequately define.[108] The law also punishes preparing or disseminating electronic communication to glorify terrorism; and preparing or disseminating information that is likely to advance religious, ethnic or sectarian hatred; both crimes are punishable with up to seven years in prison. Section 20 criminalizes displaying or transmitting information that intimidates or harms the "reputation or privacy of a natural person" with a maximum three-year prison term or a fine of PKR 1 million (US$9,500) or both.[109] The law also granted the PTA broad censorship powers (see Blocking and Filtering), and raised privacy concerns (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). The law's harsh penalties were cause for particular concern in light of recent sentences passed by antiterrorism courts for online speech. Furthermore, secret military courts were established in 2015 through the 21st amendment to the constitution, which was set to lapse in January 2017 until the National Assembly and Senate approved a two-year extension.[110] Other procedural concerns about PECA's implementation have been raised. In October 2016, news reports said the government had "accepted a proposal by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to let its operatives take preemptive action against individuals and organizations breaching national security under the recently enacted cybercrime laws."[111] This would effectively authorize the ISI to act unilaterally in cybercrime investigations considered relevant to national security. In December 2017, the cabinet approved an amendment to add sections relating to blasphemy and pornography to PECA.[112] IHC had originally issued directions to add these offenses to the law.[113] Child pornography was already an offense under PECA (section 22), and sections from the Pakistan Penal Code were used to try cases of blasphemy in online spaces. A draft amendment presented to the court in February 2018 included provisions to punish false accusations of blasphemy as well.[114] The amendments were not passed by parliament during the coverage period. In January 2018, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), tasked with investigating and prosecuting cybercrime, requested parliament to make more offenses cognizable and nonbailable. These offenses "included access, modification, interference, deletion to critical infrastructure, information system or data (sections 6,7, and 8), electronic forgery (section 13), electronic fraud (section 14), unauthorized issuance of SIM cards (section 17), tampering of electronic equipment (section 18), cyberstalking (section 24), and spoofing (section 26)."[115] Digital rights groups believe that, if approved, the move will reduce the procedural safeguards in place to ensure checks and balances on the FIA. Sections of the penal code that cover blasphemy, including 295(c), which imposes a mandatory death sentence, are frequently invoked to limit freedom of expression and in many cases involve electronic media (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). In March 2017, the IHC ruled that those accused of posting blasphemous content on social media should be barred from leaving the country until their name is cleared.[116] Any citizen can file a blasphemy complaint against any other, leaving the accused vulnerable to violent reprisals regardless of whether the complaint has foundation. Human rights groups report that the law lacks safeguards to prevent abuse to settle personal vendettas.[117] Other laws threaten online speech. Sections 36 and 37 of the Electronic Transaction Ordinance of 2002 punish "violations of privacy of information" and "damage to information systems," respectively. The 2002 Defamation Ordinance can impose prison sentences of up to five years. PECA effectively replaced the ordinances, but they were still invoked during the reporting period, and some older cases were also ongoing. Section 124 of the penal code on sedition is broadly worded, and covers acts of sedition "by words" or "visible representation," which could include digital speech, though it has not yet been applied to an online context.[118] The Surveying and Mapping Act 2014 limits digital mapping activity to organizations registered with Survey of Pakistan, a government authority, with federal permission required for collaborating with foreign companies.[119] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities People are frequently prosecuted for their online activities, and sometimes receive harsh sentences, including the death penalty in two cases during the coverage period. In June 2017, a man was sentenced to death for blasphemy after posting comments about the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.[120] The man's lawyer reported that he would appeal the ruling.[121] In September 2017, a Christian man was sentenced to death for blasphemy after sending a poem on WhatsApp to a Muslim friend that was critical of Islam.[122] At the end of the reporting period, his appeal was still pending.[123] Others were also on trial for blasphemy on social media at the end of the reporting period.[124] For example, in February 2018, seventeen-year-old Patris Masih was arrested for allegedly posting blasphemous content on social media. The arrest came amidst pressure from Tehreek Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) and other religious parties.[125] The accused and his twenty-four-year-old cousin, Sajid Masih, were taken into the custody of the FIA, where they were allegedly subjected to sexual assault and torture. Sajid subsequently jumped from the fourth floor of the FIA building and was critically injured.[126] Political speech has also been subject to legal action. In December 2016, the FIA detained three bloggers for allegedly sharing images of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with a politician incorrectly identified as a judge.[127] The image was perceived as an attempt to malign the judiciary. No formal charges were pressed, according to official statements. Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity PECA grants overly broad surveillance powers, both to agencies within Pakistan, and potentially to foreign governments, since it includes provisions that permit the sharing of data with international agencies without adequate oversight.[128] Section 32 requires service providers to retain traffic data for a minimum of one year, and allows for that period to be extended with a warrant issued by a court. Furthermore, new regulations introduced in March 2018 require all Wi-Fi hotspot service providers to retain user data. This data includes the user's name, national identity number/passport number, mobile phone number, time of login and logoff, IP address, MAC address, and internet access log.[129] There is currently no data protection law in Pakistan, despite assurances from the government that it would pass a law during the coverage period.[130] As a result of this lack of oversight, ISPs and mobile companies are not obliged to maintain or comply with data protection policies.[131] Data collected by the state's National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), which maintains a centralized repository of information about citizens, is not subject to any transparent privacy rules.[132] These rules are currently in their draft stage, but are expected to be implemented in the near future. Several data breaches of the central national database occurred during the coverage period. Data from NADRA and telecom companies, as well as police records, are reportedly sold online, including on Facebook.[133] Given the centralized and interconnected nature of Pakistan's national database, data is vulnerable when it moves from one department to another.[134] The lack of data protection laws also means that private enterprises are not obligated to ensure data security. In November 2017, female students of Dow University of Health and Sciences were harassed online after their admission forms, and all the personal information contained in them, were leaked.[135] Government surveillance is a concern for activists, bloggers, and media representatives, as well as ordinary internet users. Pakistani law enforcement and intelligence agencies appear to have expanded their monitoring activities, including at the local level, ostensibly to curb terrorism and violent crime.[136] In 2015, the UK-based NGO Privacy International reported that the Pakistani government's surveillance capabilities, particularly those of the ISI, outstrips domestic and international legal regulation.[137] "Mass network surveillance has been in place in Pakistan since at least 2005," using technology obtained "from both domestic and foreign surveillance companies, including Alcatel, Ericsson, Huawei, SS8 and Utimaco," according to the report. A separate 2013 report by Citizen Lab indicated that Pakistani citizens may be vulnerable to FinFisher spyware, which collects data such as Skype audio, key logs, and screenshots. [138] The analysis found FinFisher's command and control servers in 36 countries worldwide, including on the PTCL network in Pakistan, but did not confirm that actors in Pakistan are knowingly taking advantage of its capabilities. In 2014, however, hackers released internal FinFisher documents indicating that a client identified as "Customer 32" licensed software from FinFisher to infect Microsoft Office documents with malware to steal files from target computers in Pakistan.[139] The Fair Trial Act, passed in 2013,[140] allows security agencies to seek a judicial warrant to monitor private communications "to neutralize and prevent [a] threat or any attempt to carry out scheduled offences." It covers information sent from or received in Pakistan, or between Pakistani citizens, whether they are resident in the country or not. Under the law, service providers face a one-year jail term or a fine of up to PKR 10 million (US$103,000) for failing to cooperate with warrants. Warrants can be issued if a law enforcement official has "reason to believe" there is a risk of terrorism; warrants can also be temporarily waived by intelligence agencies. A 2014 white paper issued by the Digital Rights Group said that provisions of the Fair Trial Act contravene the constitution and international treaties that Pakistan has signed. [141] ISPs, telecommunications companies, and SIM card vendors are required to authenticate the Computerized National Identity Card details of prospective customers with NADRA before providing service.[142] A reregistration drive was launched following a 2014 terrorist attack on a school that was reportedly facilitated by mobile phones with unregistered SIM cards,[143] and the government added a biometric thumb impression to the registration requirements for SIM cards.[144] In 2015, those who failed to meet the new requirement were warned of automatic disconnection, and 26 million SIM cards were subsequently blocked.[145] Pakistanis are also vulnerable to surveillance from overseas intelligence agencies. In June 2015, The Intercept published revelations of hacking and infiltration of the PIE by the UK's GCHQ intelligence agency prior to 2008. According to The Intercept, this gave GCHQ "access to almost any user of the internet inside Pakistan" and the ability to "re-route selected traffic across international links towards GCHQ's passive collection systems."[146] International cooperation on surveillance has also increased since the establishment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Technology such as surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology has been shared as part of various safe cities initiatives.[147] While these initiatives are framed by the government as measures to protect public safety, the increase in surveillance infrastructure without meaningful safeguards concerns human rights activists. In early 2018, PKR 24.2 million (US$196,000) were allocated for establishing a "Cyber Patrolling Unit," to be run by the FIA.[148] The unit aims to curb online child pornography.[149] Concerns have been raised about the unit's integration with NADRA, which some critics believe could lead to the sharing of personal data and potential data breaches. In May 2018, the government announced the establishment of the National Cyber Terrorism Security Investigation Agency to counter hate speech and extremist content online.[150] Intimidation and Violence Intimidation and violence remained a problem during the reporting period and there was an uptick in prosecutions for online harassment against women. Torture and sexual abuse while in detention is still reported in Pakistan. In April 2018, the first conviction for online harassment under PECA was secured.[151] In January 2018, the FIA arrested a man who threatened a human rights activist on social media.[152] In January 2017, five bloggers known to have criticized the establishment, the military, or religious militancy, separately went missing from different parts of the country within a few days of each other.[153] Four of them were recovered after they made contact with their families around the end of January 2017.[154] The fifth, Samar Abbas, had yet to return at the end of May 2018. Police have said that no progress had been made on the case.[155] The government denied any involvement in the abductions, but in March 2017, one of the recovered activists told the BBC that he had been held by a "'government institution' with links to the military" and subjected to torture while he was missing.[156] In April 2017, Mashal Khan, a student of journalism in Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, was murdered by a mob for allegedly "publishing blasphemous content online."[157] No evidence of any such content was subsequently found,[158] and news reports said Khan had notified his contacts on Facebook the previous December that someone was operating a fake account in his name.[159] Women have also been murdered for digital activities in so-called honor killings. In July 2016, Qandeel Baloch, a social media celebrity known for openly expressing her sexuality, was killed by her brother.[160] Baloch had sought police protection following threats she received after her real identity was published online.[161] Her brother acknowledged killing her because "she was doing videos on Facebook and dishonoring the family name." He was arrested, along with three other family members accused of carrying out or facilitating the murder, and pleaded not guilty. The accused were required to stand trial under new laws; families were previously allowed to forgive the assailants in honor killings to avoid prosecution.[162] Many people also report being intimidated on digital platforms via leaking explicit photos and threats of blackmail. In January 2017, Naila Rind, a student at the University of Sindh Jamshoro, died by suicide after receiving blackmail threats on her mobile phone.[163] While PECA criminalized blackmail using digital tools, the lack of support for victims means cases are seldom reported.[164] Free expression activists and bloggers have also reported receiving death threats online, and Pakistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for traditional journalists.[165] Technical Attacks Technical attacks against the websites of NGOs, opposition groups, and activists are common in Pakistan, though many go unreported. During the coverage period, reports of digital attacks on human rights defenders were uncovered by Amnesty International. Attacks came in the form of hacking accounts and devices, and the installation of spyware to monitor and conduct surveillance. The attackers allegedly employed fake online identities and social media profiles to target activists.[166] The software used in these attacks is called Crimson; the malware has previously been used to target Indian military and diplomatic figures.[167] In January and April 2017, Dawn News, a leading English-language newspaper, revealed that its website was subjected to sustained cyberattacks.[168] Dawn had reported aggressively on the apparently enforced disappearances of bloggers and on civil-military relations. The websites of government agencies are also commonly attacked, often by hackers attempting to make a political statement.[169] In 2015, the website of the religious political party Jamaat-e-Islami was hacked for its alleged support of terrorists.[170] Cross-border cyberattacks between Pakistan and India remain prevalent.[171] As tensions escalated between the two states in early 2017, hackers claimed to have compromised crucial state websites on both sides of the border. Among the most serious was a claim that Indian hackers had targeted Pakistani airports in Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan, and Karachi.[172] Notes: 1 "Average monthly Internet cost in Pakistan low," Daily Times, October 3, 2015, http://bit.ly/1N4iCa3 2 Salman Abduhu, "Punjab reimposes 5pc tax on internet", The Nation, June 3, 2017, https://nation.com.pk/03-Jun-2017/punjab-reimposes-5pc-tax-on-internet. 3 International Monetary Fund (IMF), "Fiscal Monitor", World Economic and Financial Surveys, April 2018. https://www.imf.org/ /media/Files/Publications/fiscal-monitor/2018/April/pdf/fm1801.ashx. 4 "PHC declares provincial sales tax on internet services legal", Dawn, March 10.2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1319595. 5 Shahid Kamal, "12.5pc withholding tax on mobile recharge high: PTA", Dawn, December 4 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1374450. 6 "CJP takes notice of 40 per cent tax on mobile cards", Geo News, May 3 2018, https://www.geo.tv/latest/193890-cjp-takes-notice-of-40-per-cent-tax-on-mobile-cards. 7 "CJP takes notice of 40 per cent tax on mobile cards", Geo News, May 3 2018, https://www.geo.tv/latest/193890-cjp-takes-notice-of-40-per-cent-tax-on-mobile-cards. 8 Telecom Indicators, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?Itemid=599, updated April 2018. 9 Telecom Indicators, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?Itemid=599, updated April, 2018. 10 Shahid Kamal, "12.5pc withholding tax on mobile recharge high: PTA", Dawn, December 4 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1374450. 11 "Pakistan outranks India, Bangladesh in mobile internet speed", The Express Tribune, December 14 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1583759/8-pakistan-outranks-india-bangladesh-mobile-internet-speed/. 12 Zakir Syed, "Overcoming the Digital Divide: The Need for Modern Telecommunication Infrastructure in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan," Tigah Journal (2013) http://bit.ly/1LulYiV 13 Shahid Kamal, "12.5pc withholding tax on mobile recharge high: PTA", Dawn, December 4 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1374450. 14 Rameez Khan, "Three Punjab cities get free WiFi hotspots", The Express Tribune, February 1, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1313247/keeping-people-connected-three-punjab-cities-get-free-wifi-hotspots/. 15 "Gilgit-Baltistan gets 3G, 4G internet service", The Express Tribune, February 10 2018, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1631513/1-gilgit-baltistan-gets-3g-4g-internet-service/. 16 Arzak Khan, "Gender Dimensions of the Information Communication Technologies for Development," (Karlstad: University of Karlstad Press, 2011) doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1829989 17 Ismail Sheikh, "Pakistan has world's highest gender gap in mobile phone usage", The Express Tribune, November 23, 2016, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1239596/pakistan-worlds-highest-gender-gap-mobile-phone-usage/. 18 "SIM to be issued after biometric verification", Dawn, July 29, 2014, https://www.dawn.com/news/1122290. 19 Religious leader Khadim Rizvi and his Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) began a sit-in in the capital, Islamabad, on November 5, 2017 to protest the amendment by the Elections Act 2017 that allegedly altered the oath of elected officials. This deadlock between protestors lasted almost a month, till November 27, culminating in a weekend of deadly clashes and nationwide protests. The government, through the PTA and P Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), ordered the suspension of news channels and social media in order to diffuse the situation. 20 Javed Hussain, "Pemra, PTA order the restoration of TV channels and social media", Dawn, November 26 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1372997. 21 "Press Release: DRF and NetBlocks find blanket and nation-wide ban on social media in Pakistan and demand it to be lifted immediately", Digital Rights Foundation, November 26 2017, https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/press-release-drf-and-netblocks-find-blanket-and-nation-wide-ban-on-social-media-in-pakistan-and-demand-it-to-be-lifted-immediately/. 22 Javed Hussain, "Pemra, PTA order the restoration of TV channels and social media", Dawn, November 26 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1372997. 23 Tariq Moin Siddiqui, "Muharram security: Cellular services restored after partial suspension", The News International, September 29, 2017, https://www.geo.tv/latest/160409-mobile-phone-services-suspended-in-parts-of-karachi. 24 12th Rabiul Awwal, also referred to as "Eid Miladun Nabi (S.A.W)", is observed by Sunni Muslims as the date of birth of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Several public processions and gatherings take place on the holiday, prompting security concerns. 25 "Cell phone services restored in Karachi, other cities", The Express Tribune, December 1 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1573913/1-cell-phone-services-expected-restored-8pm/. 26 "Mobile internet service suspended in parts of Balochistan," Pakistan Today, February 22, 2017, https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/02/22/mobile-internet-service-suspended-in-parts-of-balochistan/. "Security concerns result in suspension of 3G, 4G services in parts of Balochistan", Daily Times, February 22, 2017, http://dailytimes.com.pk/pakistan/22-Feb-17/security-concerns-result-in-suspension-of-3g-4g-services-in-parts-of-balochistan. 27 Mohammad Zafar, "Balochistan districts without internet for one year", The Express Tribune, February 26 2018, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1644804/1-balochistan-districts-without-internet-one-year/. 28 Sajeel Syed, "Government suspends Internet Services in 3 districts of Balochistan", TechJuice, October 11 2017, https://www.techjuice.pk/government-suspends-internet-balochistan/. 29 With the passage of the historic thirty-first amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan (Constitution (Thirty-First) Amendment Bill), passed by the National Assembly on May 24 2018. The FATA region is now part of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 30 "Security v Access: The Impact of Mobile Network Shutdowns, Case Study Telenor Pakistan." 31 "Islamabad High Court Ruled Mobile Network Shutdowns Illegal", Digital Rights Foundation, February 27 2018, https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/islamabad-high-court-ruled-mobile-network-shutdowns-illegal/. 32 Rizwan Shehzad, "IHC allows cellular service suspension for time being", The Express Tribune, March 20 2018, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1665210/1-ihc-allows-cellular-service-suspension-time/. 33 "Pakistan's economy from internet shutdowns", Dawn, October 7, 2016, https://www.dawn.com/news/1288608; Darrell M. West, "Internet shutdowns cost countries $2.4 billion last year", Centre for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/intenet-shutdowns-v-3.pdf. 34 "Mobile service suspension: A cause of panic and massive socio-economic loss". Dawn, October 23, 2015 http://www.dawn.com/news/1214782; Institute for Human Rights and Business, "Security v Access: The Impact of Mobile Network Shutdowns, Case Study Telenor Pakistan," September 2015,http://www.global.asc.upenn.edu/publications/security-v-access-the-impact-of-mobile-network-shutdowns-case-study-telenor-pakistan/ 35 Farooq Baloch, "Undersea Cable Cut Affects 50% of Pakistan's Internet Traffic," Express Tribune, March 27, 2013, http://bit.ly/1FWOnSV. 36 "Pakistan experiences slow internet due to 'outage in international submarine cable systems'", The News International, August 5 2018, https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/221578-Pakistan-to-face-slow-internet-due-to-outage-in-international-submarine-cable-systems. 37 Tariq Ahmed Saeedi, "Pakistan's monthly power outages among highest in Asia: ADB", The News, March 1, 2017, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/189340-Pakistans-monthly-power-outages-among-highest-in-Asia-ADB. 38 OpenNet Initiative, "Country Profile Pakistan," August 6, 2012, http://bit.ly/1LDXNEX. 39 "PTCL Expects 20pc Growth with Launch of IMEWE Cable: Official," The News, December 22, 2010, http://bit.ly/1huHRXs. 40 "PTCL to build largest int'l submarine cable consortium system," Daily Times, January 30, 2014, http://bit.ly/1L4dxO6; "AAE-1 subsea cable lands at Crete", Capacity Media, April 19, 2016, http://bit.ly/1qXbCFs 41 "Bolo Bhi Statement on the Recent Internet Disruption in Pakistan", BoloBhi, August 7, 2017, http://bolobhi.org/bolo-bhi-statement-on-the-recent-internet-disruption-in-pakistan/. 42 Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, http://www.ispak.pk/. 43 Wireless Local Loop ("WLL") licenses are issued for the provision of fixed line telecommunication services within a Telecom Region using mediums including wireless, with limited mobility. See, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Master List of WLL Licensees for Pakistan",https://www.pta.gov.pk/assets/media/wll_list_140218.pdf. 44 Long Distance and International (LDI) licenses are issued for the provision of end to end communication between points that are located in Pakistan with points that are located outside of Pakistan. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "LDI Operators for Pakistan", https://www.pta.gov.pk/media/ldi_lic_list_011117.pdf. 45 Fixed Local Loop ("FLL") licenses are issued for the provision of fixed line telecommunication services within a Telecom Region using medium excluding wireless. See, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "List of FLL Operators", https://www.pta.gov.pk/assets/media/ll_lic_250418.pdf. 46 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "List of New/Converted CVAS Licensees", http://www.pta.gov.pk/media/new_cvas_100217.pdf. 47 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Functions and Responsibilities," December 24, 2004, http://bit.ly/1OpRm9c. 48 Adam Senft, et al., O Pakistan, We Stand on Guard for Thee: An Analysis of Canada-based Net sweeper's Role in Pakistan's Censorship Regime, Citizen Lab, June 20, 2013, https://citizenlab.org/2013/06/o-pakistan/ 49 Farooq Baloch, "Mobile broadband demand growing at rapid pace", The Express Tribune, February 23, 2016, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1052274/shift-in-trend-mobile-broadband-demand-growing-at-rapid-pace/. 50 Fixed Local Loop ("FLL"): "License issue for the provision of fixed line telecommunication services within a Telecom Region using medium excluding wireless." ("Local Loop (LL)", PTA, http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=420:local-loop-ll&catid=136:fixed-line-telephone") 51 Wireless Local Loop ("WLL"): License issue for the provision of fixed line telecommunication services within a Telecom Region using mediums including wireless, with limited mobility ("Local Loop (LL)", PTA, http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=420:local-loop-ll&catid=136:fixed-line-telephone"). 52 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Telecom Indicators", http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?Itemid=599. 53 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Telecom Indicators", http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?Itemid=599. 54 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Master List of Cellular Mobile Operators in Pakistan", https://www.pta.gov.pk/assets/media/master-list-of-mobile-operators-30-10-2017.pdf. 55 "Ikram Junaidi, "Mobilink, Warid become Jazz after merger", Dawn, February 7 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1313181. 56 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Cellular Market Share", https://www.pta.gov.pk/en/telecom-indicators/7. 57 Section 40 of the Pakistan Telecommunications (Re-organization) Act, 1996 states that "the telecommunication services, within the Northern Areas and Azad Jammu & Kashmir shall be operated by the Special Communication Organization [SCO] and the Authority shall issue a licence to the Organization accordingly." See also, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Cellular Mobile," http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=265&Itemid=135. 58 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "List of LDI Licensees for Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (AJK & GB)", http://www.pta.gov.pk/media/ldi_list_ajkgb_220316.pdf. 59 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "List of FLL Licensees for Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (AJK & GB)", http://www.pta.gov.pk/media/fll_ajk_gb_23122015.pdf. 60 Jamal Shahid, "NA body approves SCO's proposal for countrywide operation", Dawn, October 25 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1366058. 61 Jamal Shahid, "Military-run SCO denied permission to operate across country", Dawn, August 18 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1352296. 62 Sehrish Wasif, "Dens of sleaze," Express Tribune, July 22, 2010, http://tribune.com.pk/story/29455/dens-of-sleaze/. 63 Qaiser Butt, "Dirty business in sequestered cubicles," The Express Tribune, February 16, 2015, http://bit.ly/1L4ekif. 64 "Internet cafes sans video & recording system banned", The News, February 7, 2017, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/184445-Internet-cafes-sans-video-recording-system-banned. 65 "Internet cafes to install video surveillance", The Express Tribune, February 7, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1318859/record-report-internet-cafes-install-video-surveillance/. 66 Article 19, "Pakistan: Telecommunications (Re-organization) Act," legal analysis, February 2, 2012, http://bit.ly/1Pl5OOR. 67 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, "Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996," The Gazette of Pakistan, October 17, 1996, http://bit.ly/16sASJI. 68 Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University https://thenetmonitor.org/research/2017-global-internet-censorship/pak 69 Tooba Masood, "More than 200 URLs blocked in Pakistan in three years: report", Dawn, October 19, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1364766. 70 "Pak Telecom policy 2015 another step forward for censorship" Digital Rights Foundation, February 10, 2016 http://bit.ly/1QTQAg9; http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PECB2016.pdf 71 Abrar Hamza, "PTA to deploy WMS for blocking access to unlawful content", Daily Times, February 16 2018, https://dailytimes.com.pk/202979/pta-deploy-wms-blocking-access-unlawful-content/. 72 Article 19, "Pakistan: Telecommunications (Re-organization) Act." 73 "Pakistan: Code of Criminal Procedure," available at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, accessed August 2013, http://bit.ly/1R2Kyfg. 74 The website announced its restoration via Twitter: https://twitter.com/nayadaurpk/status/990160757957505024. 75 Asad Hashim & Alia Chughtai, "Thousands rally in Pakistan's Lahore for Pashtun rights", AlJazeera, April 22 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/thousands-rally-pakistan-lahore-pashtun-rights-180422155842327.html. 76 "Twitter restores PTM leader Pashteen's account after brief suspension", Pakistan Today, April 24 2018, Twitter restores PTM leader Pashteen's account after brief suspension. 77 Jon Boone, "Dissenting voices silenced in Pakistan's war of the web," The Guardian, February 18, 2015, http://gu.com/p/45yba/stw. Requests to access Youtube.com redirect users within Pakistan to youtube.com/?hl=ur&gl=PK. 78 Atif Khan, "Govt decides to block all MQM social media sites", The Nation, August 24, 2016, http://nation.com.pk/newspaper-picks/24-Aug-2016/govt-decides-to-block-all-mqm-social-media-sites. 79 Deutsche Welle, "Why Pakistan's army is targeting the MQM party," August 23, 2016, http://www.dw.com/en/why-pakistans-army-is-targeting-the-mqm-party/a-18708521. 80 "PTA letter blocking websites April 25, 06," Pakistan 451 (blog), April 27, 2006, http://bit.ly/1Lmn18M. 81 Abdullah Niazi, "Nine Baloch, Sindhi, 'separatist' Facebook pages taken down on PTA request", Pakistan Today, November 10 2017, Nine Baloch, Sindhi, 'separatist' Facebook pages taken down on PTA request. 82 "Pakistan blocks access to teen sex-ed site," The Express Tribune, March 20, 2012, http://bit.ly/1QeD0pE. 83 "Pakistan to block over 400,000 porn websites", The Express Tribune, January 26, 2016 http://bit.ly/1TIIsGk. 84 PTA Act 1996, art. 23. 85 Danny O'Brien, "Pakistan's Excessive Internet Censorship Plans," Committee to Protect Journalists (blog), March 1, 2012, https://cpj.org/x/4995; National ICT Research and Development Fund, "Request for Proposal: National URL Filtering and Blocking System," accessed August 2012, http://bit.ly/1QeBBiD; "PTA determined to block websites with 'objectionable' content," The Express Tribune, March 9, 2012, http://bit.ly/xEND9P; Anwer Abbas, "PTA, IT Ministry at Odds Over Internet Censorship System," Pakistan Today, January 3, 2013, http://bit.ly/1N47IkG.; ApurvaChaudhary, "Pakistan To Unblock YouTube After Building Filtering Mechanism," Medianama, January 10, 2013, http://bit.ly/TMmcvh; Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi, "The Saga of YouTube Ban," Pakistan Press Foundation, January 2, 2013, http://bit.ly/1bhpMEP; "Ministry Wants Treaty, Law to Block Blasphemous Content," The News, March 28, 2013, http://bit.ly/16JP6yo.; Associated Press of Pakistan, "IT Minister plans to ban 'objectionable content' across entire internet," The Express Tribune, http://bit.ly/1VJApFx. 86 Shahbaz Rana, "IT Ministry Shelves Plan to Install Massive URL Blocking System," The Express Tribune, March 19, 2012, http://bit.ly/1MiIlIQ. 87 Senft, et al., O Pakistan, We Stand on Guard for Thee: An Analysis of Canada-based Net sweeper's Role in Pakistan's Censorship Regime. 88 DNS tampering intercepts the user's request to visit a functioning website and returns an error message. 89 Abad Pasha, "Is Facebook using Pakistan's concerns about online blasphemy to advance its own interests?", Dawn, July 20 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1344029. 90 Facebook, "Pakistan: Requests for User Data", Transparency Report, https://transparency.facebook.com/government-data-requests/country/PK. 91 Facebook, "Pakistan: Content Restrictions", Transparency Report, https://transparency.facebook.com/content-restrictions/country/PK. 92 Waseem Abbasi, "600pc hike in Facebook content restriction for Pakistan", The News International, December 31 2017, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/262671-600pc-hike-in-facebook-content-restriction-for-pakistan. 93 Google, "Government requests to remove content", Transparency Report, https://transparencyreport.google.com/government-removals/by-country/PK?hl=en&country_item_amount=group_by:totals;period:Y2017H2;authority:PK&lu=country_item_amount. 94 "Facebook blocks Dawn.com post in Pakistan", Dawn, May 12 2018, https://www.dawn.com/news/1407158. 95 Mehtab Khan, "The Unwilling Gatekeepers Of The Internet Internet Service Providers And The Prevention Of Electronic Crimes Act 2016", Courting the Law, http://courtingthelaw.com/2016/10/10/commentary/the-unwilling-gatekeepers-of-the-internet-internet-service-providers-and-the-prevention-of-electronic-crimes-act-2016/. 96 OpenNet Initiative, "Country Profile Pakistan," 2012. 97 Tooba Masood and Omer Bashir, "YouTube Pakistan officially launched", September 29, 2016, https://www.dawn.com/news/1286842. 98 "Surveillance of Female Journalists in Pakistan", Digital Rights Foundation, December 31, 2016, http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Surveillance-of-Female-Journalists-in-Pakistan-1.pdf. 99 Ramsha Jahangir, "Situationer: Pakistan's social media conundrum as election looms", Dawn, March 17, 2018, https://www.dawn.com/news/1395835. 100 Hassan Nasir Mirbahar and Raymond Serrato, "Social media and elections", The News on Sunday, May 20, 2018, http://tns.thenews.com.pk/social-media-elections/. 101 "'Social media poses new challenge for anti-polio campaigns'", Dawn, March 21, 2018, https://www.dawn.com/news/1396545. 102 "Find Raza: Civil society calls for recovery of missing activist on Human Rights Day", Dawn, December 10, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1375740. 103 M Ilyas Khan, "Manzoor Pashteen: The young tribesman rattling Pakistan's army", BBC News, 23 April 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43827660. 104 Rana Bilal, "Meesha Shafi's lawyers respond to Ali Zafar's legal notice, ask him to issue an apology", Dawn Images, May 12 2018, https://images.dawn.com/news/1180056/meesha-shafis-lawyers-respond-to-ali-zafars-legal-notice-ask-him-to-issue-an-apology. 105 Press Release, "SECP warns public about crowd funding", Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, March 27, 2017, https://www.secp.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Press-Release-March-27-SECP-warns-public-about-crowd-funding.pdf. 106 The Constitution of Pakistan, accessed September 2012, http://bit.ly/pQqk0. 107 "President signs convention on civil, political rights," Daily Times, June 4, 2010, http://bit.ly/1fyK9Tl. 108 Digital Rights Foundation, "The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 An Analysis," June 2016, https://www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/38416/PECB-Analysis-June-2016.pdf. 109 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill, accessible: http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PECB2016.pdf. 110 "Military courts given legal cover by Senate", Dawn, March 20, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1323356. 111 Zahid Gishkori, "National security issues: Govt accepts ISI's role in checking cyber crimes", The News, October 20, 2016, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/158580-Govt-accepts-ISIs-role-in-checking-cyber-crimes. 112 Sanaullah Khan," Cabinet approves amendment bringing blasphemy, pornography under ambit of cybercrime law", Dawn, December 27 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1378966. 113 Malik Asad, "No evidence against bloggers accused of blasphemy: FIA", Dawn, December 23 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1378327. 114 Mohammad Imran, "Govt to change law and severely punish accusers who falsely allege blasphemy, IHC told", Dawn, February 16, 2018, https://www.dawn.com/news/1389774. 115 "FIA submits 'half-yearly' report on electronic crimes after a one year delay; asks for 7 offences to be declared 'non-bailable' and a ban on 'Bitcoin'", Digital Rights Monitor, January 16 2018, http://digitalrightsmonitor.pk/fia-submits-half-yearly-report-on-electronic-crimes-after-a-one-year-delay-asks-for-7-offences-to-be-declared-non-bailable-and-a-ban-on-bitcoin/. 116 Aamir Jami, "IHC orders blasphemers' names be put on ECL", Dawn, March 9, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1319184. 117 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/12/pakistan-how-the-blasphemy-laws-enable-abuse/ 118 "Pakistan Penal Code," accessed August 2013, http://bit.ly/98T1L8. 119 Nighat Dad, "Pakistan Considering Bill that Would Ban Independent Mapping Projects," Tech President, November 28, 2012, http://bit.ly/1OpVqpK; Pakistan National Assembly, Bill to provide for constitution and regulation of Survey of Pakistan, No. 225/25/2012, November 14, 2012, http://bit.ly/1OpVwOc. 120 BBC, "'Facebook blasphemer' given death penalty," June 12, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40246754. 121 https://www.wsj.com/articles/man-to-appeal-death-sentence-in-pakistan-for-blasphemy-on-facebook-1497276395 122 "Christian sentenced to death over 'blasphemous' WhatsApp text", The Express Tribune, September 15, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1507124/christian-sentenced-to-death-over-blasphemous-whatsapp-text/. 123 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/pakistan-man-sentenced-to-death-for-ridiculing-prophet-muhammad-on-whatsapp 124 Rizwan Shehzad, "ATC indicts four for blasphemy on social media", The Express Tribune, September 13, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1504831/atc-indicts-four-blasphemy-social-media/. 125 "Man booked for 'blasphemy'", Dawn, February 20, 2018, https://www.dawn.com/news/1390471/man-booked-for-blasphemy. 126 Asher John, "FIA officials forced me to have sex with main blasphemy accused, claims injured suspect", Pakistan Today, February 24, 2018, https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/24/fia-officials-forced-me-to-have-sex-with-main-blasphemy-accused-claims-injured-suspect/. 127 Aamir Atta, "Bloggers Arrested in Pakistan for Posting Fake Images Online", ProPakistani, https://propakistani.pk/2017/01/01/bloggers-arrested-pakistan-posting-fake-images-online/. 128 Data includes the "communication's origin, destination, route, time, data, size, duration or type of underlying service." See, Nighat Dad, Adnan Chaudhri, "The Sorry Tale of the PECB, Pakistan's Terrible Electronic Crimes Bill" Digital Rights Foundation, November 26, 2015, http://bit.ly/1WcxTwb. 129 Abdul Rahman, "PTA to Record User Data from All Public Wi-Fi Hotspots", ProPakistani, https://propakistani.pk/2018/03/16/pta-to-record-data-from-all-public-wi-fi-hotspots/. 130 Maheen Kanwal, "IT Ministry to introduce Data Protection Act in Pakistan within three months", TechJuice, April 6, 2017, https://www.techjuice.pk/tech-ministry-data-protection-act/. 131 "Telecoms Privacy & Data Protection Policies in Pakistan", Digital Rights Foundation, December 2016, http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Telecoms-Privacy-and-Data-Protection-Policies-in-Pakistan-1.pdf/. 132 Shaheera Jalil Albasit, "Is Nadra keeping your biometric data safe?," Dawn, October 17, 2016, https://www.dawn.com/news/1290534. 133 Asra Rizwan, "NADRA, Police and Telcos data being sold publicly on Facebook", May 7, 2018, https://www.techjuice.pk/nadra-police-telcos-citizens-data-being-sold-publicly-facebook/. 134 "Is PITB clueless about Pakistan's largest data breach?", Marvi Sirmed, Daily Times, May 11, 2018, https://dailytimes.com.pk/238533/is-pitb-clueless-about-pakistans-largest-data-breach/. 135 Warda Imran, "University draws flak as forms leak leaves Karachi women shaken", The Express Tribune, March 13, 2018, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1658683/1/. 136 Masroor Afzal Pasha, "Sindh Police to Get Mobile Tracking Technology," Daily Times, October 29, 2010, http://bit.ly/16TKfLY; "Punjab Police Lack Facility of 'Phone Locator', PA Told," The News, January 12, 2011, http://bit.ly/1bRl6bx. 137 Matthew Rice, "Tipping the Scales: Security and surveillance in Pakistan," Privacy International, July 21, 2015, https://www.privacyinternational.org/node/624. 138 Morgan Marquis-Boire et al, For Their Eyes Only: The Commercialization of Digital Spying, Citizen Lab, May 1, 2013, http://bit.ly/ZVVnrb. 139 Sohail Abid, "Massive Leak Opens New Investigation of FinFisher Surveillance Tools in Pakistan," Digital Rights Foundation, via Global Voices Advocacy, August 22, 2014, https://advox.globalvoices.org/2014/08/22/massive-leak-opens-new-investigation-of-finfisher-surveillance-tools-in-pakistan/. 140 "Investigation for Fair Trial Act 2013," The Gazette of Pakistan, February 22, 2013, http://bit.ly/18esYjq. 141 "Privacy rights: Whitepaper on surveillance in Pakistan presented," The Express Tribune, November 16, 2014, http://bit.ly/1L4h8Mc; Waqqas Mir, et al. "Digital Surveillance Laws in Pakistan," eds. Carly Nyst and Nighat Dad, (a white paper by Digital Rights Foundation, November 2011) http://bit.ly/1jg2IzH 142 Bilal Sarwari, "SIM Activation New Procedure," Pak Telecom, September 3, 2010, http://bit.ly/pqCKJ9. 143 Akhtar Amin, "PTA fails to block unregistered SIMs despite court orders," The News, December 26, 2014, http://bit.ly/1P4zSyZ 144 Ahmad Fuad, "Biometric SIM verification: a threat or opportunity for cellular firms?" The Express Tribune, February 1, 2015, http://bit.ly/1LbAtJe 145 Aamir Attaa, "Biometric Verification of SIMs is not Fool Proof: Chairman PTA," ProPakistani, March 16, 2015, http://bit.ly/1QeImAZ; "26 million SIMs Blocked As SIM Reverification Drive Ends, ProPakistani, April 13, 2015 http://bit.ly/24Bm5VT. 146 "Spies Hacked Computers Thanks To Sweeping Secret Warrants, Aggressively Stretching UK Law", The Intercept, June 22, 2015, http://bit.ly/1VMfTZN. 147 Qurat ul ain Siddiqui and Jahanzaib Haque, "Exclusive: The CPEC plan for Pakistan's digital future", Dawn, October 3, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1361176/exclusive-the-cpec-plan-for-pakistans-digital-future. 148 Qadeer Tanoli, "Cyber Patrolling Unit to get Rs24 million in PSDP", The Express Tribune, April 30 2018, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1698550/1-cyber-patrolling-unit-get-rs24-million-psdp/. 149 Farid Sabri, "Interior ministry approves cyber unit to curb child pornography", Pakistan Today, February 1 2018, https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/01/interior-ministry-approves-cyber-unit-to-curb-child-pornography/. 150 Aamir Shah, "Pakistan to establish anti-cyberterrorism agency", ArabNews, May 6 2018, http://www.arabnews.com/node/1297496/world. 151 "Man Convicted in the First Judgement under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA)", Digital Rights Foundation, April 6 2018, https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/man-convicted-in-the-first-judgement-under-the-prevention-of-electronic-crimes-act-peca/. 152 Hassan Farhan, "Suspect arrested in Peshawar for giving death threats through social media", January 22, 2018, https://www.dawn.com/news/1384571/suspect-arrested-in-peshawar-for-giving-death-threats-through-social-media. 153 "Pakistan: Bloggers Feared Abducted", Human Rights Watch, January 10, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/10/pakistan-bloggers-feared-abducted. 154 Hassan Raza Hashmi, "Three missing bloggers 'in contact with families'", Daily Times, http://dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/29-Jan-17/three-missing-bloggers-in-contact-with-families. 155 Arsalan Altaf, "Six months on, Samar Abbas still missing", The Express Tribune, June 7, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1429169/six-months-samar-abbas-still-missing/. 156 "Pakistan activist Waqass Goraya: The state tortured me", BBC News, March 9, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39219307. 157 Ali Akbar and Hassan Farhan, "Mardan university student lynched by mob over alleged blasphemy: police", Dawn, April 15, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1326729. 158 "No blasphemous material found in Mashal Khan case: K-P CM", The Express Tribune, April 14, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1383480/law-judge-cannot-prevail-says-imran-lynching-mardan-student/. 159 Umer Farooq, "Fake profile statuses go viral on Facebook in K-P after Mashal Khan murder", April 15, 2017, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1384542/fake-profile-statuses-go-viral-facebook-k-p-mashal-khan-murder/; "Mashal had informed of a fake Facebook account being operated in his name", GEO News, April 15, 2017, https://www.geo.tv/latest/138141-Mashal-Khan-had-informed-of-a-fake-account-being-operated-in-his-name. 160 Imran Gobal, "Qandeel Baloch murdered by brother in Multan: police", Dawn, July 23, 2016, https://www.dawn.com/news/1271213. 161 Digital Rights Foundation, "Invasion of Privacy and the Murder of Qandeel Baloch", GenderIT, July 21, 2016, http://www.genderit.org/node/4756. 162 Jon Boone, "'She feared no one': the life and death of Qandeel Baloch," The Guardian, September 22, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/22/qandeel-baloch-feared-no-one-life-and-death. 163 Ali Hasan, "Suspect arrested in 'suicide' case of Sindh University student a 'repeat offender': police", Dawn, January 6, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1306787/suspect-arrested-for-suicide-of-sindh-university-student. 164 Nighat Dad and Shmyla Khan, "Naila Rind killed herself because Pakistan's cybercrime laws failed her", Dawn, Janurary 12, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1306976. 165 Committee to Protect Journalists, "56 Journalists Killed in Pakistan since 1992/Motive Confirmed," accessed January 2014, http://bit.ly/1LE6kYI. 166 "Human Rights Under Surveillance: Digital Threats against Human Rights Defenders in Pakistan", Amnesty International, May 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ASA3383662018ENGLISH.PDF. 167 Secunder Kermani, "Pakistan activists targeted in Facebook attacks", BBC News, 15 May 2018, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44107381. 168 "Dawn under cyber attack", Dawn, January 22, 2017, https://www.dawn.com/news/1309940; Shaoor Munir," Dawn Media group is under cyber attack", April 24, 2017, https://www.techjuice.pk/dawn-media-group-is-under-cyber-attack/. 169 Hisham Almiraat, "Cyber Attack on Pakistan's Electoral Commission Website," Global Voices Advocacy, April 1, 2013, http://bit.ly/1WSbWQL. 170 Usman Khan, "Jamaat-e-Islami website hacked over 'alleged support for terrorism," The News Tribe, January 20, 2015, http://bit.ly/1P4CvB5. 171 "Cybercrimes: Pakistan lacks facilities to trace hackers," The Express Tribune, February 1, 2015, http://bit.ly/1FWXTW7. 172 "India, Pakistan cyber war intensifies", The News, January 4, 2017, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/176619-India-Pakistan-cyber-war-intensifies. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Nigeria Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Nigeria, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b02a.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 37/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 190,886,311 Internet Penetration: 25.7% Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 Independent online news outlet Naij.com was found blocked in November 2017, along with 20 other websites, many of which promoted the independence of the Biafra region (see Blocking and Filtering). The Senate proposed a broadly worded hate speech bill in March 2018 that critics worry could be used by the government to silence online dissent (see Legal Environment). The Digital Rights and Freedom Bill passed at the House of Representatives in December 2017 and the Senate in March 2018; it now only requires the president's assent before becoming law (see Legal Environment). Online journalists and activists were subject to increasing extralegal harassment and intimidation for their activities (see Intimidation and Violence). Introduction: Internet freedom in Nigeria declined in the past year due to unprecedented blocks on 21 websites, including an independent online news outlet, as well as growing intimidation and violence against journalists and activists for their online activities. The continual arrests of journalists and bloggers also remained a concern. With the approach of the 2019 national elections, civil society leaders and members of opposition parties have expressed concern about further crackdowns on internet freedom, despite assurances from the government that it supports media rights. In November 2017, it was revealed that service providers had blocked 21 websites, including the popular Naij.com news outlet, at the request of the telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); the blocking order had apparently come at the behest of the national security adviser. Many of the blocked sites promote the independence of Biafra, the region that attempted to secede from Nigeria in 1967 and fought against the federal government in the Biafran War. The move raised concerns that the websites of opposition parties and NGOs could be blocked during the 2019 election campaign period. Internet freedom advocates believe that a broadly worded hate speech bill proposed by the Senate in March 2018 could be used by the government to silence online dissent; the bill prescribes the death penalty for speech that leads to a person's death. While the bill has been met with strong opposition, it is one of many recent proposals to clamp down on free speech at a moment when citizens are increasingly using online tools to defend democracy. In the face of government pressure, citizens are using online platforms to advocate for better governance. Online campaigns, including the social media campaign that followed the kidnapping of more than 100 schoolgirls from Yobe state in February 2018, highlight the continued resilience and dynamism of human rights activists. Persistent civil society advocacy has succeeded in pushing forward the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill first proposed in April 2015. Passed at the House of Representatives in December 2017 and the Senate in March 2018, the bill now only requires the president's assent before becoming law. If passed, the law will guarantee the application of human rights within the digital environment and promote the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association online, among other impacts on internet freedom. Obstacles to Access: Access to the internet on mobile devices continues to become more affordable. The regulator's order to ISPs to block 21 websites at the behest of the national security adviser calls the regulator's independence into question. Availability and Ease of Access Nigeria has one of the largest populations of internet users in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 89 million citizens online. According to the latest data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Nigeria's internet penetration rate was 26 percent in 2016.[1] Most of the growth in internet use can be attributed to the proliferation of mobile phone services. As of December 2017, the sector regulator reported a mobile phone teledensity of 103 percent and nearly 145 million active mobile internet subscriptions on GSM networks.[2] The ITU documented a lower mobile phone penetration rate of 83 percent in 2016.[3] The government's National Broadband Plan (2013-2018) has set a 30 percent target for broadband penetration, which the country has made incremental progress toward achieving. Increasing access to the internet is driven by affordable data services for mobile subscribers. The Alliance for an Affordable Internet ranked Nigeria the 13th most affordable internet environment among 58 developing and emerging countries assessed in its 2017 Affordability Drivers Index.[4] As of February 2018, mobile internet plans remain very popular, with 1.5 gigabytes of data available for USD $3.28. In 2017, the average cost of a GSM plan was USD $0.02 per megabyte of data,[5] compared to $0.05 per megabyte in 2016, $0.26 per megabyte in 2015, and $1.00 per megabyte in 2011. Nevertheless, costs are still a major impediment to internet access for many Nigerians in rural areas. In March 2016, the government introduced the Communication Service Tax Bill 2015, which, if passed, will decrease the affordability of internet access by imposing a 9 percent tax on consumers for communications services, such as SMS, data, and voice services.[6] The bill was still under consideration in 2018 despite its unpopularity among various stakeholders. Power cuts frequently disrupt service and access, despite Nigeria's status as an oil-rich country. Nigerian households reported slight improvements in electricity access in recent years, receiving an average of ten hours of power supply per day in February 2017, up from less than six hours the previous year.[7] Those with the financial wherewithal are able to rely on private generators and standby battery-powered inverter systems to stay online during outages. Shortfalls in the power supply also undermine the quality of internet service offered by providers. Telecommunications base stations in Nigeria are typically powered by diesel generators, which reportedly account for 80 percent of their operating expenses.[8] Separately, the need to pay for expensive backup power generators has accelerated the closure of cybercafes that were already struggling with competition against the growing popularity of internet access on mobile devices. Nigeria's internet landscape is characterized by a significant digital gender divide: October 2015 research by the Web Foundation and Paradigm Initiative found that poor women in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, were 50 percent less likely to have access to the internet than men of the same age, education, and income level.[9] Another major obstacle to internet access in Nigeria is language literacy. While Nigeria is home to over 500 local languages,[10] most internet content is in English, and local language content is vastly underrepresented. For example, the Wikipedia pages in the three major Nigerian languages of Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo are sparsely developed. Wikipedia entries on Nigerian topics are often edited by individuals who do not reside in Africa.[11] Local language resources, such as audio and video health and educational materials, come with higher data requirements, potentially limiting access for users who can afford less data, yet stand to benefit the most from educational materials online. Restrictions on Connectivity There were no restrictions on connectivity to the internet or mobile networks during the coverage period. Mobile network restrictions were last reported in 2014 and 2015 in three northern states during a state of emergency in the fight against Boko Haram. The backbone connection to the international internet is decentralized, resulting in a climate of healthy competition with little government interference. Multiple players have built fiber networks that crisscross the country, including Phase 3, Glo 1, Suburban Telecom, Multilinks and MTN. There are three active internet exchange points (IXPs).[12] ICT Market The ICT market in Nigeria has expanded considerably over the past decade, with the number of licensed internet service providers (ISPs) rising from 18 in 2000 to 98 as of February 2018, though the growth of ISPs and fixed wireless access (FWA) providers has slowed in recent years with the rise in mobile access.[13] Five privately owned GSM mobile phone operators also provide internet access: MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9Mobile (formerly Etisalat), and NTEL, which began operations in February 2016 after acquiring the license of the defunct first national operator, NITEL.[14] In January 2016, MTN acquired Visafone, securing access to its 800MHz spectrum as a possible precursor to the launch of 4G LTE service.[15] In July 2017, Etisalat changed its name to 9Mobile, following the exit of the company's largest shareholder, Mubadala Development Company. Analysts believe that Mubadala's exit was due to 9Mobile's mishandling of $1.2 billion in loans.[16] Although 9Mobile's proposed sale to Teleology Holdings has been mired in controversy, it continues to provide services to subscribers.[17] NCC asserts that Teleology has not paid a nonrefundable, $50 million registration fee, despite their claims to the contrary. The Central Bank of Nigeria, some vendors owed by 9Mobile, and the chairman of a legislative committee on telecommunications have all raised objections to the sale, leaving the company's future uncertain.[18] Cybercafes (or telecentres) are required to obtain licenses, but the large number of unlicensed cybercafes in operation suggests that the regulator has not enforced the requirement.[19] Regulatory Bodies The 2003 Nigerian Telecommunications Act vests regulatory responsibilities over the ICT sector in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The government nominates the NCC's nine-member board of commissioners. The NCC's current CEO and executive vice chairman, Umar Garba Danbatta, was appointed in August 2016 through a process that was viewed as fair. Professor Danbatta is a leading academic and considered an industry expert.[20] Until recently, the NCC had a reputation for being relatively independent. However, during the coverage period, some of the NCC's actions, including blocking orders it conveyed to licensed operators on behalf of the national security adviser, cast a shadow over the body's perceived independence (see Blocking and Filtering). Limits on Content: Independent online news outlet Naij.com was found blocked in November 2017, along with 20 other websites, many of which promoted the independence of the Biafra region. The blocking order lacked transparency. Online campaigns highlight the continued resilience and dynamism of human rights activists. Blocking and Filtering In November 2017, it was revealed that service providers blocked 21 websites, including the popular Naij.com online news outlet, at the request of the NCC.[21] Though the blocking order lacked transparency, Paradigm Nigeria Many of the blocked sites promote the independence of Biafra, the region that attempted to secede from Nigeria in 1967 and fought against the federal government in the Biafran War. Although access to Naij.com was eventually restored, as of April 2018, at least 15 of the websites remained blocked.[22] The NCC's actions have raised concerns that the websites of opposition parties and critical NGOs could be blocked during the 2019 election campaign period. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other communications platforms are freely available and widely used.[23] The complex nature of Nigeria's internet infrastructure makes it difficult to carry out systematic filtering or censorship. In recent years, a few high-level government officials have called for a clampdown on social media in response to the growing influence of critical commentary on the internet,[24] sparking fears of impending online censorship.[25] Legislative proposals have added weight to those fears. The Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill introduced in 2015 sought to penalize expression on social media, though it was withdrawn in May 2016. Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Act, which was signed into law in May 2015, has been used to arrest bloggers for critical content in the past year (see Legal Environment, and Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Content). Content Removal The government did not issue any takedown requests, or force legitimate content to be removed from the internet during the coverage period. Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Nigeria is home to a diverse blogosphere, which has become a source of reliable news for many users, and provides space for vibrant debate on a broad array of political and social issues. Popular blogging platforms include Medium, Blogger, and WordPress. Diverse political viewpoints are represented on Nigerian websites and blogs, though some independent online media outlets faced a backlash under previous governments. Government manipulation was not reported during the period, but as the 2019 elections approach, observers worry that online propaganda and manipulation could be employed to gain a political advantage among voters. The ongoing prevalence of arrests for online commentary under the 2015 Cybercrime Law has resulted in increasing self-censorship, particularly among professional journalists who also publish content online (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Nigeria's LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community is marginalized, and many LGBTI individuals report feeling unsafe using their real names online, preferring to engage anonymously.[26] Digital Activism As active social media users, Nigerians have become prolific digital campaigners, innovatively using social media and communications apps to call for social or political change. The savviness of Nigeria's digital activists led to significant internet freedom success stories in the recent past, including the defeat of the Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill, or the so-called social media bill, in 2016. Among its goals, the bill sought to constrain critical expression on social media.[27] With the 2019 elections approaching, online activism, including voter mobilization and citizen action to hold elected officials accountable, remains strong. In February 2018, when over 100 girls were abducted from their school in northern Nigeria, citizens started a campaign similar to #BringBackOurGirls in 2014, demanding information and action from the government. In response, the government provided more details on the situation, and continued to give status updates until all but one of the girls were returned.[28] Violations of User Rights: A broadly worded hate speech bill proposed in March 2018 could be used by the government to silence online dissent. The Digital Rights and Freedom Bill passed at the House of Representatives in December 2017 and the Senate in March 2018; it now only requires the president's assent before becoming law. Several arrests were reported for online activities, while intimidation and violence against journalists and activists increased. Legal Environment Nigeria's 1999 constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the press. The implementation of Sharia (or Islamic) law in 12 northern states has not affected internet freedom in those regions to date. Nonetheless, libel is a criminal offense in Nigeria, including online, with the burden of proof resting on the defendant. Print media journalists covering sensitive issues such as official corruption and communal violence are regularly subject to criminal prosecution. Before leaving office in May 2015, former president Goodluck Jonathan signed the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 into law, providing a framework for addressing the country's cybercrime epidemic.[29] The law, however, includes provisions that violate citizens' rights to privacy (Section 38, see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity) and freedom of expression. Duplicating existing libel laws, section 24 of the law penalizes "cyberstalking" or messages that are "false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another" with up to three years in prison, a fine, or both. Section 26 penalizes distribution of "racist or xenophobic material to the public through a computer system or network" with up to five years in prison, a fine of up to NGN 10 million (US$50,000), or both.[30] A coalition of civil society organizations led by Paradigm Initiative, a digital rights organization, filed a suit to challenge the constitutionality of sections 24 and 38 of the cybercrime law in May 2016.[31] However, a judge dismissed the case in a January 2017 ruling. The coalition filed an appeal on May 3, 2017 challenging the judge's decision. Paradigm Initiative has also led efforts to codify protections for internet freedom through the introduction of the draft Digital Rights and Freedom Bill in April 2015. Sponsored by lawmaker Chukwuemeka Ujam, the bill was passed at the House of Representatives in December 2017[32] and the Senate in March 2018. The bill now only requires the president's assent before becoming law. The bill's objectives are to guarantee the fundamental privacy rights of citizens and define the legal framework regarding surveillance; promote the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association online; outline the provisions of lawful and authorized interception of communications within the digital environment without sacrificing the freedom and constitutional rights of citizens; guarantee the application of human rights within the digital environment; provide sufficient safeguards against online abuse and provide opportunity for redress; and equip the judiciary with the necessary legal framework to protect human rights online. If signed by the president, the bill will provide a comprehensive data privacy and protection framework and make internet shutdowns illegal. Internet freedom advocates have raised concerns that a broadly worded draft hate speech bill proposed by the Senate in March 2018 will be used by the government to silence the online activities of opposition critics and NGOs; the bill prescribes the death penalty for speech that leads to a person's death. The bill, sponsored by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, a member of the president's party, ostensibly seeks to eliminate "hate speech and discourage harassment on the grounds of ethnicity, religion or race among others" and, among its provisions, states that "any person who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes and/or directs the performance of any material, written and/or visual, which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words, commits an offence."[33] While the bill has been met with strong opposition, it is one of many recent proposals to clamp down on free speech in a moment when citizens are increasingly using online tools to defend democracy. As of May 31, 2018, the bill had not yet been voted on in the Senate. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Numerous bloggers, online journalists, and private citizens were arrested for their online activities in the past year, most of whom were charged for "cyberstalking" under section 24 of the cybercrime law, though no cases have led to convictions: In July 2017, journalist Danjuma Katsina was arrested in Katsina state following Facebook comments on corruption allegations against Mansur Mashi, a newly elected member of the House of Representatives. He was released after one day and given no reason for his detention. [34] In July 2017, a primary school teacher was fired and then arraigned before a magistrate court in Ilorin for allegedly insulting Senate President Bukola Saraki on Facebook; the charges were later withdrawn. [35] In August 2017, a citizen was arrested for posting an image of Kogi state Governor Yahaya Bello's Abuja residence on WhatsApp; authorities claimed that the image threatened Bello's security. [36] Online journalists Timothy and Daniel Elombah were charged with cybercrime in January 2018 for posting an article critical of Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris. [37] In February 2018, Nigeria's secret police arrested journalist Tony Ezimakor over his reporting that alleged that the government secretly paid millions of dollars to secure the release of the girls kidnapped in Chibok in 2014.[38] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Thus far, there has been no evidence that authorities proactively monitor internet and mobile phone communications, but many online journalists have long suspected that they are being monitored by the state. In April 2017, the federal government denied monitoring calls and social media posts.[39] However, the NCC stated during a March 2018 event that "the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has a direct link to the NCC's SIM registration database in order to monitor and apprehend criminals in the country."[40] The government's intent to enhance its surveillance capabilities is reflected in its federal budget, which in 2018 allocated NGN 4.6 billion (US $12.8 million) to "Stranvisky Project 2 (Ongoing),[41] " an ONSA project that was allocated NGN 13.9 billion (US $45.6 million) in 2017.[42] Observers believe the project is for new surveillance technology. Other line items in the 2018 budget for the ONSA and Department of State Security include the "DSS Social Media Mining Suit," with an allocation of NGN 2.2 billion, "Wolverme Next Generation SDRIMSI" with a provision of NGN 1 billion, "Surveillance Drone" with a budget provision of NGN 1 billion, and "Mobile Surveillance Facilities" with NGN 240 million allocated, among others.[43] As of May 2018, the purpose of these budget items was unclear, as well as their current status. Government officials frequently assert that new technology to fight the Boko Haram terrorist group is necessary. Several legal provisions may allow the government to conduct surveillance without respect for the Necessary and Proportionate Principles, international guidelines that apply human rights law to monitoring technologies.[44] The cybercrime law enacted in May 2015 requires service providers to retain user data and intercept electronic communications.[45] Under Section 38 of the law, providers are required to "keep all traffic data and subscriber information . . . for a period of two years" and comply with requests from law enforcement agencies to access this data.[46] The law implies a degree of judicial oversight for these requests, but the procedure involved is unclear.[47] Guidelines for the Provision of Internet Service published by the regulator in 2013 also require ISPs to cooperate with law enforcement and regulatory agencies in providing "any service-related information . . . including information regarding particular users and the content of their communications" during investigations of cybercrime or other illegal activity.[48] The guidelines do not include oversight of that cooperation, creating the potential for abuse. The guidelines also stipulate that ISPs must retain user data and "the content of user messages or routing data" for at least 12 months.[49] Data localization is mandated under the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in Information and Communications Technology, issued by the Nigerian National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in 2013. The guidelines require ICT companies to "host all subscriber and consumer data locally within the country."[50] The stated aim was to boost local content and ICT development, but the requirement risks compromising user privacy and security, given the absence of adequate data protection laws.[51] The extent to which the guidelines have been enforced remained unclear as of 2018, as there have been no reports that international ICT companies have been compelled to comply. A draft Lawful Interception of Communications Regulation introduced by the communications regulator in February 2013 is still under discussion.[52] If implemented, the regulation would enable interception both with and without a warrant under different circumstances, and require mobile phone companies to store voice and data communications for three years. It also directs telecommunications licensees to "provide the National Security Adviser and the State Security Service with the key, code, or access to . . . protected or encrypted communication" on demand.[53] Critics said it bypassed the legislative process and threatens citizens' privacy rights, since it lacks judicial safeguards against abuse or opportunities for redress.[54] News of the government's acquisition of mass surveillance equipment in recent years has deepened suspicions of surveillance. In July 2015, leaked emails from the Italian surveillance firm Hacking Team revealed that the company had a contract with the Bayelsa state government that expired in November 2013.[55] The active period of the contract, from 2012 to 2013, coincides with the state governor's crackdown on so-called "rumormongering" online.[56] Citizen Lab research from 2014 also found a FinFisher "Command and Control" server located on a private ISP in Nigeria.[57] As of May 2018, the extent to which that surveillance system is operational is not known.[58] SIM card registration requirements instituted in June 2009 threaten users' rights to anonymous communication and privacy,[59] particularly in the absence of a data protection law.[60] User registration is also required in cybercafes. An October 2013 directive from the regulator requires cybercafes to "maintain an up-to-date database of subscribers and users, including their full names, physical addresses, passport photos, and telephone numbers."[61] Under section 7 of the cybercrime law, cybercafes must make their registers "available to law enforcement personnel whenever needed," with no clear requirement for judicial oversight.[62] Intimidation and Violence Online journalists and activists have been subject to increasing extralegal harassment and intimidation for their activities in recent years, particularly by local officials or powerful businesspeople who have taken issue with critical commentary posted about them on social media. Along with the threat of arrest as an intimidation tactic, police often raided the homes of targeted bloggers, seizing equipment.[63] In June 2017, Charles Otu, a local journalist, was assaulted by a mob in Abakaliki for making Facebook comments critical of the Ebonyi state government.[64] Separately in June 2017, Franc Utoo, a former opposition politician and social activist, was reportedly abducted by unknown gunmen in Abuja after sending insulting text messages to Abba Yaro, chairman of the Benue state All Progressives Congress (APC).[65] Police later confirmed that Utoo was in their hands under arrest. Technical Attacks Cyberattacks against news websites, civil society, and human rights activists were not reported in Nigeria during the coverage period. Notes: 1 International Telecommunication Union, "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet," 2000-2016, http://bit.ly/1cblxxY. NB: The ITU's dataset in 2016 retroactively revised the timeseries internet penetration data for Nigeria with no explanation. Penetration for 2015 was recorded at 47 percent. 2 Nigerian Communications Commission, "Active Internet Subscriptions (GSM)," http://bit.ly/2qQTFw1 3 International Telecommunication Union, "Mobile-cellular Telephone Subscriptions," http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 4 Alliance for Affordable Internet, The Affordability Report, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rOJTrs 5 Sharp reduction of average cost of GSM plan reduced only in dollar terms because of currency devaluation 6 Communication Services Tax Bill, 2015, http://bit.ly/29HIOth; "Nigeria's onerous new Communication Service Tax Bill, by Tomiwa Ilori," Premium Times, June 6, 2016, http://opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2016/06/06/a-stitch-in-time-saves-nine-a-review-of-the-communication-service-tax-bill-by-tomiwa-ilori/ 7 NOI Polls, "Power Supply to Nigerian Households Down by 7 Points In Quarter 1, 2017," http://bit.ly/2qa37aP 8 Compared to a mere 5% in Malawi where power from the grid is stable. See, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria: http://bit.ly/1Uc58Pb 9 Web Foundation, "Women's Rights Online: translating access into empowerment," October 20, 2015, http://bit.ly/1MTh70d 10 "Nigerian Languages," Online Nigeria, accessed September 25, 2018, http://www.onlinenigeria.com/languages/languages.asp 11 Alex Hern, "Wikipedia's view of the World is written by the West," The Guardian, September 15, 2015, http://bit.ly/1KkakXs 12 Adeyemi Adepetun, "Why Internet exchange points suffer low patronage in Nigeria," The Guardian, February 10, 2015, http://bit.ly/1WlK7PX 13 205 licenses are listed but only 82 of them have licenses that are valid as at May 24, 2017. See: Nigerian Communications Commission, "Internet Services," accessed May 24, 2017, http://bit.ly/1U0Khi4 14 Chima Akwaja, "NTEL Begins Number Reservation For 4G Subscribers," Leadership Newspaper, March 9, 2016, http://bit.ly/1Zjhcho 15 Chima Akwaja, "MTN acquires Visafone, NCC okays deal," Leadership Newspaper, February 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/1RKaKdv 16 "It's official: Etisalat Nigeria formally announces 9mobile as new name," Premium Times, July 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2CKri4J 17 Bassey Udo, "ANALYSIS: The many twists, turns fuelling confusion in 9Mobile sale," Premium Times, February 22, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GMGFfB 18 Onwuaso Ugo, "Reps may stop 9Mobile sale as NCC, CBN deny teleology," Guardian, April 6, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HXquB6 19 National Communications Commission, "Class License Register: Telecenter/Cybercafe Category," NCC, https://www.ncc.gov.ng/documents/416-telecenter-cyber-cafe-201310/file 20 "Executive Vice Chairman/CEO: Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta," NCC, accessed September 25, 2018, https://www.ncc.gov.ng/about-ncc/commissioners/13-evc-ceo-danbatta 21 Sodiq Alabi, "President Buhari's Secret War on Free Speech," Paradigm Initiative Blog, November 17, 2017, http://bit.ly/2EZ4lN7 22 Maria Xynou and Leonid Evdokimov, "Nigeria: Measuring Internet Censorship," OONI, June 11, 2018, https://bit.ly/2PPYGhE 23 "Whatsapp is Nigerian Professional Social Media," Android Nigeria, September 24, 2014, http://bit.ly/22fauOs 24 On July 26, 2012, the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, third in command after the president and vice president, called for a clampdown on the use of social media in Nigeria while speaking at a media retreat. Government representatives from the Oyo State House of Assembly made similar declarations in 2012. Phillip Eta, "Clamp down on Social Media now! 'It is now an avenue for abusing government,' David Mark," Daily Post, July 28, 2012, http://bit.ly/1NeOwR3. 25 Hauwa Gambo, "Get ready, guys: Legislator wants law against "abuse" of social media," YNaija, November 2, 2012, http://bit.ly/1GfDV8T. 26 "Silenced Voices, Threatened Lives: The Impact of Nigeria's Anti-LGBT Law on Freedom of Expression," PEN America, June 2015, https://pen.org/research-resources/silenced-voices-threatened-lives/ 27 "Nigerians protest at NASS over Anti-Social Media Bill," The Citizen Online, December 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1P8VGnW 28 Tomi Oladipo, "Kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirls freed in Nigeria," BBC, March 22, 2018, https://bbc.in/2GbUUKj 29 "Nigeria's President Jonathan Sign the Cybercrime Bill Into Law," Techloy, May 16, 2015, http://bit.ly/1RdeipQ 30 Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015, http://bit.ly/1LHHhTh 31 Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, "PIN calls for immediate release of arrested blogger and review of Cybercrime Law," press release, August 9, 2016, http://bit.ly/2eKLOHn 32 "Nigerian Senate passes Digital Rights and Freedom Bill," DigitalWatch, March 13, 2018, https://dig.watch/updates/nigerian-senate-passes-digital-rights-and-freedom-bill 33 Godwin Ijediogor, "Controversies, apprehension over Hate Speech Bill," Guardian, March 10, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Im5fFq 34 Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, "Police detain Nigerian journalist over Facebook post," Premium Times, July 16 2017, http://bit.ly/2fLY6lu 35 Nnenna Ibeh, "UPDATED: Charges against Kwara civil servant who criticized Saraki withdrawn," Naij.com, http://bit.ly/2xwvT9E 36 Johnson Aluko, "Youth docked for exposing Bello's Abuja residence," The Guardian, August 5 2017, http://bit.ly/2xFKFgw a 37 Angela Quintal and Jonathan Rozen, "Two Nigerian Journalists Charged With Cybercrime," Sahara Reporters, February 27, 2018, http://saharareporters.com/2018/02/27/two-nigerian-journalists-charged-cybercrime 38 "Daily Independent's Bureau Chief Still in DSS Detention," Vanguard Newspaper, March 5, 2018, https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/day-5-daily-independents-bureau-chief-still-dss-detention/ 39 Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze and Adeyemi Adepetun, "Government denies monitoring citizens' calls, social media posts," The Guardian, April 11, 2017, https://guardian.ng/news/government-denies-monitoring-citizens-calls-social-media-posts/ 40 "NCC Confirms FG Monitoring of Phone Calls in Nigeria," Technology Times, March 7, 2018, https://technologymirror.com.ng/ncc-confirms-fg-monitoring-of-phone-calls-in-nigeria/ 41 "2018 FGN Budget Proposal," Federal Government of Nigeria, accessed September 25, 2018, http://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/index.php/2018-budget-proposal/2018-budget-proposal/download 42 "Office of the National Security Advisor 2017 FGN Budget Proposal," Federal Government of Nigeria, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/2qjrrpB 43 "2018 FGN Budget Proposal," Federal Government of Nigeria, accessed September 25, 2018. 44 "About the Principles," Necessary and Proportionate, accessed September 25, 2018, https://necessaryandproportionate.org/about 45 Low Okezie, "Nigeria's President Jonathan Sign the Cybercrime Bill Into Law," Tech Loy, May 16, 2015, http://techloy.com/2015/05/16/nigerias-president-jonathan-signs-the-cybercrime-bill-into-law/ 46 Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015, Section 38. 47 According to Section 38(4): "Any data retained, processed or retrieved by the service provider at the request of any law enforcement agency under this Act shall not be utilized except for legitimate purposes as may be provided for under this Act, any other legislation, regulation or by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction" (emphasis added). Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015, http://bit.ly/1LHHhTh. 48 "Guidelines for the Provision of Internet Service," Nigerian Communications Commission, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1hVbmA2. (Guideline 2) 49 "Guidelines for the Provision of Internet Service," Nigerian Communications Commission, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1hVbmA2. (Guideline 3) 50 "Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)," Nigerian Law Intellectual Property Watch, Inc., 2013, https://nlipw.com/wp-content/uploads/Guidelines-for-Nigerian-Content-Development-in-Information-and-Communications-Technology-ICT.pdf (Section 12.1.4) 51 "Anupam Chander and Uyen P. Le, "Data Nationalism," Emory Law Journal, Vol 64, 2015, http://law.emory.edu/elj/_documents/volumes/64/3/articles/chander-le.pdf 52 "Draft Lawful Interception of Communication Regulations," Nigeria Communications Commission, http://bit.ly/1du7UKO; Ojo Madueke, "Revealed: SSS, Police Have Powers to Tap Phone Lines," This Day Live, January 30, 2013, http://bit.ly/1hH90GJ; Clement Ejiofor, "Mind That Conversation: Security Operatives To Tap Phones, Track E-mail," Naij, February 5, 2013, http://bit.ly/1VUWPsL; Ken Nwogbo, "SSS, Police Get Powers to Tap Phones," Nigeria Communications Week, January 29, 2013, http://bit.ly/1RdfTfd. 53 "Draft Lawful Interception of Communication Regulations," Nigeria Communications Commission, accessed September 25, 2018, https://www.ncc.gov.ng/docman-main/legal-regulatory/regulations/drafts-regulations/328-lawful-interception-of-comunications-regulations/file 54 Kunle Azeez, "Concerns over proposed lawful interception law," National Mirror Online, May 23, 2013, http://bit.ly/1kARPa1; Katie Collins, "Nigeria embarks on mobile phone surveillance project," Wired UK, September 4, 2013, http://bit.ly/1PvCpl2; John Dada and Theresa Tafida, "Online surveillance: Public concerns ignored in Nigeria," in Communications Surveillance in the digital age 2014, Global Information Society Watch, http://bit.ly/1PjVGXy. 55 Ibukun Taiwo, "TL;DR: The Curious Case of Hacking Team And A Southern Nigerian State," Tech Cabal, July 17, 2015, http://bit.ly/1J8RYg4 56 Ogala Emmanual, "Nigeria: Hacking Team, Bayelsa's Govt's Internet Surveillance Contractor, Hacked," Premium Times, July 6, 2015, http://bit.ly/1GfmXYj 57 Morgan Marquis-Boire, Bill Marczak, Claudio Guarnieri, and John Scott-Railton, "For Their Eyes Only: The Commercialization of Digital Spying," Citizen Lab, April 30, 2013, http://bit.ly/1amNwJ1 58 When the author of this report asked for the state of the surveillance system during the Internet Freedom Forum 2016, the representative of the National Security Adviser said he was not aware of any such project. 59 "Design, Development and Delivery of SIM Card Registration Solution," Nigerian Communications Commission and National Identity Management Commission, June 15, 2009, http://bit.ly/1clf91H 60 F. Franklin Akinsuyi, "Data Protection & Privacy Laws Nigeria, A Trillion Dollar Opportunity," LinkedIn, April 15, 2015, http://bit.ly/1RdgvBs 61 "NCC orders cyber cafes to register users," Telecompaper, October 22, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LPOk7w 62 Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015, Section 7. 63 Samuel Ogundipe, "Another Nigerian blogger arrested by 'state agents,'" Premium Times, September 7, 2016, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/209985-another-nigerian-blogger-arrested-state-agents.html 64 Nnamdi Akpa, "Journalist beaten to stupor over Facebook post," The Guardian, June 5 2017, http://bit.ly/2wOegVJ 65 Yemi Itodo, "Social activist, Franc Utoo abducted in Abuja," Daily Post, June 10 2017, http://dailypost.ng/2017/06/10/breaking-social-activist-franc-utoo-abducted-abuja/ Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Mexico Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Mexico, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b05a.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 40/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 129,163,276 Internet Penetration: 63.9% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In efforts to reduce the digital gap and promote competition in the ICT sector, Mexico's mobile wholesale access network began operating in March 2018 (see Availability and Ease of Access). Digital rights groups raised the alarm about newly approved changes to the Federal Copyright Law, which would allow courts to order precautionary measures against content suspected of copyright infringement (see Blocking and Filtering). Bots, trolls and fake accounts were active on social media platforms in the run-up to presidential elections in 2018, spreading disinformation and propaganda to promote or attack certain candidates (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Despite revelations about Mexico's use of digital spying technologies to target journalists, human rights lawyers, activists, and political figures, no significant advances were made to investigate these abuses (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Mexico remained one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, and at least four digital reporters were killed during the past year. Physical and technical violence frequently targeted digital media covering sensitive stories such as crime, corruption, and human rights violations (see Intimidation and Violence and Technical Attacks). Introduction: While access has steadily improved, Mexico's internet freedom environment declined due to prolific manipulation tactics that distorted online discussions ahead of the 2018 elections. Mexico's telecommunications reform has induced some changes in Mexico's ICT market by reducing barriers for foreign investment and slashing prices for telecommunication services. The Red Compartida project began operating in March 2018, providing a wholesale wireless broadband network that is expected to boost competition and expand coverage to underserved areas. Nevertheless, Mexico still faces challenges in its quest to increase competition and reduce the digital gap between urban and rural populations. While citizens continued to use digital tools to protest against impunity, corruption, and gender violence, online manipulation is widespread in Mexico's digital sphere. During the 2018 election campaign, bots, trolls and fake accounts aggressively spread online propaganda and disinformation promoting or attacking certain candidates on social media. Verification initiatives sought to debunk the deluge of disinformation, which included fake polls and fake voting instructions. High levels of violence against journalists continued to severely limit internet freedom. During this period, at least four digital reporters covering sensitive stories online were killed, and many more received death threats and intimidating messages online. Using the tense security situation and the war on drugs as justification, the government has increased its surveillance powers. Despite a series of revelations about the misuse of digital spying technologies in the country, no significant progress has been made in investigating these abuses. Moreover, a recent study published by Citizen Lab in September 2018 found that Pegasus spyware continued to operate in Mexico.[1] Obstacles to Access: The implementation of the 2014 Telecommunications Law has brought tangible benefits for internet access in Mexico. A wholesale wireless network launched operations in March 2018, aiming to offer data capacity to other operators and expand coverage to underserved regions. Nevertheless, concentration is still high and the real-world impact of these changes in some parts of the country remains to be seen, as the country still suffers from a wide digital divide between urban and rural communities. Availability and Ease of Access Five years after introducing reforms to reshape the telecommunications industry, Mexico has noted some tangible improvements in internet connectivity, quality of service, and prices.[2] Penetration rates have continued to increase steadily, notably in the mobile sector, which counted more than 50 million mobile internet subscriptions since the reform was approved.[3] Telecommunications reforms promoted in 2013 sought to substantially reshape the telecommunications industry and increase access. The reform package seeks to develop a wholesale wireless network (Red Compartida) and backbone network (Red Troncal) to improve quality, affordability, and coverage of telecommunication services across the country. In March 2018, the consortium in charge of developing the Red Compartida project, Altan Redes, launched operations with a national coverage of 32 percent, reaching 36 million people in 11 states and 5.6 million towns with a population of less than 10,000.[4] This network would offer data capacity to other operators and expand coverage to regions that lack services, with the ultimate goal of reaching more than 92 percent of the population.[5] While Mexico's mobile penetration still lags behind other countries in the region, the numbers have increased.[6] In Mexico, some 80.7 million people are mobile phone users, and more than 80 percent own smartphones, according to a recent survey.[7] Prices for certain broadband mobile packages have dropped by more than three quarters of their original price, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).