0 Sex trafficking bill gets tech firms' backing

The Internet Association, which counts Facebook, Google and Amazon among its members, had at first said the proposed law could hurt innovation.

But in a statement released on Friday the group said it was satisfied with “important changes” made to the bill.

US senators are expected to hold an initial vote on the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (Sesta) next week.

"This important bill will hold online sex traffickers accountable and help give trafficking survivors the justice they deserve,” said Senator Robert Portman of Ohio, one of the bill’s authors.

“I’m pleased we’ve reached an agreement to further clarify the intent of the bill and advance this important legislation.”

Technology companies had been opposed to the bill because of changes it would have made to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, enacted in 1996.

The section represents a pillar of internet law - one which protects internet companies from the actions of its users. For example, if a person uses YouTube to break the law by showing something illegal, the user, and not YouTube, is held legally responsible. The Internet Association argued that this framework meant fledgling companies were not burdened by huge, perhaps insurmountable legal risk.

'Important changes'

The compromise that finally got the technology companies on board, after going back-and-forth since August, relates to whether a site is “knowingly” aiding traffickers on their platform. The bill now clarifies that a site needs to be "assisting, facilitating or supporting" human trafficking in order to face prosecution.

"Internet Association is committed to combating sexual exploitation and sex trafficking online and supports Sesta,” said Internet Association President Michael Beckerman on Friday.

"Important changes made to Sesta will grant victims the ability to secure the justice they deserve, allow internet platforms to continue their work combating human trafficking, and protect good actors in the ecosystem.”

Amanda Hightower, executive director at Seattle-based Real Escape from the Sex Trade (Rest), told the BBC she welcomed the news.

"With the bulk of trafficking happening over the internet, it's essential we have legislation and safeguards in place to protect victims and reduce the risk of people being sold online," she said.

"Knowing that internet giants are now joining forces with legislators to reduce the potential of trafficking gives me hope that we are heading in the right direction to stop this crime and that those who facilitate trafficking online will be held responsible."

Wording 'still too vague'

The rewritten components will protect companies that take pro-active measures to remove advertisements that enable trafficking and the sale of sex, but will pave the way for prosecutors to more effectively go after sites that allegedly allow such activity to flourish.

In the crosshairs of US law enforcement is Backpage.com, a site described by California prosecutors as a “massive online brothel” that actively encourages the sale of sex through its listings website. Backpage.com did not return the BBC’s request for comment on Friday.

Despite the changes, some corners of the technology community are still concerned about the bill’s effects. Engine, a non-profit group that pushes the interests of start-ups in Washington, said the new wording was still too vague.

“While the bill sponsors have made improvements to some of the drafting problems in the original language, the changes do not address many of the startup community's concerns,” said Rachel Wolbers, Engine’s policy director.

"The bill still creates uncertainty for platforms regarding their obligations under the law and potentially penalises startups for content that they are unaware of and cannot control."

[BBC SOURCES]

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0 Trump rages on Twitter at Clinton and Russia inquiry 'witch hunt'

His Sunday morning outburst came amid reports that the first arrest in the Russian collusion inquiry would be made this week, possibly as early as Monday.

Mr Trump insisted allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia were "phony" and a "witch hunt".

He said Republicans were united behind him, before urging: "DO SOMETHING!"

Media reports say the first charges have been filed in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election to assist Mr Trump.

It is not clear what the charges are and whom they are targeting, CNN and Reuters report, quoting unnamed sources.

Mr Trump issued a series of four tweets on Sunday morning:

• "Never seen such Republican ANGER & UNITY as I have concerning the lack of investigation on Clinton made Fake Dossier (now $12,000,000?),....
• "...the Uranium to Russia deal, the 33,000 plus deleted Emails, the Comey fix and so much more. Instead they look at phony Trump/Russia,....
• "...'collusion,' which doesn't exist. The Dems are using this terrible (and bad for our country) Witch Hunt for evil politics, but the R's...
• "...are now fighting back like never before. There is so much GUILT by Democrats/Clinton, and now the facts are pouring out. DO SOMETHING!"

