Headline

EU Law To Identify Online S*xual Abuse Of Children Under Fire

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2023

Editor

Parliamentarians from European countries have voiced their concerns over the European Commission’s plans for a so-called “chat control’’ law.

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson presented the proposed Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child S*xual Abuse in May 2022.

It is designed to curb the spread of material showing the s*xual abuse of children.

The law would make it compulsory for social media platforms to scan private encrypted chats on social media platforms for certain identifiers.

This might flag child grooming or the sharing of child s*xual abuse material (CSAM) and to report any suspicious activity.

Under current law, this monitoring of online activity is voluntary.

Critics call this chat control.

They saw it as an attempt to scan all communication on the net, including encrypted messages, and they fear mass surveillance.

The 30 signatories to the document criticising the proposed law stated that although combatting s*xualised violence against children is a high priority for them.

They believed the proposal formulated by the commission would lead to serious breaches of privacy.

They argued the law would oblige providers to introduce software to check the content of communications, undermine end-to-end encryption and result in the scanning of personal cloud storage.

On the website of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe a much larger body that was not part of the EU but which counted EU states among its members.

Every member has the opportunity to sign a petition posted there, based on an initiative by Konstantin Kuhle, deputy leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) parliamentary group in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag.

Members of the Council of Europe from Austria, Slovenia, Denmark, Ukraine, France and Switzerland were among the signatories of the document criticising the proposed chat control law.

From Germany, as well as FDP politicians, Green Party members of parliament Julian Pahlke and Max Lucks, and Norbert Kleinwächter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are among the signatories.

In April, the German government raised significant concerns about the European Commission’s proposal.

A statement put out by the Ministries of Family Affairs, Justice, the Interior, Family and Digital Affairs at the time said.

“In the German government’s view, significant changes are needed in the draft regulation to make it acceptable from the German point of view.’’

The EU countries and the European Parliament have not yet voted on their position on the proposed law.

Interior ministers, however, had recently shown themselves to be open to it.

Headline

Peru Anti-government Protesters Clash With Police

Published

17 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with police in the Peruvian capital Lima on Saturday, throwing stones and sticks as officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators, AFP journalists reported.

The protest, organized by a youth collective called “Generation Z”, is part of growing social unrest in Peru against organized crime, corruption in public office, and a recent pension reform.

“Today, there is less democracy than before. It’s getting worse… because of fear, because of extortion,” said 54-year-old protester Gladys, who declined to give her last name.

Around 500 people gathered in the city center, under heavy police presence.

“Congress has no credibility, it doesn’t even have the approval of the people… It is wreaking havoc in this country,” said protester Celene Amasifuen.

The clashes broke out as demonstrators tried to approach executive and congressional buildings in Lima.

The radio station Exitosa said that its reporter and a cameraman were hit by pellets, commonly fired by law enforcement.

Police said at least three officers were wounded.

Approval ratings for President Dina Boluarte, whose term ends next year, have plummeted amid rising extortion and organized crime cases.

Several opinion polls show the government and conservative-majority Congress are seen by many as corrupt institutions.

This week, the legislature passed a law requiring young adults to join a private pension fund, despite many facing a precarious working environment.

AFP

Headline

Fresh World Trouble Looms As Netanyahu Tells Western Leaders ‘There Will Be No Palestinian State’

Published

17 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said there would be no Palestinian state, in a message addressed to the leaders of Britain, Australia and Canada after they recognised Palestinian statehood.

“I have a clear message for those leaders who recognise a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7: you are granting a huge reward to terror,” he said.

“And I have another message for you: it will not happen. No Palestinian state will be established west of the Jordan River.”

Britain, Australia and Canada on Sunday became the first tripartite Western nations to recognise a Palestinian state.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a message on X.

“Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.

This comes after decades of requests for sovereignty from the Palestinian side.

Portugal was also to recognise Palestinian statehood later Sunday, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the war in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Headline

Badenoch Slams UK’s Palestine Recognition Decision As ‘Absolutely Disastrous’

Published

18 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine.

PUNCH Online reports that Britain, alongside Australia and Canada, on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

However, the decision triggered swift Israeli anger and condemnation from the opposition.

Reacting in a statement on her X on Sunday, Badenoch described the move as “absolutely disastrous.”

She argued the move rewards terrorism with no conditions, and the decision would be widely regretted.

She said, “Absolutely disastrous. We will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.

“It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.”

The Winchester opposition leader accused Labour of pandering to its “hard left” rather than fixing Britain’s pressing domestic problems.

“It is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.”

Listing examples of Labour’s failings, she said, “They cannot fix the NHS, so they push assisted suicide. – They cannot create jobs for young people, so they give them votes at 16.

“They cannot sort out immigration, but they will recognise Palestine instead. And so on. This is the same man who paid £35bn of reparations to Mauritius along with the surrender of the Chagos islands.”

Badenoch also criticised what she described as the prime minister’s lack of judgment.

“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgment.

“He will spend the next four years delivering the hobbyhorses of the Labour left to stay in power and leave a HUGE mess for us to clean up.”

Earlier, Starmer announced the recognition of Palestine in a post on X, saying the move was intended to provide a two-state solution.

He said, “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine.”