[8] The prevalence of smartphones is due in part to a decrease in prices for mobile phone use, the increasing availability of smartphones, and promotions that narrow the price gap between basic phones and smartphones.[9] Despite initiatives to increase connectivity, the digital divide between urban and rural regions in Mexico remained significant, 86 percent of the 71.3 millions of internet users are in urban areas and only 14 in rural areas. In 2017, the states of Baja California, Ciudad de Mexico, Morelos and Aguascalientes observed the highest scores of internet users in rural areas 67.5, 62.4, 59.0 and 55.6, respectively, while Chiapas, Guerrero, Veracruz and Zacatecas registered the lowest with 24.1, 26.9, 33.0 and 34.5 percent.[10] Such disparate connectivity rates are also evident in the relatively small percentage of internet users with broadband access. Although the number of Mexicans with fixed broadband subscriptions has increased over the past decade, growing from 2.7 percent in 2006 to 13.5 percent in 2017, Mexico still falls significantly below the broadband penetration rates of other OECD countries, which average 30.60 percent.[11] While it is true that the number of users has increased, digital inclusion programs continued to face challenges in reducing the digital divide.[12] Financial constraints have affected programs such as Connected Mexico (Mexico Conectado), which seeks to bring broadband internet to low income populations free of charge.[13] Connected Mexico would reach its sixth year with 110,000 internet access sites, which represents 42 percent less than the initial goal.[14] This project has received criticism for prioritizing areas that already had internet access over places with no access.[15] Organizations have also criticized the lack of a gender perspective in digital inclusion policies.[16] Ethnic and linguistic divides are also significant. According to the latest records, 14 million indigenous people and farmers were disconnected.[17] Civil society groups have complained that despite telecommunications reforms, current ICT policies do not guarantee effective access for marginalized communities.[18] The first community service provider in Mexico, Indigenous Community Telecommunications (TIC), was at risk after a court denied its request for an exemption from paying for the radio frequencies it uses. In April 2018, a court ruled in favor of TIC, instructing the regulator to reconsider the requirement. After obtaining its license in 2016, the non-profit organization has been providing mobile phone and data services to more than 3,000 households in rural and indigenous communities for USD 2 per month.[19] Restrictions on Connectivity There were no recorded activities or public incidents related to government-imposed restrictions on ICT connectivity during this coverage period. Article 190 in the 2014 Telecommunications Law, however, authorizes the "appropriate authority" within the Mexican government to request the suspension of telephone service in order to "halt the commission of crimes."[20] Although most of the backbone infrastructure in Mexico is privately owned, the state-owned company Telecomm has taken on greater control of the infrastructure, after taking over fiber-optic infrastructure from the Federal Electricity Commission.[21] Mexico has only one internet exchange point (IXP), set up by KIO Networks in April 2014, which increases efficiency and reduces costs for Mexican ISPs by helping to manage traffic across networks.[22] In April, the Secretariat of Communications and Transport and Yucatan state government signed an agreement to build the next IXP in Mexico[23] . ICT Market Mexico's reforms have sought to improve the ICT market by reducing market dominance and barriers for investment. Under constitutional reforms to the telecommunications sector, companies that control more than 50 percent of the market areconsidered "preponderant" players and are subject to antitrust measures by the regulator.[24] Despite some changes, however, the ICT market remained dominated by a few players.[25] By the second half of 2017, America Movil (Telmex) continued to dominate the fixed broadband market (62.4 percent), followed by Grupo Televisa (16.3 percent) and Megacable (8.5 percent). America Movil (Telcel) also dominated the mobile broadband market (70 percent), followed by Telefonica (14.1 percent) and AT&T (14.1 percent).[26] In a move reversing part of the antitrust measures against America Movil, Mexico's Supreme Court cancelled the "zero rates" imposed on the dominant company, which enabled competitors such as AT&T and Telefonica to use its network free of charge.[27] [28] By the end of 2017, in fulfilment of the Supreme Court's decision, the regulator Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) established the interconnection fee rival companies will have to pay to America Movil.[29] Critics perceived this decision as a win for the dominant player against the telecom reform, and competitors such as AT&T and Telefonica have highlighted the effect this action will have on the low prices users have benefited from since the reform. By mid-2018, companies had not yet changed their prices as a result of this decision.[30] In February 2018, the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of Televisa, ordering IFT to revisit its 2017 finding that the company had "substantial power" in the pay-TV market.[31] The regulator confirmed the reversal of this finding in March, thereby relieving the company from tougher regulation.[32] Regulatory Bodies As part of a 2013 constitutional reform, the government established a new autonomous regulatory agency known as the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) to increase transparency of media regulation.[33] IFT has the legal mandate to act as an antitrust body, protecting the industry against monopolistic practices. The most notable step IFT has taken was the declaring America Movil and Televisa to be dominant companies. However, IFT has received criticism for its role in reversing some antitrust measures, and for complying with the Supreme Court decision to revoke the declaration of Televisa as a dominant company (See "ICT Market"). In 2017, it was also criticized for authorizing Telcel to exclusively exploit 60 MHz of the 2.5 GHz band.[34] Associations such as the Telecommunications Law Institute (IDET) and the Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU) claimed that this move in fact reinforced the dominant player, contradicting IFT's mandate to guarantee competition and equal conditions for all agents in the sector.[35] Limits on Content: Harassment and physical violence have encouraged a climate of self-censorship among journalists and online activists, although many continue to risk physical danger to write about crime and corruption. While citizens continued to use digital tools to protest against impunity and corruption, online manipulation continued to proliferate, especially in the run-up to the 2018 presidential and congressional elections. Blocking and Filtering No evidence has been documented that the government or other actors blocked or filtered internet any other ICT content. Social networking sites and international blog-hosting services are available in Mexico. Nevertheless, technical attacks against media outlets are increasing as a means to limit access to content (See "Technical Attacks"). In April 2017, the Supreme Court of Justice declared blocking an entire website because of alleged copyright violations unconstitutional and considered it a disproportionate measure that violated freedom of expression.[36] In April 2018, however, digital rights groups raised the alarm about approved changes to the Federal Copyright Law, which would allow courts to order precautionary measures against content suspected of copyright infringement. Digital activists decried the impact of this change on freedom of expression online, as courts would be able to order measures such as censorship of online content or seizure of equipment without providing proof that copyright violations have taken place.[37] Content Removal While the Mexican government does not systematically request the removal of online content from intermediaries, news sites, and hosting services, social media platforms and search engines recorded removal requests over the past year. Facebook removals between July and December 2017 included more than 2,000 pieces of content related to a video of a shooting at a school in Monterrey, and 14 items that had been reported for defamation.[38] Twitter registered 8 removal requests in the second half of 2017; according to the platform no content was withheld.[39] In the second half of 2017, Google registered 9 removal requests for copyright, privacy and security, and fraud.[40] Other reports pointed to users misusing the flagging system to report content on social media. In April, media outlet Aristegui Noticias denounced that while livestreaming the presidential debate and post-debate discussion on their Facebook page, banners appeared warning about "possible graphic content" and "sexually suggestive or partial nudity," which affected their reach and views on the platform.[41] Although there is no strong legislative framework on intermediary liability, existing legislation offers some protections from liability for ISPs in cases of copyright infringement.[42] A ruling from the Federal Institute of Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (IFAI)[43] in January 2015 threatened to introduce greater liability for search engines if they did not comply with requests to remove sensitive personal information from their search results, but the resolution was successfully challenged.[44] Organizations have also raised concerns about the risk of so-called "right to be forgotten" requests being used to censor sensitive information in Mexico.[45] According to an interview with the founder of Eliminalia, a company dedicated to eliminating negative content from the web, their clients doubled in Mexico between 2015 and 2017.[46] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Online manipulation and disinformation campaigns have been a recurring phenomenon since the 2012 elections, and once again proliferated in the run-up to the 2018 presidential and congressional elections.[47] Online trolls have targeted journalists, activists, human rights defenders, academics, or groups whose opinions have been critical of the government, political parties, or politicians. The use of bots to manipulate online debates has also been documented in several studies.[48] False or misleading hashtags are often disseminated to undermine social protests online.[49] During the 2018 election campaign, journalists and researchers documented how bots and "troll farms" were being used to spread online propaganda and disinformation to promote or attack certain candidates on social media.[50] Commonly dubbed "Penabots," these automated accounts were used prolifically by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during the 2012 election campaign, and recent studies have revealed how the party's candidates continued to benefit from such networks ahead of the 2018 elections.[51] However, it appeared that partisan bots and fake accounts were active in promoting a number of political parties in the 2018 campaign.[52] Women candidates also reported smear campaigns against them with manipulated video and images, in some cases accompanied with discriminatory or sexualized content.[53] At the same time, efforts to tackle disinformation becomes more difficult as these stories spread to closed platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, making them harder to track.[54] As a result of these practices, public awareness about online manipulation and the spread of disinformation increased, spurring fact-checking initiatives such as Verificado 2018, which sought to counter these narratives by partnering with local and national media outlets. During four months in 2018, Verificado published more than 400 notes and 50 videos to debunk false news.[55] One example of a message assessed by Verificado urged voters to check boxes for two candidates to ensure their vote against the third candidate prevailed something which would actually nullify their vote.[56] The climate of violence and harassment towards the media contributes to significant self-censorship in states heavily afflicted by violence; only in 2017, the NGO Article 19 documented 507 aggressions against journalists and 12 journalists killed, at least four of whom worked for online media.[57] As a result, local media tend to refrain from reporting on stories about drug trafficking or drug-related violence (see "Violence and Intimidation"). Economic constraints influence the diversity of media in Mexico. Scarce funding and a lack of interest in online advertising create challenges for individuals and nonprofits seeking to establish sustainable online outlets in Mexico. Reliance on public advertising renders independent media vulnerable to content manipulation or closure due to lack of funding,[58] although the former appears to be the more pernicious of the two trends. In Puebla, for example, independent media organizations say the state government uses a combination of state, municipal, and university advertising as a way to control the editorial independence of local media.[59] In April 2018, Congress approved a "Social Communication Law" to regulate government expenses in advertising.[60] However, critics of the law have contended that it does little to change the status quo, as it lacks clear rules for official advertisement spending and facilitates discretionary public advertising. Special rapporteurs of freedom of expression from the UN have asked legislators to reevaluate the law and to consult with civil society organizations.[61] Despite the challenges, however, financially independent digital media outlets are appearing in Mexico, enriching the media ecosystem with alternative agendas that support human rights and the right to information.[62] These independent outlets, such as Lado B, an outlet created by freelance and local journalists in Puebla, bring new voices to the public debate. Digital outlet Animal Politico has more than a million followers on Facebook and Twitter and is successfully experimenting with alternative forms of financing.[63] Articles 145 and 146 of the Telecommunications Law establish protections for net neutrality. However, net neutrality is a contentious issue due to commercial agreements that allow differentiated prices depending on the destination of internet connections. Operators such as Telcel, Movistar and AT&T, brought back the availability of zero-rating plans where certain digital services like HBO, Netflix, WhatsApp, or other social networking sites do not count towards a customer's data allowance.[64] The regulator was expected to present a draft policy on net neutrality in August 2018, and submit it for public consultation.[65] Digital Activism Digital media have continued to serve as an important forum for internet users in Mexico. The social media landscape in Mexico is very dynamic. Mexico has around 83 million Facebook users, 9 percent more than in January 2017. Some 20 million users have Instagram.[66] Even in the face of cyberattacks, harassment, and physical violence, citizens make regular use of digital tools to raise awareness about human rights abuses related to violence in the country and to mobilize protests against gender violence, for example using the hashtag #YoTambien (MeToo), #MiPrimerAcoso (MyFirstHarassment) and #SiMeMatan (IfIAmMurdered). Increasingly, however, women who denounce abuses via online platforms face backlash in the form of threats or even physical violence (See "Intimidation and Violence").[67] On September 19, 2017 an earthquake deeply affected the Mexican states of Puebla, Morelos and Mexico City. In response to the lack of information and coordination, groups of citizens mobilized online via #Verificado19S (#Verified19S) to provide verified and updated information about shelter, food, equipment and other needs for victims.[68] Violations of User Rights: Mexico continued to be one of the most violent environments in the world for online journalists and bloggers, and the government has used insecurity to justify increased surveillance. Despite a series of revelations about illegal surveillance practices in the country, no significant progress has been made toward investigating these abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. Legal Environment The Mexican Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and privacy of personal communications. A constitutional reform in 2013 established internet access as a human right and guaranteed net neutrality. A Telecommunications Law was subsequently approved in July 2014, but in May 2016, the Supreme Court largely upheld controversial provisions that pose a risk to privacy (see "Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity").[69] Although defamation was decriminalized at the federal level in 2007, criminal defamation statutes continue to exist at the state level.[70] Article 19's research identified 101 existing laws in the country that restrict freedom of expression.[71] One example is Article 333 of the Penal Code in Chihuahua, which criminalizes those who, "for a profit or to cause injury, improperly produce or edit, by any technical means, images, texts or audio, which are totally or partially false or true."[72] In December 2017, the Chamber of Deputies approved a reform to the federal civil code to include electronic media in article 1916, which outlines what is considered to be "moral damage." The amendment was pending discussion in the Senate. While some media denounced this as an open door to social media censorship, specialists contended that the changes to the code will not impact freedom of expression, which is still protected by article 1916 and the constitution.[73] A controversial Internal Security Law enacted in December 2017 formalizes the armed forces' engagement in domestic security functions.[74] Several entities such as the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) have expressed concerns about the law's implications for human rights.[75] The law empowers the armed forces to gather intelligence by "any legal means possible." It also states that information gathered through compliance with this law will be considered of national security interest, and therefore restricted from public access. Despite legislation intended to increase the security of journalists and human rights defenders, the government has had little success in deterring attacks on journalists, bloggers, and activists, in a country that ranks near the top in global surveys on impunity.[76] The Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, passed in 2012, established a new institutional body of government officials and civil society members in charge of protecting threatened human rights workers and journalists.[77] However, this mechanism has suffered from lack of funding,[78] and organizations have also denounced the lack of coordination between federal and state authorities, the lack of a gender perspective, the poor capacity to react to the various forms of violence, and prevailing impunity.[79] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities While there were no documented cases of individuals prosecuted or sanctioned by law enforcement agencies on charges related to accessing information on the internet, online reporters continued to risk harassment and arrest while covering demonstrations or political events. In December 2017 for instance, the Attorney General's Office of Mexico City reported that it had initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint from a journalist who was arbitrarily detained and beaten by police when he was trying to record an event with his cell phone camera.[80] Lawsuits have also been filed in response to critical reports published online. In February 2018, a mayor filed a criminal complaint for "attacks against honor" against the digital outlet Contramuro.com, after the outlet republished a report on alleged irregularities of several companies linked to the mayor.[81] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Little progress has been made in thoroughly investigating illegal surveillance practices in the country, after a series of revelations exposed the abuse of digital spying technologies intended to investigate criminals. Using the tense security situation and the war on drugs as justification, the government has continued to expand surveillance powers with little accountability and oversight. A new Internal Security Law notably enables the military to carry out intelligence activities by "any legal means possible," raising further concerns about military intervention in communications and information gathering in an opaque legal environment (see "Legal Environment"). In August 2017, Citizen Lab and Mexican partner organizations had documented at least 21 cases of journalists, human rights lawyers, activists, and political figures being targeted with the spying software Pegasus. The software, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, is sold exclusively to governments.[82] Attacks have especially targeted those investigating government involvement in corruption or human rights abuses.[83] The report by Citizen Lab concluded that NSO's government-exclusive espionage tools may have been used by a government entity on behalf of interests other than national security or fighting crime.[84] Evidence collected since 2011 has shown that the Mexican government spent at least $80 million on such spyware across at least three security agencies.[85] Civil society and several international human rights organizations, as well as experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and United Nations, called on the government of Mexico to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of illegal spying.[86] However, human rights groups criticized the fact that the Attorney General's Office (PGR) was not the best equipped to investigate the matter, given that revelations also pointed to its involvement in the purchase of spyware.[87] In May 2018, a judge ordered the PGR to investigate with due diligence and to accept proof submitted by the alleged victims of Pegasus.[88] Previous reports also revealed that Mexico was the biggest client of the surveillance company Hacking team, which had signed more than 14 contracts with various state and federal agencies. Civil society organizations argued that these contracts were illegal because many of the agencies involved lacked constitutional or legal authority to conduct surveillance or espionage.[89] The media outlet Animal Politico accused the state government of Puebla of using Hacking Team products to target the political opposition and journalists.[90] The Mexican government has used the poor security situation in the country as an excuse to dramatically increase surveillance. The 2014 Telecommunications Law expanded on and partially replaced previous legislation that increased surveillance and allowed for real-time geolocation. In May 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that requirements for data retention and real-time geolocation included in the 2014 Telecommunications Law were constitutional. Under that law, Article 189 forces companies to provide users' geolocation among other communications metadata to police, military, or intelligence agencies in real time. Reforms to the National Code on Criminal Procedure, published on June 17, 2016, now require a judicial warrant for government entities to use geolocation, save for some exceptional cases, such as kidnapping investigations when a person's life or physical integrity is in danger.[91] Article 190 of Telecommunications Law similarly requires providers to maintain records of their users' metadata for a period of two years, and grant security agencies access to metadata at any time.[92] Digital activists have argued that such provisions contradict international human rights standards, in particular the right to privacy. [93] However, the ruling did establish the need for a judicial warrant to access historical metadata.[94] The Supreme Court ruling also provided some clarification as to which authorities can access said user data, notably the Federal Prosecutor, Federal Police, and the authority directly in charge of applying and coordinating the National Security Law. Government requests to social media companies for information regarding their users increased during the coverage period. Between July and December 2017, Facebook received 1,084 (up from 938 in the previous reporting period) requests from the Mexican government for information related to 1,944 users and accounts; 902 of the requests were associated to legal processes. In 76 percent of the cases, Facebook released some information.[95] During the same period, Twitter received 21 requests for information related to 33 accounts, where Twitter provided information on 48 percent of the cases.[96] Google received 219 requests from the Mexican government for data on 375 users or accounts. The company produced information in 54 percent of such cases.[97] Intimidation and Violence Threats and violence from drug cartels, members of local governments, and other actors have continued to put journalists' lives at risk and curtail the safe practice of journalism. In 2017, Reporters Without Borders declared that Mexico, and particularly the state of Veracruz, remained the most dangerous country in Latin America for journalists and one of the most dangerous in the world. As of May of 2017, it ranked 147 out of 180 countries.[98] At least four digital reporters were killed during the coverage period of this report. Carlos Dominguez Rodriguez, a critical reporter and columnist for the digital outlets Noreste Digital and Horizonte de Matamoros, was stabbed to death on January 15, 2018.[99] Esqueda Castro, who was a freelance photographer for local news websites had received threats prior to his murder in October 2017.[100] The journalist and social media commentator Pamela Montenegro was shot dead in February 2018.[101] Another victim in March 2018 was Leobardo Vazquez Atzin, who wrote about regional crime and corruption on a dedicated Facebook page.[102] Physical attacks against online reporters and online death threats were frequently reported during this period.[103] The NGO Articulo19 reported 96 online aggressions against journalists in 2017. They also reported that aggressions against online media surpassed the number of aggressions towards print media.[104] They also documented that from the 1,986 aggressions against journalists over the past five years, 8 percent were presumably committed by organized crime and 48 percent by state workers. Online gender-based violence has become a critical problem in the country, affecting women journalists, politicians, feminists and organizations. Organizations have documented the viral hate attacking women who denounce any type of violence using social media, organized efforts to take down websites and social media profiles and to delete posts from women activists, organizations and collectives, as well as smear campaigns, extortion, and dissemination of intimate content. All of these aggressions disproportionately target women online, affecting their right to freedom of expression and access to information, to privacy and to intimacy.[105] Technical Attacks Technical attacks have become a central tactic in attempts to suppress freedom of expression in Mexico, and perpetrators do so with relative impunity.[106] The ongoing threat of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DdoS) attacks has led outlets to enlist the help of projects like Deflect, a system developed by eQualit.ie, a Canadian nonprofit organization protecting websites of human rights organizations and independent media publications.[107] The techniques involved in these attacks range from DdoS attacks, hijacking, and malware infections.[108] Journalists and activists have frequently reported cases of digital surveillance and cyberattacks, including DdoS attacks and malicious software, often in retaliation for coverage of corruption or human rights-related issues: On October 11, 2017, the NGO Borde Politico denounced a cyberattack targeting its website just after launching a new legislative assessment platform that scored the work of senators. According to the director of Borde Politico, the attack eliminated the database that had taken them three months to build. [109] Oraculus, a website focusing on the 2018 elections, reported that it was attacked ahead of the vote on July 1. Users were unable to access content on the site, including election predictions polls.[110] In a context of distrust due to the recent revelations of illegal surveillance practices (see "Surveillance, Privacy and Anonymity"), a National Cybersecurity Strategy introduced in 2017 sparked concerns among digital rights activists who highlighted the lack of control or transparency mechanisms within the strategy.[111] Notes: 1 CitizenLab, "HIDE AND SEEK: Tracking NSO Group's Pegasus Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries," September 18, 2018, https://citizenlab.ca/2018/09/hide-and-seek-tracking-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-to-operations-in-45-countries/ 2 Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), "Telecommunications in Mexico. Three Years After the Constitutional Reform," June 2016, http://bit.ly/29zZ5zh 3 OCDE, "Estudio de la OCDE sobre telecomunicaciones y radiodifusion en Mexico 2017," 2017, http://bit.ly/2FZhSYO 4 Claudia Juarez Escalona, "Cobertura de Red Compartida rebasara expectativa," El Economista, December 13, 2017, http://bit.ly/2j6glD7; "Red Compartida arranca con 32% de cobertura y 8 mil 100 mdp invertidos," El Financiero, March 21, http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/empresas/red-compartida-arranca-con-32-de-cobertura-y-8-mil-100-mdp-invertidos 5 "Firman contrato para desplegar Red Compartida de telecomunicaciones en Mexico," EFE, January 24, 2017, https://www.efe.com/efe/america/mexico/firman-contrato-para-desplegar-red-compartida-de-telecomunicaciones-en-mexico/50000545-3158827 6 Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia (INEGI), "En Mexico 71.3 millones de usuarios de internet y 17.4 millones de hogares con conexion a este servicio" [In Mexico 71.3 million Internet users and 17.4 million households with connection to this service], National Survey on Availability and Use of Information Technologies in Households (ENDUTIH), February 20, 2018,http://www.ift.org.mx/comunicacion-y-medios/comunicados-ift/es/en-mexico-713-millones-de-usuarios-de-internet-y-174-millones-de-hogares-con-conexion-este-servicio 7 "Smartphones, los favoritos para conectarse a internet en Mexico," El Financiero, May 17, 2018, http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/tech/smartphones-los-favoritos-para-conectarse-a-internet-en-mexico 8 OECD, "Mexico should continue its overhaul of telecoms and broadcasting," August 31, 2017, http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/mexico-should-continue-its-overhaul-of-telecoms-and-broadcasting.htm 9 "Precios de telefonia movil, de los mas bajos en 1T16" [Mobile telephone prices, the lowest in Q1 2016], El Financiero, April 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/1NjfRpc; Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, "Por 14 quincenas consecutivas el Indice de Precios de Comunicaciones se mantiene a la baja," January 29, 2018, http://www.ift.org.mx/comunicacion-y-medios/comunicados-ift/es/por-14-quincenas-consecutivas-el-indice-de-precios-de-comunicaciones-se-mantiene-la-baja-comunicado 10 http://www.beta.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/boletines/2018/OtrTemEcon/ENDUTIH2018_02.pdf; http://www.excelsior.com.mx/hacker/2018/02/20/1221602 11 OECD, "Historical time series, fixed and wireless broadband penetration. Q2 2017," OECD Broadband Portal, November 2017, http://bit.ly/2ppAM3L 12 Jose Merino and Mariano Munoz, "Mexico Conectado: mas internautas, mismas brechas" [Connected Mexico: more internet users, same gaps], Horizontal. mx, January 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2q6VrbV 13 Carla Martinez, "Mexico Conectado, con recorte de hasta 80%" [Connected Mexico, with a budget cut of 80%], El Universal, September 12, 2016, http://eluni.mx/2clhN0Z 14 Claudia Juarez Escalona, "Mexico conectado cerrara sexenio con 106,000 sitios," El Economista, February 7, 2018, http://bit.ly/2tT529O 15 Juan Ortiz Freuler, "Internet para quien y para que?" Animal Politico, December 1, 2016, https://www.animalpolitico.com/blogueros-blog-invitado/2016/12/01/internet-para-quien-y-para-que/; See also: "'Mexico Conectado' queda blindado hasta 2019," El Financiero March 2, 2018, http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/empresas/mexico-conectado-queda-blindado-hasta-2019 16 Web Foundation, "New research: How is Mexico advancing women's online access?" April 5, 2018, https://webfoundation.org/2018/04/new-research-how-is-mexico-advancing-womens-online-access/ 17 Rene Cruz Gonzalez, "Sin acceso a Internet, mas de 14 millones de campesinos e indigenas" [Without access to the Internet, more than 14 million peasants and indigenous people], MVS Noticias, March 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2r5lfSW 18 "Organizaciones de la sociedad civil mexicana en IGF 2016 denuncia graves violaciones a derechos humanos" [Mexican civil society organizations in IGF 2016 denounce serious violations of human rights], Enjambre Digital, December 5, 2016, http://bit.ly/2qAwdUi 19 Jacobo Najera & Giovanna Salazar, "The first mobile phone network for indigenous communities in Mexico is under threat," Global Voices (blog), January 24, 2018 http://bit.ly/2piUfQK 20 Articulo 189-190 de Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusion," http://bit.ly/1zCzcYq 21 Peralta, "Telecomm vendera conectividad de fibra optica en 2015" [Telecomm will sell fiber optic connectivity in 2015], Expansion, December 11, 2014, http://bit.ly/2deO119 22 Julio Sanchez Onofre, "Primer IXP in Mexico, una realidad," El Economista, April 30, 2014, https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/tecnologia/Primer-IXP-en-Mexico-una-realidad-20140430-0033.html; See also: "Inauguracion del primer IXP mexicano," [Inauguration of the first IXP] April 30, 2014, http://bit.ly/1ULslbw 23 IDET, "IXP, el conmutador invisible," May 22, 2018, http://www.idet.org.mx/consumidores/ixp-el-conmutador-invisible/ 24 Alejandro Madrazo, "Telecommunications: Mexico's New Reform," Americas Quarterly, Summer 2013, http://americasquarterly.org/content/telecommunications-mexicos-new-reform 25 Adrian Arias, "Monopolios mantienen su dominio en telecomunicaciones" [Monopolies maintain their dominions within the telecommunications sector], Cronica, April 16, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ra3umt; The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU), "Sector Convergente -Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusion en el Marco de Revision de la Preponderancia [Convergent Sector- Telecommunications and Broadcasting within the framework of Preponderance Revision], 2016, http://bit.ly/2oqFgp8 26 Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), "Tercer Informe Trimestral Estadistico 2017" [Third quarterly statistical report 2017], March 2018, http://www.ift.org.mx/sites/default/files/contenidogeneral/estadisticas/3ite2017.pdf 27 Reuters, "America Movil's network fees may cost rivals millions: AT&T," Business Insider, October 26, 2017 http://read.bi/2DEzJiM 28 Erick Zuniga, "Slim vence a la reforma en telecom: IFT pone fin a tarifa cero," Forbes, November 2, 2017, http://bit.ly/2lIpplX 29 "Mexico regulator says America Movil can charge competitors for calls," Reuters, November 3, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-telecoms/mexico-regulator-says-america-movil-can-charge-competitors-for-calls-idUSKBN1D300U 30 "Slim vence a la reforma en telecom: IFT pone fin a tarifa cero," Forbes, November 2, 2017, https://www.forbes.com.mx/slim-vence-a-la-reforma-de-telco-ift-pone-fin-a-tarifa-cero/ 31 Miriam Posada, "SCJN admite incorformidad de Televisa sobre resolucion de IFT," La Jornada, February 20, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FQ4oeH 32 "UPDATE 1-Mexico regulator decides in Televisa's favor on pay TV issue," Reuters, March 23, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-televisa-regulator/update-1-mexico-regulator-decides-in-televisas-favor-on-pay-tv-issue-idUSL1N1R5124 33 Juan Montes, "Mexico Telecoms Reform Bill Advances," The Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2013, http://on.wsj.com/1LXSc6E 34 Carla Martinez, "Espectro autorizado a Telcel no afecta la competencia: IFT" [The spectrum authorized to Telcel does not affect competition: IFT], El Universal, May 4 2017,http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/cartera/telecom/2017/05/4/espectro-autorizado-telcel-no-afecta-la-competencia-ift 35 Ernesto Piedras, "Empoderando mas al preponderante" [Empowering the preponderant], El Economista, May 10, 2017, https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/opinion/Empoderando-mas-al-preponderante-20170510-0008.html 36 Diana Lastiri, "Government can't block web pages by copyright: Court," El Universal, April 19, 2017, http://eluni.mx/2pss7xh 37 Timothy Vollmer, "Mexican Senate passes changes to copyright law that would censor content online," Creative Commons, April 27, 2018, https://creativecommons.org/2018/04/27/mexican-senate-passes-changes-to-copyright-law-that-would-censor-content-online ; "Senado aprueba reforma a Ley de Derecho de Autor; permite la censura en internet, acusan organizaciones," Animal Politico,April 26, 2018, https://www.animalpolitico.com/2018/04/senado-aprueba-reforma-a-ley-de-derecho-de-autor-permite-la-censura-en-internet-acusa-r3d/ 38 Facebook, Information requests in Mexico, January 2017-June 2017 and July-December 2017, https://transparency.facebook.com/content-restrictions/country/MX 39 Twitter, "Mexico," Transparency Report, January 2017 June 2017, http://bit.ly/2dAvaNI 40 Google, "Transparency report government removals," January 2017-June 2017 http://bit.ly/2GDCFPJ 41 "El extrano mensaje en Facebook durante transmision del #DebateEnAristegui," Aristegui Noticias, April 23, 2018, https://aristeguinoticias.com/2304/mexico/el-extrano-mensaje-en-facebook-durante-transmision-del-debateenaristegui/ 42 Jose Camarena, "WILMAP: MEXICO," The Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School, http://stanford.io/1MV98kd 43 This was the name of the institute at the time of the ruling. However, in May 2015, the institute changed its name to the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information, and Personal Data Protection (INAI). 44 "Inicia IFAI procedimiento para sancionar a Google Mexico," Aristegui Noticias, January 27, 2015, https://aristeguinoticias.com/2701/mexico/inicia-ifai-procedimiento-para-sancionar-a-google-mexico/; "Ganamos! Tribunal anula resolucion del INAI sobre el falso derecho al olvido " [We won! Court overturns INAI's resolution on the false "right to be forgotten"], August 24, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ekBFpe 45 "Derecho al olvido en internet: un derecho, censura o un redituable negocio en Mexico?" Animal Politico, September 23, 2016, https://www.animalpolitico.com/2016/09/derecho-olvido-internet-censura-mexico/ 46 Articulo 19, "Democracia simulada, nada que aplaudir: informe anual 2017 de Article 19," March 20, 2018, https://articulo19.org/nadaqueaplaudir/; See also: https://elinsurgente.mx/se-duplican-en-dos-anos-los-mexicanos-quieren-desaparecer-internet/ 47 Eva Salgado Andrade, "Twitter en la campana electoral de 2012" [Twitter in 2012 Mexican electoral campaigns], Desacatos, May-August 2013, http://bit.ly/2pQsUUe; Sopitas, "Asi funciona el millonario negocio de las Fake News en Mexico" [This is how it works the millionaire business of fake news in Mexico", Sopitas, April 5, 2017, http://bit.ly/2qmQV9m 48 Pablo Suarez-Serrato, Margaret E. Roberts, Clayton A. Davis, Filippo Menczer, "On the influence of social bots in online protests. Preliminary findings of a Mexican case study," Cornell University Library, September 27, 2016, http://bit.ly/2pGMaUW; See also: Steven Melendez, "To see the future of social media manipulation in politics, look to Mexico" Fast Company, February 2, 2018 http://bit.ly/2HQNe15 49 Signa Lab, "Battle of the Hashtags: Mapping the Online Conversation Surrounding Mexico's Gas Prices," Global Voices, February 15, 2017 http://bit.ly/2pGT4cG 50 "Mexico election: Concerns about election bots, trolls and fakes," BBC, May 30, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-44252995 51 "#ElectionWatch: abajo los bots de papeletas," Animal Politico, June 13, 2018, https://www.animalpolitico.com/blogueros-blog-invitado/2018/06/13/electionwatch-abajo-los-bots-de-papeletas/ 52 "Mexico: los "bots", "trolls" y otros trucos de manipulacion en internet que amenazan las proximas elecciones presidenciales," BBC, May 30, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-44302996 53 Interview with Luchadoras on the Political gender and technology based violence monitoring exercise 54 "In Mexico, fake news creators up their game ahead of election," Reuters, June 28, 2018, https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mexico-facebook/in-mexico-fake-news-creators-up-their-game-ahead-of-election-idUKKBN1JO346 55 Verificado 2018, "Hasta luego, Verificado 2018," July 9, 2018, https://verificado.mx/hasta-luego-hoy-cierra-verificado-2018/ 56 Verificado 2018, "Tras los cambios del INE para marcar las boletas, surgen imagenes falsas sobre como votar," June 12, 2018, https://verificado.mx/cambios-marcar-boletas/ 57 Emir Olivares, "Ambiente adverso para periodistas en gobierno de Corral: Articulo 19," March 20, 2018 "http://bit.ly/2HOlcDw; See also: "Democracia simulada, nada que aplaudir: informe anual 2017 de Article 19", Articulo 19, March 20, 2018, https://articulo19.org/nadaqueaplaudir/ 58 Alianza Regional, "Mexico," in Control estatal de los medios de comunicacion [State control of media], May 3, 2015, 57-60, http://bit.ly/1GcRe4F 59 Ernesto Aroche, Editor, Lado B, Personal interview on May 10, 2017. 60 "La Corte ordena al Congreso emitir ley que regule el gasto en publicidad oficial", Animal Politico, November 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GNP2c1 61 "Reevaluen ley sobre #PublicidadOficial, piden ONU y CIDH a legisladores," Aristegui Noticias, April 24, 2018, https://aristeguinoticias.com/2404/mexico/reevaluen-ley-sobre-publicidadoficial-piden-onu-y-cidh-a-legisladores/; "Ley Chayote viola libertad de expresion, no hay reglas claras en publicidad oficial: Medios Libres," Animal Politico, April 26, 2018,https://www.animalpolitico.com/2018/04/ley-chayote-viola-libertad-de-expresion-no-hay-reglas-claras-en-publicidad-oficial-medios-libres/ ; R3D, "Colectivo #MediosLibres exige al Congreso regular la publicidad oficial con transparencia," February 8, 2018, https://r3d.mx/2018/02/08/colectivo-medioslibres-exige-al-congreso-regular-la-publicidad-oficial-con-transparencia/ 62 For example: Based in Mexico City, Pie de Pagina is an initiative born from the experience of the Periodistas de a pie network and Radios Libres, a project that seeks to boost communitarian radios with free technologies. Another innovative initiative in the digital media landscape is Pictoline, born at the end of 2015. Other examples of independent online news outlets in other states are Pagina 3, http://bit.ly/2pDS1OE, based in Oaxaca; and Chiapas Paralelo, http://bit.ly/2pP53oJ, in Chiapas. 63 Tania Lara, "Popular Mexican news site Animal Politico seeks to eliminate dependence on government advertising," Journalism in the Americas Blog, Knight Center at the University of Texas Austin, April 30, 2013, http://bit.ly/1h44YYW; Daniela Bermudez, "Animal politico, un sitio basado en contenido en lugar de clics", El Economista, June 18 2016, http://bit.ly/2pE6haf; Animal Politico, crowdfunding campaign, http://bit.ly/2qpCGP5 64 R3D, "Se profundizan ofertas de zero rating en Mexico; el IFT sigue en silencio," May 17, 2017, https://r3d.mx/2017/05/16/se-profundizan-ofertas-de-zero-rating-en-mexico-el-ift-sigue-en-silencio/; See also: Antonio Cahun, "Telcel reacciona a la competencia y trae de vuelta las redes sociales ilimitadas a sus planes Max Sin Limite," Xataka, May 16, 2017,https://www.xataka.com.mx/telecomunicaciones/telcel-reacciona-a-la-competencia-y-trae-de-vuelta-las-redes-sociales-ilimitadas-a-sus-planes-max-sin-limite 65 "Lineamientos del IFT sobre Neutralidad de la Red saldran a consulta en agosto," El Economista, May 30, 2018, https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/Lineamientos-del-IFT-sobre-Neutralidad-de-la-Red-saldran-a-consulta-en-agosto-20180530-0050.html 66 "Los usuarios de redes sociales en Mexico aumentan un 13%," Expansion, March 1, 2018, https://expansion.mx/tecnologia/2018/03/01/los-usuarios-de-redes-sociales-en-mexico-aumentan-un-13 67 Luchadoras, "La violencia en linea contra las mujeres en Mexico," November, 2017, http://luchadoras.mx/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Informe_ViolenciaEnLineaMexico_InternetEsNuestra.pdf 68 Gisela Perez de Acha, "How to Hack an Earthquake," MozFest, February 27, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atYKpi_74Ak See also: "Tecnologia, datos y participacion ante el sismo en Mexico,"SocialTIC, September 27, 2017, https://socialtic.org/blog/tecnologia-datos-y-participacion-ante-el-sismo-en-mexico/ 69 "El Supremo mexicano avala la retencion de datos de los usuarios" [Supreme Court ratifies retention of user data], El Pais, May 6, 2016, http://bit.ly/1ryeEk4 70 Commission on Human Rights, Congress General of the United States of Mexico, Gaceta Parlamentaria, Numero 3757-VIII, [Parliamentary Gazette, No. 3757-VIII], Thursday April 25, 2013, http://bit.ly/1NXOcYf; See also: Committee to Protect Journalists, Thomson Reuters Foundation and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, "Mexico" in Critics Are Not Criminals: Comparative Study of Criminal Defamation Laws in the Americas, March 2016, http://tmsnrt.rs/2eAZQiu 71 Articulo 19, "Democracia simulada, nada que aplaudir: informe anual 2017 de Article 19," March 20, 2018, p.40, https://articulo19.org/nadaqueaplaudir/ 72 Codigo Penal del Estado de Chihuahua [Penal Code of the State of Chihuahua], updated June 13, 2016, http://bit.ly/2dcyGhq; See also: Gerardo Cortinas Murra, "Articulo 333," El Diario, May 2, 2016, http://bit.ly/2dlFVz6; Erendira Aquino, "Difamacion, antimemes y los delitos contra la libertad de expresion que siguen vigentes en Mexico," Animal Politico, January 23, 2018, http://bit.ly/2tZVQ3D 73 "Aprobaron los diputados la censura en redes sociales," Forbes Mexico, December, 2017, http://bit.ly/2yMCiMW; See also: https://www.animalpolitico.com/2017/12/censura-reforma-codigo-civil/ 74 http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LSInt_211217.pdf 75 http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2017/200.asp 76 Committee to Protect Journalists, "Getting Away with Murder: CPJ's 2017 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and killers go free," October 31, 2017, http://bit.ly/2FINQcu See also: Juan Arvizu, "Impunes 99.7% de los delitos a periodistas" El Universal, April 2, 2017, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/nacion/politica/2017/04/2/impunes-997-de-los-delitos-periodistas 77 Leah Danze, "Mexico's Law to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Activists Remains Ineffective," Latin America Working Group, June 30, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LY0MlV 78 Espacio de OSC, "Mecanismo Federal de Proteccion a DDHH y periodistas sin respaldo financiero ni voluntad politica," propuestacivica.org, July 28, 2015, http://bit.ly/2e7rAIN. See also: "CNDH pide presupuesto y personal suficiente para el Mecanismo de Proteccion a periodistas y defensores," November 2, 2017; Ana Langner, "Bajan recursos para proteger a periodistas," El Economista, January 14, 2018 http://bit.ly/2DoEPU7 79 "Proteccion integral para personas defensoras de derechos humanos y periodistas: La deuda del Estado mexicano," Espacio OSC, July 26, 2017, http://bit.ly/2FU00eH 80 "Reportero es detenido y agredido por policias de la SSP-CDMX; la PGJ capitalina abre investigacion" Sin embargo, December 30, 2017, http://www.sinembargo.mx/30-12-2017/3368646 81 Manu Ureste, "Alcalde de Zitacuaro denuncia a diario digital por una nota que senala irregularidades por 180 mdp," Animal Politico, February 13, 2018, http://bit.ly/2HNuP5m ; See also: https://articulo19.org/portal-michoacano-ataques-honor/ 82 Citizen Lab, "RECKLESS IV: Lawyers for Murdered Mexican Women's Families Targeted with NSO Spyware," August 2, 2017, https://citizenlab.ca/2017/08/lawyers-murdered-women-nso-group/ 83 Citizen Lab, "RECKLESS EXPLOIT: Mexican Journalists, Lawyers, and a Child Targeted with NSO "Spyware"" June 19, 2017, https://citizenlab.ca/2017/06/reckless-exploit-mexico-nso/ 84 Citizen Lab, "Bitter Sweet: Supporters of Mexico's Soda Tax Targeted With NSO Exploit Links," February 11, 2017, http://bit.ly/2kWDlVn 85 Azam Ahmed and Nicole Perlroth, "Using Texts as Lures, Government Spyware Targets Mexican Journalists and Their Families," The New York Times, June 19, 2017, http://nyti.ms/2sHyduf; Sofia de Robina Castro & Pepe Flores, "#GobiernoEspia: 40 dias despues" [#SpyGovernmen: 40 days After], R3D, July 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2vfChml 86 "U.N. experts seek halt to use of spyware in Mexico and want full probe," Reuters, July 19, 2017, http://reut.rs/2fnMSpL; See also: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/showarticle.asp?artID=1069&lID=1 87 "PGR compro software de espionaje Pegasus en 32 mdd, revela contrato," El Universal, June 29, 2017, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/nacion/seguridad/2017/06/29/pgr-compro-software-de-espionaje-pegasus-en-32-mdd-revela; SocialTIC, "Comunicado: Urge intervencion de expertos ante nulos progresos en investigacion sobre #GobiernoEspia," February 20, 2018https://socialtic.org/blog/comunicado-urge-intervencion-de-expertos-ante-nulos-progresos-en-investigacion-sobre-gobiernoespia/ 88 R3D, "Juez federal ordena a la PGR admitir pruebas de victimas en la investigacion sobre #GobiernoEspia," May 28, 2018, https://r3d.mx/2018/05/28/juez-federal-ordena-a-la-pgr-admitir-pruebas-de-victimas-en-la-investigacion-sobre-gobiernoespia/ 89 For more information about the revelations of Hacking Team's operations in Mexico see: Julio Sanchez Onofre, "Vulneracion a Hacking Team confirma abuso de espionaje en Mexico," [Breach of Hacking Team confirms abuse of espionage in Mexico] El Economista, July 6, 2015, http://bit.ly/1JRDTlA; See also: Daniel Hernandez and Gabriela Gorbea, "Mexico is Hacking Team's Biggest Paying Client -- By Far," Vice News, July 7, 2015, http://bit.ly/1LWGbmO 90 Ernesto Aroche, "El gobierno de Puebla uso el software de Hacking Team para espionaje politico," Animal Politico, July 22, 2015, http://bit.ly/1TQO7rh 91 Codigo Nacional de Procedimientos Penales, updated June 17, 2016, http://bit.ly/2deCKxz 92 Articulo 189-190 de Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusion. 93 Global Voices, "Suprema Corte en Mexico valida retencion de metadatos y geolocalizacion de Ley Telecom," [Supreme Court of Mexico validates data retention and geolocation of the Telecom Law], May 6, 2016, http://bit.ly/2d8sicb; R3D, "La SCJN y la #LeyTelecom: Lo malo, lo bueno, lo absurdo y lo que sigue" [The SCJN and Telecom Law: the bad, the good, the absurd, and what comes next], May 5, 2016, http://bit.ly/2fsPDm0 94 Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), "Inviolabilidad del contenido de las comunicaciones y de los datos que permitan identificarlas: segunda sala," May 4, 2016, http://bit.ly/23TtOfR 95 Facebook, "Mexico", Global Government Requests Report, January-June 2017, https://transparency.facebook.com/government-data-requests/country/MX/jul-dec-2017 96 Twitter, "Information Requests Mexico," Transparency Report, January-June 2017, https://bit.ly/2F3QTac 97 Google, "User Data Requests Mexico," Transparency Report, July-December 2017, https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview?user_requests_report_period=authority:MX 98 Reporters Without Borders, World Classification 2017, April 26 2017, http://bit.ly/1c2ucyc; See also: https://www.informeanualrsf.es/news/informe-anual-2017-america/ 99 https://rsf.org/en/news/journalist-slain-nuevo-laredo-first-year-mexico 100 https://cpj.org/data/people/edgar-daniel-esqueda-castro/index.php 101 https://cpj.org/data/people/leslie-ann-pamela-montenegro-del-real/index.php 102 https://cpj.org/data/people/leobardo-vazquez-atzin/index.php 103 See for example: Alvaro Delgado Gomez, "Usted esta muerto, dice una voz. Ahora amenazan mediante grabaciones" [You're dead, says a voice. Now criminals threaten using recordings], Proceso, August 25 2016, http://bit.ly/2biLvr0; ARTICLE 19, "Continuan las agresiones contra periodistas en Yuriria, Guanajuato" [Attacks on journalists continue in Yuriria, Guanajuato], May 7 2017, http://bit.ly/2pZd9Mg 104 Article 19, "Democracia simulada: Informe 2017," March 20, 2018, https://bit.ly/2GT6HPu 105 http://luchadoras.mx/informe-onu/ 106 "Aumentan los ataques digitales contra medios de comunicacion en Mexico: Google" [Digital attacks against journalists and media on Mexico are on the rise: Google], Animal Politico, October 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/2dTJann 107 Jacobo Najera, "Sobrevivir a los ataques de denegacion de servicio distribuido" [How to survive DDoS attacks], Enjambre Digital, March 25 2017, http://bit.ly/2qpC2RG 108 Jacobo Najera, Enjambre Digital. Personal Interview on May 2, 2017. 109 https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/tecnologia/Organizaciones-de-la-sociedad-civil-vulnerables-ante-ciberataques-20171016-0084.html 110 www.eluniversal.com.mx/elecciones-2018/denuncian-ataque-cibernetico-sitio-especializado-en-elecciones 111 "Estrategia Nacional de Ciberseguridad" November, 2017 http://bit.ly/2AEvAtU; For reactions see also: R3D, "Expertos consideran incongruente la estrategia de ciberseguridad por falta de controles a la vigilancia estatal", August 2017, http://bit.ly/2FSPpAF; Julio Sanchez, "Estrategia Nacional de Ciberseguridad arranca con desconfianza por espionaje," El Economista, August 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2Iz0wjS Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Malaysia Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Malaysia, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b06a.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 45/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 31.6 million Internet Penetration: 80% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In April 2018, the BN government rushed through the Fake News Act of 2018 to allegedly curb the spread of fake news. The new government pledged to abolish the fake news law, but it has yet to do so (see Legal Environment). Politicians and political websites were subjected to targeted attacks on election day in May 2018 (see Technical Attacks). Blocks of news websites and political blogs that had been imposed in 2015 and 2016 for covering political corruption allegations were lifted toward the end of the review period (see Blocking and Filtering). Internet users continued to be arrested and prosecuted based on their online activity, including at least one new arrest and conviction under the Fake News Act of 2018 (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Introduction: Internet freedom declined slightly in 2018 in Malaysia because of the new Fake News Act of 2018 which was then immediately used to prosecute an internet user. Meanwhile, technical attacks targeted politicians and websites of political parties during the general elections in May 2018. In a positive development, less violence and intimidation were reported against online journalists and internet users. There are high hopes that restrictions to the internet will lessen in Malaysia following a change in government after the May 2018 elections, the tail end of this review period. The Pakatan Harapan pact that defeated the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which had led Malaysia for 66 years, has promised a slew of reforms, including ensuring freedom of expression and cheaper and faster internet connection. As in past elections, Malaysians again turned to the internet and social media to fuel political mobilization and activism. Prior to the election, officials of the BN government, who were embattled by allegations of government corruption, continued to muzzle free expression by arresting and prosecuting critics and manipulating online content. In April 2018, the BN coalition rushed through a fake news law, which many critics slammed as being a tool of the government to curtail free speech. The new incoming Pakatan government has pledged to revoke the fake news law, although its efforts to do so have failed thus far. The new government has also indicated that it will review the controversial agency which oversees online communications, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). In a promising development following the elections, websites that were previously blocked became accessible, including the popular Sarawak Report and blog publishing platform Medium. These sites were originally banned for publishing corruption allegations linked to former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Obstacles to Access: Internet access continued to be considered excellent for the region. Efforts were under way to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban areas, including government policies that promote better access to high-speed internet connections. A relatively open market allows for competition among providers, resulting in attractive pricing though not always high-quality service. Availability and Ease of Access Internet penetration and average connection speeds continued to increase during the coverage period. Government statistics released in March 2018 showed that Malaysia's internet penetration rate had risen to 85.7 percent in 2017, from 70 percent in 2015.[1] The figures also showed that households across Malaysia with computer and mobile-phone access rose to 74.1 percent and 98.1 percent, respectively, compared with 67.6 percent and 97.9 percent in 2015.[2] At the same time, the share of individuals aged 15 years and above who used the internet rose by nine percentage points to 80.1 percent in 2017, from 71.1 percent in 2015. The percentage of individuals using computers increased 1.1 percentage points to 69.8 percent, compared with 68.7 percent in 2015, while smartphone usage for internet access increased to 97.7 percent, compared with 97.5 percent in 2015. Government statistics continued to show that the highest internet penetration rates were found in the heavily developed Klang Valley area, which comprises the capital city Kuala Lumpur (99.9 percent) and the state of Selangor (99.7 percent). Free Wi-Fi connections are available in many urban spaces, including malls, restaurants, hotels, and tourist destinations. Penetration rates remained low in the underdeveloped, less populated East Malaysian states of Sabah (43.3 percent) and Sarawak (51.8 percent), where most residents belong to indigenous groups.[3] Cybercafes play an important role in providing access outside cities. Government figures reveal a slight gender imbalance in access rates, with men representing 59.4 percent of both internet and mobile users. The age group that accounted for the biggest share of users was that aged 20 to 24 (22 percent). However, the average age of internet users (32.4 years) and of nonusers (50.7 years) showed an incremental increase over the 2014 averages, indicating that older age groups make up a growing proportion of the online community.[4] The most affordable broadband service is offered by the state telecommunications company Telekom Malaysia through its Unifi product for RM120 (US$30) per month.[5] The average monthly income as of 2016 was US$880.[6] The average connection speed is still comparatively slow, and many users complain of inefficient service.[7] Malaysia ranked 74th in the world in 2016 when it came to internet speeds, having fallen one place since 2015. In the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia was 9th among 15 countries.[8] As for 4G mobile technology, it is available 74.88 percent of the time to Malaysians but it still lacks in speed, according to a report by OpenSignal, a company that specializes in wireless coverage mapping. The report said the 4G speed in Malaysia was only 14.83 Mbps, whereas Singapore, which has 84.43 percent availability, offers a 4G speed of 44.31 Mbps.[9] In the national budget for 2017, then Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that internet service providers (ISPs) would increase fixed-line broadband internet speeds without raising prices. The MCMC was slated to invest heavily in improving broadband coverage and quality, aiming to achieve connection speeds of 20 Mbps throughout the country. The government also planned to launch an initiative to increase internet speeds at public universities to 100 Gbps.[10] Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, who took office as part of the new government in May 2018, has said he will work toward achieving broadband connections that are "double the speed, half the price" for the people.[11] Restrictions on Connectivity There were no reported cases of government-imposed restrictions on access to the internet during this coverage period.[12] However, a partly state-owned company continues to dominate the network infrastructure. In 2017, the government said it had issued 218 licenses to network facilities providers (up from 181 in 2016).[13] But Telekom Malaysia, the largest telecommunications company, retains a monopoly over the fixed-line network and owns the country's last-mile connections.[14] Other providers must lease infrastructure from the company on its own terms, resulting in higher prices.[15] The government retains a 29 percent stake in Telekom Malaysia, which was formerly state owned.[16] The nonprofit Malaysia Internet Exchange allows service providers to exchange local traffic more efficiently.[17] Malaysia has several connections to the international internet, making the network more resilient.[18] ICT Market The government said it had issued 187 network service provider licenses in 2017, up from 170 in 2016,[19] but the Telekom Malaysia subsidiary TMNet enjoys a virtual monopoly on the broadband market.[20] The largest mobile provider, Maxis Communications, was founded by Ananda Krishnan, who also owns Malaysia's biggest satellite broadcaster and enjoys close ties to Mahathir Mohamad, the prime minister from 1981 to 2003 who returned to office after the May 2018 elections.[21] Newer mobile phone providers like YTL Communications and Umobile are ostensibly unrelated to the government, but observers believe they benefit from political connections. Fiber-optic home broadband service is provided by Astro IPTV. Other providers of broadband and mobile internet service include Celcom, DiGi, Time Internet, Tune Talk, and Yes, a wireless 4G provider.[22] Some local authorities have introduced restrictions on cybercafes to curb illegal online activities, particularly gambling.[23] In 2017, officials said cybercafes in federal territories could not operate above the ground floor or behind tinted windows.[24] Cafe operators in some areas have separately complained of high license fees.[25] Regulatory Bodies The national regulator, the MCMC, is government run. Despite its multistakeholder advisory board, it has a poor record of upholding internet freedom. The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia oversees the MCMC. The 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) gives the ministry a range of powers, including the authority to license the ownership and operation of network facilities. The CMA directs the ministry to appoint the MCMC chairman and three government commissioners, plus additional commissioners representing nongovernmental entities.[26] In 2017, there were six commissioners from the private sector. The process for appointing members of the MCMC advisory board is more transparent and participatory, involving consultations with diverse stakeholders, and civil society members are included on the board. Nevertheless, the MCMC has taken steps to curtail online speech (see Blocking and Filtering). In May 2018, activists called on the new government to review the ambit of MCMC's powers and to investigate whether it had abused its position under the previous government.[27] Limits on Content: The BN government led by Najib Razak, who faced a high-profile corruption scandal, had blocked popular news sites and critical blogs in the last review period. However, these bans were lifted by the new government shortly after it came to power in May 2018. The new government also pledged to revoke a restrictive "fake news" law passed by the outgoing government just before the elections, but has yet to do so. Blocking and Filtering MCMC blocks on news websites and political blogs that had been imposed in 2015 and 2016 over coverage of political corruption allegations were lifted toward the end of this review period. At least three international websites had been blocked due to corruption reporting that implicated then prime minister Najib. In July 2015, the MCMC ordered service providers to block access to the UK-based whistle-blower site Sarawak Report over articles on the misallocation of resources from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund. The government claimed that the articles were detrimental to national security.[28] The blog-publishing platform Medium was blocked in January 2016, after it refused to take down Sarawak Report articles.[29] The Hong Kong-based commentary site Asia Sentinel was also blocked in January 2016 for "violating national laws" after it published an article about Najib.[30] Local content was targeted for similar reasons. Two local news portals, Malaysia Chronicle and The Malaysian Insider, were blocked in October 2015 and February 2016, respectively, for publishing articles about the 1MDB scandal that were deemed to be critical of the government and the prime minister.[31] Officials described the content as "obscene, indecent, false, menacing, or offensive" and a threat to national security.[32] The government also blocked a handful of prominent blogs that were critical of the government, such as Din Turtle, which publishes sociopolitical commentary, and Syed Outsyed The Box, a blog that had reposted content from Sarawak Report.[33] These bans were lifted in May 2018 under the instructions of the new government.[34] The Malaysian Insider website made a comeback in 2017 under a new name, The Malaysian Insight. Prior to 2015, there were limited reports of blocked content apart from websites that violated national laws governing pornography,[35] though many government-linked companies and public universities restricted access to the Malaysiakini news website and others perceived as politically sensitive. A provision of the CMA states that none of its wording "shall be construed as permitting the censorship of the internet." The Multimedia Super Corridor, an information technology development project, includes a 10-point Bill of Guarantees to member ICT businesses that promises freedom from censorship.[36] Transparency about blocking is limited. Blocks are implemented on the authority of the MCMC, which reports to the government (see Regulatory Bodies). No list of affected sites is available. Site owners can appeal a block directly to the MCMC, though there is no guarantee that they will receive a reply. Combative political reporting online may have caused the government or its supporters to try to censor a handful of news websites in the lead-up to 2013 elections. The sites were simultaneously targeted by hackers, and the cause of the service disruptions remained unclear.[37] At least two outlets filed a complaint with the MCMC, which never responded. Figures illustrating the number of sites blocked for breaking local laws are periodically reported in response to questions in Parliament, but without further detail. The MCMC said that 1,375 websites had been blocked in 2016 and 2017 for "false content."[38] A campaign against "false news" was launched in 2017 (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). In March of that year, the government said it had blocked 10,962 websites found to be involved in online fraud between 2008 and January 2017.[39] On May 9, 2018, the day of the general elections, politicians from both the incumbent BN coalition and the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition reported being hacked (see Technical Attacks). There was a brief disruption that affected Malaysiakini website on the night of the elections; the site was accessible again several hours later, as were the party-linked websites that had apparently gone down on election day. Content Removal The MCMC periodically instructs websites to remove content, including some that is perceived as critical of the government.[40] Blog owners and Facebook users have been told to remove content touching on sensitive issues involving race, religion, and royalty. No such instructions were made public in the review period. Removal requests are generally nontransparent and lack judicial oversight or avenues for appeal. Medium was blocked in 2016 after refusing a government request to remove content (see Blocking and Filtering), but this order was revoked in May 2018, again without any public disclosure. Users simply discovered that previously banned sites were accessible. Companies risk liability for some content posted by users, though it is not clear whether this leads them to remove more content than necessary. In 2012, Parliament passed an amendment to the 1950 Evidence Act that holds intermediaries liable for seditious content posted anonymously on their networks or websites.[41] This would include hosts of online forums, news outlets, and blogging services, as well as businesses providing Wi-Fi services.[42] The amendment holds individuals liable if their name is attributed to the content or if the computer it was sent from belongs to them, whether or not they were the author.[43] The change was pushed through hurriedly and garnered significant public backlash after its passage.[44] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation At the end of the coverage period it was too early to say whether the new government would keep its pledges to improve transparency and media freedom or, alternatively, maintain the draconian policies of the previous government. Until the elections in May, the climate for digital media outlets remained challenging. Some blogs and news portals were still inaccessible after being blocked during the last review period (see Blocking and Filtering). Defamation suits filed by politicians against online journalists were pending, and outlets were subjected to raids (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Digital media represent an increasingly serious challenge to traditional media, which are restricted by the state.[45] More established sites such as Malaysiakini and Malay Mail Online have been joined by smaller platforms that contribute to the diversity of information.[46] Several digital news platforms are among the nation's most popular websites.[47] Online news outlets have withstood attempts to restrict them in the past. In 2013, a judge ordered the Home Ministry to grant Malaysiakini the right to reapply for a print license.[48] The ministry had repeatedly refused to grant the license and challenged a 2012 appeals court ruling that characterized Malaysiakini's right to publish a newspaper as fundamental.[49] Cyberattacks against news portals have declined since 2013, when many reported content disruptions or possible censorship (see Blocking and Filtering). Some online journalists have been subject to informal, inconsistent bans from select government press conferences.[50] Yet many platforms struggle to stay economically viable, and government restrictions contribute to difficult market conditions. A handful of news websites are fighting defamation charges from political leaders and face significant financial penalties (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activity). In 2016, the eight-year-old outlet The Malaysian Insider was shut down shortly after it was blocked, though it cited commercial reasons for its closure.[51] The outlet reopened under the name The Malaysian Insight in 2017, though it closed again for about two months in early 2018 before resuming operations in May. International blog-hosting and social media services were freely available, with the exception of Medium, which was blocked between January 2016 and May 2018 (see Blocking and Filtering). During the review period, 21.9 million internet users were reported to be active on social media.[52] Expanded internet access has led to the emergence of a vibrant blogosphere. English and Malay are the dominant languages, and many civil society groups, including those representing ethnic minorities, have a dynamic online presence. Websites in Chinese and Tamil are also increasing in number and influence. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, though a new social media user, has millions of followers.[53] Many leaders of the new governing coalition, including ministers, are more tech savvy than their predecessors from the BN, though former prime minister Najib also had his own blog and several million followers on Facebook and Twitter.[54] The police force and other government agencies continue to provide updates on social media and occasionally respond to accusations of abuse from members of the public.[55] Both government and opposition figures are known to pay online commentators, known as "cybertroopers," to generate favorable content and denigrate their opponents.[56] The battle between opposing cybertroopers continued in 2017. Najib's Facebook page was flooded with comments urging him to step down as prime minister, and users aligned with his government responded with messages of support.[57] Partisan manipulation increased on social media ahead of the general elections. In January 2017, the leading party in Najib's ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), urged all its members to master the use of the social media to win the war of perception.[58] In March of that year, the party called on local divisions to activate newly formed information technology bureaus to "counter the slander" on social media.[59] The BN government took steps to combat what it characterized as "false news" in 2017. The SEBENARNYA portal, launched by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry in March of that year, encouraged social media users to verify the content of all news reports shared on popular platforms with the slogan, "not sure, don't share."[60] Officials said the portal was nonpartisan.[61] However, Najib accused "the government's opponents" of spreading "false propaganda," highlighting how easily a government campaign against inaccurate content can become politicized.[62] Issues considered potentially sensitive online include Islam's official status, race, royalty, and the special rights enjoyed by Bumiputera the term for ethnic Malays and other indigenous people, as opposed to the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. Discussing these topics can lead to prosecution, and some internet users exercise self-censorship. Digital Activism Digital tools have been used effectively for political mobilization and have helped expose and undercut the government's control over traditional media. In the run-up to the polls in May 2018, netizens took to social media to offer financial aid as well as transportation assistance for voters who needed to return to their home villages to cast ballots.[63] Hashtags such as #CarPoolGE14 and #ReturnHomeToVote were trending in the weeks before the elections.[64] On election night, Malaysians relied heavily on social media and smartphone applications such as WhatsApp to get a clearer picture of the outcome. Tweets and Facebook postings from opposition leaders were continuously monitored as the Elections Commission delayed releasing official results. Even in the aftermath of the elections, social media users were on high alert to prevent BN leaders, including Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, from fleeing the country to avoid criminal prosecutions.[65] Digital activists periodically campaign to defend online speech. In February 2016, after police used an official Twitter account to warn a graphic artist who uploaded an image of Najib as a clown, internet users shared similar images under a hashtag meaning "we are all seditious."[66] The artist was subsequently prosecuted and sentenced to a month in jail and a fine of RM30,000 (US$7,500) in February 2018 (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Violations of User Rights: For most of the review period, the BN government continued to press charges against social media users, civil society activists, and politicians for their online remarks. The new government signaled that it would buck this trend. Ousted prime minister Najib withdrew a series of defamation suits against his critics after leaving office, while the first person was convicted under a new "fake news" law. Legal Environment Malaysia's constitution provides citizens with "the right to freedom of speech and expression" but allows for limitations on that right. While some progovernment court decisions have disappointed freedom of expression advocates,[67] other rulings suggest more judicial independence. The government exercises tight control over online as well as print and broadcast media through laws like the Official Secrets Act and the Sedition Act, which dates to 1948. Violations can be punished with fines and several years in prison. Amendments in April 2015 widened the scope of the Sedition Act, allowing the government to block electronic content that is considered seditious.[68] The maximum penalty in general sedition cases is now seven years in prison, up from three years before the amendments. A new provision also allows for up to 20 years in prison for seditious activities that result in physical harm or destruction of property.[69] In October 2015, the Malaysian Federal Court rejected a constitutional challenge to the Sedition Act.[70] In the months before the general elections in May 2018, the BN government rushed through the Fake News Act of 2018, which it said was needed to curb the spread of fake news, especially through social media.[71] In pushing for the law, the government said the majority of Malaysians get fake or unverified news via WhatsApp, followed by Facebook, blogs, and other sources.[72] The sweeping law, which was debated and passed within a week, covers news, information, data, reports, images, or recordings in any form that are wholly or partly false. It is apparently an offense to possess, produce, offer, or share fake news content.[73] The law is applicable to non-Malaysians and to those outside the country, and offenders can be fined up to RM500,000 (US$125,000) or imprisoned for up to six years, or both. Those financially supporting the offenders would also be liable. Any failure to eradicate the production of fake news could lead to fines of up to RM100,000 (US$25,000). The courts can order the destruction of publications containing fake news. Critics said the new law was open to abuse in the hands of the government.[74] The online news portal Malaysiakini filed a court petition to have the law declared unconstitutional, as it imposed an "insurmountable burden" by requiring proof that every item published "by way of reportage or opinion is true in every sense."[75] The matter was pending in court at the end of the coverage period. The new government pledged to abolish the fake news law during the next Parliament sitting in June.[76] The lower house repealed the law in August, after this report's coverage period, but the upper house voted down the repeal bill in September, calling for the law to be revised rather than repealed outright.[77] Defamation is a criminal offense under Sections 499 to 520 of Malaysia's penal code. Media outlets benefit from stronger privileges under the Defamation Act of 1957 if they can prove that the content is accurate and was published without malice;[78] bloggers, who lack this protection, are at greater risk of punitive damages. The government has also pursued prosecutions for online content under the 1998 CMA. The act's broadly worded Section 211 bans content deemed "indecent, obscene, false, threatening, or offensive"; spreading such content over the internet constitutes "improper use of network facilities or network service" under Section 233. Amendments to the CMA and the related Communications and Multimedia Commission Act (CMCA) of 1998 were expected to be presented in late 2016,[79] including measures to curb the use of social media to inflame "religious and racial sensitivities" or support the "recruitment of terrorists."[80] Critics said the intention was to restrict criticism of the government.[81] A minister of the BN government argued that the planned amendments were not designed to limit free speech, but to "create a mechanism to detect irresponsible individuals who cause false news and slanderous allegations."[82] They have not been brought to Parliament yet. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities During this review period, internet users were arrested and prosecuted for online speech, including under the new Fake News Act. The Fake News Act was used for the first time in April 2018, when Danish national Salah Salem Saleh Sulaiman was fined RM10,000 (US$2,500) after posting a video on YouTube that accused police of taking 50 minutes to respond to the shooting of a Palestinian lecturer in Kuala Lumpur on April 21. Police said they took eight minutes to respond to the incident. The charge against Sulaiman said he had "with ill intent, published fake news through a video on YouTube." He failed to pay the fine and opted to spend a month in jail.[83] As cases from the last review period made their way through the courts, some additional defendants were sentenced for their online activity. Activist and graphic designer Fahmi Reza was sentenced to one month in jail and fined RM30,000 (US$7,500) in February 2018 for posting a caricature of then prime minister Najib on social media. He had first been charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA in June 2016.[84] Fahmi used an online crowd-funding campaign to raise the money for the fine, collecting the necessary sum within 18 hours. He remained free pending an appeal of his jail sentence.[85] In March 2018, a Facebook user was sentenced to eight months in jail for allegedly insulting the current head of state, Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan, in April 2017. She appealed the decision.[86] In April 2018, independent preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin was sentenced to nine months in jail for allegedly issuing seditious statements against another of the country's nine state-level constitutional monarchs, the sultan of Selangor, via Facebook in 2012. He also appealed his sentence.[87] Separately, in January 2018, an activist was arrested under the CMA for allegedly hurting religious feelings. The police were still investigating the matter at the end of the coverage period.[88] Other cases involving online speech that were filed under the sedition law or the CMA during the last review period were still pending. The targets included Facebook users accused of offending the crown prince of Johor,[89] a youth who allegedly insulted the sultan of Terengganu,[90] seven individuals who made comments about a deceased politician,[91] and two members of a civil society group who mentioned the sultan of Johor while criticizing environmental problems in the area.[92] A case involving the news outlet Malaysiakini was pending during the entirety of the reporting period, but later a court issued acquittals in September 2018, following the coverage period.[93] The MCMC raided the outlet's offices in November 2016 and seized two computers in response to a video uploaded on its subsidiary, KiniTV, in July of that year.[94] The video showed an opposition leader criticizing the attorney general at a press conference. KiniTV and its two directors were charged with improper network use under the CMA, which carries a jail term of up to one year and fines of up to RM50,000 (US$12,500), as well as a further fine of RM1,000 (US$250) for every day that the video remains available after conviction. News websites have also been subject to defamation charges. Najib and UMNO sued Malaysiakini in 2014 and three additional news sites in 2015.[95] Cabinet minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan filed a defamation suit against Malaysiakini in December 2015, saying he had failed to receive a satisfactory reply regarding a report that he said had misquoted him.[96] In April 2017, Najib threatened to sue an opposition lawmaker for allegedly defaming him in a Facebook video.[97] However, following his coalition's defeat in the May 2018 elections, Najib withdrew several defamation suits he had filed against his critics.[98] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity The extent of government surveillance of ICT content is not known, but privacy protections are generally poor.[99] There are legal provisions allowing for the police, prosecutors, and even the communications and multimedia minister to intercept communications online and via mobile phones. While judicial oversight is sometimes required, in practice the courts usually grant requests for interception warrants, and the laws are generally interpreted to mean that network operators and service providers should assist law enforcement and intelligence agencies even where clear procedures are lacking. A court order is not required for emergency interception in cases involving security offenses. Under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act of 2012, a police officer under the rank of superintendent of police may intercept communications without the authorization of the public prosecutor in urgent cases.[100] Since 2007, mobile phone owners, including customers using prepaid service, have been required to register as part of an effort to decrease rumor mongering.[101] The rule appears to have been weakly enforced and real-name registration is not required for participation in Malaysia's blogosphere or to use cybercafes. In April 2017, the Home Ministry separately denied reports on social media that it was passing new laws to spy on internet users.[102] The Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act of 2010, which regulates the processing of personal data in commercial transactions, came into effect in 2013. The law makes it illegal for commercial organizations to sell personal information or allow third parties to use it, with penalties of up to RM100,000 (US$25,000) or one year in prison. Federal and state governments are exempted from the law, as are data processed outside Malaysia.[103] The act requires that information about Malaysians be stored locally and limits conditions under which the data can be transferred abroad, though it is not clear how seriously those rules are enforced.[104] Some official agencies may have obtained equipment enabling them to monitor digital activity without oversight. In 2013, the University of Toronto-based research group Citizen Lab reported detecting software known as FinFisher described by its distributor Gamma International as "governmental IT intrusion and remote monitoring solutions" on 36 servers worldwide, including one in Malaysia.[105] The software potentially allows the server to steal passwords, tap Skype calls, or record audio and video without permission from other computers.[106] Citizen Lab later identified "a Malaysian election-related document" that it characterized as a "booby-trapped candidate list" containing surveillance software.[107] Because the spyware is only marketed to governments, "it is reasonable to assume that some government actor is responsible," the group concluded. A separate Citizen Lab report published in 2014 said a Malaysian government agency was a "current or former user" of Remote Control System spyware marketed by the Milan-based company Hacking Team.[108] In 2016, the Prime Minister's Office denied having purchased this spyware but could not confirm whether other government agencies had done so.[109] Intimidation and Violence Physical violence sporadically affects both traditional and online journalists, though no such cases were reported in the current review period. In October 2016, progovernment protesters intimidated three journalists, including one from a Malay-language news portal, who were covering a demonstration to promote free and fair elections. Three people were arrested for criminal intimidation in connection with the incident.[110] Technical Attacks No severe or crippling technical attacks aimed at suppressing political information were reported during this review period. However, there were several technical attacks targeting politicians and political websites on election day in May 2018. On May 9, 2018, the day of the general elections, politicians from both the incumbent BN coalition and the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition claimed that their phones were hacked, causing them to receive a wave of unsolicited calls from overseas.[111] Political parties also claimed that their websites were down. Later that night, the MCMC temporarily banned access to Malaysiakini[112] allegedly in the interest of public order.[113] The Communications and Multimedia Ministry under new minister Gobind Singh Deo said in late May that it was gathering reports on these alleged election-day cyberattacks.[114] In previous years, independent online news outlets and opposition-related websites have faced intense distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. DDoS attacks force sites to crash by overloading the host server with requests for content. Some observers believe such attacks are either sponsored or condoned by Malaysian security agencies, since they often align with government priorities. Notes: 1 Alzahrin Alias, 'Malaysia's Internet penetration is now 85.7 per cent', NST Online, March 19, 2018 https://bit.ly/2L8GSvC 2 Household Income and Expenditure Statistics, Statistics Department of Malaysia, accessed on May 31, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LLM4Xn 3 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission statistics, Q3 2016, http://bit.ly/2oBIohM 4 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, "Internet Users Survey 2016," http://bit.ly/2o8caaQ 5 Broadband plans in Malaysia, https://bit.ly/2o8d47r 6 World Bank, "GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)," International Comparison Program Database, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD 7 'MCMC Network Performance Report 2016: More Than Half Of Streamyx Users Experience Poor Service', Lowyat.net, Jan 31, 2017, http://bit.ly/2p96BwR 8 Adam Abu Bakar, 'Internet speed to double in 2 years', FMT, March 12, 2017, http://bit.ly/2pbm4JU 9 '4G is everywhere in Malaysia but slow, says global internet index', FMT, February 22, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LKRbqQ 10 Malaysian Budget 2017, http://bit.ly/2pwoWAd 11 'Govt looking at doubling internet speed at half the price: Gobind', theSun Daily, May 23, 2018, https://bit.ly/2H3qLx7 12 Patrick Lee, "Rais: We did not jam networks during Bersih," Free Malaysia Today, June 14, 2012, http://bit.ly/1vBS8HM 13 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Communications and Multimedia Pocket Book of Statistics 2017 https://bit.ly/2L6vZe0 14 Steven Patrick, "Jaring, the first Malaysian ISP, winds up," The Star Online, May 4, 2015, http://www.thestar.com.my/Tech/Tech-News/2015/05/04/Jaring-the-first-Malaysian-ISP-winds-up/ 15 G. Sharmila, "Why Broadband is Slower and Costlier in Malaysia," Kinibiz, September 8, 2014, http://www.kinibiz.com/story/issues/106653/why-broadband-is-slower-and-costlier-in-malaysia.html 16 Summary of shareholding in Telekom Malaysia, http://bit.ly/290zliY. 17 "A Glimpse At How Malaysia Internet Exchange Helps Shape The Country's Internet Experience," Lowyat, January 26, 2017, https://www.lowyat.net/2017/123979/a-glimpse-at-how-malaysia-internet-exchange-helps-shape-the-countrys-internet-experience/ 18 Michael Ruddy, "Broadband Infrastructure in the ASEAN Region," Terabit Consulting, presentation, http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/1%20Broadband-Infrastructure-in-the-ASEAN-9-Region.pdf 19 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Communications and Multimedia Pocket Book of Statistics 2017 https://bit.ly/2L6vZe0 20 Telekom Malaysia, http://www.123helpme.com/telekom-malaysia-expansion-view.asp?id=159596 21 Colin Kruger, "Billionaire eyes Australian media," The Sydney Morning Herald, May 28, 2011, http://bit.ly/1DZAsJk 22 Malaysian internet and mobile providers, http://bit.ly/28QSfcB 23 Peter Boon, "Cyber cafe licences not issued anymore Ministry," Borneo Post Online, October 15, 2012, http://bit.ly/1wj3DiD 24 Anith Adilah, "No more licences for clubs, new rules for cyber cafes, says ministry," Malay Mail Online, January 23, 2017, http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/no-more-licences-for-clubs-new-rules-for-cyber-cafes-says-ministry#6kuaeUmxPh2B6MCt.99 25 Melizarani T. Selva, "DBKL's new licence fees too high, say cybercafe owners," The Star, May 23, 2015, http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2015/05/23/dbkls-new-licence-fees-too-high-say-cybercafe-owners/ 26 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998, http://www.agc.gov.my/Akta/Vol.