News In Brief

Watchdog slams new social media
measures in Pakistan
AFP, Islamabad
A leading media rights watchdog has slammed new regulatory measures targeting social media platforms in Pakistan where the media have been subjected to growing censorship and pressure following the election of Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2018.
According to a draft of the law seen by AFP, the new measures announced earlier this week would pave the way for allowing Pakistani authorities to ask for the removal of content, disable encryption, and demand companies open offices and host data centres inside the country.

Rocket hits north Iraq base hosting US troops
AFP,
It was the first attack on the K1 base since December 27, when a volley of around 30 rockets killed a US contractor there, which Washington blamed on Iraqi military faction close to Iran.
A rocket attack on Thursday night slammed into an Iraqi base in the remote province of Kirkuk where American troops are stationed, Iraqi and US security sources told AFP. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Vladimir Putin rules out legalising gay marriage
Reuters, Moscow
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia would not legalise gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin.
He made clear he would not allow the traditional notion of mother and father to be subverted by what he called “parent number 1” and “parent number 2”. “As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it again: as long as I’m president this will not happen. There will be dad and mum,” Putin said.

Death toll in Peru tanker explosion rises to 30
AFP, Lima
The death toll from the explosion of a gas tanker in Lima last month has risen to 30, Peru’s ministry of health said Thursday.
Two women and a man were the most recent to succumb to burns from a fireball that occurred when the tanker truck carrying 10,000 liters (2,642 gallons) of liquefied gas exploded on January 23.