Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

Above, the new Pixel 9 smartphone series during an unveiling event in Mountain View, California on Aug. 13, 2024. (Reuters)

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Updated 01 November 2024

Reuters

November 01, 2024 06:29

Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

Block comes a week after Indonesia said it had blocked the sales of iPhone 16 domestically, also for not meeting local content rules
Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment

Updated 01 November 2024

Reuters

November 01, 2024 06:29

JAKARTA: Indonesia said it has banned sales of smartphones made by Alphabet’s Google due to rules requiring the use of locally manufactured components, days after blocking sales of tech giant Apple’s iPhone 16 for the same reason.
Indonesia blocked sales of Google Pixel phones because the company has not met the rules which necessitate certain smartphones sold domestically to contain at least 40 percent of parts manufactured locally.
“We are pushing these rules so that there’s fairness for all investors in Indonesia,” Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, industry ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday. “Google’s products have not adhered to the scheme we set, so they can’t be sold here.”
Febri said consumers can buy Google Pixel phones overseas, so long as they pay the necessary taxes, adding the country would consider deactivating the phones that are illicitly sold.
Google did not immediately respond to a message and email requesting comment.
The block comes a week after Indonesia said it had blocked the sales of iPhone 16 domestically, also for not meeting local content rules.
Companies usually increase the use of domestic components to meet such rules through partnerships with local suppliers or by sourcing parts domestically.
Google and Apple are not among the top smartphone makers in Indonesia. The top two smartphone makers in the first quarter of 2024 were Chinese firm OPPO and South Korean firm Samsung, research firm IDC said in May.
Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.
Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies think tank, said the move was “pseudo” protectionism that hurts consumers and impacts investor confidence.
“This creates a negative sentiment for investors looking to enter Indonesia,” he said.

Topics: smartphone Indonesia Apple iPhone Google Google Pixel 9

‘No longer afraid’: Journalists drop pseudonyms as Syrians reclaim voices after Assad’s fall

Updated 19 December 2024

GABRIELE MALVISI

December 19, 2024 22:23

‘No longer afraid’: Journalists drop pseudonyms as Syrians reclaim voices after Assad’s fall

Many Syrian journalists resorted to false names for fear of reprisals
‘Using a fake name was to many Syrians part of suppressing their identity,’ London-based Zouhir Masri tells Arab News

Updated 19 December 2024

GABRIELE MALVISI

December 19, 2024 22:23

LONDON: Syrian journalists, long silenced in the shadow of the oppressive regime of Bashar Assad, are beginning to shed their pseudonyms and reclaim their real names in a symbolic act of liberation following the tyrant’s fall.

During Syria’s descent into chaos in 2012, many journalists and activists adopted pseudonyms to protect themselves and their families from the regime’s brutal retaliation. For years, speaking out meant risking persecution, imprisonment, or worse.

Zouhir Masri, a London-based journalist formerly known as Zouhir Al-Shimale, said: “In the past, activists and journalists used to use pseudonyms to cover their identity for safety reasons since most of them, including me, had their family members stuck in Syria and unable to leave.”

Masri explained to Arab News: “Now that Syria is free, lots of people have started to use their real names which were suppressed and kept hidden out of fear of retaliation from the Assad regime’s security forces.”

Masri, who fled his home in Aleppo in 2018 after the regime’s chemical attacks, is one of many journalists now revealing their true identities.

Prominent figures such as Malath Assaf, director of programs for the unofficially rebel-affiliated Aleppo Today, and Rami Jarrah, previously known by the pseudonym Alexander Page, are now openly discussing Syria’s future without fear of reprisal.

One journalist, Manal Al-Sahwi, who investigated Syria’s illicit Captagon trade and its links to the Assad family, shared her story on Facebook earlier this month.

She wrote: “For years, I wrote more than 150 articles in addition to my daily work on the Daraj website. I thought my name would be hidden forever. I worked on dozens of investigations, human rights reports, blogs and opinion articles, believing the truth must be told, even if we remain in the shadows.”

Revealing she had used the pseudonym Carmen Karim, she added: “I only hope that I will never return to writing under a pseudonym again.”

The Syrian Network for Human Rights has reported that at least 717 journalists and media workers were killed between March 2011 and May 2024, while 1,358 were arrested or kidnapped.

Even those who fled abroad often lived under the looming fear of the regime’s long reach.