%2012/Act%20589.pdf 27 Eric Paulsen, 'Investigate MCMC, restrict its powers', Berita Daily, May 28, 2018, https://bit.ly/2xvEGwm 28 Human Rights Watch, "Malaysia: End Website Blocking, Politicized Investigations," July 22, 2015, http://bit.ly/1EoEOFL 29 "Spurned by Medium, MCMC strikes back, users suffer," Digital News Asia, January 27, 2016, http://bit.ly/1TLbYuG; https://medium.com/medium-legal/the-post-stays-up-d222e34cb7e7#.z1yom7jzk 30 "Putrajaya blocks access to Asia Sentinel, says portal," FreeMalaysiaToday, January 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/1RcLOex 31 "Malaysia Chronicle website blocked in Malaysia," FreeMalaysiaToday, October 24, 2015, http://bit.ly/1TKUUVN; "The Malaysian Insider news portal blocked by government," Channel News Asia, Feb 25, 2016, http://bit.ly/1T935LQ 32 "Salleh Said Keruak: TMI breached Communications Act," The Star Online, February 26, 2016, http://bit.ly/1LNKhtD 33 "Several blogs blocked for alleged violation of the laws," The Mole, January 28, 2016, http://bit.ly/1TfgYIo 34 'Sarawak Report and Medium.com unblocked', Malaysiakini, May 17, 2018, https://bit.ly/2J4p1Fu 35 "Internet providers need time to block porn site RedTube, says MCMC", The Malaysian Insider, December 22, 2014, http://bit.ly/1LIWqiG 36 Malaysia National ICT Initiative, "MSC Malaysia 10-Point Bill of Guarantees," https://www.mdec.my/msc-malaysia/bill-of-guarantees; Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, "Communications and Multimedia Act 1998," http://bit.ly/1zKzZ7k 37 Oiwan Lam and Leila Nachawati, "Malaysia: News Sites Face Attacks on Eve of Elections," Global Voices Advocacy, May 4, 2013, http://bit.ly/1AvO2kY 38 'MCMC: 167 cases of Internet abuse investigated till Feb', Bernama, March 8, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nNdCDs 39 '10,962 phishing sites blocked', Bernama, March 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2p9tIay 40 The Malaysians Communications and Multimedia Content Code, http://bit.ly/1DWt2Vm 41 Eva Galperin and Katrina Kaiser, "This Week in Internet Censorship: Points system for Weibo, Activist Released in Bahrain, Censorship in Malaysia, Ethiopia, and More," Electronic Frontier Foundation, May 31, 2012, http://bit.ly/1C8CXIG 42 Teoh El Sen, "Pakatan seeks to halt new evidence act," Free Malaysia Today, June 28, 2012, http://bit.ly/1JZ9sxc 43 Laws of Malaysia, "Evidence (Amendment) (no. 2) Act 2012," http://www.federalgazette.agc.gov.my/outputaktap/20120622_A1432_BI_Act%20A1432%20BI-evidence%20(amendment)%20(no.%202).pdf 44 A. Asohan, "Govt Stealthily Gazettes Evidence Act Amendment, Law is Now in Operation," Digital News Asia, August 8, 2012, http://bit.ly/1JZ9KUF 45 Freedom House, "Malaysia," in Freedom of the Press 2016, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/malaysia 46 List of news portals in Malaysia, http://bit.ly/294nuQ7 47 Akil Yunus, "The Star Online ranks as top news portal in Malaysia," The Star Online, December 22, 2014, http://bit.ly/1JGa6gb; "Top Sites in Malaysia," Alexa Web Information Company, http://bit.ly/1JQCKOt 48 Reporters Without Borders, "Court Rejects Government Appeal Against Print Version For News Website," October 31, 2013, http://bit.ly/1wjDgJm 49 Hafiz Yatim, "Malaysiakini wins court battle over print licence," Malaysiakini, October 1, 2012, http://bit.ly/V5bcKG; Human Rights Watch, "Malaysia," in World Report 2013, January 31, 2013, http://bit.ly/ZbdTes 50 "Malaysiakini & The Malaysian Insider banned from covering PMO," Selangor Kini, July 8, 2014, http://bit.ly/1De24Fa; Nigel Aw, "Mkini barred from PM's office twice in two weeks," Malaysiakini, July 8, 2014, http://bit.ly/1wjpy9c 51 'Independent Malaysian news site closes amid government clampdown on media', The Guardian, March 15, 2016, http://bit.ly/28VLqbs 52 Internet users survey 2017, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, https://bit.ly/2LLWaYh 53 Mahathir Mohamad, Facebook page, accessed on May 31, 2018, https://bit.ly/2mhJttM 54 Najib Razak, Facebook page, accessed May 31, 2018, https://bit.ly/2ft2nb0; NajibRazak (blog), accessed May 31, 2018, https://bit.ly/2FOWD9s 55 Polis Diraja on Facebook, http://on.fb.me/1yWkBtd 56 Joanna Yap, "PRS' Cyber-Troopers Ready for Coming Polls," Borneo Post Online, March 22, 2012, http://bit.ly/1EuCcsR; Lim Guan Eng, "Najib's new army of cyber troopers with a history of dirty tricks is proof that the 13th general election will be the dirtiest election yet," DapMalaysia, November 21, 2011, http://bit.ly/1MUPtib 57 K Pragalath, 'Netizens swamp Najib's Facebook to object fuel hike', Berita Daily, February 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oeRRbc. 58 Razak, Ahmad, 'Zahid: Umno should master use of social media', The Star Online, January 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oyR8Vt. 59 'Umno divisions told to activate IT bureaus for GE14', The Star Online, March 17, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oyFFFm 60 Sebenarnya.my, http://bit.ly/2oc8ll8. 61 'Govt launches portal to check fake news', Bernama, March 14, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ofhYP1 62 'Be mindful of fake news, Malaysians told', Berita Daily, Jan 11, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oHb756, and 'Najib slams Opposition's false propaganda', Berita Daily, March 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nN0Qoz 63 Ling Kwan, 'Jom Balik Undi' FB Group is Offering M'sians Free Rides Home to Vote for GE14, WorldofBuzz, April 11, 2018, https://bit.ly/2JmxEip 64 New Jo-Lyn, 'No transport to go back for GE14? Here's where you can carpool with other Malaysians', April 11, 2018, CiliSos.my, https://bit.ly/2LMwhHN 65 'Najib and wife's flight schedule goes viral', Malaysiakini, May 11, 2018, https://bit.ly/2kBIdQl 66 "Malaysian Police Threaten Internet Users for Sharing Clown Memes of Prime Minister," Global Voices Advocacy, February 13, 2016, https://advox.globalvoices.org/2016/02/13/malaysian-police-threaten-internet-users-for-sharing-clown-memes-of-prime-minister/ 67 Reporters Without Borders, "Court's Ruling on Cartoonist's Suit Sets Disturbing Precedent for Media Freedom," July 31, 2012, http://bit.ly/1EVNG6M 68 Anisah Shukry and Eileen Ng, "Sedition Act stays, says Najib," November 27, 2014, http://bit.ly/1uKsQQF; Trinna Leong and Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah, "Malaysia toughens sedition law to include online media ban, mandatory jail," ed. Paul Tait, Reuters, April 10, 2015, http://reut.rs/1Ykub33; "Amendments to Sedition Act passed with several changes", New Straits Times, April 10, 2015, http://bit.ly/1acd664; Marie Harf, "Malaysia's Sedition Act Amendments," US Department of State, press statement, April 14, 2015, http://1.usa.gov/1OQB6ii. 69 Mong Palatino, "Malaysia strengthens Sedition Act," The Diplomat, April 13, 2015, http://bit.ly/1IJCBJg. 70 Human Rights Watch, "Space for public debate and free speech is rapidly narrowing in Malaysia, says new report," via IFEX, October 28, 2015, https://www.ifex.org/malaysia/2015/10/28/report_criticism_crime/; Article 19, "Malaysia: Sedition Act upheld in further blow to free expression," via IFEX, October 13, 2015,https://www.ifex.org/malaysia/2015/10/13/court_ruling_sedition_act/. 71 'Anti-Fake News Act 2018 gazetted', Bernama, April 12, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LJVz9P 72 'WhatsApp, Facebook main sources of fake news for Malaysians', NST Online, March 26, 2018, https://bit.ly/2I5QmGx 73 Eric Paulsen, 'Anti-Fake News Bill exaggerates problem of fake news', Berita Daily, March 27, 2018, https://bit.ly/2xwsLhK 74 'Malaysia accused of muzzling critics with jail term for fake news.' The Guardian, March 26, 2018, https://bit.ly/2L77htU 75 'Malaysian news company seeks to have anti-fake news law revoked', Reuters, April 27, 2018, https://reut.rs/2kBtXqT 76 'Fake news law may be scrapped in June session', Bernama, May 28, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LG3bKp; https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/17/asia/malaysia-fake-news-law-repeal-intl/index.html 77 https://www.ifex.org/malaysia/2018/09/14/fake_news_bill_rejected/ 78 Abdul Latiff Ahmad et al., "Regulating Blogs in Malaysia," The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal 16, no. 3 (2011), http://bit.ly/1BMUO8r 79 "Regulation for social media in proposed amendments to communication acts," The Malaysian Insider, June 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1TsbtkR 80 S. Neishasa, "Proposal to control social media desperate," Berita Daily, August 3, 2015, http://bit.ly/1Emnhyb 81 S. Neishasa, "Proposal to register online news portals ridiculous," Berita Daily, August 6, 2015, http://bit.ly/1N2cCkb 82 "We are not planning to censor free speech," Berita Daily, August 14, 2015, http://bit.ly/1TgO1fh 83 'First person convicted under Malaysia's fake news law,' The Guardian, April 30, 2018, https://bit.ly/2Ft3CTZ 84 'Fahmi Reza jailed one month, fined RM30,000 over offensive caricature of PM', The Star Online, Feb 20, 2018, https://bit.ly/2H93olV 85 'Fahmi Reza raises over RM30,000 through crowdfunding to pay fine', The Star Online, Feb 23, 2018, https://bit.ly/2kDNbMB 86 'Housewife jailed 8 months for insulting Agong on Facebook', theSun Daily, March 25, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HckH5l 87 'Wan Ji sentenced to 9 months jail for seditious statements', Berita Daily, April 9, 2018, https://bit.ly/2H93IRF 88 'Activist arrested for allegedly hurting religious feelings', The Malaysian Insight, Jan 29, 2018, https://bit.ly/2H9YepF 89 Low Sock Ken,'Man arrested for offensive Facebook post against Sultan Johor', The Sun Daily, January 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nMYQg1 'Man arrested for insulting Sultan of Johor in Facebook posting', Astro Awani, March 24, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ouHz8w, Low Sock Ken, 'Woman held for offensive statement against Johor Sultan', The Sun Daily, April 12, 2017, http://bit.ly/2p3yUNy 90 'Police arrest youth for allegedly insulting Terengganu Sultan', Malay Mail Online, April 13, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oc7ZLg. 91 'Student arrested over Facebook posting about Adenan', Malay Mail Online, January 14, 2017, http://bit.ly/2pBf1tb. 92 Alfian ZM Tahir, 'Two activists arrested for FB posting, remanded 3 days', Berita Daily, December 23, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oc8RQ2 93 Hafiz Yatim, 'Court postpones KiniTV directors' trial over AG video', Malaysiakini, May 15, 2018, https://bit.ly/2Jlgwt1; https://www.malaymail.com/s/1674558/court-acquits-malaysiakini-bosses-over-airing-video-against-ex-ag-apandi 94 P Divakaran, 'MCMC raids Malaysiakini', The Star Online, November 8, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nN7BH6 95 "Najib and Umno sue Malaysiakini," The Star Online, June 4, 2014, http://bit.ly/1EuzNOR 96 "Minister to sue Malaysiakini over 'reverse migration' report," Malaysiakini, December 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1n7IDfO 97 'Najib demands Tony Pua apologise, retract defamatory statements', Bernama, April 11, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ozgoLp 98 'Najib withdraws third libel suit over 1MDB', The Malaysian Insight, June 1, 2018, https://bit.ly/2swIsjf 99 Privacy International, Final Report for "Privacy in Asia" Scoping Project, November 2009, https://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/handle/10625/40000. 100 Telecommunications Industry Dialogue, "Malaysia Country Profile," http://www.telecomindustrydialogue.org/resources/malaysia/. 101 "Dec 15 Registration Deadline Stays: MCMC," Bernama, August 18, 2006, http://bit.ly/1zq73QJ 102 'Home Ministry: No new law on phone, internet surveillance', Berita Daily, April 14, 2017, http://bit.ly/2peDFn1 103 Barry Ooi, "How the Personal Data Protection Act Impacts the Market Research Industry," The Star, December 29, 2012, https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2012/12/29/how-the-personal-data-protection-act-impacts-the-market-research-industry/. 104 Anupam Chander and Uyen P. Le, "Breaking the Web: Data Localization vs. the Global Internet," (UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 378, Emory Law Journal, April 2014), http://bit.ly/1Bq2KuA 105 Morgan Marquis-Boire et al., "You Only Click Twice: FinFisher's Global Proliferation," Citizen Lab, March 13, 2013, http://bit.ly/1grgVFd. 106 Boo Su-Lyn, "Malaysia uses spyware against own citizens, NYT reports," The Malaysian Insider, March 14, 2013, http://bit.ly/1E52SSf. The original New York Times article: Nicole Perlroth, "Researchers Find 25 Countries Using Surveillance Software," The Business of Technology (blog), The New York Times March 13, 2013, http://nyti.ms/1G2XSOv 107 "Short Background: Citizen Lab Research on FinFisher Presence in Malaysia," Citizen Lab, May 2013, http://bit.ly/1zNT7Bo 108 Bill Marczak et al, "Mapping Hacking Team's "Untraceable" Spyware," Citizen Lab, February 17, 2014, http://bit.ly/1kPDo0Y 109 "No, PMO did not buy spyware, reiterates Azalina," Berita Daily, January 1, 2016, http://bit.ly/1Qd9ceg 110 'Three Red Shirts nabbed for assaulting journalists', Berita Daily, October 17, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ocu0d1 111 'MCMC says spam calls came from unknown bot attacks', The Star Online, May 9, 2018, https://bit.ly/2J3DbXF 112 Sinar Project's internet censorship monitoring 14th Malaysian general elections, https://bit.ly/2LLUvlv 113 MCMC explains why it blocked M'kini's GE14 page, Malaysiakini, May 18, 2018, https://bit.ly/2J2VZ9l 114 Zanariah Abd Mutalib, 'Ministry gathering reports on cyber attacks on polling day Gobind Singh', theSun Daily, May 27, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LMBDTC Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Kenya Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Kenya, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b0ba.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 32/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 49.7 millions Internet Penetration: 26% Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 Overt tensions with the ICT ministry tested he independence of the Communications Authority (see Regulatory Environment). Online manipulation and disinformation tactics on social media proliferated during the 2017 elections season, including coordinated pro-government bloggers who effectively manipulated conversations on Twitter and Facebook (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). The new Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, passed in May 2018, imposes penalties of up to 10 years in prison for the publication of "false" or "fictitious" information that results in "panic" or is "likely to discredit the reputation of a person (see Legal Environment). A number of citizens were arrested for alleged hate speech or criticizing the government online (see Prosecutions and Arrests for Online Activities). The High Court of Kenya ruled unconstitutional in April 2018 the regulator's plan to implement a system that would have provided access to mobile subscriber data (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). The 2017 elections period saw multiple hacking attempts of the election commission's website (see Technical Attacks). Introduction: Internet freedom in Kenya declined in the past year due to coordinated online misinformation campaigns that effectively manipulated information during the 2017 elections season, as well as the passage of a cybercrime law that penalizes the publication of false news with prison sentences up to ten years. As one of the most wired countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya boasts a growing tech savvy population and a vibrant online information landscape. Political content is not systematically censored, though content is periodically targeted for violating the country's social mores. For example, the movie "Rafiki" was banned from web and TV broadcasts in April 2018 for ostensibly promoting homosexuality in violation of "moral values." In the past year, Kenya's vibrant online sphere has seen the proliferation of semi-organized "bloggers for hire" who use their collective clout on Twitter and Facebook to manipulate the online information landscape and shape public opinion. Online manipulation was particularly pronounced during the 2017 elections season. Propaganda, hate speech, and social media campaigns targeted individuals or organizations affiliated with the opposing side, including via paid Google Ads and Facebook sponsored posts. The controversial firm Cambridge Analytica was revealed to have been behind two websites that were used extensively during the general elections campaigns, one of which spread hate speech; the other spread positive narratives favoring the incumbent candidate, President Uhuru Kenyatta. The new Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, passed in May 2018, threatens to further restrict online freedom of expression. The law imposes penalties of up to 10 years in prison for the publication of "false" or "fictitious" information that results in "panic" or is "likely to discredit the reputation of a person." In June 2018, the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) successfully appealed the problematic provisions of the law, which were subsequently suspended until the court could hear the case. Despite the negative trajectory, Kenya's civil society has been active in pushing back against internet freedom violations. The Kenyan judiciary is also independent and has protected the fundamental rights of citizens online when activists have filed cases against government infringements. Most recently in April 2018, the High Court of Kenya ruled unconstitutional the Communication Authority's plan to implement a Device Management System that would have provided the authority with access to mobile subscriber data, including call data records. Obstacles to Access: Access to the internet continued to improve, particularly on mobile devices. Overt tensions with the ICT ministry tested the independence of the Communications Authority. Availability and Ease of Access Kenya's Vision2030 Medium Term Plan (2013-2017), the second phase in the implementation of the country's development plan, considers information and communication technologies (ICT) as a key foundation for national transformation.[1] Focusing on devolution (decentralization) and building equity across the country, the government has prioritized the expansion of ICT capacity, with internet connectivity being a key pillar.[2] Access has continued to grow due to the increasing affordability of internet service. According to government data by the Communications Authority, broadband penetration grew to 43 percent in March 2018, up from 40 percent at the end of 2017.[3] The regulator also reported nearly 43 million mobile phone subscriptions for a penetration rate of 95.1 percent as of March 2018, up from 88.2 percent the previous year.[4] Nevertheless, subscription statistics may not reflect actual usage. Many Kenyans have more than one mobile subscription, and the numbers reported by the Communications Authority include corporate registrations. Actual mobile usage by private individuals is thus much lower.[5] The data also contrasts sharply with the latest figures from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which estimated Kenya's internet penetration at 26 percent in 2016.[6] Internet speeds in Kenya have also made great strides. According to a report by the Worldwide Broadband Speed League, Kenya had the second fastest internet in Africa, following Madagascar, and ranked 64th globally with average download speeds of 10.1 Mbps in 2018.[7] Nonetheless, internet access and affordability varies between urban and rural areas, and there is a digital divide based on gender, with more male mobile and internet users than women.[8] Large rural areas have not been able to benefit from Kenya's high-capacity bandwidth in part due to market disparities and weaknesses in last mile connectivity, which is expensive and requires basic infrastructure such as electricity and roads that are often poorly developed. The National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) aims to improve telecommunications across the country's newly devolved governance structures and increase delivery of e-government services, such as applications for national identity cards or passports and registration of births and deaths.[9] The Universal Service Fund (USF) established in 2013 also aims to expand mobile and internet services to close the digital divide.[10] Restrictions on Connectivity During the year under review, there were no reports of the government controlling the internet infrastructure to limit connectivity. Disruptions were last reported in April 2017 when Safaricom networks were offline between 9am and 5pm, which the company attributed to technical failures.[11] The outage affected over 30 million subscribers who rely on the operator's voice, SMS, data, web-hosting, and mobile money services.[12] Kenya connects to the international internet via four undersea cables SEACOM, the East Africa Marine System (TEAMS), EASSY, and Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION2), with three others (Africa1, Djibouti Africa Regional Express (DARE), and Liquid Sea) landing in Mombasa.[13] License provision for access to the international gateway was liberalized in 2004.[14] The Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP) is run and operated by the Telecommunication Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK), a non-profit organization representing the interests of internet service providers (ISPs). The KIXP keeps Kenyan internet traffic in the country, lowering the cost of connectivity. A second IXP was established in Mombasa, but its failure to attract enough users led to its closure.[15] With support from the African Union, a backup IXP was established in 2016 to further lower costs of internet connectivity among ISPs.[16] ICT Market The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) is mandated with licensing all communication systems and services in a liberalized market structure. Due to the hybrid nature of communication systems, the regulator set up a Unified Licensing Framework (ULF), which is technology and service neutral.[17] As of April 2018, the regulator listed 3 submarine cable landing rights operators and 57 network facilities providers (3 of which are national providers while the remaining 54 are regional).[18] These licensees provide, among other things, facilities for internet, voice, and mobile virtual operations. Cybercafes are licensed as business units by local governments, and there are no special regulatory or economic obstacles to their establishment. There are six mobile service providers Safaricom, Airtel, Equitel, Telkom, Mobile Pay Limited, and Sema.[19] The Kenyan government has partial ownership of Safaricom Limited (35 percent) and Telkom Kenya (40 percent).[20] Safaricom dominates the mobile market with 71 percent of all mobile subscriptions and 68 percent of internet subscriptions. As such, there have been calls to declare Safaricom a dominant player, which would trigger safeguards against dominance abuse.[21] This has been met with stiff opposition from the company, the competition authority, the ICT cabinet secretary, and some legislators who claim Safaricom's market share does not amount to abuse under the Competition Act 2011.[22] The sector regulator, despite commissioning a report on the issue, was clear that it did not favor splitting Safaricom, one of the report's recommendations.[23] In January 2018, the regulator dropped plans to split Safaricom.[24] In July 2018, the Parliamentary Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation opened investigations on the mobile sector to identify legislative and regulatory gaps that may lead to anti-competitive behavior or restrict growth within the sector.[25] Regulatory Bodies Kenya's telecommunications sector is regulated by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), established as an independent agency by the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA).[26] The management of the authority is vested in a board of directors that consists of a chairperson appointed by the president, three principal secretaries hired by the public service commission, and seven persons appointed by the cabinet secretary of the ICT ministry.[27] The day-to-day operations of the regulator are managed by a director general who is appointed by the board for a four-year term, renewable only once.[28] The director general is an ex officio member of the board without any voting rights. While the authority's independence and interaction procedures with other government bodies are provided for under section 5 of KICA, there were overt displays of tension in the past year between the ICT ministry and the board of directors on the one side, and the regulator's director on the other side. Top issues of contention between the two sides included the contested implementation of the telecommunication dominance report, requests from the permanent secretary for out-of-line funds such as the presidential swearing-in, and the president's April 2018 transfer order of KES 1 billion (USD $10 million) from the Universal Service Fund (USF) managed by the CA to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to fight cybercrime.[29] In January 2018, the CA board sent the director general on a three-month compulsory leave, ostensibly to allow for an independent audit on the regulator's hiring processes. A labor court lifted the suspension, pending a full hearing and determination of a case filed by the director general.[30] In an affidavit, the director general stated that he was "being victimised after rejecting interference in the running of the authority from . . . the Ministry of Information and Communication (ICT)."[31] The CA board and the director general have entered in and out of talks to resolve their differences, but not without further friction for example, police officers refused the director general access to his office, prompting a contempt case against the CA board and the ICT ministry.[32] Judicial intervention may have reinstated some semblance of order in the institution, but the highly publicized differences between the regulator's board and its administration have eroded both its public perception of independence and functional integrity. Limits on Content: Content is periodically restricted for violating Kenyan social mores, though censorship is not systematic. The 2017 elections season saw the proliferation of online manipulation and disinformation tactics on social media, including coordinated pro-government bloggers who effectively manipulated conversations on Twitter and Facebook. Digital activism remained vibrant. Blocking and Filtering Political and social content is not generally subject to blocking in Kenya. Network measurements to detect Internet censorship conducted between June 2017 and July 2018 indicates no censored website out of the tested list.[33] This was a continuation of research findings made in a December 2016 report, by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) in partnership with Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI). Out of the 1,357 websites tested on four of the country's leading networks, there were no observed signs of censorship. Social networking platforms and communication applications such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn were also fully accessible.[34] Nonetheless, the government periodically polices the internet for content that is perceived to be morally objectionable (see Content Removal). The internet remained unrestricted during the contested post-election period, including when the government jammed the signals of three leading television stations for planning to air opposition leader Raila Odinga's unofficial inauguration in January 2018.[35] The networks' websites were not blocked, enabling them to stream the events online.[36] Content Removal The state has increasingly sought to have content removed online, with government officials, politicians, and religious leaders pointing to certain laws, religion, or morality as justification. In April 2018, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) restricted the distribution, exhibition, or broadcast of the "Rafiki" film in any form or on any platform, including online, in Kenya on the grounds that the film promoted homosexuality.[37] The previous June, the KFCB also banned six children's television programs for ostensibly promoting homosexuality "against our Kenya's moral values and culture."[38] The programs had aired on broadcast and online channels. The Kenyan penal code criminalizes same sex relationships, and the KFCB routinely discriminates against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex) projects.[39] The government also requests for content to be removed from popular online platforms, such as Facebook and Google. Between July and December 2017, Facebook reportedly restricted access to 13 items in Kenya for allegedly violating the country's hate speech and election laws during the 2017 presidential elections.[40] During the same period, Google reported receiving two takedown requests from the executive branch for blogs marked as hate speech, though none were taken down.[41] Some reports indicate that the authorities may force users to remove certain content from their social media profiles. In one example, blogger Robert Alai removed content from his Facebook page in August 2017 in relation to a report that got him arrested (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities).[42] Internet intermediaries in Kenya can be held liable for illegal content, such as copyright and hate speech, though they are not required to actively monitor traffic passing through their networks unless they are made aware of illegal content.[43] Under the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008, which outlaws hate speech, a media enterprise can be fined up to KES 1 million (US$11,000) for publishing "utterances" that can be characterized as hate speech under the law's broad definition.[44] This provision can be invoked to block or take down online content, according to the Association of Progressive Communications.[45] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Kenya's online information landscape is diverse and vibrant, representing a wide range of issues and viewpoints. Social media has become an influential platform for journalists to source and share news. Traditional broadcast media have increasingly adapted their programming to align with social media and interact with viewers in real time on Twitter or Facebook. This vibrant landscape has also seen the proliferation of semi-organized "bloggers for hire" who use their collective clout on Twitter and Facebook to shape public opinion and manipulate the online information landscape.[46] One such grouping is known as the "36 Bloggers," referring to the number of members on the alleged team of bloggers within the Office of the President Directorate of Digital Communication. Another group is known as the "527 militia," with 527 ostensibly signifying the amount of Kenyan shillings paid to each blogger to tweet certain hashtags. M-PESA, the supposed channel used to pay the bloggers, charges 27 shillings as a transaction fee, so it is believed that the bloggers receive 500 shillings (approximately US $5) for their work and paid 527 shillings to cover the transaction fee.[47] During the 2017 elections season, social media enabled opinion influencers to proliferate, unfortunately leading to online manipulation and overt disinformation. A number of news websites were registered with legitimate-sounding names to disseminate false news, such as CNN Channel 1 (cnnchannel1.com),[48] undermining the quality of information available online. Propaganda, hate speech, and social media campaigns targeting individuals or organizations affiliated with the opposing side was common during the elections, including via paid Google Ads and Facebook sponsored posts.[49] In an investigative piece, Channel4 UK recorded Cambridge Analytica staff admitting their role in the Kenyan election.[50] The company was linked to two websites that were used extensively during the general elections campaigns therealraila.com and uhuruforus.com.[51] The former spread hate speech and negative ads against the main opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, while the latter site spread positive narratives favoring the incumbent.[52] July 2018 research analyzing social media trends in Africa found that political bots during the 2017 elections were highly influential in shaping Kenya's political discourse online. During both the August elections period and the October re-election, bots had 25 percent and 28 percent influence, respectively, on online discourse, according to the "How Africa Tweets" report. Though the researchers were unable to identify the parties behind the bot armies, the automated communications worked to "undermine the influence of media outlets, independent bloggers, government entities, and even messages from politicians and campaigners themselves."[53] In advance of the elections, the Communications Authority gazetted in June 2017 new guidelines to curb online abuse in partnership with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), a statutory body which seeks to reduce inter-ethnic conflict.[54] However, the guidelines included broad wording as the basis for penalties, prohibiting political messages that "contain offensive, abusive, insulting, misleading, confusing, obscene or profane language," which could be used to limit legitimate online expression. The guidelines also required administrators of social media pages to "moderate and control the content and discussions generated on their platform," and gave mobile network operators the power to refuse at their discretion the transmission of political messages that do not comply with the guidelines.[55] In addition, bulk political messages required prior approval from the NCIC. There are no economic constraints on online media in Kenya, which has helped online outlets thrive, though the government has been known to use its advertisement spending to influence the media's editorial choices, resulting in financially-induced self-censorship.[56] Media outlets also determine the tone of their content out of fear of upsetting other primary advertisers.[57] Bloggers and social media personalities have gained influential status over the past few years. Fast and affordable internet in major cities and towns has enabled Kenya's growing class of digitally skilled citizens to create content and alternative sources of news and information. According to the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) formed in 2011 to support Kenya's blogging community their annual blog awards have grown from 400 blogs in 2011 to 10,000 in 2017.[58] The exponential growth in blogs has created an economically viable industry for bloggers who are increasingly sought by Kenyan businesses as a platform for advertising.[59] Digital Activism Social media, especially Twitter, continues to be a critical platform for socio-political debate, organization, and mobilization around topical issues in Kenya. The examples below point to key instances this was exemplified during the period under review: Twitter adopted #ElectionsKE and #KenyaDecides as the supported "official" hashtags for the 2017 elections, together with the Kenyan flag emoji. [60] The hashtag allowed for simplified aggregation of dynamic election news. In late 2017, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) deployed the hashtag #LipaKamaTender to inform the Kenyan citizenry on the dysfunctional health ecosystem while also pushing the government to honor its commitment to a collective-bargaining agreement that committed the government to increase pay and restore dilapidated public health facilities, among other issues. [61] After a protracted doctor's strike, the government ceded to some key labor demands. KMPDU continues to use the hashtag to organize around healthcare in Kenya. [62] The hashtag #SwitchoffKPLC has been used to create awareness and mobilize citizens around the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, a company that owns and operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution system in the country, on inflated consumer bills. [63] Online activism urged Kenyans to submit their power bills to a Nairobi lawyer, who used them as evidence to file a petition against the company in court. [64] In July 2018, 20 KPLC managers were charged in court over sub-standard transformers, partly vindicating the city lawyer's petition, which is still in court as of mid-2018. [65] Other prominent campaigns include #SGRSlavery a campaign to amplify an investigation conducted by Standard Media Group on the state of the Chinese-built and operated railway and #SomeoneTellChathamHouse a campaign to pushback against Chatham House's invitation to a Kenyan governor whose tenure as a Cabinet Secretary was tainted with corruption scandals.[66] Violations of User Rights: The new Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, passed in May 2018, penalizes the publication of false information with up to 10 years in prison. A number of citizens were arrested for alleged hate speech or criticizing the government, with several incidents occurring around the 2017 elections period. The elections period also saw multiple hacking attempts of the election commission's website. Legal Environment Freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 33 of Kenya's 2010 constitution and includes the right to seek, receive, or impart information and ideas, while Article 31 provides for the right to privacy. These rights, however, do not extend to propaganda, hate speech, or incitement to violence. Hate speech is penalized under the 2008 National Cohesion and Integration Act, a law that was passed in response to widespread ethnic violence following the 2007 general elections.[67] Individuals found guilty of spreading hate speech, broadly defined, can be fined up to KES 1 million (US$11,000), sentenced to up to three years in prison, or both. The new Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, passed in May 2018, threatens to further restrict online freedom of expression. The law imposes penalties of up to 10 years in prison for the publication of "false" or "fictitious" information that results in "panic" or is "likely to discredit the reputation of a person."[68] In June 2018, the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) successfully appealed 26 problematic provisions of the law,[69] which were subsequently suspended until the court could hear the case.[70] A high court judge ruled in October 2018 that the provisions would remain suspended until November,[71] despite the government's efforts to seek a judicial review of the ruling, arguing that that the judiciary erred in its suspension. The Kenyan judiciary is independent and has made several moves to protect the fundamental rights of citizens online in the past few years. In April 2018, the High Court of Kenya ruled unconstitutional the Communication Authority's plan to implement a Device Management System introduced in January 2017 that would have provided the authority with access to mobile subscriber data, including call data records (see also Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Previously in April 2017, the High Court ruled Section 132 of the penal code unconstitutional,[72] which had penalized "undermining the authority of public officers" and had been used to prosecute online and offline speech.[73] Section 29 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA) was separately ruled unconstitutional in April 2016.[74] Section 29 had penalized bloggers and social media users for using ICTs to disseminate messages deemed to be "grossly offensive" or to cause "annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another person," with a fine of up to KSH 50,000, three years in prison, or both.[75] Other proposed laws seek to protect the rights of Kenyan internet users. The Data Protection Bill 2013, though still in draft form and in need of critical revisions as of mid-2017, aims to regulate the collection, processing, storing, use, and disclosure of information relating to individuals processed through automated or manual means.[76] The current absence of a strong data protection law threatens citizens' privacy rights amid rising concerns over unchecked government surveillance (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Numerous Kenyan bloggers and social media users were arrested or summoned for questioning during this report's coverage period, continuing an alarming trend that has grown in recent years. A number of arrests, prosecutions, or legal repercussions for online activities were for alleged hate speech, with several incidents occurring around the 2017 elections period: In July 2017, blogger Paul Odhiambo was arrested for spreading alleged hate speech on Facebook and WhatsApp. [77] In August 2017, Robert Alai, a popular blogger and social media influencer, was arrested in connection with information he published about the health of a family member of President Kenyatta. [78] Content posted on his Facebook page in relation to the story was removed without explanation (see Content Removal). Alai has been arrested numerous times for online speech. Shortly after the August 2017 elections, Japeth Mulewa was arrested for being an administrator of a WhatsApp group that was allegedly spreading hate. [79] Another WhatsApp group administrator, Longton Jamil, was arrested in August 2017 for allegedly spreading false information on the platform. [80] In September 2017, Oliver Nyabwazi Moraira was arrested for allegedly posting hate speech on her Facebook page. [81] Yet another blogger, Cyprian Nyakundi, was arrested in May 2018 for allegedly "alarming" posts on his blog and Twitter account about senior civil servants. Some of the posts included allegations from a whistle-blower about bribes some civil servants received for land deals for public schools in Nairobi, which could be prosecuted under the penal code for publishing false statements that "cause fear and alarm to the public."[82] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity The government's unlawful and disproportionate surveillance capabilities have become more evident in the past couple of years, particularly as the country prepared for national elections in August 2017. The Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA) prohibits unlawful monitoring and interception of communications,[83] though the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012 allows the authorities to limit constitutional freedoms, such as the right to privacy, during terrorist investigations.[84] Amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2014 explicitly enable national security bodies to intercept communications "for the purposes of detecting, deterring and disrupting terrorism,"[85] which must be authorized by an interception order granted by the High Court.[86] The UK-based nonprofit Privacy International (PI) reported that Safaricom, Kenya's leading mobile internet provider, routinely provides data to authorities without a warrant for intelligence purposes; Safaricom said it only cooperates based on court orders.[87] Independent research in recent years has revealed various types of surveillance technologies that the Kenyan authorities or other actors may employ to monitor citizens. Most recently in September 2018, The Citizen Lab published findings on the presence of Israeli-based NSO Group mobile phone spyware on two Kenyan ISPs, Safaricom and SimbaNet.[88] In March 2017, research published by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) revealed the presence of a "middle-box" on a Safaricom cellular network.[89] While middle-boxes have legitimate functions such as network optimization, they can also be used to manipulate traffic and assist in surveillance, raising alarms about possible privacy violations. Safaricom denied the existence of the box, and subsequent tests returned negative results, leading the researchers to conclude that it was withdrawn. PI separately revealed that national security agencies in Kenya, especially the NIS, have unlawful direct access to communication systems in Kenya that allows for the interception of both data and content.[90] Based on interviews, PI found that law enforcement and national security agents have a physical presence in the telecoms' facilities. The report also indicated that intercepted information could be freely shared with other government agencies. In a follow-up report published in July 2017, PI assessed two of the NIS's new cybersecurity projects the Network Early Warning System, and the National Intrusion Detection and Prevention System which aim to monitor telecommunications traffic for cybersecurity threats. PI raised concerns that the two systems could monitor content as well as internet traffic, based on internal documents it received.[91] Given the national security framework in which the systems are being implemented, transparency and oversight will be limited. In a positive development, in April 2018, the High Court of Kenya ruled unconstitutional the Communication Authority's plan to implement a Device Management System introduced in January 2017 that would have provided the authority with access to mobile subscriber data, including call data records. The government argued that the system was necessary for identifying illegal devices. The High Court ruled that the system would infringe on subscribers' right to privacy.[92] Anonymity is compromised by the expanding scope of mandatory SIM card registration requirements. In 2017, Safaricom began documenting anyone registering for or renewing a SIM card.[93] This was an extension of the existing SIM card registration requirements under the Kenya Information and Communications (Registration of SIM-Cards) Regulations, 2015, which prescribes penalties of up to KES 300,000 (US$3,500) or imprisonment of up to six months, or both, for failure to abide by the registration requirements.[94] The regulations also grant the communications regulator with access to service providers' offices and records without a court order, raising concerns over the lack of judicial oversight.[95] Intimidation and Violence Bloggers and internet users have faced increasing intimidation and violence for their online activities in recent years. During the elections, the authorities often destroyed cameras and phones of journalists to suppress reporting on the elections violence and the documentation of human rights violations.[96] Technical Attacks During the 2017 elections period, there were multiple hacking attempts of the election commission's website,[97] while the opposition claimed the electoral results were hacked, leading to the opposition candidate's loss.[98] None of the hacking claims were substantiated. The mysterious sudden death of the electoral commission's IT manager, Chris Msando, days before the August elections did little to dispel concerns about the security and integrity of the electoral polling systems.[99] Otherwise, there were no reported cases of politically motivated technical violence against civil society, independent news, or opposition websites during the coverage period. However, a technical attack against opposition politicians may have been attempted in the past.[100] Notes: 1 GoK, 2013: Second Medium Term Plan, 2013 2017: Transforming Kenya: Pathway To Devolution, Socio Economic Development, Equity And National Unity. Page 21 2 See for example, Ministry of ICT Strategic Plan (2013-2017) and Master Plan (2013/14 2017/18), http://www.ict.go.ke/downloads-2/ 3 Communications Authority of Kenya, Quarterly Sector Statistics Report: Q3 FY 2017/2018 (January-March 2018), https://ca.go.ke/document/sector-statistics-report-q3-2017-18/ 4 Communications Authority of Kenya, Quarterly Sector Statistics Report: Q3 FY 2017/2018 (January-March 2018). 5 For more on this, see Chapter 5 of Measuring the Information Society, 2016, by ITU, http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/mis2016.aspx 6 International Telecommunication Union, "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet, 2000-2016," http://bit.ly/1cblxxY. NB: ITU data published in 2016 retroactively revised its timeseries data for Kenya's internet penetration. In its 2015 dataset, internet penetration was estimated at 45.6 percent. The 2016 dataset revised the 2015 figure to 21 percent. No explanations were provided for the revisions. 7 https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2018/07/kenya-has-second-fastest-internet-in-africa-survey/ 8 Based on Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Economic Survey, 2017. For gender disparity, see page 249, accessed on 4 June 2017, http://www.devolutionplanning.go.ke/images/hb/Economic%20Survey%202017.pdf 9 ICT Authority, "National Fibre Optic to cover all 47 counties by December 2015" http://www.icta.go.ke/nofbi-update/. 10 Muthoki Mumo, "Sh74 billion needed to bridge Kenya's yawning digital divide," Daily Nation, May 28, 2013. http://bit.ly/1lPvXUo. 11 Mumo, Muthoki, "Safaricom outage leaves millions off network for hours," Daily Nation, April 24, 2017, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Safaricom-network-breakdown-affects-millions/1056-3901410-ixo1sqz/index.html 12 Mwita, Weitere, "CA to punish Safaricom over Monday's network downtime," The Star, April 24, 2017, https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/04/24/ca-to-punish-safaricom-over-mondays-network-downtime_c1548904 13 TeleGeography, accessed on 14 June 2017, http://www.submarinecablemap.com/#/country/kenya 14 David Souter and Monica Kerretts-Makau, "Internet Governance in Kenya An Assessment for the Internet Society," Internet Society, September 2012, http://bit.ly/1M0d9xv. 15 "Mombasa Internet traffic re-routed to Nairobi hub," Business Daily, June 8, 2015,, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/Mombasa-Internet-traffic-re-routed-to-Nairobi-hub/539550-2744864-ff86de/index.html 16 "Mombasa tipped to be region's internet hub after IXP launch," The Standard, June 23, 2016, https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000206339/mombasa-tipped-to-be-region-s-internet-hub-after-ixp-launch 17 CA, Accessed on 18 May 2017, http://www.ca.go.ke/index.php/telecommunication 18 CA, accessed 13 June 2017, http://ca.go.ke/images/downloads/TELECOMMUNICATION/LicenseeRegister/Register%20of%20ULF%20Licencees-%20March%202017.pdf 19 Communication Authority, Sector Statistics Q3 2017/18, https://bit.ly/2uPZIBa Accessed 14 June 2018 20 Safaricom, https://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Resources_Downloads/sustainabilityreport_2016.pdf and "Kenya gets 10pc Telkom stake for free as part of Helios' deal," Business Daily, March 6, 2016, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/French-give-Kenya-10pc-of-Telkom-to-seal-Helios-takeover-/-/539550/3104956/-/et8qgrz/-/index.html 21 "Safaricom faces M-Pesa break up in market dominance war," Business Daily, February 23, 2017, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/Safaricom-faces-M-Pesa-break-up-in-market-dominance-war-/539550-3824418-rhmnfdz/index.html 22 Competition Act 2011, https://www.cak.go.ke/images/docs/competition_act-2011(1).pdf 23 Communication Authority, accessed 1 June 2017, http://ca.go.ke/images/downloads/speeches/latest/Press%20statement%20by%20CA%20Chairman%20Mr.%20Ngene%20Gituku%20on%20the%20Competititon%20study.pdf 24 Mumo, M., Regulator drops plan to split up Safaricom https://bit.ly/2uzMFo3, Accessed 3 June 2018 25 Mutai, E, Parliament opens probe into telcos mobile money and service charges https://bit.ly/2msWy2D, Accessed 19 July 2018 26 The Kenya Information and Communications Act No. 2 of 1998, (as amended 2009/2013/2015). See, Kenya Law, Kenya Information And Communications https://bit.ly/2tYj5s8 27 See Section 6 of the Kenya Information Communication Act. https://bit.ly/2ISNQ6F 28 See Section 11 of the Kenya Information and Communication Act. https://bit.ly/2u69JKi 29 Francis Wangusi says CA has no Sh1bn for police https://bit.ly/2KTjIx0 30 Maina C., Court lifts CA director Francis Wangusi's suspension https://bit.ly/2IRrnH2 31 Wangusi: I was kicked out for opposing illegal payments https://bit.ly/2KEpyDa 32 Fayo, G., Wangusi enters out-of-court talks over suspension suit. https://bit.ly/2lVIv5a 33 OONI, Kenya County Page, https://bit.ly/2O4h2LR, Accessed 18 July 2018 34 Xynou, M., "Kenya: Free Censorship Internet?" OONI, accessed 21 May 2017, https://ooni.torproject.org/post/kenya-study/ 35 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42905290 36 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/30/world/africa/raila-odinga-kenya.html 37 KFCB, CEO's Statement, https://bit.ly/2uQBuGY, Accessed 16 July 2018 38 KFCB, "Statement on Children Television Programs . . . " accessed 15 June 2017, http://kfcb.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/STATEMENT-ON-CHILDREN-TELEVISION-PROGRAMMES-PROMOTING-HOMOSEXUALITY-IN-KENYA-ISSUED-ON-15TH-JUNE-2017.pdf 39 KFCB, Governing Laws, http://kfcb.co.ke/about/governing-laws/ Accessed 16 July 2018. Penal Code Sections 162, 163 and 165 punishes gay relationships with jail terms ranging from 5 to 21 years dependent upon whether relations were consensual. Attorney General, Penal Code Chapter 63. Nairobi: National Council for Law Reporting, 2014. 40 Facebook Transparency, Content Restrictions, https://bit.ly/2NuBZ1f Accessed 1 June 2018 41 Google Transparency, Government requests to remove content, http://bit.ly/2Lmr10o Accessed 1 June 2018 42 "Blogger Robert Alai arrested after leaking photos of Kenyattas in hospital," Nairobi News, August 19, 2017, http://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/news/robert-alai-arrested-photos-kenyattas/ 43 Alice Munyua, Grace Githaiga and Victor Kapiyo, "Intermediary Liability in Kenya," (research paper, commissioned by Association for Progressive Communication) http://bit.ly/1GOXHDa. 44 Section 62 (1) defines hate speech as "words intended to incite feelings of contempt, hatred, hostility, violence or discrimination against any person, group or community on the basis of ethnicity or race." Section 62 (2) holds: "A newspaper, radio station or media enterprise that publishes the utterances referred to in subsection (1) commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million shillings." See: National Cohesion and Integration Act, 2008, section 62, accessed September 12, 2014, http://bit.ly/1ZR1dbX. 45 Munyua, Githaiga and Kapiyo, "Intermediary Liability in Kenya." 46 Mayoyo, Patrick, "Fake news by bloggers could mess Kenya's 2017 elections," Standard, April 21, 2017, https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001237115/fake-news-by-bloggers-could-mess-2017-elections 47 See, for example, an investigation piece on Chinese racism on the railway operations, http://bit.ly/2ms86TQ 48 Abdi Latif Dahir, "Fake news is already disrupting Kenya's high-stakes election campaign," Quartz Africa, June 25, 2017, https://qz.com/1011989/fake-news-and-misinformation-are-upstaging-kenyas-upcoming-high-stakes-election/ 49 #DavidNdiiExposed, "Walter Menya," #MaizePriceScandal, and #GoKDelivers were a few examples of social media campaigns started or promoted by pro-government or opposition social media users. See, for example, the news cycle on Walter Menya arrest: "Blogger who leaked exclusive DCI photos of Walter Menya," The Nation, June 20, 2017,http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Pauline-Njoroge-Walter-Menya-photos-DCI/1056-3978466-ldvrkhz/index.html 50 Donald Trump's campaign had also hired Cambridge Analytica in advance of his successful U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Cambridge Analytica Uncovered, http://bit.ly/2uODUpI Accessed 18 July 2018 51 Cambridge Analytica had a role in Kenya, too, https://nyti.ms/2uWD2zx Accessed 14 June 2018 52 "Uhuru hires data firm behind Trump, Brexit victories," The Star, May 10, 2017, https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/05/10/uhuru-hires-data-firm-behind-trump-brexit-victories_c1557720 53 https://qz.com/africa/1330494/twitter-bots-in-kenya-lesotho-senegal-equatorial-guinea-elections/ 54 "Guidelines on Prevention of Dissemination of Undesirable Bulk and Premium Rate Political Messages and Political Social Media Content via Electronic Communications Networks in Kenya," GOK, Kenya Gazette Vol.CXIX-No.95 55 See for example Article19 submissions to the regulator, https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/38838/en/kenya:-new-draft-guidelines-on-dissemination-via-electronic-communications-networks-should-be-scrapped ; https://rsf.org/en/news/kenyan-election-campaign-hits-journalists-and-media-freedom 56 Alan Rusbridger, "Kenya: The Devious Art of Censorship," New York Review of Books, December 8, 2016 issue, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/12/08/kenya-devious-art-of-censorship/ 57 For example, after publishing a critical report about Safaricom, Kenya's leading telecommunication provider, in early 2017, one journalist later said that his editor had not authorised the story in a move that effectively distanced the outlet from the article's findings. Author's Phone Interview in Nairobi, March 2017 in reference to CIPIT's surveillance findings on Safaricom Internet networks, blog.cipit.org/2017/03/23/cipit-research-reveals-evidence-of-internet-traffic-tampering-in-kenya-the-case-of-safaricoms-network/ 58 BAKE, "State of Internet Freedom in Kenya 2017," http://bit.ly/2NrNsP0. Accessed 30 June 2018 59 Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), "The State of Blogging & Social Media in Kenya 2015 Report," page 3. 60 Twitter Search, #ElectionsKE, #KenyaDecides http://bit.ly/2JCLB7N, accessed 13 June 2018. 61 Twitter search #LipaKamaTender: http://bit.ly/2LbfQbm Accessed 14 June 2018 62 MobilizationLab, Three ways a Kenyan Union used Social Media in campaign against government http://bit.ly/2uStci6 Accessed 13 June 2018 63 Twitter search, #SwitchoffKPLC http://bit.ly/2LbKDVN 64 Case delayed for October 2018 http://bit.ly/2uPEsLZ 65 Munaita, p., Lawyer Mboya Vindicated in Kenya Power Billing Fiasco, http://bit.ly/2uwwCHR Accessed 18 July 2018 66 Wafula, P., Exclusive: Behind SGR Walls http://bit.ly/2JFDnM3 and Twitter search on Chatham House invite http://bit.ly/2Nr5DED and 67 Milly Lwanga, "Freedom of expression and harmful speech: The Kenyan situation," Article 19, September 27, 2012, http://bit.ly/1M0qSEJ. 68 Article 23, Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, http://kenyalaw.org/lex/rest//db/kenyalex/Kenya/Legislation/English/Acts%20and%20Regulations/C/Computer%20Misuse%20and%20Cybercrimes%20Act%20-%20No.%2015%20of%202018/docs/ComputerMisuseandCybercrimesAct5of2018.pdf 69 https://cipesa.org/2018/05/sections-of-kenyas-computer-misuse-and-cybercrimes-act-2018-temporarily-suspended/ 70 http://www.itwebafrica.com/security/515-kenya/244939-bloggers-gain-upper-hand-in-dispute-over-kenyas-cybercrime-law?o=eaan&E 71 Cybercrimes Law in Kenya to remain suspended till November 5, http://bit.ly/2PPC80T 72 Kenya Law, accessed 1 June 2017, http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/135467/ 73 "Kenya: Win for freedom of expression as penal provision declared unconstitutional," Article 19, press release, April 26, 2017, https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/38727/en/kenya:-win-for-freedom-of-expression-as-penal-provision-declared-unconstitutional 74 "Kenya: Win for freedom of expression as repressive law declared unconstitutional," Article 19, press release, April 19, 2016, https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/38343/en/kenya:-win-for-freedom-of-expression-as-repressive-law-declared-unconstitutional 75 Republic of Kenya, The Kenya Information and Communications Act, chapter 411A, 2009, http://bit.ly/1LyMfxo; amended in 2013: The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Act, 2013, http://bit.ly/1M1zTDB. 76 Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution, "The Data Protection Bill, 2012," http://bit.ly/1hNGLGB. 77 "Kenyan blogger behind bars over his social media post," Tuko, July 2017, https://www.tuko.co.ke/245609-kenyan-blogger-bars-social-media-post.html 78 "Blogger Robert Alai arrested after leaking photos of Kenyattas in hospital," Nairobi News, August 19, 2017, http://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/news/robert-alai-arrested-photos-kenyattas/ 79 "[VIDEO] WhatsApp group administrator held for allegedly spreading hate messages," The Star, August 17, 2017, https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/17/video-whatsapp-group-administrator-held-for-allegedly-spreading-hate_c1618039 80 https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/news/whatsapp-group-admin-arrested-fake-news/ 81 "Blogger arrested for posting hate messages on social media," Standard, September 10, 2017, https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001254081/blogger-arrested-for-posting-hate-messages-on-social-media 82 https://cpj.org/2018/05/kenyan-authorities-arrest-blogger-after-posts-on-a.php 83 Kenya Information and Communications Act, Article 31, http://admin.theiguides.org/Media/Documents/Kenya%20Information%20Communications%20Act.pdf 84 Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012, Article 35, http://www.frc.go.ke/legislation/2013/03/prevention-of-terrorism-act-2012 85 Security Laws Amendment Act 2014, Article 69, http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/AmendmentActs/2014/SecurityLaws_Amendment_Act_2014.pdf 86 Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012, Article 36, http://www.frc.go.ke/legislation/2013/03/prevention-of-terrorism-act-2012 87 Privacy International, "Trace, Capture, Kill: Inside Communication Surveillance and Counterterrorism in Kenya," March 15, 2017, https://www.privacyinternational.org/node/1366 88 Hide and Seek: Tracking NSO Group's Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries, https://citizenlab.ca/2018/09/hide-and-seek-tracking-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-to-operations-in-45-countries/ 89 Safaricom and internet Traffic Tampering; http://bit.ly/2r1xpxt 90 Privacy International, "Trace, Capture, Kill: Inside Communication Surveillance and Counterterrorism in Kenya." 91 Privacy International, "Trace, Capture, Kill: Inside Communication Surveillance and Counterterrorism in Kenya." According to the report, Traffic monitoring projects (Network Early Warning System and National intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems have been detailed as enabling not just monitoring but deep inspection of all Internet traffic coming through the country. 92 https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/okoiti-v-communications-authority-kenya/ 93 Interview with Safaricom agents in Nairobi, May 2017 94 Kenya Information And Communications (Registration Of SIM-Cards) Regulations, 2015, http://bit.ly/2r2vqLh 95 Section 13. "A licensee shall grant the Commission's officers access to its systems, premises, facilities, files, records and other data to enable the Commission inspect such systems, premises, facilities, files, records and other data for compliance with the Act and these Regulations." The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Act, 2013, http://bit.ly/1M1zTDB. 96 https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/10/15/kill-those-criminals/security-forces-violations-kenyas-august-2017-elections 97 https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2017-08-10-jittery-kenya-on-knife-edge-ahead-of-final-results-in-election-marred-by-violence-and-claims-of-fraud/ 98 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/09/world/africa/kenya-election-results-raila-odinga.html 99 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40774938 100 In an August 2016 report, The Citizen Lab reported that surveillance malware created by the company NSO Group had been hidden in a June 2015 tweet apparently designed to encourage opposition supporters to click on and share. "The Million Dollar Dissident: NSO Group's iPhone Zero-Days used against a UAE Human Rights Defender," The Citizen Lab, August 24, 2016,https://citizenlab.ca/2016/08/million-dollar-dissident-iphone-zero-day-nso-group-uae/ Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Kazakhstan Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Kazakhstan, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b0cc.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Not Free Total Score: 62/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 18,037,646 Internet Penetration: 76.4% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Not Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In March, a court banned the online opposition movement Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), thus criminalizing DVK-related content and limiting the effectiveness of digital activism (see Digital Activism and Content Removal). Social media and communication platforms continue to have connectivity issues when fugitive oligarch and dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov live streams (see Blocking and Filtering). Authorities prosecuted internet users for "extremism," while online outlets Ratel.kz and Forbes Kazakhstan were charged for disseminating false information via articles detailing a former government official's alleged corrupt business dealings (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). New amendments to the law on information and communications restricted anonymity online by mandating that website commentators register (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). The National Security Committee took control of the State Technical Service and has been given more power over online content and ICT infrastructure (see Restrictions on Connectivity and Regulatory Bodies). Introduction: Internet freedom in Kazakhstan remained "Not Free" in 2018, as new legal amendments further restricted online anonymity and a court recognized an opposition movement as extremist. Despite improved affordability, speeds, and internet access, the internet is heavily regulated by the country's authoritarian government. Authorities regularly block websites and employ the legal system to stifle free expression online. Kazakhstan is also developing a complex infrastructure to control internet traffic. The government significantly increased the cost of online dissent over the past year. On March 13, 2018, a court ruled that the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), an opposition movement supported by exiled oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, is an extremist organization. The government has since prosecuted DVK-related activity and content online under broad and harsh extremism laws.[1] Authorities have also requested that a number of social media and communication apps remove DVK content and groups from their platforms. VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, and Instagram all reportedly complied. The government also moved to further restrict anonymity online while increasing its surveillance capabilities. New amendments to the law on information and communications require users wishing to comment on local websites to register by either using their government-issued digital signature or using SMS identification. In January 2018, new technical regulations for SORM developed by the National Security Committee reportedly became effective, which could seriously impact freedom of expression and privacy. Obstacles to Access: The government of Kazakhstan continued to improve ICT infrastructure by facilitating market competition and private ownership in the telecommunications industry, although the partly-government owned Kazakhtelecom announced its plans to acquire 75 percent of Kcell. There were no internet shutdowns during the reporting period, but users frequently experienced connectivity issues when trying to access social media and communication platforms. Availability and Ease of Access Internet access has grown significantly in Kazakhstan over the past decade. According to the government, 77 percent of the population uses the internet,[2] although access is more limited in rural areas where 45 percent of the population resides. By the beginning of 2018, 4G LTE network covered cities and towns with more than 50,000 residents. The government-run Digital Kazakhstan program hopes to increase internet penetration to 82 percent by 2022.[3] The ambition is to ensure broadband connectivity with fiber-optic infrastructure to a large portion of rural areas by 2020.[4] Most people access the internet from their mobile devices and at home, and the internet is often available free-of-charge in various public places in cities. According to Budde, a telecommunications research and consultancy company, the mobile broadband market is mature and developed, and further growth is predicted over the next five years.[5] Both mobile internet and fixed broadband remain relatively affordable. In 2018, monthly fixed-line unlimited broadband subscriptions started at KZT 3,000 (US $8.20),[6] while popular monthly mobile broadband subscriptions with prepaid 8 GB traffic were as low as KZT 1,790 (US $5.60).[7] As of August 2018, the average monthly salary in Kazakhstan was KZT 159 125 (US $437).[8] Access is distributed relatively evenly across Kazakhstan's multiethnic communities. The competition between the Kazakh language and Russian language still widely used by many urban residents as a part of the Soviet legacy has an impact on access. All public institutions are required to provide at least two language versions on their website, and many private sector actors follow this example. However, there is much more domestic content available in Russian than in Kazakh, especially in alternative news coverage online; social media discussions are also held primarily in Russian. In late 2017, authorities decided that over the next eight years the Kazakh language will transition from using the Russian Cyrillic script to using the Latin alphabet in order to better utilize the language online.[9] Gender does not seem to be a barrier to internet access in Kazakhstan. Restrictions on Connectivity A number of laws allow the government to suspend telecommunications networks. During the coverage period, there were no reports of intentional disruptions to ICT connectivity. Social media platforms, however, have repeatedly had connectivity issues when exiled dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov live streams from France (see Blocking and Filtering). These issues became more evident after March 2018, when the DVK movement, sponsored by Ablyazov, was declared extremist.[10] A new law adopted in December 2017 empowers the National Security Committee (NSC) to suspend "networks and means of communication and access to the internet" in "urgent cases that may result in commitment of grave or especially grave crimes." The NSC is not required to obtain prior approval, and can subsequently inform the prosecutor's office and Ministry of Information and Communications.[11] In 2012, amendments to the Law on National Security allowed the government to forcibly suspend telecommunications during anti-terrorist operations or the suppression of mass riots.[12] Further legislation was passed to compel private actors websites, ISPs, or mobile operators to block or disconnect service at the government's request. Since 2014, the prosecutor general's office is also authorized to issue orders to shut down communication services without a court order if "networks are used for felonious aims to damage interests of individuals, society or state," including the dissemination of illegal information, calls for extremism, terrorism, mass riots, or participation in unauthorized public gatherings. Orders must be executed by either telecom operators or the State Technical Service within three hours. The government centralizes internet infrastructure in a way that facilitates control of content and surveillance. Kazakhtelecom, through its operations and a number of subsidiaries, holds a de facto monopoly on backbone infrastructure. The country's internet exchange point (IXP) a peering center for domestic traffic established by Kazakhtelecom in 2008 is meant to facilitate connectivity among 10 first-tier providers, although Beeline, a rival of Kazakhtelecom with an autonomous backbone infrastructure, has been repeatedly denied access.[13] Plans to create a second IXP for international traffic were announced in April 2016,[14] with the expectation that it would be more inclusive. In July 2017, the State Technical Service, which supervises peering centers and cross-border connections, became subordinate to the National Security Committee, Kazakhstan's most powerful secret service.[15] Prior to this, the service was under the Ministry of Information and Communications. In December 2017, the Law on Communication was amended to make the organization of IXPs a state monopoly on the grounds of information security.[16] ICT Market According to the e-government portal of Kazakhstan, there are 10 major ISPs and a dozen providers that cover several cities and provinces.[17] The state owns 51 percent of Kazakhtelecom, the largest telecommunications operator in Kazakhstan, through the sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna.[18] Alexander Klenabov, an oligarch close to the government, controls 22 percent of stakes in Kazakhtelecom.[19] As of June 2016, Kazakhtelecom had a 75 percent share in the fixed broadband internet market,[20] a decline from 85 percent at the end of 2014.[21] It fully or partially owns a number of other backbone and downstream ISPs. The country's three GSM operators, Kcell, Beeline, and Tele2/Altel, are privately owned by foreign shareholders, however Kazakhtelecom owns half of Tele2/Altel after a 2016 merger of Kazakhtelecom's Altel with Tele2-Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of the Scandinavian operator.[22] In January 2018, Kazakhtelecom announced its plans to acquire 75 percent of Kcell,[23] which is being sold by the Nordic Telia Company as it withdraws from post-Soviet countries.[24] If the deal is approved by Kazakhstan's anti-trust authority, Kazakhtelecom would control a 65 percent share of the market.[25] All operators were given the right to offer 4G LTE in 2016.[26] No special licensing is required for businesses that decide to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot, and free public access over Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in cafes, shopping centers, and other public places. Regulatory Bodies The Ministry of Information and Communication oversees communication, e-government, and the media, including the internet. The ministry also acts as the regulatory authority, with its Committee of State Control over Communications, Information, and Mass Media responsible for developing policy and law.[27] The Ministry of Defensive and Aerospace Industry, established in October 2016, has been tasked with developing and implementing policy concerning cybersecurity, information security, and the protection of information systems.[28] These issues are to be addressed in the "Cybershield" action plan, currently in development.[29] The National Security Committee has increased its power to make decisions relating to online content and ICT infrastructure. The Committee has taken control of the State Technical Service and has the authority to block content and disrupt internet networks for investigatory purposes and to "prevent crimes." The committee can do so without a court order, and then only later must notify other authorized bodies within 24-hours.[30] In February 2017, the National Security Committee and a number of other government ministries and agencies adopted new rules for blocking or suspending internet networks, communication resources, or other internet-related content. The document is classified.[31] The Internet Association of Kazakhstan (IAK), established in 2009 in the form of a union of legal entities, claims to unite the country's internet community,[32] yet some of its former members have questioned the group's independence, transparency, and non-profit status.[33] IAK has participated in discussions on ICT-related legislation and has cooperated with the General Prosecutor's office on fighting child abuse online, hate speech, extremism, terrorism, and cyberfraud. Over the past few years, IAK's activities have been downsizing, but it continues to provide expertise on issues and draft laws. Since 2005, the government has required that any website in the top-level ".kz" domain zone be hosted on servers within Kazakhstan. The ".kz" domain is managed by the Kazakhstan Network Information Center (KazNIC) registry. The Kazakhstani Association of IT Companies administers domain names and regulates KazNIC tariffs. In 2015, the Association doubled the minimum price of a .kz domain name,[34] and currently it costs around US $10. In 2015, a law was passed granting the government the power to appoint both the registrar and the domain name administrator. Though the government has not made changes to the current appointments, some experts are concerned that this power may be subject to abuse.[35] Limits on Content: The authorities have continued to restrict content online. Entire platforms hosting user-generated content are subject to periodic blocking, often without any public justification. The most frequent reason used to justify restrictions to online content is extremism. This trend continued during the reporting period, as any DVK-related online content has been subject to removal on extremism grounds. Blocking and Filtering The government possesses extensive legal powers to block online content. Websites and entire content-hosting platforms have been blocked, and users trying to access social media and communication platforms routinely experienced connectivity issues during the reporting period. In August 2017, the authorities reported that about 30,000 websites were blocked.[36] Content blocked reportedly related to pornography, extremism, terrorism, and violence. While users regularly use tools to circumvent censorship, many remain subject to blocking or other bans (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Social media and communication platforms are sometimes restricted during politically sensitive events. Users reported difficulty accessing Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram multiple times during the coverage period.[37] The authorities have routinely attributed disruptions to ill-explained technical troubles.[38] Often, the inaccessibility of the platforms coincided with the live streams of Mukhtar Ablyazov. The outages became more regular after DVK, which Ablyazov supports, was recognized as an extremist organization. After the March 2018 ruling, the government requested to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Russian platforms VKontakte and Odnoklassniki to remove DVK-related content and groups (see Content Removal).[39] The government threatened to restrict access to or outright block the platforms if they did not comply. In late August and early September, users reported difficulties loading pictures and other multimedia content on social media and messaging apps.[40] Around the same time in early September, there was a small brawl involving about 30 people in the capital city Astana.[41] Authorities blamed technical issues of too many users trying to access the platforms around the time of the fight.[42] The following websites and platforms were also blocked within the coverage period: Avaaz and Change.org, online petitions websites, remained blocked. The sites previously have been intermittently blocked when critical causes have been promoted. For example, Avaaz was blocked in January 2017 after online activists launched a petition protesting new antiterrorism measures [43] and also in 2014 when users launched a petition calling for the impeachment of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. [44] Change.org was blocked in August 2016 after activists posted a petition calling for the resignation of then-prime minister Karim Massimov. [45] In March 2018, a court ordered that Ratel.kz be blocked and associated websites, following the request of prosecutors (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activity). [46] The formal reason for the blocking was that the ratel.kz domain name had been registered under journalist Gennady Benditski, who died in December 2017, and was not properly reregistered. On May 28, 2018, a district court in Almaty banned Ratel.kz from publishing and deregistered the Ratel.kz domain name for one year. In April, the court ordered the publication to close its Facebook page. [47] In November 2017, authorities blocked access to some Russia-based online bookstores including Ozon.ru, Eksmo publishing house, and Labyrinth for offering a book previously deemed to be "extremist." [48] Access was reportedly restored to some of the sites after the content was removed. [49] In February 2018, the Ministry of Information and Communications blocked GetContact, an application used to check unknown numbers, reportedly over privacy concerns. [50] The company denied deliberate wrongdoing or misuse of data. [51] In June 2017, the website of the magazine Foreign Policy was blocked after a critical article about the EXPO world fair in Astana was published. [52] The website was accessible as of March 2018. The website of Adil Soz, the major media rights NGO in Kazakhstan, was briefly unavailable in November 2017. According to the Adil Soz's chairwoman, access was restored after reaching the vice minister of information and communications, who cited a "technical" issue.[53] Other websites were also intermittently or permanently unavailable during the coverage period in circumstances that lacked transparency. These included popular photo hosting site Flickr, UStream, Archive.org, and cloud storage service Mega.nz. Some international media outlets also remain blocked, including the British Daily Mail, Russian Meduza, Kyrgyz Kloop.kg, and others. Several domains of the gaming platform Steam are also blocked.[54] According to the Mass Media Law, all internet resources, including websites and pages on social networks, are considered media outlets. Under 2014 amendments to the law, the general prosecutor is authorized to order service providers to block content without a court order. ISPs must conform to such requests until the website owner deletes the content in question and the law provides no space for an ISP to reject the order or for the website owner to appeal.[55] In 2016, the Ministry of Information and Communication also gained the authority to issue takedown and blocking orders until website administrators remove content in question. In June 2017, the Ministry of Information and Communications launched a pilot version of the blocked websites roster, which is an online tool where users can check if a website is blocked by a court decision or government order.[56] In February 2016, the regulator said it was adopting an "Automated System of Monitoring the National Information Space" to uncover illegal content online (see Content Removal). Several more bodies monitor online content, including the National Security Committee, the office of the president, and local government officials. Judges and prosecutors repeatedly display a lack of technical expertise, banning URLs of irrelevant websites like search engines. Websites can be blocked even in the absence of the defendant's representative; no further notification to the public or the website owner about the reason for the blocking is required. The court issues frequent decisions to block websites, banning dozens at a time, mostly on the grounds of religious extremism. The appeal procedure is opaque and is yet to be tested. As of 2016, the public can no longer access court rulings on blocking cases. An individual must apply for judicial approval in order to view rulings.[57] Content Removal The authorities use varied means to enforce the removal of content online, including pressure on critical online outlets to take down specific content and requests to international social media platforms. In March, the government requested that YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and VKontakte and Odnoklassniki remove DVK-related content and groups from their platforms.[58] On March 27, the authorities reported that VK and Odoklassniki complied with their requests, while Instagram also removed community pages and content.[59] By equating all internet resources with media outlets, the country's media law makes web publishers including bloggers and users on social media websites liable for the content they post online, but it does not further specify if online platforms are responsible for content posted by third parties. In October 2015, the regulator stated that social media users could be held liable for extremist comments posted on their pages by third parties, which would be regarded as permitting the publication of extremist materials in a mass media outlet, an offense under the Criminal Code punishable by up to 90 days in prison. Users who post or share such content may be fined for its "production, storage, import, transportation and dissemination," and in some cases, jailed for up to 20 years.[60] 2016 amendments to the Communications Law oblige ISPs to monitor content passing through their networks and decide whether to restrict content.[61] The Administrative Code, in force since 2016, imposes penalties on ISPs for not complying with censorship orders, with a fine of up to US$ 2,000.[62] In order to avoid having a website or page permanently blocked and to escape legal liability, owners of internet resources must remove content that is deemed extremist or is otherwise banned (see Blocking and Filtering). Once illegal content is identified, the regulator requires ISPs and the State Technical Service (STS) to suspend access to the entire website within three hours. The party responsible for the content then receives a request for the content's removal; if they comply, ISPs must unblock the website immediately.[63] In February 2016, the regulator adopted new rules for the monitoring of media, including online media, using the "Automated System of Monitoring the National Information Space."[64] As a result of this monitoring, there were reportedly approximately 270,000 takedown requests issued in 2017.[65] In May 2017, a Ministry of Information and Communication official reported that monitoring is done manually,[66] but the Minister said that an automatic system will be developed by the end of 2018.[67] Courts sometimes use defamation suits and criminal cases to force outlets to remove content. In spring 2017, Ratel and Forbes Kazakhstan were ordered to remove several articles related to an investigation of Zeinulla Kakimzhanov, a businessman and former top government official. The publications were also ordered to pay KZT 50 million (US $160,000) in damages to Kakimzhanov.[68] During the current reporting period, Kakimzhanov again filed a criminal case against the online outlets and police raided the outlets' offices and homes of journalists (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities).[69] The suits relate to articles alleging Kakimzhanov's corrupt business dealings. The authorities also approached international companies to remove content. From July to December 2017, Google received 72 requests for content removal, primarily for national security reasons.[70] In the same period, Facebook reported restricting access to one content item for defamation purposes.[71] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation In addition to blocking and removing content, the online media landscape in Kazakhstan is subject to less overt forms of restrictions on the free flow of information, such as progovernment propaganda and pressure to self-censor. Self-censorship in both traditional and online media outlets is pervasive. Social media remains the most liberal environment for the public exchange of news and opinions, but discourse there is considered to be very prone to manipulation and propaganda, including by commentators paid by the government. Although the authorities impose no restrictions on advertising to critical websites, the atmosphere of self-censorship extends to businesses too. Additionally, new amendments to the law on information and communications that ban anonymous online commentators (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity) is expected to further exacerbate self-censorship of internet users. Central government procurement contracts in the media sphere reached KZT 43 billion (about US$118 million) in 2017, with a plan to increase to KZT 47 billion (about US$ 129 million) in 2018.[72] Many online media outlets are frequent recipients of such contracts, including local privately owned blogging platforms. In January 2018, the NGO Legal Media Center sued the Ministry of Information and Communication after the Ministry refused to publicize which organizations received procurement contracts in 2017. The court refused the case, citing that the list can be considered "commercial secrecy."[73] Despite the challenging financial environment for independent outlets, a small number of respected critical websites continue to operate. The online news market is very restricted and uncompetitive, yet it is more open and diverse than the traditional media landscape. The Economist Intelligence Unit's 2018 Inclusive Internet Index that measures the internet's accessibility and affordability, along with whether it "enables positive social and economic outcomes," ranked Kazakhstan 46 of 86 countries.[74] International social media and communications platforms are accessible and popular, although connectivity is regularly restricted (see Blocking and Filtering). YouTube, VK, Instagram, and Facebook are among top sites in Kazakhstan,[75] and tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) are widely used to circumvent sporadic blocking. The government has also signalled that it wants to work with popular bloggers and social media influencers to report on state matters in order to reach a larger audience.[76] Civil servants, public officials, and employees of state-owned companies are obliged to follow a set of guidelines, published in 2014, on their use of the internet. The guidelines urge employees not to post or repost material critical of the government, and not to "friend" authors of such posts in order to prevent possible threats to the image of the civil service, as well as preventing the dissemination of false information or leaks.[77] Digital Activism Though users continue to share content on various matters, including corruption, controversies in the judicial system, and blatant cases of injustice, the use of social media and other digital tools to organize for social and political campaigns is limited. Discussions of political or social issues on social media are often eclipsed by sensationalist content widely shared online. DVK was active predominantly on social media platforms. The court's banning of the movement and restrictions to associated content have limited the effective use of digital tools for activism. Activists and ordinary internet users alike wishing to critique the government can now be more easily subjected to prosecution. DVK had a broad reach online, with over 10,000 followers on Facebook and more than 90,000 members on a Telegram chat, although local research has shown that a proportion of these accounts do not actively participate.[78] Facebook was one of the most important tools for Ablyazov to share DVK's message and critiques of President Nazarbayev.[79] Social media has been used with some success to mobilize protests in the past, but no serious campaign took place in the coverage period. The authorities continued to issue preventive warnings to activists who plan public events and demonstrations. In May 2017, for example, officials of the Almaty city administration's internal policy department and police instructed the feminist group KazFem that the planned "Women's History Night," which was coordinated through Facebook, needed official approval from the municipality.[80] Violations of User Rights: Prosecutions social media users and online journalists on charges of extremism and distributing false information continued within the coverage period. Netizens continued to face pressure from the authorities through enhanced surveillance, intimidation, or detention. Meanwhile, new troubling legal amendments passed in December further restrict anonymity online. Legal Environment The constitution of Kazakhstan guarantees freedom of expression, but this right is qualified by other laws and is severely restricted in practice. A package of constitutional amendments was adopted in March 2017, ostensibly to distribute some presidential powers to the parliament, though the president remains in charge of key matters including foreign policy and national security. Critics argued that the changes are merely formal, and that Nazarbayev will continue to wield significant power.[81] The amendments also allow courts to strip citizenship from individuals found to have harmed Kazakhstan's "vital interests," though this vague term is not defined.[82] The criminal code penalizes the dissemination of rumors, or "patently false information, fraught with the risk of breach of public order or imposition of serious damage," punishable by a fine of up to US $70,000 and up to 10 years in jail. Libel is a criminal offence that may result in up to US $20,000 in fines and up to two years of imprisonment. The criminal code provides stricter punishment for libel or insult of the president and other state officials, judges, and members of parliament, and Kazakhstani officials have a track record of using defamation charges to punish critical reporting. The judiciary is not independent, and the president appoints all judges. The constitutional court was abolished in 1995 and replaced with the constitutional council, to which citizens and public associations are not eligible to submit complaints. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities The government arrests and prosecutes individuals for posting critical commentary online. A number of internet users were targeted for DVK-related online content, while authorities also prosecuted the dissemination of "false" information and the spread of "terrorist" or "extremist" propaganda. The authorities continue to prosecute for disseminating "patently false information," a charge that was introduced into the criminal code as Article 274 in 2014 and was widely criticized as undemocratic. In 2017, 25 cases were filed under Article 274.