About an hour later he tweeted: "All of this 'Russia' talk right when the Republicans are making their big push for historic Tax Cuts & Reform. Is this coincidental? NOT!"

• Who's who in the drama to end all dramas?
• Russia: The 'cloud' over the Trump White House

Critics on Twitter were quick to accuse him of attempting to divert attention from the Russian investigation by complaining about the lack of focus on an opponent he defeated in the presidential election nearly a year ago.

US intelligence agencies have already concluded that the Russian government sought to help Mr Trump win the election.

Mr Mueller's investigation is looking into any links between Russia and the Trump campaign. Both deny there was any collusion.

His team is known to have conducted extensive interviews with several current and former White House officials.

Mr Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed by the department of justice as special counsel in May shortly after Mr Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

Mr Trump said on Friday that it was now "commonly agreed" that there was no collusion between him and Russia but said that there were links between Moscow and Mrs Clinton.

Republican lawmakers have said that a uranium deal with a Russian company in 2010, when Mrs Clinton was secretary of state, was sealed in exchange for donations to her husband's charity.

A Congressional investigation has been opened into the case. Democrats say it is an attempt to divert attention from the alleged ties between Russia and Mr Trump.

[BBC SOURCES]

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0 North Korea to release captured South Korean fishermen

The vessel and its crew will be released "at the military boundary in the East Sea," North Korean state news agency KCNA reports.

The decision was made after the crew apologised for the "offence", it adds.

It comes at a time of heightened tension in the region with both sides running a series of military exercises.

North Korea said the release of the fishing vessel, due later on Friday, follows an admission of wrongdoing from those on board, who it said had "repeatedly asked for leniency".

An investigation, the North added, had "proved" that the fishermen had entered North Korean waters last Saturday.

• Inside the world's most secretive country
• Decoding North Korea's nuclear Pacific threat
• The Korea crisis in 300 words

It is not uncommon for fishing boats from both sides to drift into waters not under their control.

In August 2010, a South Korean fishing boat went missing in the Sea of Japan and was temporarily detained by North Korea.

The North said it was seized because it was poaching in its exclusive economic zone.

The latest incident comes amid ongoing military exercises in the region as North Korea seeks to realise its nuclear ambitions and the South continues to test a US-backed defence system.

Earlier this month, the US and South Korea also begin joint military exercises in waters surrounding the Korean peninsula, involving fighter jets, destroyers and aircraft carriers.

The drills regularly anger the North, and Pyongyang has in the past denounced them as a "rehearsal for war".

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0 King Felipe VI says Catalonia 'will remain' Spanish

It is his second intervention in the Catalonia secession crisis.

He told an awards ceremony in the northern city of Oviedo that the Catalan government was causing a rift and Spain would solve the problem through democratic institutions.

Catalonia's leader has threatened to declare independence, and Madrid is making plans to impose direct rule.

According to the opposition Socialists - who support the central government's stand against Catalan independence - the plans include elections in Catalonia in January.

• Reality Check: Would Catalonia be a viable country?
• The man who wants to break up Spain

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will announce the full set of measures on Saturday, two days after a deadline for Catalonia's autonomous government to abandon its independence bid.

• Cases for and against independence
• Catalan crisis: How the press sees it
• The crisis in 300 words

The central government has said it will trigger Article 155 of the constitution, which allows it to impose direct rule in a crisis, for the first time.

Other moves may include taking control of Catalonia's regional police force.

Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy.

A referendum, regarded as illegal by Spain, was held in Catalonia on 1 October.

Of the 43% of Catalans who reportedly voted, 90% were in favour of independence. Most anti-independence voters boycotted the ballot.

King Felipe previously said Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and other separatist leaders who organised the referendum had "broken the democratic principles of the rule of law" and showed "disrespect to the powers of the state.

While the dissolution of Catalonia's parliament and the holding of snap regional elections may appear to offer a way of defusing today's state of extreme tension, there are plenty of reasons to doubt that such a strategy would provide a clear solution to the crisis.

