EC proposes removing extremist content on the internet; South Korea lifts martial law
(Baonghean.vn) - The world over the past 24 hours has been filled with many events such as: EC proposes to remove provocative content on Google and Facebook; Venezuela loosens currency controls; South Korea lifts martial law; Trump will sanction foreign organizations that interfere in the US election...
The parties agreed in principle on the composition of the Syrian Constitutional Amendment Committee.
 |
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaber Ansari, Russian President Vladimir Putin's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura during a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on September 11. Photo: AFP/ VNA |
During the talks between senior diplomats from Iran, Russia and Türkiye along with the United Nations (UN) special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, the parties have come close to establishing a committee to amend the Syrian Constitution. This is considered a necessary step to promote the political reconciliation process in this Middle Eastern country.
Russian President's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said the parties have reached consensus in principle on two of the three lists of members of the Constitutional Amendment Committee, including the list of representatives of the Syrian Government and the opposition. However, these two lists still need to be approved by representatives of the three countries that guarantor the ceasefire in Syria - Iran, Russia, Türkiye - and the UN special envoy.
Meanwhile, before the final approval of the above two lists, the parties need to agree on the list of committee members who are representatives of the civilian forces. According to Mr. Lavrentiev, this third list still has many problems, but to promote this process, it is necessary to establish a technical group. The time to convene this group has not been determined, but the parties agree that this expert group meeting needs to be held as soon as possible.
Türkiye refuses to deploy forces to participate in military exercises in Russia
|
Russian soldiers prepare for the Vostok-2018 exercise. Photo:Sputnik. |
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that he had received an invitation from Russia to participate in the Vostok-2018 exercises as a "full and active" member. However, after careful consideration, Ankara decided to only attend as observers,HuriyetDaily Newstoday news
According to observers, Türkiye's move may stem from the fact that NATO, of which Ankara is a member, considers Russia's large-scale military exercise a threat to the bloc's security.
Vostok-2018 will take place at five land training ranges, as well as in the Sea of Japan, Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk from September 11 to September 15, coinciding with NATO's Rapid Trident 2018 exercise in Ukraine. In addition to Russian forces, China and Mongolia are sending thousands of troops and a lot of equipment to participate in Vostok-2018.
Trump will punish foreign organizations that interfere in US elections
|
US President Donald Trump. Photo:Reuters. |
US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order aimed at sanctioning foreign companies or individuals who interfere in the country's elections,Reuterscited a source familiar with the matter as saying.
Trump’s decision, made ahead of the November 6 midterm elections, is in line with the views of US intelligence, law enforcement and military agencies. The sanctions target organizations and individuals accused of election interference in various forms, such as cyberattacks, influencing public opinion through digital propaganda or leaking personal information.
The order is the latest move by the Trump administration to tighten security ahead of the November election, which will determine whether the president's Republican Party retains majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.
South Korea lifts martial law
 |
| South Korea lifts martial law. Source: Deccan Chronicle |
On September 12, the South Korean government held a meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in and decided to lift martial law. This immediately removed the martial law without the need for parliamentary approval.
"Martial law" in South Korea is a presidential decree that allows Army forces to be stationed and remain in a certain area to perform guard duties and protect that area in case of emergency or natural disaster.
Martial law was first established by the military in 1950 to protect its own military units and prevent foreign infiltration. Explaining the decision to abolish martial law, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said that the regime was ineffective because South Korea had not implemented it for the past 30 years, and that the regime had many unconstitutional elements.
Putin declares two suspects in poisoning former spy in UK innocent
 |
Alexander Petrov (left) and Ruslan Boshirov. Photo:Guardian. |
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12 that the two men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, would soon appear in public to defend their innocence,Guardianreported. "We know who they are, we have found them," he said. "I hope they will come forward soon and tell their story themselves."
British officials believe that these two men were military intelligence agents sent by Russia to assassinate former double agent Sergei Skripal.
President Putin called Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov "civilians", denying that they worked for Russian intelligence. "There is no crime here," he stressed.
EC President advocates increasing European border protection force
 |
| EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. Photo: AFP/ VNA |
In his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament (EP) on September 12, President of the European Commission (EC) Jean-Claude Juncker proposed to increase the EU's border patrol force by 10,000 people over the next two years, as part of the union's efforts to curb the flow of immigrants from countries with armed conflicts and poverty in Africa. According to Mr. Juncker, if this goal is achieved, it will be a significant increase in the current European border patrol force of only 1,300 people.
In addition to this plan, the EC also proposed spending 2.2 billion euros on the EU budget over the next 7 years, serving the programs of replacing and maintaining aircraft, ships and special vehicles serving patrol work at "input" hotspots from Africa and the Middle East. The issue of controlling the flow of migrants is heating up again in Europe after countries have sharply reduced the number of immigrants since 2015, when Europe faced the biggest migrant crisis in the past 80 years.
Regarding Brexit, President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that Britain cannot hope to remain part of this single market.
Venezuela loosens currency controls
|
Expensive foods like meat used to cost up to 9.5 million bolivars per kilogram. |
Vice President for Economy and Minister of Industry and National Production Tareck El Aissami said that anyone who wants to buy or sell foreign currencies can do so at any Venezuelan bank, in accordance with the relaxed regulations announced by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) last week. Mr. Aissami stressed that Venezuela wants foreign currencies to be bought and sold legally and to eliminate currency speculation.
Strict currency controls imposed by the Venezuelan government, along with economic sanctions imposed by the United States, have led to rapid inflation in recent years. The exchange rate in Venezuela is set through government-run auctions. However, the currency controls have created a lucrative black market in which dollars are sold for up to 10 times the official rate. The new currency exchange regulations are part of a series of measures recently announced by the Venezuelan government to revive the South American country's economy.
EC proposes to remove provocative content on Google and Facebook
 |
| The EC requires Google, Facebook, Twitter and other internet operators to remove extremist content. Photo for illustration purposes only. |
On September 12, the European Commission (EC) announced a new bill, requiring Google, Facebook, Twitter and other Internet operators to remove extremist content within one hour of being requested.
Under the proposal, the EC wants content that incites or promotes extremist criminal acts, glorifies extremist organizations or shows how to carry out such crimes to be removed from the companies' websites within one hour of receiving a request for a response from national authorities.
In the proposal, the EC also requires internet operators to take proactive measures to address the problem, such as developing new tools to remove abusive content. In addition, these entities will also have to submit annual transparency reports to demonstrate their efforts to address abuse. Internet operators that fail to systematically remove extremist content could face fines equivalent to 4% of their total annual global turnover.