[83] Two of the cases resulted in prison sentences. In one of the cases, which reportedly resulted in a two and a half year sentence, an individual posted a video of a collapsing building claiming it was in Semey. The video, however, was actually recorded in Astrakhan, Russia in 2012.[84] Two notable cases of "spreading knowingly false information" and defamation involved the online publications Ratel.kz and Forbes.kz (see Blocking and Filtering and Content Removal). Both cases were initiated by Zeinulla Kakimzhanov,[85] oligarch and former government official, and related to articles alleging his corrupt business dealings. In late 2017, both outlets were found guilty of defamation following a year-long trial and paid fines, while Forbes.kz published requested rebuttals. On March 30, 2018, the outlets faced new criminal charges for allegedly disseminating false information.[86] On April 2, police searched the offices of the outlets and some of the staff's homes, and confiscated mobile phones, computers, a router, and more. Police also interrogated four journalists.[87] Civil society has condemned the prosecution of Ratel.kz and Forbes.kz.[88] The classification of DVK as an extremist group made it illegal to disseminate DVK or Ablyazov-related videos and messages online, including through social media and private messages.[89] There have been a number of arrests and prosecutions since the March 2018 decision.[90] Aigul Akberdi was arrested and charged in relation to her posts in a DVK Telegram group. [91] Akberdi's trial was reported to begin in September 2018 [92] and she faces up to ten years in prison for advocating government overthrow on Telegram. Akberdi shared content in a DVK Telegram group prior to the March court decision and insisted that she stopped sharing content after the ruling. Ablovas Jumayev, Akberdri's husband, was convicted to three years in prison for "sowing discord" on Telegram and possessing anti-government fliers in September 2018, after the coverage period of this report. [93] Jumayev was arrested in May 2018 and originally faced a seven-year sentence for, in part, inciting social hatred. Jumayev, like his wife, was targeted for sharing content in a DVK Telegram group prior to the March court decision, and insisted that he stopped posting after the ruling. Opposition activist and blogger Ardak Ashim was interrogated about DVK and originally charged with "inciting social discord" under Article 174 of the criminal code. The charges cited Facebook comments critical of the government. [94] On March 27, a court committed her to a mental hospital (see Intimidation and Violence). Her charges were downgraded in April to "insulting a representative of authority" under Article 378 of the criminal code. Akmaral Tobylova was accused of "financing or providing information services to a criminal group" under Article 266 of the criminal code in relation to her visiting DVK's webpage and discussing the movement on social media. [95] She was first subjected to house arrest on March 13 and later released on bail for medical reasons on April 13. On March 16, vlogger Askar Shaigumarov was detained for allegedly endorsing DVK on his video blog.[96] Authorities routinely use terrorism and extremism charges to prosecute online activity. According to the General Prosecutor's office, 205 people were convicted on these charges between 2015 and 2017. 69 of the convictions were for inciting social, ethnic, class, clan, racial, or religious hatred, while 136 were for advocating or calling publicly for terrorism, usually via messaging platforms.[97] While some prosecutions have targeted legitimate terrorism-related activity online, activists and the opposition are routinely charged for terrorism, extremism, and inciting hatred. For example, in November 2017, Kenshebek Abishev and Almat Zhumagulov, among others, were detained for propagating terrorism.[98] Both were members of a WhatsApp group used to organize discussions on political issues. The government claimed that Abishev and Zhumagulov participated in a video, sent around the day of their arrest, that advocated for an "armed jihad." There have been reports that the video was edited and that the detention and charges are politically motivated.[99] The government also charges those who insult state officials online. For example, in June 2017 a young woman was detained after she criticized police whereabouts during a public fight in which one person was killed. Police investigated her under Article 378 of the Criminal Code on insult of representative of authority.[100] In a positive development during the reporting period, the Supreme Court ruled in August 2017 to reverse a Uralsk city court's decision in a defamation case filed by a police officer against the "Uralsk Weekly" newspaper and website, admitting that "a broader criticism is allowed towards public officials rather than towards private persons,"[101] and sent the case for reconsideration to the appeals court. Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity It is difficult to estimate the scope and depth of government surveillance in Kazakhstan, but digital rights groups allege that large scale infrastructure of surveillance is in place. The government's "system for operational investigative measures" (SORM) of surveillance, which originated from Russia, is similar to that of other former Soviet republics and allows for deep packet inspection (DPI) of data transmissions. In January 2018, new technical regulations for SORM developed by the National Security Committee reportedly became effective.[102] Prior to this in May 2017, Telia Company, which owns the mobile telephone company Kcell, warned that these new surveillance requirements give the government real-time access to operators' networks, causing "potentially serious impacts on the freedom of expression."[103] New amendments to the law on information and communications restricted anonymity online.[104] In December 2017, the government passed new amendments that require users wishing to comment on local websites to register by either using the government-issued digital signature or SMS identification. Local website owners are also required to retain commenters' data for at least three months and provide the government with information about users when requested.[105] The Ministry of Information and Communications has given websites until the end of March to implement the new requirement, or face fines of $750 or more.[106] Tengrinews.kz, one of the most popular news sites, announced in February 2018 that those commenting must register via SMS.[107] Although users wishing to circumvent censorship increasingly use VPNs,[108] some anonymizing tools have been blocked or users have noticed increasing problems when using them.[109] For example, in March 2018, a court blocked the IPVanish VPN service.[110] In June 2015, media reports said that authorities were blocking such tools with renewed intensity, citing a September 2014 court decision dated that banned "the functioning of networks and/or means of communication that can be used to circumvent ISPs' technical blocking."[111] The Tor Project's official website is intermittently inaccessible from Kazakhstan. According to public records on its use, in 2016 there was a sharp decline in Tor "relay" users and a sharp increase in users connecting via "bridges," which are more commonly used when IP addresses of Tor relays are blocked.[112] Top-level domain names using ".kz" must operate on domestic servers.[113] In 2016, through the amendments to the Informatization Law, this data localization requirement was expanded to mandate that all personal data collected domestically by local companies be stored in-country.[114] In late 2017, the government announced that it planned to negotiate with foreign social media and messaging platforms in hopes of them hosting local servers that could provide easier access to citizens' personal data. Negotiations are reportedly due to conclude in early 2019.[115] Earlier, the same intention was proposed by Kalmukhanbet Kassymov, Minister of Internal Affairs, under the pretext of fighting so-called "death groups" on social media, which allegedly encourage teenagers to commit suicide.[116] Kazakhstan's so-called national security certificate was due to come into force in January 2016, though progress toward rolling out the certificate appears to have stalled.[117] Initial announcements indicated that all users would be required to install the certificate onto their devices, which sparked security and privacy concerns.[118] Various authorities monitor internet traffic. An anonymous private-sector telecom company representative stated that the president's administration, the prosecutor general's office, and the National Security Committee have been planning to launch three different content monitoring systems, including software to monitor social networking sites. In the past, the Almaty city administration acknowledged that it monitors popular social networking sites.[119] The State Technical Service (STS), a government body established in 2008, is responsible for monitoring cross-border network traffic through a system called "centralized management of telecommunication networks" (SCM). All telecommunication operators must be connected to the SCM and are required to grant authorities physical access to their control centers.[120] Activists using social media are occasionally intercepted or punished, sometimes preemptively, by authorities who have prior knowledge of their planned activities. Reports have emerged that authorities have penetrated group chats on WhatsApp and Telegram, based on claims by activists that they faced some kind of consequences for material they posted only on the communication app. It is unclear how authorities could have gained access to these chats.[121] Kazakhtelecom maintains that its DPI system is used for traffic management and provides no access to users' personal data.[122] In July 2015, WikiLeaks published an exchange of emails between an alleged official of the special services and Hacking Team, an Italian spyware firm. The exchange of emails appears to suggest that the government might have obtained software to monitor and interfere with online traffic, including encrypted communications, as well as to perform targeted attacks against certain users and devices.[123] SIM card registration is required for mobile phone users. Legislation obliges both ISPs and mobile operators to retain records of users' online activities, including phone numbers, billing details, IP addresses, browsing history, protocols of data transmission, and other data, via the installation of special software and hardware when necessary.[124] Providers must store user data for two years and grant access within 24 hours to "operative-investigatory bodies," including the National Security Committee, secret services, and military intelligence, when sanctioned by a prosecutor, or in some cases "by coordination with the prosecutor general's office."[125] The Administrative Code, in force since 2016, imposes penalties on ISPs of up to US $20,000 for failing to store user data.[126] Amendments to the communications legislation adopted in 2016 require users to register their mobile phone devices with an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) database. Unregistered devices were to be disabled by mobile operators starting from July 1, 2017.[127] Authorities have presented the law as a measure to fight mobile phone theft and the import of counterfeit devices, though it remains unclear how user privacy will be safeguarded.[128] In May 2018, the Ministry of Information and Communication said that users must connect their IMEI-registered phone with their government-provided personal identification number before January 1, 2019.[129] In March 2016, the new rules for public access points required user authentication with a one-time SMS code. However, as SIM cards in Kazakhstan are subject to obligatory registration, this may enable authorities to monitor online activities of users accessing internet from public hotspots.[130] Businesses can be fined up to KZT 226,000 ($US700) for failing to comply with the new rules, while users can be fined up to KZT 22,600 (US$70).[131] As of February 2018, a negligible number of hotspots introduced such systems in Kazakhstan. Many offer open access to their Wi-Fi. Intimidation and Violence Independent bloggers and online journalists have been subject to extralegal violence and intimidation in retaliation for their work. For example, in March 2018, economist, activist, and blogger Ardak Ashim's house was searched and she was detained on charges of incitement of hatred, reportedly for "negative articles about the authorities" on Facebook.[132] She was later forcibly put in a psychiatric clinic pending trial after a judge ruled that she had "episodic paranoid schizophrenia," a diagnoses that her family denies.[133] Technical Attacks Technical attacks against online news media were not observed during the coverage period, but there have been several reports about vulnerability of government websites. In June 2017, the Center for Analysis and Investigation of Cyberattacks (CARKA), an independent organization addressing domestic cyberattacks, found that malevolent actors re-registered blacklisted websites under real IP addresses of a target website to either get a website unblocked or compromise the data of the target site.[134] For example, a pornographic site targeted the e-government program website. In January, CARKA reported that they discovered a cryptocurrency mining script on some professional accounting websites and the General Prosecutor's office's website. Experts say the script proves the websites were hacked and that sensitive data could be stolen.[135] According to a 2017 report by Kaspersky Lab, a Russia-based cybersecurity firm, Kazakhstan is ranked eighth in the world for prevalence of viruses targeting mobile phones and fourth for the number of mobile ransomware attacks.[136] Kazakhstani activists and dissidents were also subject to technical attacks prior to the coverage period,[137] and some suspect the government's involvement. In August 2016, reports emerged that opposition figures and dissidents living abroad were targeted in 2015 with malware attacks. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that the attacks were conducted by agents of the government via the Indian security company Appin Security Group.[138] Worries exist that these attacks could continue to target those critical of the government. Notes: 1 "Comments to Ablyazov's posts can lead to 2 years in prison" [in Russian] Today.kz, March 13, 2018, https://bit.ly/2qERwS7; https://bnews.kz/ru/news/lubie_kommentarii_v_podderzhku_dvk_i_ablyazova_budut_schitatsya_ekstremistkimi__genprokuratura?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=ia& 2 "Abayev: 77 per cent of the Kazakhstan population connected to internet," Zakon.kz, February 16, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FkjJ7S 3 "The share of internet users is to increase to 82 per cent in Kazakhstan by 2022," Kazakhstan Today, December 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HDtjDu 4 "Abayev: 77 per cent of the Kazakhstan population connected to internet," Zakon.kz, February 16, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FkjJ7S 5 "4G LTE services gain momentum in Kazakhstan," Budde, Jaly 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2evJyHz.; ICT Development Index 2017, ITU, http://bit.ly/2CDo2bn 6 Source: Beeline.kz, http://bit.ly/2DSz3Yj 7 Beeline.kz, Tele2.kz, http://bit.ly/2okoJ4Y, http://bit.ly/2EIVzTf 8 http://stat.gov.kz 9 "Kazakhstan wants Kazakh written in Latin, not Cyrillic script," Economist, November 14, 2017, http://econ.st/2sN04el 10 "Ablyazov's movement declared extremist" [in Russian] Bnews.kz, March 13, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HJM09e; https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-is-throttling-the-internet-when-the-presidents-rival-is-online 11 "Law on amendments and addenda to the legislative acts on fighting extremism and terrorism", December 22, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oInj6a. 12 " ," [The Law on National Security] Zakon, July 10, 2012, http://bit.ly/1jfspR0. 13 "Comment by Mr. Kemelbek Oishybaev, Beeline's executive, to the online Q&A session," [in Russian] Yvision (blog), accessed January 13, 2014, http://bit.ly/1jhBXKA. 14 "Peering center to be set up in Kazakhstan," [in Russian] Profit.kz, April, 2016, http://bit.ly/1TB3B2D. 15 See the Governmental Decree on the State Technical Service, July 27, 2017, Zakon.kz, http://bit.ly/2BODPY2 16 See Law on Communications Article 9-2. Source: Zakon.kz, http://bit.ly/2CmTUFB 17 Republic of Kazakhstan, e.government portal, http://bit.ly/2EU1mFD 18 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-swf/kazakhtelecom-may-be-first-key-state-company-to-list-abroad-in-2018-idUSKBN1CL1DF 19 "Kazakhtelecom's new major stakeholder", Profit.kz, July 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oMlxR3 20 "Kazakhtelecom to gain 50 percent of the ICT-services by 2025", Zakon.kz, June 29, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oMgTCB 21 ""Kazakhtelecom secured its prevalence," [in Russian] Forbes.kz, October 20, 2015, bit.ly/1U5opRn. 22 "Kazakratelhstan's second-tier mobile operators merge to enter the premier league," [in Russian], Digital.Report, November 05, 2015, bit.ly/216k5U1. 23 "Kazakhtelecom seeks antitrust clearance to buy Kcell stake," Reuters, January 23, 2018, http://reut.rs/2F416aC 24 Giorgi Lomsadze, "TeliaSonera Leaves Eurasia After Uzbekistan Scandal," MeydanTV, September 21, 2015, https://www.meydan.tv/en/site/news/8156/TeliaSonera-Leaves-Eurasia-After-Uzbekistan-Scandal.htm 25 "Kazakhtelecom wants to buy 75 per cent in Kcell," [in Russian] Forbes.kz, January 26, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GK7AIL 26 "Kazakhstan lifts state monopoly on 4G," [in Russian], Digital.Report, January 13, 2016, bit.ly/1okzQIr. 27 Ministry of Information and Communication, Republic of Kazakhstan http://bit.ly/2oajIfM. 28 Official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan: On the formation of Ministry of Defense and Aerospace, http://bit.ly/2ogOFzs. 29 Republic of Kazakhstan: Ministry of Defense and Aerospace, regulations http://bit.ly/2oMLeB1. 30 See Law on Communications, Article 41-1.1-2. Source: Zakon.kz, http://bit.ly/2sXkykF 31 See http://bit.ly/2FyvEze 32 Email interview with IAK president, Shavkat Sabirov, February 2016. 33 "Konstantin Gorozhankin talks Kaznet business and impotent state programs," [in Russian], VoxPopuli.kz, interview, May 21, 2015, bit.ly/1F1u3bJ. 34 NazNIC, "About page" accessed on February 16, 2016, bit.ly/1mFfj04. 35 "Kazakh regulator to determine the registry of .kz zone," [in Russian] Digital.Report, March 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/24LccG7. 36 Diana Okremova, "Kazakhstan blocks more than 30,000 websites a year," [in Russian] Digital.Report, June 8, 2017, http://bit.ly/2outOb4 37 https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-is-throttling-the-internet-when-the-presidents-rival-is-online 38 "Abayev: Ablyazov does not control internet in Kazakhstan", [in Russian] Kapital.kz, 16 November 2017, http://bit.ly/2FzkmdZ. 39 "MIC says it might block Facebook . . . " [in Russian] Informburo.kz, March 27, 2018, https://bit.ly/2EQJDy5; "Kazakhstan may block Telegram entirely" [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, April 3, 2018, https://bit.ly/2qF9rrR 40 "Kazakhstanis complain about limited access to Instagram and WhatsApp," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, September 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HP5VD5 41 "Brawl In Kazakh Capital Leads To Street Closures..." RFE/RL, September 2, 2017, http://bit.ly/2sXSOvY 42 "Abayev says he didn't have problems using social media," [in Russian], Tengrinews.kz, September 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2CMmgEU 43 "Site hosting petition against temporary registration rules is blocked", Tengrinews.kz, January 9, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oOO1dp. 44 "Petitions site blocked for asking Nazarbayev to go away", Azattyq.org, February 13, 2014, http://bit.ly/2oVoj40. 45 Assylkhan Mamashuly, "Site blocked for petition about Massimov's resignation", Azattyq.org, August 17, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oSIsKC 46 https://ifex.org/kazakhstan/2018/05/18/false-information-kazakhstan/; Associated webpages include balborsyk.kz and wildratel.com 47 "Court banned Ratel's Facebook page" [in Russian] Adilsoz.kz, April 4, 2018, https://bit.ly/2JU8gh0 48 "Kazakhstan blocked access to Ozon.ru," [in Russian] RBC.ru, November 9, 2017, http://bit.ly/2BSdLLH 49 https://tengrinews.kz/internet/vosstanovlen-dostup-k-pikabu-Ozon-i-Ficbook-mik-rk-330745/; https://tengrinews.kz/internet/Ozon-snyal-sayta-knigu-iz-za-kotoroy-zablokirovali-330679/ 50 Almaz Kumenov, "Kazakhstan Bans Snooping App Over Privacy Concerns," Eurasianet.org, February 9, 2018, http://bit.ly/2owrq3K 51 "GetContact developers commented on a blocking of ther app in Kazakhstan," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, February 10, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FFfNPj 52 "Kazakh authorities blocked website of influential magazine," [in Russian] Fergananews.com, June 21, 2017, http://bit.ly/2EZwnIj 53 Source: Personal Facebook page of Tamara Kaleyeva, http://bit.ly/2CK8fb0 54 "Kazakhstan blocks big gaming platform," [in Russian] Zakon.kz, November 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ETTBUy 55 Diana Okremova "Online publications in Kazakhstan: Voluntary or Obligatory?" [in Russian], Digital.Report, January 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/1QLa3QC. 56 "Abayev told how to check if a website is blocked," [in Russian], Tengrinews.kz, June 21, 2017, http://bit.ly/2kSkZss 57 Interview with legal expert Igor Loskutov, Almaty, April 7, 2017. 58 "MIC says it might block Facebook . . . " [in Russian] Informburo.kz, March 27, 2018, https://bit.ly/2EQJDy5; "Kazakhstan may block Telegram entirely" [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, April 3, 2018, https://bit.ly/2qF9rrR 59 https://informburo.kz/novosti/v-mik-rk-soobshchili-o-vozmozhnom-ogranichenii-dostupa-k-youtube-facebook-i-twitter.html 60 "Kazkahstani citizens can be arrested for someone else's comments in social media," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, October 21, 2015, bit.ly/1PAdqy5. 61 " ," [Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan]. 62 Article 637.9.5 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, accessed February 17, 2016, bit.ly/1Ts8IEl. 63 " ," [Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Communications, Article 41-1] http://bit.ly/2oQgIH9 64 "Kazakhstan adopts rules for state monitoring of internet," [in Russian] Digital.Report, February 29, 2016, http://bit.ly/1SegFwe. 65 "Control the internet...," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, November 8, 2017, http://bit.ly/2hVRu4X.; https://monitor.civicus.org/newsfeed/2018/01/31/kazakhstan-strikes-arrests-and-fears-new-restrictions-fundamental-freedoms/ 66 Diana Okremova, "Kazakhstan blocks more than 30,000 websites a year," [in Russian] Digital.Report, June 8, 2017, http://bit.ly/2outOb4 67 "It's not about control, Abayev says," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, January 12, 2018, http://bit.ly/2D62mK9 68 Daniyar Moldabekov, "Court ordered Forbes.kz and Ratel,kz to pay KZT 50 mln to Kakimzhanov", Vlast.kz, April 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nDA55O. 69 https://ifex.org/kazakhstan/2018/05/18/false-information-kazakhstan/; https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-media-watchdogs-urge-revise-false-information-law/29238140.html 70 Google Transparency Report page, accessed on February 27, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Fm4GKS. 71 https://transparency.facebook.com/content-restrictions/country/KZ 72 "Khabarstan: A price of the inexistent country," [in Russian] Esquire.kz, January 26, 2018, http://bit.ly/2F94wZx; US$ conversions as of October 2, 2018 73 "Court argued commercial secrecy in the data disclosure case," [in Russian] Azattyq.org, February 15, 2018, http://bit.ly/2F7qmN3 74 See: The Inclusive Internet Index: Measuring Success 2018, Economist Intelligence Unit, http://bit.ly/2EZ6UD0 75 See: Alexa.com, http://bit.ly/2HPeGx5 76 Makpal Mukankyzy, "Bloggers invented the term 'Tazhin's list,'" Azattyq, February 27, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LDKnZL. 77 Victor Burdin, "State officials not allowed to criticize the power," [in Russian] Forbes Kazakhstan, January 12, 2015, http://bit.ly/1FexLTt. 78 "Carka studied the DVK chat in Telegram" [in Russian] Informburo.kz, April 11, 2018, https://bit.ly/2H4OP7M 79 https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-court-dubs-opposition-movement-extremist 80 "KazFem activists summoned to police," [in Russian] Vlast.kz, May 6, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ozsjHW 81 "Kazakhstan: parliament rams through vague constitution fix," March 6, 2017, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/82686. 82 "Kazakhstan: parliament rams through vague constitution fix," March 6, 2017, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/82686. 83 "How many sentences on charges of dissemination of rumors were passed in Kazakshtan," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, January 15, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GN1Pdt 84 https://tengrinews.kz/kazakhstan_news/rassyilku-WhatsApp-obrushenii-mnogoetajki-semee-318823/ 85 "On Kakimzhanov's insulted dignity" [in Russian] Forbes.kz, December 4, 2017, https://bit.ly/2vmbJC9 86 https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/06/kazakhstan-criminal-probe-media-outlets 87 "Kazakhstan: Criminal Probe of Media Outlets", Human Rights Watch, April 6, 2018, https://bit.ly/2qHvcYb 88 "Blocking of news website and detention of journalists in Kazakhstan . . .," OSCE, April 5, 2018, https://bit.ly/2ES4hy1; "Kazakhstan should drop 'false information' case . . .," IPI, April 13, 2018, https://bit.ly/2EQenzv 89 "Kazakhstan: Court Dubs Opposition Movement Extremist," Eurasianet, March 13, 2018, https://eurasianet.org/s/kazakhstan-court-dubs-opposition-movement-extremist 90 https://en.odfoundation.eu/a/8625,report-the-list-of-kazakhstani-political-prisoners-and-other-victims-of-politically-motivated-prosecution-updated 91 https://eurasianet.org/messaging-app-goes-on-trial-in-kazakhstan 92 https://eurasianet.org/messaging-app-goes-on-trial-in-kazakhstan 93 https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-telegram-app-trial-ends-badly-for-father-of-four 94 https://en.odfoundation.eu/a/8625,report-the-list-of-kazakhstani-political-prisoners-and-other-victims-of-politically-motivated-prosecution-updated 95 "Kazakhstan: Further Information: Prisoner of Conscience Released on Bail: Akmaral Topylova," Amnesty International, April 18, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur57/8236/2018/en/; https://en.odfoundation.eu/a/8625,report-the-list-of-kazakhstani-political-prisoners-and-other-victims-of-politically-motivated-prosecution-updated 96 "Internet censorship in Kazakhstan: more pervasive than you may think," by Dina Baidildayeva, Open Democracy, March 26, 2018, https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/dina-baidildayeva/internet-censorship-in-kazakhstan; https://rus.azattyq.org/a/29103619.html 97 "NSC and MIA arrested 11 ISIS members in South Kazakhstan," [in Russian] Vlast.kz, November 16, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GOZn6i 98 "Kazakhstan: Strikes, Arrests and Fears of New Restrictions on Fundamental Freedoms," CIVICUS Monitor, January 31, 2018, https://monitor.civicus.org/newsfeed/2018/01/31/kazakhstan-strikes-arrests-and-fears-new-restrictions-fundamental-freedoms/; https://en.odfoundation.eu/a/8625,report-the-list-of-kazakhstani-political-prisoners-and-other-victims-of-politically-motivated-prosecution-updated 99 Joanna Lillis, "Kazakhstan: Terrorist Plot or Concocted Conspiracy?" Eurasianet.org, February 2, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FdQXrO 100 "A Pavlodar resident detained for insulting police officers," [in Russian] Informburo.kz, June 13, 2017, http://bit.ly/2t2zvBH 101 "Supreme Court cancelled the verdict against Uralsk Weekly," [in Russian] Uralskweek.kz, August 31, 2017, http://bit.ly/2otEPcB 102 See document here: http://bit.ly/2GRl1qq 103 "Telia Company's View On New Surveillance Regulation ('Direct Access') In Kazakhstan," Press Statement, Telia Company, May 11, 2017, http://bit.ly/2t4WADZ 104 https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2018/kazakhstan; " " [Parliament passed a law in favor of corrupt officials], Adil Soz, 21 December 2017, http://www.adilsoz.kz/news/show/id/2535 105 "Anonymous comments are banned: Nazarbayev signed the law,", Tengrinews.kz, December 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2F40t1K 106 Almaz Kumenov, "Kazakhstan: Online Anonymity Ban in Force from April," Eurasianet.org, February 2, 2018, http://bit.ly/2t501ue 107 "Tengrinews alters rules for commentators," [in Russian] Tengrinews.kz, February 27, 2018, http://bit.ly/2oA1VhQ 108 "Internet clubs will demand IDs " [in Russian] Zakon, January 25, 2012, http://bit.ly/1QBFqCV. 109 Marat Shaken, Facebook post, October 31, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oednym.; Meyirim Smayil, "MIC commented on their fight against VPNs and anonymizers", March 14, 2017, Tengrinews.kz, http://bit.ly/2oPyFWn. 110 "VPN blocked by court decison in Kazakhstan" [in Russian] Profit.kzMarch 12, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HJKGmM 111 Askar Muminov, "Anonymizers outlawed," [in Russian] Kursiv, June 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1KWiYzw. 112 See Tor website: Censorship by country: Kazakhstan, updated on June 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2FGOvIb 113 "Data Localization Laws And Their Impact on Privacy, Data Security And the Global Economy," by Brett Cohen, Britanie Hall, and Charlie Wood, American Bar Association, Fall 2017, https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/antitrust_magazine/anti_fall2017_cohen.authcheckdam.pdf;https://itif.org/publications/2017/05/01/cross-border-data-flows-where-are-barriers-and-what-do-they-cost 114 https://www.dacbeachcroft.com/en/gb/articles/2016/january/kazakhstan-localization-of-personal-data/; https://montana-associates.com/2016/02/kazakhstan-joins-the-trend-of-data-localization-laws/ 115 "Foreign social media to face localization demands," [in Russian] Profit.kz, November 2, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oErLR0 116 "Social media may be obliged to localize data of Kazakhstani citizens", Today.kz, February 13, 2017, http://bit.ly/2p4Lhsn. 117 "TeliaSonera in Kazakhstan received the national security certificate," [in Russian] Digital.Report, March 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/1QRV8Zb. 118 "Experts: Kazakh authorities want to monitor protected user traffic," [in Russian], Digital.Report, December 04, 2015, bit.ly/1XHHb1g. 119 Asemgul Kasenova, "Repentant terrorists' testimonies to be used in fighting extremism," [in Russian] Tengri News, October 1, 2013, http://bit.ly/1NuVlRF. 120 "Rules of interaction and centralized management of telecommunication networks", inform,kz, December 11, 2011, http://bit.ly/2nkvxBm 121 "WhatsApp group chat admin sentenced for extremism", Tengrinews.kz, January 12, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nHEGUE; "Activists in Almaty warned against unsanctioned rallies", July 5, 2016, Azattyq.org, http://rus.azattyq.org/a/27839704.html,; Ali Askar, "Aktobe court passed a sentence on terrorist propaganda in WhatsApp", Azattyq.org, August 11, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oZOmds. 122 Community Information Security, "Here we received official confirmation from the use of DPI Kaztel," Yvision (blog), accessed August 2014, http://bit.ly/1G2HzTp. 123 WikiLeaks, "Hacking Team," accessed on February 22, 2016, bit.ly/1XI2DmK. 124 Ksenia Bondal, " - " [Watch out, we are watched] Respublika, republished by Zakon, November 5, 2009, http://bit.ly/1WRqj8b. 125 "Rules of rendering internet access services," adopted by the governmental decree #1718 on December 30, 2011, http://bit.ly/1R2vtdw 126 Article 637.9.5 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, accessed February 17, 2016, bit.ly/1Ts8IEl. 127 "Unregistered cellphones to be blocked by operators in Kazakhstan", Digital Report, January 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2k092i4. 128 "Rules of IMEI registration are elaborated in Kazakhstan, Today.kz, January 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oX5Wi5. 129 "IIN and IMEI codes to be synched in 2018," [in Russian] Informburo.kz, May 16, 2018, https://bit.ly/2t2iF2I 130 "Kazakhstan introduced new rules for public points of internet access," [in Russian] Digital.Report, March 16, 2016, http://bit.ly/1S3t3Nw. 131 Serikzhan Mauletbay, "Connecting to public Wi-Fi without SMS-registration may cause penalty", Tengrinews.kz, January 27, 2017, http://bit.ly/2m6TZ4Q 132 "Kazakhstan escalates harassment of media, confines blogger to clinic," Reporters without Borders, April 4, 2018, https://rsf.org/en/news/kazakhstan-escalates-harassment-media-confines-blogger-clinic 133 "Activist placed to the psychiatric hospital" [in Russian] Azattyq.org, March 31, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HaiZCc; "Kazakhstan: Civil Activist Detained in Psychiatric Facility: Ardak Ashym," Amnesty International, April 27, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur57/8298/2018/en/ andhttps://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/EUR5782982018ENGLISH.pdf 134 See Facebook post by CARKA, June 17, 2017, http://bit.ly/2CRVvyO 135 "Mining script indicates a fact of hacking, CARKA says," [in Russian] Zonakz.net, January 10, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Fex047 136 "Kazakhstan is ranked 8th by the number of mobile malware attacks," [in Russian] Digital.report, July 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ozzlNt 137 Jsoeph Menn, Kazakh dissidents and lawyers hit by cyberattacks: researchers, Reuters, Aug 2, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-cyber/kazakh-dissidents-and-lawyers-hit-by-cyber-attacks-researchers-idUSKCN10D1N2 138 Electronic Frontier Foundation, "I got a Letter from the Government," August 3, 2016, https://www.eff.org/files/2016/08/03/i-got-a-letter-from-the-government.pdf. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Jordan Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Jordan, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b0dc.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 49/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 9,702,353 Internet Penetration: 62.3% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In May 2018, social media and messaging apps were instrumental in mobilizing thousands of protestors and securing public support against a draft income tax law (see Digital Activism). Ammon News claimed that hackers had gained access to their website and published two articles in November 2017 (see Technical Attacks). The government proposed amendments to the Cybercrime Law in September that would prohibit hate speech, raising concerns that the vaguely defined offense could be used to punish legitimate expression (see Legal Environment). Authorities detained and sought criminal charges against several individuals for criticizing public officials, accusing them of corruption, or publishing other nonviolent political, social, or religious speech online (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Introduction: Internet freedom improved in Jordan due to improved access, the effective use of digital activism, and a slight reduction in the number of blocked news sites in comparison to last year. During the coverage period, several activists were arrested for criticizing public officials or calling for reform. Authorities continue to block social media applications during school examinations, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and Instagram, with the number of apps increasing to eight in 2018. Internet service providers (ISPs) continue to block internet calling services (VoIP) on popular apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, and Skype, in apparent defiance of Jordan's telecommunications regulator. Legal restrictions on internet and digital media freedom are principally based on the Cybercrime Law and the Press and Publication Law (PPL). Under article 11 of the Cybercrime Law, online defamation may result in a fine and prison sentence of at least three months. The Law Interpretation Bureau ruled that the law could also be applied to journalists for articles that appeared on their outlets' websites, thereby contravening journalistic protections outlined in the PPL. In September 2017, the government proposed a series of new amendments to the Cybercrime Law to explicitly cover hate speech. The changes could further impede free expression online given the term's vague definition and its propensity to be misused to prosecute reporters and social media users for nonviolent political, social, or religious speech and satire. Jordanians took to the streets in May 2018 in one of the country's largest protests in recent years. More than 30 trade unions initiated a nationwide strike, and thousands of protestors followed suit in opposition to a draft law on income tax. The demonstrators relied extensively on social media and communication platforms to mobilize and, ultimately, to create effective change: the government resigned and the legislation was withdrawn. Obstacles to Access: Soaring mobile broadband access has improved internet penetration rates in recent years, though there are still disparities in access based on age, education, and income level. New regulations issued during 2017 are expected to improve competition among fixed-line service providers by allowing rival operators to use infrastructure owned by the incumbent telecommunications firm. Availability and Ease of Access According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 62.3 percent of the Jordanian population had access to the internet by the end of 2017, up from 34.9 percent five years earlier.[1] National figures from the Telecommunications Regulation Commission (TRC) estimated that 8.7 million Jordanians had access to the internet, resulting in a penetration rate of 87 percent, as of the third quarter of 2016. For the same period, the TRC estimated the number of mobile phone subscriptions to be slightly over 16.7 million, for a penetration rate of 168 percent.[2] Ninety percent of all internet subscriptions are mobile broadband subscriptions, with the number of fixed-line ADSL subscriptions steadily decreasing.[3] A survey conducted by the Department of Statistics demonstrated that women made up 47.2 percent of Jordanian internet users in 2016.[4] It found that 8.5 percent of respondents cited the high cost of internet service as a reason for not using the internet, down from 13 percent in 2015, while 6.4 percent mentioned social issues and traditional values.[5] Prices have dropped in recent years due to competition, in spite of the fact that the sales tax on internet services was increased from 8 to 16 percent in 2017.[6] The price for a monthly home broadband subscription ranges from JOD 16 (US$22) for a data allowance of 75 GB to JOD 26 (US$37) for an allowance of up to 1,000 GB.[7] However, the main operators provide plans with reduced prices for governorates outside Amman, the capital. Monthly mobile internet prices range from JOD 2 (US$3) for a 600 MB plan to JOD 9 (US$13) for 34 GB.[8] According to Pew Research Center, there is a "real and pervasive" demographic divide among internet users in Jordan. While 75 percent of individuals from the ages of 18 to 34 use the internet, the percentage drops to 57 percent for those aged 35 and above. The contrast was even starker with respect to education levels. Ninety-six percent of people with "more education" used the internet, compared with only 41 percent of Jordanians with "less education." The report also shed light on economic differences, with 80 percent of high-income individuals using the internet, compared with 50 percent of low-income individuals.[9] Meanwhile, access in many of the country's rural governorates remains poor in comparison with urban areas. For instance, fiber-optic connections (FTTx) are mainly limited to the wealthy areas of western Amman. Restrictions on Connectivity Starting in June 2015, the government ordered ISPs to block access to messaging applications on days that secondary school students sat for their national exam (Tawjihi).[10] In 2018, the number of blocked applications reached seven, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, and Instagram. The restrictions are confined to locations near examination halls and limited to a couple of hours.[11] Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services are restricted by some ISPs. In March 2016, the TRC stopped Jordanian mobile operators' attempt to impose fees on the use of VoIP services in order to increase profits.[12] However, providers then blocked users from making free or cheap phone calls over services like WhatsApp and Viber, while Messenger, Telegram, and Skype remained accessible. In 2017, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) proposed a new monthly fee of JOD 2 (US$3) for users in order to unblock VoIP,[13] with revenues shared between operators and the government. However, the proposed fee was rejected by the Council of Ministers. The market power of the incumbent telecommunications operator, Orange Jordan, has been diluted in the last few years, as its de facto monopoly on the international gateway and local backbone has faced competitive terrestrial international connectivity and new fiber-optic backbones initiated by other operators.[14] In addition, long-awaited regulations to enforce full local loop unbundling (LLU) were issued by the TRC in 2017,[15] six years after the move was first announced, and these are expected to introduce more competition to the fixed-line sector by forcing Orange to open up its networks to other operators. Orange remains the landing party for the FLAG FEA submarine cable,[16] the only east-west cable to land in Jordan.[17] However, a number of providers, like Damamax and LinkDotNet, have independent international connectivity,[18] and nonincumbent provider VTel signed an agreement to be the landing party for a possible connection of the FLAG FALCON submarine cable to the port of Aqaba.[19] International connectivity is also provided via terrestrial connections from neighboring countries as an alternative to submarine cables. In 2015, the RCN (Regional Cable Network) was launched to provide a high-capacity terrestrial fiber network from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to Amman,[20] an addition to the established JADI (Jeddah-Amman-Damascus-Istanbul) link, in operation since 2010.[21] ICT Market Three mobile service providers have a similar share of the market: Umniah (a subsidiary of Batelco Bahrain), Zain, and Orange Jordan.[22] Orange Jordan is 51 percent owned by Orange SA of France, with the remaining shares divided between Jordan's Social Security Corporation, Noor Telecommunications, and others.[23] In 2018, the MoICT confirmed that the government had no intention to license a fourth mobile operator.[24] After rejecting two international operators, the government awarded Zain Jordan the rights to introduce 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile services to the market, which it launched in 2014. In January 2015, Orange Jordan was awarded the second 4G license for US$100 million,[25] and later that June, the third 4G license was granted to Umniah for an equivalent price.[26] In 2017, FRiENDi, Jordan's only mobile virtual network operator and part of Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa, suspended its operations due to losses.[27] Regulatory Bodies The TRC is responsible for regulating the ICT sector. It is governed by the Telecommunications Law and defined as a "financially and administratively independent juridical personality."[28] Nonetheless, it is accountable to the MoICT, which was created in 2002 to drive the country's ICT development.[29] The TRC's Board of Commissioners and its chairman are appointed upon nomination by the prime minister based on the recommendation of the ICT minister.[30] The ICT sector is regulated under Law No. 13 of 1995 and its amendment, Law No. 8 of 2002. The legislation endorses free-market policies and governs licensing and quality assurance.[31] Limits on Content: Authorities have increasingly used extralegal means to censor critical coverage in recent years. Licensed news sites have been blocked in murky circumstances and without transparent legal authorization. Self-censorship remains pervasive, particularly regarding the royal family and Islam, although digital activism continued to expand over the past year. Blocking and Filtering Sporadic censorship continued during the coverage period. At least three websites were reportedly blocked. In spite of the fact that it was initially blocked in 2016, the Media Commission in July 2017 reissued an order to block access to the local LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) online magazine My.Kali, after an Islamist member of parliament, Dima Tahboub, requested an inquiry into the site.[32] Also in July 2017, the online petitions website Namdi.Net was blocked for two days until the Media Commission made it accessible again. The website, according to its owners, was not a news site and was reportedly blocked in error by the commission.[33] In November 2017, the Media Commission announced that it had blocked a news website, whose name was not revealed, that is based outside Jordan and publishes Jordan-related content. Also blocked were an undisclosed number of news sites that had failed to obtain a license. The owners had been notified and given a 90-day grace period.[34] In less transparent circumstances, the online magazine 7iber was inaccessible for 12 hours in July 2018, following the coverage period. In a short statement published on the magazine's Twitter account, the editors publicly asked the government to determine the entity responsible for the block, as no order was apparently issued by the government.[35] Officially, the blocking of news websites is carried out according to the Press and Publications Law (PPL), amended in 2012, which stipulates that news websites need to obtain a license from the Media Commission or face blocking. The law also requires any electronic publication that publishes domestic or international news, press releases, or comments to register with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. One of the requirements for a general news website to obtain a license is to have an editor in chief who has been a member of the Jordan Press Association (JPA) for at least four years. In 2014, the JPA law was amended to enable journalists in online media to become members. Prior to that, journalists could only become members if they underwent a period of "training" in an "official" media organization. According to the amended PPL, an electronic publication is defined as any website "with a specific web address on the Internet which provides publishing services, including news, reports, investigations, articles, and comments, and chooses to be listed in a special register maintained at the Department, pursuant to instructions issued by the Minister for this purpose."[36] Articles 48 and 49 enable the head of the Media Commission (previously named the Press and Publications Department) to block any website for failing to obtain a license or, more broadly, for violating Jordanian law. The law's expansive definition of a news website could be interpreted to include almost all Jordanian and international websites, blogs, portals, and social networks. In June 2013, 291 news websites were blocked on instructions from the head of the Media Commission after a nine-month grace period following the PPL's 2012 amendment. Most have since applied for a license to get unblocked. In 2018, the number of licensed news websites reached 194.[37] To obtain licenses after 2012, most general news websites hired new chief editors who were already JPA members, a concerning development for independent media given that most JPA members worked in government or government-related media outlets.[38] Content Removal The 2012 amendments to the PPL increased the liability of intermediaries for content posted on news websites, placing readers' comments under the same restrictions as normal news content. Clause 3 of Article 49 states that both the editors in chief and the owners of online publications are legally responsible for all content posted to their sites.[39] Moreover, websites must keep a record of all comments for six months after initial publication and refrain from publishing any "untruthful" or "irrelevant" comments.[40] As a result, some news websites, such as JO24, stopped allowing comments for a limited period of time as an expression of protest.[41] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation The overwhelming majority of journalists continue to practice self-censorship, as shown in the annual survey on media freedoms conducted by the Amman-based Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ). According to the survey covering 2017, a staggering 94 percent of journalists said they practiced self-censorship.[42] When asked about taboo topics, 92 percent said they avoided criticizing the armed forces, a decrease from the previous year, and 94.5 percent stated they feared criticizing the royal court. The judicial system, tribal leaders, and religion were also sensitive topics.[43] According to the CDFJ survey, the percentage of respondents who believed that media professionals avoided discussing sex-related topics increased in 2017, reaching 84.7 percent, the highest level in eight years. Avoidance of religious issues decreased by 3 percentage points to 80.4 percent; the assassination of writer Nahed Hattar by a religious extremist and threats from such extremists against journalists were the main causes of the higher percentage in 2016, the survey noted. The online information landscape continues to be limited by direct bans on reporting on certain topics, especially at critical moments. For instance, after the shooting of Hattar, the State Security Court banned all forms of publication regarding the case to "preserve the secrecy of the investigation in the public's interest," according to a circular from the Media Commission.[44] Starting in the second half of 2016, two gag orders limiting independent coverage about the armed forces and the king have been enforced. All media outlets are banned from reporting news about the king and the royal family unless it is obtained from official bulletins released by the Royal Hashemite Court.[45] The Media Commission also bans publication of any reports about the armed forces except for statements made by their media spokesperson. That order covers social media networks and other websites, supposedly in the "public interest."[46] Facebook and YouTube are among the top 10 most visited websites in Jordan.[47] As of April 2016, 89 percent of all social media users in the country used Facebook, while 71 percent used WhatsApp.[48] In 2017, King Abdullah II launched a personal Twitter account.[49] Other state leaders and institutions have established social media channels to communicate with the public, including the Royal Hashemite Court,[50] the crown prince,[51] and Queen Rania, who has millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram.[52] Forbes Middle Easthas described her as "the Queen of Social Media."[53] In addition, the prime minister since June 2018, Omar Razzaz, is known for his Twitter activity and for personally replying to many tweets.[54] Digital Activism Digital activism was crucial during the coverage period, as Jordan experienced one of its largest protests in recent years. Starting on May 30, 2018, more than 30 trade unions initiated a nationwide strike and were later joined by thousands of Jordanians who opposed a draft law on income tax.[55] The protests resulted in the resignation of the government and the withdrawal of the draft legislation. Social media and messaging apps were instrumental in mobilizing thousands of participants and securing support from a broad swath of the population. A Facebook event for the first general strike drew more than 25,000 attendees.[56] Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media services were important sources of information for Jordanians seeking to keep track of the demonstrations. According to a survey by the University of Jordan's Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), around 60 percent of Jordanians said they got their information regarding the protests through friends and social media, especially Facebook.[57] Many protesters utilized Facebook's live-streaming feature to broadcast the demonstrations, and short video reports on the events received tens of thousands of views,[58] overshadowing the coverage of traditional or official media outlets, particularly in the first days.[59] Protest-related hashtags were trending throughout the course of the protests, including #JordanStrikes, #Manash ("We are broke"), and #AdduwwarArRabe' (a reference to the area in Amman where the prime minister's office is located and where the protests were concentrated). The government realized the importance of online communications and social networks during the protests. The prime minister's office defended the draft tax law by posting some 12 informative videos and 14 infographics on Facebook, with the heading "Fiscal Reform in Jordan."[60] The government's spokesperson announced that 49 percent of negative social media comments against the government originated in Syria,[61] a claim that social media users generally dismissed with sarcasm. On the other hand, a video of the crown prince, in which he confirmed the royal family's support for peaceful protests during a visit to the demonstrations, went viral,[62] receiving more than 350,000 views.[63] In a separate development, following years of efforts and campaigning by women's and human rights activists, the parliament voted in August 2017 to repeal the controversial Article 308 of the penal code, which allowed rapists to avoid prison by marrying their victims. On the day of the vote, the hashtag #308Removed generated more than 3,500 tweets.[64] The vote took place after the cabinet approved the recommendations of a royal commission and after women's rights activists representing 63 Jordanian organizations mounted a digital campaign with the hashtag #Article308 to push for the article's abolition. The campaign also coordinated an online petition that was signed by over 5,000 people.[65] Violations of User Rights: The government in September 2017 proposed amendments to the Cybercrime Law that would prohibit hate speech, raising concerns that the vaguely defined offense could be used to punish legitimate expression. Several journalists were arrested on defamation charges stemming from content they posted online, while others received threats for coverage of sensitive topics or faced physical intimidation and interference as they streamed or recorded protests. Legal Environment Although Jordan's constitution contains some theoretical protections for free speech online, several laws impose disproportionate or unnecessary restrictions in practice. The penal code forbids any insult of the royal family, state institutions, national symbols, or foreign states, as well as "any writing or speech that aims at or results in causing sectarian or racial strife." Defamation is also a criminal offense.[66] Several constitutional amendments introduced in September 2011 directly or indirectly touched on internet freedom. Terms such as "mass media" and "other means of communication," which likely encompass online media, were added to provisions that protect freedom of expression and concomitantly allow for its limitation during states of emergency (Article 15). With regard to the right to privacy, judicial approval was added as a precondition for censorship or confiscation of private communications (Article 18).[67] Despite the passage of the Access to Information Law in 2007, there are still a number of restrictions on requests for information about sensitive social and religious matters.[68] An amended Cybercrime Law came into effect in June 2105, with at least one provision that posed a serious threat to online freedom. According to Article 11, internet users can face a jail term of no less than three months and a maximum fine of JOD 2,000 (US$2,800) if they are found guilty of defamation on social media or online media outlets. In practical terms, this means journalists face harsher penalties online than in print media, since the PPL prohibits the jailing of journalists for press offenses. In 2015, the Law Interpretation Bureau ruled that Article 11 of the Cybercrime Law supersedes other legislation, rendering journalists' immunity under the PPL largely irrelevant,[69] as they can be imprisoned for offending print articles if those articles appear online.[70] In 2016, a group of journalists and activists launched a campaign titled "Talking Is Not a Crime," arguing that Article 11 amounts to an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of expression.[71] According to the CDFJ, at least seven journalists and activists were detained in the first year after the passage of the Cybercrime Law amendment.[72] In September 2017, the government proposed a series of new amendments to the Cybercrime Law to explicitly cover hate speech, defined as "any statement or act that would incite discord, religious, sectarian, ethnic or regional strife or discrimination between individuals or groups."[73] The changes could further constrain freedom of speech online, as the vague definition would allow authorities to persecute reporters and social media users who address controversial issues.[74] Although Prime Minister Razzaz confirmed that his government was committed to freedom of expression after taking office in June 2018, he said the draft amendments would not be withdrawn and would be discussed in the parliament later in the year.[75] Many older laws continue to pose a threat to access to information and free expression online. These include the 1959 Contempt of Court Law, the 1960 penal code, the 1971 Protection of State Secrets and Classified Documents Law, the 1992 Defense Law, the Jordan Press Association Law, and the PPL. The PPL as amended in 2012 bans the publication of "material that is inconsistent with the principles of freedom, national obligation, human rights, and Arab-Islamic values."[76] Article 38 of the law prohibits any "contempt, slander, or defamation of or abuse of" religions or prophets. The same article prohibits the publication of any material that is defamatory or slanderous of individuals, who are also protected against "rumors" and "anything that hinders their personal freedom."[77] Journalists, website owners, editors in chief, and others face a range of possible fines for violations of the law.[78] In early 2014, a law was passed to limit the jurisdiction of the quasi-military State Security Court to terrorism, espionage, drug felonies, treason, and currency counterfeiting. The court had previously tried citizens and journalists for crimes related to freedom of expression.[79] However, amendments to an antiterrorism law passed in mid-2014 essentially reversed that move by expanding the definition of "terrorism" to include a broader range of activity.[80] In addition to more legitimate offenses such as attacking members of the royal court or provoking an "armed rebellion," the definition of terrorism now includes any acts that "threaten the country's relations to foreign states or expose the country or its citizens to retaliatory acts on them or their money," an offense that had already been listed in the penal code.[81] The law also explicitly penalizes the use of ICTs to promote, support, or fund terrorist acts, or to subject "Jordanians or their property to danger of hostile acts or acts of revenge."[82] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Numerous individuals were detained or faced criminal charges related to their online activities over the past year. Under Article 11 of the Cybercrime Law, journalists and social media users can be detained for publishing allegedly defamatory content online. In May 2017, anticorruption activist Husam al-Abdallat was arrested after a complaint was filed against him by two public officials whom he had accused of corruption in a Facebook post.[83] He was released on bail three weeks later.[84] Although fewer Jordanians were detained this year for "incitement to undermine the political regime" under Article 149 of the penal code, the practice continues. In July 2017, student activist Hesham Alayasra was detained for six days, before being released on bail, for a video he disseminated to his 800 followers on Snapchat in which he criticized the Jordanian government after a security guard killed two Jordanian nationals at the Israeli embassy in Amman.[85] Rakan Hyasat, an activist with the secular Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party, was detained for 15 days in September 2017 based on a complaint filed by Islamist lawmaker Dima Tahboub. After Tahboub condoned an unlawful police raid on a restaurant that served food during Ramadan, Hyasat posted on his Facebook account a photo collage of Tahboub raising a sword while riding a horse surrounded by black flags in a reference to the Islamic State militant group.[86] Tahboub later withdrew the complaint. In accordance with Article 278 of the penal code, on "incitement to racism and sectarianism, and insulting religious feelings," a case was filed against Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj in October 2017 at the request of a Catholic cleric, who objected to a cartoon posted on Twitter and Facebook that depicted Jesus on a cross denouncing the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.[87] Also in October, the general secretary of the Royal Hashemite Court, in his personal capacity, filed a complaint against seven journalists for defamation in relation to a Facebook post that depicted his mansion and in which he was accused of corruption.[88] Four journalists were dismissed with no charges filed,[89] another was released the same day, and the remaining two were held in custody for a month.[90] In November 2017, a short video of the arrest of Ashraf al-Refai, owner of the Absher news website, sparked several controversies on social media, especially for what was considered police misconduct in front of his wife and children.[91] The General Security Department issued a public statement defending the discipline of the officers and asserting that they acted in self-defense.[92] Al-Refai was initially prosecuted for a Facebook post he published about the killing of a 17-year-old girl,[93] which was the subject of a gag order;[94] he was interrogated and released the same day before filing a complaint against the policemen. However, the public prosecutor then issued an arrest warrant for al-Refai, in which some charges were brought under the Cybercrime Law, based on the video of the arrest that was published on his Facebook page, and on another post in which he described the police as a "gang."[95] He was held in custody for one day and then released on bail.[96] In another case that month, reporter Ziad Neserat was arrested for a video he posted on Facebook showing racketeers entering a coffee shop in Irbid and breaking some of its furniture. Neserat was detained for three days as a result of a defamation case filed by one of the individuals who appeared in the video.[97] Two journalists from the website Jafra News were arrested in January 2018 over a complaint by Finance Minister Omar Malhas, who objected to a report that accused him of tax evasion.[98] The director of the Income and Sales Tax Department, an entity administered by the Ministry of Finance, filed a similar complaint against the journalists, alleging that the report was false.[99] The two journalists, Omar Maharmeh and Shadi Zaynati, were detained for two days and then released on JOD 1,000 (US$1,400) in bail.[100] The website issued a statement in which it said that the previous reporting was based on information that proved to be inaccurate.[101] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Article 18 of the constitution protects the right to privacy, but it allows for surveillance "by a judicial order in accordance with the provisions of the law." The telecommunication law requires that operators take appropriate measures to enable the tracking of communications upon a judicial or administrative order, while the antiterrorism law permits the prosecutor general to order surveillance upon receiving "reliable information" that "a person or group of persons is connected to any terrorist activity."[102] Jordan currently lacks a privacy law. The MoICT is drafting a Data Protection Law that aims to regulate how personal data are collected, used, and published. The latest draft of the law, however, does not ensure the independence of the proposed Data Protection Authority (DPA) and does not always adhere to international standards for the protection of personal data. There have been no reports about restrictions on virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools, or about any limits on encryption. However, many Jordanians reportedly have a long-standing belief that "someone is listening in" on their phone calls. This attitude has carried over to the internet, where it is believed that security services closely monitor online comments, cataloging them by date, internet protocol (IP) address, and location.[103] In 2018, for the first time, the surveillance of phone calls and the legality of how it is executed became the subject of public debate. The discussion was triggered by reports about the ability of a security officer to access private phone conversations.[104] An online petition that asked for legal actions to be taken against "officials who exploited their positions" and unlawfully monitored phone calls received more than 1,000 signatures.[105] Since mid-2010, cybercafes have been obliged to install security cameras to monitor customers, who must supply personal identification information before they use the internet. Cafe owners are required to retain the browsing histories of users for at least six months.[106] Authorities claim that these restrictions are necessary for security reasons. Although enforcement is somewhat lax, the once-thriving cybercafe business is now in decline due the restrictions as well as increased access to personal internet connections. Internet cafes are required by law "to take all procedures and arrangements" to ensure that customers are not accessing terrorist-related material, though there is little guidance on what types of actions would be legally permissible. Furthermore, clauses within mobile phone contracts give Jordanian companies the right to terminate services should customers use it in any way that is "threatening to public morals or national security."[107] Intimidation and Violence Journalists and others continue to face physical harassment for their online activities. Ahmed Tamimi of Al-Ghad newspaper, Ghaith Tall of Sawaleif, and Jamal Haddad of the news site Alwakaai were physically assaulted by masked individuals and had their mobile phones seized in October 2017 while reporting on a protest in the northern city of Ramtha. They did not press charges against the unknown suspects.[108] In July 2017, a journalist from 7iber, Dana Gibreel, and a reporter from Al-Sabeel daily, Yaqoub Eid, were intimidated by security forces while covering a protest led by the family of one of those killed by a security officer at the Israeli embassy in Amman. Eid, who was live-streaming the event on Al-Sabeel's Facebook page, had his mobile phone confiscated and its contents erased; Gibreel was coerced by police officers into deleting a video she had recorded of the protest.[109] In 2016, Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar was shot dead outside a courthouse in Amman, where he was due to face trial for posting a satirical cartoon deemed offensive to Islam on his Facebook page.[110] Thousands of Jordanians expressed their solidarity with Hattar's family, demanding an end to hate speech and incitement to violence online. Several cases of online incitement and threats against journalists were reported in the past year. For example, cartoonist Emad Hajjaj was the target of a hostile online campaign, in addition to a legal complaint (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities), after he published a cartoon on Facebook that was deemed offensive to both Christians and Muslims. He was forced to delete the image and publish an apology to placate the angry reactions on social media.[111] Farah Maraqa, a reporter and writer from the London-based news website Raialyoum, received threatening and harassing comments on Facebook as a result of her report covering the case of Jordanian soldier Maarik al-Tawayha, who was sentenced to life in prison by a military court in July 2017 for the deaths of three US soldiers at an airbase.[112] Reporter Tareq Badarin of Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper said he was attacked online after publishing a news article on his Facebook page in October 2017, which was later removed by the author. The article covered a hunger strike by Islamist militants in Jordanian prisons. According to the reporter, police were able identify the person behind of one of the death threats he received, but he did not file a complaint.[113] Technical Attacks Cyberattacks against bloggers and the staff of news websites have decreased in severity compared with previous years. However, recent geopolitical tensions have resulted in the hacking of news sites. In 2016, the state-owned news agency, Petra, confirmed that its website was affected by a cyberattack.[114] Hackers posted a fabricated news story regarding the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Officials claimed that Iranian hackers were behind the attack.[115] In 2017, Ammon News published two news stories that were later declared to be false after hackers were able to access the site. The first story announced a planned meeting between the chief of the royal court and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, while the other was related to a phone call between the king and the Saudi crown prince.[116] The same website was also hacked in 2011, after its editors refused to comply with security agents' demands to remove a statement by 36 prominent Jordanian tribesmen who called for democratic and economic reforms.[117] In October 2017, the website of government-owned Jordan Post, the main provider of postal services in the country, was hacked by unknown persons who displayed a message criticizing the inappropriate treatment of customs employees and the high custom duties on goods imported by Jordanians.[118] Notes: 1 International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet," accessed July 17, 2017, http://bit.ly/1cblxxY. 2 Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Jordan, "Telecommunications Market Indicators (Q1/2016-Q3/2016)," [in Arabic] http://bit.ly/2pnzbd9. 3 Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Jordan, "Telecommunications Indicators (Q4/2015-Q1/2016)," http://bit.ly/2p19Djd 4 Department of Statistics, "Distribution of Persons Aged (15+) by Using of Internet (%)," [Summary] http://www.dos.gov.jo/dos_home_a/main/population/gender/it/2016/10.pdf. 5 Department of Statistics and the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, "ICT in Households Report for 2016," p45 [in Arabic], https://bit.ly/2uVupG6. 6 Jordan Times, "Gov't raises minimum wage, hikes taxes on tobacco, telecom services," February 9, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ltIPqH. 7 Zain Jordan, "Broadband Postpaid," http://bit.ly/2vV6U1U 8 Zain Jordan, "Mobile Internet Plans," http://bit.ly/1lK3m95. Prices are rounded and recalculated after applying a 16 percent sales tax. The 34 GB allowance consists of an 18 GB "day" bolt and a 16 GB "night" bolt. 9 Jacob Poushter, "Internet Access Growing Worldwide but Remains Higher in Advanced Economies," Pew Research Center, February 22, 2016, http://pewrsr.ch/1TwX4H2. 10 Ibrahim Mbaydeen, "The government blocks Tawjihi classrooms' access to three applications", [in Arabic] Al-Ghad, June 20, 2015 http://bit.ly/260JtOi. 11 Muath Hamideh, "7 Applications Blocked inside Tawjihi Halls," [in Arabic] Khaberni, January 9, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FjpX7D 12 "No Charges on Online Calling Apps- Telecom Commission," Jordan Times, March 16, 2016. http://bit.ly/2bywrkk. 13 Mohammad Ghazal, "Gov't mulling several options to increase revenues from telecom sector," Jordan Times, January 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2jMimE7. 14 Natalija Gelvanovska, Michel Rogy, and Carlo Maria Rossotto, "Broadband Networks in the Middle East and North Africa", p 162, World Bank, January 29, 2014, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16680. 15 Ibrahim Mubaidin, "The TRC Makes LLU Service Available" Al Ghad [in Arabic], July 30, 2017, https://bit.ly/2Lu5rrt 16 Orange Jordan Wholesale, "Voice and Data solutions," accessed October 14, 2017, https://www.orange.jo/sites/wholesale/documents/pdf/ws_brochure.pdf. 17 Global Cloud Xchange, "Our Network", accessed on October 14, 2017, http://globalcloudxchange.com/our-network. 18 Doug Madory, "Orange Jordan Goes Black", Dyn Blog, August 14, 2012. https://dyn.com/blog/orange-jordan-goes-black. 19 Natalija Gelvanovska, Michel Rogy, and Carlo Maria Rossotto, "Broadband Networks in the Middle East and North Africa", p 71, World Bank, January 29, 2014, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16680. 20 Zain Jordan, "RCN (Regional Cable Network), New Terrestrial route connecting ME to Europe, goes live", May 10, 2015, https://zain.com/en/press/rcn-regional-cable-network-new-terrestrial-route-c. 21 Orange Jordan, "Jeddah Amman Damascus Istanbul Network (JADI)", accessed on October 14, 2017. https://www.orange.jo/sites/wholesale/en/pages/jadi.aspx. 22 Mai Barakat, "Jordan will be challenging, but a fourth operator might find elbow room as a mobile broadband provider," Ovum, February 21, 2013, http://bit.ly/1JBMhUg. 23 Orange Jordan, "Annual Report 2017" p20, accessed July 28, 2018, https://oran.ge/2mOAT5f 24 Malek Ubaydat, "Gharaibeh to JO24: The Market is not in Need of a Fourth Operator", JO24 [in Arabic], July 14, 2018, https://www.jo24.net/post.php?id=278547 25 Mohammad Ghazal, "Orange launches 4G in Amman, to expand nationwide by Q3," Jordan Times, May 26, 2015, http://bit.ly/1eCIvRh. 26 Mohammad Ghazal, "Umniah granted 4G licence," Jordan Times, June 14, 2015, http://bit.ly/2pBoUud. 27 "FRiENDi Jordan suspends operations in Kingdom," Jordan Times, February 12, 2017, http://bit.ly/2poQHxn. 28 The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Jordan, Chapter III, http://bit.ly/1Mwi5QE. 29 The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Telecommunications Law Article 4, http://trc.gov.jo/Pages/viewpage.aspx?pageID=794. 30 Ibid. 31 "Jordan," in One Social Network With A Rebellious Message, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, 2009, http://bit.ly/1V0uqvC. 32 MJ Mohavedi, "Gay-Bashing in Jordan by the Government", Human Rights Watch, August 30, 2017 https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/08/30/gay-bashing-jordan-government 33 Ghada Al-Shaikh, "[The Center for] Defending Freedom of Journalists Denounces the Blocking of the site Namdi.Net," Al-Ghad [in Arabic], July 26, 2017, http://bit.ly/2FUaECU 34 Muath Hamideh, "Jordan Blocks an Illegal Foreign Website," Khaberni [in Arabic], November 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2znCuU8 35 7iber (@7iber), "We are still waiting for a clarification from the government about who is responsible for the inaccessibility of the site for 12 hours, taking into account that any entity capable to block [sites] should belong to the government, at least constitutionally", Tweet [in Arabic], July 3, 2018, http://bit.ly/2vsmdMN 36 Jordanian Media Monitor, Amended Press & Publications Law No. 32 of 2012, August 2013, http://bit.ly/1zqh8ig. 37 Media Commission, "Electronic Publications", [in Arabic], accessed March 2, 2018, http://bit.ly/2oNqTKE 38 Sawsan Zaideh, "The Jordan Press Association: A Monopoly by Law", 7iber, February 16, 2015, http://bit.ly/1zhSXSw. 39 Jordanian Media Monitor, Amended Press & Publications Law No. 32 of 2012, August 2013, http://bit.ly/1zqh8ig. 40 Jordanian Media Monitor, Amended Press & Publications Law No. 32 of 2012, August 2013, http://bit.ly/1zqh8ig. 41 In a discussion about the impact of website licensing and the PPL, publisher of news website JO24 Basel Okour said that they stopped allowing comments on their website in protest of the law and to protect the privacy of their readers. See "An Open Meeting at 7iber to Discuss the State of Online Journalism After the Website Registration Requirement," [in Arabic], YouTube video, 1:43:44, posted by Jordan Days, December 8, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjUkvuRcBlI. 42 Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, "State of media freedoms in Jordan 2017," p17-18 [in Arabic], May 9, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Frz6hW 43 "DPP Brings Down Media Freedom in Jordan," Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, May 3, 2014, http://bit.ly/1Nd4opP. 44 "Gag order bans coverage of Jordanian writer news," Jordan News Agency (Petra), September 26, 2016, http://bit.ly/2qts300. 45 "Amman bans independent coverage of Jordan's royal family," Middle East Eye, September 1, 2016, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jordan-bans-media-publishing-about-royal-family-531467385. 46 "Gag order bans publication of army news," Jordan News Agency (Petra), November 30, 2016, http://bit.ly/2qGNI1a. 47 Alexa, "Top Sites in Jordan," accessed on May 2, 2017, http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/JO. 48 "Facebook, WhatsApp Overshadow Twitter in Jordan's Social Media Sphere," Jordan Times, April 13, 2016, http://bit.ly/2bBODMQ. 49 King Abdullah II Official Website, "King launches personal Twitter account," March 26, 2017, https://kingabdullah.jo/en/news/king-launches-personal-twitter-account. 50 Royal Hashemite Court Instagram Page, http://instagram.com/rhcjo. 51 King Abudullah II Bin Al Hussein Instagram Page, http://instagram.com/alhusseinbinabdullahii . 52 Queen Rania Al Abdullah Twitter Page, https://twitter.com/QueenRania; Queen Rania Al Abdullah Instagram, http://bit.ly/1iVLx62. 53 Abderrahim Etouil, "Queen of Social Media," Forbes Middle East, July 1, 2011, http://bit.ly/1KMPUv0. 54 Ghassan Abu Louz, "The Twitter Account of the Prime Minister of Jordan: Jokes, Exams and Cheats from Singapore," Al-Arabiya, [in Arabic], June 9, 2018, https://bit.ly/2K4CjSk 55 Dr.Annette Ranko, Leontine Von Felbert and Bayan Al-Halawani, "#JordanStrikes Protests and Government Change in the Hashemite Kingdom," June 2018, https://bit.ly/2NUMvyS 56 "Wednesday's strike to reject the income tax law," [Facebook event, In Arabic], https://bit.ly/2LCSX17. 57 Rana Husseini, "68% of Jordanians supported June's protests poll," Jordan Times, July 5, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LJ3OWf 58 Daoud Kuttab, "Jordan's protesters are young and wary of their cause being hijacked," Arab News, June 4, 2018, http://www.arabnews.com/node/1314946/middle-east 59 Anwar Ziadat and Lana Kazkaz, "Official Media Absent; Facebook Leading Protests," AKEED Jordan Media Credibility Monitor, June 4, 2018, https://bit.ly/2AkPzlV 60 "Fiscal_Reform_in_Jordan Hashtag: Alert of the Government and Neglection of Media," Ad-Dustour [in Arabic], May 29, 2018, https://bit.ly/2IQC7dn 61 Bassam Baddareen, "A General Strike in Jordan to Protest the Rise in Prices and Tax," Al-Quds Al-Araby [in Arabic], May 31, 2018, https://bit.ly/2AkJvKe 62 "Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein Filmed in Center of Amman Protests," Albawaba, June 4, 2018, https://bit.ly/2LKPMUa 63 "The Crown Prince Visits the Fourth Circle and Thanks the Security and Requests the Protection of Citizens," Hala Akhbar, June 4, 2018, http://bit.ly/2v2435d 64 "#MeToo, #TakeAKnee and #Covfefe: Hashtags that dominated in 2017," BBC News, December 27, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-42251490 65 Rana Husseini, "In historic vote, House abolishes controversial Article 308," Jordan Times, August 1, 2017 http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/historic-vote-house-abolishes-controversial-article-308 66 Human Rights Watch, "Jordan: A Poetic Security Threat," September 3, 2010, https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/09/03/jordan-poetic-security-threat. 67 Constitution of Jordan, January 1, 1952, http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/constitution_jo.html. 68 For example, the law bars public requests for information involving religious, racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination (Article 10), and allows officials to withhold all types of classified information, a very broad category (Article 13) see, Arab Archives Institute, "Summary of the Study on Access to Information Law in Jordan," June 2005, http://www.alarcheef.com/reports/englishFiles/accessToInformation.pdf. 69 International Press Institute, "Jordan's Online Media at stake", 2015, http://bit.ly/1SCa4qQ. 70 Daoud Kuttab, "Losing the Arab Spring accomplishments?," Jordan Times, March 9, 2016, http://bit.ly/1oXWIgS. 71 "Jordan: Talking is Not a Crime.. A Campaign to Repeal Article 11 of Cybercrime Law", Al Araby Al Jadeed [in Arabic], March 5, 2016 http://bit.ly/1T4jjTR. 72 Maher Shwabkeh, "a Campaign in Jordan to Protect Freedoms", [in Arabic], Al Hayat, April 3, 2016, http://bit.ly/1WrZ5Gl. 73 Abdul Razzaq Abu Hazeem, "Amendments to Cyber-crime Law Include definition of hate speech", Al-Rai, [in Arabic], September 29, 2017, http://bit.ly/2hIB5jA. 74 Ignacio Miguel Delgado Culebras, "Changes to Jordan's hate speech law could further stifle press freedom," Committee to Protect Journalists, February 20, 2018, https://cpj.org/blog/2018/02/changes-to-jordans-hate-speech-law-could-further-s.php 75 "Government: Cybercrime Draft Law in the hands of Lower House and no Withdrawal," Al Ghad [in Arabic], June 21, 2018, http://bit.ly/2v6O7Pa 76 The Press and Publications Law 1998 amended by Law No. 32. 77 Law number (32) 2012. Amendments to The Press and Publications law for the Year 1998 (8), Article 38, clauses A, B, C & D. 78 The Press and Publications Law 1998 amended by Law No. 32. 79 Human Rights Watch, "Jordan: End Trials of Persecutors Undermining Regime," October 29, 2013, http://bit.ly/1hEq94a. 80 Human Rights Watch "Jordan: Terrorism Amendments Threaten Rights," May, 17, 2014, http://bit.ly/Rhgpzz, and "Royal Endorsement of Anti-Terrorism Law,"[in Arabic] Gerasa News, June 1, 2014, http://bit.ly/1N5YSnh. 81 Anti-Terrorism law -No 18 2014 Article 3 (b), http://bit.ly/1trDOKp. 82 Reporters Without Borders, "King urged to repeal draconian changes to anti-terrorism law," June 16, 2014, http://bit.ly/1UvoACc. 83 "Activist Husam-al Abdallat accused of defamation," Al Jazeera, May 21, 2017 http://bit.ly/2n5acta 84 "Jordan: Journalist Arbitrarily Detained for Criticising Corruption Released on Bail but Charges Still Pending," Al Karama, June 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2LKvpY9 85 Reem Al Masri, "How to start the journey to the solitary cell with a Publish click," 7iber.org [in Arabic], August 21, 2017, http://bit.ly/2g4xEWW 86 Salah Al Duhni, "The arrest of a Jordanian who published a sarcastic image of a parliamentary raises controversy" Arabi 21 [in Arabic], September 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2tt6EqF 87 Ignacio Miguel Delgado Culebras, "Changes to Jordan's hate speech law could further stifle press freedom," Committee to Protect Journalists, February 20, 2018, https://cpj.org/blog/2018/02/changes-to-jordans-hate-speech-law-could-further-s.php 88 "Arrest of journalists who published pictures of the properties of the Secretary General of the Royal Court," AmmanNet [in Arabic], October 26, 2017, http://ar.ammannet.net/news/291695 89 Sahar Al-Qasem, "Refer of accused in the case of Issawi to the court and refrain from prosecuting others," AmmonNews [in Arabic], November 9, 2017, http://bit.ly/2NT3j9q 90 Sahar Al-Qasem, "Arrest of two people and the release of 5 on the Issawi case," AmmonNews [in Arabic], October 26, 2017, http://bit.ly/2Kc8QWC 91 Raghda Khalil, "How did activists interact with the arrest of journalist al-Rifai?," Albosala [in Arabic], November 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2AqAEqy 92 "Police explain the story behind the video of the arresting a person with his family" Hala [in Arabic], November 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2uZdrqg 93 "Media coverage absent of the truth in the arrest of Ashraf al-Rifai," AKEED Jordan Media Credibility Monitor [in Arabic], November 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2NYReQq 94 "Criminal Court prosecutor refutes 'baseless news' of woman's death," Jordan Times, September, 17, 2017, http://bit.ly/2LBsZLn 95 "Arrest of journalist Ashraf al-Rifai in Juweida," Sawaleif [in Arabic], November 6, 2017, http://bit.ly/2M3Qvgf 96 "Colleague Ashraf al-Rifai tells the details of his arrest," Saraya News [in Arabic], November 26, 2017, https://www.sarayanews.com/article/459317 97 Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, "State of media freedoms in Jordan for the month of October 2017," p167-168 [in Arabic], May 9, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Frz6hW 98 "Jordan arrests two journalists after complaint by finance minister," Middle East Eye, January 17, 2018, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jordan-arrests-two-journalists-over-complaint-finance-minister-396362501 99 "A view of the situation of press freedom in Jordan," Al Araby TV, January 18, 2018, http://bit.ly/2mY25z1 100 Rana Husseini, "Two journalists arrested over defamatory tax evasion claims released on bail," Jordan Times, January 18, 2018, http://bit.ly/2NVCoda 101 "An announcement by Jafra News about the news of Minister of Finance Omar Malhas," Jafra News [in Arabic], May 31, 2018, http://bit.ly/2AoTFK2 102 Privacy International, "State of Privacy Jordan," June 28, 2017, https://www.privacyinternational.org/node/973. 103 Information and Research Center at King Hussein Foundation & 7iber, "Digital Privacy in Jordan: Perceptions and Implications among Human Rights Actors", 2015 http://bit.ly/1WrGA51. 104 "After the tribal strife-Demands to prosecute officials who spied on telecommunications of Jordanians", Arabian Business [in Arabic], May 15, 2018, http://bit.ly/2v8aBPW 105 "Statement for the right of privacy and freedom," Online petition on Change.org [in Arabic], May 13, 2018, http://bit.ly/2OD9bVs 106 International Freedom of Expression Exchange, "Cyber crime law attacks free expression; Internet cafes monitored," news release, August 18, 2010, http://www.ifex.org/jordan/2010/08/18/cyber_cafe/; "Interior requires Internet cafes to install surveillance cameras and keep Internet visits for months" [in Arabic], Saraya News, June 3, 2010, http://www.sarayanews.com/object-article/view/id/23211. 107 Eye on Media, "Declining Freedom, Restrictions on the Internet and a Financial Crisis," December 25, 2013, http://bit.ly/1KN2GcQ. 108 Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, "State of media freedoms in Jordan 2017," [in Arabic], May 9, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Frz6hW 109 Ibid. p155-156. 110 "Writer turns himself in after cartoon sparks outrage," Jordan Times, August 13, 2016, http://bit.ly/2bfjr2d; "Jordan: Nahed Hattar shot dead ahead of cartoon trial," Al Jazeera, September 26, 2016, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/jordan-nahed-hattar-shot-dead-cartoon-trial-160925080745317.html. 111 Suha Ma'ayeh, "Jordan's top cartoonist faces charges of insulting religion." The National, November 1, 2017, https://bit.ly/2mOgKfp 112 Rana F. Sweis, "Jordanian Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing 3 U.S. Soldiers," New York Times, July 17, 2017, https://nyti.ms/2ty1Uuq 113 Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, "State of media freedoms in Jordan 2017," [in Arabic], May 9, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Frz6hW 114 "Statement by Jordan News Agency (Petra)," Jordan News Agency (Petra), June 13, 2016, http://bit.ly/21jdDrL. 115 "Petra news agency hacked, attributes false comments to Saudi Prince," Al Arabiya English, June 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ps5KTW. 116 "Ammon Website Confirms it has been Hacked: News about Tarawneh Fabricated," Al Ghad [in Arabic], November 1, 2017, https://bit.ly/2AhXwsp 117 Committee to Protect Journalists, "In Jordan, website hacked after running sensitive statement," February 9, 2011, http://cpj.org/x/416b. 118 "Jordan Post Company's website hacked", Roya News, October 21, 2018, http://en.royanews.tv/news/11957/2017-10-21 Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Iran Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Iran, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b1013.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Not Free Total Score: 85/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 81,162,788 Internet Penetration: 60.4% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Not Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In January, at the height of antigovernment protests across the country, authorities slowed down internet connections and at times completely blocked access to servers and data outside Iran (see Restrictions on Connectivity). Telegram and Instagram were blocked by authorities in response to the protests. While both blocks were lifted by mid-January, Telegram was permanently blocked in April for being a threat to national security (see Blocking and Filtering). New regulations entitled "Policies and Actions Regarding the Organization of Social Media Messaging Applications" released in August 2017 outline legal activities for messaging apps operating in Iran and formalize previous demands that foreign messaging apps work with Iranian authorities to obtain licenses and move their data centers inside Iran (see Legal Environment). Though prosecutions for online activities led to shorter prison sentences compared to previous years, six admins of reformist-aligned Telegram channels were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years in August 2017. Several other Telegram admins were arrested for various activities, using charges such as encouraging protests or promoting homosexuality (see Prosecutions and Arrests for Online Activities). Introduction: Internet freedom remained highly restricted in Iran over the past year due to the disrupting of internet connectivity and blocking of social media platforms in response to antigovernment protests. In late December 2017, protesters took the streets in the city of Mashhad to vocalize discontent with the country's flagging economy and the soaring prices of basic goods. Within a week, the protests spread to several other cities, becoming the largest expression of dissatisfaction with the government since the nationwide protests against the 2009 presidential election results. In response, authorities throttled and at times shut down mobile and internet networks; they also blocked access to the messaging app Telegram and photo-sharing platform Instagram for at least one week. Later in April 2018, the government blocked Telegram completely under the pretext of national security; hard-liners within the Islamic regime argued that the platform supported terrorists and other dangerous groups. Telegram was then the most widely used social media and messaging app in the country, with an estimated 40 million users. Iranians employed the app to follow popular "channels," including those of local and foreign news organizations whose websites are blocked in the country. Following the ban, Iranian authorities pursued a policy to promote and financially support domestic messaging apps. Meanwhile, the long-standing filtering of the Chinese messaging app WeChat was reportedly lifted. Authorities continued to arrest numerous individuals for their online activities in the past year, though convictions led to shorter prison sentences compared to previous years. Four Telegram admins were arrested in September 2017 in Baneh, Kurdistan Province, for allegedly encouraging protests. Six other Telegram admins were reportedly charged in September for "promoting homosexuality." Separately, six admins of reformist-aligned Telegram channels who were arrested around the May 2017 presidential election were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years in August 2017. Obstacles to Access: Most improvements to internet freedom since the election of President Hassan Rouhani in 2013 relate to access and the information and communication technology (ICT) market. The ICT Minister announced in July 2017 new plans for the country's national information network (SHOMA) to include the development of a national wireless network and an expansion of IP backbone projects, among other plans. Authorities slowed down internet connections and at times completely blocked access to servers and data outside Iran during antigovernment protests in January 2018. Availability and Ease of Access Internet penetration, bandwidth, and speeds have increased markedly in recent years due to immense investment in ICTs. Both the Iranian government and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimated internet penetration at approximately 60 percent in 2017.[1] According to Iran's ICT minister, internet bandwidth increased from 724 to 4,000 Gbps during President Rouhani's first term. The ICT Ministry set a target of 12,000 Gbps by the end of 2017.