“It is well known that the regime did not only target individuals but also relatives. Therefore, we could never work under our real names. Personally, I didn’t have the courage to do it,” Assaf said in a recent interview.

However, it was not only journalists who had been silenced in Assad’s regime.

For years many ordinary citizens resorted to pseudonyms when sharing their stories with the media, fearing the regime’s ruthless reprisals.

Now, following Assad’s fall, they are walking the streets of Damascus with a renewed sense of freedom and reclaiming their right to express themselves openly.

“Finally, I am no longer afraid to express my opinion. I was scared to speak about anything related to the country, even if it wasn’t related to politics. This was the case of every Syrian living in the republic of fear,” said Shifaa Sawan, previously known as Suham Al-Ali, a teacher in Damascus, in an interview with Berlin-based Syria Direct.

“The sunrise was different that first day. It was not like the days before the regime fell. I walked through Bab Touma, Al-Qaymariya, Al-Maliki and Umayyad Square. I went to the Presidential Palace, repeating (Abdul Baset) Al-Sarout’s song ‘Janna Janna Janna, Ghali ya Watanna’.”

As the world watches to learn what the future holds for Syria and its people, the fall of Assad’s regime has brought a renewed sense of hope. Citizens are reclaiming their identities, removing their metaphorical gags, and shouting their long-suppressed voices.

“Using a fake name was to many Syrians part of suppressing their identity and who they really are as (a) Syrian,” said Masri. “Now this is no longer the case.”

Topics: Fall of Assad Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) Zouhir Masri

Facebook restricts war-related content in Palestinian territories, BBC investigation claims

Updated 18 December 2024

Arab News

December 18, 2024 18:15

Facebook restricts war-related content in Palestinian territories, BBC investigation claims

Local news outlets report 77% drop in audience engagement
‘Any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false,’ Meta says

Updated 18 December 2024

Arab News

December 18, 2024 18:15

LONDON: A BBC investigation has claimed that Facebook significantly restricted access to news in Palestinian territories, limiting local news outlets’ ability to reach audiences during the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

Research conducted by the BBC Arabic team found that 20 newsrooms in Gaza and the West Bank reported a 77 percent decline in audience engagement — a measure of the visibility and impact of social media content — following the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

In contrast, Facebook pages belonging to 20 Israeli news outlets, including Yediot Ahronot, Israel Hayom and Channel 13, saw a 37 percent increase in engagement for similar war-related content during the same period.

“Interaction was completely restricted and our posts stopped reaching people,” said Tariq Ziad, a journalist at Palestine TV, which experienced a 60 percent drop in engagement despite having 5.8 million Facebook followers.

With international journalists restricted from accessing Gaza due to Israeli-imposed limitations, local media and social platforms have become critical sources of information around the world. But the disparity in engagement has underscored concerns about a growing “war of narratives” on social media.

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has previously faced allegations of “shadow banning” Palestinian content. Critics, including human rights groups, claim the platform fails to moderate online activity fairly.

According to an independent report commissioned by Meta in 2021, the company said the loss of engagement was never deliberate, attributing it to a “lack of Arabic-speaking expertise among moderators,” which led to some Arabic phrases being inadvertently flagged as harmful or sensitive.

To test these claims, the BBC analyzed 30 prominent Facebook pages from Arabic news outlets and found an almost 100 percent increase in engagement.

Meta admitted to increasing moderation of Palestinian user comments in response to a “spike in hateful content” but rejected allegations of bias.

A spokesperson told the BBC: “Any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false.”

However, internal communications reviewed by the BBC showed that Meta-owned Instagram’s algorithm had been adjusted shortly after the conflict began, with at least one engineer raising concerns about potential new bias against Palestinian users.

“Within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was changed essentially making it more aggressive toward Palestinian people,” the engineer told the BBC.

Although Meta said these policy changes were reversed, it did not specify when.

A similar investigation by Arab News revealed widespread reports of pro-Palestinian posts and accounts being suspended or banned during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 144 media workers have been killed since the start of the conflict, 133 of whom were Palestinians, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history.

Topics: War on Gaza Meta

Two men arrested in London over attack on British-Iranian journalist

Updated 18 December 2024

Reuters

December 18, 2024 14:12

Two men arrested in London over attack on British-Iranian journalist

Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed outside his home in March in what investigators have identified as a Tehran-orchestrated plot

Updated 18 December 2024

Reuters

December 18, 2024 14:12

LONDON: British police said on Tuesday they arrested two Romanian men over the stabbing of a journalist working for a Persian language media organisation in London in March.