The far-left CUP has suggested that it would boycott any election imposed on the region. Other pro-independence forces might do the same. Massive street protests against any form of direct rule from Madrid can also be expected.

And what are the potential consequences of forcing an election on Catalonia?

Mr Puigdemont has promised to call a formal vote on independence in Catalonia's parliament if Article 155 is invoked. If such a declaration were approved, the pro-independence forces could style the ballot as the election of a constituent assembly for a new republic, the next stage laid down in the secessionists' road map.

Assuming the participation of all parties, voters would be bound to interpret the election as a de facto plebiscite on independence. If a separatist majority emerged once again, it is hard to see how the conflict could be considered closed.

[BBC SOURCES]

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0 Catalan crisis: EU leaders rule out involvement in crisis

"There is no room, no space for any kind of mediation or international initiative or action," he said.
He was speaking at a joint news conference with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Catalans voted to secede in a 1 October referendum, which was outlawed by Spain and has prompted mass demonstrations.
Mr Tusk's remarks came hours after Spain said it was beginning the process of imposing direct rule on the autonomous region.
"I am of course for many reasons in permanent contact with (Spain's) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy," Mr Tusk said.
"There is no hiding that the situation in Spain is concerning, but our position... is clear."

• Cases for and against independence
• Catalan crisis in 300 words
• Reality Check: Would Catalonia be a viable country?

He was speaking ahead of an EU Council summit, but said the issue of Catalonia was "not in our agenda".
Other European leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, also threw their support behind Madrid.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crisis exposed Western hypocrisy, which backs some separatist movements but not others.
He argued that Western nations had supported the independence of Kosovo from Serbia - a Russian ally - but not Catalonia or for Iraqi Kurdistan.
He also raised the opposition of many nations to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, which resulted in international sanctions against Russia.
Katya Adler: A slow, dangerous game of political chess

What's happening in Catalonia?

Spain said it would begin the process of imposing direct rule on Saturday by activating article 155 of the country's constitution.
But Catalonia's leader said the region's parliament would vote to formally declare its independence if Spain continued "repression".
Some fear the latest moves could spark further unrest after mass demonstrations before and since the ballot on 1 October.
Spain's supreme court declared the vote illegal and said it violated the constitution, which describes the country as indivisible.
 
Article 155 of the constitution, which cemented democratic rule three years after the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, allows Madrid to impose direct rule in a crisis but it has never been invoked.
But the Spanish government now says it will begin the procedure on Saturday.
"No-one doubts that the Spanish government will do all it can to restore the constitutional order," a government statement said.

• The man who wants to break up Spain
• Catalonia crisis: A slow, dangerous game of political chess

What happens now?

On Saturday, the government is due to decide a list of specific measures to transfer powers from Catalonia to Madrid.
The extent of those measures is not yet clear - but could include taking control of the regional police, or even calling a snap election.
Xavier Arbós, a constitutional expert at the University of Barcelona, said: "We simply do not know what measures the Spanish government could enact.
"We do not know how the powers of the Catalan government could be affected."
Spain's Senate, controlled by Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and its allies, would then have to approve the list.
Analysts say Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy, and it will not be able to deviate from the list of measures.

Where does this leave the Catalan leader?

After the 1 October vote, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence, but immediately suspended it to allow for talks.
He has warned the suspended status could change.
"The Catalan parliament could proceed, if it is considered opportune, to vote on a formal declaration of independence," he said.
But if Madrid takes control of the region's finances or police force, or dissolves the Catalan regional parliament, such a vote would be a challenge.
The constitution does not put any time limit on the process, however.
[BBC SOURCES]

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0 California hepatitis A outbreak death toll climbs to 19

More than 500 people in California have contracted the viral disease since November, many of whom are homeless.

Hepatitis A, which attacks the liver, is usually spread through faecal matter, transmitted through sex or by touching contaminated food or objects.

It is the second-largest US outbreak of hepatitis A in the past 20 years.

Nearly 500 of the diagnoses have been reported in San Diego, where officials have taken steps to combat the outbreak by disinfecting city streets with bleach and setting up hand-washing stations.