[2] Both Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and the parliament have warned the administration against increasing bandwidth before the country's national information network (SHOMA) is ready.[3] SHOMA was defined in a 2011-16 development plan as "an IP-based internet supported by data centers that are completely undetectable and impenetrable by foreign sources and allow the creation of private, secure intranet networks."[4] In addition to protecting against foreign cyberattacks like the "Stuxnet" malware virus, identified in 2010,[5] SHOMA is meant to improve internet access while moving much of the content and websites visited by Iranian users to domestic servers, where traffic can be closely monitored and censored by the authorities. In July 2017, then ICT minister Mahmoud Vaezi who later became the president's chief of staff unveiled plans for the next phase of SHOMA at an event in the Tehran offices of the Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran (MCI). The plans included development of the national wireless network, including 4.5G service in 710 cities; expansion of IP (internet protocol) backbone projects and fiber networks; expansion of the content delivery network (CDN) in Iran; and an agreement with Nokia for research and delivery of 5G mobile service.[6] The Rouhani administration has demonstrated a consistent commitment to developing SHOMA as part of its overall drive to boost connectivity. The deputy ICT minister claimed that domestic traffic accounted for 40 percent of all internet usage as of March 2017, up from only 10 percent one year earlier.[7] The country's proposed ICT budget for 2017-18 was cut by 2 percent from the previous year, though the 2016-17 budget had increased by 113 percent. Similarly, the amount devoted to SHOMA rose by 1 percent, having increased the previous year by 44 percent.[8] Another welcome consequence of investment in ICT infrastructure through SHOMA is the expansion of internet connectivity to rural areas. The ICT Ministry reported that over 27,000 villages were connected to high-speed internet during the first four years of the Rouhani administration. Official figures claim that no rural villages were previously connected to high-speed internet.[9] Vaezi noted in 2017 that there were plans to connect a further 18,000 villages to the internet.[10] Iranian private and state-backed companies have also been seeking foreign investment. In May 2017 it was announced that South Africa's MTN would invest US$295 million to bring fiber-optic networks to the cities of Tehran, Karaj, Qom, Tabriz, Shiraz, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Mashhad.[11] MTN would control 49 percent of the Iranian Net Company, a consortium established in 2011 to deliver fiber-optic upgrades.[12] However, a move to prioritize local content through differential pricing threatens net neutrality, the principle that providers should not discriminate against certain types of content or services. In January 2017, Vaezi ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to implement a new "National Information Network Tariff" whereby certain domestic traffic is priced at a 50 percent discount.[13] The discount initially applied when users accessed a list of 500 websites compiled by the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA). The nongovernmental organization Small Media noted that the list favored semiofficial and government-run news sites at the expense of other, more popular news sites. Some ISPs also discounted access to websites that did not feature on the list. As of May 2017, most providers of fixed-line internet service had reportedly implemented the discount, although only one mobile provider had done so.[14] MTN Iran Cell clarified that customers using virtual private networks (VPNs) would not be eligible for the discount, even when browsing local traffic through a VPN.[15] In December 2017, Iran's new ICT minister, Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, announced that the 50 percent discount would be extended to all domestic websites, not just those on the previously selected list.[16] Restrictions on Connectivity The development of SHOMA and the state's control over the internet backbone provides the government with the ability to throttle foreign connection speeds during politically sensitive periods without crippling critical services. At the height of antigovernment protests across the country in the first few days of January 2018, authorities slowed down internet connections and at times completely blocked access to servers and data outside Iran. The network monitor BGPmon noted in a tweet that international traffic temporarily dropped by nearly 50 percent on January 1.[17] Small Media's Filterwatch found that "although the incident only lasted for 12 minutes, the timing of the event does suggest that traffic was being intentionally throttled, and that the state has the capacity to limit international traffic as it chooses."[18] Iranian internet users during the same period reported major disruptions in access to servers hosted by the New York-based hosting company DigitalOcean, apparently caused by ISPs inside Iran.[19] The Telecommunications Infrastructure Company (TIC), a state-owned enterprise controlled by the ICT Ministry, retains a monopoly on internet traffic flowing in and out of Iran.[20] In addition, the heavy influence of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) in the ISP market grants the security apparatus the ability to control third-party ISPs and monitor online activities, since TCI's majority shareholder is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an important branch of the security forces that also controls large portions of the economy.[21] In January 2018, the supreme leader ordered the IRGC and other security forces to reduce any economic activities that are not related to their core missions,[22] but the corps had made no move to withdraw from TCI as of May. In October (after the report's coverage period), the IRGC announced that it was selling its stake in the telecommunications giant.[23] ICT Market The telecommunications industry is tightly controlled by the government or related entities. Direct access to the internet via satellite is only permitted for certain institutes and is prohibited for personal use. TCI owns the Data and Communication Company (DCC), the country's main ISP. The mobile phone market is under similar state influence. MCI, a subsidiary of TCI, is the largest mobile provider.[24] The second largest, MTN Irancell, is 49 percent owned by South Africa's MTN and 51 percent by Iran Electronics Industries, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.[25] Regulatory Bodies There is no independent regulatory body for ICTs in Iran. The CRA, which falls under the ICT Ministry, is responsible for telecommunications licensing. Its head is appointed by the ICT minister.[26] The CRA has taken several actions to improve the quality of service and reduce prices for Iranian users. For example, it has awarded licenses that allowed new ISPs to enter the market, increasing consumer choice.[27] In December 2015, the CRA compelled ISPs to implement quality-control measurements on the services they offer to customers.[28] It has also pushed for internet infrastructure development, including an increase in the number of IP addresses available in Iran,[29] and sought to expand internet access to thousands of rural villages.[30] The country's top internet policy body is the Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC). The council was established through a 2012 decree from the supreme leader and is composed of 17 representatives from government institutions and 10 members appointed by Khamenei.[31] It is intended to provide a centralized point for policymaking and the regulation of Iran's virtual space, effectively minimizing the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government and bringing internet policy under Khamenei's direct control. Observers believe this reflected his dwindling trust in then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lead such an important policy area. The SCC has been routinely criticized for being disorganized,[32] not holding enough meetings,[33] and not doing enough to encourage Iranians to use the internet in a "clean" and Islamic fashion.[34] In September 2015, Khamenei consolidated the SCC's power over internet policy and made some personnel changes to the council. In April 2016, he dissolved the High Council of Informatics, the Supreme Council of Information, and the Supreme National Security Council of Information Exchange (AFTA), incorporating their responsibilities into the SCC.[35] Limits on Content: Significant restrictions on content have been in place since 2009. Major international platforms like Facebook and Twitter remain blocked, and although newer social media and communication applications have generally been accessible, Telegram and Instagram faced government blocking efforts during the coverage period. Censorship decisions remain highly politicized, with both conservative and reformist news sites suffering censorship for failure to adhere to strict guidelines on coverage of sensitive political, social, and international issues. Self-censorship is pervasive, and overt digital activism is limited, though it has increased since the electoral campaigns of 2017. Blocking and Filtering The Iranian authorities restrict access to tens of thousands of websites, particularly those of international news services, the political opposition, ethnic and religious minority groups, and human rights organizations.[36] Websites are also blocked if they differ from the official doctrine of the state regarding Islam, or from its chosen narrative on domestic or international politics. Frequently censored topics include friction among Iranian political institutions and the 2015 deal with world powers to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for eased economic sanctions. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Google are all blocked, in addition to major blog-hosting platforms like WordPress, Blogspot, and Blogger.[37] Conservative leaders have repeatedly exerted pressure on the CDICC to block other prominent social media platforms, while President Rouhani has used his administration's six seats on the committee to push back. Apps and websites have been blocked over links to foreign countries, particularly the United States and Israel. For example, the navigation app Waze and messaging app Viber were first blocked in 2017 and 2014, respectively, for being developed in Israel.[38] After authorities blocked Viber, Telegram became the most widely used messaging app in the country, with an estimated 40 million monthly users in 2017.[39] However, after Telegram launched free encrypted voice calling in April 2017, the feature was immediately blocked by all ISPs on an order from the prosecutor general.[40] Other voice-over-IP services have not been blocked. Telegram messaging functions still worked after the incident, but security forces increasingly arrested reformist Telegram channel administrators and claimed to have remove thousands of "illegal" channels every week (see Content Removal, and Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). On December 31, 2017, Telegram and Instagram were blocked by authorities in response to antigovernment street protests that began a few days before. Although the services were unblocked on January 13 and January 4, respectively,[41] on April 26 it was announced that the SCC had ordered the closure of local CDN servers that hosted Telegram content.[42] On April 30, a prosecutor sitting on Iran's Media Court issued an order to filter Telegram, and eventually all normal access to Telegram was obstructed by ISP and mobile operators.[43] Following the ban, Iranian authorities pursued a policy of financial support and promotion of domestic messaging apps.[44] Meanwhile, long-standing filtering of the Chinese messaging app WeChat was reportedly lifted.[45] Internet censorship is highly politicized, often reflecting tensions between conservatives and reformists in the country. Instagram's live video feature was temporary blocked in April 2017.[46] Pro-Rouhani and reformist figures had been using the platform to broadcast nightly debates and cover campaign rallies in support of Rouhani's reelection the following month.[47] No government body took responsibility for the blocking order. In November 2017, a website close to former president Ahmadinejad, Dolat-e Bahar ("Government of Spring"), was blocked by authorities.[48] Domestic news sites are frequently blocked for criticizing the government. In August 2016, Memari News was blocked on the order of the public prosecutor of Tehran after it published a letter from a judicial body to the Tehran municipality exposing corruption.[49] In September of that year, Borna News, Moj News, and Nasim News were similarly blocked.[50] In February 2017, the news website Tadbir 24 had its filtering lifted, having been blocked in November 2016 for unclear reasons.[51] Censorship decisions are made by the Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content (CDICC), a government body headed by the prosecutor general and consisting of representatives from 12 state institutions. In theory, decisions are made on the basis of the 2009 Computer Crimes Law (CCL), which outlines a broad range of banned content, from insulting religious figures and government officials to distributing pornographic content and the use of illegal circumvention tools.[52] In practice, little information is available about the inner workings of the committee, and censorship decisions are often arbitrary and not transparent. Iranian authorities currently employ a centralized filtering system that can effectively block a website within a few hours across the entire network in Iran. Private ISPs are forced to either use the bandwidth provided by the government or route traffic containing site-visit requests through government-issued filtering boxes developed by software companies inside Iran. The filtering boxes inspect URL requests submitted by users for banned text strings either keywords or domain names and block access accordingly. This method only limits access to content retrieved through unencrypted HTTP connections. Individual pages remain available over an encrypted connection (HTTPS), which disguises the banned text, requiring censors to block the entire site in order to restrict access to specific content. Officials continue to call for an "intelligent filtering" system, using deep-packet inspection (DPI) to allow them to block specific pages, but more services have enabled HTTPS browsing, making them resilient to keyword filtering. This has done little to dampen the enthusiasm for intelligent filtering, with Vaezi announcing a further investment of US$66 million in the program in 2015-16.[53] He also suggested that the country may transfer more censorship authority to ISPs as part of the next phase of SHOMA development.[54] The move to empower ISPs may actually result in more repressive policies, given that the IRGC is a dominant owner in the ISP market, whereas reformists have some representation in the existing state policymaking structure for content management. Content Removal Iranian authorities employ administrative measures to remove unwanted content from the web. Content removals featured prominently during the 2017 presidential election period. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, hours after the Rouhani campaign published a video in which reformist former President Mohammad Khatami declared his support for Rouhani's reelection bid, campaign officials were told by the judiciary to delete the video from social media or face arrest.[55] The IRGC routinely arrested Telegram group administrators in order to coerce them to remove content or delete their channels from the platform (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). This was prevalent in the months prior to the presidential election, when the reformist-aligned Telegram channels operated by Eslahtalaban News, Eslahaat News, Majmeye Eslahtalaban, and Haamiyan Dolat were either deleted or stopped publishing due to the arrest of their admins.[56] Iran's prosecutor general stated in 2017 that the judiciary issued orders to block tens of thousands of Telegram channels every week, but company representatives denied accusations that they complied with censorship beyond the removal of terrorist content.[57] On December 30, 2017, ICT minister Azari Jahromi took to Twitter to directly ask Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov to remove the channel of the website Amad News, which he accused of promoting violence among protesters. Durov responded by saying that if the claims were confirmed, the channel would be removed. Within hours it was removed temporarily, until it assured Telegram that its terms of use would not be violated.[58] Iranian authorities later moved to ban Telegram entirely in April 2018 (see Blocking and Filtering). Website owners must register their sites with the Ministry of Culture and are then subject to requests to remove particular posts deemed unacceptable by the government. The 2009 CCL makes service providers, such as blogging platforms, responsible for any content that appears on their sites. This has led to the suspension of blogs or shuttering of news websites hosted on platforms inside Iran, under orders from government officials. News websites are consistently warned on how to cover sensitive political or social topics, such as the 2015 nuclear deal or controversial former presidents like Khatami.[59] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation As part of the development of SHOMA, authorities introduced regulations that essentially signaled the end of net neutrality in Iran. By splitting domestic and international traffic and creating price incentives for users to browse domestic content, Iran has created barriers to media diversity and innovation (see Availability and Ease of Access).[60] In May 2017, MTN Irancell announced that consumers using VPNs would not receive the 50 percent discount when accessing domestic content, further discouraging the use of circumvention tools to reach restricted content.[61] Self-censorship is extensive, particularly on political matters. Widespread arrests and harsh sentences meted out to journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens, as well as perceptions of pervasive surveillance, serve to deter unfettered expression online. Many journalists and bloggers abandoned their online activities or used pseudonyms after the crackdown on 2009 protests linked to that year's disputed presidential election, resulting in a palpable drop in the amount of original content produced by users based inside the country. The situation slightly improved after Rouhani assumed the presidency in 2013, especially among reformist journalists. Nevertheless, the same restrictions remain in place, and journalists continue to be prosecuted. In addition to filtering, censorship, and intimidation, the state counters critical content and online organizing efforts by extending regime propaganda into the digital sphere. The regime has backed numerous initiatives to promote blogging among its supporters and members of the Basij paramilitary group.[62] For example, an Iranian cultural center sponsors an annual "National Cyber Jihad Festival" for expert bloggers to promote conservative religious values online.[63] Iranian authorities also actively support the creation of Iranian social networks and mobile apps by offering free bandwidth and hosting to local developers.[64] There have been reports of automated "bot" accounts spreading Iranian military propaganda on Twitter to reach foreign audiences.[65] The majority of independent content producers lack the financial resources to operate in such a hostile environment. The online advertising market in Iran is exclusively limited to apolitical and progovernment websites. Although the United States adjusted its sanctions against Iran after the 2015 nuclear deal to enable American internet companies to provide services to Iranian users, Google still does not allow an advertising campaign to target Iran as a country,[66] disadvantaging domestic content producers as well as content producers in the diaspora seeking to cultivate an audience inside Iran. Any Iranian-linked company or individual that wishes to use Google AdSense to monetize content must apply for a specific license in a process that is onerous for the majority of Iranian content producers. The ICT Ministry and Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) the state broadcaster whose head is appointed directly by the supreme leader appear to be at odds on the right to license internet protocol television (IPTV) services. The ministry has sought to capitalize on expanded bandwidth by promoting IPTV as a new avenue for media diversity. However, in November 2016, IRIB notified all private IPTV providers that licenses issued to them by the ICT Ministry were invalid, insisting that only IRIB has the power to issue licenses.[67] The broadcaster issued licenses of its own in January 2017.[68] The conflict had yet to be resolved as of May 2018.[69] Digital Activism Despite formal blocks on Facebook and Twitter, Iranians use social media to communicate, raise awareness of societal issues, and even engage in political debates. In the lead-up to the May 2017 presidential election, all of the main candidates used the internet, social networking platforms, and messaging apps, particularly Instagram and Telegram. Even conservative candidates who had once railed against social media used such applications during the campaign, demonstrating their importance for political activism in Iran.[70] Instagram has stormed into the foreground of Iran's digital media landscape over the last two years, becoming a key tool for political communications. In addition to serving as a platform for debate among citizens, Instagram's Live feature was heavily used by both Rouhani and his main conservative opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, but it proved particularly vital for the former's campaign.[71] IRIB favored Raisi in its coverage, but Rouhani supporters live-streamed their candidate's campaign events and nightly talk shows about his policies.[72] Telegram played a significant role in the presidential election, with both major campaigns deploying sophisticated tools including automated "bot" accounts that were set up to disseminate political messages and push back against the other side's rhetorical attacks. In addition to videos of campaign rallies and events, both campaigns shared short audio clips of key passages in the candidates' speeches. The campaigns were also professionally integrated across platforms, using Telegram to direct followers toward relevant content on Instagram and other services.[73] Iranians have used the internet in innovative ways to shape public opinion. The online graphic novel Jensiat was shortlisted for the 2017 Digital Activism Award by London-based Index on Censorship. The novel, which was the result of a collaboration between activists, researchers, designers, and technologists, tackled issues related to digital security in Iran. It also discussed taboos around gender roles and sexuality.[74] Twitter continues to be employed by Iranian activists to raise the profile of political prisoners, minorities facing discrimination, and human rights issues. On December 30, 2016, over 30,000 Twitter users from around the world used the hashtag #SaveArash to voice their support for imprisoned civil rights advocate Arash Sadeghi, who was 68 days into a hunger strike.[75] He remained behind bars as of 2018. On December 27, 2017, one day before a series of antigovernment protests began in Iran, US-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad posted an image of a woman engaging in a solitary protest against the mandatory hijab (headscarf) on social media. This was part of two growing social media campaigns My Stealthy Freedom and White Wednesdays in which Iranian women posted images of themselves protesting the compulsory hijab.[76] The image shared by Alinejad was widely circulated as the larger antigovernment street demonstrations gained momentum, though they focused on a variety of other issues, including corruption and economic hardship. Information shared on social media helped to extend those protests in cities across the country through the first week of January 2018, despite violent clashes with security forces, and further waves of demonstrations occurred later in the year. Meanwhile, dozens of women were arrested in the first two months of 2018 specifically for individual protests against compulsory hijab that were inspired by the White Wednesdays campaign.[77] Violations of User Rights: Despite hopes that the 2015 nuclear agreement might lead to a more open climate for internet users, hard-liners in the regime have responded to the deal by cracking down on criticism and "Western infiltration." Authorities have stepped up their monitoring of social media and technical attacks against opposition voices. While President Rouhani's cabinet has had some success in shielding certain mobile apps from censorship, there have been no changes to legal restrictions on internet freedom, and users continue to be sentenced to long prison terms for political speech on social media. Legal Environment Iran remains an extremely dangerous environment for internet users. Numerous laws tightly restrict online speech and allow harsh punishments for those who deliberately flout these constraints or inadvertently draw the ire of authorities. The constitution provides for limited freedom of opinion and expression, but a variety of haphazardly enforced statutes limit these rights in practice. The 2000 Press Law, for example, forbids the publication of ideas that are contrary to Islamic principles or detrimental to public rights, none of which are clearly defined. The government and judiciary regularly invoke this and other vaguely worded legislation to criminalize critical opinions. The 2009 CCL outlines punishments for spying, hacking, piracy, phishing, libel, and publishing materials deemed to damage "public morality" or result in "dissemination of lies." Punishments are severe and include the death penalty for offenses against public morality and chastity, as well as long prison sentences, draconian fines, and other penalties for service providers that fail to enforce government content restrictions.[78] In December 2016, President Rouhani launched the "Citizens' Rights Charter," a nonbinding document.[79] Article 26 features a commitment to freedom of speech and expression "within the limits prescribed by the law,"[80] while Article 37 states that online privacy should be respected.[81] In August 2017, the SCC released new regulations entitled "Policies and Actions Regarding the Organization of Social Media Messaging Applications." The regulations outline what is viewed as legal for messaging apps operating in Iran and formalize previous demands that foreign messaging apps work with Iranian authorities to license themselves and move their data centers inside Iran. The new rules also task the ICT Ministry with forming a committee to suggest a licensing process for domestic and foreign messaging aps.[82] In February 2018, Azari Jahromi, the ICT minister, published drafts of five bills meant to codify the legal regime governing ICT policy in Iran.[83] The five bills cover the following subjects: eGovernment, electronic identification, and the responsibilities of ICT service providers, electronic financial transactions, and data protection. Despite their broad reach, none of the proposed bills deal with the restrictions on internet users' human rights stemming from the CCL.[84] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Authorities arrested numerous individuals for their online activities in the past year, though convictions led to shorter prison sentences compared to previous years. As Telegram grew in prominence in Iran, security forces turned their attention toward the administrators of the communication app's various channels, which allow users to post public messages to large groups. This was particularly notable around the May 2017 presidential election, when security forces arrested 12 admins of reformist-aligned Telegram channels; six of them were charged and sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years in August 2017.[85] Security forces also coerced admins into deactivating or deleting their channels. Among other such incidents during the year, four Telegram admins were arrested in September in Baneh, Kurdistan Province, for allegedly encouraging protests.[86] One of them, Shoja Hussainzadeh, was apparently arrested again in January 2018.[87] Also in September 2017, six Telegram admins were reportedly charged with "promoting homosexuality."[88] Mobile phone repairman and Telegram admin Hamidreza Amini was arrested in Tehran in December 2017 on charges including insulting the Prophet Muhammad and Shia Muslim imams, insulting the supreme leader, disturbing public opinion, and acting against national security. Authorities were reportedly holding him responsible for what others posted on his channel. He was held in solitary confinement and interrogated without access to a lawyer. Amini was awaiting trial at the end of the coverage period and faced a possible death sentence.[89] In June 2018, journalist and political activist Hengameh Shahidi was arrested after criticizing government policies on social media and participating in interviews with foreign media.[90] She was detained upon leaving a hospital where she had been treated for a heart attack. She had previously been imprisoned for five months in 2017 as part of a government crackdown on dissidents and reformists ahead of the presidential election.[91] Also in June 2018, poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin was sentenced to three months of community service and about US$1,200 in fines for "propaganda against the state," having posted a photo to his Instagram account of Mazdak Zarafshan, a man who was attacked and injured by police in December 2016. Zarafshan was the son of a lawyer who had represented the families of murdered dissidents.[92] Amid domestic political tensions between reformists and conservatives, hard-liners within the judiciary and IRGC have conducted a campaign against perceived "infiltration" by Western ideas, individuals, and companies. Numerous foreigners or Iranians with dual nationality who were active in journalism, human rights, or ICT development work have been imprisoned by the authorities, often with little explanation.[93] For example, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a journalist with Iranian-British dual citizenship, was arrested in April 2016 at the Tehran airport by the IRGC. She was sentenced that September to five years in prison for supposedly spying and designing websites that support sedition.[94] Although she became eligible for early release in November 2017, she remained in prison and faced new charges of propaganda against the state in May 2018. Two months later, a judge declared that she would not be released until Britain settled a US$394 million debt that Iran claimed it was owed under a 1976 deal involving military equipment.[95] Istanbul-based Iranian tech entrepreneur Arash Zad, an editor and contributor at the online magazine Weblogina and the technology websites Arashzad and Ladybug, was arrested by the IRGC in July 2015 as he prepared to return home to Turkey. After being held for more than two years, he was released without explanation in December 2017. Phishing emails from his account were reportedly sent to his contacts while he was in custody.[96] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity The online sphere in Iran is heavily monitored by the state. In January 2017, it was announced that the administrators of Telegram channels with more than 5,000 members would be offered incentives to register with Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. There was no punishment for noncompliance. Admins who registered were required to provide their channel name, full legal name, home address, and national identification number. In addition, they had to give "temporary co-administration" privileges to an "iransamandehibot" bot.[97] The presence of a government bot monitoring all channel discussions would pose a serious threat to the privacy and personal security of channel admins and members, particularly in channels sharing content deemed to be politically, religiously, or culturally sensitive. In April 2017, it was reported that 8,000 Telegram channels and 1,000 Instagram pages had registered.[98] The SCC had announced in May 2016 that foreign messaging apps must move all data on Iranian users to servers located within the country.[99] The order seemed to be aimed at Telegram, which had been under increased pressure from the authorities and was eventually blocked in 2018 (see Blocking and Filtering). Storing data on local servers would leave foreign companies more vulnerable to government demands to hand over data on dissidents and censor unfavorable views.[100] In July 2017, then ICT minister Vaezi claimed that Telegram had moved its servers to Iran. Chief executive Pavel Durov denied the claims, but said Vaezi was likely referring to the fact that Telegram rented local CDN caching nodes from a global provider, as it did in many countries.[101] The legal status of encryption in Iran is somewhat murky. Chapter 2, Article 10 of the CCL prohibits "concealing data, changing passwords, and/or encoding data that could deny access of authorized individuals to data, computer and telecommunication systems."[102] This could be understood to prohibit encryption, but enforcement is not common. Nonetheless, the authorities have periodically blocked encrypted traffic from entering the country through international gateways, particularly during contentious moments such as elections.[103] In 2015, amid preparation for elections to the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a body of clerics that appoints the supreme leader, the deputy interior minister for security announced that a new "Elections Security Headquarters" would be established "to monitor cyberspace."[104] Similarly, the IRGC launched a military exercise named "Eghtedare Sarallah" in September 2015, which included the monitoring of social media activities.[105] In June 2015, the Cyber Police (FATA) created a new unit for monitoring computer games.[106] It remains unclear how or how thoroughly the authorities can monitor the content of messages on foreign social networks, given that some apps encrypt their messages. However, all platforms and content hosted in Iran are subject to arbitrary requests by various authorities to provide more information on their users. Local platforms do not guarantee the kind of user protection offered by some of their international counterparts, which may explain users' hesitancy to adopt them. The Iranian government has continued its cat-and-mouse game against the use of circumvention tools, the legal status of which is also relatively opaque. The use of VPNs does not appear to be criminalized, unlike the selling or promotion of VPN services. Intimidation and Violence Extralegal intimidation and violence by state authorities is common in Iran. In 2012, blogger Sattar Beheshti was killed while in prison. More recently, state agencies such as the IRGC have pressured or coerced detained activists into giving up log-in details for their social media accounts, which the authorities have then used for surveillance and phishing attacks. This seems to be part of a broader pattern, as a number of activists have reported phishing attempts that appear to have been sponsored by the Iranian government.[107] A survey of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) Iranians conducted by Small Media in early 2018 suggested that half had experienced online harassment, and one in five had reported being entrapped by state or nonstate actors on dating apps.[108] This is part of a long-term campaign of harassment against LGBTQ people, with examples of threatening text messages sent to individuals going back to 2016.[109] The free expression organization Article 19 also identified numerous cases of online harassment against LGBTQ people in a February 2018 report.[110] Technical Attacks State hackers often launch cyberattacks against Iranian activists and campaigners, including those in the diaspora. In February 2017, the research group Iran Threats reported that a "macOS malware agent, named MacDownloader, was observed in the wild as targeting the defense industrial base, and reported elsewhere to have been used against a human rights advocate." The group tied the activity to hackers "believed to based in Iran and connected to Iranian security entities."[111] In August 2016, a prominent Iranian political activist based in Paris was the target of malware intended to gain remote access to a "wide range of content on Android smartphones including messages, photos, audio files, apps, GPS locators, and contact lists," according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran.[112] Various Telegram, Gmail, and social media accounts associated with the Imam Ali Popular Students Relief Society, an Iranian charity focused on combating poverty among women and children, were hacked in April 2018.[113] The identity of the attackers was unknown, though digital security adviser Amin Sabeti noted in an IranWire report that links to the IRGC were likely.114 Notes: 1 https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 2 The Iran Project, "Minister: Iran Internet bandwidth to increase to 12,000 Gbit/s," April 17, 2017, http://theiranproject.com/blog/2016/04/17/minister-iran-internet-bandwidth-increase-12000-gbits/. 3 Collin Anderson, "How Iran is Building Its Censorship-Friendly Domestic Internet," Wired, September 23, 2016, https://www.wired.com/2016/09/how-iran-is-building-its-censorship-friendly-domestic-internet/. 4 Mahsa Alimardani, "Iran Declares 'Unveiling' of its National Intranet," Global Voices Advox, September 2, 2016, https://advox.globalvoices.org/2016/09/02/iran-declares-unveiling-of-its-national-intranet/. 5 David E. Sanger, "Iran Fights Malware Attacking Computers," New York Times, September 25, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/world/middleeast/26iran.html. 6 '11 MCI projects as part of the third phase of SHOMA has been unveiled', IRNA, July 16 2017, https://bit.ly/2GUsZmB 7 "An increase of 4 times the traffic of information within the country," Mehr News Agency, May 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2fOB4h1. 8 Small Media, Iranian Internet Infrastructure and Policy Report: January 2016, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/iiip-january-2016. 9 "ICT Minister unveils 1052 project in Kermanshah province." Mehr News Agency, http://bit.ly/2rPnyLB. 10 18 Thousand villages will be connected to high speed internet, Mehr news, 13 August 2017, https://www.mehrnews.com/news/4057475/%DB%B1%DB%B8-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%B9%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%B2-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF 11 Hamed Jafari, "MTN to Invest $295 Million In Iranian Net," Techrasa, May, 14 2017, http://bit.ly/2rqo9Ca. 12 "UPDATE 1-South Africa's MTN To Invest $295 Mln In Iranian Net Broadband Network," Reuters, May 8, 2017, http://bit.ly/2pKX7ck. 13 "Cost of using SHOMA is half of the Internet's cost" [Farsi] Mehr News Agency, 24 January 2017, http://bit.ly/2qsr6oh. 14 Notification to two operators for non-implementation of the National Information Network Tariff," Mehr News, May 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2yVTFfO. 15 Center for Human Rights in Iran, "Iran's Mobile and Internet Service Providers Offer Discount For Limiting Usage to State-Approved Websites," May 5, 2017, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2017/05/irans-mobile-and-internet-service-providers-offer-discount-for-limiting-usage-to-state-approved-websites/ . 16 Discrimination in cost of connecting to local websites will end, ITNA, 3 December 2017, https://www.itna.ir/news/51176 17 https://twitter.com/bgpmon/status/947871872619655170 18 https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-december-2017 19 Small Media, December 2017, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-december-2017 20 Small Media, Iranian Internet Infrastructure and Policy Report: July 2015, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/articles/files/IIIP_Jul15.pdf#page=9, pg. 9-11. 21 Sreberny and Khiabany, Blogistan: The Internet and Politics in Iran, (London: IB Tauris, 2010), pg. 5. 22 https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-khamenei-irgc-exonomic-role/28987830.html 23 https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-irgc-gives-up-stake-in-telecommunications/29561856.html 24 "77 million mobile phones in hands of Iranian" Mehr News Agency, August, 31, 2016, http://bit.ly/2qIzq2X. 25 Steve Stecklow, "Exclusive: Iranian cell-phone carrier obtained banned U.S. tech," Reuters, June 4, 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-mtn-sanctions-idUSBRE8530SO20120604. 26 Communications Regulatory Commission of Iran, official website, http://bit.ly/1Lum12y. 27 "The entry of new operators into the internet market from September," [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/2eRXs3Y. 28 "Launch of control system for operators of internet usage," [Farsi], Itmen, http://www.itmen.ir/index.aspx?pid=99&articleId=88741. 29 "Internet access is provided in the aircraft, Fiber optic network modernization" [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/2eMxFL2. 30 "Start of Internet Directory to 37,000 village," [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/2eRX2L2. 31 For a list of current members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, see https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-august-2017. 32 "Labor system remained pending at the Supreme Council of Cyberspace," [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/2ebyRGm. 33 "Zarghami criticized the lack of meetings of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace," [Farsi] Itmen, http://itmen.ir/index.aspx?pid=99&articleId=85338. 34 "The Supreme Leader complains about the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and Communications Ministry," [Farsi] Alef, http://alef.ir/vdcamwnea49nmu1.k5k4.html?350258. 35 See http://bit.ly/2eKimUk. 36 Small Media, "April 2016," Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/articles/files/IIIP_APRIL16.pdf. 37 Maria Xynou, Arturo Filasto, Mahsa Alimardani, Sina Kouhi, Kyle Bowen, Vmon, Amin Sabeti, "Internet Censorship in Iran: Network Measurement Findings from 2014-2017," OONI, September 28, 2017, https://ooni.torproject.org/post/iran-internet-censorship/. 38 https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3729759,00.html 39 Golnaz Esfandiari, "Iranian Officials Trade Barbs in Dispute Over Internet Censorship," Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, July 27, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-telegram-app-internet-censorship-durov/28643317.html. 40 "Telegram Calls in Iran," Telegram, April 17, 2017, http://telegra.ph/Telegram-Calls-in-Iran-NEWS. 41 Small Media, "December 2017", Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/articles/files/IIIP_Dec2017.pdf. 42 BBC Persian, ' access to Telegram has been slowed down' available at http://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-43908356 43 Sunset for Telegram? // Iran's Latest Act of Censorship, and What Happens Next available at https://medium.com/filterwatch/sunset-for-telegram-irans-latest-act-of-censorship-and-what-happens-next-f5f06c459b68 44 Filterwatch // January 2018 available at https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-january-2018 45 WeChat is no longer filtered, ILNA NEWS, January 5 2018, https://bit.ly/2GQb7c9 46 See "The Department of Communications Denied Blocking Instagram Live," Donya-e-Eqtesad, http://bit.ly/2yHfDST. 47 "Iran's Judiciary Blocks Instagram's Live Video Service Weeks Before May 2017 Elections", Center for Human Rights in Iran, April 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2qPVXcO. 48 Small Media, "November 2017", Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-november-2017. 49 "An informed source: Memari Nes was filtered on judiciary's order" Fars News Agency, 31 August 2017, http://bit.ly/2ruFHAv. 50 See Small Media 2016 Annual Report, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/articles/files/AnnualReport2016.pdf. 51 Small Media, "February 2017", Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/iiip-february-2017 52 "Islamic Republic of Iran: Computer Crimes Law," Article 19, 2012, https://www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/2921/12-01-30-FINAL-iran-WEB[4] .pdf, and "12 members of Committee in Charge of Determining Unauthorized Sites," [in Farsi] Weblognews, December 16, 2009, http://bit.ly/1Owwpcu. 53 "200 million dollars allocated for smart filtering," [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/2eGWJ5o. 54 "Launch of the National Information Network in 1395," [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/1ROD4Ot. 55 See "Khatami's video message was removed from Rouhani's Telegram channel with an order of the prosecutor's office," Radio Farda, November 16, 2016, https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f7-khatami-support-clip-removed-from-rohani-telegram-channel/28487695.html, and https://twitter.com/ICHRI_Fa/status/863836748908027906. 56 "Iran: Arrests and Intimidation of Telegram Administrators and Journalists Ahead of the Elections" Article 19, March 17 2017, http://bit.ly/2qbZzo9. 57 Small Media, "March 2017," Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/iiip-march-2017; Golnaz Esfandiari, "Iranian Officials Trade Barbs in Dispute Over Internet Censorship," RFE/RL, July 27, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-telegram-app-internet-censorship-durov/28643317.html. 58 Small Media, "December 2017", Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-december-2017 59 See "11.08.2015 Conservative weekly closed for third time," in Press freedom violations recounted in real time January-December 2015, Reporters Without Borders, https://rsf.org/en/news/press-freedom-violations-recounted-real-time-january-december-2015; Rick Gladstone, "Iran Editor Is Charged With Defying Ban on Covering Ex-President," New York Times, December 8, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/world/middleeast/iran-editor-is-charged-with-defying-ban-on-covering-ex-president.html. 60 Small Media, "May 2017", Filterwatch, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-may-2017. 61 http://bit.ly/2DSH1A4 62 "How Iran's Cyber war is directed?" BBC Persian, February 21, 2012, http://bbc.in/2xSO6Sp. 63 "The fifth cyber Jihad Festival was extended to the end of August", Shabestan News Agency, 9 July 2016, http://bit.ly/2zpuSQB. 64 "Creation of Iranian messenger is part of ICT ministries plans" Sobhaneh Online, July 23 2016, http://bit.ly/2raOUyk. 65 "Who's at the controls of Iran's bot army? BBC News, March 6, 2016, http://bbc.in/1pKZI18. 66 "Google Traffic is here but what does it maen for Iran?" Techrasa, December 26, 2015, http://techrasa.com/2015/12/26/google-traffic-mean-iran/. 67 IIIP November 2016, Small Media, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/iiip-november-2016. 68 https://financialtribune.com/articles/sci-tech/58278/iran-state-broadcaster-issues-5-iptv-permits 69 https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-may-2018 70 "The train of election campaigns on cyberspace's track" Mehr News Agency, May 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rw7MHT. 71 Small Media, "#IranVotes2017: Analysing the 2017 Iranian Presidential Elections through Telegram, Twitter and Instagram", https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/projects/files/IranVotes2017.pdf. 72 Leyla Khodabakhshi, "Iran's Instagram election sees rivals battle on social media," BBC News, May 17, 2017, 73 Small Media, (2018), #IranVotes 2017: Analysing the 2017 Iranian Presidential Elections on Telegram, Twitter and Instagram, pp. 40-41, available at: https://smallmedia.org.uk/work/iranvotes-2017 74 Ryan McChrystal, "#IndexAwards2017: Jensiat illustrates cyber security and sexuality in Iran", Index on Censorship, April 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rw6vjV 75 "Huge Twitter Storm in Support of Imprisoned Iranian Activist on Hunger Strike" Center for Human Rights in Iran, December 30, 2016, http://bit.ly/2q6Qlxs. 76 BBC New, Woman becomes face of Iran protests despite not being there, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-42553158 77 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/02/tehran-hijab-protest-iranian-police-arrest-29-women 78 Islamic Republic of Iran: Computer Crimes Law Article 19, January 30, 2012, www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/2921/12-01-30-FINAL-iran-WEB[4] .pdf. 79 Rohollah Faghihi, "Can Rouhani's Citizens' Rights Charter be enforced?" Al-Monitor, December 20, 2016, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2016/12/iran-rouhani-citizens-rights-charter-conservative-criticism.html. 80 IIIP January 2017, Small Media, http://bit.ly/2rOsq2n. 81 "Charter on Citizens' Rights" available at http://tinyurl.com/y9bn4e4e. 82 "Policies and Actions Regarding the Organisation of Social Media Messaging Applications", RRK, August 2, https://bit.ly/2q3WgjZ 83 https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-february-2018 84 https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-february-2018 85 Pro-Rouhani and Reformist Social Media Admins Sentenced to Prison in Iran, Center for Human Rights in Iran, August 31 2017 86 https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2017/09/07/iran-four-telegram-admins-arrested-baneh-encouraging-protest-gathering/ 87 https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2018/01/07/security-forces-arrest-social-media-admins-malard-baned-mahabad/ 88 Deutsche Welle Persian, 14/09/2017, 'Six Telegram Administrators Charged With 'Promoting Homosexuality", available at: http://bit.ly/2KicQWJ 89 https://iranhumanrights.org/2018/06/telegram-channel-admin-could-get-death-penalty-for-insulting-the-prophet/ 90 https://iranhumanrights.org/2018/06/iranian-journalist-and-political-activist-detained-for-criticizing-irans-judiciary/ 91 https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2017/03/predicting-her-arrest-reformist-wrote-letters-criticizing-rouhanis-failure-to-protect-citizens/ 92 https://iranhumanrights.org/2018/06/iranian-poet-sentenced-and-fined-for-posting-photo-of-man-injured-by-police/ 93 "Former BBC Persian journalist 'detained in Iran'," BBC News, February 4, 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35492065. 94 https://www.economist.com/britain/2017/11/18/why-has-iran-imprisoned-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe 95 https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/07/judge-tells-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-that-shell-remain-imprisoned-until-uk-pays-debt-to-iran/ 96 Mahsa Alimardani, "The Arrest of Arash Zad, Iran's Sart-Up Kid," Global Voices, September 23, 2015, https://advox.globalvoices.org/2015/09/23/the-arrest-of-arash-zad-irans-start-up-kid/. 97 Iran's Telegram Registration Requirement Widens Governmental Snooping Powers, Center for Human Rights in Iran, January 2017, http://bit.ly/2qQBarE. 98 "April 2017," Filterwatch, Small Media, https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-april-2017. 99 "Iran orders social media sites to store data inside country," Reuters, May 29, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/internet-iran-idusl8n18q0in. 100 Adario Strange, "Iran's new data policy could mean end of local access to Telegram app," Mashable, May 31, 2016, http://mashable.com/2016/05/31/iran-telegram-app/#k3nf4Sy43mqY. 101 July 2017, Filterwatch, Small Media https://smallmedia.org.uk/news/filterwatch-july-2017 102 Islamic Republic of Iran: Computer Crimes Act, Article 19, 2012, https://www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/2921/12-01-30-FINAL-iran-WEB%5B4%5D.pdf. 103 "April 2016," Filterwatch, Small Media, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/articles/files/IIIP_APRIL16.pdf, pg. 7-9. 104 "A New Round of Intimidation, Arrests, and Prosecution of Social Media Users in Iran," International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, June 14, 2015, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2015/06/intimidation-arrests-social-media-users/. 105 "Cyber army exercises held," [Farsi] Itmen, http://www.itmen.ir/index.aspx?pid=99&articleid=82120. 106 "Cyber Police launches gaming unit," [Farsi] Mehr News, http://bit.ly/2dXpvAe. 107 Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, "The Iranian Hacking Campaign to Break into Activists' Gmail Accounts," Motherboard, August 27, 2015, http://motherboard.vice.com/read/inside-the-iranian-hackers-campaign-to-break-into-activists-gmail-accounts. 108 Small Media, (2018), Breaking the Silence: Digital Media and the Struggle For LGBTQ Rights in Iran, p. 94, available at: https://smallmedia.org.uk/work/breaking-the-silence 109 Ibid p. 95 110 Article 19, "Apps, arrests and abuse in Egypt, Lebanon and Iran", p. 10, available at: https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/LGBTQ-Apps-Arrest-and-Abuse-report_22.2.18.pdf 111 "Kittens: Iranian actor resurfaces with malware for mac," Iran Threats, February 2017, http://bit.ly/2krE9mt. 112 "Hackers Exploit Android Phone Security Flaw to Target Activists," Centre for Human Rights in Iran, August 31, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/y7yy495k. 113 BBC Persian, " " ", available at: http://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-43922440 114 Iranwire, " : ", available at: https://iranwire.com/fa/features/25867 Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Iceland Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Iceland, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b143.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Free Total Score: 6/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 341,284 Internet Penetration: 98.2% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: No Freedom in the World Status: Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In efforts to increase transparency and public engagement in policy-making, Iceland's new government opened an online platform for the public and stakeholders to provide feedback on government initiatives (see Digital Activism). In November 2017, the European Court of Human Rights found that Iceland's courts had violated a controversial public figure's right to privacy by dismissing a defamation claim against a user who called him a "rapist" on Instagram (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Iceland's public broadcasting service reported two cyberattacks against its site in 2018, knocking it offline for several hours (see Technical Attacks). Introduction: Internet and digital media continued to play a vital role in Icelandic society as users continued to reap the benefits of high internet usage. Iceland is an international leader when it comes to promoting free speech. In 2010, the Icelandic parliament launched a new media initiative protecting free speech, aiming to make Iceland a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers.[1] Following the country's financial collapse in 2008 when the three major banks went bankrupt, social media platforms such as Facebook were integrated into the process of creating a new constitution.[2] This "crowdsourced constitution" process continued. Parliamentary elections were held on October 28, 2017, after the three-party coalition disintegrated due to a scandal involving former Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson. The new government is led by the Left-Green Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who embarked on an initiative to increase transparency and engagement in government and policy-making by opening an online platform to discuss items such as draft legislative proposals. Obstacles to Access: Iceland is one of the most connected countries in the world. There are very few obstacles to accessing the internet; however, the ICT regulatory agency's ability to address concerns about concentration in the market has been limited. In 2013, the government passed legislation to address this issue, allowing the Competition Authority some oversight powers with regard to regulating media concentration. Availability and Ease of Access With near ubiquitous access, Icelanders are frequent internet users. Most recent figures estimate an internet penetration rate of 99 percent.[3] According to the Statistical Yearbook of Iceland there is only a minimal difference in usage between the capital region and other regions of the country, or between women and men.[4] The percentage of households with high-speed internet connections, such as ADSL or SDSL, has increased greatly in recent years.[5] Broadband connections were put into operation in 1998, and by 2006, slightly less than 90 percent of Icelandic households had internet access. In 2007, the Icelandic city of Seltjarnes became the first municipality in the world where every citizen has access to fiber-optic internet service.[6] In the first half of 2017, the majority of the population using the internet was connected via broadband (62 percent), while a growing number connected via fiber-optic cable (38 percent).[7] Restrictions on Connectivity There are no government-imposed restrictions on connectivity in Iceland. The country has been connected to the internet via the NORDUnet network in Denmark since 1989. The following year, a leased line to NORDUnet in Sweden was established, and the link was gradually upgraded. The Nordic connection was supplemented in 1997, when ISnet established a direct connection to Teleglobe in Canada, which was upgraded when the line was moved to New York in 1999.[8] Iceland has multiple channels connecting the country to the international internet, including connections to the international backbone through three submarine cables: FARICE-1, DANICE, and Greenland Connect. The Reykjavik Internet Exchange Point (IXP), which exchanges internet traffic among internet service providers (ISPs) located in Iceland, is operated independently of the government by the top-level domain registry ISNIC. ICT Market Iceland's ICT market is competitive and relatively diverse. Siminn continues to be the main internet and telecommunications operator in Iceland and runs fixed-line and mobile voice call services, as well as internet services and broadband television. Siminn is based on a merger between Landssimi Islands, which was privatized in 2005, and the company Skipti ehf. The companies Tal and 365 merged under the banner of 365 in July 2014.[9] In October 2017, Iceland's competition authority gave the green light for Vodafone Iceland's acquisition of most assets of 365, with a number of conditions to preserve competition.[10] Of all the ISPs in 2017, Siminn held the largest market share (46.3 percent), followed by Vodafone (37.1 percent), and Hringdu (7.3 percent), with the remaining companies comprising 9.2 percent. Regarding market share in mobile broadband, Nova (39 percent) caught up with Siminn (32 percent), and became the leading company in mobile broadband, closely followed by Vodafone (26.2 percent).[11] Regulatory Bodies The main regulatory body governing information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Iceland is the Post and Telecom Administration (PTA), an independent center under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry is responsible for the legal matters relating to online content. The PTA supervises development, logistics, and fair competition in the field of telecommunications networks. In mid-2017, the PTA issued 4G LTE spectrum licenses to four providers in a public tender.[12] Decisions of the PTA may be referred to the Rulings Committee for Electronic Communications and Postal Affairs. The Rulings Committee consists of three persons appointed by the Minister of Transport and Communication. The chairman and vice chairman must comply with the competence qualifications applying to Supreme Court judges. Committee members are appointed for a period of four years.[13] The Icelandic Competition Authority also makes decisions on telecoms. It is defined as an independent administrative authority, composed of three board members appointed by the Minister for Commerce, who then select a director. In the merger between Vodafone and 365 approved in October 2017, the ICA imposed certain conditions to preserve media plurality and competition in the market, such as requiring Vodafone to offer wholesale TV services.[14] Limits on Content: Access to information and online communication is generally free from government interference. Iceland is not a member of the European Union, although the country is part of the European Economic Area and has agreed to follow legislation regarding consumer protection and business law similar to other member states. Iceland took additional steps to strengthen public e-service in 2017 and continued to encourage the use of ICTs for political and civic purposes. Blocking and Filtering Political, social, and religious websites are not blocked in Iceland. Social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and international blog hosting services are freely available and are used by a large part of the population. Similar to other Nordic countries, ISPs in Iceland filter websites containing child pornography. The ISPs collaborate with the Icelandic Save the Children (called Barnaheill) and participate in the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) project which solicits reports of illegal content.[15] In addition, pornography in general is illegal in Iceland, although the ban is not strongly enforced, and online pornography is not blocked. In October 2014, the Reykjavik District Court ordered two ISPs (Hringdu and Vodafone) to block the file-sharing website The Pirate Bay and the largest private Icelandic torrent website, Deildu.[16] The court order came after the music rights group STEF and the motion picture association SMAIS reported the torrent websites to police in 2013 due to copyright infringement, since much of the content on these sites is pirated material. In May 2014, the Supreme Court declared that only STEF could seek the injunction. In September 2015, a local news outlet reported that all major ISPs in Iceland had agreed to block access to the sites following the court order, but that proxy servers to circumvent the block were widely available.[17] In the fall of 2016, STEF submitted a new complaint against Deildu that could lead to charges against the key person behind the operation of the Deildu website.[18] Prior to the blocking, in April 2013, The Pirate Bay website had relocated from Sweden to Iceland and acquired an ".is" domain name, after the Swedish authorities attempted to seize its domains. Within a week of the move, however, the site chose to relocate again outside of Iceland, even though ISNIC stated it had no intention of trying to seize the domain.[19] According to Icelandic law, the registrant is responsible for ensuring that the use of the domain is within the limits of the law.[20] Content Removal There were no problematic incidents of content removal during the coverage period of this report. Icelandic law number 30/2002 establishes a system of takedown notices for IP addresses or other online content that violates the law, in accordance with the Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for handling matters related to online content, and the appeals process for disputing the removal of content goes through the independent courts in Iceland. ISPs and content hosts are not held legally liable for the content that they host or transmit. Claims regarding intellectual property rights are handled by the Icelandic Patent Office, which is dependent on international cooperation, and Iceland is party to a number of international agreements in this field. Moreover, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Iceland has adapted legislation to the provisions of TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). Furthermore, the Agreement on the European Economic Area has led to several legislative amendments in Iceland that align with the directives and regulations of the European Union. ISNIC, Iceland's main domain registrar, has rarely closed domains based on a site's content. However, ISNIC acted after the Neo-Nazi website "The Daily Stormer" appeared with an .is domain name in September 2017.[21] The infamous website reportedly lost its Icelandic web address based on a technicality, as the publisher failed to provide accurate registration information such as proof of identity and address.[22] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Iceland has a vibrant digital sphere, and almost all traditional media, including print, radio, and television, offer versions of their content online. Self-censorship is not a widespread problem in Icelandic online media, and there are very few instances of government or partisan manipulation of online content. E-governance initiatives have been successful in Iceland, and in recent years, public institutions have started a migration process from proprietary to free and open software.[23] On January 1, 2015, the public administration in Iceland switched to eInvoicing, which includes digital management of payments and storage of receipts. The Ministry of Finance also encourages private companies to use the electronic invoice system.[24] In addition, the government promotes the use of digital signatures and electronic filing, and since 2008, the use of digital signatures is supported through legislation such as the Public Administration Act.[25] In 2013, the electronic Mobile ID (IceKey), which expands digital identification to phones, was launched. Several public administration services are accessible via Mobile ID reached via the official e-service portal online. The IceKey can be used to log into public systems, as well as to sign documents.[26] Almost 68 percent of Icelanders[27] have registered for the IceKey, and 24 percent are using the IceKey as electronic identification in their mobile phones, and over 200 institutions, local authorities, NGOs and businesses are using the system.[28] All Icelandic residents with a national ID number (kennitala) can access the database 'The Book of Icelanders' (Islendingabok) that contains genealogical information dating more than 1,200 years back. The database is a collaboration between deCODE genetics and the anti-virus software entrepreneur Fridrik Skulason.[29] In 2013 an app (IslendingaApp) was developed for people to have easy access to the database.[30] Digital Activism Digital tools are widely used for social, political, and civic activism in Iceland. The popularity of social media sites like Facebook has been used to engage the population in the process of redrafting the Icelandic constitution over the past few years. The new Prime Minister has promised to increase democratic governance.[31] In February 2018, the new government opened an online platform for stakeholder engagement, where draft laws will be published for comments. This is to ensure that the legislative process becomes more transparent.[32] Social media was also at the center of discussions to revise Iceland's constitution. In the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis in 2008, the population demanded an extensive review of the country's constitution.[33] The existing constitution is an almost exact copy of the Danish constitutional text, which was adopted when Iceland gained independence from Denmark in 1944. A 25-member council consisting of ordinary residents helped draft a new constitution and worked through sixteen versions in four months based on 16,000 comments from Icelandic citizens using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.[34] A majority of the population voted for the draft constitution in a national referendum on October 20, 2012,[35] though it was stalled in parliament. Violations of User Rights: Iceland has a strong tradition of protecting freedom of expression that extends to the use of the internet. The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative seeks to develop legal frameworks for protecting the press, bloggers, and whistleblowers from illegitimate prosecutions or harassment. Individuals are rarely prosecuted for social or political content posted online, though libel laws remain a concern. Legal Environment Freedom of expression is protected under Article 73 of the Icelandic constitution.[36] The Icelandic Media Law, which came into effect in September 2011, established several legal protections for journalists that extend to the online sphere, including editorial independence from media service providers' owners and the protection of anonymous sources.[37] Despite strong protections for free speech, libel and insult are criminal offenses subject to fines or a prison sentence of up to one year. According to Article 51, journalists cannot be held responsible for potentially libelous quotes from sources, but they can be held responsible for libel in their own content.[38] Journalists consider the court's practice with regard to libel laws to be too rigid, leading to lawsuits that aim to silence critical press. In the past few years, the government has pursued several legislative and policy initiatives to enhance internet freedom. In June 2010, following the 2008 financial crisis and inspired by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, the Icelandic parliament approved a resolution on the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, which aims to create a global safe haven with legal protection for the press, bloggers, and whistleblowers.[39] In 2012, the Minister of Education, Science and Culture appointed a committee of experts to report on online and offline challenges to freedom of expression and information and propose recommendations for their promotion.[40] In 2013, the new Minister of Education, Science and Culture assigned funding for the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative and appointed a new committee to undertake the task of decriminalizing defamation, among other duties.[41] In June 2015, blasphemy was repealed as a criminal offence under Article 125 of the Penal Code. It had carried penalties of fines or imprisonment for up to three months.[42] The Pirate Party had proposed repealing it in Parliament in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France in January 2015.[43] Other legislative efforts are ongoing. In 2016 four bills on data retention, defamation, and hate speech among other things were presented online for open consultation.[44] An expert committee will review the bills as well as whistleblower protection, which will be presented by October 2018. A parliamentary resolution on equal access to the internet concerning the benefits of a free and unrestricted internet and the protection of user rights was adopted in late 2014 and awaits implementation.[45] The Ministry of the Interior has introduced a legislative Act that would integrate the European regulation on net neutrality into the Icelandic internet policies.[46] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Icelandic internet users are periodically prosecuted for their online activities, particularly for libel. In November 2017, the European Court for Human Rights held that the Icelandic Supreme Court was wrong in ruling against a claim of online defamation, arguing that there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention of Human Rights. The well-known blogger and television personality Egill Einarsson had previously expressed misogynistic views,[47] but had just been acquitted of sexual offense a week before an Instagram post had called him a 'rapist', which the Icelandic Supreme Court had not found defamatory.[48] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Following revelations in 2013 that U.S. and UK intelligence agencies have been collecting and storing massive amounts of user data from online communications around the world, free speech activists in Iceland such as Birgitta Jonsdottir expressed concern that Iceland's efforts to protect journalists and whistleblowers from surveillance may ultimately prove ineffective.[49] Iceland is part of a greater international surveillance network that cooperates with the activities of the "Five Eyes Alliance" the intelligence operations agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.[50] The Electronic Communications Act of 2003 implements data retention requirements.[51] The law applies to telecommunication providers and mandates the retention of records for six months. It also states that companies may only deliver information on telecommunications in criminal cases or on matters of public safety, and that such information may not be given to anyone other than the police or the public prosecution.[52] The government does not place any restrictions on anonymous communication. No registration is required when purchasing a SIM card in Iceland. Intimidation and Violence There were no physical attacks against bloggers or online journalists in Iceland during the coverage period of this report. Technical Attacks While attacks against media outlets in Iceland are rarely reported, Iceland's national broadcast service, RUV, suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in May 2018 and was reportedly inaccessible for a couple of hours as a precautionary measure. The same site had already reported a previous attack in April.[53] The telecom and finance sector have experienced various phishing attacks, and both the President of Iceland Gudni Th. Johannesson and the Icelandic investor Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson were the subject of fake news and phishing scams in 2017.[54] Since June 2013, the Icelandic National CERT, operating within the Post and Telecom Administration in Iceland, has been the national center point for cybersecurity incidents and participates in international efforts and cooperation.[55] In July 2015, the Ministry of the Interior published a new ICT security policy that aims to increase resilience, raise awareness about security issues, and extend collaboration to organizations including the United Nations and the European Union, in addition to NATO.[56] Notes: 1 International Modern Media Institute (IMMI), https://immi.is/ 2 Robert Robertson, "Voters in Iceland back new constitution, more resource control," Reuters, October 21, 2012, http://reut.rs/Myiq8g 3 Internet World Stats, Iceland, December 2017, https://www.internetworldstats.com/europa2.htm#is 4 Statistics Iceland, "Statistical Yearbook of Iceland 2015," http://bit.ly/1QUsztW. There has been no updated Statistical Yearbook since 2015. 5 Birgir Gudmondsson, "Media Landscapes Iceland," European Journalism Centre, 2010, http://bit.ly/1zkzQg5 6 Idega, "Seltjarnes," http://bit.ly/1JGg0zu 7 Post and Telecom Administration, "Statistics on the Icelandic Electronic Communications Market for the First Half of 2017," https://bit.ly/2EIaJwP 8 Cathy Newman, "Iceland Internet Diffusion," http://bit.ly/1QxYiP9 9 Fanney Birna Jonsdottir, "365 og Tal rda sameiningu," Visir, July 22, 2014, http://bit.ly/22hYNTR 10 "Vodafone's acquisition of 365 approved by regulator," TeleGeography, October 11, 2017, http://bit.ly/2zBdt91 11 https://www.pfs.is/library/Skrar/Tolfraedi/Tolfraediskyrslur-PFS/Tolfraedi_PFS_um%20islenska%20fjarskiptamarkadinn_2017.pdf 12 https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2017/07/17/pta-awards-4g-spectrum-to-four-companies/ 13 The Post and Telecom Administration, "Rulings Committee," [in Icelandic] http://www.pfs.is/Default.aspx?cat_id=146. 14 https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2017/10/11/vodafones-acquisition-of-365-approved-by-regulator/; http://en.samkeppni.is/resolution/decisions/nr/3018; https://one.oecd.org/document/DAF/COMP/AR(2017)32/en/pdf 15 INHOPE, http://www.inhope.org 16 "Freedom-Friendly Iceland Blocks The Pirate Bay," Torrent Freak, October 16, 2014, https://torrentfreak.com/freedom-friendly-iceland-blocks-the-pirate-bay-141016/ 17 Paul Fontaine, "Icelandic ISPs will block Access to Pirate Bay and Deildu", Reykjavik Grapevine, September 16, 2015, bit.ly/1pIqYgE 18 "Tilgangsleysi me logbanni a Deildu.net og Pirate Bay", Kjarninn, October 16, 2016, http://bit.ly/2mPyAkD and "Langvinn baratta gegn Deildu.net", mbl.is, July 27, 2016, http://bit.ly/2oxA0gd 19 Stan Schroeder, "The Pirate Bay Moves to the Caribbean," Mashable, May 1, 2013, http://on.mash.to/1VULcwP 20 ISNIC, "Domain Rules," https://www.isnic.is/en/domain/rules 21 https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41323726 22 https://www.thedailybeast.com/will-daily-stormer-founder-andrew-anglin-lose-his-website-on-the-lam 23 Gijs Hillenius, "IS: Public administration in Iceland is moving to open source," ePractice Community, European Commission, April 4, 2012, http://bit.ly/1EBAntk 24 Gijs Hillenius, "Iceland Government has Switched to eInvoicing," ePractice Community, European Commission, February 25, 2015, bit.ly/1Xsf2KK 25 IDABC European eGovernment Services, "Study on Mutual Recognition of eSignatures," July 2009, http://bit.ly/1zzwczv 26 Review Gemalto, "How mobile ID conquered Iceland," January 9, 2015, http://bit.ly/22gTzLH and Azazo.com, "The Icelandic Minister of the Interior signs this press release, using Mobile ID in CoreData," February 25, 2014, http://bit.ly/1QUhLLf 27 According to Statistic Iceland the total population of January 2017 was 338,349, http://bit.ly/2mPoxMo 28 Island.is: numbers updated March 2, 2017, March 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oxz3Vc 29 Islendingabok: https://www.islendingabok.is/English.jsp 30 Larissa Kyzer, "It's Not Just an Anti-Incest App", Reykjavik Grapevine, May 10, 2013, http://bit.ly/2nLrPzQ 31 Email interview with the Director of the Department of Legislative Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office, February 3, 2018. 32 Email interview with the Director of the Department of Legislative Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office, February 3, 2018 and https://samradsgatt.island.is/oll-mal/; https://www.stjornarradid.is/efst-a-baugi/frettir/stok-frett/2018/02/05/Aukid-gagnsaei-med-opnun-samradsgattar/ 33 Robertson, "Voters in Iceland Back New Constitution, More Resource Control." 34 "A Proposal for a New Constitution for the Republic of Iceland", drafted by Stjornlagara, a Constitutional Council, appointed by an Althingi resolution, March 24, 2011, http://bit.ly/1gFFBEX 35 Julia Mahncke, "Iceland's grassroots constitution on thin ice," Deutsche Welle, March 13, 2013, http://bit.ly/XmC9Hj 36 Constitution of the Republic of Iceland, http://www.government.is/constitution/ 37 Media Law No. 38, art. 24 and 25, April 20, 2011, http://bit.ly/15C05KS 38 Media Law No. 38, April 20, 2011, http://bit.ly/15C05KS 39 IFEX, "Authorities create a safe haven for press freedom," June 23, 2010, http://www.ifex.org/iceland/2010/06/23/safe_haven/ 40 Email interview with former employee at the Icelandic Media Commission, Jan 29, 2014. 41 There has been no further development of the IMMI. 42 International Press Institute, Media Laws Database, http://bit.ly/1RjVMui 43 Kevin Rawlinson, "Iceland Repeals Blasphemy Ban after Pirate Party Campaign," The Guardian, July 3, 2015, http://bit.ly/1D1If4K 44 The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture website, http://bit.ly/2nE5Jgn 45 Email interview with member of the Media Committee, April 29, 2015; IMMI, "Data Protection," http://bit.ly/1X7lvLU; and the Icelandic Parliament, "Resolution on the internet," http://bit.ly/1I3o8tx 46 https://www.althingi.is/altext/148/s/0540.html 47 Ingrida Milkaite, "Egill Einarsson vs. Iceland: The Court Deals with an Offensive Instagram Post", Strasbourg Observer, January 19, 2018, https://strasbourgobservers.com/2018/01/19/egill-einarsson-v-iceland-the-court-deals-with-an-offensive-instagram-post/ 48 ECHR, "Judgment Einarsson v. Iceland domestic courts' rejection of defamation claim concerning rape accusation," November 7, 2017. 49 Alex Hern, "NSA surveillance hinders Iceland's attempts to be a haven for free speech," The Guardian, November 19, 2013, http://bit.ly/1vR6s9M 50 Carly Nyst, "The Five Eyes Fact Sheet," Privacy International, November 26, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LwbVOI 51 Electronic Communications Act No. 81, March 26, 2003, http://bit.ly/1MF6rSA 52 Icelandic Media Initiative, https://immi.is 53 http://icelandreview.com/news/2018/05/16/ruv-website-locked-down-two-hours-during-cyber-attack; http://www.ruv.is/frett/oliklegt-ad-tolvuaras-hafi-smitad-ut-fra-ser 54 Iceland Magazine Visir, "Fact check: No, President of Iceland won't reveal the secret to making and easy $350/day from home," October 13, 2017, http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/fact-check-no-president-iceland-wont-reveal-secret-making-easy-350day-home 55 Post and Telecom Administration in Iceland, http://bit.ly/LXusIn 56 Gijs Hillenius, "Iceland boosts ICT Security Measures, Shares Policy," ePractice Community, European Commission, August 28, 2015, http://bit.ly/1SPsSYw and Icelandic National Cyber Security Strategy 2015-2026, http://bit.ly/1QUMgBU Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Georgia Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Georgia, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b174.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Free Total Score: 25/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 3,717,100 Internet Penetration: 60.5% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The October 2017 amended Georgian Constitution includes free access to and use of the internet as a fundamental right (see Legal Environment). The government expanded its e-government services, launching an e-petition platform to directly involve citizens in political processes (see Digital Activism). Two new cases were brought relating to online activity, one against a rap duo and one against a condom company (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). Civil society and political parties filed constitutional complaints against the March 2017 surveillance amendments (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Suspicion that Georgian security services were involved in a May 2017 kidnapping of an Azeribaijani journalist continued (see Intimidation and Violence). Introduction: While the internet remained relatively free in Georgia this year, new cases brought against a rap duo and condom company, coupled with suspicion of the Georgian government's involvement in the kidnapping of a journalist, were troubling developments. In a landmark development, however, Georgia's amended constitution now recognizes access to and free use of the internet as a fundamental right. In another positive development during the coverage period, the government restricted no social media or communications platforms. Internet access and usage continues to grow in the country. State bodies and several politicians have also increased their use of the internet and social media to share information with citizens and attract support. The government continues to initiate some innovative e-government services that engage citizens in political processes and invite their feedback on various political issues, though not all public institutions are eager to be responsive and proactive in this regard. There are few indications of censorship or online content manipulation by the Georgian authorities or internet service providers (ISPs). Georgians freely use social media tools to organize themselves and be engaged in political and social events. However, unreliable and politically biased content, including anti-Western propaganda, also proliferated online. Reforming government surveillance remains a pressing topic in the country. Legislative amendments adopted in March 2017, which were proposed after the Constitutional Court ruled against the government's overly-permissive surveillance practices in 2016, faced criticism during the reporting period. Activists, citizens, and several political parties filed constitutional complaints against the new reforms, which are being reviewed by the Court. Obstacles to Access: The number of internet and mobile phone subscriptions in Georgia continues to grow, but high prices for services, inadequate infrastructure, and slow internet speeds remain obstacles. The government has said it will address these challenges during the next few years, but has not outlined an exact strategy to overcome the digital divide. Availability and Ease of Access Internet access continued to grow during the reporting period, with approximately 60.49 percent of Georgians accessing the internet in 2017.[1] According to a countrywide survey conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC), 42 percent of the population accessed the internet on a daily basis in 2017,[2] and the most active internet users were located in the capital. Only two percent of Georgians are unfamiliar with the internet altogether.[3] There is a very slight gender gap, with over 59 percent of men using the internet compared to over 57 percent of women in 2016.[4] In addition, according to a nationwide survey conducted by National Statistics Office of Georgia in 2017, 71.5 percent of households had access to the internet. 60.5 percent of individuals aged six and above have used the internet within the last three months, while 38 percent had never used the internet.[5] ISPs offer DSL broadband, fiber-optic, HSPA/EVDO, WiMAX, and wireless connections. Since 2015, 4G LTE internet access has been made available for Georgian consumers.[6] There were approximately 748,620 fixed-line broadband internet connections in 2017,[7] up from about 419,000 in 2012. Mobile penetration is at 146.9 percent,[8] which has grown over the past years. Mobile phones significantly outnumber landlines, and reception is available throughout the country, including rural areas. The vast majority of households access the internet from a home computer or laptop (89 percent) rather than from personal mobile phones (59 percent).[9] Younger generations are more likely to regularly use mobile internet, and mobile internet use in regions outside the capital is relatively high.[10] In rural areas, fixed wireless broadband is becoming more widespread, replacing CDMA connections. Internet access is fairly affordable, with a monthly mobile broadband plan of 1GB costing approximately GEL 5 (US$2.10).[11] The cost of an average monthly fixed-line broadband subscription was approximately GEL 38 (US$16) for 20mbps.[12] The government of Georgia lacks a comprehensive strategy of a clear and long-term vision for developing broadband internet infrastructure throughout the country. In February 2014, Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency was established to promote the use of innovation technologies in various fields and the commercialization of innovative technology research and development.[13] Among other programs, it was tasked with building high-speed fiber-optic backbone and backhaul infrastructure to serve at least 2,000 settlements by the end of 2020.[14] In July 2015, the Georgian government established the non-commercial legal entity Open Net to build broadband infrastructure. Reports said the project, costing about US$150 million, would be funded by the Cartu Foundation, set up by Georgian tycoon and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. The move came after a tender to major telecommunications companies to expand infrastructure failed because it was seen as unprofitable. Civil society organizations expressed concern over the lack of transparency and inclusiveness of the project, noting that it was not based on a comprehensive assessment of the market and could perpetuate lack of competition in the sector.[15] In February 2018, Open Net announced an open tender to build fiber-optic infrastructure in several regions of Georgia, but no progress has been made in this regard.[16] Many restaurants, cafes, bars, cinemas, and other public places provide Wi-Fi access, allowing customers to use the internet on their personal devices. In 2013, as part of a plan to improve infrastructure for local self-governance, the State Services Development Agency began developing community centers where local citizens could access the internet and online resources including Skype, bank services, telecommunication services, and government electronic services developed. As of May 2018, 52 centers were operating in different regions and districts throughout the country.[17] ICT Market According to the Law of Georgia on Electronic Communications, telecommunications companies must receive authorization before offering services, though the process is relatively uncomplicated. There are currently more than 166 entities registered as ISPs, all of which are privately owned. Two ISPs control more than two-thirds of the fixed broadband internet market: Magticom with a 41 percent market share and Silknet with 37 percent.[19] Consequently, competition is minimal.[20] Magticom increased its share of the market after purchasing the retail segment of ISP Caucasus Online in 2016.[21] In March 2017, Magticom also acquired Deltacom, a relatively small ISP that owns fixed broadband access networks and backbone infrastructure across the country.[22] Some observers raised concerns about market concentration, though pricing and service have not been negatively affected thus far. All three mobile operators Geocell, Magticom, and Veon Georgia (previously Mobitel) provide mobile internet services. In larger cities, they have deployed mobile LTE networks. Magticom and Geocell together control about 80 percent of the mobile internet market.[23] During the coverage period, Magticom attempted to significantly increase internet prices for users, increasing the price of 1 GB from GEL 5 to GEL 7. The GNCC, a major regulatory body of telecommunications sector, responded that the company's intention "goes beyond the regularity of the market." GNCC decided to further investigate the case and requested the company to suspend the price increase.[24] Indeed, Magticom temporary halted the increase. The Georgian telecommunications market is expecting another important change, as Silknet has acquired Geocell for $153 million.[25] GNCC gave its preliminary consent to the deal in March 2018. The acquisition will be completed in the second quarter of 2018. Consequently, Silknet will combine its broadband, pay TV, and fixed telephony operations with Geocell's mobile operations, creating a major convergent telecom company. Restrictions on Connectivity The Georgian government does not place any restrictions on connectivity, and the backbone internet infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies. Despite expanding internet access, many users complain about the quality of connections. Users submitted 72 complaints about the poor level of telecommunication service in 2017, according to the latest report of the public defender of consumer interests under Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC).[18] Telecommunications infrastructure in Georgia is improving. Until recently, users would experience disconnections from the international internet up to once or twice per month for a few minutes at a time, during which time they could access only Georgian websites. Now that ISPs typically have backup international channels, cable damage is less likely to prevent access, though connection speeds are generally faster for accessing content hosted in Georgia. Fiber-optic infrastructure is underdeveloped in regional areas, affecting the quality of connection in those areas. Development is hindered by the perceived low revenue potential of such a project, as well as the complex bureaucratic requirements to receive permission to conduct civil works. Regulatory Bodies The GNCC is the main electronic media and communications regulatory body. It mostly deals with mobile operators, as well as television and radio broadcasting licenses. There is no significant difference between GNCC procedures for handling traditional media and those pertinent to telecommunications and internet issues. The commission has been criticized for lack of transparency and independence. In order to increase the legitimacy of the GNCC, new rules for the nomination of candidates and the selection of the Head of Commission came into force in October 2013. The following May, a new chairman of the agency was elected by the commissioners instead of the president. Despite this positive development, the revelation that an advisor to the new chairman was also employed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs raised speculation that the government was attempting to interfere in the work of the regulator and collect data on its activities.[26] The latest chairman of the GNCC was elected in May 2017. Limits on Content: The government did not block access to any communication or social media platforms during the coverage period and there were no other major cases of blocking, filtering, or content removal. The internet and social media continue to be used to share diverse content and serve as tools to for advocacy. The government also expanded its e-government services, launching an e-petition platform where citizens can file and collect signatures on government policies and issues. Blocking and Filtering Georgian users can freely visit any website around the world, upload or download any content, establish their own website, and contact other users via forums, social-networking sites, and instant messaging applications. YouTube, Facebook, and international blog-hosting services are freely available. However, in 2016 international platforms were subject to temporary restriction when authorities attempted to block specific content hosted on those platforms. Since then, no cases have been recorded. YouTube was blocked twice in 2016 by authorities following the release of sex videos depicting Georgian politicians. The first incident lasted for 20 minutes on March 11, 2016, and affected only Caucasus Online users. Three days later, YouTube was inaccessible again for about an hour for users of Caucasus Online and Silknet. Later in the year, in June 2016, the same videos resurfaced on Vimeo, after which the entire platform became inaccessible for several hours. Representatives from Vimeo confirmed that the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia had requested the removal of the videos, after which access to the platform was restored.