Greece cracks down on aid workers ‘smuggling migrants’, and journalists in Bosnia protest after attack on reporter.
Trump complains about Google’s ‘bias’ for mainstream media
US President Donald Trump Tuesday accused search giant Google of being biased against his administration, alleging news results were dominated by reports from mainstream media outlets, which have largely been critical of his presidency. The President said Google presented “bad” or “fake” stories whenever users searched for “Trump news” on the internet, CNN reported.
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
Suggesting that Google’s actions could be “illegal”, Trump said the situation would be addressed. However, he did not specify the kind of action likely to be taken.
Later in the day, Trump reiterated his claims. “Trump, without evidence, accused Google of ‘taking advantage of a lot of people’. Grouping Google in with Facebook and Twitter, the President said the tech companies are ‘treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful’,” the CNN report added.
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
Trump’s reference was a story published recently by conservative outlet PJ Media, which claimed Google was “deprioritising” content from conservative websites. The story was picked up by other bigger media houses.
“Search is not used to set a political agenda and we don’t bias our results toward any political ideology,” a Google spokesperson told CNN.
China does not intend to exert pressure, says Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday defended the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, stating that it was not a move to create a ‘China club’, the South China Morning Post reported. The massive infrastructure initiative was instead meant to “have a balance of trade with member nations”, he added.
Speaking at a seminar in Beijing, Xi remarked, “The Belt and Road Initiative is an economic cooperation initiative, not a geopolitical or military alliance… It is an open and inclusive process, and not about creating exclusive circles or a China club.”
According to analysts, Jinping’s remarks could be an indication of Beijing adjusting its tone over rising concerns regarding China’s global ambitions and “debt trap diplomacy”.
The comments come soon after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called off a major China-backed railway project in the island nation last week and warned of a “new colonialism”.
Pakistan’s newly elected government is also expected to have consequences in the form of a “pullback” by Islamabad from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship multi billion-dollar project under BRI, the report added.
The Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a network of roads and sea routes through Asia, Africa and Europe, connecting 71 countries that account for half the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP.
Journalists demand justice after attack on Bosnian reporter
Journalists in Bosnia are demanding justice for a colleague allegedly beaten up by unknown attackers after covering “politically sensitive protests”, Al Jazeera reported.
Vladimir Kovacevic of TV network BN posted a photo on Twitter Sunday after the alleged attack. He wrote, “Twenty minutes ago while I was coming back from work, two young men jumped out and beat me with rods.”
Prije 20 minuta su me dok sam se vraćao sa posla dva momka zaskočila i namlatila šipkama na razvlačenje. pic.twitter.com/qEllwPvAvn
— Vladimir Kovacevic (@corbapas) August 26, 2018
The incident led hundreds of journalists and activists to stage a protest in downtown Banja Luka Monday to demand justice for Kovacevic.
“Reporters in Bosnia are routinely subjected to verbal attacks, threats, and libel lawsuits in a country with a deeply polarised political climate,” the Al Jazeera report added.
The United States and European Union have condemned the assault.
Greek aid workers held for ‘smuggling people’ deeper into Europe
Two aid workers have been arrested in Greece over suspicions of migrant smuggling, spying and money laundering, Reuters reported. A total of 30 people from the same non-government organisation are being investigated by Greek authorities in Lesbos islands, close to the Turkish border, for allegedly running a smuggling ring
Police said in a statement that the suspects — 24 foreign nationals and six Greeks—had been active on the island since at least late 2015.
Lesbos was the preferred entry point into the European Union in 2015 for nearly a million Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis. Back then, dozens of aid groups operated on Lesbos, and several engaged in illegal activities, Reuters added.
Authorities at the island launched investigation after two foreigners were spotted in February driving a car with a fake, military-type licence plates fixed on top of the legal ones.
In May this year, a Greek court had acquitted three Spanish and two Danish volunteers, accused of people smuggling.
Everyone guilty in Yemen crisis, says UN
The United Nations suspects all parties involved in the Yemen civil war of carrying out “grave war crimes”, Al Jazeera reported.
According to a UN report, Saudi- and UAE-led airstrikes have “caused the most direct civilian casualties in the war”, with the blockade of Yemini ports and airspace constituting a violation of humanitarian law violation.
A team of UN-mandated investigators said in the report that it had “reasonable grounds to believe that the parties to the armed conflict in Yemen have committed a substantial number of violations of international humanitarian law”.
The experts also accused the Houthi rebels, against whom the forces have been at war since March 2015, of indiscriminate shelling in civilian areas and snipers targeting non-combatants.
The situation in Yemen has been described as the “worst humanitarian crisis” by the UN.
Asia Pacific’s love for travel will spawn thousands of pilot jobs
Driven by increased wealth and love for travel, Asia Pacific will require 240,000 pilots over the next two decades, suggest projections from jetliner Boeing, the BBC reported.
The region will also require 317,000 cabin crew personnel by 2037, the report added.
According to estimates, the demand for pilots will be highest in China, which is expected to require at least 128,500 pilots, followed by southeast Asia at 48,500 and south Asia at 42,750.
“The projections place pressure on an industry that is already struggling with a pilot shortage and training bottlenecks. Older pilots are set to retire over the next decade and there is increasing demand for business aviation services, such as helicopter tourism and private luxury jets,” the report added.
Compiled by Sankalita Dey, Soniya Agrawal and Anagha Deshpande, journalists at ThePrint.