Pouria Zeraati, a British-Iranian journalist who works for Iran International, sustained leg injuries in the attack near his home in Wimbledon, southwest London.

Counter-terrorism police led the investigation over concerns he had been targeted because of his work at the television news network, which is critical of Iran’s government.

Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said earlier this month that Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, had been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and wounding.

London’s Metropolitan (Met) Police said the two men were taken into custody at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday after they arrived on a flight from Romania. They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Dec. 18, the police said.

They had previously been detained by Romanian authorities on Dec. 4 and were returned to the UK by a national extradition unit.

British police, security officials and politicians have issued warnings about what they say is Iran’s growing use of criminal proxies to carry out attacks abroad. Iran rejects those accusations.

“This has been a long-running investigation and I am pleased we have reached a point where two men have now been charged and will face prosecution here in the UK,” said Helen Flanagan from the Met's counter-terrorism command.

Flanagan added: “Now that criminal proceedings are fully active here in the UK, I continue to ask people not speculate about the case or motivation so that the criminal justice process can run its course.”

Topics: Iran International Iran journalist UK

Mother of missing US journalist urges Netanyahu to pause strikes on Syria to aid search for her son

Updated 17 December 2024

Arab News

December 17, 2024 23:07

Mother of missing US journalist urges Netanyahu to pause strikes on Syria to aid search for her son

Austin Tice, a former Marine, was abducted in Syria in August 2012 while reporting on the country’s descent into civil war
His mother says ‘credible information’ suggests her son is in a prison close to areas pounded by Israeli strikes

Updated 17 December 2024

Arab News

December 17, 2024 23:07

LONDON: The mother of missing American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria 12 years ago, urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause airstrikes on Syria so that rescuers can search safely for her son.

In a letter addressed to Netanyahu, Debra Tice said her family has “credible information” that her son might be in a prison close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, and appealed for a halt to nearby Israeli military operations.

“We are aware that your military has an active campaign in the area, preventing rescuers from approaching and accessing the prison facility,” she wrote.

“We have no way of knowing if the prisoners there have food and water. We urgently request you pause strikes on this area and deploy Israeli assets to search for Austin Tice and other prisoners. Time is of the essence.”

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, The New York Times reported.

The Israeli military has been bombing weapons depots and air defenses in Syria in what it described as an attempt to prevent military equipment falling into the hands of extremists.

Austin Tice, who before becoming a journalist served as an officer in the US Marine Corps, was kidnapped on Aug. 13, 2012, while reporting from Syria as the country descended into civil war. He was 31 years old at the time. The only evidence of his capture and captivity remains a 47-second video released in September 2012 that showed him bound and blindfolded.

In the 12 years since then, the US government has maintained its belief that he was alive and in the custody of the Syrian government. No group or organization has publicly claimed responsibility for his detention.

The fall of the Assad regime this month to rebel forces led by militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham sparked renewed efforts to locate Tice. It comes as thousands of prisoners, including the regime’s political opponents, civilians and foreigners, have been freed from detention centers in Damascus.

Debra Tice believes her son is held in a prison located beneath a Syrian military museum in the Mount Qasioun area near Damascus. She described a system of tunnels thought to connect the facility to a government palace and nearby neighborhoods.

Citing anonymous sources, Reuters reported on Monday that Tice managed to escape from his captors after just five months of captivity but was recaptured by forces loyal to Assad. Credible information about his whereabouts grew increasingly scarce over the years, though US officials remain cautiously optimistic that he is alive.

The recent escalation of Israeli attacks on targets in Syria raised concerns that Tice might have been killed in the airstrikes or trapped underground. US officials also fear that power cuts in Damascus prisons, orchestrated by Assad’s forces before he was toppled, could have deprived underground cells of breathable air.

Hopes were briefly raised this week amid reports that an American man had been spotted in Damascus. However, he turned out to be Travis Timmerman from Missouri, who had been freed by rebel forces. He was arrested this year for entering the country illegally after traveling to Syria on a “spiritual mission.”

The State Department said on Monday no US government officials are in Syria to assist in the search for Tice but finding him remains a “top priority.”

Concerns continue to grow over the fate of remaining detainees in the country, particularly in areas still affected by military strikes and instability.