[27] In a separate incident in November 2015, the State Security Service blocked the entire WordPress platform for a short period in an attempt to restrict access to a website hosted by WordPress which was disseminating videos by a pro-Islamic State group.[28] Activists contacted the administrators of WordPress through Twitter to resolve the issue and the company corresponded with the government. All websites hosted by WordPress were subsequently unblocked except for the page disseminating the videos. Aside from these isolated incidents, government blocking and filtering is not a major hindrance to internet freedom in Georgia, and there are no blacklists of websites. Though legal regulations, particularly those involving copyright or criminal law, are considered to apply to internet activities, they have not been exploited to impose significant content restrictions. Content Removal During the coverage period of this report, there were no new instances mandating that users or online media outlets remove content. Georgian laws protect users against intermediary liability, with the Law on Freedom of Speech (2004) stating that no entity will be held responsible for defamatory content generated by unknown or anonymous individuals.[29] To date, intermediary liability and forced removal of online content have not been significant impediments to online freedoms in Georgia. Websites hosting pirated material are available and are widely visited. However, a 2006 GNCC regulation on "inadmissible content" contains some vague provisions on the takedown of content and the responsibilities of content providers. The regulation identifies as inadmissible content that depicts severe hatred and violence, defamation, contains insulting and inaccurate material, undermines a person's presumption of innocence, or constitutes an invasion of privacy. Local NGOs have raised concerns about the broad nature of these terms and lack of limitations within the regulation, which may compel third parties, including ISPs and website hosts, to identify such content and ensure its removal.[30] A study prepared by the Institute for Development of Freedom Information (IDFI) confirmed that the regulation has not been misused to date, and the GNCC has stated that it intendeds to amend the regulation. Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation The online media environment in Georgia is becoming increasingly diverse, and content on a wide range of topics is available. However, latest reports from Transparency International[31] and Media Development Foundation (MDF)[32] indicated that a number of online media outlets, some of which demonstrate bias and are affiliated with political parties, coordinate informally to disseminate news. These groups effectively dominate the online media landscape, making it difficult for smaller outlets to attract advertising revenue. Similar to previous years, the Georgian government continues to fund some of these outlets through contracts.[33] Some have links to Russia and have been known to push an anti-Western agenda.[34] While there is no systematic or pervasive government manipulation of online content, Georgian internet users self-censor to some extent. Representatives of particular professions sometimes prefer to abstain from expressing themselves freely on social networks. For instance, it is widely acknowledged that civil servants in some cases may exhibit self-censorship online due to fear of reprisals from higher officials. In addition, during the June 2018 anti-governmental protests, online activists reported several cases of bots, trolls, and sponsored posts allegedly being used to ease protests and to disseminate pro-government information. Traditional media outlets started to use the internet to reach online users. Online media agencies, however, still face difficulty in attracting advertisers, diversifying content, obtaining multimedia skills, and competing with traditional media. The private sector limits online advertising based on the comparatively small audience. Even though the Georgian blogosphere has grown impressively, there are few bloggers who create content that impacts the political agenda or sparks widespread discussion online. Minorities and vulnerable groups are represented online through a small number of forums and blogs. During the last four years, LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) and feminist activists have started to use online tools for coordinating, distributing information, and protesting discrimination in the public sphere. Toward the end of 2017, 63 percent of users reported that they connect to the internet to check social networks. Facebook is the most popular platform in Georgia, especially for political discussions. Bloggers and journalists increasingly use Facebook to share their content and engage readers on current events. Civil society activists and others also use it as a tool for discussion about political and social developments. 43 percent reported to use the internet to search for news, 24 percent connect to use Skype, and 14 percent connect for email.[35] 21 percent of people considered the internet as a major source of information, while 26 percent view it as their second source of information.[36] Digital Activism Political and civil society groups post calls for action on social media and use it to communicate with their supporters. Though most forms of online activism lack significant offline impact, the influence of such activities is gradually increasing. Online activists have used social media to campaign for gender equality as well as to advocate for legal reforms that better address domestic violence. During the reporting period, online platforms, especially Facebook, were used extensively to organize protests on issues such as liberalizing drug policy and properly investigating a murder case. In a 2017 case in which two teenagers were murdered, activism resulted in the May 2018 resignation of Georgia's chief prosecutor.[37] In March 2017, activists launched an online campaign, "This Affects You Too," to encourage citizens to file online appeals to the Constitutional Court to challenge overly broad surveillance laws (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Within one week, three hundred complaints were collected and submitted to the Constitutional Court. [38] Georgians continue to utilize the government's expanding e-government services. Since September 2013, more than 70 e-services have been integrated in a unified governmental portal, My.gov.ge. Citizens can make requests through the portal for public information about the government budget and expenditure. Several government agencies have also introduced discussion platforms where Georgians can express their views on various policy issues. For instance, in December 2017, the government launched an e-petition platform, www.ichange.gov.ge, through which citizens can submit and collect signatures for petitions on government issues and policies. Petitions with a sufficient number of signatures (i.e. 10,000) will be sent to the government for consideration. The government is then obligated to provide an official response and justification for a decision to the petition's initiators.[39] As of April 2018, seven petitions were registered on the platform. Violations of User Rights: Article 17 of the newly amended constitution now recognizes the fundamental right to free internet access and use. Civil society groups and political parties continued their concerns about government surveillance by filing a constitutional complaint against the March 2017 surveillance amendments. Technical attacks and intimidation of internet users and online journalists remain rare, except for the continued suspicion that Georgian authorities were complicit in the kidnapping of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli from Georgia to Azerbaijan. Legal Environment Georgia's amended constitution adopted during the coverage period declares free access to and the use of the internet as a fundamental right of Georgian citizens. This revised constitution will enter into force following the presidential elections in October 2018.[40] The mentioned changes were advocated and submitted to the Constitutional Commission, working on the constitutional changes by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), a Tbilisi-based organization.[41] Fundamental rights, including the right to access information and freedom of expression, are guaranteed by the Georgian constitution and are generally respected in practice.[42] The Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression makes it clear that other "generally accepted rights" related to freedom of expression are also protected even if they are not specifically mentioned.[43] Furthermore, Article 20 of the constitution and Article 8 of the Law of Georgia on Electronic Communications include privacy guarantees for users and their information, though the law allows privacy rights to be restricted by the courts or other legislation.[44] Online activities mainly cases of alleged defamation, which was decriminalized in 2004[45] can be prosecuted under the Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression and the law on Electronic Communication. The unlawful use or dissemination of personal data online resulting in "considerable damage" is illegal under the criminal code, with penalties of up to four years in prison.[46] In June 2015, amendments to the criminal code criminalized "public calls to violent actions" aimed at "causing discord between religious, racial, ethnic, social, linguistic or other groups," punishable by fines and community service. Repeated offences resulting in injury or death are punishable by up to five years in prison.[47] Despite the narrow framing of the law, human rights defenders have claimed that its provisions could be selectively applied to target legitimate expression online. A lack of judicial independence is regarded as one of the hindrances to Georgia's democratic consolidation.[48] Despite several waves of reforms, local civil society, the Public Defender, and even the President of Georgia have continued to raise concerns about the judicial system. One area of concern includes whether how judges are selected, often to lifelong appointments, makes them vulnerable to political interference in sensitive cases. A recent report from the Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary states that the High Council of Justice, a judiciary oversight body, "failed to protect the judicial system from external or internal influences, while its decisions often posed a threat to independence of the judiciary."[49] New regulations were introduced during the reporting period that could affect internet freedom and freedom of expression if implemented. In May 2018, two lawmakers from the ruling party proposed legislative amendments to the Law of Georgia on "Culture" and "Civil Procedure Code." The amendments would authorize the court to ban creative works, including writings that incite national, ethnic, religious, and racial hatred, preach war and violence, or propagate pornography.[50] The initiative was met with harsh criticism from civil society and writers, after which, on May 29, 2018, parliament rejected the amendments. In April 2018, a member of parliament from the conservative Alliance of Patriots party introduced a bill to the Human Rights Committee that would criminalize insulting religious feelings with jail time or fines.[51] The Human Rights Committee chairperson stated that they supported the principles of the bill, however, they argued that it requires improvements and worried about its constitutionality. The committee created a working group to refine the draft,[52] but discussion about the initiative has since halted. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Georgian citizens are generally free to express themselves online without fear of legal sanction, but this reporting period saw two new cases against a rap duo and a condom company. The authorities periodically investigate internet users who threaten violence online, and civil society groups say their response can be disproportionate. In an isolated incident in June 2017, rapper duo "Birja Mafia" was arrested after the police alleged that they found drugs on both men. The accused men and their supporters maintained that the charges were fabricated and that the drugs were planted in retaliation for a rap video they posted on YouTube mocking the police and depicting a police officer as a dog. After demonstrations in Tbilisi protesting the arrests, both men were released on bail on June 12, 2017. Additionally, the YouTube video disappeared from the platform, only to reappear later in June 2017 with the policemen's faces blurred.[53] After several months, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia halted the investigation into the rappers and found them innocent. However, the investigative media organization Studio Monitor reported that the police were not held responsible for allegedly falsifying evidence and for conducting illegal surveillance into one of the rappers.[54] The case against Sulkhan Tsuladze, who was placed in pre-trial detention for a month in 2016 after he predicted a fictional attack on the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia on the Georgian internet forum, Forum.ge, ended with a plea bargain. Tsuladze was accused of threatening to commit an assault on a person enjoying international protection. Human rights organizations criticized the detention as unjustified, arguing that Tsuladze is known for provocative speech and that the post was intended as a joke.[55] Also during the reporting period, in May 2018, the Tbilisi City Court fined Georgian condom producing company AIISA GEL 500 for three 'unethical' condom packaging designs and one promotional poster. The court ordered the company to stop selling the products along with halting all associated marketing activities, including Facebook advertisements. The court found that the condoms offended the religious feelings of a particular group of people, an argument that had been asserted by representatives of the Orthodox Church. The company has stated that it plans to appeal the ruling to the Constitutional Court of Georgia.[56] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity During the coverage period of this report, the This Affects You campaign (see Digital Activism), political parties, and the Public Defender filed constitutional complaints against the March 2017 legislative amendments to Georgia's surveillance system. In March 2017, the parliament adopted new surveillance regulations. The regulations were introduced after the Constitutional Court struck out Georgia's previous surveillance practices in April 2016, which forced companies to retain user metadata for two years and allowed the security agency real time access to user data.[57] The amendments established a new entity called the Operative Technical Agency (OTA), operating under the State Security Service. The OTA is responsible for surveillance activity across computer and telecommunication networks and can install clandestine applications on individuals' devices in some circumstances. The OTA must have access to operators' infrastructure as well as the power to compel operators to cooperate with the OTA in investigations. The OTA can fine operators for non-compliance. Civil society organizations criticized the law for failing to meaningfully address the earlier Constitutional Court ruling, pointing out that the OTA will have access to vast amounts of user data.[58] Telecommunication industry representatives have also expressed concerns about being required to purchase equipment to facilitate OTA's work. Local civil society organizations indicated that they would appeal the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, while a group of Georgians, the Public Defender, and political parties European Georgia, United National Movement, Republicans, and Free Democrats have also appealed to the Constitutional Court. Their complaints note, among other things, that the creation of the OTA under the State Security Service does not align with the Constitutional Court's April 2016 ruling, and that there are no strong oversight mechanisms with guaranteed independence. Preliminary hearings were held in June 2017, and the Plenum of the Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the complaints further.[59] The activities of the OTA are subject to oversight by the Personal Data Protection Inspector, which oversees the legality and compliance of any secret investigative activities. Meanwhile, a judge authorized by the Supreme Court performs oversight functions of counter-intelligence activities. The Supreme Court of Georgia proactively publishes surveillance data annually, and the latest data shows that the number of motions to request wiretaps increased slightly in 2016.[60] On November 1, 2014, the mandate of the Personal Data Protection Inspector was extended to cover the private sector. The office is authorized to check the legality of any data processing by private organizations, either on its own initiative or in response to a citizen's application. Inspectors can impose measures provided for by the law for violations, including fines.[61] The office's latest report revealed that despite some progress both public and private organizations on various occasions exceeded the proper limits when handling user data, including failing to present court warrants before engaging in surveillance.[62] The inspector has the power to fine entities not complying with the rules. There are no restrictions on the use of anonymizing or encryption tools online. However, individuals are required to register when buying a SIM card. ISPs and mobile phone companies are also obliged to deliver statistical data on user activities concerning site visits, traffic, and other topics when asked by the government. Cybercafes are not obliged to comply with government monitoring, as they do not register or otherwise gather data about customers. Intimidation and Violence An isolated case of extrajudicial intimidation continued during the coverage period. On May 29, 2017, Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who was living in exile in Georgia, was kidnapped in Tbilisi.[63] He was reportedly forced into a vehicle, violently beaten, and had cash stuffed into his pockets. He was next sighted in Azerbaijan, where he was detained and charged with illegally crossing a border, smuggling of contraband, and resisting the police. Leyla Mustafayeva, Mukhtarli's wife and also a journalist, shared that prior to the abduction they both thought they were under surveillance. In October 2017, Mustafayeva fled Georgia fearing for her safety. There are suspicions, which officials deny, that the Georgian government was involved and complicit in the kidnapping.[64] Mukhtarli's lawyer stated that men wearing Georgian police uniforms kidnapped and transferred Mukhtarli to state officials in Azerbaijan. During the time of the abduction, Mukhtarli was investigating Azerbaijani President Aliyev's family's business and financial holdings in Georgia. On July 20, 2017, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office took up the case.[65] On January 12, 2018, the Azerbaijani government sentenced Muktarli to six years in prison.[66] Technical Attacks Cyberattacks against opposition websites have not been a significant issue in Georgia, with the latest major attacks occurring in 2008 and 2009 in relation to political tensions with Russia. In 2012, the Data Exchange Agency started monitoring Georgian websites for the presence of malicious code, hacking, or other suspicious activities, publishing the results regularly on their website[67] and on their Facebook page.[68] The Agency's "Safe Internet Check My IP" service examines the security of the IP address on users' computers, informing them of the nature of any viruses detected. Notes: 1 International Telecommunication Union, "Percentage of Individuals Using the internet," http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 2 Caucasus Research Resource Centers, "Caucasus Barometer, 2017, Georgia" accessed March 30, 2018, http://caucasusbarometer.org. 3 Caucasus Research Resource Centers, "Caucasus Barometer, 2017, Georgia." accessed March 30, 2018, http://caucasusbarometer.org. 4 International Telecommunication Union, "Individuals using the Internet (from any location), by gender (%)," http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 5 National Statistics Office of Georgia. Information and Communication Technologies Usage in Households. June, 2017, accessed March 29, 2018 https://bit.ly/2uIu4bU 6 "2015 the year full of new developments" ZETI.GE. [in Georgian] January 12, 2015, http://zeti.ge/menu_id/23/id/755/. 7 Georgian National Communication Commission: Analytical Portal, March, 2018, http://analytics.gncc.ge/. 8 International Telecommunication Union, "Mobile-cellular Telephone Subscriptions," http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 9 Caucasus Research Resource Centers, "Caucasus Barometer 2017 Georgia," accessed March 30, 2018, http://www.crrccenters.org/caucasusbarometer/. 10 Tetra Tech, "E-Readiness Study in Georgia: Nationwide Survey." Georgia Good Governance Initiative. October, 2016. P. 27, accessed March 20, 2018, http://www.dea.gov.ge/uploads/E-readiness_ENG2.pdf 11 Comparative data from two major ISP's prices (Geocell and Magticom). 12 Comparative data from two major ISP's prices (SilkNet and Magticom). 13 Official website of Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency, accessed February 15, 2016 http://gita.gov.ge/en/agency. 14 Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, "High Quality Internet to be Accessible to Every Region in Georgia" January 15, 2015, accessed February 15, 2016, http://bit.ly/1EH2msg. 15 Ucha Seturi,"Problems of the Cancelled Governmental Contest Broadband Internet to Every Citizen and Recommendations of IDFI," Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, July 21, 2015, http://bit.ly/1LwMf5D. 16 Open Net. "Open Net issues full set of procurement documents" March 5, 2018, accessed March 19, 2018 https://bit.ly/2pVTdv3 17 For more information, see: State Services Development Agency, "Community Center," [in Georgian] http://sda.gov.ge/?page_id=5555. 18 Public Defender of Consumer Interests under Georgian National Communication Commission, "Annual Report 2017," [in Georgian] accessed June 2, 2018. https://bit.ly/2Jo3bQZ 19 . Georgian National Communication Commission: Analytical Portal, June, 2017, http://analytics.gncc.ge/. 20 Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, "Internet Freedom in Georgia Report N5," December 10, 2015, http://bit.ly/1XYIrkp. 21 Caucasus Online, "Joint Statement of Caucasus Online LLC. and MagtiCom," May 31, 2016, http://www.co.ge/en/news/240/; Magticom. "MagtiCom to become A-Net Ltd and Delta-Net Ltd service provider from March 1, 2017", January 27, 2017, accessed March 20, 2017. http://bit.ly/2npGJeg. 22 Georgian National Communication Commission "Decisions". [in Georgian] accessed March 20, 2017. [in Georgian] http://bit.ly/2nkkSDx; 23 As of January, 2018, Geocell possessed 41% of subscribers, which was followed by Magticom with 36%. The share of the third company, Veon Georgia accounted for 23 percent of this market: Georgian National Communication Commission, Analytical Portal, http://analytics.gncc.ge/. 24 Georgia Today, "MagtiCom Delays Planned Rise in Mobile Data Costs", January 22, 2018, accessed 29 March, https://bit.ly/2Gr1RrC 25 "Silknet Acquires Geocell for $153 Million," Tabula, January 26, 2018, http://www.tabula.ge/en/story/129047-silknet-acquires-geocell-for-153-million. 26 Transpareny International Georgia, "Security Officers ('ODRs') existing malpractice," October 6, 2014, http://www.transparency.ge/en/node/4693. 27 On.Ge. "Vimeo: Georgia;s Prosecutor's Office Asked us to Take down Videos from the Network", [in Georgian] June 13, 2016. accessed March 22, 2017 http://go.on.ge/1ow 28 "Georgia Blocks Access to Pro-Islamic State Websites," Civil.Ge, November 24, 2015, http://bit.ly/1KBLYPW. 29 Faig Alizada, "WILMAP: Georgia," The Center for Internet and Society, Stanford University, http://stanford.io/1FIxwCU. 30 Regulating Inadmissible Internet Content Georgia in Need of Legal Changes, https://idfi.ge/public/upload/IDFI_Photos_2017/media_internet_telecommunications/Inadmissible_content_in_internet_law_eng.pdf 31 Transparency International Georgia, "Who Owns Georgia's Media," November 19. 2015, http://bit.ly/1oZeqkJ. 32 Media Development Foundation. Anti-Western Propaganda, 2017. 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2HkP8Gv 33 Media Development Foundation. Financial Transparency of Media 2017. Final report. 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2kOWDww 34 Nata Dzvelishvili & Tazo Kupreishvili, "Russian Influence on Georgian NGOs and Media," Damoukidebloba.Com, July 22, 2015, http://bit.ly/1L46V61. 35 Caucasus Research Resource Center, "Caucasus Barometer, 2017, Georgia," accessed March 30, 2018, http://caucasusbarometer.org. 36 Caucasus Research Resource Center, "NDI: Public attitudes in Georgia, December 2017," accessed October 17, 2016, http://caucasusbarometer.org. 37 Civil.Ge. "Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze Resigns". May 31, 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2J923RH 38 "Regulating secret surveillance in Georgia (January-August 2017)" IDFI, https://idfi.ge/en/regulating_secrete_surveillance_georgia_january_august_2017. 39 Institute for Development of Freedom of Inforamtion (IDFI), "An Electronic Petition Platform ICHANGE.GOV.GE was Launched in Georgia", December 27, accessed March 29, https://bit.ly/2lhiU6f 40 Jam News, "Georgian innovation-Internet access guaranteed by the Constitution", June 7, 2017, accessed March 28, 2018, https://jam-news.net/?p=42446; "Georgia president reluctantly signs new constitution into law," Reuters, October 20, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-president-constitution/georgian-president-reluctantly-signs-new-constitution-into-law-idUSKBN1CP20O 41 Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, "Institute for Development of Freedom of Information Opinions on Constitutional Amendments," February 21, 2017. http://bit.ly/2lGiJUj 42 The Constitution of Georgia, 1995, [in English] http://bit.ly/1L4F5nN. 43 Article 19, "Guide to the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and Expression" (London: Article 19, April 2005) http://bit.ly/1KMt5WJ. This law offers protections like absolute freedom of opinion, political speech and debates, obtaining, receipt, creation, keeping, processing and disseminating of any kind of information and ideas. The law specifically mentions that it is applicable to the internet as it defines "media as print or electronic means of mass communication, including the Internet." 44 The law is available in English on the Georgian National Communications Commission website at: "Legal Acts," http://bit.ly/1OH6yhO. 45 Under the Law, the burden of proving that information is incorrect lies with the plaintiff. It also draws a distinction between defamation of a private person and defamation of a public person, setting stricter requirements for proving the defendant's guilt in the latter case. 46 Legislative Herald of Georgia, "The Criminal Code of Georgia," [in Georgian] http://bit.ly/1VADDwp. 47 Legislative Herald of Georgia, "The Criminal Code of Georgia," [in Georgian] http://bit.ly/1VADDwp. 48 US Department of State. "Georgia 2017 Human Rights Report". p. 11. Available at: https://bit.ly/2LxWuJd 49 The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary. "The Judicial System: Past Reforms and Future Perspectives". 2017. Available at: https://bit.ly/2sPPNKP 50 Georgia Today. "New Bill Will Allow Court to Ban Creative Works". May 17, 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2xVVwVo 51 In February 2016, a similar bill was initiated by conservative groups and withdrawn by the legislative body.; OC Media, "Georgia's Rights Committee supports bill against 'insulting religious feelings'" April 25, 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2HzxOOs 52 Agenda.Ge, Will Georgia make 'insulting religious feelings' punishable by law?, http://agenda.ge/news/99656/eng 53 Civil.Ge, "Rapper Duo Detention Sparks Protest in Tbilisi," June 11, 2017. http://bit.ly/2zojY1y 54 Studio Monitor. Police v.s. Birja Mafia. June 4, 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2JitlkT 55 Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, "GYLA Responds to Pre-trial Detention of Sulkhan Tsuladze," April 22, 2016, http://bit.ly/1YP8JBK. 56 OC Media. "Georgian condom brand fined 500 GEL for 'unethical' designs". May 4, 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2HxhEEV 57 Public Defender of Georgia, "Constitutional Claim regarding Georgian Law 'On Electronic Communications'," February 2, 2014, http://bit.ly/1x7JpZj. 58 This Affects You Too. "New legislation regulating secret surveillance violates Georgian Constitution". March 2, 2017. Accessed March 20, 2017 http://bit.ly/2mJwsrd 59 Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, "Regulating Secrete Surveillance in Georgia (January-August, 2017)", September 14, 2017, accessed March 28, 2018, https://bit.ly/2yC64aG 60 Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, "Secret Surveillance in Georgia: 2016-2016," https://idfi.ge/public/upload/IDFI_Photos_2017/rule_of_law/surveillance_report_eng.pdf. 61 Office of the Personal Data Protection, "The Mandate Of The Personal Data Protection Inspector Extends to The Private Sector," news release, assessed February 20, 2016, http://bit.ly/1DZRPEM. 62 Office of the Personal Data Protection, Annual Report 2017, [in Georgian] https://bit.ly/2J8YSWA 63 "Georgia NGOs call for full investigation into Azerbaijan journalist's abduction" RSF, June 7, 2017, https://rsf.org/en/news/georgia-ngos-call-full-investigation-azerbaijani-journalists-abduction 64 "Afgan Mukhtarli: Did Georgia help adbuct an Azeri journalist?," BBC, July 18, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40606599 65 "Human rights defenders named reasons of oppression of Azerbaijani activists in Georgia," Caucasian Knot, September 25, 2017, https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/310107/ 66 https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/01/277441.htm 67 Data Exchange Agency, homepage, http://dea.gov.ge. 68 CERT, Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/certgovge. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Ethiopia Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Ethiopia, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b1a4.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Not Free Total Score: 83/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 105 million Internet Penetration: 15.4% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: Yes Political/Social Content Blocked: Yes Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Not Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 Internet access improved slightly though remained low during the coverage period (see Availability and Ease of Access). The government under former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn responded to ongoing antigovernment protests with frequent internet shutdowns and blocks on social media, though access was restored in April 2018 under the new prime minister (see Restrictions on Connectivity). A few blocked websites became accessible in May 2018, while hundreds more were unblocked in June, reflecting the new government's openness to critical voices and independent news (see Blocking and Filtering). Online self-censorship decreased palpably as citizens flocked to social media to participate in their country's transition from authoritarianism (see Media, Diversity, and Manipulation). Following the resignation of Prime Minister Desalegn, the authorities imposed a six-month state of emergency that placed restrictions on certain online activities to quell antigovernment unrest (see Legal Environment). In a positive step, the ruling EPRDF party released hundreds of political prisoners, including imprisoned bloggers, before his resignation a trend that new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continued. A few bloggers were arrested for short periods during the state of emergency (see Prosecutions and Arrests for Online Activities). Introduction: Internet freedom in Ethiopia remained highly restricted during the coverage period but saw incremental improvements following the resignation of former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in February 2018 and the appointment of Abiy Ahmed to the seat in April. Positive developments were observed in growing access to the internet and censored content, decreasing online self-censorship, and the release of imprisoned bloggers. Antigovernment discontent and unrest has engulfed Ethiopia since 2015, when large-scale protests first erupted against the government's plan to infringe on land belonging to the marginalized Oromo people. The protest movement spread through the country and evolved in 2016-2017 into unprecedented demonstrations seeking regime change and democratic reform. To suppress the unrest, the authoritarian government under Prime Minster Desalegn deployed heavy-handed tactics, including violently arresting protesters, silencing bloggers, enacting repressive laws, and censoring the internet, among other tactics. Popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter used by citizens to mobilize were frequently blocked, when the entire internet was not taken offline altogether. The unrest reached a tipping point in early 2018 following a burst of renewed antigovernment protests in November 2017. In January and February, the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) stunned observers by releasing thousands of political prisoners, including blogger Eskinder Nega, who had been serving an 18-year sentence since 2012. Imprisoned bloggers convicted on terrorism charges were also eventually released, while outstanding charges against the critical Zone 9 bloggers were dropped. In another surprise move, Prime Minister Desalegn announced his resignation in February, leading to the appointment of Abiy Ahmed in April. In the interim, the authorities imposed a six-month state of emergency, which included restrictions on certain online activities, including banning the circulation of "any information that could cause disturbance or suspicion." Mobile internet services were shut down nationwide for several days following Desalegn's resignation in February. Since his appointment in April, new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has projected the image of a reformer, easing restrictions on the media and promising democratic reforms in his inaugural address. Under his short tenure, the internet has become more accessible, as networks were less disrupted and content became less censored. Citizens have flocked to social media to participate in conversations about their country's transition from authoritarianism and to hold the new government accountable to promised reforms, resulting in a palpable decline in self-censorship online and off. While Ethiopian citizens have become optimistic about the direction their country is heading, repressive laws that have enabled authoritarianism remain on the books, including laws designed to constrain freedom of expression and enable unchecked surveillance. Obstacles to Access: Internet access improved slightly though remained low during the coverage period, while the government responded to ongoing antigovernment protests with frequent internet shutdowns throughout the coverage period. Access was restored in April 2018 under the new prime minister, whose government has also announced intentions to liberalize the telecommunications sector. Availability and Ease of Access Ethiopia is one of the least connected countries in the world with an internet penetration rate of only 15 percent, compared to 3 percent in 2015, according to the latest data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).[1] The uptake of mobile phones in Ethiopia has been the primary driver of incremental growth in internet access, according to a January 2018 report produced by "We Are Social" and Hootsuite.[2] Accordingly, mobile phone penetration has grown rapidly, up from 51 percent in 2016 to 60 percent in 2017,[3] though further growth may be hampered by the government-owned telecom's efforts to disconnect at least 2.7 million "illicit" mobile phones beginning in September 2017.[4] Ethiopia's low penetration rates stem from underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructure, which is almost entirely absent from rural areas, where about 85 percent of the population resides. A handful of signal stations service the entire country, resulting in network congestion and frequent disconnection.[5] In a typical small town, individuals often hike to the top of the nearest hill to find a mobile phone signal. Nonetheless, connection speeds have been improving, particularly in urban areas, though it remains painstakingly slow in rural areas. A speed test conducted in Addis Ababa in May 2018 found an average connection speed of 6.28 Mbps for downloading and 0.21 Mbps for uploading with a 150 millisecond latency.[6] By contrast, average global download speeds as of July 2018 were 22.81 Mbps.[7] Such slow speeds result in sluggish download times, even of simple images. Logging into an email account and opening a single message can take several minutes at a standard cybercafe with broadband in Addis Ababa, and even longer in rural areas.[8] Access to ICT services remains prohibitively expensive for most Ethiopians, largely due to the government's monopoly over the telecoms sector, which provides consumers with few options. Prices are set by state-controlled EthioTelecom and kept artificially high.[9] In a positive step, reforms under new Prime Minister Abey Ahmed include intentions announced in June 2018 to privatize EthioTelecom and open up the country's telecoms market to other players.[10] Mobile internet prices increased slightly in the past year, from ETB 5 to ETB 7 (USD $0.25) per day for 25 MB of data or from ETB 3,000 to nearly ETB 4,000 (USD $140) per month for 30 GB. Nonetheless, the lower cost of the daily 25 MB package is extremely limited considering a standard Google search uses up to 79 KBalone. Regularly loading websites containing 1 GB of multimedia content could cost USD $9 a day.[11] Ethiopians can spend an average of USD $100 per month for limited mobile or fixed wireless internet access. Better quality services in neighboring Kenya and Uganda cost less than USD $30 a month. Telecommunications devices, connection fees, and other related costs are also beyond the means of many Ethiopians. As a result, Ethiopia has among the lowest smartphone ownership rates in the world at only 4 percent according to a 2016 Pew survey.[12] Most Ethiopians still rely on cybercafes, universities, and government offices for internet access. Cybercafe access costs ETB 7-10 (USD $0.30-0.35) for an hour of access. However, since internet cafes are not as accessible outside urban areas, rates in rural cybercafes are higher. In addition, digital literacy rates are generally low. Frequent power outages are common, even in the capital Addis Ababa, making internet service unreliable. Restrictions on Connectivity Internet shutdowns were a frequent occurrence in Ethiopia throughout 2017 and 2018, as the government continued to disrupt network connectivity to stifle antigovernment protests and online criticism. The Ethiopian government's monopolistic control over the country's telecommunications infrastructure via EthioTelecom enables it to restrict information flows and access to internet and mobile phone services. As a landlocked country, Ethiopia has no direct access to submarine cable landing stations; thus, it connects to the international internet via satellite, a fiber-optic cable that passes through Sudan and connects to its international gateway, and the SEACOM cable that connects through Djibouti to an international undersea cable. All connections to the international internet are completely centralized via EthioTelecom, enabling the government to cut off the internet at will. Network shutdowns have been common since November 2015, when large-scale demonstrations began against the government's plan to appropriate land from the Oromia region of the country.[13] The antigovernment protest movement remained ongoing through 2017, with shutdowns affecting the Amhara and Oromia regions most heavily. In response to violent clashes during student protests in December 2017, the government imposed a blanket internet shutdown on all regional states, leaving haphazard access available only in the capital city, Addis Ababa.[14] Mobile internet services were then shut down nationwide for several days following the resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in February 2018, coinciding with the country being placed under a state of emergency. Oromia state experienced another unexplained internet blackout for over two weeks in March 2018.[15] In a positive step, most network connectivity returned to the country in April 2018 when the new Prime Minister Abey Ahmed began instituting reforms,[16] though network shutdowns were reported in August 2018 in the country's eastern region during a conflict between federal troops and regional leaders.[17] ICT Market The space for independent initiatives in the ICT sector, entrepreneurial or otherwise, is extremely limited, with state-owned EthioTelecom holding a firm monopoly over internet and mobile phone services as the country's sole telecommunications service provider. In a positive step, the government under new Prime Minister Abey Ahmed announced in June 2018 intentions to privatize EthioTelecom and open up the country's telecoms market to other players.[18] It had previously been reported in May 2018 that EthioTelecom had decided to subcontract a local private company to sell fixed-line internet services.[19] Since 2010 China has been a key investor in Ethiopia's telecommunications industry.[20] Particularly, two main Chinese telecoms companies Zhongxing Telecommunication Corporation (ZTE) and Huawei were involved in upgrading Addis Ababa's broadband networks to 4G and expanding 3G networks elsewhere.[21] The partnership has enabled Ethiopia's authoritarian leaders to maintain their hold over the telecoms sector,[22] though the networks built by the Chinese firms have been criticized for their high cost and poor service.[23] In May 2018, Beijing-based telecommunications company Hengbao was contracted to supply SIM cards for EthioTelecom.[24] These relationships have led to increasing fears that the Chinese may also be assisting the authorities in developing more robust ICT censorship and surveillance capacities (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity).[25] Onerous government regulations also stymie other aspects of the Ethiopian ICT market. For one, imported ICT items are tariffed at the same high rate as luxury items, unlike other imported goods such as construction materials and heavy-duty machinery, which are given duty-free import privileges to encourage investments in infrastructure.[26] Ethiopians are required to register their laptops and tablets at the airport with the Ethiopian customs authority before they travel out of the country, ostensibly to prevent individuals from illegally importing electronic devices, though observers believe the requirement enables officials to monitor citizens' ICT activities by accessing the devices without consent.[27] Local software companies also suffer from heavy-handed government regulations, which do not have fair, open, or transparent ways of evaluating and awarding bids for new software projects.[28] Government companies are given priority for every kind of project, while smaller entrepreneurial software companies are completely overlooked, leaving few opportunities for local technology companies to thrive.[29] Cybercafes are subject to burdensome operating requirements under the Telecom Fraud Offences Proclamation of 2012,[30] which prohibit them from providing Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services, and mandate that owners obtain a license from EthioTelecom via an opaque process that can take months. Violations of the requirements entail criminal liability, though no cases have been reported.[31] Regulatory Bodies The Ethiopian Telecommunications Agency (ETA) is the primary regulatory body overseeing the telecommunications sector. In practice, government executives have complete control over ICT policy and sector regulation.[32] The Information Network Security Agency (INSA), a government agency established in 2011 and controlled by individuals with strong ties to the ruling regime,[33] also has significant power in regulating the internet under the mandate of protecting the communications infrastructure and preventing cybercrime. Limits on Content: A few blocked websites became accessible in May 2018, while hundreds more were unblocked in June, reflecting the new government's openness to critical voices and independent news. Online self-censorship decreased palpably as citizens flocked to social media to participate in their country's transition from authoritarianism. Blocking and Filtering Hundreds of websites remained blocked during the coverage period, from media outlets to human rights and LGBTI organizations, to opposition sites and circumvention tools. In a positive step, a manual test conducted in May 2018 by local researchers on the ground found that a large number of websites tested by Freedom House each year since 2012 had been unblocked, though several of these websites had not been updated for years and appeared abandoned.[34] Nonetheless, a number of sites remained blocked during this test, including Ethiopian news websites, political party websites, and the websites of international digital rights organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Tactical Technology Collective. Select tools such as text messaging apps and services on Google's Android operating system on smartphones were also inaccessible, but at irregular intervals and for unclear reasons.[35] During antigovernment protests throughout 2017, social media and file-sharing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Dropbox were repeatedly blocked, including during student protests in December.[36] The blocks on social media first impacted networks in the Oromia region but later spread to other regions,[37] and eventually manifested in a shutdown of entire internet and mobile networks for days and months at a time (see Restrictions on Connectivity). Unrelated to protests, the government has also been known to block access to social media to prevent cheating during university examinations.[38] Social media and communications platforms have been accessible since internet networks were restored in April 2018. Later, on June 22, 2018 (after this report's coverage period), the Ethiopian government reported that it had unblocked a list of 264 websites, which was verified by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI).[39] Websites that have become accessible include those of U.S.-based diaspora satellite television stations, Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), and the Oromo Media Network (OMN). Ayyantuu.net and Opride.com, prominent websites also known for their reporting on the protests, have become accessible as well. Despite the recent improvements, Ethiopia still has a nationwide, politically-motivated internet blocking and filtering scheme that can be redeployed at any time. To filter the internet, specific internet protocol (IP) addresses or domain names are generally blocked at the level of the EthioTelecom-controlled international gateway. Deep-packet inspection (DPI) is also employed, which blocks websites based on a keyword in the content of a website or communication (such as email).[40] There are no procedures for determining which websites are blocked or why, precluding any avenues for appeal. There are no published lists of blocked websites or publicly available criteria for how such decisions are made, and users are met with an error message when trying to access blocked content. The decision-making process does not appear to be controlled by a single entity, as various government bodies including the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), EthioTelecom, and the ICT ministry seem to be implementing their own lists, contributing to a phenomenon of inconsistent blocking. This lack of transparency is exacerbated by the government's continued denial of its censorship efforts. Government officials flatly deny the blocking of websites or jamming of international satellite operations while also stating that the government has a legal and a moral responsibility to protect the Ethiopian public from extremist content. Content Removal Politically objectionable content is often targeted for removal, usually by way of threats from security officials who personally seek out users and bloggers to instruct them to take down certain content, particularly critical content on Facebook. The practice suggests that at least some voices within Ethiopia's small online community are being closely monitored. During protests in February 2018, the Facebook page of prominent political activist, Jawar Mohammed, who had over 1.2 million followers at the time of the incident, was continuously blocked.[41] Jawar suspected that the Ethiopian government played a role in manipulating or pressuring the social media platform to block and remove certain posts from his verified Facebook page.[42] Media, Diversity and Content Manipulation Media and freedom of expression remained limited throughout 2017, though citizens began to feel less fearful in early 2018 when former Prime Minister Desalegn began releasing hundreds of political prisoners in January before resigning in February. Self-censorship continued to decrease palpably through 2018, as the government under new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed instituted progressive reforms and eased restrictions on the media. Citizens flocked to social media to participate in conversations about their country's transition from authoritarianism and to hold the new government accountable to promised reforms. Nonetheless, various constraints still impede the development of diverse media and perspectives online. Lack of adequate funding is a significant challenge for independent online media in Ethiopia, as fear of government pressure dissuades local businesses from advertising with politically critical websites. A 2012 Advertising Proclamation also prohibits advertisements from firms "whose capital is shared by foreign nationals."[43] The process for launching a website on the local .et domain is expensive and demanding,[44] requiring a business license from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and a permit from an authorized body.[45] While the domestic Ethiopian blogosphere has been expanding, most blogs are hosted on international platforms or published by members of the diaspora community. Despite Ethiopia's low levels of internet access, the former government was known to employ an army of trolls to distort Ethiopia's online information landscape.[46] Opposition groups, journalists, and dissidents used the contemptuous Amharic colloquial term, "Kokas," to describe the progovernment commentators.[47] Observers say the Kokas regularly discussed Ethiopia's economic growth in favorable terms and posted uncomplimentary comments about Ethiopian journalists and opposition groups on Facebook and Twitter. In return, they were known to receive benefits such as money, land, and employment promotions.[48] It is uncertain whether the new government has continued using the same online manipulation tactics. Meanwhile, the spread of unconfirmed information, the phenomenon of fake news, and the growing problem of hate speech in the context of ethnic clashes have had a major chilling effect on the credibility of legitimate online information, particularly in response to the flood of rumors about the power struggle within the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition that swarmed social media right before the appointment of Abiy Ahmed as prime minister in February 2018. Digital Activism Despite oppressive conditions caused by poor access and a hostile legal environment, online activism has gained considerable momentum and influence over the past few years. Notably, social media and communications platforms have been integral to the mobilization of widespread antigovernment protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions since November 2015,[49] enabling activists to post information about the demonstrations and disseminate news about police brutality as the government cracked down on protesters.[50] Activists have also used social media platforms to consistently report the arrests, trials, and releases of political prisoners. The use of such tools to fuel the protest movement led the government to block access to several platforms during the first half of the coverage period and shut down internet and mobile networks altogether. Repeated internet shutdowns and blocks on social media platforms also hindered mobilization efforts (see Blocking and Filtering and Restrictions on Connectivity). Violations of User Rights: Following the resignation of Prime Minister Desalegn in February 2018, the authorities imposed a six-month state of emergency that placed restrictions on certain online activities to quell antigovernment unrest. In a positive step, the ruling EPRDF released hundreds of political prisoners, including imprisoned bloggers, before the prime minister's resignation a trend that new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continued. However, a few bloggers were arrested for short periods during the state of emergency, which was eventually lifted in June 2018. Legal Environment To quell escalating antigovernment protests that forced the resignation of the country's prime minister, the government imposed a six-month state of emergency on February 17, 2018 that included restrictions on certain online activities, including banning the circulation of "any information that could cause disturbance or suspicion."[51] Like the previous state of emergency imposed in October 2016, which lasted until August 2017, the authorities also criminalized accessing or posting content related to the protests on social media, as well as efforts to communicate with "terrorist" groups, a category that included exiled dissidents. Emergency rule also undermined fundamental rights, banning unauthorized protests and allowing the authorities to arbitrarily arrest and detain citizens without charge. In a positive step, the new Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed, who took office in April 2018, ended the state of emergency in June, two months early.[52] The move was a reflection of easing tensions in Ethiopia. Fundamental freedoms are guaranteed for Ethiopian internet users on paper, but the guarantees have been routinely flouted in practice under authoritarian rule. The 1995 Ethiopian constitution provides for freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and access to information, while also prohibiting censorship.[53] These constitutional guarantees are affirmed in the 2008 Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, known as the press law, which governs the print media.[54] Nevertheless, the press law also includes problematic provisions that contradict constitutional protections and restrict free expression, such as complex registration processes for media outlets and high fines for defamation.[55] The Criminal Code also penalizes defamation with a fine or up to one year in prison.[56] As of September 2018, these laws remain on the books under the new prime minister. Several laws designed to restrict and penalize legitimate online activities and speech are also still in place. Most alarmingly, the 2012 Telecom Fraud Offences Law extends the violations and penalties defined in the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and Criminal Code to electronic communications, which explicitly include both mobile phone and internet services.[57] The antiterrorism legislation prescribes prison sentences of up to 20 years for the publication of statements that can be understood as a direct or indirect encouragement of terrorism, which is vaguely defined.[58] The law also bans VoIP services such as Skype[59] and requires all individuals to register their telecommunications equipment including smartphones with the government, which security officials typically enforce at security checkpoints by confiscating ICT equipment if the owner cannot produce a registration permit, according to sources in the country. Under the former government, Ethiopia passed a new Computer Crime Proclamation in June 2016 that further criminalized an array of online activities.[60] Civil society expressed concern that the law would be used to further crack down on critical commentary, political opposition, and social unrest.[61] For example, content that "incites fear, violence, chaos or conflict among people" can be punished with up to three years in prison, which could be abused to suppress digital campaigns.[62] Other problematic provisions ban the dissemination of defamatory content, which can be penalized with up to 10 years in prison,[63] and the distribution of unsolicited messages to multiple emails (spam), which carries up to five years in prison.[64] While the restrictive legal environment for media and freedom of expression remained unchanged under the new government, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised democratic reforms during his inaugural speech to parliament in April 2018.[65] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Following years of arresting antigovernment protesters and handing out long prison sentences to critical bloggers and journalists, the ruling EPRDF party stunned observers in January and February 2018 by releasing thousands of political prisoners, including blogger Eskinder Nega, who had been serving an 18-year sentence since 2012.[66] Imprisoned bloggers convicted on terrorism charges Zelalem Workagegnehu, Yonatan Wolde, and Bahiru Degu, among others were also eventually released, while outstanding charges against the critical Zone 9 bloggers were dropped.[67] Despite the progress, authorities made new arrests under the state of emergency imposed in February 2018. On March 8, 2018, police arrested Seyoum Teshome, a well-known academic and blogger, for criticizing the state of emergency on his blog.[68] He was released on April 16 without charges.[69] Separately, several bloggers and journalists were rearrested on March 26 while at a social gathering, which were prohibited without prior authorization under the state of emergency.[70] Those arrested included recently released Eskinger Nega, though they were all released after twelve days in prison.[71] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Government surveillance of online and mobile phone communications has been pervasive in Ethiopia and has not been reformed since the new prime minister came into office in April 2018. The Computer Crime Proclamation enacted in June 2016 strengthened the government's surveillance powers, enabling real-time monitoring or interception of communications authorized by the Minister of Justice. The law also obliges service providers to store records of all communications and metadata for at least a year.[72] Ethiopia's telecommunications and surveillance infrastructure has been developed in part by investments from Chinese telecommunications companies with potential ties to the Chinese government, creating strong suspicions that the Ethiopian government has implemented highly intrusive surveillance practices styled after the Chinese system. These suspicions were reinforced in January 2018, when African Union officials accused China of hacking into its headquarters' servers and secretly transferring data files to servers in Shanghai over the course of five years, from 2012 to 2017.[73] The state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation had built the AU's headquarters in Addis Ababa and connected the building's telecommunication infrastructure through Ethiopia's state-run EthioTelecom. A 2015 Human Rights Watch report revealed strong indications that the Ethiopian government had deployed a centralized monitoring system developed by the Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE to monitor mobile phone networks and the internet.[74] Known for its use by repressive regimes in Libya and Iran, the monitoring system enables deep packet inspection (DPI) of internet traffic across the EthioTelecom network and has the ability to intercept emails and web chats. Another ZTE technology, known as ZSmart, is a customer management database installed at EthioTelecom that provides the government with full access to user information and the ability to intercept SMS text messages and record phone conversations.[75] ZSmart also allows security officials to locate targeted individuals through real-time geolocation tracking of mobile phones.[76] While the extent to which the government has made use of the full range of ZTE's sophisticated surveillance systems is unclear, the authorities frequently present intercepted emails and phone calls as evidence during trials against journalists and bloggers or during interrogations as a scare tactic.[77] Meanwhile, exiled dissidents have been frequent targets of surveillance malware over the years. In February 2018, Citizen Lab published research detailing how spyware from an Israeli company had been used against Jawar Mohammed, the exiled executive director of the Oromia Media Network (OMN). OMN is a diaspora-run independent satellite television, radio, and online news media outlet, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that had been banned by the former Ethiopian government for inciting violence and promoting terrorism.[78] Previous Citizen Lab research published in March 2015 found that Remote Control System (RCS) spyware had been used against employees of the Ethiopian Satellite Television Service (ESAT) in November and December 2014. ESAT is also a diaspora-run independent satellite television, radio, and online news media outlet, based in Alexandria, Virginia.[79] Made by the Italian company Hacking Team, RCS spyware had been advertised as "offensive technology" sold exclusively to law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world, with the ability to steal files and passwords and intercept Skype calls and chats.[80] While Hacking Team denied that it dealt with "repressive regimes,"[81] analysis of the RCS attacks uncovered credible links to the Ethiopian government, with the spyware's servers registered at an EthioTelecom address under the name "INSA-PC," referring to the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), the body established in 2011 to preside over the security of the country's critical communications infrastructure.[82] In a positive step, the new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who himself is regarded as one of the founders of INSA forced the resignations of INSA officials who were accused of monitoring and hacking activists, leading to some optimism that INSA may become less abusive in its surveillance powers.[83] Anonymous communication is compromised by strict SIM card registration requirements. Upon purchase of a SIM card through EthioTelecom or an authorized reseller, individuals must provide their full name, address, government-issued identification number, and a passport-sized photograph. EthioTelecom's database of SIM registrants enables the government to terminate individuals' SIM cards and restrict them from registering for new ones. Internet subscribers are also required to register their personal details, including their home address, with the government. During the antigovernment protests in 2016, state-owned ICT provider EthioTelecom announced plans to require mobile phones to be purchased from Ethiopian companies and to create a tracking system for all mobile devices in Ethiopia. Observers believe the plan aims to allow the government to track and identify all communications from subscribers on its network.[84] Intimidation and Violence Amidst escalating antigovernment protests in 2017 and early 2018, the authorities reportedly harassed, detained, and abused several people who used their digital devices to record footage of demonstrations. Political prisoners, many of whom were imprisoned for their online writings, have been notoriously subjected to grave human rights abuses, including torture, while in detention.[85] Imprisoned bloggers reported being held in degrading conditions and tortured by prison guards seeking to extract false confessions.[86] Under the former government, security agents frequently harassed and intimidated bloggers, online journalists, and ordinary users for their online activities. Independent bloggers were often summoned by the authorities to be warned against discussing certain topics online, while activists reported that they were regularly threatened by state security agents.[87] Ethiopian journalists in the diaspora were also targeted for harassment.[88] In a positive step, new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed fired the head of Ethiopia's prison service and other top officials in July 2018 based on allegations of systemic torture within the prison system.[89] Technical Attacks Opposition critics and independent voices have faced frequent technical attacks over the years, even when based abroad. In February 2018, Citizen Lab published research detailing how spyware had targeted Jawar Mohammed, the exiled executive director of the Oromia Media Network (OMN) throughout 2016 and 2017 (see also: Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). OMN is a diaspora-run independent satellite television, radio, and online news media outlet, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that had been banned by the former government for inciting violence and promoting terrorism.90 Notes: 1 "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet, 2000-2016," International Telecommunication Union, accessed September, 20 2018, http://bit.ly/1cblxxY 2 Simon Kemp, "Digital in 2018: World's Internet Users Pass the 4 Billion Mark," We Are Social, 30 January, 2018, https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 3 "Mobile-Cellular Telephone Subscriptions, 2000-2017," International Telecommunication Union, accessed September 20, 2018, http://bit.ly/1cblxxY 4 "Ethio Telecom to Neutralize 2.7m Mobile Phones," Addisfortune.net. 15 September, 2017, https://bit.ly/2Oo0GjS. https://addisfortune.net/articles/ethio-telecom-to-neutralize-2-7m-mobile-phones/ 5 Endalk Chala, "When blogging is held hostage of Ethiopia's telecom policy," Global Voices, February 3, 2015, http://bit.ly/1OpDvzz 6 "Broadband Speed Test Ethiopia," Do Speed Test, accessed September 20, 2018, http://www.dospeedtest.com/speedtest-result/country-statistics/Ethiopia/ 7 "Speed Test Global Index," Speed Test, accessed August 31, 2018, http://www.speedtest.net/global-index 8 According to tests by Freedom House consultant in 2016. 9 "Ethiopia Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts," Research and Markets, October 2017, http://bit.ly/1ji15Rn 10 Matina Stevis-Gridneff, "Ethiopia Opens Door to the World With Unprecedented Privatization Plan, "The Wall Street Journal, June, 6 2018, https://on.wsj.com/2sMkKja 11 A former Bloomberg's Ethiopia correspondent, who was deported from Ethiopia in 2018, described the issue on Facebook in March 2016: "It cost me 44 birr ($2.05) to watch Al Jazeera's latest 3-minute dispatch on Oromo protests using 4G network on my phone, which is not that much less than the average daily wage of a daily laborer in Ethiopia." See: William Davison's Facebook post, March 26, 2016,accessed September 21, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/william.davison.33/posts/10153956834545792?pnref=story 12 Jacob Poushter, "Smartphone Ownership and Internet Usage Continues to Climb in Emerging Economies," Pew Research Center, February 22, 2016, https://pewrsr.ch/2QJddwR 13 Endalk Chala, "Ethiopia Locks Down Digital Communications in Wake of #OromoProtests," Global Voices, July 14, 2016, https://globalvoices.org/2016/07/14/ethiopia-locks-down-digital-communications-in-wake-of-oromoprotest; Moses Karanja et al., "Ethiopia: Internet Shutdown Amidst Recent Protests?" OONI, August 10, 2016, https://ooni.torproject.org/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ 14 Moses Karanja "Reconnecting the internet is the first litmus test Ethiopia's new prime minister has to pass," Quartz, April 6,2018, https://qz.com/africa/1246398/ethiopia-prime-minister-abiy-ahmed-should-end-the-internet-shutdown/ 15 Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban, "Unexplained internet blackout in Ethiopia's Oromia region," Africa News, September 21, 2018, http://www.africanews.com/2018/03/21/unexplained-internet-blackout-in-ethiopia-s-oromia-region/ 16 Aaron Maasho, "Ethiopia ends web blackout, raising hopes of reforms under new PM," Reuters, April 16, 2018, https://reut.rs/2qByhd0 17 Abdi Latif Dahir, "Ethiopia has resorted to its old habit of blocking the internet to quell internal unrest," Quartz, August 8, 2018, https://qz.com/africa/1351277/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-in-eastern-somali-region/ 18 Matina Stevis-Gridneff, "Ethiopia Opens Door to the World With Unprecedented Privatization Plan," The Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2018, https://on.wsj.com/2sMkKja 19 Binyam Sisay, "Ethio Telecom Takes Baby Step to Liberalise Services," Addis Fortune, May 12, 2018, https://addisfortune.net/articles/ethio-telecom-takes-baby-step-to-liberalise-services/ 20 "New report explores the Ethiopian telecoms, mobile and broadband market insights, statistics and forecasts," Directube, May 2, 2015, https://diretube.com/articles/read-new-report-explores-the-ethiopian-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-market-insights-statistics-and-forecasts_8974.html 21 "Out of reach," The Economist, August 24, 2013, http://econ.st/1l1UvJO 22 "Out of reach," The Economist, August 23, 2018, http://econ.st/1l1UvJO 23 Matthew Dalton, "Telecom Deal by China's ZTE, Huawei in Ethiopia Faces Criticism," The Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2014, https://on.wsj.com/2OHF0wb 24 Tang Shihua,"China's Hengbao to Supply Ethiopia's Telecom Monopoly With SIM Cards," Yicai Global, May 18, 2018, https://yicaiglobal.com/news/china%E2%80%99s-hengbao-supply-ethiopia%E2%80%99s-telecom-monopoly-sim-cards 25 Based on allegations that the Chinese authorities have provided the Ethiopian government with technology that can be used for political repression such as surveillance cameras and satellite jamming equipment in the past. See: "Ethiopia: China Involved in ESAT Jamming," Addis Neger, ECADAF Ethiopian news & Opinion, June 23, 2010, http://bit.ly/1LtSYI9; Gary Sands, "Ethiopia's Broadband Network A Chinese Trojan Horse?" Foreign Policy Association, September 6, 2013, http://bit.ly/1FWG8X1 26 "Doing Business in Ethiopia," The Embassy of the United Stated, accessed September 21, 2018, https://et.usembassy.gov/business/ 27 "Ethiopia Custom Regulation: No 622/2009," World Intellectual Property Organization, February 19, 2009, http://bit.ly/1NveoeB 28 Mignote Kassa,"Why Ethiopia's Software Industry Falters," Addis Fortune, September 29, 2013, http://bit.ly/1VJiIWC 29 Birhanu Fikade, "IT firms accuse INSA of 'crowding out,'" The Reporter, June 17, 2017, https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/content/it-firms-accuse-insa-%E2%80%9Ccrowding-out%E2%80%9D 30 http://www.abyssinialaw.com/uploads/761.pdf; Also in the: "Proclamation No. 281/2002, Telecommunications (Amendment) Proclamation," Federal Negarit Gazeta, July 2, 2002, http://www.mcit.gov.et/web/guest/-/proclamation-no-281-2002-telecommunications-amendment-proclamation-pdf-?inheritRedirect=true 31 "License Directive for Resale and Telecenter in Telecommunication Services No. 1/2002," Ethiopian Telecommunication Agency, November 8, 2002, accessed October 20, 2014, https://chilot.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Directive-for-Resale-and-Telecenter-English.pdf 32 Dr. Lishan Adam, "Understanding what is happening in ICT in Ethiopia," Research ICT Africa, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1LDPyJ5 33 Halefom Abraha, "THE STATE OF CYBERCRIME GOVERNANCE IN ETHIOPIA," Academia, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1huzP0S 34 Freedom House consultant tests in May 2018 35 Atnaf Brhane's Twitter post (@AtnafB), July 17, 2016, https://twitter.com/AtnafB/status/754711725967024131 accessed September 25, 2018, 36 Abdi Latif Dahir, "Ethiopia has blocked social media sites as new Oromo protests hit the country," Quartz, December 15, 2017, https://qz.com/africa/1157890/oromo-protests-ethiopia-has-blocked-social-media-sites-facebook-twitter-and-youtube/ 37 William Davison, "Twitter, WhatsApp Down in Ethiopia Oromia Area After Unrest," Bloomberg, April 12, 2016, https://bloom.bg/2QSoOto 38 Nicole Orttung, "Why did Ethiopia block social media," Christian Science Monitor, July 12, 2016, http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2016/0712/Why-did-Ethiopia-block-social-media?cmpid=gigya-tw 39 Berhan Taye et al, "Ethiopia: Verifying the unblocking of websites," OONI, June 29, 2018, https://ooni.torproject.org/post/ethiopia-unblocking/ 40 "They Know Everything We Do," Human Rights Watch, March 25, 2014, https://bit.ly/1Nviu6r 41 John Shinal, "Mark Zuckerberg's Valentine's Day photo got spammed after Facebook blocked an Ethiopian activist," CNBC, February 15, 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/mark-zuckerbergs-valentines-day-photo-got-spammed-by-ethiopians.html. The Facebook page has over 1.4 million followers as of August 2018: https://www.facebook.com/Jawarmd 42 Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban, "Facebook blocks top Ethiopian activist over hyperactivity, followers protest," Africa News, February 15, 2018, http://www.africanews.com/2018/02/15/facebook-blocks-top-ethiopian-activ... 43 Exemptions are made for foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin. See, Abrham Yohannes, "Advertisement Proclamation No. 759/2012," Ethiopian Legal Brief, September 27, 2012, http://bit.ly/1LDQf5c 44 "Proclamation No. 686/2010 Commercial Registration and Business Licensing," Federal Negarit Gazeta, July 24, 2010, http://bit.ly/1P3PoLy; "Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency, Economy Profile 2015, Ethiopia," World Bank Group, accessed September 28 2018,https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/21255/920040WP0Box380580Ethiopia00Public0.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 45 Endalk Chala, "When blogging is held hostage of Ethiopia's telecom policy," Global Voices, February 3, 2015, https://bit.ly/2QXXB8D 46 "Ethiopia Trains Bloggers to attack its opposition," ECADF Ethiopian News & Opinions, June 7, 2014, http://bit.ly/1QemZjl 47 The term "Koka" is a blend of two words: Kotatam and cadre. Kotatam is a contemptuous Amharic word used to imply that someone is a sellout who does not have respect for himself or herself. 48 Endalk Chala, "Leaked Documents Show That Ethiopia's Ruling Elites Are Hiring Social Media Trolls (And Watching Porn)," Global Voices, January 20, 2018, https://globalvoices.org/2018/01/20/leaked-documents-show-that-ethiopias-ruling-elites-are-hiring-social-media-trolls-and-watching-porn/ 49 "How social media shaped calls for political change in Ethiopia, "Al Jazeera, August 11, 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2018/08/social-media-shaped-calls-political-change-ethiopia-180811084501289.html 50 Jacey Fortin, "The ugly side of Ethiopia's economic boom," Foreign Policy, March 23, 2016, http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/23/no-one-feels-like-they-have-any-right-to-speak-at-all-ethiopia-oromo-protests/ 51 Aaron Maasho, "Ethiopia declares state of emergency after PM's resignation," Reuters, February 15, 2018, https://reut.rs/2zsXmMg 52 Paul Schemm,"Ethiopia moves to lift state of emergency two months early as tensions ease," The Washington Post, June 2, 2018, https://wapo.st/2OaBnBH 53 "Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995,)" Ethiopian Parliament Information, accessed Sept. 25, 2018, http://www.ethiopar.net/constitution 54 "Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation No. 590/2008," Federal Negarit Gazeta, December 4, 2008, https://bit.ly/2IfRBUP 55 "The Legal Framework for Freedom of Expression in Ethiopia," Article 19, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1Pl0f33. 56 "Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (art. 613)," ILO, accessed September 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/1OpHE6F 57 "Ethiopia: Proclamation on Telecom Fraud Offences," Article 19, August 6, 2012, https://eajournalistdefencenetwork.org/Legal-Analysis/ethiopia-proclamation-on-telecom-fraud-offences.html 58 "Anti-Terrorism Proclamation No. 652/2009," Federal Negarit Gazeta No. 57, August 28, 2009, https://bit.ly/2Qb8cMc 59 The government first instituted the ban on VoIP in 2002 after it gained popularity as a less expensive means of communication and began draining revenue from the traditional telephone business belonging to the state-owned EthioTelecom. In response to widespread criticism, the government claimed that VoIP applications such as Skype would not be considered under the new law, though the proclamation's language still enables the authorities to interpret it broadly and at whim. 60 "Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016," Federal Negarit Gazette, July 7, 2016, https://bit.ly/2xKRJYp 61 Kimberly Carlson, "Ethiopia's new Cybercrime Law allows for more efficient and systematic prosecution of online speech," Electronic Frontier Foundation, June 9, 2016, https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/06/ethiopias-new-cybercrime-law-allows-more-efficient-and-systematic-prosecution-online; Tinishu Soloman, "New Ethiopian law targets online crime," The Africa Report, June 9, 2016, http://www.theafricareport.com/East-Horn-Africa/new-ethiopian-law-targets-online-crime.html 62 "Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016, (Article 14)" Federal Negarit Gazette, July 7, 2016, https://bit.ly/2xKRJYp ; "Text of Ethiopia's draft Computer Crime proclamation," Horn Affairs, May 9, 2018, https://bit.ly/2R8dV6L. 63 "Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016, (Article 13)" Federal Negarit Gazette, July 7, 2016, https://bit.ly/2xKRJYp 64 "Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016, (Article 15)" Federal Negarit Gazette, July 7, 2016, https://bit.ly/2xKRJYp 65 "Abiy Ahmed has a chance to lift the lid on freedoms in Ethiopia," Financial Times, April 17, 2018, https://on.ft.com/2zClkVf 66 Sella Oneko, "Ethiopia releases high profile political prisoners," DW, February 14, 2018, https://www.dw.com/en/ethiopia-releases-high-profile-political-prisoners/a-42590273 67 Sella Oneko, "Ethiopia releases high profile political prisoners," DW, February 14, 2018. 68 "Ethiopia arrests critical blogger Seyoum Teshome," Committee to Protect Journalists, March 9, 2018, https://cpj.org/2018/03/ethiopia-arrests-critical-blogger-seyoum-teshome.php 69 "URGENT ACTION VICTORY! TWO GOVERNMENT CRITICS RELEASED (ETHIOPIA: UA 62.18)," Amnesty International, April 17, 2018, https://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent-actions/urgent-action-victory-two-government-critics-released-ethiopia-ua-62-18/ 70 Elias Meseret, "Ethiopia re-arrests recently freed politicians, journalists," Associated Press, March 26, 2018, https://apnews.com/99f0c8219c364222b071d48601175d06 71 "ESKINDER NEGA RELEASED FROM UNWARRANTED, CRUEL, AND UNJUST DETENTION," Pen America, April 5, 2018, https://pen.org/press-release/eskinder-nega-released-unwarranted-detention/ 72 "Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016, (Article 23, 24)" Federal Negarit Gazette, July 7, 2016, https://bit.ly/2xKRJYp 73 "African Union accuses China of hacking headquarters," Financial Times, January 29, 2018, https://on.ft.com/2BBnClt 74 "They Know Everything We Do," Human Rights Watch, March 25, 2014, https://bit.ly/1Nviu6r 75 "They Know Everything We Do," Human Rights Watch. 76 "They Know Everything We Do," Human Rights Watch, page 52. 77 Committee to Protect Journalists, "Ethiopian Blogger, Journalists Convicted of Terrorism," January 19, 2012, http://cpj.org/x/47b9 78 Bill Marczak et al., "CHAMPING AT THE CYBERBIT," Citizen Lab, December, 6, 2017, https://bit.ly/2zVwYrZ; Don Deibert, https://citizenlab.ca/2017/12/champing-cyberbit-ethiopian-dissidents-targeted-commercial-spyware/; "EVIDENCE THAT ETHIOPIA IS SPYING ON JOURNALISTS SHOWS COMMERCIAL SPYWARE IS OUT OF CONTROL," Wired, December 6, 2017,https://www.wired.com/story/evidence-that-ethiopia-is-spying-on-journali... 79 Bill Marczak et al., "Hacking Team Reloaded? US-Based Ethiopian Journalists Again Targeted with Spyware," Citizen Lab, March 9, 2015, http://bit.ly/1Ryogmr 80 "Customer Policy," Hacking Team, accessed February 13, 2014, http://hackingteam.it/policy.html 81 Declan McCullagh, "Meet the 'Corporate Enemies of the Internet' for 2013," CNET, March 11, 2013, accessed February 13, 2014, http://cnet.co/1fo6jJZ 82 Marczak et al., "Hacking Team Reloaded? US-Based Ethiopian Journalists Again Targeted with Spyware." 83 De Birhaner, "Days After the Passage of HR128, Two Senior Ethiopian Military Heads Accused of Violations Submit Resignations," Debrihan, April 14, 2018, https://debirhan.com/2018/04/days-passage-hr128-two-senior-ethiopian-military-heads-accused-misconducts-submit-resignation/ 84 Endalk Chala, "Ethiopia Locks Down Digital Communications in Wake of #OromoProtests." Global Voices, July 14, 2016, https://bit.ly/2Qh865L. 85 "We are Like the Dead," Human Rights Watch, July 4, 2018, https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/04/we-are-dead/torture-and-other-human-rights-abuses-jail-ogaden-somali-regional 86 Tedla D. Tekle, "'I was forced to drink my own urine,': 'Freedom' for netizen after 647 days locked up, but not for all." 87 Simegnish (lily) Mengesha,"CRAWLING TO DEATH OF EXPRESSION RESTRICTED ONLINE MEDIA IN ETHIOPIA," Center for International Media Assistance, April 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1IbxFie 88 "aS-aSa? aS aa? a aaa aSaaaSa aaaaaa? aaaa aSa?aS aS aSaa aSaa-aaa? aS a," ECADAF Ethiopian News & Opinion, April 12, 2015, http://ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/14790/ 89 "Ethiopia Fires Prison Officials, Confronts Torture Claims," Voa News, July 5, 2018, https://www.voanews.com/a/ethiopia-fires-prison-officials-confronts-torture-claims/4468769.html 90 Bill Marczak et al., "CHAMPING AT THE CYBERBIT," Citizen Lab, December, 6, 2017; Don Deibert, "EVIDENCE THAT ETHIOPIA IS SPYING ON JOURNALISTS SHOWS COMMERCIAL SPYWARE IS OUT OF CONTROL," Wired, December 6, 2017. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Estonia Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Estonia, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b1b4.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Free Total Score: 6/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 1,315,480 Internet Penetration: 88.1% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: No Freedom in the World Status: Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In March 2018, the Estonian parliament ratified an agreement with Luxembourg to establish a "data embassy" to safeguard critical databases in a secure centre overseas (see Technical Attacks). Estonia's e-governance infrastructure suffered one of its first challenges in the fall of 2017, when a chip malfunction that could lead to potential security breaches was discovered in government-issued ID cards. The government recalled security certificates for more than 760,000 ID cards, which made their electronic use impossible until the certificates had been renewed (see Technical Attacks). Local elections in October 2017 did not reveal major changes to the political landscape in Estonia. All major parties support freedom of expression and internet freedom, as well as main aspects of e-governance (see Legal Environment). Introduction: Estonia continues to respect internet freedom, with very few restrictions. Estonia remains as a world leader on e-governance and cybersecurity. In 2017, it became the first country to establish a "data embassy" program, which creates special safe havens for government data that can be used in the event of a cyberattack or any other politically destabilizing event.[1] The widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) across society has broad political and popular support. Local elections in October 2017 were conducted smoothly and without major incidents. All major political parties support internet freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of information. The Estonian e-governance system is one of the most advanced in the world. In the fall of 2017 however, a chip malfunction that could lead to potential security breaches was discovered in government-issued ID cards.[2] In response, the government recalled security certificates for more than 760,000 ID cards, which made their electronic use impossible until the certificates had been renewed. Despite this issue, people were able to vote using their ID cards in the October 2017 local elections, and the crisis did not have any noticeable effect on people's trust in e-governance or electronic services.[3] Obstacles to Access: Estonia continues to be one of the most connected countries in the world with regard to internet access, and Estonian internet users face very few obstacles when it comes to accessing the internet. Availability and Ease of Access After a period of rapid growth in the number of mobile telephone and internet users in the last 20 years, internet penetration exceeded 88 percent and mobile penetration 145 percent in 2017.[4] The availability of mobile broadband is widespread, while fixed broadband access is below the European average. This is mainly due to limited connectivity in sparsely populated rural areas. Work to improve fixed broadband access is ongoing to achieve the country's ambitious goal of having 98 percent of households no more than 1.5 km from an access point.[5] The Technical Regulatory Authority (TRA) has produced a web-based map that shows what services are available at any location in Estonia.[6] In January 2017, the government adopted amendments to several laws to facilitate the use of existing infrastructure for broadband, which entered into force in March 2017.[7] Tests carried out by TRA confirmed that internet connection speeds are increasing rapidly. In the development plan for 2020, a goal was set to have mobile internet speeds of at least 30 Mbps available in all of Estonia by 2020. By 2017, speeds of 100 Mbps were available in 52 percent of the territory, compared to 37 percent in 2016.[8] In December 2017, TRA, together with the Ministry of Communications, initiated a survey to map areas of the country lacking access to fast internet (at least 30 Mbps).[9] Estonia's high level of mobile phone penetration reflects the widespread use of internet-enabled mobile devices. Companies are increasingly offering bundled packages that combine broadband with other services like television at attractive prices.[10] The abolition of roaming charges in the EU in June 2017 has led to new price packages for telephone and internet service, although changes have been minimal so far. Wi-Fi access remains strong. Estonia has numerous free, certified Wi-Fi areas meant for public use, including at cafes, hotels, hospitals, schools, and gas stations.[11] In addition, a countrywide wireless internet service based on CDMA technology is priced to compete with fixed-line broadband access. Three mobile operators cover the country with mobile 3G and 3.5G services, and since the end of 2016, 4G services cover over 99 percent of Estonia.[12] During the Estonian EU presidency in the second half of 2017, 5G services were tested in Tallinn.[13] Internet use is high among both men and women. 89.5 percent of males and 87.4 percent of females used the internet in 2015.[14] Knowledge of foreign languages among Estonians is high, which facilitates access to diverse content.[15] Restrictions on Connectivity There were no government-imposed restrictions or disruptions to internet access during the reporting period. ICT Market The Estonian Electronic Communications Act was amended in 2014 to develop and promote a free market and fair competition in electronic communications services.[16] There were no substantive changes in the ICT market during the reporting period. There are over 200 operators offering communications services, including six mobile operators and numerous internet service providers (ISPs). ISPs and other communications companies are required to register with the independent regulator, the TRA. There is normally no registration fee and companies can register electronically.[17] Regulatory Bodies The main regulatory bodies for the ICT sector are the TRA and the Competition Authority. Both entities have a reputation for professionalism and independence. There have been no reported cases of undue interference in the telecommunications sector or abuse of power by these regulatory bodies. The Estonian Internet Foundation was established in 2009 to manage Estonia's top level domain, ".ee," and is a member of the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries (CENTR).[18] The organization represents a broad group of stakeholders in the Estonian internet community and has succeeded in overseeing various internet governance issues. In recent years, domain registration fees and annual fees have decreased, and limitations on the number of domains per user have been scrapped. No significant changes to regulatory bodies took place during the reporting period. Limits on Content: Estonians have access to a wide range of content online, and very few resources are blocked or filtered by the government. Following court rulings on intermediary liability for third-party comments, some Estonian media outlets have modified their policies regarding commenting on their portals. Blocking and Filtering There are very few restrictions on internet content and communications in Estonia. The Gambling Act, one of the few laws that imposes content restrictions, requires all domestic and foreign gambling sites to obtain a special license or face access restrictions.[19] As of January 2018, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board had more than 1,300 websites on its list of illegal online gambling sites that Estonian ISPs are required to block.[20] The list of blocked sites is transparent and available to the public. Content Removal There have been some instances of content removal related to online communications. Most of these cases involve civil court orders to remove reader comments deemed inappropriate or libelous from online news sites. Comments are also sometimes removed from online discussion forums and other sites. Generally, users are informed about the privacy policies and rules for commenting on websites. Most popular websites have a code of conduct for the responsible and ethical use of their services and have enforcement policies in place. Some major news sites have limited anonymous commenting on their articles. In June 2015, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld a controversial 2009 Estonian Supreme Court decision establishing intermediary liability over third-party defamatory comments on internet news portals.[21] The Grand Chamber confirmed that holding intermediaries responsible for third-party content published on their website or forum is not against Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of expression. Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many other international video-sharing and social-networking sites are widely available and popular. Estonians use the internet for uploading and sharing original content such as photographs, music, and text, more than the average in the EU.[22] There was no evidence of increased restrictions on content or of self-censorship during the reporting period, and online debates are active and open. Estonians have relatively unfettered access to the internet, and there are few economic or political barriers to posting a variety of content, including a wide range of news and opinions. Estonians use many internet applications. The most popular website is Google, followed by Facebook and YouTube. The major Estonian news portals Postimees and Delfi are the fifth and sixth most popular sites.[23] Estonian Public Broadcasting delivers all radio channels and its own TV production services, including news in real time over the internet; it also offers archives of its radio and television programs at no charge to users. In a display of transparency, the Estonian Secret Police opened its Facebook and Twitter accounts in April 2018.[24] While Estonian authorities are aware of Russian information campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion in the region, there were no reported cases of banning content from Russia.[25] Digital Activism Social media use in Estonia is widespread, and Estonians often make use of such sites to share news and information, as well as generate public discussion about current political debates. There were no instances of restrictions on the use of social media or other media in political campaigns. Online petitions are popular.[26] Additionally, there is a site that enables people to compile and send collective initiatives with at least 1,000 digital signatures to the parliament of Estonia, as well as follow up on the results of the proposal.