26-05-2021

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021
11
Florida governor signs law barring
social media 'censorship'
MIAMI : Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
signed a law Monday which bars social
media firms from "de-platforming" political
candidates, drawing immediate fire from
civil liberties activists and the tech industry,
reports BSS.
The law marked the latest salvo in a
political battle over social media content
moderation following a bitter 2020 US
election and the banning by major platforms
of then-president Donald Trump, who was
impeached for inciting the January 6 Capitol
rampage. The law would impose fines of
$250,000 a day if social media firms remove
an account of a statewide political candidate.
It also allows Floridians to sue technology
firms if they face "unfair" treatment.
DeSantis said the measure would prevent
large platforms like Facebook and Twitter
from limiting speech of politicians.
"Many in our state have experienced
censorship and other tyrannical behavior
firsthand in Cuba and Venezuela," he said.
"If Big Tech censors enforce rules
inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the
dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will
now be held accountable."
The governor added: "Any Floridian can
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block any candidate they don't want to hear
from, and that is a right that belongs to each
citizen - it's not for Big Tech companies to
decide."
But the bill was certain to face legal
challenges under the Constitution's First
Amendment free speech provisions, and
critics said it would have the unintended
effect of encouraging disinformation by
making it harder for platforms to set rules.
"The law is a First Amendment train
wreck," said Corbin Barthold, policy counsel
at the nonprofit group TechFreedom.
"When it comes to free speech, a website is
no different from a newspaper or a parade: it
has a fundamental right to decide what
speech it will allow, and what speech it won't,
on its platform.
"Florida is trying to force a few large
platforms to host speech they otherwise
wouldn't. This kind of blatant content- and
speaker-based discrimination is
unconstitutional."
Matt Schruers, president of the Computer
& Communications Industry Association,
which represents many tech firms, said the
law is likely to unleash a flood of litigation
and not achieve its stated goals.
1220 :23.05.21
1218 :23.5.21
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50 more test positive
for Covid-19 in
Rangpur division
RANGPUR : Fifty more
people were diagnosed with
coronavirus (Covid-19)
positive yesterday in
Rangpur division where the
infection rate is showing a
rising trend again during the
last one week.
"The 50 new cases were
reported after diagnosing
376 samples at the two
Covid-19 Laboratories at the
infection rate of 13.30
percent on Tuesday," Focal
Person of Covid-19 and
Assistant Director (Health)
for Rangpur division Dr. ZA
Siddiqui said.
Among the 50 new
patients diagnosed
yesterday, 30 were reported
positive after diagnosing 188
samples at the Covid-19
Laboratory at Rangpur
Medical College (RpMC) in
Rangpur city.
Malaysia probes metro crash
that injured over 200
KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysian authorities on Tuesday were
investigating a collision between metro trains in Kuala
Lumpur that injured more than 200 people, as dramatic
accounts emerged of the crash.
The accident happened in an underground tunnel close to
the landmark Petronas Twin Towers at around 8:45 pm
(1245 GMT) Monday, when a packed train collided with
another that was empty and heading in the opposite
direction on the same track.
Passengers were left battered and bruised after being
thrown across carriages during the crash, with many
evacuated on stretchers.
Most suffered minor injuries but 64 were taken to hospital,
and six were in critical condition Tuesday, authorities said.
One passenger, Lim Mahfudz, described the moment the
trains collided. "This resulted in all seated passengers being
thrown… and standing passengers being thrown," he wrote
on Twitter, adding people were injured as glass flew around
the carriage. It was a "real nightmare", he said.
"The impact was so strong that I suffered injuries to my
head, left leg and chest," another passenger, Afiq Luqman
Mohd Baharudin, told official news agency Bernama.
Shaken passengers had to be evacuated by emergency
workers from the tunnel, and brought up to the surface.
The empty train had a driver at the controls and was being
tested after repairs, while the full train was driverless.
Authorities say there was no sign of foul play and suspect
the accident was caused by a miscommunication between the
driver and the network's command centre.
The accident happened close to a station under the Twin
Towers, which is one of the busiest on the network. The
affected line resumed services early Tuesday.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has described the crash
as "serious" and urged authorities and the train operator to
"conduct an in-depth probe".
The accident was the worst on the metro system since it
began operations about 25 years ago, although there have
been less serious incidents. In 2008, four passengers
suffered minor injuries when two trains collided.
Denmark to donate 3 mln Covid
vaccines to Covax, says PM
COPENHAGEN : Denmark plans to donate three million
Covid-19 doses to developing countries this year through the
Covax global sharing scheme, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
said on Monday.
Frederiksen made the announcement on her arrival in
Brussels for an EU summit, Danish media reported.
"We have purchased quite a few vaccines, so we have scope to
vaccinate the Danish people, revaccinate in the autumn if necessary
and donate vaccines," Danish news agency Ritzau quoted
Frederiksen as saying. Frederiksen said Denmark had not yet
decided which vaccines would be donated to Covax.
The Scandinavian country was the first in Europe to discontinue
the use of the vaccines made by AstraZeneca and
Johnson & Johnson due to concerns about a rare but serious
form of blood clots, but has since made both shots available
to volunteers. The country is using the Pfizer-BioNTech and
Moderna jabs in its vaccination programme.
The epidemic is considered under control in Denmark and
the majority of people at risk and health professionals have
been vaccinated. According to the latest figures, 20 percent of
Denmark's population of 5.8 million are fully vaccinated
while 32 percent have received the first dose of the vaccine.
Frederiksen said meanwhile that she expected EU heads of
state and government to agree at the summit to donate a total
of 100 million Covid vaccines to Covax.
Absconding terrorist
held in Lalmonirhat
RANGPUR : Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-13 arrested an
absconding top terrorist and drug trader and seized arms,
ammunition and drugs from Kaliganj upazila in Lalmonirhat
district on Monday night.
"On a tip off, an operational team of RAB-13 conducted a
sudden raid in the area and arrested the terrorist who was on
the run for a long time," said a press release issued yesterday
afternoon by Assistant Director (Media) of RAB-13 and ASP
Samuel Sangma. The arrested terrorist is Md Moniruzzaman
alias Monir, 38, of Lalmonirhat district. The elite force seized
a locally made one-shooter gun, two rounds of live bullets, a
sharp weapon, 50 pieces of Yaba tablets, one motorcycle and
cash money earned by selling drugs from the position of the
arrested terrorist.
A preparatory meeting was held at GIZ auditorium of Khulna Nagar Bhaban to face the
cyclone YAAS.
Photo : Titash Chakraborthey
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