Topics: Israeli strikes in Syria Debra Tice Benjamin Netanyahu

Media watchdog condemns Israel over killing of 4 Gaza journalists, demands accountability

Updated 17 December 2024

Arab News

December 17, 2024 18:03

Media watchdog condemns Israel over killing of 4 Gaza journalists, demands accountability

Iman Al-Shanti, Mohammed Al-Qrinawi, Mohammed Balousha, and Ahmed Al-Louh were killed between Dec. 11 and 15
At least in two cases, the attacks were described as ‘deliberate,’ Committee to Protect Journalists reported

Updated 17 December 2024

Arab News

December 17, 2024 18:03

LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned Israel’s recent attacks in Gaza, which have killed four journalists in the past week alone, and renewed calls for the international community to hold Tel Aviv accountable for its actions against media workers.

“At least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide in 2024,” CPJ’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in New York. “Israel is responsible for two-thirds of those deaths and yet continues to act with total impunity when it comes to the killing of journalists and its attacks on the media.”

Between Dec. 11 and 15, Israeli forces carried out multiple deadly strikes targeting media workers in Gaza, killing Iman Al-Shanti, Mohammed Al-Qrinawi, Mohammed Balousha, and Ahmed Al-Louh. Sources claim that at least two of the journalists were clearly identifiable by their press vests and accused the Israeli army of deliberately targeting civilians in the area.

On Wednesday, Al-Shanti, a 36-year-old journalist who worked for Al Aqsa Radio and contributed to Al Jazeera’s AJ+ platform, was killed alongside her family in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

On Friday, Al-Qrinawi, editor at the local Snd news agency, was killed with his wife and three children in an Israeli strike on Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

That same day, Balousha, a 38-year-old journalist reporting for Dubai-based Al Mashhad Media, died in a direct Israeli drone strike while returning from a medical checkup in northern Gaza City. Al Mashhad described the attack as deliberate.

On Saturday, Al-Louh, a 39-year-old freelance journalist who contributed to multiple outlets, including Al Jazeera, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat camp in Gaza City. He became the seventh journalist from Al Jazeera to be killed during the war.

Following Al-Louh’s death, Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson for Arabic media Avichay Adraee accused him of being a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. However, as in similar past claims, Adraee failed to provide evidence to support the allegation. Al Jazeera condemned the killing as a “war crime” and part of a “systematic targeting of journalists in Gaza aimed at intimidating and deterring them.”

According to CPJ, at least 133 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the conflict 15 months ago, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists since record-keeping began. The real toll is believed to be significantly higher.

Media watchdogs and international organizations have repeatedly called for Israel and its leaders to be held accountable for what some human rights groups describe as ethnic cleansing. However, these demands have so far failed to produce tangible results.

The CPJ reached out to the Israeli military’s North America Media Desk, asking whether the IDF was aware of civilian presence in the areas it bombed and if journalists had been targeted for their work. The IDF replied that it required more time to investigate but did not specify a timeline for its response.

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Journalists

Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

Google rolls out Pixel 9 phones earlier than usual as AI race with Apple heats up

Apple embraces the AI craze with its newly unleashed iPhone 16 lineup

‘No longer afraid’: Journalists drop pseudonyms as Syrians reclaim voices after Assad’s fall

‘No longer afraid’: Journalists drop pseudonyms as Syrians reclaim voices after Assad’s fall

Media watchdogs call on new Syrian authorities to safeguard journalists

‘New Syria’ offers historic moment of hope but also threats and uncertainty, says UN chief

Facebook restricts war-related content in Palestinian territories, BBC investigation claims

Facebook restricts war-related content in Palestinian territories, BBC investigation claims

Meta Oversight Board says wrong to remove Moscow attack posts

How social media sites failed to avoid censorship, curb hate speech and disinformation during Gaza war

Two men arrested in London over attack on British-Iranian journalist

Two men arrested in London over attack on British-Iranian journalist

Mother of missing US journalist urges Netanyahu to pause strikes on Syria to aid search for her son

Mother of missing US journalist urges Netanyahu to pause strikes on Syria to aid search for her son

American prisoner found in Syria is not journalist Austin Tice

CNN says “continuing to investigate” identity of alleged Syrian detainee in controversial report

Media watchdog condemns Israel over killing of 4 Gaza journalists, demands accountability

Media watchdog condemns Israel over killing of 4 Gaza journalists, demands accountability

Al Jazeera condemns killing of journalist in Israeli strike on Gaza

54 journalists killed in 2024, a third by Israel — Reporters Without Borders

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Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

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