[27] Since 2013, citizens have been able to engage online as well as offline in a "people's assembly," which since 2017 has focused on ideas for active aging.[28] Estonians widely use e-services. Estonia has expanded e-governance thanks to the interoperability of all public and some private databases, and digital identification using public-key infrastructure.[29] Approximately 99 percent of state services are available online.[30] More than 1.2 million active ID cards are in use, which enable both electronic authentication and digital signatures.[31] ID cards can be used for electronic voting in all Estonian elections. Minor changes to internet voting, such as shortening the time period for the vote, were implemented for the local elections in October 2017. Despite the shortened timeline, the percentage of internet voters was the highest ever in 2017; 31.7 percent of all votes were cast online.[32] Violations of User Rights: Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are protected by Estonia's constitution and by the country's obligations as a member state of the European Union. Anonymity is unrestricted, and there have been extensive public discussions on anonymity and the respectful use of the internet. Internet access at public access points can be obtained without prior registration. Over the past few years, the government has succeeded in reducing the number and severity of cyberattacks against its infrastructure. Legal Environment According to the constitution, all citizens have the right to freely obtain information and to freely disseminate ideas, opinions, beliefs, and other information. In addition, citizens have the right to the confidentiality of messages sent or received.[33] In practice, there are few limits on freedom of expression. Speech that publicly incites hatred, violence, or discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, color, gender, language, origin, religion, sexual orientation, political opinion, or financial or social status is punishable under the penal code.[34] Defamation was decriminalized in 2002.[35] Civil defamation cases can be brought under the Law of Obligations Act,[36] though cases are rare and damages are usually moderate.[37] In October 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sought to clarify EU law in a case on internet jurisdiction, at the request of the Estonian Supreme Court.[38] The ruling considered whether a defamation case can be brought before a court in Estonia if the company affected is based in Estonia, even though the infringing content was published on a Swedish website. The EU Court clarified that the party affected may sue in the country where its center of interest resides, but noted that it is not possible to bring cases in any country where the online information is accessible.[39] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities There were no cases of prosecutions or detentions for legitimate online activities during the coverage period. Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Estonia has strong privacy protections for its citizens. The Data Protection Inspectorate (DPI) is the supervisory authority for the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), in force since 2008.[40] In addition, the chancellor of justice (ombudsman) can make suggestions regarding data protection. The PDPA was replaced by the EU GDPR after it entered into force in May 2018.[41] GDPR gives individuals strengthened control over how and by whom their personal data is stored. To supplement the GDPR and harmonize it with Estonian law, a new data protection bill was presented to parliament in November 2017, but it had not yet been passed.[42] The bill provides details on how to meet the requirements of the GDPR as well as rules on possible exceptions, such as instances when personal data can be used by the media if it is in the public interest. The Electronic Communications Act contains a number of provisions on protection of personal data for communications providers.[43] Data retention practices established under the Electronic Communications Act, which aligned with EU legislation, were cast into doubt by the CJEU in April 2014, when the court found the European Data Retention Directive (2006/24/EC) to be invalid.[44] In Estonia, a data retention principle remains in the law (Article 111), with various restrictions on how the data can be stored and used. Data shall be kept for one year, unless there are special circumstances determined by the government that justify keeping it longer, such as maintaining public order and national safety. Article 112 regulates how requests by law enforcement authorities should be made. Requests are kept for two years. Parliament's Security Authorities Surveillance Select Committee oversees the practices of surveillance agencies and security agencies. The committee monitors the activities of security authorities to ensure conformity with the constitution, the Surveillance Act, and other regulations on security agencies. The prosecutor's office monitors the use of surveillance activities and reports regularly to the Select Committee. Surveillance must be proportionate and necessary. In an overview provided in February 2018, the chief prosecutor reported that during 2017, permission for surveillance activities was granted in 2 percent of cases in which there was a legal possibility for such permission. Surveillance was mainly used for drug-related activities, organized crime, and tax-related crimes.[45] Intimidation and Violence There have been no physical attacks against bloggers or online journalists in Estonia, though online discussions are sometimes inflammatory. Technical Attacks According to the ITU's Global Cybersecurity Index, Estonia ranks fifth in the world and first in Europe.[46] Estonian businesses and communities generally prioritize ICT security. Estonia's cybersecurity strategy is built on strong private-public collaboration and a unique voluntary structure through the National Cyber Defence League.[47] With more than 150 experts participating, the league has simulated different security threat scenarios in defense exercises, with the aim of improving the technical resilience of telecommunication networks and other critical infrastructure.[48] As an additional measure to ensure the security of public electronic data, Estonia will establish the first of several planned "data embassies." The first embassy, based in Luxembourg, will store public data and information systems in a cloud, and would enable the Estonian state to function in the event of a cyberattack or other political crisis within the country. The agreement between the two governments to establish the embassy was signed in June 2017, and the embassy is planned to be completed in 2018. The data embassy will be granted the same privileges bestowed upon traditional embassies.[49] The Estonian e-governance infrastructure suffered one of its first major challenges in the fall of 2017, when a chip malfunction that could lead to potential security breaches was discovered in government-issued ID cards[50] In response, the government recalled security certificates for more than 760,000 ID cards, which made their electronic use impossible until the certificates had been renewed (electronically or manually). The issue was apparently discovered before any data was compromised. Since many certificates were being renewed simultaneously, the online renewal system was overburdened, leading to delays. However, eventually the certificates were renewed, and the incident has not significantly affected the public's trust in e-governance. [51] A new cybersecurity law was adopted by parliament in May 2018. The law implements the EU Directive 2016/1148 on measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems.[52] It includes requirements to have a computer security incident response team (CSIRT) and a competent national network and information security (NIS) authority (which Estonia previously had), and strengthens cooperation among EU member states. Businesses identified as operators of essential services will be required to take appropriate security measures and to notify serious incidents to the relevant national authority.[53] The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence is located in Tallinn. Since its founding, the center has supported awareness campaigns and academic research, and hosted several high-profile conferences, among other activities. The center organizes an annual International Conference on Cyber Conflict, or CyCon, bringing together international experts from governments, the private sector, and academia, with the goal of ensuring the development of a free and secure internet. The tenth such conference was held from May 30 to June 1, 2018, and focused on maximizing effects in cyberspace for military, government, business, and other entities.[54] Notes: 1 https://www.riigikogu.ee/en/press-releases/plenary-assembly/riigikogu-approved-establishing-luxembourg-data-embassy/ 2 https://www.id.ee/index.php?id=38176 3 https://www.valitsus.ee/et/uudised/juri-ratas-e-riigi-edulugu-saab-pohineda-vaid-koostool 4 International Telecommunication Union, "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet, 2000-2017" and "Mobile-Cellular Telephone Subscriptions, 2000-2017," https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 5 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/country-information-estonia 6 www.netikaart.ee 7 Act amending the Electricity Market Act and related laws, January 20, 2017, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/125012017001 8 Mobile internet speeds in Estonia, December 2017, https://www.tja.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/Sideteenused/mobiilse_interneti_andmesidekiirused_eestis_detsember_2017_a.pdf 9 https://www.tja.ee/et/uudised/algatati-avalik-konsultatsioon-kiire-internetita-piirkondade-kaardistamiseks 10 https://www.tja.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/Sideulevaated/elektroonilise_side_ulevaade_i_kv_2017.pdf 11 Public Wi-Fi Hotspot database in Estonia, http://wifi.ee 12 Annual report of the Estonian Technical Regulatory Authority 2016 13 Report of the Estonian Technical Regulatory Authority, 3rd quarter 2017, https://www.tja.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/Sideulevaated/elektroonilise_side_ulevaade_iii_kv.pdf 14 ITU, accessed 28 February 2018, http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx 15 http://www.studyinestonia.ee/estonia-ranks-high-english-proficiency 16 Electronic Communications Act RT I 2004, 87, 593. In force 1 January 2005 (major amendments 2014). For English text see: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/521082017008/consolide 17 Statistics of economic activities, https://mtr.mkm.ee/statistika/yld?m=157 18 Estonian Internet Foundation, http://www.internet.ee/en/ 19 Gambling Act, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/507122016002/consolide 20 The list of restricted websites can be found on the Estonian Tax and Customs Board website: "Blokeeritud hasartmangu internetilehekuljed" (Blocked gambling internet pages), Tax and Customs Board, accessed 28 February 2018, https://www.emta.ee/et/eraklient/maa-soiduk-mets-hasartmang/blokeeritud-hasartmangu-internetilehekuljed 21 European Court of Human Rights, Case of Delfi AS v. Estonia, Judgement, June 16, 2015. 22 "Individuals Using the Internet for Uploading Self-Created Content" Eurostat, accessed 28 February 2018 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=tin00030&language=en 23 See: https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/estonia, accessed 10 May 2018. 24 https://www.err.ee/746711/kapo-hakkas-sautsuma-ja-laks-facebooki, accessed 10 May 2018 25 The yearbook of the Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO), p. 9. 26 Petitsioon (Petition), accessed 10 May 2018, http://petitsioon.ee 27 Rahvaalagatus (Citizens initiative), accessed 10 May 2018 https://rahvaalgatus.ee/ 28 Rahvaalgatus, accessed 10 May 2018 https://uuseakus.rahvaalgatus.ee/ 29 A public-key infrastructure (PKI) is a system for the creation, storage, and distribution of digital certificates, which are used to verify that a particular public key belongs to a certain entity. The PKI creates digital certificates that map public keys to entities, securely stores these certificates in a central repository, and revokes them if needed. 30 E-Governance Academy, "e-Estonia, e-Governance in practice," http://www.ega.ee/publication/e-estonia-e-governance-in-practice/ 31 See the web portal for the ID-card system, http://id.ee/?lang=en. 32 https://www.valimised.ee/et/valimiste-arhiiv/elektroonilise-h%C3%A4%C3%A4letamise-statistika, accessed 27 February 2018 33 Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, June 28, 1992. 34 Article 151 Penal Code, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/519012017002/consolide 35 The amended Penal Code was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2002. 36 RT I 2001, 81, 487; in force 1 July 2002. In English at https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/524012017002/consolide 37 Cases from the Estonian Supreme Court are available at http://www.nc.ee/?id=194 38 Regulation 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. 39 Judgement of the Court 17 October 2017 in Case C-194/16 Bolagsupplysningen OU and Ingrid Ilsjan v. Svensk Bolagsuppkysning AB. Available at https://curia.europa.eu. 40 Personal Data Protection Act, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/507032016001/consolide 41 Regulation 2016/679 42 Draft Personal Data Protection Law, http://www.aki.ee/sites/www.aki.ee/files/elfinder/article_files/iks_en_9.11.17.pdf 43 Electronic Communications Act, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/527032017001/consolide 44 The ECJ court ruling pertained to the cases Digital Rights Ireland Ltd (C-293/12) and Karntner Landesregierung (C-594/12) and is available at http://bit.ly/1yF25p3. 45 https://www.riigikogu.ee/pressiteated/julgeolekuasutuste-jarelvalve-erikomisjon-et-et/erikomisjon-sai-ulevaate-prokuratuuri-jarelevalvest-jalitus-ja-julgeolekuasutuste-ule-2/ 46 Global Cybersecurity Index 2017, https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/str/D-STR-GCI.01-2017-PDF-E.pdf 47 Cyber Security Strategy 2014-2017, https://www.mkm.ee/sites/default/files/cyber_security_strategy_2014-2017_public_version.pdf 48 "Estonian Defense League's Cyber Unit," Kaitseliit (Defence League), http://www.kaitseliit.ee/en/cyber-unit 49 https://www.riigikogu.ee/pressiteated/majanduskomisjon-et-et/majanduskomisjon-toetab-andmesaatkonna-rajamist-luksemburgi/ 50 https://www.id.ee/index.php?id=38176 51 https://www.id.ee/index.php?id=38176 52 https://www.riigikogu.ee/tegevus/eelnoud/eelnou/61815f7a-1025-4aea-9b0e-d9cf97337e59/K%C3%BCberturvalisuse%20seadus 53 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/network-and-information-security-nis-directive 54 https://ccdcoe.org/cycon-2018.html Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Ecuador Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Ecuador, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b1d6.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 40/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 16,624,858 Internet Penetration: 57.3% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: No Freedom in the World Status: Partly free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 In two cases, journalists sued under the previous Correa government were found not guilty for publishing critical information online (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). In May 2018, the executive sent a proposal to reform repressive elements of 2013 Communication Law to the National Assembly. Changes contemplate the elimination of the media regulator Supercom, which used the law to target critical coverage (see Legal Environment). Social media activity surged to mourn the kidnapping and murder of three members of the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio by dissidents of Colombia's demobilized FARC guerrilla group (see Digital Activism). After the president announced the elimination of Ecuador's intelligence agency, SENAIN, the government began to outline the conformation of a new entity to replace it. Since its creation, SENAIN had been questioned for spying on politicians, journalists and activists (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Introduction: Ecuador's internet freedom improved for the first time since 2013, as government-led tactics of online content manipulation and harassment against critics eased under the new administration. During his first days in office, newly-elected President Lenin Moreno of Alianza Pais gathered newsroom directors and told them to "breathe freely," in efforts to establish a less confrontational relationship between the government and the media. The National Secretariat of Communication started collaborating with the media by providing information, and state-owned media showed more independence from the ruling party during this first year. The tension between former president Rafael Correa and President Lenin Moreno intensified following a major corruption scandal that ultimately led to the imprisonment of former vice-president Jorge Glas, a close ally of Correa. The ruling party split into two different movements: Alianza Pais, led by president Moreno and "Revolucion Ciudadana" (Citizens' Revolution), led by his predecessor. This conflict is central to understand the shifts during the past year. For instance, politically-motivated takedowns continued during the coverage period, but were mostly related to public officials that worked with Correa. The government, on the other hand, ceased to systematically abuse copyright infringement notices to censor online content or sanction private media. The new National Assembly dropped legislative proposals to control social media or regulate data protection in a questionable manner. In March 2018, Moreno announced the replacement of SENAIN, the government's spying agency, with a new organization for national intelligence said to be more focused on the fight against organized crime and other threats to the state. However, during Moreno's first year, proposed reforms to existing legislation that led to systematic abuses in the past had yet to fully materialize. Ecuador's improvement therefore remained cautious, pending meaningful changes in both institutions and legislation. Obstacles to Access: Ecuador continued its widespread campaigns to improve internet access and digital literacy across the country and recently announced new investments to connect Galapagos, the insular region. Availability and Ease of Access Internet access in Ecuador has steadily increased, as internet penetration reached 57.27 percent in 2017.[1] Last year, the number of fixed connections increased by 10 percent whereas mobile subscriptions rose by 13 percent.[2] The Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS), a high speed fiber-optic cable completed by a consortium of operators in August 2015,[3] represents part of a larger advance in infrastructure improvements in Ecuador.[4] Multiple internet subscription options are available. Broadband (commonly used in urban zones) and satellite connections (often used in rural areas) have become increasingly popular in recent years. In early 2015, Movistar and Claro reached a deal with the government to access the radio frequency bands to improve 3G connectivity and install 4G services, in exchange for paying over US$ 300 million and improving 3G coverage. This contract, expiring in 2023, is expected to reach more individuals than previous attempts to introduce 4G technology.[5] Government data shows that the number of active lines using 4G technology (LTE and HSPA) increased from almost 3.2 million by the end of 2016 to more than 8 million by July 2018.[6] America Movil announced a new US$450 million investment for the next three years.[7] While fixed and mobile broadband internet with low download capacity (500 Mb) is affordable for most users, Ecuador had the steepest price in the region for higher download capacity (1 GB) adjusted for purchasing power parity.[8] Small internet retailers provide internet access to Ecuadorians for less than US$1 per hour. Although the government eliminated cell phone import quotas for companies,[9] mobile phones continued to be taxed as luxury items along with other electronic devices such as computers and tablets.[10] It is unclear whether or not this will change in the immediate future. In addition, courier services used for purchases on sites such as Amazon and Alibaba started paying a new import tax on January 2018.[11] Socio-economic factors have continued to impact internet access in Ecuador. In 2017, some 46.6 percent of households in urban areas had internet access compared to 16.6 percent in rural areas.[12] Digital illiteracy is greater in rural (21.24 percent) rather than urban areas (5.99 percent), and heavily impacts indigenous (29.81 percent) and montubios (18.8 percent) people.[13] Public information available is not disaggregated by gender, making it impossible to assess inequalities in this dimension. Ecuador has shown improvements in expanding internet access to rural areas over the past three years. In October 2017, the government announced plans to connect the insular region of the country to the continent through a 1,280 km submarine cable.[14] In March 2017, the Andean Community launched a new satellite to increase the speed of communications in remote areas.[15] Ecuador's state-run Infocentros community centers with network access that began to be installed in June 2012 provide free internet in 74 percent of rural cantons in the country.[16] Infocentros have played an important role in reducing digital illiteracy[17] (from 21.4 percent in 2012 to 10.48 percent in 2017) by offering free workshops across the country. MINTEL and the Ministry of Education expect to provide full access to all public schools through its National School Connectivity Plan.[18] In November 2017, 5,300 schools were already connected.[19] The National Secretariat of Higher Education has also taken steps to provide free Wi-Fi in public and private universities.[20] Restrictions on Connectivity Ecuador's physical infrastructure is not highly centralized. The government does not place limits on bandwidth, nor are there reports of control over infrastructure, although a provision in the 2015 Organic Law of Telecommunications grants the president the power to unilaterally take over telecommunications services in times of national emergency.[21] Civil society groups have raised concerns about the scope of this provision and its potential abuse by the government because of its vague standards and lack of oversight by an independent and impartial court.[22] ICT Market Ecuador has seven major internet service providers (ISPs) covering 98.7 percent of users and 379 small ISPs providing access to at least one client. By the end of 2017, there were 47 registered ISPs without clients. In mid-2018, state-owned National Telecommunications Corporation (CNT) continued to dominate the fixed-line market, with 51 percent of subscriptions, followed by Setel (12 percent) and Megadatos (12 percent). The fifth biggest provider, ETAPA, is also a state-owned company. Mobile internet service providers, on the other hand, are an oligopoly: Conecel (Claro) represents 54 percent of active cellular accounts, followed by Otecel (Movistar) and CNT.[23] The 2015 Telecommunications Act allowed the government to impose specific requirements on dominant operators with high market power based on their income; and to impose fines depending on the number of users.[24] In 2016, a judge reversed an attempt to impose a US$ 82 million fine on to Conecel (Claro) over exclusivity clauses in their contracts.[25] In retaliation, the company sued the Superintendent of Market Power Control claiming that he damaged the company's reputation.[26] There have been no reported government restrictions for new companies in the ICT sector. However, it has become difficult for small entrepreneurs to start an ISP in highly populated areas, mainly due to the number of competitors. As a result, they have migrated to outlying provinces.[27] Registration with ARCOTEL is mandatory for cybercafes. Regulatory Bodies The Organic Law of Telecommunications passed in 2015 radically changed the regulation of the telecommunications sector. The new telecommunications law created a regulatory body: the Agency for the Regulation of Telecommunications (Arcotel)-attached to the Ministry of Telecommunications-is responsible for technical aspects of administration, regulation, and control of the telecommunications sector and the radio-electric spectrum.[28] Arcotel's directors are appointed directly by the president, which may undermine the body's independence.[29] Arcotel's effort to redistribute radio-electric frequencies has notably been criticized for being politicized and lacking transparency.[30] Efforts by access providers and other internet-related organizations to establish self-regulatory mechanisms are allowed and, to a certain extent, promoted. Examples of this include the public assistance to develop public and private Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRT) by EcuCERT; the local internet exchange point (NAP.ec) managed by AEPROVI, and the Ecuadorian IPv6 Task Force, among others. The allocation of digital assets, such as domain names or IP addresses, is not controlled by the government, nor are they allocated in a discriminatory manner. Ecuador's media regulator, the Superintendency of Information and Communications (Supercom), suffered several drawbacks in 2018. Two different judges determined Supercom acted without judicial arguments and violated due process in two cases against the newspaper El Comercio[31] and Teleamazonas;[32] superintendent Carlos Ochoa was forced to apologize. Finally, he was removed as superintendent due to diversion of public funds.[33] In May 2018, President Moreno confirmed a proposal to reform the Communication Law to the National Assembly, which would contemplate the elimination of Supercom.[34] Limits on Content: The online sphere has gained prominence as a forum for political and social discussion in Ecuador. Former President Rafael Correa's government sought to exert control over content through a variety of mechanisms, through online manipulation and the use of copyright law to censor critical content. Under the administration of Lenin Moreno, these government-led tactics have become less prominent. Blocking and Filtering The government does not engage in systematic blocking or filtering of content in Ecuador. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blog-hosting services are freely available. There were no reports of the government blocking tools enabling circumvention of online filters and censors. Reports have pointed to past instances of blocking of specific domains. An allegedly leaked internal memorandum from Telefonica (Movistar) noted an instance in 2014 when the Ecuadorian Association of Internet Providers (AEPROVI), which controls over 95 percent of the country's internet traffic, blocked access to specific domains at the government's request.[35] Public documentation from SUPERTEL (now ARCOTEL) showed that the government and private ISPs have collaborated in the past to block specific domains to combat piracy,[36] and that AEPROVI maintained a cooperation agreement with ARCOTEL since 2012.[37] The text of the agreement remains unknown to the public; the mechanisms used by ARCOTEL and AEPROVI to block internet domains are unclear. Likewise, mechanisms for public accountability are not in place or have not been disclosed. Content Removal Content removals continued to be reported during this coverage period, but became less prominent as a government mechanism to silence sensitive content online.[38] Under former President Rafael Correa's rule, copyright law was frequently used to censor critical online content.[39] Since Lenin Moreno became president, public institutions have ceased to file such removal requests. While the new government has showed a friendlier attitude towards online activity, repressive mechanisms are still in place and leave room for future abuse. Press freedom group Fundamedios documented removals and account suspensions on social media during this period of coverage. Many of these cases involved discussions related to officials from the previous government, although some also worked for the current government briefly. Reported removals or suspensions on Twitter related to posts about Orlando Perez (former editor of state-funded newspaper El Telegrafo),[40] Guillaume Long (former chancellor),[41] Carlos Ochoa (Superintendent of Communications),[42] and Fernando and Vinicio Alvarado (Ministers and close collaborators of Rafael Correa).[43] The deletion of content older than a year suggeststhe use of specialized services.[44] According to Twitter's transparency report, the company received 4 removal requests by government agencies in the last half of 2017, compared to 3 in the previous period, though no content was withheld as a result.[45] During the same period, there were 18 government takedown requests to Google, 16 of them for defamation and 2 for copyright.[46] Fundamedios also reported that Facebook deleted several pictures uploaded by whistleblower organization Ecuador Transparente based on the network's terms of service. Their post showed e-mails in which former government officials attempted to interfere in several judicial cases between 2010 and 2013.[47] In December 2016, the National Assembly approved the Organic Code on Social Economy of Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation. Article 565 allows the state agency, Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property, to order both authors and intermediaries to "suspend" infringing content on digital media.[48] Given the Ecuadorian government's indiscriminate use of copyright law to censor online content in the past, digital rights activists raised concerns that this provision could increase the government's ability to submit takedown requests or blocking orders against online content that allegedly violates intellectual property.[49] Additionally, article 19 of the Communication Law has been used to hold websites liable for content posted on their sites by third parties unless such parties are identifiable through personal data such as their national ID number.[50] News outlets that have allowed readers to post comments critical of the government on their websites have faced removal requests, and others have closed their comments section entirely. Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation While diverse media outlets have emerged and thrived online in Ecuador,[51] broad restrictions on media outlets have encouraged self-censorship and curtailed financial resources for independent media. However, a more open approach to media has provided some relief under President Moreno, who has pledged to reform the repressive Communications Law passed in 2013. In May 2018, the executive submitted a proposal for major reforms to the Communications Law, and the National Assembly continued to debate possible changes, which includes eliminating the powerful media and communications regulator. Supercom had aggressively pursued print media (including all media with an online presence) under accusations of unbalanced reporting and "media lynching" an allegation that was often applied to investigative reporting in Ecuador. As a result of these restrictions, mainstream media outlets such as El Comercio, El Universo or Expreso had lawyers reviewing "sensitive" notes before publication. Cases of corruption and investigative journalism were covered with extreme caution. However, a journalist who requested anonymity admitted that attitudes have shifted under President Moreno's government: journalists consult with lawyers less frequently before posting sensitive information, authorities have stopped imposing fines, and government institutions have become more transparent.[52] Some journalists have noted that while there is more space to openly criticize the former administration, some self-censorship remains. Martina Vera, who worked at Teleamazonas until 2017, asserted that journalists have taken advantage of more space for free expression to talk about the previous government, but not to comment on the current one. "Criticizing the president," she said, "is perceived as an endorsement of [Correa], who was a nefarious person for freedom of the press."[53] Past reports on state-sponsored troll farms in Ecuador revealed efforts to skew public opinion in favor of Correa's government.[54] According to Catalina Botero, former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, investigations identified troll IP addresses in government offices.[55] Journalist Martin Pallares pointed out that troll accounts cheered for Rafael Correa and his supporters after Moreno's election.[56] The Secretariat of Communication also denounced that institutional Twitter and Facebook accounts created by the former government such as "Enlace Ciudadano" (Citizen's Link) were used to disseminate information that was not authorized by the current administration.[57] There is a general mandate to protect Net Neutrality in both the Culture Act (Article 5) and the Telecommunications Act (Article 3, Article 4 and 66). However, Article 64 allows ISPs to establish "tariff plans consisting of one or more services, or for one or more products of a service, in accordance with his or her authorization certificates." The rulebook for the Telecommunications Act reaffirmed that the only limitation for tariff plans was the requirement for ISPs to clearly state the limitations of "any discounts, promotions or bonuses for purchasing services."[58] Digital Activism Social media continued to be a dynamic tool for organization in Ecuador. Two different reports by undergraduate students looked at online activism campaigns in Ecuador; in both cases, the study focused on feminist groups Marcha de las Putas Ecuador and Movimiento de Mujeres de El Oro and found positive outcomes overall, where recruiting and participation increased.[59] Politicians facing corruption allegations have resigned during the coverage period but there is not enough research to associate social media pressure with such happenings. In March 2018, Javier Ortega, Efrain Segarra and Paul Rivas, members of the journalistic team of El Comercio, were kidnapped by combatants who previously were members of FARC guerrilla group (now demobilized). This event, which ultimately led to their assassination, caused huge public outcry across the country. For days, people would gather first to demand their return and later to mourn their deaths: #NosFaltan3 ("We are missing 3") trended in the country for almost an entire month.[60] Violations of User Rights: During President Moreno's first year, promised reforms to existing legislation that led to systematic abuses in the past had yet to fully materialize. The country faces several threats to free expression, including criminal provisions against libel, government regulation and oversight of media content, and concerns about judicial independence. However, harassment and threats against government critics on social media eased during the coverage period. Legal Environment A lack of legislation specifically targeting online speech has allowed journalists and bloggers to enjoy relatively higher levels of freedom online than offline. Ecuador's Constitution guarantees "universal access to information technologies and communication" (Article 16.2), and confers the ability to exercise one's right to communication, information, and freedom of expression (Article 384). The latter, however, was amended by the National Assembly in December 2015 to include the mandate that "communication as a public service will be provided through public, private and community media" (emphasis added). The move to categorize communication as a public service has especially raised criticism for undermining freedom of expression as a human right and opening the way for broad government regulation of media outlets.[61] Although Article 71 of the Organic Law of Communication, adopted in 2013, already included similar wording on communication as a public service, the constitutional amendment cemented this principle.[62] In a promising move, the executive announced reforms to the repressive 2013 Communication Law in mid-March 2018,[63] and presented them to the National Assembly in May.[64] The Communication Law calls for the establishment of a government committee to regulate media and issue civil and criminal penalties to journalists or media outlets that fail to report in a manner that the regulator deems fair and accurate. Although Article 4 states that the law "does not regulate information or opinions expressed by individuals on the internet," the definition of social media outlets in Article 5 includes "content which can be generated or replicated by media outlets on the internet." Follow-up legislation in 2014 exempted bloggers and social media users from regulation under the Communications Law, but expanded the definition of "mass media" to include "those [websites] that operate on the internet, whose legal status has been obtained in Ecuador and distribute news and opinion content."[65] Changes to the penal code that entered into force in August 2014 eliminated criminal charges for insult, but retained them for slander and libel.[66] Article 179 restricts protections for whistleblowers by establishing a prison sentence of six months to one year for any person "who, by virtue of his/her state or office, employment, profession, or art, has knowledge of a secret whose divulgement might cause harm to another and reveals it." The article makes no exception for revealing information in the public interest. Article 229 places further restrictions on divulging information by banning the revelation of registered information, databases, or archives through electronic systems in a way that violates the intimacy or privacy of someone else, with no exceptions for whistleblowers or journalists. Article 307 establishes a penalty of five to seven years in prison for creating economic panic by "publishing, spreading, or divulging false news that causes harm to the national economy in order to alter the prices of goods." In July 2016, Ecuador voted against the UN Human Rights Council resolution on the protection of human rights on the internet.[67] Former president Rafael Correa introduced a new bill on his last day in office to regulate "hate speech and discrimination on social media and the internet" targeting both content and service providers,[68] However it is very unlikely for such bill to be approved given the adversarial relationship between Correa and the current government. The lack of judicial independence is another ongoing concern, Ecuador ranked 135 out of 137 in the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey.[69] Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Lawsuits have threatened social media users and online journalists in recent years. A handful of individuals were prosecuted during this period of coverage for disseminating information on the internet, although judges ruled in favor of journalists in two major cases: In February 2018, Fernando Villavicencio, the director of the news website Focus Ecuador, was found not guilty. [70] He had filed for political asylum in Peru after facing charges for publishing private documents from senior government officials in an article he wrote in 2013 for the Plan V online magazine. [71] Villavicencio's lawyer has defended that the publication, which concerned the government's legal battle with U.S. company Chevron, was in the public interest. In June 2017, former President Rafael Correa sued journalist Martin Pallares of the website 4Pelagatos in response to a satirical article he wrote which allegedly contained "expressions in disparagement and dishonor."[72] Pallares was found not guilty in July 2017.[73] A number of prosecutions have referred to Article 396 of the Criminal Code, which punishes "expressions that discredit or dishonor" and provides for a prison sentence of 15 to 30 days. In September 2017, a judge ordered 20 days of prison and a fine of US$ 90 against a citizen, after ruling that his Facebook posts affected the honor and reputation of a public servant.[74] In November, Fundamedios reported that the arrest warrant against him had expired after 48 days and his prison term was not carried out.[75] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity After the election of Lenin Moreno, several civil society organizations requested to eliminate the National Secretariat of Intelligence, SENAIN.[76] Days after the president discovered a hidden surveillance camera left by Correa operating in the presidential office,[77] he announced "adjustments."[78] In January 2018, the comptroller's office announced they will analyse SENAIN reserved expenses between 2012 and 2017.[79] The next month, Rommy Vallejo, who led the institution for years, resigned.[80] Finally, in March, the president announced the elimination of SENAIN in response to "citizens' ethical demands."[81] Weeks later, Moreno clarified the issue: A "Coordinating Unit of Public Security," under the direct control of the Presidency, will replace SENAIN.[82] During the coverage period of this report, it was still unclear how this change would impact on the intelligence unit budget, mission, and oversight. SENAIN was in charge of producing "strategic SIGINT [signals intelligence] for the integral security of the state, society and democracy." Created in 2009 by a presidential decree, SENAIN continuously expanded its capacities until 2017. Most of the budget was allocated to "special expenses for communications and counterintelligence."[83] Evidence has mounted that Ecuador's government engaged in surveillance of a wide range of individuals, as leaked documents have exposed illegal spying on politicians, journalists and activists.[84] In July 2015, Italian spyware company Hacking Team was compromised and their financial and commercial transactions exposed. In March 2018, La Posta published public contracts showing the transaction between SENAIN and Hacking Team,[85] confirming what previously leaked documents suggested.[86] According to a technical analysis by "ilv", a Tor Project developer, the government targeted judges, members of the national electoral council, political parties and political movements.[87] Ecuador Transparente also made public 31 secret documents from SENAIN corresponding to intelligence gathered between 2012 and 2014. Among the targets were politicians, environmentalists, cartoonists, and journalists.[88] There have also been several indications of government monitoring of blogs, social media and websites. The contract between Emerging MC and SENAIN, made public by Buzzfeed in 2015, required the company to "predict, anticipate and eliminate" material on social media.[89] In previous reports from 2013, "marketing company" Illuminati Lab displayed monitoring of Ecuadorian social media as a success story of their company.[90] In April 2016, SENAIN published a press release threatening legal action in light of "unfounded publications made by ( . . . ) some Twitter users" related to the Panama Papers leak.[91] SENAIN also made use of information gathered by public agencies and stored in the government platform www.datoseguro.gob.ec. This website, administered by the National Directorate of Public Data Registry, claims that their data is encrypted in transit and on its servers.[92] Public entities, the Registry included, are legally obliged to provide any information required by SENAIN as long as this request has been communicated to the president.[93] Under the rules of the telecommunications law, ISPs are obliged by ARCOTEL to "provide technical, economic, financial, legal documents, and in general, any form or request for information" and to "allow inspections to facilities and systems."[94] Finally, the Subsystem for Interception of Communications or Computer Data (SICOM) of the General Attorney requested Hacking Team's assistance to build a country-wide monitoring center to access PCs, laptops, cellphones and tablets.[95] The system currently allows interception of voice calls and text messages (SMS) of criminal suspects.[96] Content intercepted during internet surveillance is admissible in court and can be used to convict criminals under Articles 476 and 528 of the Criminal Code. Neither anonymous nor encrypted communications are prohibited in Ecuador. Registration of cell phones and SIM cards, however, is mandatory for every citizen.[97] News sites are also required to prove the identity of commentators, or are otherwise liable for the latter's wrongdoing. ISPs are required to submit the IP addresses of their clients without a judicial order on request by Arcotel.[98] Finally, mobile operators were required to implement technology that would automatically provide the physical location of cellphone users for emergency purposes, within an accuracy range of 50 meters.[99] In February 2018, ARCOTEL submitted a draft for the "technical standard for the registration of subscribers or customers of telecommunications services and broadcasting services by subscription" for consultations; such a draft requires ISPs to keep an updated registry of all their subscribers and store that information for at least 5 years.[100] The lack of registration results in refusal of service. Without clear mechanisms nor transparency about the criteria for the use of personal data, the impact of such a rule raised concerns. Intimidation and Violence Intimidation against reporters and social media influencers eased during the coverage period, and there were no reports of physical attacks against ICT users. However, corruption allegations against the former government triggered death threats against journalists Janeth Hinostroza,[101] Andersson Boscan,[102] and Fernando Villavicencio.[103] Even after the end of his presidency, Correa continued to encourage his followers to find and release personal information about users who criticized him.[104] Two incidents also showed how online harassment can escalate to physical harassment. Gabriel Gonzalez, the administrator of the satirical page @CrudoEcuador, received online messages hinting that his wife's car was being followed.[105] Human rights defender Juan Pablo Alban, who was defending a man for racist aggression within the military, was insulted and harassed via a Facebook page called "Soldados de honor" (Soldiers of honor). He also had messages slipped under his door warning him that his life was in danger.[106] Technical Attacks According to Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report, Ecuador is among the top 3 countries in the region where users have a higher risk of identity theft, and other cyber threats.[107] Hacking and denial-of-service attacks have frequently targeted digital media. Several attacks against media and non-governmental organizations were reported during the past year: In August 2017, Fundamedios was victim of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack and code insertions which redirected their users to malicious websites. [108] The following month, digital outlet Ecuador en Vivo suffered a DDoS and DNS attack affecting its database. As a result of the attacks the website was unable to post new content for several hours. [109] In February 2018, following the publication of a news article reporting on the mismanagement of public funds, milhojas.is suffered hacking attempts against its social media accounts.[110] In December 2015, Citizen Lab revealed an analysis of a series of malware attacks in Ecuador and other countries. Targets included high-profile journalists, civil society organizations, activists and politicians.[111] The Counter-Intelligence and Strategic Technological Operations Center of SENAIN handles the technical aspects of the country's cybersecurity, and EcuCERT, has been in operation since 2014.[112] In early 2016, Ecuadorian police created a special unit to deal with cybercrime with a team of 200 agents working in research and intelligence.[113] Notes: 1 International Telecommunication Union, "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet, 2000-2017," http://bit.ly/1cblxxY 2 MINTEL, "Indicadores y Estadistica," Retrieved Mar 20, 2018, https://observatoriotic.mintel.gob.ec/estadistica/ 3 Sofia Ramirez, "Un nuevo cable submarino se instala," [A new undersea cable is installed], El Comercio, Quito, July 14, 2015, http://bit.ly/2dv79sA 4 Ministerio de Telecomunicaciones y Sociedad de la Informacion (MINTEL), "Seguimos creciendo en el despliegue de las telecomunicaciones: Ecuador ya cuenta con 59.861 km de fibra optica," [The deployment of telecommunications keeps growing: Ecuador already has 59,861 km of fiber optic], January 28, 2016, http://bit.ly/1RQd8of 5 Mercedes Alvaro, "Ecuador Signs 4G Contracts with America Movil, Telefonica," The Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2015, http://on.wsj.com/1DsXlo9 6 Agencia de Regulacion y Control de las Telecomunicaciones (ARCOTEL), "Servicio Movil Avanzado," [Advanced Mobile Phone System], accessed on September 20, 2018, http://bit.ly/1p7oE2U 7 "America Movil anuncia inversion en Ecuador por US$450 millones," La Republica, September 26, 2017 8 Maria F. Viences & Fernando Callorda, "La brecha digital en America Latina: precio, calidad y asequibilidad de la banda ancha en la region," [The digital divide in Latin America: price, quality and affordability in the region], Dialogo regional sobre sociedad de la informacion, January 2016, p. 18, http://bit.ly/1UG7nJP 9 Sofia Ramirez, "Cupos para importacion de celulares ya no rigen en el Ecuador," [Import quotas for cell phones no longer apply in Ecuador], El Comercio, February 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2kpz8Jw 10 Evelyn Jacome, "27,5% de impuestos se pagara por cada celular que llegue via courier," [27.5% of taxes will be paid for each cell phone brought via courier], El Comercio, January 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/1kSketI 11 Evelyn Tapia, "Las compras via courier pagaran nueva tasa desde el 1 de enero en Ecuador," El Comercio, Nov 9, 2017, http://bit.ly/2yqju70 12 MINTEL, "Indicadores y Estadistica," Retrieved March 20, 2018, https://observatoriotic.mintel.gob.ec/estadistica/ 13 Ibid. 14 "Gobierno proveera de fibra optica a Galapagos," El Telegrafo, October 29, 2017, http://bit.ly/2FkehRr 15 Agencia EFE, "Comunidad Andina lanza satelite de comunicaciones con alcance para America Latina," [Andean Community launches communications satellite to reach Latin America], El Comercio, March 30, 2017. http://bit.ly/2op7SwT 16 There are 854 Infocentros with 12 million visits since they were first implemented in 2010. See: Ministerio de Telecomunicaciones y Sociedad de la Informacion, "Infocentros comunitarios," [Community infocenters], accessed November 10, 2017, http://bit.ly/1iPMYxq; Total number of parishes can be found at https://observatoriotic.mintel.gob.ec/estadistica 17 Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Censos, "El analfabetismo digital en Ecuador se reduce en 10 puntos desde el 2012, [Digital illiteracy in Ecuador has reduced 10 points since 2012], January 27, 2017, http://bit.ly/2kcMZmz 18 Ministerio de Telecomunicaciones y Sociedad de la Informacion, "Conectividad escolar," [Scholar connectivity], accessed March 4, 2016, http://bit.ly/1OVJDKB 19 Andres Duran, "Conectar por internet a 7.800 establecimientos educativos es la meta de la Agenda Educativa Digital," El Ciudadano, Nov 24, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oNdXV8 20 "El Codigo Ingenios propone redes gratuitas de internet en las universidades," [The Ingenios Act proposes free internet network in universities], El Telegrafo, January 10, 2016, http://bit.ly/1PnG94e 21 Asamblea Nacional Republica del Ecuador, Ley Organica de Telecomunicaciones [Telecommunication Law], http://bit.ly/2fsPlKj 22 Katitza Rodriguez, "Leaked Documents Confirm Ecuador's Internet Censorship Machine," Electronic Frontier Foundation, April 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/1W144NE 23 Agencia de Regulacion y Control de las Telecomunicaciones, "Servicio de Acceso a Internet," [Internet Access Service], accessed September 2018, http://bit.ly/1qcC7Xs 24 America Movil, "Annual Report," December 31, 2104, http://bit.ly/1pqOpeL 25 Sofia Ramirez, "Multa por USD 82,7 millones para Claro," [Claro fined with USD 82.7 millions], El Comercio, August 30, 2016, http://bit.ly/2cawovo; See also: http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/negocios/multa-de-usd-38-millones.html 26 Sofia Ramirez, "Pedro Paez enfrenta un proceso penal planteado por Claro," [Pedro Paez faces criminal proceedings from Claro], El Comercio, January 31, 2017, http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/negocios-pedropaez-procesopenal-claro-quito.html 27 Rodrigo Barahona, Former Internet Service Provider, Interview March 14, 2016 28 Asamblea Nacional Republica del Ecuador, Ley Organica de Telecomunicaciones [Telecommunication Law], http://bit.ly/1Kvdp7W 29 Leticia Pautasio, "Ecuador: Ley de Telecomunicaciones entra en vigencia y Arcotel inicia sus funciones," [Ecuador: Telecommunications Law enters into force and Arcotel starts its functions], TeleSemana.com, March 6, 2015, http://bit.ly/22lJayl 30 Fundamedios, "Arcotel permanently removes independent journalists association's frequency," December 12, 2015, http://bit.ly/1PcWbxg; Plan V, "La Arcotel y los riesgos de la redistribucion de frecuencias," [Arcotel and the risks of frequency redistribution], February 22, 2016, http://bit.ly/1WFXJW1; https://www.andes.info.ec/es/noticias/politica/3/tres-grupos-monopolizan-frecuencias-ecuador-segun-contraloria 31 "Carlos Ochoa debe disculparse con diario EL COMERCIO por imponer una rectificacion sin fundamentos," El Comercio, December 29, 2017, bit.ly/OchoaEC 32 Mario Gonzalez, "Jueza ordena que Carlos Ochoa se disculpe con Teleamazonas," El Comercio, Dec. 27, 2017, http://bit.ly/2BNtsRC 33 Diego Puente, "CAL califico juicio politico contra superintendente Carlos Ochoa," El Comercio, Feb 5, 2018, http://bit.ly/2FeyNar 34 "Medios digitales plantean reformas a Ley de Comunicacion," El Universo, May 28, 2018, https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2018/05/28/nota/6782069/medios-digitales-plantean-reformas-ley-comunicacion 35 Apertura Radical, "El gobierno ecuatoriano y la Asociacion de Proveedores de Internet trabajan juntos para bloquear el acceso a paginas web," [The Ecuadorian government and the Ecuadorian Association of Internet Providers (AEPROVI) collaborate to block access to specific websites], http://wp.me/p3jTIV-8t 36 Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones, "Informe rendicion de cuentas 2014," p.64, [2014 Supertel Report], January 13, 2015, http://bit.ly/22ufifv 37 Convergencia Latina, "La SUPERTEL firmara hoy un convenio de cooperacion con la asociacion de ISPs" [SUPERTEL will sign cooperation agreement today with ISP association], April 17, 2012, http://bit.ly/1XNlCxV 38 Press freedom group Fundamedios documents abuses against digital rights. See: Fundamedios, "Alertas," accessed March 1, 2018, http://bit.ly/2oyCBbU 39 Maira Sutton, "State Censorship by Copyright? Spanish Firm Abuses DMCA to Silence Critics of Ecuador's Government," EFF, May 15, 2014, http://bit.ly/1lKGvUY; See also: Alexandra Ellerbeck, "How U.S. copyright law is being used to take down Correa's critics in Ecuador," Committee to Protect Journalists, January 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/1Lu5Uoj 40 Fundamedios, "Fundamedios condena censura de Twitter tras suspension de cuenta de Crudo Ecuador," August 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2vDrZMT 41 "Twitter bloquea cinco cuentas criticas con el gobierno," July 31, 2017, http://bit.ly/2wcw2OK 42 Fundamedios, "Twitter bloquea una nueva cuenta critica con funcionarios correista," February 14, 2018, http://bit.ly/2EFhy0V 43 Fundamedios, "Intentos de hackeo y suspension de cuentas en Twitter tras divulgar investigacion de corrupcion," February 2, 2018, http://bit.ly/2DUWeRb 44 An interviewee who requested anonymity mentioned the use of eliminalia.com. Online interview, February 16, 2018. 45 Twitter, Transparency Report, Ecuador, July-December 2017, https://transparency.twitter.com/en/countries/ec.html 46 Google Transparency Report, Ecuador, July-December 2017, https://transparencyreport.google.com/government-removals/by-country 47 Fundamedios, "Facebook censura publicacion sobre correos que demuestran injerencia del Gobierno en la justicia ecuatoriana," January 11, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GRyOgP 48 Asamblea Nacional Republica del Ecuador, "Ley de Propiedad Intelectual: Codigo Organico de la economia social de los conocimientos, creatividad e innovacion," [Intellectual Property Law], http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/es/ec/ec075es.pdf 49 "Gobierno podria dar de baja contenido digital basado en Codigo de Ingenios," Ciudadania Informada, February 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2i1SAMo 50 Silvia Higuera, "Government of Ecuador asks paper to 'filter' reader comments," Journalism in the Americas Blog, Knight Center, January 30, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LIka6k 51 Only two months of activity the website 4pelagatos.com, which is operated by journalists Roberto Aguilar, Martin Pallares, Jose Hernandez and social media specialist Juan Gabriel Gonzalez, best known as CrudoEcuador, received nearly two million visits from more than half a million unique users. See: 4Pelagatos, "Gracias a nuestros lectores," [Thank you to our readers], March 20, 2016, http://bit.ly/21CuAN2 52 Online interview, March 5, 2018. 53 Martina Vera, online interview, March 5, 2018. 54 Fundacion 1000 hojas, "Troll center: derroche y acoso desde las redes sociales" [Troll center: waste and harassment on social media], http://bit.ly/1xwV6yx; See also: Samuel Woolley, "#HackingTeam Leaks: Ecuador is Spending Millions on Malware, Pro-Government Trolls", August 4, 2015, http://bit.ly/2cUSYMl 55 "Catalina Botero compara acciones de Bukele con Correa en Ecuador," La Prensa Grafica, February 19, 2016, http://bit.ly/1pVJfaX 56 Martin Pallares, "En esta guerra el troll center esta con los correistas," 4 Pelagatos, June 10, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rLZ7QE 57 Fundamedios, "Secom denuncia suplantacion de administracion de cuentas en redes sociales," August 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2vfx8sW; https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/secom-enlaceciudadano-jorgeglas-leninmoreno-manabi.html 58 Andres Delgado, "The Final Blow to Net Neutrality in Ecuador," January 3, 2016, http://bit.ly/1Pheecy 59 Sandra Albuja, "Nuevas formas de comunicacion digital con los publicos: manejo de la conversacion 2.0. caso fan page oficial Marcha de las Putas Ecuador (Bachelor's thesis, Quito: UCE)", 2017, http://bit.ly/2Fd7PQg & Gabriela Moreira, "Desarrollo de un medio digital para contribuir a la difusion de contenidos del movimiento de mujeres de El Oro (Bachelor's thesis, Machala: UTM)," 2017, http://bit.ly/2H7GThm 60 Kimberley Brown, "Three journalists are kidnapped in Ecuador, signaling the violence spilling over from Colombia," The Washington Post, April 3 2018, https://wapo.st/2rplGKi 61 Silvia Higuera, "Ecuador declares communication 'a public service'; Fundamedios considers it a 'serious setback'," Journalism in the Americas, December 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1OS1mWp; See also: Fundamedios, "Assembly approves amendment to constitution that makes communication a public service," December 2, 2015, http://bit.ly/1NtiDpz; John Otis, "How Ecuador's plans to make communications a public service is threat to free press," Committee to Protect Journalists (blog), January 20, 2015, http://bit.ly/1PEHiKg 62 Asamblea Nacional, Ley Organica de Comunicacion [Organic Law of Communication], June 25, 2013, http://bit.ly/1pgZrCC 63 CPJ, "Ecaudor pledges to reform repressive media law," Mar 16, 2018, https://cpj.org/x/71b3 64 "Propuesta de reformas a la Ley de Comunicacion elimina el linchamiento mediatico," El Universo, May 21, 2018, https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2018/05/21/nota/6771416/nueva-propuesta-ley-comunicacion-eliminaria-linchamiento-mediatico 65 Decree 214, Art. 3, January 27, 2014, http://bit.ly/208xLfH; See also: Alianza Regional, "Articulo XIII: Informe sobre control estatal de las redes sociales," [Article XIII: Report on state control of social networks], May 2016, http://bit.ly/1rQZOWx 66 Ministerio de Justicia, Derechos Humanos y Cultos, Codigo Organico Integral Penal, 2014, http://bit.ly/1juCXok 67 Article 19, "UNHRC: Significant resolution reaffirming human rights online adopted," July 1, 2016, http://bit.ly/298I0NS 68 Mario Gonzalez, "Proyecto de Ley para controlar redes sociales e Internet fue enviado por Correa a la Asamblea el 23 de mayo," [Law proposal to control social media and the internet was submitted by Correa on May 23], El Comercio, May 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2hkNmL2 69 World Economic Forum, "Executive Opinion Survey," Oct 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HayidQ 70 "Jimenez y Villavicencio declarados inocentes en caso impulsado desde el regimen de Correa," El Comercio, February 22, 2018, http://bit.ly/2osS9gA 71 "Journalist facing charges in Ecuador files for asylum in Peru," Committee to Protect Journalists, April 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2AsfWla 72 Hernandez, Jose, "Rafael Correa demanda al pelagato Pallares," Cuatro4pPelagatos, June 21, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rYNQtb 73 Higuera, Silvia, "Ecuadorian judge determines that journalist Martin Pallares is not guilty in case filed by Rafael Correa," Journalism in the Americas, April 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2yQfQHS 74 Usuarios Digitales, "#AlertaDigitalEC Usuario es sentenciado a 20 dias de prision por publicacion en Facebook en contra de funcionaria publica," November 28, 2017, http://www.usuariosdigitales.org/2017/11/28/alertadigitalec-usuario-sentenciado-20-dias-prision-publicacion-facebook-funcionaria-publica/ 75 Fundamedios, "Se registra sentencia de 20 dias de prision contra ciudadano por insultos en redes sociales contra funcionaria," September 8, 2017, http://www.fundamedios.org/alertas/se-registra-sentencia-20-dias-prision-ciudadano-insultos-redes-sociales-funcionaria/ 76 Andres Garcia, "Organizaciones sociales pediran a Lenin Moreno que se elimine la Senain," El Comercio, September 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oMVfx2 77 Gonzalo Solano, "Ecuador president accuses predecessor of planting spy camera," Chicago Tribune, September 17, 2017, http://trib.in/2xmL3A0 78 Gabriela Coba, "Lenin Moreno anuncia 'ajustes' en la Secretaria de Inteligencia y reconoce periodo sombrio de propaganda," El Comercio, October 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nNjz3Z 79 "Fiscal Moreno recopila indicios dentro de la indagacion a Baca Mancheno," El Comercio, January 20, 2018, http://bit.ly/2EZqJWp 80 Dimitri Barreto & Fernando Medina, "Rommy Vallejo queda fuera de la Senain; Jorge Costa es el nuevo titular de la Secretaria de Inteligencia," El Comercio, February 21, 2018, http://bit.ly/2EJiyBQ 81 "Ecuadorian President announces elimination of National Intelligence Secretariat," Andes, March 19, 2018, 82 "Unidad Coordinadora de Inteligencia reemplazara a la Senain," La Hora, April 20, 2018, https://bit.ly/2HZ69ew 83 Secretaria Nacional de Inteligencia, "Programacion Anual de la Politica Publica," [Annual Program for Public Policy], February 11, 2015, http://bit.ly/1pQ7SG2 84 Roberto Aguilar, "La policia politica de la Senain vigila a civiles y grupos sociales," Expreso, September 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2xhU6ke 85 Andersson Boscan, "Hacking Team existe y Correa le mintio al pais," March 19, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Gdtt6C 86 Andreina Laines, "Lourdes Tiban asegura que si existio relacion entre la Senain y Hacking Team," [Lourdes Tiban assures that there is a relation between Senain and Hacking Team], Ecuavisa, July 30, 2015, http://bit.ly/1UlK2y8; Rebeca Morla, "Ecuadorian Websites Report on Hacking Team, Get Taken Down," PanamPost, July 13, 2015, http://bit.ly/1oebLCI; Associated Press, "APNewsBreak: Leaked Hacking Team emails suggest Ecuador illegally spied on opposition," Fox Business, August 6, 2015, http://fxn.ws/1Rmaa9M 87 Ilv, "Hacking Team, Chile & Ecuador," July 11, 2015, http://bit.ly/1PxVA9x 88 Associated Whistleblowing Press, "Ecuadorian intelligence agency spied systematically on politicians and activists," August 4, 2015, http://bit.ly/1MsYGRI 89 James Ball & Paul Hamilos, "Ecuador's President Used Millions Of Dollars Of Public Funds To Censor Critical Online Videos," BuzzFeed, September 24, 2015, http://bzfd.it/1Lu6kee 90 Monica Almeida, "Illuminati destaca como su 'caso de exito' a campana de Rafael Correa en redes," [Illuminati highlights as "success case" their Rafael Correa campaign in networks], December 10, 2013, http://bit.ly/1iu99pX 91 Secretaria Nacional de Inteligencia, "Comunicado de Prensa," [Press Release], April 4, 2016, http://bit.ly/1TP9NYp 92 Direccion Nacional de Registro de Datos Publicos, "Preguntas Frecuentes," [FAQ], March 26, 2016, http://bit.ly/1pDBXrr 93 Law of Public and State Security, Article 17. 94 Presidencia de la Republica del Ecuador, Executive Decree 864, January 25, 2016, http://bit.ly/25rkkvZ 95 Plan V, "Los secretos del nuevo Proyecto Galileo," [The secrets of the new Galileo Project], July 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/22FDFKW 96 Fiscalia General del Estado, "La interceptacion de llamadas se hace solo bajo la autorizacion de un juez," [Call interception is done only under the authorization of a judge], July 21, 2015, http://bit.ly/1Mu8c70 97 Derechos Digitales, "Freedom of Expression, Encryption and Anonymity, Civil Society and Private Sector Perceptions," May 21, 2015, http://bit.ly/1UvKTN4 98 See Article 29.9, ARCOTEL, "Reglamento para abonados de los servicios de telecomunicaciones y valor agregado," [Telecommunication Service Subscribers and Added Value Regulation], July 20, 2012, http://bit.ly/25rl1W4 99 Servicio Integrado de Seguridad ECU 911, "Informe de Gestion Anual 2015," [Annual Report 2015], February 19, 2016, http://bit.ly/1MuS6Kp, and Ecu 911, "Geolocalizacion," [Geolocation], http://bit.ly/2e3vfsH 100 ARCOTEL, ""NORMA TECNICA PARA EL EMPADRONAMIENTO DE ABONADOS, SUSCRIPTORES O CLIENTES DE SERVICIOS DE TELECOMUNICACIONES Y SERVICIOS DE RADIODIFUSION POR SUSCRIPCION [Draft]"," N.D., http://bit.ly/2He5eSD 101 Fundamedios, "Periodista es amenazada de muerte tras discusion con exfuncionario," October 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2x5Htrp 102 Fundamedios, "Periodista es amenazado por Twitter tras publicar informacion que involucra al Ministro del Interior," January 8, 2018, http://bit.ly/2m6dwmO; "Periodista es amenazado de muerte en Twitter," August 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2w983Tn 103 Fundamedios, "Periodista exiliado es amenazado de muerte via Twitter," [Exiled journalist threatened with death via Twitter], June 6, 2017, http://bit.ly/2s11qjh 104 Fundamedios, "ExPresidente pide a sus seguidores exponer datos personales de criticos," June 19, 2017 http://bit.ly/2tlwYid 105 Fundamedios, "Crudo Ecuador es advertido con nuevos seguimientos a su familia," August 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2wY9V15 106 Fundamedios, "Defensor de DDHH es amenazado y hostigado por redes sociales," July 20, 2017, http://www.fundamedios.org/alertas/defensor-ddhh-amenazado-hostigado-redes-sociales/ 107 EFE, "Venezuela, Bolivia y Ecuador, los mas amenazados en Internet, segun Microsoft," El Comercio, August 2017, http://bit.ly/2oX4lGE 108 Fundamedios, "Portal de Fundamedios sufre ataques ciberneticos desde diferentes partes del mundo," August 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2D5xSTL 109 Fundamedios, "Portal de noticias es victima de masivos ataques informaticos," September 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2hxCOYJ 110 Usuarios Digitales, "#AlertaDigitalEC @fmilhojas, cuenta del medio digital Fundacion Mil Hojas, denuncia intentos de hackeo," February 2, 2018, http://bit.ly/2oWMZtF 111 John Scott-Railton, Morgan Marquis-Boire, Claudio Guarnieri, and Marion Marschalek, "Packrat: Seven Years of a South American Threat Actor," Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, December 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1U3dFkI 112 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Organization of American States, "Cybersecurity: Are We Ready in Latin America and the Caribbean?" March 2016, http://bit.ly/1qatSLC 113 ANDES, "Ecuador crea unidad especial para enfrentar ciberdelitos," [Ecuador creates special unity against cybercrime], February 3, 2016, http://bit.ly/1MM284J Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Colombia Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Colombia, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b1fa.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 31/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 49,065,615 Internet Penetration: 62.3% Freedom in the World Status: Partly Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The Constitutional Court annulled a 2017 decision ordering Google to remove an anonymous blogpost from its platform Blogger for allegedly being defamatory. The controversial ruling had also instructed Google to actively remove anonymous defamatory contents upon notice, without judicial order (see Content Removal). Online disinformation was a prominent concern during the presidential election campaign in 2018. In attempts to discourage the proliferation of toxic content in the run-up to the election, candidates signed a pact to promote tolerance and the responsible use of social media for political debate (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). After a lengthy legal battle, an appellate court confirmed that biologist Diego Gomez was not guilty for sharing an academic paper online, clearing him of criminal charges that could have entailed four to eight years in prison (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities). In July, a court granted an injunction filed by a prosecutor to gain access to a journalist's Facebook account, including its passwords, list of contacts, and message recipients. A constitutional complaint against this decision was unsuccessful (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Introduction: Colombia's internet freedom improved slightly after a lengthy legal battle against a researcher for sharing an academic paper online ended. However, the online sphere remained constrained by persisting concerns over excessive surveillance, and a climate of threats and self-censorship. Colombians voted in the first presidential election since a landmark 2016 peace accord between the government and left-wing FARC guerrillas. Political and social polarization surged online, as one study produced in April 2018 by the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) found that 20 percent of conversations on social media contained hateful or intolerant messages.[1] Despite the peace deal, an alarming wave of lethal attacks have targeted human rights defenders and activists, posing challenges for freedom of expression. Colombian press freedom groups have also denounced increasing threats against journalists.[2] Self-censorship both online and offline has become a prophylactic measure against violence, particularly in rural areas where impunity is even more pervasive than in cities. Poor infrastructure, low digital literacy, and high costs still hamper widespread access to the internet in Colombia. Although there are occasional cases of content removal, takedowns are isolated rather than systematic. During the coverage period of this report, the Constitutional Court ordered Google to remove an anonymous blogpost from its platform Blogger for allegedly being defamatory. The controversial ruling had also instructed Google to actively remove anonymous defamatory content without judicial order. After strong criticism among experts and digital rights groups, an action for annulment was successful in May 2018. While prosecutions for dissemination of content online are rare, harsh penalties for minor copyright violations and criminal penalties for defamation continue to threaten users' rights. This was the case of Diego Gomez, a biology student who faced criminal penalties for sharing someone else's thesis on the digital content sharing platform Scribd, even though he did not claim authorship or profit from it. In a positive move in December 2017, an appellate court confirmed that the biologist was not guilty. Poor oversight of government surveillance and revelations about illegal practices have raised concerns. Journalists have been subject to online and offline surveillance because of their work exposing corruption and irregularities within institutions such as the National Police. In July, press freedom groups protested an injunction filed by a prosecutor to access the Facebook account of a journalist, under investigation for slander after writing several articles about local corruption for a news site. A constitutional complaint against the decision was unsuccessful. Obstacles to Access: Although internet penetration has steadily increased, Colombia still faces obstacles to access primarily stemming from socioeconomic factors. The lack of basic utilities and affordable internet access constitutes an informal barrier to information and communications technologies (ICTs). Availability and Ease of Access Internet access has been on the rise in Colombia. Statistics published by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) showed that the country's internet penetration rate reached 62 percent by the end of 2017, up from 58 percent in 2016, and 36 percent in 2010.[3] However, significant obstacles to access remain: lack of infrastructure in rural areas, low levels of digital literacy, and high prices all stand in the way of widespread access. Internet access is facilitated primarily by DSL and cable connections.[4] Geographical disparities in internet access are significant in Colombia.[5] In rural areas, many Colombian users access the internet outside of their homes: almost 24.5 percent accessed the internet through cybercafes and 43 percent through educational centers, while free public access points served just 8 percent of internet users.[6] Although many indigenous languages are spoken in Colombia, there do not appear to be significant efforts to offer online content in these languages. Even the official websites of the territories of Amazonas, Vichada, and Guajira each of which lays claim to a large indigenous population are in Spanish, with options to view them in English, French, or Italian, but not local indigenous languages.[7] High internet prices and low levels of digital literacy continued to present substantial obstacles to internet access. A 2016 digital consumers survey revealed that 46 percent of people without internet in their homes cited high prices as the reason for not acquiring service, while 34 percent stated that they did not think the internet was necessary.[8] However, the latest Affordability Drivers Index (ADI) report, which measures policy and regulatory factors that can enable more affordable broadband, ranked Colombia in first place for a second year, citing government policies and partnerships with the ICT sector to improve affordability and access in the country.[9] The ICT ministry has noted that internet access has increased thanks to official programs such as Vive Digital. Administered by the ICT ministry, Vive Digital aims to expand infrastructure, services, internet applications, and the number of Colombian internet users.[10] Colombia Aprende, the Education Ministry's platform for the promotion of literacy, launched in 2004, also aims to expand the use of digital applications and devices, training some 16,000 digital literacy teachers across the nation.[11] However, critics have contended that the training is inadequate.[12] At the end of 2016, the ICT ministry launched two initiatives to promote internet use: "Free Wi-Fi for the People" (Wifi gratis para la gente) and "Social Mobile Internet for the People" (Internet movil social para la gente). The first initiative promotes the establishment of free internet access points in small cities and towns around the country[13] , with a target of 1,000 access points by the end of 2018.[14] The latter would offer low cost smartphones and mobile internet plans to new users with fewer resources.[15] However, by the end of 2017, the low-cost program did not appear to be one of the ministry's priorities.[16] Restrictions on Connectivity The government does not place limits on bandwidth, nor does it impose control over infrastructure, except in emergency situations when internet service providers (ISPs) are required to make their infrastructure available for official response.[17] The government has not centralized telecommunications infrastructure and does not deliberately shut down internet or mobile connections. Colombia only has one internet exchange point (IXP), called "NAP Colombia," through which ISPs exchange traffic to improve efficiency and speed. Located in Bogota, the IXP is managed by the Colombian Chamber for Informatics and Telecommunications.[18] ICT Market Colombia is home to 56 ISPs and, while approximately 85 percent of the market is concentrated in the hands of four companies, there are nonetheless multiple options for consumers and healthy competition.[19] Market entry is straightforward, and it is possible for anyone to establish an ISP by following the general requirements of the ICT Law, which establishes free competition and prioritizes efficient use of infrastructure and access to ICTs.[20] Registration requirements are neither excessive nor onerous. Business owners must provide personal and tax identification as well as a description of services, but no fee is required. This information is published in an open registry, and the ICT ministry has 10 days to verify the data before the business may begin operating. Registration can be denied when information is incomplete or false, or when an ISP does not have the proper commercial status to offer the necessary services.[21] Service providers are obligated to pay a contribution of 0.01 percent of their annual income to an ICT Ministry Fund (Fontic) devoted to the development of nationwide ICT projects.[22] ISPs must also apply for licenses to utilize the radioelectric spectrum, although there have been no complaints of difficulties or bias with this process. The mobile landscape is more concentrated than the ISP market. Although there are nine providers, more than 90 percent of the market is in the hands of three companies: Claro, Movistar and Tigo.[23] Like ISPs, mobile service providers must also contribute 0.01 percent of their annual income to Fontic. Regulatory Bodies Colombia's ICT sector is subject to numerous regulatory bodies with varying but limited degrees of independence from the government. The three main regulatory bodies are the ICT ministry, the Communication Regulation Commission (CRC), and the National Spectrum Agency (NSA). The competition authority, the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, also has some control duties as part of its consumer protection obligations. The president appoints the ICT minister, who oversees the telecommunications sector through the ICT ministry. The ICT minister also chairs the CRC, which is responsible for ensuring efficient service and promoting competition in the telecommunications sector. It is made up of the minister and three commissioners who are also appointed by the president. The ICT minister designates the head of the NSA, which is the agency in charge of planning, managing and supervising of the use of the radioelectric spectrum. While some have suggested that such an executive-driven design prevents objective oversight of the sector and affords the president undue influence over its operations, to date, there are no clear examples of executive bias in rulings.[24] In October 2017, the ICT Minister submitted a bill to create a new convergent regulator in charge of ICT, television and radio.[25] However, there was no debate on the bill in 2018, and in early June the proposal was archived.[26] Since 2010, a government-appointed concessionaire has been responsible for allocating the .co domain. For the domains org.co, edu.co, mil.co, and gov.co, applicants must comply with specific requirements; for edu.co, for example, the applicant must be an educational institution.[27] Limits on Content: Colombian internet users are able to view and disseminate content relatively freely. In the run-up to the first presidential election since the landmark peace accord with FARC, disinformation and toxic content proliferated on social media. Blocking and Filtering Blocking or filtering of political, religious, or social content is not common in Colombia.[28] YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and international blog-hosting services are freely available. Police and other institutions may limit content on a broad range of topics, from sexual abuse to "inappropriate content" or "other issues," in order to protect minors.[29] Child pornography which is illegal under international law is subject to blocking.[30] Decree 1524 (2002) requires ISPs to undertake technical measures to prevent the online availability of child pornography.[31] The possibility for civil or judicial oversight is limited because information about which websites are blocked is classified, possibly out of fear that individuals would use circumvention tools to access child pornography if a list of banned sites were made public.[32] In March 2017, Colombia's gambling regulator submitted a list of over 300 gambling sites to be blocked by ISPs, following the approval of online gambling legislation in October 2016, which requires gambling sites to apply for a license. The regulator found that the sites were operating without authorization.[33] Apps that rely on the internet to provide commercial services, such as Uber, have been the center of much debate, and the government has been trying to regulate the service with little success. While the transportation ministry has argued in favor of blocking the app,[34] the ICT ministry has invoked the net neutrality principle, which does not allow network operators to discriminate against specific content or services. ICT officials said that there are no legal grounds for blocking the app, which is not illegal.[35] In June 2017, a Tribunal in Bogota dismissed a complaint filed by the transportation ministry against Uber. However, the decision was taken because of the existence of a similar complaint filed by the taxi drivers' leader.[36] Content Removal The Colombian government does not regularly order the removal of content, although periodic court cases have resulted in judicial orders requiring the removal of specific information deemed to violate fundamental rights. News outlets separately report threats intended to force them to remove content (see "Intimidation and Violence"). In May 2018, the Constitutional Court annulled a controversial 2017 decision ordering the search engine Google Inc. to remove an anonymous blogpost from its platform Blogger for alleged defamation.[37] The blog post had accused a furniture company "Muebles Caqueta" of scamming its clients. Digital rights groups had expressed concerns about the dangerous precedent this decision could have set for freedom of expression on the internet.[38] The annulled decision had notably ordered Google, in general, to actively remove anonymous defamatory contents upon notice, without a judicial order.[39] One site that publishes consumer complaints against a government entity was repeatedly accused of infringing on that entity's trademark, resulting in the site's removal. The site remained inaccessible during the coverage period of this report.[40] The website icetextearruina.com was first taken down in March 2016 by hosting provider GoDaddy on the basis of a complaint from ICETEX, an official entity in charge of student loans. The website is owned by the Association of Users of Student Loans (ACUPE), a legally recognized organization that denounces allegations of abuse involving loans. Civil society organizations said ICETEX was abusing GoDaddy's complaints system to censor the allegations.[41] In a positive review in August 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Educar Consumidores, a Colombian consumers' association, and the public's right to receive information about a health information campaign.[42] A controversial ruling by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce in September 2016 that forbade the dissemination of a clip raising awareness about the negative health impact of sugary drinks, including on the internet, had raised concerns for potentially encouraging prior censorship.[43] Moreover, the authority asked Educar Consumidores to submit for review any content to be disseminated via any media, to check for inaccurate statements or poorly backed arguments and scientific facts.[44] After civil society organizations challenged the authority's decision as a violation of freedom of expression and access to information, in April 2017, the Supreme Court of Justice allowed the commercial to be broadcast.[45] Publishing defamatory content created by others carries possible criminal penalties under the penal code (see "Legal Environment"). But court cases pertaining to content disputes have exempted search engines from liability for posting links to content in their search results.[46] In May 2015, a court ruling strengthened the precedent that search engines should not be held liable for linking to content, even if the content has been found to violate the law.[47] Although observers praised the fact that it exempted intermediaries from liability,[48] some worried that the ruling might place an excessive burden on other digital content producers or publishers, because it required an online newspaper involved in the case to take steps to make the disputed information in question harder to find.[49] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation Colombia has several digital media outlets and online spaces for political debate, and Colombians are able to view and disseminate a diversity of content. However, social media platforms were dominated by battles between rival campaigns in the lead-up to the presidential elections in 2018. Concerns about the spread of disinformation and hateful content on social media networks surged during the hotly contested presidential campaign in 2018. In the first few months of the year, the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) found that 20 percent of conversations on social media contained hateful or intolerant messages.[50] In February 2018, a Twitter user found that a network of media portals, normally specialized in motorcycles, pets, maternity, and sports, was being used to disseminate propaganda and misleading information favorable to presidential candidate Ivan Duque.[51] In February, a digital safety firm calculated how many fake followers the presidential candidates had on Twitter. More than 35 percent of the followers of the three most popular candidates on Twitter were fake.[52] Many professional media enterprises thrive in Colombia's largest cities and, in general, authorities do not interfere with their operations. However, there is a lack of media diversity in many regions. According to the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), 19 out of 21 departments studied had no media presence to produce and disseminate local information.[53] Out of almost 1,335 media outlets operating in those regions, only 113 were digital, due to the low internet penetration rate outside large cities.[54] Self-censorship is a notable problem for journalists and likely affects online publications.[55] According to a 2016 national survey of journalists by Proyecto Antonio Narino (PAN), an alliance of organizations focused on freedom of expression and access to information, 25 percent of respondents stated that they avoided publishing information due to fear of aggression; 21 percent feared losing their jobs or having their media outlets closed; and 21 percent knew about media that avoided publishing information due to fear of losing advertising revenue. Between 40 and 66 percent believed that media outlets in their region modify their editorial positions to protect advertising revenue, depending on the region; 64 percent considered that the way official advertising is awarded is opaque; and 75 percent agreed that it is necessary to change the way in which official advertising contracts are allocated.[56] Digital Activism Colombian social movements increasingly use online platforms for advocacy. Campaigns such as #CompartirNoEsDelito ("Sharing is not a crime") have sought to promote open access to information and protest against Colombia's intellectual property law, which carries harsh penalties and has been used to punish academics who shared research online (see "Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities"). Since 2011, the government has made four attempts to strengthen the legal framework for intellectual property in order to meet obligations under a trade agreement with the United States, but critics said the measures could make the situation worse.[57] Advocacy efforts by civil society, copyright experts and the academic community, and pressure from social media, may have motivated lawmakers to put these initiatives on hold.[58] Violations of User Rights: Although prosecutions for online expression are rare in Colombia, harsh penalties for minor copyright violations and criminal penalties for defamation pose a serious threat to users' rights. In December 2017, an appellate court confirmed that a biologist who faced up to eight years in prison for copyright violations was not guilty for sharing an academic paper on the website Scribd. Although the government has taken some positive steps to prosecute actors who conducted illegal surveillance in recent years, concerns remain over widespread surveillance and violations of privacy. Legal Environment Article 20 of Colombia's National Constitution guarantees freedom of information and expression and prohibits prior restraint. Article 73 further provides for the protection of "the liberty and professional independence" of "journalistic activity." Although there are no specific provisions protecting freedom of expression online, bloggers have the same liberties and protections as print or broadcast journalists.[59] The Constitutional Court confirmed the application of such protections to the internet in a 2012 ruling.[60] However, Colombia maintains criminal penalties for defamation, which have been applied to online speech. According to the Colombian penal code, individuals accused of insult can face up to six years in jail and a fine, while individuals accused of libel can face between fifteen months and four and a half years in jail, also with possible fines.[61] Cases pertaining to online defamation have occasionally been brought before the court with varying outcomes. The penal code includes a concerning provision regarding online publication or reproduction of insults. According to Article 222 of the penal code, "whoever publishes, reproduces, or repeats insult or libel" may also be subject to punishment. This article raises concerns as it leaves open the possibility for charges of indirect insult and libel. The penal code also establishes the use of "social mediums of communication or of other collective divulgence" as an aggravating circumstance that can increase the penalty for insult or libel.[62] However, courts have not held intermediaries responsible for defamatory content created or shared by third parties. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Prosecution, imprisonment, or detention for ICT activities is quite rare in Colombia, and writers, commentators, or bloggers are not systematically subject to imprisonment or fines for posting material on the internet.[63] Colombia has harsh penalties for copyright violations and lacks the flexible fair use standards employed in many countries. One recent case involved Diego Gomez, a student who was charged in 2014 with violating copyright violations for uploading an academic thesis onto Scribd. The author of the thesis filed a criminal complaint.[64] Digital rights groups heavily criticized the decision to prosecute Gomez, especially when he did not claim to have authored the thesis and did not profit by sharing it.[65] In a positive development in May 2017, a court cleared Gomez of criminal charges.[66] In December 2017, this decision was confirmed on appeal.[67] Colombia's first online criminal defamation sentence set a concerning precedent for violations of user rights. In November 2015, the press freedom group FLIP reported it had submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,[68] after Colombian courts convicted Gonzalo Lopez, an internet user who anonymously posted a comment criticizing a public official on a news website.[69] Lopez was sentenced to 18 months and 20 days in prison and issued a fine, although he did not serve jail time based on provisions in Colombian law that allow certain defendants to avoid imprisonment depending on their sentence and prior record.[70] Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity Episodes of extralegal surveillance carried out by intelligence agencies, the army or the police, have constituted an ongoing scandal in Colombia in recent years. Some steps have been taken to punish perpetrators of illegal surveillance, although it seems unlikely that these efforts have changed the overall environment, as intelligence agencies continue to operate with minimal oversight. Concerns about illegal surveillance by certain sectors of the government and military persist, with investigative journalists continuing to uncover privacy violations by the police and military. Several Colombian civil society organizations have criticized the excessive and apparently uncontrolled use of surveillance tools in the country, which they argue has been facilitated by "weak legislation" on intelligence matters.