Category: News Desk

China Government Has 2 Million People Monitoring Internet Activities


More than two million people in China are currently employed by the government to monitor the online activities of their fellow citizens, according to a local media report, highlighting the lengths the government would go to in order to control the Internet.

The Beijing News, as cited by the BBC last week, claimed that the personnel were hired as “Internet opinion analysts”, whose jobs were to collect and report on the views and attitudes of people on social networks.

French Lawmakers Take On Amazon To Protect Local Bookshops


France’s parliament has passed a law that will prevent online book retailers, such as Amazon, from offering discounted books at free delivery, in a bill designed to support the nation’s struggling small bookstores, which have long been seen as a guardian of French language and culture.

The new law, which will now head for ratification by the Senate, was first proposed by Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti, who had accused Amazon in the past for “dumping” books in the local market.

Chile Declares State Of Emergency After Frost Devastate $1 Billion In Fruit Crops


Unseasonal snow and low temperatures in recent weeks have caused an estimated $1 billion worth of damage to fruit crops in Chile, reported Reuters on Thursday, with the government declaring a state of emergency after nearly 60 percent of its fruit exports had been affected.

Germany, UK Issue Travel Warnings For US Due To Government Shutdown


Germany and the United Kingdom have become the first countries to issue advisories for travellers to the United States, warning of possible delays at immigration and tourist sites as the U.S. government remains partially shut due to a budget impasse.

Global Population To Hit 9.7 Billion People By 2050: Study


The world’s population will climb to 9.7 billion people by 2050, according to a new French study on Wednesday, with India expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation with a staggering 1.6 billion residents.

The report by the French Institute of Demographic Studies mirrored similar projections in recent months by both the United Nations and the World Bank, demonstrating the world’s ongoing population boom, particularly in developing countries.

US Government Shutdown – 1 Million Out Of Work, Economic Cost: $300 Million A Day


The U.S. federal government’s partial shutdown, starting on October 1st, will cost the economy at least $300 million a day in lost output, according to a Bloomberg report, with close to 1 million federal employees now on unpaid leave, while national parks and some government services have all been closed.

UK Regulators Could Kick Out Bank Chiefs Under New Stress Test Plans


Senior bankers at top U.K. financial institutions could be fired, or even sent to jail for up to seven years, if theirs bank fails to meet new stress test requirements proposed by the Bank of England on Tuesday, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Japanese Government Urges Boycott Of Google Maps Over Disputed Islands


The Japanese government has called on local authorities and state-run universities to stop using Google Maps on their websites, after it took issue with the fact that Google had used the non-Japanese names to refer to islands still contested by Japan and their neighbouring countries.

India To Regulate “Rent-A-Womb” Industry: Report


 The Indian government is drafting a new law that would make it tougher for foreigners to hire surrogate mothers in the country, according to a Reuters report on Monday, as concerns grow over whether the unregulated industry was exploiting women in poverty.

French Workers Protest Government Ban On Sunday Trading


Employees and management staff at 14 home improvement stores in France could face fines of up to 120,000 euros per shop, after they defied a long-standing government law prohibiting businesses from remaining open on Sundays, in an interesting clash of ideologies between the need for work-life balance and workers’ struggle to find jobs.