Category Archives: Media

‘I was being polite’: prominent athlete continued texting Alan Jones after alleged assaults due to his reputation, trial hears

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Witness tells court he sent Jones friendly messages after two alleged assaults because he had been generous to him

A prominent athlete who has accused Alan Jones of twice kissing him without consent has told a Sydney court he continued to text the broadcaster after the alleged assaults because Jones was powerful and had been generous to him.

The witness, who is appearing for a second day in the seventh week of a lengthy trial, agreed he had sent Jones friendly messages after the two alleged assaults.

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US airman recounts Iran rescue in 60 Minutes segment branded propaganda

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Critics say segment about airman’s rescue was made to boost public perception of Trump’s unpopular war

A US airman has spoken of climbing a 7,000ft ridge with a broken back, arm and shoulder after he was shot down in Iran – and of being rescued by a team of American special forces as hostile locals closed in on him.

The air force colonel, identified only by his codename Bravo, appeared on camera Sunday night on CBS’s 60 Minutes in a segment some critics have labelled Pentagon propaganda to boost public perception of Donald Trump’s unpopular war.

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Malta warned of corruption crisis after ‘utter disbelief’ over Daphne Caruana Galizia verdict

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Labour peer tells Council of Europe inquiry failure to implement legal protections still putting journalists at risk

Malta is vulnerable to “repeated instances of high-level corruption” unless it strengthens the rule of law and protections for journalists, the Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said at the opening of an inquiry into judicial failures following the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Chakrabarti, a member of the House of Lords and former director of the human rights group Liberty, has been named special rapporteur for a Council of Europe investigation into the fallout from the assassination of the anti-corruption journalist, who died in a car bombing in October 2017.

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Sabotage, leaks and political ties: the story of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder trial

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A Maltese businessman has been cleared of involvement in the journalist’s death, but his trial revealed the challenges faced by those leading the search for her killers

The conclusion of the longest-running murder trial in Maltese history has left a country in turmoil, and a grieving family still searching for answers.

At 7.30pm on Wednesday, gasps and cheers echoed around hall 22 of the courts of justice in Valletta, as a jury pronounced a businessman accused of ordering the murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia not guilty.

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John Lewis to launch YouTube chatshow to improve AI search results

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Department store chain’s Gift List ‘vodcast’ will be hosted by TV presenter Angela Scanlon

John Lewis is launching an online chatshow and social media studio to help make itself and its products more visible to chatbots and more prominent in AI search results.

The department store chain’s Gift List “vodcast” hosted by the TV presenter Angela Scanlon will air on YouTube with clips disseminated via other social media channels and comes after the success of its sister chain Waitrose’s Dish podcast.

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Maltese tycoon found not guilty of involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

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Yorgen Fenech cleared on both charges he faced over 2017 killing of journalist that prompted global outrage

One of Malta’s richest men has been found not guilty of involvement in the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The verdict, which is expected to be appealed against by the prosecution, came as a blow not only to the victim’s family, but to the politicians and campaigners who regard the case as a landmark action in the fight to protect press freedom in Europe.

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‘GB News wouldn’t touch him’: Milo Yiannopoulos will struggle to fit in with UK right wing

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‘Alt-right’ agitator and former Trump backer deported from US is said also to be too extreme for Reform

As he arrives back in the UK after being deported from the US by the Trump administration, the far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos may be wondering what lies ahead for him in his native country.

The “alt-right” agitator, 41, made his name in the US by promoting Donald Trump and associating with his allies before the 2016 election.

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Palestinian woman and NBC News team reportedly attacked in West Bank

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Matt Bradley and crew assaulted while interviewing woman who said settlers had driven family out of home

A Palestinian woman and an NBC News team are reported to have been attacked and injured by masked Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, amid worsening confrontations in the area.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he condemned the violence committed “by a handful of rioters”.

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Iran seeks to criminalise all contact with foreign media in ‘chilling’ crackdown

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As photojournalist sentenced to 15 years, rights groups warn law would turn civic engagement into security crime

Iran has taken the first step towards criminalising contact with foreign media, in a move human rights groups have said attempts to “sever the entire Iranian society from the rest of the world”.

For journalists, researchers and even ordinary citizens, the proposed law being discussed by Iranian lawmakers this month could make speaking to international audiences and groups a potential criminal act and restrict coverage of events such as January’s mass anti-regime protests.

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Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon price rises in western Europe ‘highest in world’

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World’s largest streaming services have also increased subscription costs repeatedly in US, research finds

Subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe have faced higher price increases than in any other market in recent years, according to research.

Over the past four years the world’s largest subscription video streaming services have dramatically changed their business models introducing lower-priced, basic advertising tiers to attract new subscribers, while also increasingly monetising users willing to pay more for a premium experience.