[71] In July 2015, documents leaked from the technology company Hacking Team, which is known to provide spyware to governments, suggested that the Colombian government had contracts with the company. Leaked emails referenced the National Police Office's purchase of Hacking Team's Remote Control System (RCS) called "Galileo," which is capable of accessing and hijacking the target devices' keyboard, microphone and camera. Police would only acknowledge having contractual ties with a Colombian company called Robotec, which distributes Hacking Team's services,[72] though the leaked documents indicate that the National Police contacted Hacking Team directly to activate spyware.[73] Another leaked email suggested that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) may be conducting surveillance in Colombia.[74] In September 2015, police reportedly said that they would start testing a centralized platform for monitoring and analysis known as PUMA. They said telephone lines would be subject to monitoring, but not social networks and chats.[75] The Prosecutor General's office had earlier ordered police to stop developing PUMA because of the lack of transparency and insufficient guarantees to ensure its lawful use. Journalists initially reported that the government was investing over US$100 million in a monitoring platform in 2013. The system was intended to provide the government with the capacity to intercept telephone and internet communications in real-time, including private messages.[76] Courts have sought to rein in illegal surveillance, sentencing former public officials involved in wiretapping scandals. Several former heads of the now dismantled government Administrative Security Department (DAS), notably Fernando Tabares, Jorge Noguera, and Maria del Pilar Hurtado, were convicted for illegal wiretapping. Bernardo Moreno, former secretary of the president's office, also received an 8-year prison sentence, on charges of illegally intercepting private communications of journalists, politicians, and civil society groups.[77] During this period of coverage, Jorge Noguera was called to trial again and sentenced to 94 months in prison for his part in illegal interception activities against human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society organizations.[78] Military officials were fired in early 2015 following a high profile wiretapping scandal.[79] While intercepting personal communications in Colombia is authorized only for criminal investigation purposes and legally requires a judicial order,[80] service providers are required to collaborate with intelligence agencies by providing access to the communications history or technical data of any specific user without a warrant.[81] Service providers are obliged to retain data for the purposes of criminal investigations and intelligence activities for a period of five years.[82] Colombian law also allows intelligence agencies to monitor devices which use the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit wireless communication without a judicial order.[83] An additional threat to user privacy comes in the form of Article 2 of Decree 1704 (2012), which requires that ISPs create backdoor access points for criminal investigation purposes which can be used under the Prosecutor General's authorization. A service provider that does not comply with these obligations faces fines and could lose its operating license.[84] Civil society organizations have raised privacy concerns about several provisions of a new police code published in July 2016. Article 32 defines the right to privacy in narrow terms, only recognizing the right of individuals "to meet their needs and develop their activities in an area that is exclusive and therefore considered private." On the other hand, Article 139 broadly defines "public space" to include the electromagnetic spectrum. According to organizations such as Dejusticia, such provisions would undermine privacy protections for communications travelling through the electromagnetic spectrum.[85] In January 2017, Dejusticia filed a complaint against these provisions. The Constitutional Court had yet to decide on the complaint.[86] Colombia has no general restrictions against anonymous communication, and there are no registration requirements for bloggers or cybercafe owners, though users must register to obtain telecommunication services. Police have access to a database that must be maintained by telecommunication service providers. This database contains user data, such as name, ID number, place and residence address, mobile phone number and service activation date.[87] Users must provide accurate information under penalty of perjury, which is punishable by a minimum of six years in prison.[88] In April 2017, the Prosecutor General announced a proposal to force WhatsApp and other internet intermediaries to decrypt user's communications for law enforcement purposes.[89] Even though the proposal has not been presented, the announcement raised concerns about state's surveillance ambitions, as well as officials' lack of understanding regarding technology like encryption.[90] (Providers that encrypt communications end-to-end cannot decrypt them.) Since 1993, Colombian law has banned the use of "communication devices that use the electromagnetic spectrum" to send "encrypted messages or messages in unintelligible language."[91] In response to an information request, the ICT ministry explained that those provisions apply only "to the content of the communications, not the encryption of the medium." Despite the ambiguous wording of the law, the ICT ministry further claimed that these provisions only apply to radio-like devices and not to the internet.[92] The Intelligence and Counterintelligence Act stipulates that telecommunications service providers may only offer encrypted voice services to intelligence agencies and "high government" officials.[93] A request to access a journalist's social media account as part of an investigation into alleged slander sparked criticism among press freedom groups during this period of coverage. In July 2017, a court granted an injunction filed by a prosecutor to gain access to a journalist's Facebook account, including its passwords, contacts list and message recipients. FLIP filed a constitutional complaint against this request on behalf of the journalist. However, the complaint was not successful.[94] Intimidation and Violence Corruption, longstanding armed conflict and associated surveillance, and the war against drugs are the greatest threats to freedom of expression in Colombia, although online journalists have not been attacked as often as print journalists. There is no broad trend of retaliation specifically for online content, but the high level of intimidation towards media and human rights defenders creates a climate of fear that also affects online journalists. According to FLIP, at least 18 journalists have been murdered and many more have been threatened since 2005.[95] Impunity for perpetrators of violence a pervasive problem in Colombia's judicial system is ranked by the nonprofit PAN's Freedom of Expression and Access to Information Index as one of the gravest threats to freedom of expression.[96] Colombia has the third highest impunity rate on the Global Impunity Index by the Center for Studies on Impunity and Justice Institute.[97] The number of reported threats against journalists has also increased significantly during 2017 and 2018.[98] In reaction to death threats, popular cartoonist Matador said he would stop using and publishing his work on social media.[99] FLIP registered four attacks against female journalists via social media during 2017. One case regarded Spanish journalist Salud Hernandez, who was talking on a radio show about a constitutional complaint that was filed against her by a leader of FARC. An anonymous Twitter account quoted Hernandez and wrote a threat against her.[100] Technical Attacks In 2017 and 2018, FLIP recorded at least ten cyberattacks against websites, after it began systematically tracking these types of incidents.[101] Various types of cybercrime, including hacking, illegal interception and use of data, and the distribution and use of malware are criminalized under Law 1273, which was passed in 2009. Penalties range from three to four years' imprisonment, along with fines.[102] While phishing the stealing of sensitive personal data via malware disguised as legitimate email appears to be a significant issue in Colombia,[103] most evidence of hacking and other interception has involved interagency spying and intelligence work carried out primarily by the government, the army, and other official bodies (see "Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity"). Following a scandal that implicated military officials in wiretapping abuses in early 2014, President Santos announced the creation of a commission to strengthen national cybersecurity.[104] Colombia partnered with the Organization of American States (OAS) to develop the Colombian Cyber Emergency Response Group (coICERT) and the Cyber Police Center (CCP).[105] A digital security policy released by the government in April 2016 covered issues ranging from national defense and the protection of critical infrastructure, to cybercrime and digital risk management.[106] Civil society groups criticized the policy for focusing on military and economic issues at the expense of broader social and human rights concerns.[107] Notes: 1 https://moe.org.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Informe_Intolerancia_MOE_Publicado-1.pdf 2 https://flip.org.co/index.php/es/informacion/pronunciamientos/item/2252-alerta-por-incremento-en-el-numero-amenazas-de-muerte-a-periodistas-en-colombia 3 International Telecommunication Union, "Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet, 2000-2017," http://bit.ly/1cblxxY 4 Ministry of ICT, ICT Quarterly Bulletin, Q3 2017, http://bit.ly/2oDGutU 5 Ibid. 6 DANE, Basic Indicators in ICT in Colombia 2016, April 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oMWoG3 7 Official Website of the Department of Amazonas, accessed March 5, 2018, http://bit.ly/1JtV75d; Official Website of the Department of Vichada, accessed March 5, 2018, http://bit.ly/1KzLbeu; Official Website of the Department of La Guajira, accessed March 5, 2018, http://bit.ly/O9WQZ8 8 DANE, Basic Indicators in ICT in Colombia 2016, April 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oMWoG3 9 Alliance for Affordable Internet, "The 2016-17 Affordability Report," http://a4ai.org/affordability-report/report/2017/ 10 ICT Ministry, "Vive Digital," accessed September 1, 2017, http://bit.ly/1lbnQBQ 11 Education Ministry, "Crea-TIC," accessed September 1, 2017, http://bit.ly/2e3XWVu 12 "Reto para profesores publicos: aprender a usar las Tabletas para educar," Publimetro, February 20, 2015, http://bit.ly/1oONtAE 13 Ministry of ICT, "Wifi gratis para la gente," accessed May 13 2017, http://bit.ly/2qbwPhK 14 Ministry of ICT, "Antioquenos ya tienen Zona Wifi Gratis, Punto Vive Digital Lab y 141 nuevos Kioscos Vive Digital", accessed March 5, 2018, http://bit.ly/2oRGBnu 15 Ministry of ICT, "Internet movil para los colombianos mas necesitados", September 1, 2016, http://bit.ly/2bGImhW 16 Enter, "Que paso con el internet movil subsidiado que ofreceria el gobierno?", August 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oHCmf2 17 Law 1341, Art. 8, July 30, 2009, http://bit.ly/1WQQuL7 18 NAP Colombia, "FAQ," http://bit.ly/24ul175 19 Telmex Colombia S.A., UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones S.A., Colombia Telecomunicaciones S.A., and Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota, Colombia S.A. are the four dominant providers. Ministry of ICT, ICT Quarterly Bulletin, Q3 2017, http://bit.ly/2D0YK7i 20 Law 1341 of 2009, http://bit.ly/1WQQuL7 21 Decree 4948, December 18, 2009, http://bit.ly/1gVegGu 22 Law 1341 of 2009, http://bit.ly/1WQQuL7 23 Ministry of ICT, ICT Quarterly Bulletin, Q3 2017, http://bit.ly/2D0YK7i 24 Carlos Cortes, "Mobile Internet in Colombia Challenges and Opportunities for Civil Society: The 2013 Spectrum Auction," Open Society Foundation, December 13, 2015. 25 Ministry of ICT, MinTIC presenta al Congreso el Proyecto de Ley para crear un organismo regulador convergente, 17 October 2017, http://www.mintic.gov.co/portal/604/w3-article-60990.html 26 http://www.eltiempo.com/tecnosfera/novedades-tecnologia/ministerio-tic-anuncia-que-retirara-el-proyecto-de-regulador-convergente-226648 27 Dominio, "Historia del Dominio Co," [History of the Domain .Co], Cointernet, https://www.cointernet.com.co/historia-del-dominio/ 28 Communication from ICT Ministry in response to Request of Information N 661596, February 24, 2015. 29 "Te Protejo" website, http://bit.ly/1n56U6s 30 Communication from ICT Ministry in response to Request of Information N 661596, February 24, 2015. 31 Law 679 of 2001, http://bit.ly/1RanTw8 ; Decree 1524, July 24, 2002, http://bit.ly/1NRSVKZ 32 Communication 5245, ICT Ministry to Foundation for Press Freedom; See also: Law 679, Decree 1524, July 24, 2002, http://bit.ly/1NRSVKZ 33 "Este viernes comienza el bloqueo de 325 paginas de azar ilegales," El Tiempo, June 30, 2017, http://bit.ly/2truT7u; "Coljuegos prepara bloqueo a Poker Stars en el pais," El Tiempo, March 27, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nmW8um 34 "Las consecuencias que podria traer desactivar a Uber en el pais," El Tiempo, September 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/2zb2SE3 35 MinTIC, "El Ministerio de las Tecnologias de la Informacion y las Comunicaciones responde a la solicitud de medidas cautelares en contra de plataforma digital" [Ministry of ICT reacts to precautionary measures against digital plattform] March 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2p9Vggp and Semana, "Uber es legal: MinTIC", November 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2zkDECw 36 El Tiempo, "Tribunal declara nulo proceso de Mintransporte contra Uber", June 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2sg1slB 37 https://www.ambitojuridico.com/noticias/tecnologia/constitucional-y-derechos-humanos/por-que-anularon-precedente-sobre-retiro-de 38 https://www.vice.com/es_co/article/qvjgkb/corte-constitucional-sentencia-google-blog-blogger-colombia 39 Constitutional Court, Judgement T 063A/2017, February 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oiyT6b 40 Isaza, L. "Icetex celebra un ano de censura" [Icetex celebrates one year of censorship] Cero Sesenta, March 30, 2017, https://cerosetenta.uniandes.edu.co/icetex-celebra-un-ano-de-censura/ 41 "Bloqueo de pagina web por solicitud del ICETEX es una forma de censura" [Website blocking as per ICETEX demand is a form of censorship], Joint statement by Fundacion Karisma and Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa, March 23, 2016, http://bit.ly/22Z1YQR 42 Constitutional Court, Judgement T-543/17, August 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2IdX5zf; https://www.dejusticia.org/corte-constitucional-reconoce-el-derecho-de-los-consumidores-acceder-informacion-sobre-los-efectos-de-las-bebidas-azucaradas-en-la-salud/ 43 "Este es el polemico comercial de bebidas azucaradas que sacaron del aire," [This is the polemic sugary drinks ad that was taken out of air] El Espectador, September 8, 2016, http://bit.ly/2rnf80G 44 Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC), "Superindustria ordena retirar comercial de TV sobre supuestos efectos nocivos del consumo de bebidas azucaradas" [SIC orders withdrawal of TV ad about alleged nocive effects of sugary drinks consumption] September 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/2rnt2jm 45 Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia. Ref. 11001-22-10-000-2016-00766-01 April 5, 2017. See also "Corte Suprema de Justicia decide a favor de la tutela interpuesta por la Alianza por la Salud levantando la censura al comercial de Educar Consumidores" [Supreme Court of Justice favours writ of protection presented by Alianza por la Salud, overruling censorship over Educar Consumidores' ad], RedPaPaz. April 5, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rniQHE 46 Constitutional Court, Judgement T-040/13, January 28, 2013, http://bit.ly/1FyIMlk; Constitutional Court, Judgement T-453/13, July 15, 2013, http://bit.ly/1R6lHaO; Constitutional Court, Judgement T-634/13, September 13, 2013, http://bit.ly/1OyMApE 47 Constitutional Court, Judgement T-277/15, May 12, 2015, http://bit.ly/1iQCR1b 48 Electronic Frontier Foundation, "Google to France: We Won't Forget It for You Wholesale," August 3, 2015, http://bit.ly/1P2iyYL 49 Fundacion Karisma, "Corte Constitucional colombiana decide sobre caso de derecho al olvido en Internet," [Colombian Constitutional Court decides on right to be forgotten on internet], July 6, 2015, http://bit.ly/1FmskVr 50 https://moe.org.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Informe_Intolerancia_MOE_Publicado-1.pdf 51 El Espectador, "La Maquina de noticias enganosas que ayuda a Ivan Duque", March 5, 2018, http://bit.ly/2I3JJVY 52 Semana, "Cual candidato tiene mas seguidores falsos", February 10, 2018, http://bit.ly/2BS2r32 53 FLIP, "Cartografias de la Informacion," https://flip.org.co/cartografias-informacion/ 54 FLIP, "Cartografias de la informacion: los medios en ocho regiones de Colombia," [Information Cartographies: media in eight regions of Colombia], http://bit.ly/2hBnXgy 55 Although there are studies concerning self-censorship among journalists, to date, there are none concerning self-censorship among ordinary internet users. 56 Survey results on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Colombia, September 2016, http://bit.ly/1VDzisl 57 The first was rejected in Congress; the second, although it became law, was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court; the third project lost the support of the national government; the last one was introduced to Congress, but later withdrawn. 58 "Manisfestacion virtual contra la llamada Ley Lleras 2" [Virtual protest against the so-called Lleras 2 Law], El Colombiano, http://bit.ly/1QnK069; "La nueva ley Lleras recarga el ciberespacio de protestas," [The new Lleras law fills cyberspace with protests], El Colombiano, March 28, 2012, http://bit.ly/1QnPYnn. 59 Several decisions of the Constitutional Court state that Freedom of Expression is a universal right. See for example: Constitutional Court, Judgement C-442/11, May 25, 2011, http://bit.ly/1YG6pic 60 Constitutional Court, Judgement T550/12, January 18, 2012, http://bit.ly/1VfPNt8 61 Art. 220-222 of the Penal Code, http://bit.ly/1LC0FAz 62 Law 599 of 2000, Criminal Code, Title V, http://bit.ly/1ZcoeFG 63 The only documented case of an individual going to jail took place in 2010, well before the timeframe of this report. See: "Cronica del 'Falso Positivo' de Facebook en nueve episodios," La Silla Vacia, May 4, 2010, http://bit.ly/1L6Fv9U. 64 "Diego Gomez y la importancia de los bienes comunes" [Diego Gomez and the importance of common goods], Pillku Amantes de la libertad, December 17, 2015 http://bit.ly/1oHMK3u 65 "Compartir no es un delito" [Sharing is not a crime], El Espectador, July 16, 2014, http://bit.ly/1laphQ5; "Compartir no es un delito," Las 2 Orillas, December 26, 2014, http://bit.ly/WaUTQ6 66 Timothy Vollmer, "Colombian Court Acquits Diego Gomez of Criminal Charges for Sharing a Research Paper Online," Creative Commons, May 24, 2017, http://bit.ly/2qwrxiI 67 Karisma, "Tribunal de Bogota confirma fallo: biologo Diego Gomez es absuelto de los cargos por violacion al derecho de autor", December 4, 2017, http://bit.ly/2kogB4B 68 FLIP, "Caso de Gonzalo Lopez se presenta ante la CIDH," [Case of Gonzalo Lopez presented to IACHR], November 20, 2015, http://bit.ly/1kLxuRK 69 Colombian law does not prohibit anonymity, so the fact that the post was anonymous did not influence the charges against Lopez. 70 Carlos Cortes, "Cronica de una ofensa inofensiva," [Chronicle of an unoffensive offense], La Silla Vacia, April 17, 2015, http://bit.ly/1ODNXEl 71 FLIP, CCJ, Dejusticia, Fundacion Karisma and Colnodo, "Colombian Police Ought to Clarify Their Relationship with 'Hacking Team'," July 30, 2015, http://bit.ly/1KzZHD4 72 "Policia indico no tener vinculos comerciales con firma Hacking Team" [Police declared that there are no commercial links with Hacking Team], El Tiempo, July 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1WnPXRJ 73 Carolina Botero and Pilar Saenz, "In Colombia, PUMA is not what it seems," Digital Rights Latin America & The Caribbean, August 24, 2015, http://bit.ly/1JuchzP 74 Ryan Gallagher, "Hacking Team Emails Expose Proposed Death Squad Deal Secret UK Sales Push, and Much More," The Intercept, July 8, 2015, http://bit.ly/1PCTFmi 75 "Plataforma Puma de la Policia entrara en operacion, pero limitada," [Puma Platform will enter into operation, but limited], El Tiempo, September 30, 2015 http://bit.ly/1TtnbAj 76 Daniel Valero, "Policia Podra Interceptar Facebook, Twitter y Skype en Colombia" [Police will be able to tap Facebook, Twitter y Skype in Colombia], El Tiempo, June 23, 2013, http://bit.ly/1Mv2bmO 77 "Condena de 14 anos para Hurtado y 8 para Bernardo Moreno por chuzadas," [Sentence of 14 years to Hurtado and 8 years to Bernardo Moreno for 'Chuzadas'], El Tiempo, April 30, 2015, http://bit.ly/1biN0yV 78 http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/investigacion/exdirector-del-das-jorge-noguera-pide-su-libertad-por-pena-cumplida-179996 79 "Purga en inteligencia de las Fuerzas Militares por escandalo de Andromeda" [Purge in intelligence services and military forces because of Andromeda scandal], Blu Radio, January 23, 2015, http://bit.ly/1iAIJdW 80 Constitution of 1991, art. 250, http://bit.ly/1KLrfTl 81 Statutory Law 1621, art. 44, April 17, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LDxHQX 82 Decree 1704 of 2012 and Law 1621 of 2013 83 Statutory Law 1621, art. 17, April 17, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LDxHQX; See also: Constitutional Court, Judgement C-540/12, 2012, http://bit.ly/1IdXI2t 84 Decree 1704, 2012, art. 7. http://bit.ly/1YGdzTA 85 Privacy International, Dejusticia, Fundacion Karisma, "Submission in advance of the consideration of the periodic report of Colombia, Human Rights Committee, 118th Session, 17 October 04 November 2016," September 2016, http://bit.ly/2irBIhM 86 El Espectador, "Dos nuevas demandas contra el Codigo de Policia", January 30 2017, https://bit.ly/2JyTix3 87 Law 418 of 1997, art. 99, http://bit.ly/1Gw5sg9; and Resolution 0912, 2008 of the National Police, Diario Oficial, Ano CXLIV, N 47.233, January 15, 2009. 88 The penal code outlines penalties for perjury of bearing "false witness." Penal Code, art. 442, http://bit.ly/1S3N9sT. 89 "Fiscalia pide mayor acceso a redes sociales de judicializados" [Prosecutor's Offices demands better Access to convicted's social networks]. El Colombiano. March 30, 2017. http://bit.ly/2pDF18e 90 Larotta, S. "Romper el cifrado de Whatsapp, una mala idea" [Break WhatsApp encryption. A Bad Idea], April, 2017. http://bit.ly/2pDLArq 91 Law 418 (1997) art. 102, http://bit.ly/1PXVz1z 92 Communication N 811811, ICT Ministry to Karisma Foundation, April 27 of 2015. 93 Statutory Law 1621, art. 44, April 17, 2013, http://bit.ly/1LDxHQX 94 Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP), "La FLIP rechaza la autorizacion de juez para ingresar a la cuenta de Facebook de periodista en Buga", 06 July, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GaNIj3 95 Fundacion Para La Libertad de Prensa (FLIP), "Estos son los periodistas asesinados en Colombia por causas asociadas a su oficio" ", http://bit.ly/2Ieuv0A 96 Survey results on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Colombia, September 2015, pg. 43-46, http://bit.ly/1VDzisl 97 Centro de Estudios sobre Impunidad y Justicia, "Indice Global de Impunidad 2015," [Global Impunity Index 2015], Universidad de las Americas Puebla, April 2015, pg. 39-42, http://bit.ly/1KPhqdy 98 https://flip.org.co/index.php/es/informacion/pronunciamientos/item/2252-alerta-por-incremento-en-el-numero-amenazas-de-muerte-a-periodistas-en-colombia 99 http://www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/por-amenazas-de-muerte-caricaturista-matador-se-retira-de-sus-redes-sociales-HG8484283 100 FLIP, "Estado Depredador", February 2018, https://bit.ly/2ERek8f 101 See: https://flip.org.co/index.php/es/atencion-a-periodistas/mapa-de-agresiones 102 Rachel Glickhouse, "Explainer: Fighting Cybercrime in Latin America," Americas Society/Council of the Americas Online, November 14, 2013, http://bit.ly/1FyUXP1 103 Mimi Yagoub, "Cyber Crime in Colombia: An Underestimated Threat?" InSight Crime, July 11, 2014, http://bit.ly/1PCXnMS 104 "En Ciberseguridad, 'Estamos en Panales' y Expuestos a Todo Tipo de Ataques: Santos" [In Cybersecurity, 'We are in Diapers' and Exposed to All Kinds of Attacks], El Espectador, February 8, 2014, http://bit.ly/1d6jM4J 105 Phillip Acuna, "Colombia to receive cyber-security assistance from international experts," Colombia Reports, March 31, 2014, http://bit.ly/1YGfveW; Carolina Botero Cabrera "Intimidad vs Seguridad un ano despues" [Privacy v. Security one year after], El Espectador, April 2, 2015, http://bit.ly/1DBAHEA. 106 Ministry of ICT, "Colombia cuenta con una Politica Nacional de Seguridad Digital" [Colombia has a National Digital Security Policy], April 13, 2016, http://bit.ly/1SACmC0 107 Castaneda, Juan Diego, "Que es el conpes de seguridad digital y por que esta mal" [What is the CONPES of digital security and why is wrong?] Fundacion Karisma, June 3, 2016, https://karisma.org.co/que-es-el-conpes-de-seguridad-digital-y-por-que-esta-mal/ Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Canada Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Canada, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b21c.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Free Total Score: 15/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 36,708,083 Internet Penetration: 89.8% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: No Freedom in the World Status: Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 The Supreme Court of Canada upheld a worldwide removal order requiring Google to de-index websites from its search engine that infringed on the plaintiffs' trademark (see Content Removal). The government took steps to address some of the most controversial aspects of the 2015 Anti-Terrorism Act and improve oversight of intelligence activities by introducing Bill C-59 (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Introduction: Canada's internet freedom environment continued to be generally free of government restrictions during the reporting period. Internet access in Canada is reliable and affordable for a majority of the population. Canada's goal of universal internet access, described as the "universal service objective," was bolstered by a landmark policy decision in 2016 declaring high-speed internet a "basic telecommunications service" that should be available to all Canadians. Canadians enjoy strong protections for freedom of expression, as well as a well-developed set of rules regulating intermediary liability in cases of copyright infringement. Notwithstanding the existing copyright infringement mechanisms, in January 2018, a broad coalition of ISPs, media companies, and creative and production organizations petitioned the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement a system to block Canadians' access to piracy websites, though this proposal was ultimately rejected by the CRTC. A parliamentary committee report had suggested that the government should encourage the regulator to reconsider its decision if it were to accept the proposal, as it would have a negative impact on net neutrality. The government continued to promise reforms to controversial elements of the Anti-Terrorism Act passed in June 2015 which permits information-sharing across government agencies for an incredibly wide range of purposes. Bill C-59, An Act respecting national security matters, was introduced to replace certain laws affecting internet freedom passed under the previous Conservative government. Obstacles to Access: There are very few infrastructural or regulatory obstacles to internet access in Canada. In a landmark policy decision released in December 2016, Canada's telecom regulator declared that high-speed internet should be a "basic telecommunications service" that all Canadians should receive. Internet and mobile phone penetration rates continue to grow, although there are still geographic disparities related to internet access, reliability, and cost that especially affect more rural and remote areas. Availability and Ease of Access Internet penetration rates have continued to rise in Canada, in both fixed-line and mobile. Mobile carriers continue to deploy a number of newer technologies to provide mobile broadband service, including HSPA+ and LTE. However, mobile broadband data remains expensive compared to fixed-line. Costs of fixed-line high-speed internet access remain low because of more competition; this was bolstered in October 2016 when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), an independent public regulator, reduced the price of wholesale high-speed internet access.[1] Broadband service of at least 5 megabits per second (Mbps) is available to just over 99 percent of Canadian households through a variety of technologies including fixed and wireless, according to the CRTC.[2] There was only a minor increase from the previous year, leaving Canada short of its goal of having 100 percent of Canadian households with access to internet connectivity and broadband speeds of at least 5 Mbps by the end of 2016. This goal was first announced in 2016,[3] and reiterated in 2017.[4] In a landmark policy decision released in December 2016,[5] the CRTC recognized the importance of ultra-high speed (50 Gbps download speed and above) internet access for the future of the Canadian economy. In the policy, the CRTC put forward a universal access goal, that all residential and business fixed-line customers should be able to have access to speeds of at least 50 Gbps (download) with unlimited data. Furthermore, it declared that high-speed internet access should be considered a "basic telecommunications service" a description previously attached only to landline telephones and established a CAD $750 million fund to reach its targets.[6] More than a year later, however, the funds had not yet been distributed, though a plan for doing so is expected sometime in 2018.[7] Perhaps the most important obstacle to availability and ease of access in Canada is geography. Canada is overwhelmingly urban, with 81 percent of the population living in urban areas.[8] Furthermore, approximately 75 percent of the population lives within 160 kilometres of the border with the United States.[9] While providing "reliable and affordable telecommunications services of high quality" to rural areas is enshrined in Canadian law,[10] affordable high-speed internet services are lacking in rural areas, especially in Canada's vast northern territories, which are underserved by infrastructure generally and telecommunications services in particular. The urban-rural gap for higher-speed internet access remains pronounced. The CRTC's 2017 figures confirm rural internet access prices are higher than urban access prices. Household broadband in the form of 5-9.99 Mbps services was available in 100 percent of urban areas compared to 97 percent in rural areas, though this does represent a significant increase from 93 percent the previous year. The 97 percent figure however includes 10 percent where availability was only via wireless services (HSPA+ and LTE), which are generally more expensive, especially as data usage rates increase. Faster speeds, such as 30-49.99 Mbps, are only available in 42 percent of rural households, compared to 100 percent of urban households.[11] There is also a considerable gap in access related to income: the highest income bracket has a penetration rate of nearly 95 percent, while the penetration rate within the lowest income bracket is closer to 63 percent.[12] Internet connectivity is widely available in public spaces such as cafes, shopping malls, and libraries, generally free of charge. There is a wide range of content available in both of Canada's official languages (English and French) as well as many other languages. The government, in its budget for 2017,[13] took proactive positions in ensuring ease of access to the internet in a variety of ways. It has announced financial support for internet connectivity for low-income families, and has committed to supplying high-speed internet access for all Canadians, even in remote rural areas. The budget, however, was short on details on this last point, only pointing to the investments for rural connectivity announced in the 2016 budget, when it pledged CAD $500 million over five years for a new program to "extend and enhance broadband service in rural and remote communities;"[14] at least these funds have begun to be spent.[15] Restrictions on Connectivity There are no government restrictions on bandwidth, although the major access providers generally offer services that have caps on bandwidth that result in increased fees for users who exceed the limit. Such limits are much more restrictive for wireless connectivity than for wired connectivity, which further accentuates the urban-rural divide for connectivity costs in Canada. While reports of ISPs throttling its users during peak periods were widespread several years ago,[16] such reports have dried up considerably. The government has not centralized the telecommunications infrastructure in Canada. However, given the vertical integration of the Canadian marketplace, the telecom infrastructure is controlled by a small number of companies, which in theory could facilitate greater control of content and the implementation of surveillance technologies, although this has never materialized. The government does not restrict access to any social media or communications apps. ICT Market To operate as a Canadian telecommunications carrier, a company must meet the requirements in section 16 of the Telecommunications Act. In 2016 (the most recent available data), Canadian retail telecommunications revenues (comprised of wireline, wireless, internet, and data and private lines) amounted to a total of CAD $48.7 billion, which represented a 2 percent increase from the previous year. The five largest companies (Bell, Quebecor, Rogers, Shaw, and TELUS) accounted for 85 percent of total revenues. This is up 1 percent from the last several years when it had remained steady at 84 percent, but it remains to be seen whether this trend will continue.[17] The growth in the market for internet services outpaces that of the ICT market generally. According to the CRTC's 2017 CMR, the revenues for the retail internet services sector were CAD $10.2 billion in 2016, representing a growth of approximately 10 percent from the previous year. Canadians have a choice of wireless internet providers, all of which are privately owned. There are at least three providers to choose from in all markets, although providers may vary region to region. Restrictions on foreign investment impose some limits, though a few foreign companies have entered the marketplace in recent years. The provision of access services is subject to regulation with rules on tower sharing, domestic roaming agreements, and a consumer regulator to address consumer concerns. For wireless services, three companies dominate the market: Bell, Telus, and Rogers. The wireless market is particularly concentrated with those three companies having 91 percent of Canadian wireless subscribers (Bell 29 percent, Telus 28 percent, and Rogers 34 percent) as of the third quarter in 2017.[18] Those same companies are also leaders in the provision of wired internet services (whether via phone lines or cable), along with Shaw, Cogeco, and Videotron (owned by Quebecor). While Canadians generally do enjoy a choice of wired internet providers, again this choice will vary from region to region, and often there is only one choice per technology type, leading to a public perception that there is not much choice and that prices are kept artificially high. This perception is not without merit as it pertains to wireless data, as a 2018 report determined that Canada's wireless data prices were some of the most expensive in the world.[19] Regulatory Bodies The CRTC, the regulatory body that oversees the communications industry, operates largely independently from the government. The government appoints the CRTC chair and commissioners without public consultation, but they are not subject to political pressure. The government has, in some cases, provided guidance on their policy expectations regarding telecommunication regulations, but these are non-binding. Moreover, CRTC decisions can be appealed to the courts, or a government review can be requested. The government has overturned CRTC decisions and directed it to reconsider the issue in the past, but this has been rare. CRTC's regulatory powers extend to access of the internet in Canada, but not to content of the internet; this is commonly called the New Media Exemption. The CRTC's position to not regulate internet content dates back to 1999 and has been reinforced numerous times since then,[20] including by the Supreme Court of Canada.[21] This is in contrast to other industries, specifically television, where the CRTC does exert some control over content, most notably by requiring a minimum amount of Canadian content by Canadian broadcasters. Limits on Content: The Canadian government does not generally block websites or filter online content, although a court can rule to remove illegal content. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and international blog-hosting services are freely available. In January 2018, digital rights activists raised concerns when an anti-piracy coalition called FairPlay Canada petitioned the Canadian regulator to implement a system to block websites hosting pirated content, though this was ultimately rejected by the regulator. Blocking and Filtering The government does not generally block or filter online content, though there are a few legal mechanisms that may lead to the blocking or removal of content in Canada. Canada's largest ISPs participate in Project Cleanfeed Canada, an initiative that allows ISPs to block access to child pornography images that are hosted outside of Canada (as opposed to content hosted within Canada, which is subject to removal).[22] Accessing child pornography is illegal in Canada under section 163.1(4.1) of the Criminal Code,[23] as well as under international human rights standards. The initiative is targeted at international sites that the Canadian government does not have the jurisdiction to shut down. Bill 74, the province of Quebec's controversial law requiring ISPs to block access to online gambling sites, came into effect in May 2016,[24] but remains inoperative. The law came into serious question during the previous reporting period with a court challenge, and the CRTC twice informed the Quebec government that it could not block access without the CRTC's permission, which was not forthcoming.[25] On July 18, 2018, a Quebec court declared the law unconstitutional as the subject matter (telecommunications and criminal law) are federal, not provincial matters.[26] A serious effort to block Canadians' access to certain websites emerged in January of 2018. A group of more than 25 of Canada's ISPs, media companies, creative companies, and other interested parties including major players such as Bell, Rogers and Canada's national broadcaster the CBC grouped together as "FairPlay Canada"[27] to petition the CRTC to set up an independent body that would recommend blocking access to "websites and services that are blatantly, overwhelmingly, or structurally engaged in piracy."[28] The plan was heavily criticized by some commentators for a variety of reasons, including for possibly violating Canada's net neutrality regime and its potential extension to non-piracy sites.[29] Other commentators insisted it was a necessary tool to fight online piracy and protect copyright.[30] In May 2018, a Parliamentary Committee report recommended that if the CRTC were to accept the FairPlay proposal, the government should use its power to encourage the CRTC to reconsider such a decision, as it would have a negative impact on net neutrality.[31] Ultimately, the proposal was rejected by the CRTC due their determination they had a lack of jurisdiction to implement the plan; however they did invite parliament to look at the issue.[32] Canada's tough anti-spam law informally known as "CASL", which regulates commercial electronic messages ("CEMs"), has been in effect since July 1, 2014. CASL prescribes certain content requirements in electronic messages (such as unsubscribe mechanisms and contact information) and restricts sending such messages without appropriate consent. CASL places significant restrictions on email marketers, and violators can face fines. However, the government suspended the enactment of CASL's "private right of action" provision, which was due to come in to force in July 2017 and would have allowed individuals to sue CEMs for CASL violations.[33] There were few new enforcement decisions involving CASL in the past year, though there were several interesting developments. CompuFinder had its CAD $1.1 million fine levied in 2015 reduced to CAD $200,000 by the CRTC upon appeal.[34] In conjunction with that decision, CompuFinder challenged the constitutionality of CASL, but this was rejected by the CRTC.[35] Even while a parliamentary committee recommended certain significant changes to CASL,[36] the enforcement did in fact continue, and for the first time the law was applied to text messages, with a company receiving a CAD $100,000 fine.[37] Content Removal With respect to removal of content due to copyright infringement, in 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that ISPs are not liable for violations committed by their subscribers,[38] and this safe harbor has now been enshrined in Canadian law.[39] Canadian copyright law features a notice-and-notice provision in effect since January 2015, which, unlike a notice-and-takedown system, does not make intermediaries legally liable for removing content upon notification by the copyright owner. Rather, copyright owners are permitted to send notifications alleging infringement to ISPs. The ISPs are then required to forward the notifications to the implicated subscriber. Any further legal action is the responsibility of the copyright owner, and it is incumbent upon the person who uploaded the infringing content to remove it following a legal decision. No content is removed from the internet without a court order, and the ISP does not disclose subscriber information without court approval, although this has become increasingly common.[40] The issue of who should pay for the ISP's work in delivering this subscriber information worked its way through the courts during the reporting period, with plaintiffs winning an appeal rejecting them to pay the costs.[41] However, this was then reversed by the Supreme Court of Canada who ordered some of the costs to be paid.[42] Despite the good intentions, the notice-and-notice system has been subject to considerable misuse. Several U.S.-based anti-piracy firms, including Rightscorp and CEG-TEK, have used the system to send notifications to subscribers that misstate Canadian law, citing U.S. damage awards and the possibility that their internet access will be terminated, in order to sow fear among Canadians so that they pay a settlement fee.[43] The author of the current Canada report for Freedom on the Net, an attorney specializing in internet and technology law, continues to be contacted by panicked Canadians who have received such notices,[44] the overwhelming majority from CEG-TEK. Media companies have continued to successfully use the courts to shut down and penalize operators of websites and other online services that redistribute their content in violation of copyright laws, or that offer services facilitating such activities. In March 2017, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision granting an injunction shutting down websites selling copyright-infringing set-top boxes.[45] In January of 2018, the Defendant in that case was found in contempt of the Court's orders by continuing to be involved in the sale of set-top boxes.[46] In a decision released in February 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal found that there was a strong prima facie case against an operator of a website which facilitated the operation of such set-top boxes by offering software to obtain access to copyright-infringing material; therefore an injunction should be granted.[47] The Court rejected the operator's argument that he was merely acting as an intermediary. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in June 2017 released its long-anticipated decision in the appeal of the British Columbia Court of Appeal's judgment in Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc.,[48] a closely-watched case in which a court ordered Google to remove links from its global index to websites that infringed on the plaintiffs' trademark. The SCC upheld the worldwide removal order, however its reasoning was strictly focused on the law of intellectual property and interlocutory injunctions, so it is unclear if such worldwide orders may be granted in other areas of law in the future. It is also unclear whether such worldwide orders can have effect in foreign jurisdictions. For example, a U.S. court has questioned whether Canadian courts have jurisdiction to make such an order and has already granted a preliminary injunction against the implementation of the Equustek decision in the U.S. based on the long-standing principle of Google as an intermediary.[49] In April 2018, Google took the U.S. judgment back to the original British Columbia (BC) Court and asked for the injunction to be suspended, but the BC Court denied Google's application.[50] Defamation claims may also result in the removal of content, as content hosts fear potential liability as a publisher of the defamatory content. Unlike legal protections against liability for copyright infringement by its users, platforms may face liability for alleged defamation once alerted to the publication. A court may also order the removal of the content. The SCC has held that merely linking to defamatory content on the internet is not defamation in and of itself; it would only be defamation if it actually repeats the defamatory content, thus links would not be removed.[51] The SCC in November 2017 heard an appeal in a highly-watched case involving the publication of defamatory content on an Israeli website regarding a Canadian resident, and whether Canadian courts have jurisdiction to hear the matter.[52] In a decision released in June 2018, the court held that Israel was a more appropriate forum for a defamation lawsuit, despite damages having been incurred in Canada, thus declining the Canadian court's jurisdiction.[53] In Quebec, Canada's French-speaking province, websites that are commercial in nature are legally required to be in French,[54] although they can also be in other languages. Violators may receive a warning from a government agency ordering the website be in French, and then be subject to fines if they do not comply. Some website operators may choose to take down their websites rather than face the expense of translation or the fines. National or international operators of websites who do business in Quebec (who would then be subject to the law) may block Quebec residents' access to their websites rather than comply.[55] Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation The online environment in Canada is relatively diverse, and internet users have access to a wide range of news, content, and opinions. There does not appear to be widespread self-censorship in Canadian online publications, and there is no evidence of government manipulation of online content. Some sites are affiliated with a partisan interest, but there are representative sites from all sides of the political spectrum available online. All major media organizations operate websites with articles, audio, and video. The public broadcaster maintains a very comprehensive website that includes news articles and streamed video programming. Paywalls have become increasingly popular among newspaper organizations, but there remains considerable choice (including alternate, independent media) that is freely available. Canada continues to strengthen its commitment to net neutrality as a matter of national policy, ensuring that media is presented neutrally by ISPs. In April 2017, the CRTC released a pair of Telecommunications Policies that effectively ruled against differential pricing for certain ISP services and the "zero-rating" of certain media services, where ISPs would not have the use of certain preferred media charged against a user's data cap.[56] With these Policies, the CRTC substantively completed (in conjunction with several other Policies) a national framework that ensures net neutrality remains Canadian public policy. In a May 2018 report, a Parliamentary Committee encouraged the government to strengthen net neutrality in Canada even further, by recommending it enshrine the principle in the Telecommunications Act.[57] Canadians have expressed concerns, however, that repeal of net neutrality in the United States will have negative effects on Canadians' internet activities.[58] In its 2017 budget, the Canadian government made a significant statement on the subject, promising to review telecommunications legislation to ensure that "Canadians continue to benefit from an open and innovative internet" in the context of net neutrality and other digital policy considerations. However, it is unclear whether these reforms will have a positive or negative impact on online content,[59] and especially Canadian content. The government's statement reflected a report from the Department of Canadian Heritage outlining the future of Canadian Content in the digital age, following extensive public consultations on the subject.[60] The Department of Canadian Heritage, in the wake of the report, announced a deal with Netflix that would see the service spend a minimum of CAD $500 million on Canadian production over the next five years.[61] Shortly thereafter, the government stated that Netflix services would not be subject to the national Goods and Services Tax,[62] a position repeated by the Prime Minister during a Parliamentary debate on the subject.[63] Some provinces had other ideas however; for example Quebec had already announced a plan to apply its provincial sales tax on all foreign online services, including Netflix,[64] which is expected to be in effect in 2019.[65] It is unclear at this time what the long-term effect on online content of these moves will be. Finally, the CRTC launched a full consultation process on the future of content distribution in Canada following a request from the government.[66] In May 2018, the CRTC unveiled a comprehensive report on the matter,[67] but it offered little in the way of innovative strategies. Digital Activism Social media and communication applications have been widely used in Canada for the mobilization of political and social movements. Online digital activism played a significant role in the Liberal government's promise to repeal the problematic aspects of the Anti-Terrorism Act and played a part in ultimately forcing the government to introduce a new bill, Bill C-59, to fix it (see Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity). Much online activism targeted at the ICT sector is spearheaded by a popular non-partisan, non-profit organization called Open Media, which advocates for three pillars of internet rights free expression, access, and privacy.[68] Canadians have been especially active in the online #MeToo movement,[69] prompting Canada's Justice Minister to consider updating certain laws, for example to ensure victims of sexual violence are treated more compassionately in courtrooms.[70] This online activism also prompted the federal government to introduce Bill C-65,[71] which would dramatically update harassment laws as they apply to federal government and federally-regulated workplaces.[72] Violations of User Rights: Canada has a generally positive record for freedom of expression online. Promised reforms to controversial elements of the Anti-Terrorism Act passed in June 2015, which permits information-sharing across government agencies for a wide range of purposes, began to materialize. Legal Environment The Canadian Constitution includes strong protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Freedom of speech in Canada is protected as a "fundamental freedom" by section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Under the Charter, one's freedom of expression is "subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society."[73] These laws and protections apply to all forms of speech, whether online or offline. Hate speech, along with advocating genocide and uttering threats and defamatory libel, are also regulated under the Canadian criminal code.[74] Punishment for defamatory libel, advocating genocide, and uttering threats may include imprisonment for up to five years, and up to two years for hate speech. Human rights complaints regarding potentially defamatory statements could also be decided through the mechanisms provided by provincial human rights laws and the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA);[75] however the controversial provision of the CHRA prohibiting hate speech (s. 13), which was perceived by many as being too broad, is currently not in force. The current government, however, is considering bringing a hate speech provision in some different form.[76] There are no specific online restrictions on sensitive topics. Anti-spam legislation, enacted in July 2014, requires opt-in consent to send commercial electronic messages. Critics of the legislation have argued that it is overly broad and seeks to overregulate commercial speech. Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities Individuals were not arrested or prosecuted for online activities under Canadian law during the coverage period. Generally, writers, commentators, and bloggers are not subject to legal sanction for content that they post on the internet. Internet users are free to discuss any political or social issues without concern for prosecution, with the exception of the hate speech provisions discussed above. Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity There were several developments relating to privacy during the coverage period, as promised reforms to controversial elements of the Anti-Terrorism Act (also known as Bill C-51) passed in June 2015, finally began to materialize. The Liberal government has begun to make good on their 2015 election promise to "repeal the problematic elements of Bill C-51."[77] Bill C-51 permits information-sharing across government agencies for an incredibly wide range of purposes, many of which have nothing to do with terrorism. The bill was opposed by all Canadian privacy commissioners but ultimately passed and became law. The Liberals introduced Bill C-22 in June 2016 to establish a new multi-party national security oversight committee, which became law in June 2017 as the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act.[78] The government continued to take steps to revamp the law, and finally introduced Bill C-59, An Act Respecting National Security Matters,[79] which goes further in fixing some of the more serious problems with the Anti-Terrorism Act.[80] Some civil liberties groups, however, believe that Bill C-59 does not go far enough in fixing those issues,[81] and that it possibly grants Canada's Communications Security Establishment too many powers, albeit against foreign actors not Canadians. A government committee doing a clause by clause review of the bill has made some amendments to alleviate some outstanding issues;[82] however the legislation is only slowly working its way through the legislative process, so more changes are expected. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) provides an important oversight function related to privacy of Canadians' information in the digital medium. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Daniel Therrien, is an officer of parliament who reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate. The commissioner's mandate includes overseeing compliance with the Privacy Act,[83] which covers the personal information-handling practices of federal government departments and agencies, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA),[84] Canada's private sector privacy law.[85] PIPEDA was modified by the Digital Privacy Act[86] passed in June 2015, which expanded the scope for companies to make voluntary warrantless disclosures of personal information under certain circumstances, by allowing for such disclosures to any organization, not just law enforcement. The Digital Privacy Act also established new mandatory security breach disclosure requirements, which will come into force November 1.[87] PIPEDA, however, remains relatively toothless. In its 2016-2017 Report,[88] the OPC itself called for an updated regime which includes "a model that emphasizes proactive enforcement and is backed by order-making authorities and administrative monetary penalties," to be more in line with the United States and Europe. The government would seem to agree, as a Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) report called for a significant number of changes in order to strengthen PIPEDA and make it more in line with the European GDPR.[89] The OPC has also called for changes to the Privacy Act, which has not seen significant changes since 1983, saying that it is outdated in this digital age and is too permissive, allowing the government to too easily collect the personal information of Canadians.[90] The OPC shocked the Canadian legal community in January 2018 when it released a draft position paper that concluded that PIPEDA actually contained a European-style "right to be forgotten" or "right to erasure," though this was called a "De-indexing Right."[91] Commentators questioned the OPC's conclusions and reasoning.[92] The ETHI Report called for the right to be forgotten to be included in future PIPEDA amendments. Numerous decisions have made it easier for Canadians to seek legal redress against foreign internet companies for privacy violations. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that residents of the Canadian province of British Columbia could bring a class action suit against Facebook for violating certain privacy rights in a British Columbia court, despite Facebook's choice of forum clause specifying California.[93] Other courts followed up on this decision, with a Quebec court deciding that Yahoo!'s choice of forum clause was inoperative, as its Terms and Conditions were deemed to be a consumer contract which granted the Quebec court jurisdiction.[94] While the choice of forum clause in the case chose another Canadian province (Ontario), it is clear that the same reasoning could apply internationally. In another dramatic development, the Federal Court of Canada found that PIPEDA has extra-territorial application, and ordered a Romanian website to remove court decisions containing personal information of Canadian citizens that made them easily searchable through search engines, and never to post such information again.[95] The Federal Court also ordered the Romanian website to pay damages to the plaintiff. Some commentators suggested the decision created something akin to Europe's right to be forgotten,[96] while other commentators were more sceptical, though they still welcomed the decision.[97] The Supreme Court of Canada extended the right to privacy in text (SMS) messages in a pair of companion cases released in December 2017. In one case, the court held that there could be a reasonable expectation of privacy in received text messages, where previously there had only been held to be such protection for sent messages.[98] In the other, the court held that the sender of text messages has a reasonable expectation of privacy in those texts, even when they are stored on the telecom provider's computers.[99] Intimidation and Violence There were no documented cases of violence or physical harassment of internet users in Canada for their online activities during the report period. Cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and general online harassment, however, is on the increase, especially targeting young people.[100] A recent study found that a quarter of Canadians have been subjected to some form of online harassment,[101] and a recent report indicated that 37 percent of schoolchildren in one Canadian province had been subjected to cyberbullying.[102] The government has recognized the seriousness of the issue, and announced it would release a coordinated strategy,[103] though there has been little development. The legal precedence of Canada's most noteworthy "revenge porn" case remained in limbo. In a highly-praised landmark civil case in January 2016, a man who published revenge porn against his ex-girlfriend had been ordered to pay CAD $100,000 to the victim who suffered severe emotional distress.[104] In October 2016, however, that default judgment was set aside,[105] and an appeal of this decision was denied.[106] As a result, the new privacy tort of "public disclosure of private facts" established in the original decision is in a state of flux until the case is re-heard on the merits. Fortunately, to fill the gap, many provinces are passing laws that create civil torts for unauthorized distribution of intimate images and videos, such as Manitoba[107] and Alberta.[108] There also continue to be prosecutions under section 162.1 of the Criminal Code which makes it a crime to publish, distribute, transmit, or sell intimate images without the consent of the person depicted.[109] Technical Attacks While there have been numerous cyberattacks and data breaches in Canada in recent years, very serious, widespread, systematic technical attacks have not been such a significant issue, although indications show this is changing. Private sector data breaches are certainly on the rise, as some of the largest data breaches of the past year were certainly felt in Canada, at very significant levels. The Uber hack announced in November 2017 involved data of 815,000 Canadians.[110] The September 2017 Equifax hack and data breach involved the loss of data of 19,000 Canadians,[111] and a December 2017 data breach at Nissan Canada may have involved personal and financial information of up to 1.1 million Canadians.[112] The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has opened investigations in to all of these breaches.[113] Government officials and departments continue to sound the alarm on the threat of cyberattacks in a number of areas. The governor of the Bank of Canada has stated that cyberattacks are the most pressing concern for the financial system.[114] In September 2017, the department of Public Safety Canada reported that between 2013 and 2015, there were more than 2500 "state-sponsored cyber activities" against Government of Canada systems per year.[115] The government has a five-year strategic plan in place that in part is designed to address some of these issues,[116] though the Public Safety Canada Report was highly critical of the strategy.[117] The Communications Security Establishment continues to warn Canadians about potential cyber interference in future federal elections.[118] Notes: 1 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Telecom Order CRTC 2016-396, October 6, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ocClkt. 2 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, "Communications Monitoring Report 2017," October 2017, http://bit.ly/2GDqj94. 3 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, "Report on Plans and Priorities for 2016-2017," March 2016, http://bit.ly/1Mo0awn. 4 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, "Departmental Plan 2017-2018", March 2017, http://bit.ly/2obg6LF (replacing the title "Report on Plans and Priorities" of the previous years). 5 CRTC Telecom Regulatory Policy 2016-496, "Modern telecommunications services The path forward for Canada's digital economy," December 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nnSJgS. 6 "CRTC establishes fund to attain new high-speed Internet targets," Government of Canada News Release, December 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nw8S1M. 7 Emily Jackson, "Ottawa spends $108M on high-speed internet in rural areas even as $750M fund remains dormant," The National Post, January 17, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GJgeYc. 8 From the 2011 census. See Statistics Canada data at http://bit.ly/1pHhdjd, accessed March 20, 2017. 9 National Geographic "Canada Facts", accessed March 20, 2017, http://on.natgeo.com/1pHhpPv. 10 See the Telecommunications Act, S.C. 1993, c.38, section 7(b), http://bit.ly/1ZpuSrg. 11 All figures in this paragraph from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, "Communications Monitoring Report 2017," supra note 5. 12 Statistics Canada, "Canadian Internet use by age group and household income for Canada, provinces, and metropolitan areas," CANSIM, Table 358-0154, accessed March 27, 2017, http://bit.ly/2obEXza. Data is from 2012, the most recent available. 13 "Building a Strong Middle Class", The Honourable William Francis Morneau, March 22, 2017, at http://bit.ly/2neJqfC. 14 See "Growing the Middle Class", federal government budget document, March 22, 2016, at page 106, http://bit.ly/1UXygJ5 (PDF). 15 See supra note 10. 16 See e.g. Michael Geist, "When it comes to net neutrality, Canada's going at half-throttle," The Toronto Star, August 7, 2015, http://on.thestar.com/2nwgBwH. 17 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, "Communications Monitoring Report 2017," supra note 5. 18 Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, "Facts and Figures", data available at http://bit.ly/2GFAPN1. 19 Michael Geist, "World's Worst Wireless Pricing?: Report Finds Canadian Wireless Broadband Pricing Offers Least Bang for the Buck in Developed World", May 4, 2018, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2018/05/worldsworstpricing/ 20 See most recently Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-355 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2015-356, August 6, 2015, http://bit.ly/22HBQx9. 21 Reference re Broadcasting Act, 2012 SCC 4, http://bit.ly/22HDXRm. 22 Cybertip!ca, "Cleanfeed Canada," http://bit.ly/1jy5ws4. 23 Criminal Code, RSC 1985 c C-46 s 163.1(4.1). 24 Michael Geist, "Government-Mandated Website Blocking Comes to Canada as Quebec's Bill 74 Takes Effect", May 26, 2016, http://bit.ly/22r74ET. 25 The Canadian Press, "CRTC shoots down Quebec online gambling law," September 2, 2016, at http://bit.ly/2bQSly7; Emily Jackson, "CRTC says it holds power over website blocking in Quebec gambling case," Financial Post, December 9, 2016, http://bit.ly/2ocDkB6. 26 Association canadienne des telecommunications sans fil c. Procureure generale du Quebec, 2018 QCCS 3159 (CanLII), http://bit.ly/2BFrabw. Please note this decision was released outside the reporting period. 27 See FairPlay Canada home page at https://www.fairplaycanada.com/. 28 FairPlay Canada, Application pursuant to sections 24, 24.1, 36, and 70(1)(a) of the telecommunications act, 1993 to disable on-line access to piracy sites, January 29, 2018, PDF available at http://bit.ly/2HKQUSJ. 29 See e.g. Michael Geist's nine-part series, "The Case Against the Bell Coalition's Website Blocking Plan", February 2018, available at http://www.michaelgeist.ca/. 30 See e.g. Barry Sookman, "Why the CRTC should endorse FairPlay's website-blocking plan: a reply to Michael Geist", February 12, 2018, http://bit.ly/2HN9XvN. 31 The Protection of Net Neutrality in Canada, Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, May 2018, PDF report at http://bit.ly/2KgvBZP. See also Michael Geist, "House of Commons Ethics Committee Recommends Rejecting Bell Coalition Website Blocking Plan", May 10, 2018, http://bit.ly/2IyDo85. 32 CRTC news release, "CRTC denies FairPlay Canada's application on piracy websites on jurisdictional grounds", October 2, 2018, http://bit.ly/2PT22AC. See also CRTC Telecom Decision CRTC 2018-384, http://bit.ly/2PRfJjz. Please note this development occurred outside the reporting period. 33 "Government of Canada suspends lawsuit provision in anti-spam legislation", Government of Canada news release, June 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2tZrZnM. Please note this development occurred outside the coverage period. 34 Compliance and Enforcement Decision CRTC 2017-368, October 19, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HN7qBY. 35 Compliance and Enforcement Decision CRTC 2017-367, October 19, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HL4dCN. 36 Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation: Clarifications Are in Order, Report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, December 2017, http://bit.ly/2G5wamM. 37 Undertaking: 9118-9076 QUEBEC INC. and 9310-6359 QUEBEC INC. (514-BILLETS), March 15, 2018, http://bit.ly/2jQBq56. 38 Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Canadian Assn of Internet Providers, [2004] SCC, 2 SCR 427. 39 Copyright Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42, section 31.1, http://bit.ly/2HOlCuv. 40 See e.g. Voltage Pictures, LLC v. John Doe, 2016 FC 881 (CanLII), at http://bit.ly/2oA7RFo, where the Federal Court ordered an ISP to divulge subscriber information of a representative defendant in a so-called "reverse class action" copyright infringement lawsuit. 41 Voltage Pictures, LLC v. John Doe, 2017 FCA 97 (CanLii), http://bit.ly/2HMOvau. 42 Rogers Communications Inc. v. Voltage Pictures, LLC, 2018 SCC 38, http://bit.ly/2PTElsf. Please note this decision was released outside the reporting period (September 2018). 43 Jeremy Malcolm, "Canada Must Fix Rightsholder Abuse of its Copyright Notice System," Deeplinks Blog, Electronic Frontier Foundation, April 23, 2015, http://bit.ly/29hzJGZ. 44 Sophia Harris, "U.S. cancels internet piracy notices while Canadians still get notices demanding settlement fees," CBC News, February 1, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nxcMr8. 45 Wesley dba MTLFREETV.com v Bell Canada et al, 2017 FCA 55, http://bit.ly/2nvkTod. 46 Bell Canada v. Vincent Wesley dba MtlFreeTV.com, 2018 FC 66, http://bit.ly/2HNjl2v. 47 Bell Canada v. Lackman, 2018 FCA 42, http://bit.ly/2HMMhHS. 48 2017 SCC 34, http://bit.ly/2ttsDgi. 49 Google Inc. v. Equuestek Solutions Inc., United States District Court, N.D. California, San Jose Division, Docket No. 5:17-cv-04207-EJD, November 2, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HKVvVe. 50 Equustek Solutions Inc. v Jack, 2018 BCSC 610, http://bit.ly/2G7GqLg. 51 Crookes v. Newton, 2011 SCC 47, http://bit.ly/1SrcV8P. 52 Haaretz.com, et al. v. Mitchell Goldhar, SCC case information at http://bit.ly/2HMShAw, leave to appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, 2016 ONCA 515, http://bit.ly/2nvkYIs. 53 Haaretz.com v. Goldhar, 2018 SCC 28, http://bit.ly/2M0YMBQ. Please note this decision was released outside the reporting period. 54 See the Charter of the French Language, c. C-11, article 52, http://bit.ly/1Srh2Sm. 55 Elysia Bryan-Baynes, "Quebec language police target English retail websites," November 13, 2014, http://bit.ly/1Srl50Y. 56 Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2017-104, "Framework for assessing the differential pricing practices of Internet service providers", April 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2quuyfj, and Telecom Decision CRTC 2017-105, "Complaints against Quebecor Media Inc., Videotron Ltd., and Videotron G.P. alleging undue and unreasonable preference and disadvantage regarding the Unlimited Music program," April 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2rOe99A. 57 The Protection of Net Neutrality in Canada, Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, May 2018, PDF report at http://bit.ly/2KgvBZP. 58 "Q&A: What would a U.S. repeal of net neutrality mean for Canadians?", CBC Radio News, December 8. 2017, http://bit.ly/2GKjMt3. 59 See e.g. Michael Geist, "Budget 2017: Why Canada's Digital Policy Future Is Up For Grabs," March 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nf3Chd. 60 Ipsos Public Affairs for the Department of Canadian Heritage, "What we Heard Across Canada: Canadian Culture in the Digital World", February 21, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nfa8o4. 61 Daniel Leblanc, "Netflix deal the centrepiece of cultural policy", The Globe and Mail, September 27, 2017, https://tgam.ca/2GNA4S9. 62 The Canadian Press, "Netflix tax not in the cards, Finance Minister Bill Morneau says", The Star, December 10, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GLknuC. 63 Rose Behar, "Prime Minister Trudeau reiterates government's firm opposition to 'Netflix Tax'", Mobile Syrup, February 8, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GNGXCZ. 64 The Canadian Press, "Quebec passes unanimous motion to impose provincial sales tax on Netflix", CTV News, October 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GMBn3s. See Bill n997 : An Act to regulate e-commerce and ensure tax fairness for traditional and local businesses, available at http://bit.ly/2HMQU4M. 65 Jonathan Montpetit, "What the Quebec budget means for you: Netflix tax, home renos and craft beer", CBC News, March 27, 2018, http://bit.ly/2L10UZF. 66 Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-359, October 12, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GM1hET. See also background reference document from the CRTC, "Consultation on the future of program distribution in Canada", at http://bit.ly/2GLVT4k. 67 Harnessing Change: The Future of Programming Distribution in Canada, CRTC, May 31, 2018, http://bit.ly/2NoVMQ0. 68 See https://openmedia.org/. 69 Adina Bresge, "#Metoo movement prompting sexual-assault survivors to break silence to family", National Post, January 31, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GLj4f9. 70 Kate Taylor, "Where to go after #MeToo", The Globe and Mail, December 9, 2017, https://tgam.ca/2GNPCW1. 71 An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1, 42nd Parliament, 1st Session, http://bit.ly/2HJV4dP. 72 Amanda Connelly, "Bill C-65: Here's what the anti-harassment bill does and how it will affect you", Global News, January 29, 2018, http://bit.ly/2HPwIzd. 73 Constitution Act, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, http://bit.ly/1cijVUc. 74 R.S.C 1985 c C-46, http://bit.ly/22YUNYE. 75 R.S.C., 1985, c. H-6, http://bit.ly/1qjY3zS. 76 Brain Platt, "Liberals reviewing option to revive controversial internet hate speech law repealed in 2013", National Post, January 22 2018, http://bit.ly/2GQm0af. 77 Liberal Party platform on Bill C-51, http://www.liberal.ca/realchange/bill-c-51/. 78 S.C. 2017, c. 15. http://bit.ly/2HMZQXW. 79 1st sess, 42nd Parl., June 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GNi4Hq. 80 Craig Forcese and Kent Roach, "The roses and the thorns of Canada's new national security bill", Macleans, June 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2ttyLFk. 81 "Read CCLA's Submissions on Bill C-59," Canadian Civil Liberties Association, January 19, 2018, http://bit.ly/2EDWQPG. 82 Study Bill C-59, An Act respecting national security matters, 19th Report, Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU), April 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/2IvZ0BZ. 83 R.S.C., 1985, c. P-21, http://bit.ly/2oeXpH8. 84 Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), S.C. 2000, c. 5, http://bit.ly/1hVRkBe. 85 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, "Mandate and Mission," http://bit.ly/1LlfhTx. 86 Bill S-4, S.C. 2015, c. 32, http://bit.ly/2ofe25y. 87 Breach of Security Safeguards Regulations, published in the Canada Gazette, Part II: Volume 152, Number 8, on March 27, 2018, http://bit.ly/2BZpmdQ. 88 Daniel Therrien, "2016-17 Annual Report to Parliament on the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Privacy Act.", September 2017, http://bit.ly/2EDj4Bl. 89 Towards Privacy by Design: Review of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, February 2018, http://bit.ly/2IwSY49 (the "ETHI Report"). See also Allen Mendelsohn (this report's author), "Privacy! Privacy! Privacy!", March 28, 2018, http://bit.ly/2GeYrr2. 90 Alex Boutilier, "Ottawa is 'blurring' lines on privacy as it looks for new ways to collect data: watchdog", The Star, February 21, 2018, http://bit.ly/2HN4G7l. 91 "Draft OPC Position on Online Reputation," January 28, 2018, http://bit.ly/2Hu0M39. 92 See e.g. Michael Geist, "Why the Canadian Privacy Commissioner's Proposed Right to be Forgotten Creates More Problems Than it Solves," January 29, 2018, at http://bit.ly/2HsX1ew; and Allen Mendelsohn (this report's author), "Surprise! Canada has had a Right To Be Forgotten all along!", January 30, 2018, at http://bit.ly/2EGzbht. 93 Douez v. Facebook, 2017 SCC 33, http://bit.ly/2tt7BhT. 94 Demers c. Yahoo! Inc., 2017 QCCS 4154, http://bit.ly/2GIQxXM. 95 A.T. v. Globe24h.com, 2017 FC 114 (CanLii), http://bit.ly/2oaIk9l. 96 See e.g. Michael Geist, "Did a Canadian Court Just Establish a New Right to be Forgotten?" February 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oaWYxn. 97 See e.g. Allen Mendelsohn (this report's author), "Forget the right to be forgotten in Canada (for now)," February 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2oaVumV. 98 R. v. Marakah, 2017 SCC 59, http://bit.ly/2GQgJjf. 99 R. v. Jones, 2017 SCC 60, http://bit.ly/2GLIREc. 100 Canadian Press, "More than 1 million young Canadians victims of cyberbullying, cyberstalking: StatsCan," CBC News, December 19, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nzVw4q. 101 Victor Ferreirra, "More than a quarter of Canadians are subjected to harassment on social media, new poll finds," National Post, October 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nnO0IY. 102 "Nearly 4 in 10 schoolkids cyberbullied, B.C. government warns", Metro, February 6, 2018, http://bit.ly/2HOCNMq. 103 "Feds eye sexting, cyber violence strategy," CBC News, March 27, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nzX4LX. 104 Doe 464533 v N.D., 2016 ONSC 541 (CanLII), http://canlii.ca/t/gn23z. 105 Doe v N.D., 2016 ONSC 4920 (CanLII), http://bit.ly/2oCQxj5. 106 Doe 464533 v N.D., 2017 ONSC 127 (CanLii), http://bit.ly/2HP3UGX. 107 Intimate Image Protection Act, C.C.S.M. c. I87, http://bit.ly/2HKmdNE. 108 Protecting Victims of Non-Consensual Distribution of Intimate Images Act, S.A. 2017 ch. P-26.9, http://bit.ly/2HOPczO. 109 See e.g. R. v. P.S.D., 2016 BCPC 400 (CanLII), http://bit.ly/2HMQVG0, and R. v. A.C., 2017 ONCJ 317, http://bit.ly/2HNqQ9H. 110 The Canadian Press, "Uber says 815,000 Canadians affected by data breach as investigation launched", CBC News, December 12, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HPitu7. 111 The Canadian Press, "Equifax says more than 19,000 Canadians affected by security breach", CBC News, November 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HOFNZh. 112 Pete Evans, "Nissan Canada breach may have exposed data of up to 1.1 million customers", 113 OPC, "OPC launches investigation into Equifax breach", September 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HPDgOa; Alicja Siekierska, "Canada's privacy commissioner opens formal investigation into Uber hack", The Financial Post, December 11, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HNmP5b; and OPC, "Privacy Commissioner launches investigation into Nissan breach", February 13, 2018, http://bit.ly/2HQcaXy. 114 Andy Blatchford, "Threat of cyberattacks 'more worrisome than all the other stuff': Bank of Canada governor", The Star, October 26, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HN05lN. 115 September 29, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HPkaYS. 116 Government of Canada, "Government of Canada Strategic Plan for Information Management and Information Technology 2017-2021", http://bit.ly/2HMTM1F. 117 Dean Beeby, "State-sponsored cyberattacks on Canada successful about once a week", CBC News, October 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2HPKK42. 118 Lee Berthiaume, "Canada's spy agency expects cyberattacks during 2019 federal election", CBC News, June 16, 2017, http://bit.ly/2GIrQuv. Full report of the CSE entitled "Cyber Threats to Canada's Democratic Process", June 2017, available at http://bit.ly/2HMhcEe. Copyright notice: Freedom House, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freedom on the Net 2018 - Brazil Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 1 November 2018 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2018 - Brazil, 1 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be16b2311.html [accessed 21 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Status: Partly Free Total Score: 31/100 (0 = Best, 100 = Worst) Population: 209,288,278 Internet Penetration: 59.7% Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Political/Social Content Blocked: No Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: Yes Freedom in the World Status: Free Key Developments, June 1, 2017 May 31, 2018 No new suspensions of WhatsApp occurred during 2017 and 2018, following a series of orders to block WhatsApp in 2015 and 2016 for failing to comply with court requests to provide information (see Blocking and Filtering). Facing significant backlash by digital rights activists, President Temer vetoed a controversial provision that would have enabled parties and candidates to force social networks to swiftly remove offensive content by anonymous authors ahead of the 2018 general elections (see Content Removal). As concerns about proliferation of false information surged in the lead-up to the 2018 general elections, several initiatives and legislative proposals emerged to tackle these practices (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Introduction: Brazil's internet freedom environment improved slightly this year, after judges ceased to impose disproportionate blockings on WhatsApp. However, the online environment in Brazil remained constrained by violence against independent bloggers, criminal defamation laws, and restrictive limits on content related to elections. Despite boasting some of the most progressive and comprehensive legislation on digital rights, Brazil's "Internet Constitution" has been interpreted as a basis for recurring suspensions of WhatsApp. A trend of application blockings that dominated the previous years, finally ceased after heavy backlash from all sectors of society. These cases resulted in several initiatives legislative and judicial to prevent judges from having the power to order nationwide blockings of applications. Amid political uncertainty and polarization running up to the elections in October 2018, the "fake news" phenomenon became a prominent preoccupation. With some 10 draft bills appearing in the first four months of 2018 alone, proposals seeking to criminalize the dissemination of misinformation sparked freedom of expression concerns among digital rights activists. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court also approached the issue of misinformation as a top priority, even warning that the elections could be annulled if results were found to be heavily influenced by such practices. Posts disclosing information that is known to be untrue about candidates have been subject to removal, and in July 2018, Facebook reportedly removed a network of pages and accounts that were being used "for the purpose of sowing division and spreading misinformation." High levels of violence in Brazil's urban centers, coupled with impunity for many crimes, have contributed to one of the highest rates of violence against journalists in the region. Online journalists and bloggers reporting on sensitive topics such as corruption continued to be targeted. Obstacles to Access: Internet and mobile penetration rates have increased steadily in Brazil, but significant regional disparities in access persist. An attempt by the government to change the composition of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.Br) by increasing government seats caused uproar within Brazil's internet community. Following a public consultation, CGI.br in turn submitted its recommendations to uphold the multi-stakeholder governance model. Availability and Ease of Access Despite economic growth in recent years, Brazil's access rates remain below average compared to many North American and European countries.[1] Various obstacles continue to prevent many households from accessing the internet, such as high prices charged by service providers and telecommunication companies a problem that extends to fixed broadband, wireless, and 3G and 4G technologies and persistent social inequalities. A significant digital divide and disparities in infrastructure are evident among various geographical regions, as well as between urban and rural areas. The use of free public access points has increased, especially given the greater availability of free Wi-Fi hotspots and public policies promoting free internet access in public spaces, such as squares.[2] However, some of these initiatives, such as the "Wi-Fi Livre Sampa" plan for the city of Sao Paulo, have raised data protection concerns (see "Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity").[3] While national wireless networks are still small if compared to other countries, Anatel registered over one million hotspots in Brazil as of August 2016.[4] Mobile penetration has grown significantly over the past few years and mobile broadband connections have quickly become a primary means for Brazilians to access the internet. However, Brazil's economic crisis and stricter credit policies imposed by operators might have contributed to a slight drop in the number of mobile subscriptions over the past three years.[5] As of October 2017, some 92 million users had 3G services, a significant decrease when compared to 2016 numbers (115 million users).[6] The number of smartphones with 4G services has increased since 4G was introduced in April 2013, but 4G availability remains lower that the global and South American average.[7] According to the consultancy company Teleco, Brazil had around 105 million active 4G subscriptions by January 2018.[8] Such advanced internet services, however, are heavily concentrated in wealthy urban centers, such as Sao Paulo.[9] Brazil's federal government has implemented a number of internet expansion and improvement programs since 2010, including the National Broadband Plan (Plano Nacional de Banda Larga or PNBL).[10] In 2017, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications launched a public consultation for a new national connectivity plan dubbed "Internet for All" (Internet para Todos) to expand access to underserved areas and increase fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure in the country.[11] In May 2017, Brazil launched its first defense and strategic communications satellite,[12] which aimed to provide secure communication channels for defense purposes, while also boosting broadband capacity.[13] However, connectivity programs using the Defense and Communications Geostationary Satellite were paralyzed after an injunction prevented Telebras from partnering with the U.S. company Viasat to deploy satellite broadband throughout the country. A competitor from Amazonas disputed the contract in a lawsuit filed in March 2018. [14] In July 2018, the Federal Supreme Court overturned the injunction.[15] Restrictions on Connectivity The government does not place limits on bandwidth, nor does it impose control over telecommunications infrastructure. There have been no reported instances of the government cutting off internet connectivity during protests or social unrest. In 2015 and 2016, three judicial orders temporarily blocked WhatsApp because its parent company Facebook was unable to comply with information requests as part of criminal investigations; no similar orders were recorded during this coverage period (see "Blocking and Filtering").[16] Over the past decade, private backbone infrastructure, such as that of Oi, GVT and Embratel, has expanded in Brazil.[17] In 1998, the state-owned company Embratel, which was responsible for building the internet backbone, was privatized and acquired by the U.S. company MCI; it was later acquired by the Mexican telecom America Movil in 2003. Internationally, undersea cables connect to Brazil from North America and Europe. In April 2017, the Spanish and Brazilian governments confirmed plans to build the first undersea fiber optic cable linking Brazil to Europe.[18] Some of the impetus for building these connections is related to a desire to avoid reliance on U.S. infrastructure after revelations of pervasive U.S. spying on Brazilians in 2013,[19] although there are still ongoing projects to construct more cables connecting Brazil to the United States.[20] In 2004, the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) launched an initiative called PTT Metro to create internet exchange points (IXPs) across Brazil, starting with their first IXP in Sao Paulo. Currently, Brazil has at least 25 IXPs installed in the country.[21] ICT Market Although there are no significant legal or economic barriers for companies competing in the ISP, mobile, or digital technology sectors, the Brazilian ICT market is highly concentrated. Three large private companies Oi, Claro and Vivo (Telefonica Brasil) represent nearly 80 percent of the country's broadband market.[22] Four large private companies Vivo, TIM, Claro, and Oi hold almost 98 percent of the mobile market.[23] Such high market concentration could make it very difficult for other providers such as Algar and Nextel to compete in the mobile sector.[24] In January 2014, the Brazilian competition authority approved the merger of Oi and Portugal Telecom into CorpCo. This merger was completed in 2015 and ranked CorpCo as the leading telecommunication company in Portuguese-speaking countries worldwide.[25] Also in 2014, the acquisition of Vivendi's GVT by Telefonica Brasil resulted in a merger of two of the country's larger broadband services GVT and Vivo further contributing to market concentration.[26] In March 2017, the Senate passed a bill prohibiting data caps on fixed broadband (PLS 174/2016),[27] after an announcement in March 2016 that ISPs would impose data caps on broadband internet had caused uproar among users, politicians and internet-dependent businesses.[28] The bill then proceeded to the House of Representatives as PL 7.182/2017.[29] It had not yet been approved in mid-2018. Regulatory Bodies Two regulatory agencies oversee Brazilian ICTs in general: the Brazilian Agency of Telecommunications (Anatel) and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), an antitrust agency that is focused on reviewing mergers and anticompetitive practices in telecommunications markets.[30] The government also created the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) in 1995, a multi-stakeholder independent organization in charge of coordinating and integrating all internet service initiatives in Brazil, as well as promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of services. Provisions in the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil da internet) mandate that the government consult with CGI.br, and in various instances directly involve the Committee, in policy-making and implementation of Marco Civil processes. Anatel is administratively and financially independent, and not hierarchically subordinate to any government agency. Its decisions are only subject to judicial review in national courts. From the Ministry of Communications, Anatel has inherited the powers of granting, regulating, and supervising telecommunications in Brazil, as well as much of its technical expertise and other material assets. In 2016, Anatel initially backed policies establishing data limits on home broadband internet, but backtracked in the midst of public criticism (see ICT Market). CGI.br is formed by government officials, as well as private sector representatives, civil society, and the science and technology community.[31] CGI.br's contributions include comprehensive and reliable annual reports on internet use in Brazil, funding for internet governance-related research, and the promotion of conferences such as the annual Brazilian Internet Governance Forum. In June 2009, CGI.br declared the "Principles for the Governance and Use of the Internet," which include online freedom, privacy, human rights, and net neutrality as a foundation for the Brazilian information society.[32] Many of these principles were adopted into Brazilian law through the Marco Civil in 2014. In August 2017, the government proposed a public consultation to advance significant changes in CGI.Br's representation and election patterns. The public consultation sparked criticism, as it was announced without any prior dialogue with the multi-stakeholder community or even other members of the Steering Committee. Some critics the government had sought to increase its control over the CGI and to allow for a revision of the net neutrality rules in the Marco Civil.[33] Following these events, CGI.br itself proposed a second public consultation, held in November 2017. This time, it included representatives of various sectors, as well as the members of the CGI, to seek a broader perspective on the issue.[34] According to the CGI's December 2017 report, consulted parties supported the need to maintain a multi-stakeholder approach.[35] Limits on Content: No new blocking orders against WhatsApp were issued during the past year, following a judicial blocking trend in 2015 and 2016 linked to requests to turn over information as part of criminal investigations by the police. Legal provisions criminalizing defamation and blasphemy and restricting speech around elections continue to impose some constraints on online content