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LONDON (Reuters) - Russia's parliament on Tuesday passed a bill giving prosecutors powers to shut foreign media bureaus in Moscow if a Western country has been "unfriendly" to Russian media, following the closure of some Russian state news outlets in the West. The bill, passed in the first reading by the lower house of parliament, or Duma, also prohibits the distribution of articles or other materials from media that have been closed by the prosecutor's office. It needs to undergo two more readings, be reviewed by the upper house of parliament, and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. The journalists of a media organisation deemed to be an offender under the bill would have their foreign ministry accreditation withdrawn - meaning they could not work in Russia. The new bill adds to the challenges facing foreign media after Russia in March adopted a law which penalized what it termed spreading "fake" news about its army. "In the current geopolitical situation, … [Read more...] about Russian parliament passes bill allowing Moscow to close Western news bureaus

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Close to 1,000 Americans from across the spectrum of politics, business, journalism, entertainment, faith and advocacy have been permanently banned from entering Russia , a largely symbolic move that has generated a lot of buzz about those included, and excluded. The 963 citizens, including president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris—and her husband, Doug Emhoff —were named by Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Saturday to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “blacklist,” or what one translation called a “stop list.” It’s all in response to the United States’ historic sanctions and its humanitarian and military support of Ukraine, nearly three months into Moscow’s invasion. “In the context of response to the constantly imposed anti-Russian sanctions by the United States and in connection with incoming requests about the personal composition of our national ‘stop list,’ the Russian Foreign Ministry … [Read more...] about Who’s On Vladimir Putin’s ‘Blacklist’? Not Donald Trump Or Fox News

Representatives of various NGOs have gathered at the UN headquarters in Bangkok to oppose a draft law that would give the Thai government more control over public gatherings and be able to monitor the financial transactions of NGOs. The NGOs say the law will be used as a weapon against freedom of expression. According to the Bangkok Post, the group has already submitted a letter to the Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, and the Ministry of Social Development and Social Security. In the letter, they call for the draft law to be abolished. According to เลิศศักดิ์ คำคงศักดิ์ from the People’s Movement against the Draft Laws that Undermine Freedom of Association, the group is prepared to take the matter further, if necessary. He says “The government should not consider the bill that’s expected to be delivered to Cabinet this week.” The group has also petitioned the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, which is the Secretariat of the UN for the Asian and Pacific … [Read more...] about Thailand News Today | Thailand to develop and launch monkeypox Test

KOTA BHARU: The plight of Ku Hamzah Ku Lah and his family, who live in an old dilapidated house in Kampung Senang near Sering here has been eased thanks to a personal donation from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Pengkalan Chepa Umno division chief, Datuk Zaluzi Sulaiman delivered the welcome news to the family and informed them that the prime minister would build a new house for the family as soon as possible. "I represented the prime minister and visited the family on his instructions because he is currently on an official working visit to Japan. "The prime minister wishes that the family’s new house will be built as soon as possible on the site of the original home. "We hope that the family will no longer be in an uncomfortable situation due to the poor condition of their home," he told reporters after visiting the family on Tueday (May 24). The family’s plight caught the attention of the prime minister after a video made by a blogger from Kelantan when he … [Read more...] about PM personally donates a house to needy family in Kelantan

Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson hit back at former Fox News reporter Carl Cameron Monday after suggesting the host should be in jail. Cameron told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Saturday that Carlson has “shouted fire in a crowed movie house,” leading a person to jail or “something worse.” The network’s former chief political correspondent praised President Joe Biden’s administration for beginning to “make a move” against speech reportedly causing “damage” and “violent hate.” “The administration is beginning to make a move on that, says the journalist. Maybe wind up in jail or maybe something worse,” Carlson began. “Well, what’s something worse? We’re not sure what something worse is. But it certainly feels like we’re moving toward it at very high speech at this point. That’s the end point to talk like that, something worse. Because rhetoric has its own internal logic, you’ve experienced it, you can talk yourself into things. We’ve all done that.” “Democrats are … [Read more...] about ‘This Is Going To Get Really Ugly’: Tucker Carlson Hits Back At Former Fox News Reporter Saying He Should Be ‘In Jail’