A local city councilman has called for state environment researchers to test San Diego's drinking water for faecal contamination, which causes the liver disease.

The outbreak has taken a severe toll on the state's large homeless populations, which are most at risk as they do not have access to basic hygiene and sanitation, experts say.

The virus is transmitted from faeces to mouth, which means it is most likely to spread in unsanitary conditions.

More than 5,000 people are sleeping unsheltered in San Diego - a 10% increase from the year before - according to a recent study by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless.

Cases have also been reported in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles counties as well as in San Francisco in northern California, where officials say they have vaccinated thousands of homeless people.

Typically only one out of every 100 patients die from Hepatitis A, according to officials, but the disease has killed at a higher rate in California due to the vulnerable populations it has affected.

Symptoms include fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes, is also a possible symptom.

On 13 October, Governor Jerry Brown issued a state of emergency in order to ensure that vaccines reach medical clinics who are working with the homeless.

Health officials have advised that it may take months or years before the outbreak tapers off.

More on California homelessness

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0 Two Catalan separatists in Spanish custody

Jordi Sánchez, who heads the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), and Jordi Cuixart, leader of Omnium Cultural, are being held without bail while they are under investigation for sedition.

The men are seen as leading figures in organising a 1 October independence vote, which Spanish courts suspended.

The government in Madrid branded the vote illegal.

• Catalan crisis in 300 words
• The man who wants to break up Spain

Following the referendum, Catalonia's regional head Carles Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence, but halted its implementation to allow negotiations.

He has called for talks to take place over the next two months.

However, the Spanish government has warned that Catalonia must revoke the declaration or face direct rule from Madrid.

Mr Puigdemont has also angered Madrid by refusing to clarify whether or not he declared independence last week.

Mr Puigdemont, who has been given until Thursday to clarify his position, hit out at the government on Twitter following news of Mr Sánchez and Mr Cuixart's detention.

"Spain jails Catalonia's civil society leaders for organising peaceful demonstrations. Sadly, we have political prisoners again," he wrote.

In a video recorded before his court appearance and released on his Twitter account after his detention, Mr Cuixart instructs separatists to "never lose hope because the people of Catalonia have earned their future".

He and Mr Sánchez have also been accused of encouraging protesters as they blocked officials from entering Catalonia's regional government offices on 20 and 21 September.

Pro-independence supporters have now called for further protests, demanding the men's release, reports the BBC's James Reynolds in Barcelona.

Just hours before the ruling, the High Court freed the head of Catalonia's police force, Josep Lluis Trapero.

His force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, is accused of failing to help Spain's Guardia Civil police tackle thousands of pro-independence protesters in Barcelona during the run-up to the referendum.

Prosecutors had called for him to be held in detention

[BBC SOURCES]

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0 North Korea crisis: Tillerson says diplomacy will continue

It will continue until "the first bomb drops", he told CNN.

Sanctions and diplomacy, he said, had brought unprecedented international unity against North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

Last month, Mr Trump told Mr Tillerson not to waste time seeking talks with Kim Jong-un.

In Sunday's interview, Mr Tillerson again refused to comment on whether he had referred to Mr Trump as a moron.

"I'm not going to deal with that petty stuff," he replied, saying he would not dignify the question with an answer.

In recent months, North Korea has defied international opinion by conducting its sixth nuclear test and launching two missiles over Japan.

Analysts say the secretive communist state it is clearly set on developing a nuclear-capable missile, able to threaten the continental US, despite UN sanctions.

Lines of communication

At the end of last month, Mr Tillerson disclosed that the US was in "direct contact" with the North and looking at the possibility of talks.

After months of heated rhetoric, it came as a surprise to some that the two countries had lines of communication.

However, the next day Mr Trump tweeted Mr Tillerson to say: "Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!"

Mr Tillerson has not denied calling Mr Trump a moron after a July meeting at the Pentagon.

The president responded by challenging the secretary of state to an IQ test but a spokeswoman said later it had been a joke.

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