ֱ

Lebanon complains to UN over latest deadly Israel strike on journalists

Lebanon complains to UN over latest deadly Israel strike on journalists
Media workers carrying posters bearing the pictures of Lebanese journalists, take part in a sit in, a day after they were killed in an Israeli strike in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, in Sidon on October 26, 2024. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 28 October 2024

Lebanon complains to UN over latest deadly Israel strike on journalists

Lebanon complains to UN over latest deadly Israel strike on journalists
  • Lebanon submitted “a complaint to the Security Council regarding the latest Israeli attacks that targeted journalists and media facilities in Hasbaya in south Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon said Monday it had submitted a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over an Israeli strike last week that killed three journalists in the country’s south.
The strike early Friday hit a complex in the Druze-majority town of Hasbaya in south Lebanon where more than a dozen journalists from Lebanese and Arab media outlets were sleeping.
The Israeli army said Friday that the strike was “under review,” maintaining it had targeted Hezbollah militants.
Lebanon submitted “a complaint to the Security Council regarding the latest Israeli attacks that targeted journalists and media facilities in Hasbaya in south Lebanon, and the Ouzai area” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a statement from the foreign ministry said on social media platform X.
“The repeated Israeli targeting of media crews is a war crime” and Israel must be “held to account and punished,” the statement added.
Cameraman Ghassan Najjar and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda from pro-Iran, Beirut-based broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, and video journalist Wissam Qassem from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television, were killed in the strike on the complex in Hasbaya, relatively far from the Israel-Hezbollah war’s main flashpoints.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack was deliberate and both he and Information Minister Ziad Makary labelled it a war crime.
Days earlier, Al-Mayadeen said an Israeli strike hit an office the broadcaster had vacated near Ouzai in south Beirut.
Israel launched an intense air campaign in Lebanon last month and later launched ground incursions following a year of cross-border clashes with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group over the Gaza war.
In October last year, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed by Israeli shellfire while he was covering southern Lebanon, and six other journalists were wounded, including AFP’s Dylan Collins and Christina Assi, who had to have her right leg amputated.
Last November, Israeli bombardment killed Al-Mayadeen correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari, the channel said.
Lebanese rights groups said five more journalists and photographers working for local media had been killed in Israeli strikes on the country’s south and Beirut’s southern suburbs.


WhatsApp ‘concerned’ services to be blocked after Iran calls on citizens to delete app

WhatsApp ‘concerned’ services to be blocked after Iran calls on citizens to delete app
Updated 18 June 2025

WhatsApp ‘concerned’ services to be blocked after Iran calls on citizens to delete app

WhatsApp ‘concerned’ services to be blocked after Iran calls on citizens to delete app
  • Iran state broadcaster urged the public on Tuesday to delete the messaging app from their devices, saying it was sharing data with arch-rival Israel
  • WhatsApp said it does not “provide bulk information to any government”

WASHINGTON: WhatsApp said it was “concerned” that its services would be blocked in Iran after a state broadcaster urged the public to delete the messaging app, saying it was sharing data with arch-rival Israel.
State television IRIB appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, alleging that the app collected users’ personal data and “last known locations and communications,” and shared them with Israel.
On Wednesday, Israel and Iran exchanged fire for the sixth straight day, with Israel saying it struck a nuclear site near Tehran.
A WhatsApp spokesperson dismissed the IRIB claims, saying all messages sent on the app were “end-to-end encrypted,” with only the sender and recipient able to access them.
“We’re concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most,” the spokesperson told AFP.
“We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,” they said.
WhatsApp also does not “provide bulk information to any government.”
Israel launched a massive bombing campaign against Iran on Friday that has hit nuclear and military facilities, as well as residential areas.
Iran has responded by launching missiles and drones, and early Wednesday said it had fired hypersonic missiles at Israel.
Tehran announced Friday that it was placing temporary restrictions on the Internet for the duration of the conflict.
Numerous sites and apps have since been at least partially inaccessible.
The authorities appealed to the public on Tuesday to “minimize their use of equipment connected to the Internet and to take appropriate precautions” online.
For their own safety, civil servants and their security teams have been banned from using any connected devices, including smartphones, watches and laptops during the Israeli air offensive.
In the wake of nationwide protests triggered by the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, Iranian authorities had blocked several apps and online services, including WhatsApp.


All new Facebook videos to be classified as Reels soon, Meta says

All new Facebook videos to be classified as Reels soon, Meta says
Updated 18 June 2025

All new Facebook videos to be classified as Reels soon, Meta says

All new Facebook videos to be classified as Reels soon, Meta says
  • Social media giant said change would simplify how users publish visual content

LONDON: All new videos uploaded on Facebook will soon be classified as Reels, simplifying how users publish visual content, social media giant Meta Platforms said on Tuesday.
The Instagram parent said Reels on Facebook will no longer have length or format restrictions, and include all types of video content — short, long and live.
Previously uploaded video content will remain as such on the platform while videos posted after the change will be classified as Reels. The company will also rename the Video tab as Reels tab.
As part of the update, users will be prompted to confirm their audience setting or select a new one if their feed posts and Reels currently have different settings. The update will also give users access to more creative tools.
Meta said it will gradually roll out these changes globally to profiles and pages over the coming months.


Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says

Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says
Updated 18 June 2025

Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says

Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says
  • Trump said in May he would extend the June 19 deadline after the app helped him with young voters in the 2024 election

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will extend a June 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of short video app TikTok for 90 days despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown absent significant progress, the White House said on Tuesday.

Trump had already twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban on TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January. “President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.

That would extend the deadline to mid-September.

“President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” she added, saying the administration will spend the next three months making sure the sale closes so that Americans can keep using TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.

Trump said in May he would extend the June 19 deadline after the app helped him with young voters in the 2024 election.

Earlier on Tuesday, he had told reporters on Air Force One he expected to again extend the deadline.

“Probably, yeah,” Trump said when asked about extending the deadline. “Probably have to get China approval but I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

The law required TikTok to stop operating by January 19 unless ByteDance had completed divesting the app’s US assets or demonstrated significant progress toward a sale.

Trump began his second term as president on January 20 and opted not to enforce it. He first extended the deadline to early April, and then again last month to June 19.

In March, Trump said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the short video app used by 170 million Americans.

A deal had been in the works this spring that would spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new US-based firm and majority-owned and operated by US investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump’s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.

Democratic senators argue that Trump has no legal authority to extend the deadline, and suggest that the deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements.


Iran celebrates state TV presenter after Israeli attack

Iran celebrates state TV presenter after Israeli attack
Updated 18 June 2025

Iran celebrates state TV presenter after Israeli attack

Iran celebrates state TV presenter after Israeli attack
  • “This dust you see in the studio...” she began, her finger raised, before being interrupted by the sound of yet another blast

TEHRAN: Facing the camera with a defiant gaze, her index finger raised in the air, Iranian TV presenter Sahar Emami became an icon in her country after an Israeli attack on the state broadcaster.
“What you can see is the flagrant aggression of the Zionist regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian broadcaster,” she said on air Monday as several explosions were heard in the background.
“What you just heard was the sound of an aggressor against the motherland, the sound of an aggressor against truth,” added Emami, who is known for her impactful interviews with government officials.
“This dust you see in the studio...” she began, her finger raised, before being interrupted by the sound of yet another blast.
The journalist, clad in a black chador, rushed out of her seat and disappeared from view.
The destruction in the studio, which quickly filled with smoke and dust, was broadcast live before the transmission was cut.
Emami, who Iranian media say is in her 40s, is a familiar face to viewers in the Islamic republic after some 15 years on air with state television.
She resumed the broadcast just a few minutes after the attack, as if nothing unusual had happened.
The broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital Tehran with its recognizable glass exterior was badly damaged in the fire that broke out as a result of the Israeli attack.
Official media shared images of charred offices and studios no longer usable.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday denounced Israel’s “cowardice” in striking the state television building, in an attack that the broadcaster said killed three people.
“The attack against the Iranian broadcaster demonstrates the Israelis’ desperation,” Araghchi said.
Conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan said on its front page on Tuesday: “Female journalist’s resistance until the last moment sends a clear message.”
Ultraconservative publication Kayhan said: “The courage of the lioness presenter surprised friends and foes.”
The government put up a banner in Tehran’s central Vali-Asr Square honoring Emami, showing her image paired with a verse from the Persian poet Ferdowsi that celebrated the courage of women “on the battlefield.”
The state broadcaster has aired the clip of Emami during Monday’s attacks multiple times since then, celebrating its presenter.
State TV meanwhile mocked a reporter for the London-based Iran International TV, which is critical of the Iranian government.
In footage from a live broadcast, the reporter in Israel is seen rushing to a bomb shelter after warnings of incoming missiles from Iran.
 

 


Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices
Updated 18 June 2025

Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices
  • Iran has blocked access to various social media platforms over the years but many people in the country use proxies and virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access them

Iranian state television on Tuesday afternoon urged the country’s public to remove the messaging platform WhatsApp from their smartphones, alleging the app — without offering specific evidence — gathered user information to send to Israel.
In a statement, WhatsApp said it was “concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.” WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, meaning a service provider in the middle can’t read a message.
“We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,” it added. “We do not provide bulk information to any government.”
End-to-end encryption means that messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If anyone else intercepts the message, all they will see is a garble that can’t be unscrambled without the key.
Gregory Falco, an assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University and cybersecurity expert, said it’s been demonstrated that it’s possible to understand metadata about WhatsApp that does not get encrypted.
“So you can understand things about how people are using the app and that’s been a consistent issue where people have not been interested in engaging with WhatsApp for that (reason),” he said.
Another issue is data sovereignty, Falco added, where data centers hosting WhatsApp data from a certain country are not necessarily located in that country. It’s more than feasible, for instance, that WhatsApp’s data from Iran is not hosted in Iran.
“Countries need to house their data in-country and process the data in-country with their own algorithms. Because it’s really hard increasingly to trust the global network of data infrastructure,” he said.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Iran has blocked access to various social media platforms over the years but many people in the country use proxies and virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access them. It banned WhatsApp and Google Play in 2022 during mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country’s morality police. That ban was lifted late last year.
WhatsApp had been one of Iran’s most popular messaging apps besides Instagram and Telegram.