Malaysia: * Over 100 marijuana trees found growing at former diplomat's house * Agriculture Ministry to speed up chicken breeder subsidy payments * Inflation low and under control due to subsidies, price controls: Mustapa * Malaysia among economies to win big from high commodity prices - Moody's Analytics * MACC investigation into 1MDB to go on, says Azam Baki * Malaysia, Japan to finalise MOC on sending skilled workers to Japan, says Saravanan * Dengue remains a threat, monkeypox is no cause for alarm yet, says MMA * HFMD case surge expected due to Hari Raya, says Health DG * Malaysians can bring back vehicles stranded in Thailand for free from June 1-30 * School principal acquitted of sexually assaulting male students * Sabah sea curfew extended to June 9 * Covid-19: Over 22.9 million adults in Malaysia fully vaccinated * Search continues for three missing tugboat crewmen in Sabah waters Singapore: * Singapore to up chicken supply from other sources … [Read more...] about Asean News Headlines as at 9pm on Tuesday (May 24)

(Reuters) -Russia has not yet seen an Italian peace plan for Ukraine, but hopes to receive it through diplomatic channels, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio gave the broad outlines of the plan last week and said that he had discussed it with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres during a visit to New York. "We haven't seen it yet, we hope it will be delivered to us through diplomatic channels and we will familiarise ourselves with it," Peskov said. The plan would involve international groups such as the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe which would act as facilitators to organise localised ceasefires initially, Di Maio told a news conference in Italy last Friday. Di Maio said the plan has also been proposed to senior officials representing Group of Seven nations. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security … [Read more...] about Russia has not seen Italian peace plan for Ukraine

PETALING JAYA: The 194 countries that are member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) should disclose information on the intellectual property and manufacturing know-how of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, said Khairy Jamaluddin. The Health Minister said Malaysia supports sustainable financing and reforms towards an international "health architecture" that will avoid "moral failure" in responses towards the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Khairy said any amendments to the International Health Regulation (IHR) will have to take into account the principles of equity, accountability and transparency and the sovereign process of member states. ALSO READ: Khairy confirmed as one of five vice presidents of World Health Assembly "Yes, by all means, hold member states accountable by disclosing key information of public health concerns. "But, let us call for the disclosure of intellectual property and manufacturing know-how of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics," … [Read more...] about WHO member states should disclose key info on vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, says Khairy

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Government has channeled a financial allocation of RM20.5mil to imams, ‘bilal’ (announcer of calls to prayer), ‘siak’ (mosque caretaker), ‘takmir’ (religious knowledge) teachers and Al-Quran and Fardu Ain (KAFA) Class teachers in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan this year. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad said the group, known as the ‘murabbi ummah’ (nurturers of the ummah) also received a special one-off payment of RM500 which was channelled before Hari Raya Aidilfitri. "The government always appreciates the efforts of the murabbi ummah in disseminating Islamic knowledge and understanding to the community," he told the media after attending the 2022 Federal Territories Murabbi Ummah Conference here on Tuesday (May 24). Idris said the government's contribution of RM232.80 per person for the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) was … [Read more...] about Govt has distributed RM20.5mil to ‘murabbi ummah’ in Federal Territories, says Minister

JOHOR BARU: The number of road accidents recorded during Hari Raya Aidilfitri in Johor has dropped this year compared to 2019, says Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat. He said that the number of accidents during Ops Selamat 18, between April 29 and May 8, has dropped to 2,302 compared to 2,488 during Ops Selamat 15 in 2019. "We saw a drop of about 7.5% or 186 cases this year compared to during Hari Raya in 2019. Compared with the year 2019 as in the past two years, several travel restrictions were imposed during the festive season due to Covid-19. "The number of deaths due to road accidents have also dropped to 20 deaths, compared to 24 deaths during the same period two years ago," he said. He said this to reporters after attending the state police traffic investigation and enforcement Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house on Tuesday (May 24). Comm Kamarul said that however, there has been an increase in the number of accidents resulting in injuries this year … [Read more...] about Fewer road accidents during this Raya period in Johor compared to 2019, says state police chief