China issues new regulations on foreign companies amid TikTok row
Nigeria Bars Emirates, Talks With EU About Lufthansa, Air France
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Nigeria is adding Emirates Airline to the list of carriers not allowed to fly into the West African country, Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said.
Nigerian officials held talks with European Union officials over the ban on flights by Lufthansa, Air France and KLM, the minister said on Twitter. “The meeting progressed well,” he said.
Africa’s most populous country of more 200 million people barred a number of airlines as it resumed international flights on Sept. 5 following a prolonged lockdown to curb spread of the coronavirus, saying it was in retaliation for similar restrictions. Emirates can’t fly to Nigeria with effect from Sept. 21, said Sirika.
Barbados Is Set to Remove the Queen as Head of State
Barbados plans to remove the queen as its head of state and become a republic, The New York Times has reported. Barbados aims to complete the process in time for its 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, in November 2021.
The move could set the agenda for other Caribbean islands to also part ways with British royalty, while the Black Lives Matter movement could add pressure on fellow Prime Ministers to abandon any possible links to colonial history.
“The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,” the Caribbean island nation’s government said, per the BBC. “This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving,” said Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
Other former British colonies in the Caribbean that have previously distanced themselves from the monarchy include Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Domenico, all of which ditched their royal ties in the ’70s. Jamaica has also previously said becoming a republic might be in its future.
The palace is thought to have known about the plans in Barbados. BBC royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, said that the idea “has been mooted and publicly talked about many times.”
Barbados is one of the most prosperous Caribbean islands. Once dependant on sugar exports, it now boasts a growing tourism sector.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK
UK: Endangered beaver makes a comeback
An animal hunted to extinction in England 400 years ago is thriving in the county of Devon, while improving environmental conditions.
An animal hunted to extinction in England 400 years ago is making a comeback.
Eurasian beavers are thriving in the county of Devon.
And as Al Jazeera’s Charlie Angela discovered, they are attracting tourists as well as improving water quality and reducing the risk of flooding.
UN rights investigator warns of 'iron curtain' in Belarus
A UN investigator of human rights violations in Belarus is warning of another ‘iron curtain’ descending on Europe.
A United Nations investigator of human rights violations in Belarus is warning of another “iron curtain” descending on Europe.
And the UN’s human rights council wants an independent investigation into allegations of torture and other abuses following last month’s disputed election result.
One of the many victims has been speaking to Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen in the capital, Minsk.
Belarus police detain dozens of protesters in Minsk
(Reuters) – Belarusian police detained dozens of protesters in central Minsk on Saturday, a witness said, as hundreds of people marched through the city demanding that President Alexander Lukashenko step down more than a month after he won a disputed election.
Protesters, most of them women, briefly scuffled with police who then blocked their path and started picking people one by one out of the crowd, the witness said.
UN’s sustainable development goals ‘way off track’ after 5 years
Next week marks five years since UN member states committed to a set of targets meant to improve the lives of people worldwide.
Next week marks five years since United Nations member states committed to a set of targets meant to improve the lives of people around the world.
But the plan to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030 is way off track.
And the coronavirus pandemic has not helped.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays explains.
Facebook is still struggling with election manipulation
Many people turn to Facebook for news, with almost 70% of adults in the United States using the platform in 2019, according to Pew Research Center. This large userbase means Facebook has a large effect on our society and our democracy. That was made evident in the 2016 presidential election.
Since 2017, Facebook has removed over 100networks that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior, like the fake Russian news organization Peace Data. Facebooksays it now works with 70 different third-party fact-checking partners and has greatly increased its ad transparency.
But the threats of 2020 will be much different than 2016. Watch CNBC's exploration of what Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are doing to protect the 2020 election, and whether those efforts will be enough.
China issues new regulations on foreign companies amid TikTok row
China issued a swift retaliation in response to a looming ban on US downloads of the Chinese owned apps TikTok and WeChat.
On Saturday the country’s Ministry of Commerce announced regulations for its “unreliable entity” list, which target foreign companies they say compromise their national security.
Any company that gets added to the list can face a raft of hurdles and restrictions in the country including fines and restrictions on employees.
The news came just one day after the US Commerce Department issued an order saying they would bar Google and Apple from carrying TikTok and WeChat in the US.
The move will not affect existing customers of either platform but will prevent them from receiving updates. A fire-sale deal to allow Microsoft to assume control of US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand operations fell through last week.
TikTok parent company ByteDance filed an 11th-hour motion in a federal court in Washington to attempt to stay the looming ban.
China has also protested vigorously against the US move, accusing the country of bullying behavior.
China’s Commerce Ministry previously warned they would “take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
TikTok is wildly popular in the United States with roughly 100 million active users. This has raised concerns among intelligence officials and the Trump administration over the potential of user data falling into the hands of the Chinese government.
With Post wires
