News Front Page BBC News Home Top Stories Trump to drop Iran deal, Macron says France's leader admits he may have failed to persuade his US counterpart to stick to the 2015 accord. Related content Video Jonathan Cook: Israel's Internet War in Nazareth. The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems. Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel. Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilised soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict. “To all intents and purposes the internet is a theatre in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we must be active in that theatre, otherwise we will lose,” said Ilan Shturman, who is responsible for the project. The existence of an “internet warfare team” came to light when it was included in this year’s foreign ministry budget.
Lithuania passes Section 28-style law to ban mention of homosexu Lithuania’s parliament has given final approval to a bill banning information on homosexuality in schools or in media accessible by young people. The law, titled ‘Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information’, includes “the propaganda of homosexuality [or] bisexuality” as a detrimental factor on young people. Human rights activists say the law will institutionalise homophobia, violate freedom of speech and harm children. They add that it puts homosexuality in the same category as showing images of dead or mutilated bodies and will even ban discussion of homophobic bullying.
Gaza flotilla: How Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs fakes photos of seized weapons « Ibn Kafka's obiter dicta – divagations d'un juriste marocain en liberté surveillée On the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs’ Flickr page, the pictures of the so-called weapons seized on the ships taking part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla provide ample evidence of the deviousness of those darned anti-semitic terrorists. Be forewarned: the following pictures are not for the faint-hearted. Exhibit A: bulletproof vests
Few days after the riot in Vilnius January 19, 2009 at 11:07 pm Riots in Vilnius by Mindaugas Azusalis ii There is lots of reassessment and analysis is taking place in Vilnius at the moment. It is natural since the riot on Jan 16, or as I call it ‘eggs riot’ in Vilnius was a most serious political action in Lithuania since it regained independence 18 years ago. The last time Special Forces had to be employed was two years ago by calming down the Polish football fans riots in Vilnius. As the BNS reminds the demo called by Lithuania’s trade unions drew a crowd of around 7,000 people.
Female officer poses for Facebook in front of Palestinian prisoners These photos were taken by a young female Israeli soldier. They were posted on Facebook in an album titled "IDF...The best time of my life :)". The photos were posted by Eden Abergil, a young Israeli woman who finished her military service over a year ago. They show the uniformed officer smiling and posing next to bound and blindfolded Palestinian men. Lithuania's parliament passes 'Section 28-style' The Lithuanian parliament today voted to pass a law that bans information on homosexuality in schools or in media accessible by young people. The law, titled ‘Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information’, includes “the propaganda of homosexuality [or] bisexuality” as a detrimental factor on young people. It has been compared to Section 28, the law which prohibited discussion of homsexuality in UK schools. In June, President Adamkus vetoed the law, but parliament has the power to override him and did so today with a vote of 87-6. It is expected the law will come into force on march 1st. The news has been met with dismay by human rights and gay campaigners, who have called for the law to be repealed.
Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership" This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: For reaction to the WikiLeaks documents, we’re joined now by world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, author of over a hundred books, including his latest, Hopes and Prospects. Well, 40 years ago, Noam and the late historian Howard Zinn helped government whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg edit and release the Pentagon Papers, the top-secret internal U.S. history of the Vietnam War. Noam Chomsky joins us now from Boston. It’s good to have you back again, Noam.
Lithuania changing law after EU condemnation In a press statement the European Parliament welcomed President Dalia Grybauskaitė's appointment of a panel to amend the controversial law. The law was condemned as discriminatory in Strasbourg last week. VILNIUS — The Lithuanian government is in the midst of modifying the contentious “protection of minors” law that the European Parliament (EP) condemned last week as discriminatory. On Sept. 16 the EP voted 349-218, with 49 abstentions, to ask that Lithuania revamp the recently-passed child protection legislation to avoid any possibility of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. The EP resolution states that the Lithuanian law is “vague and legally unclear and might lead to controversial interpretations.” The Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information was passed in July in reaction to an uproar about the EU’s Gender Loops project that teaches alternative gender roles to primary school students.
Vilnius having trouble deciding a gay pride parade route The Vilnius municipal government will have to put on its thinking cap and figure out a new route for a gay parade set to take place on May 8, the Vilniaus Diena daily has reported. After the municipality refused to grant organisers their requested route through Old Town, another location, a route along Olimpieciu and Rinktines Streets and ending at a parking lot in front of the Sporto Rumai complex, was put forward. However, another option has to be found due to a controversy surrounding the Sporto Rumai site, once an important Jewish cemetery, as well as the dilapidated state of Sporto Rumai. "We have to evaluate these things. We will discuss this in a commission.