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‘Biased’ Channel 4 programme on ADHD misrepresented my views, says expert

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Prof Katya Rubia withdraws support for The Great ADHD Myth? as other leading figures voice criticisms

A contributor to a controversial Channel 4 documentary on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has withdrawn her support for the programme, saying it was biased and could lead to an increased suicide risk by encouraging parents to take their children off medication.

Katya Rubia, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, also said The Great ADHD Myth? misrepresented her views.

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BBC’s Trevor Nelson recovering after brain tumour surgery

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Radio 2 DJ, who stepped back from work commitments in June, says operation went ‘incredibly well’

Trevor Nelson, the BBC Radio 2 DJ, has revealed he had surgery after being diagnosed with a brain tumour and is now on the mend.

The broadcaster, 62, said in June that he was taking a break from work commitments to deal with health issues.

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French court blocks Macron’s social media ban for under-15s

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Constitutional council says curbs infringe freedom of expression and privacy as president vows to rework legislation

France’s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy.

The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children’s use of social media.

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Top Forbes editor reportedly fired after receiving $6m from business associate

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Randall Lane left his job last month after accepting money from founder of firm that does business with magazine

The top editor of Forbes left his job last month and was reportedly dismissed for accepting $6m from the founder of a firm that does business with the magazine.

The New York Times reported this week that Randall Lane was paid by RJ Shook, whose company, Shook Research, worked with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of wealth advisers. The payment was made after Shook sold a majority stake in the company to a private equity firm a year ago.

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Alan Jones’ lawyers accused by defence of ‘intimidating’ witness in indecent assault case

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Judge rejects intimidation claim as high profile trial continues with complainant J’s ex-girlfriend cross-examined by shock jock’s defence team

The prosecutor in the Alan Jones trial has accused the defence team in court of “intimidating” an alleged victim’s former girlfriend after she asserted she wasn’t financially motivated to provide evidence supporting her ex’s allegations.

On Thursday, complainant J’s ex-girlfriend was cross-examined by Jones’s defence team, during which she maintained she had a conversation with J more than 20 years ago in which he alleged Jones touched him.

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Alan Jones trial: complainant wants to ‘humiliate’ broadcaster by revealing intimate details of alleged assaults, defence tells court

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Barrister alleges ‘account of penis wiggling is an attempt to humiliate’ broadcaster who has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching

Alan Jones’s defence barrister has told a Sydney court one of the broadcaster’s alleged victims invented details of alleged indecent assaults at a Fitzroy Falls farm to “humiliate” and “smear” the former media titan.

Complainant J told the court during evidence-in-chief earlier this week that during one alleged incident in the property’s bedroom, Jones’s penis was not fully erect and “not very big”.

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Israeli strike that killed journalist in Lebanon was war crime, say rights groups

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Investigation by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Legal Agenda shows Israel deliberately attacked Amal Khalil and colleague Zeinab Faraj knowing they were civilians

An Israeli strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her colleague Zeinab Faraj in April was a war crime, three rights organisations said on Thursday.

Investigations from Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and Legal Agenda showed that Israel deliberately and directly attacked Khalil and Faraj, with apparent knowledge that they were civilians. The organisations called for the attacks to be investigated as war crimes, while HRW called for states to halt arm sales to Israel and put targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for ongoing crimes.

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Israeli strike that killed journalist in Lebanon was war crime, say rights groups

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Investigation by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Legal Agenda shows Israel deliberately attacked Amal Khalil and colleague Zeinab Faraj knowing they were civilians

An Israeli strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her colleague Zeinab Faraj in April was a war crime, three rights organisations said on Thursday.

Investigations from Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and Legal Agenda showed that Israel deliberately and directly attacked Khalil and Faraj, with apparent knowledge that they were civilians. The organisations called for the attacks to be investigated as war crimes, while HRW called for states to halt arm sales to Israel and put targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for ongoing crimes.

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Pakistani authorities ban international media from reporting in most of country

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Rules brought in soon after killing of dozens of protesters, news of which was reported only by overseas outlets

Pakistani authorities have imposed severe new restrictions on international media, including barring them from reporting in most of the country, in a move that has provoked a significant backlash from journalist organisations.

According to the new rules anyone, including Pakistani nationals, should seek permission first if they want to report from anywhere Pakistan except three cities – Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

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Pakistani authorities ban international media from reporting in most of country

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Rules brought in soon after killing of dozens of protesters, news of which was reported only by overseas outlets

Pakistani authorities have imposed severe new restrictions on international media, including barring them from reporting in most of the country, in a move that has provoked a significant backlash from journalist organisations.

According to the new rules anyone, including Pakistani nationals, should seek permission first if they want to report from anywhere Pakistan except three cities – Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

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