Singapore passes law to tackle 'foreign interference,' giving authorities the power to block internet content
CNN
Singapore's Parliament has approved a law giving broad powers to the government to deal with foreign interference -- sparking concern from the opposition and experts about its wide scope and limits on judicial review.
The small and open city-state, which says it is vulnerable to foreign meddling, targeted fake news with a far-reaching law in 2019.
The bill, formally known as the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act (FICA), was passed late Monday local time with 75 members voting in favor, 11 opposition members objecting and two abstaining, local media reported.
France condemned the brief detention of two consulate members after it said Israeli police forced their way into a French-owned holy site in Jerusalem, in what is the latest diplomatic spat in a series of events that have sent relations between the two plummeting.
An Israeli airstrike on a multi-story building in northern Gaza killed at least 27 people, relief officials said, as the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in the area – where it is mounting a major offensive.
If his first term in the White House is any indication, President-elect Donald Trump is likely to keep the Middle East high on his agenda.
Rights groups say journalist Reza Valizadeh has been detained, amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
A female student stripped to her underwear outside her university in Iran in what some student and rights groups say was a protest against the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
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