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Passengers Caught With Forged Coronavirus Tests at Estonian Airport

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Five persons, who presented forged negative coronavirus test certificates at the Tallinn Airport, have been detained, according to Estonian Police.

The five presented certificates supposedly issued by a private medical lab.

However, a check by officers revealed they were fake, authorities said on Thursday, according to local media.

Interior Minister, Kristian Jaani, said that the law enforcement had received a tip about the counterfeits from the private lab, leading the Police to double-check the documents of some 500 airport passengers.

“The five fake test certificates were discovered in the process,’’ he said.

Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the persons concerned, Jaani said at a government press conference in Tallinn.

To contain the coronavirus and the spread of various virus variants, many countries, including Estonia, have tightened their entry rules.

Travellers must now present a medical certificate of a negative coronavirus test upon arrival from certain countries. (dpa/NAN)

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UN Human Rights Chief Defends Online Hate Speech Regulation

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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has argued that regulating harmful online content is not censorship.

He emphasised that hate speech and divisive social media posts have “real-world consequences.”He also stated that there is a responsibility to regulate such content to protect individuals and society from the harm it can cause.
Türk made this statement on Friday following Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end the company’s fact-checking programme in the United States.
“Allowing hate speech and harmful content online has real-world consequences. Regulating this content is not censorship,” Türk wrote on X (formerly Twitter).In a longer post on LinkedIn, Türk argued that calling efforts to create safe online spaces “censorship” ignores the reality that an unregulated space often silences marginalised voices.
He also noted that allowing hatred online restricts free expression and could lead to harm.Zuckerberg announced the cessation of Meta’s fact-checking programme last Tuesday, citing concerns over political bias and claiming that self-regulation led to excessive censorship.He called for freer speech on Meta platforms and criticised the erosion of user trust.The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) rejected Zuckerberg’s argument, calling it “false” and warning that it could have harmful consequences.Türk highlighted that social media platforms possessed the potential to positively shape society by fostering connections.“However, they also have the ability to incite conflict, spread hatred, and endanger individuals’ safety.“At its best, social media is a place where people with divergent views can exchange, if not always agree,” he said.The UN Human Rights Chief reiterated his commitment to promoting accountability and governance in the digital space, ensuring public discourse remained healthy, trustworthy, and respectful of human rights.When asked about Meta’s recent decisions and their impact on the UN’s social media policy, a UN spokesperson in Geneva, Michele Zaccheo, emphasised that the global organisation continued to monitor and evaluate the online space.He added that the UN remained dedicated to providing evidence-based information across social media platforms.Similarly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reaffirmed its commitment to providing quality, science-based health information and maintaining a presence on various online platforms.In response to the growing threat of digital misinformation, the UN Department of Global Communications (DCG) has been actively working to combat false narratives, including through the development of the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity.(NAN)

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President Xi Jinping’s Envoy to Attend Ghana President-elect’s Inauguration

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Chinese President, Xi Jinping has sent a special envoy, Hao Mingjin, to attend the inauguration ceremony of Ghana’s President-elect, John Mahama on Jan.

7 in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.Hao, also the Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, was invited by the Ghanaian government to represent President Xi Jinping at the ceremony.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, disclosed this at the ministry’s regular virtual news conference in Beijing.
Guo, also Deputy Director-General of the Department of Press, Communication and Public Diplomacy, said the move would highlight the strong diplomatic ties between China and GhanaThis, according to the spokesperson, would advance China’s commitment to strengthening its relationships with African nations.
“President Xi Jinping’s special envoy and Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Hao Mingjin will attend Mahama’s inauguration at the invitation of the government of Ghana.”Guo revealed that Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi’s visit to Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Chad marked the 35th by a Chinese foreign minister to Africa, and the first overseas destination in 2025.The spokesperson described China as the world’s largest developing country and Africa as home to the largest number of developing countries, saying China and Africa shared a time-honoured friendship.“Under the personal guidance of President Xi, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was successfully held in 2024..“China-Africa relations entered the new phase of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.“The tradition for Chinese foreign ministers to start year-round overseas visits with a trip to Africa speaks to the profound friendship between China and Africa, and the continuity of China’s friendly cooperation with Africa.“China always believes that Africa is never the lost continent but the land of hope and source of dynamism,” Guo said. (NAN)

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Syria’s Interim Govt to Disband al-Assad’s Security Agencies

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 Syria’s transitional government has vowed to dissolve and restructure all security agencies of the toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime accused of mass killings and abuses.

Al-Assad, who ruled Syria for more than two decades, fled the country earlier this month as Islamist-led rebels advanced on the capital Damascus during a lighting sweep.

The interim government, installed by Syria’s new rulers, has since struggled to re-establish security and pursued a crackdown on al-Assad’s loyalists suspected of atrocities during his region.

Newly appointed intelligence chief Anas Khattab said all security agencies will be disbanded and rebuilt.

“The security establishment will be reconstituted after dissolving all security branches and restructuring them in a way befitting our people, sacrifices and their long history,” Syria’s state news agency SANA quoted him as saying late Saturday.

Khattab accused al-Assad’s regime of exploiting the security apparatus to oppress Syrians.

“Our valiant people, with all their different sects and categories, have suffered a lot of injustice and oppression of the former regime through its various security services,” he said.

The transitional government’s security forces have rounded up around 300 suspects in less than a week through ongoing operations in several parts of Syria, a monitoring group reported on Sunday.

The arrests included former officers, security personnel, and informants involved in detaining many Syrians, as well as other suspects in committing abuses under the protection of al-Assad’s regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added.

According to the UK-based observatory, Lebanon Saturday handed over to Syrian authorities around 70 Syrians, including ex-officers, at a border crossing between the two countries. (dpa/NAN)

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