Australia to amend laws to make Google and FB pay for news
Under Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi has experienced rapid development in the past 6 years
CANBERRA: Australia’s government said on Tuesday it will amend draft laws that would make Google and Facebook pay for news to clarify that publishers would be paid in lump sums rather than per click on news article links.
The legislative changes described in a government statement as “clarifications and technical amendments” follow Australian ministers’ weekend discussions with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google.
The conservative government hopes to enact the so-called News Media Bargaining Code before the current session of Parliament ends on February 25.
The amendments to be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday “improve the workability of the code while retaining its overall effect”, treasurer Josh Frydenberg and communications minister Paul Fletcher said in a joint statement.
The opposition centre-left Labor Party agreed at a meeting of lawmakers on Tuesday to support the bill, guaranteeing its passage through the Senate where the government does not hold a majority of seats. But the government might have to compromise with further Senate amendments.
Google and Facebook, which take a combined 81% of online advertising in Australia, have condemned the bill as unworkable.
Google has threatened to make its search engine unavailable in Australia if the code were introduced. Facebook said it might block Australians from sharing news if the platform were forced to pay for news.
The code aims to remove the digital giants’ dominant bargaining positions but creating an arbitration panel with the power to make legally binding decisions on price. The panel would usually accept either the platform’s or the publisher’s best offer, and only rarely set a price in between.
That should discourage both the platforms and media businesses from making unrealistic demands.
Apart from stating that arbitrated payments to publishers must be made in lump sums, the new amendments also clarify that the panel must consider costs incurred by the platforms and by news businesses.
Seven West Media on Monday became the largest Australian news media business to strike a deal with Google to pay for journalism. Kerry Stokes, chairman of Seven West Media, which owns 21 publications, said the threat of the proposed code had made the deal possible.
Google announced two weeks ago that it had begun paying seven far smaller Australian websites under News Showcase.
Delhi got featured in the list of World’s Best Cities for 2021 making our Delhi the only Indian city to rank among the 100 best cities across the world. Delhi, the national capital of India, secured the 62nd position in this prestigious list. Last year, Delhi was at the 81st position and has significantly improved its ranking this year. The continuous development work of CM Arvind Kejriwal has brought only great news for the citizens of Delhi. The ranking was done by Resonance Consultancy Limited which is based out of Vancouver and specialises in destination development, branding, marketing, design, tourism, data, and travel reports. Some of the other cities that have been featured in the list include Amsterdam, Rome, Washington DC, Toronto, Prague, and St Petersburg. CM Arvind Kejriwal said,
"Such good news for all Dilliwalas. All dilli walas have worked so hard in the last six years to make it happen. The world is noticing the positive changes happening in Delhi." Deputy Chief Minister Shri Manish Sisodia said, "Congratulations to all the proud people of Delhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the leadership. Our beloved Delhi is ranked 62 in World's Best cities. The only Indian city in the list. There is a significant improvement from the past ranking i.e. 81." This ranking has given the national capital 62nd position, making it the only Indian city to feature in the list.
Reportedly, the ranks have been given to 100 cities from across the world with a population of over 10 lakh. The ranking was based on the basis of diverse factors, including online hashtags, number of check-ins, diversity, tourist attractions, weather and more. It also included factors like Covid-19 infections in July, income incongruity and unemployment. While Rome (Italy), Chicago (United States), Toronto (Canada), San Francisco (USA), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Berlin (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic) and Washington DC (United States) took the new few spots, Delhi in India was ranked 62 on the list, the only Indian city to have been featured on the list.
Under the leadership of CM Kejriwal, Delhi has featured in the list of World’s Best Cities for 2021 and is the only Indian city to rank among the 100 best cities across the world
Delhi is the only Indian city to feature on the list, acquiring 62nd position in the list of World’s Best Cities for 2021
GHAZIABAD: With temperature rising, the farmers protesting at UP Gate are gearing up to take up arrangements at the protest site while their leaders are taking up Panchayats in order to garner support of farmers across the National Capital Region (NCR).
The members of the UP Gate farmers’ committee said that the gathering on Tuesday was between 2,000 to 2,500 persons and farmers are taking turns to come and go as part of the ongoing agitation.
“To ensure a good turnout, the dais will be entirely covered, and fans will be installed in a few days. Covered tents used during the winter will be removed and will set up new tents. The existing tents will be covered with haystacks. We have brought two big generators and will rope in more to run fans and desert coolers,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a farmer leader from Uttarakhand and a member of UP Gate farmers’ committee.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who is spearheading the protests at UP Gate, conducted a panchayat with other farmer leaders and members of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha at Garhi Sampla in Rohtak on Tuesday.
To keep the momentum of protesters at protest hotspots, Tikait asked people to protest at different sites, in groups.
He also urged the central government to form an “agriculture cabinet”, which would focus on various issues faced by the farmers.
“The farmers should have known that there is no ‘krishi mantralaya’ (agriculture ministry) or ‘krishi mantri’ ((agriculture minister) in the country. People and farmers are being deceived. Those who talk to us (government representatives) only have 18 per cent charge of the agriculture ministry. There are 17-18 other departments that look after issues impacting agriculture. So, we have asked the government to come up with an agriculture cabinet,” Tikait said.
“There is no law on minimum support price (MSP) yet, but the godowns (corporate) have come up beforehand. The price of the crop will be decided on the basis of people’s hunger and this will affect the poor and the shopkeepers. There is a new trend of ‘bhook ka vyapar’ (business of hunger). We have to stop this, otherwise even dogs will die of hunger,” he added.
“They will try to divide us (on the basis of caste, economic status and even on the regional basis), but you must stay strong. It is for the first time that the Sikhs have come with us and we will stay with them. We have got strong groups from Punjab and we have learnt a lot from them. It is a strong bond. It is high time that farmers from different states start meeting each other,” Tikait said.
The protest, which primarily started as a farmers’ protest has now become a ‘Jan Andolan’ (public movement), he said.
“It is because the prices are on the rise, and even the fuel rate is on the higher side. This will also affect the common people. People have been supporting us, and we are raising their issues as well,” Tikait said on Monday.
Recently, questions were raised about the dip in the number of protesters at the UP Gate, which saw a massive surge ahead of the tractor rally on Republic Day (January 26) and following Tikait’s emotional appeal to the people to bring food and water for him on January 28.
The farmers have been camping at the protest site near Uttar Pradesh Gate since November 28, 2020, demanding repeal of the farm laws, and a new law on minimum support price (MSP). As part of an offer, the Centre had proposed staying the implementation of the three controversial farm laws for one and half years. However, there’s a stalemate between the farmers and the central government continues, with no talks held since January 22.
To ensure a good turnout, the dais will be entirely covered, and fans will be installed in a few days
JAGTAR SINGH BAJWA, farm leader