EU preparing 'further countermeasures' to protect its interest, von der Leyen says    911 emergency centers handle over 2.8 million calls in March    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Saudi Arabia posts SR49.8 billion travel surplus in 2024 as visitor spending hits SR153.6 billion    Saudi Arabia urges stronger global action to protect children in cyberspace at UN    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Tebuk emir reviews rain response in Tayma    Saudi Arabia considers rent cap as part of major real estate reforms    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



German conservatives agree on Merkel as chancellor candidate for Sept election
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 02 - 2017

Germany's conservative parties agreed on Monday to nominate Angela Merkel as their candidate for chancellor in a Sept. 24 election despite their long feud over how to tackle the migrant influx, participants at a conservative meeting told Reuters.
The Christian Social Union (CSU) — the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) — has long criticized Merkel for allowing more than a million refugees into Germany over the last two years.
The CDU and CSU are meeting in Munich to discuss how to defeat a resurgent Social Democratic Party (SPD) in September's federal election.
Merkel and CSU leader Horst Seehofer are due to present their joint election strategy later on Monday.
German court hears Syrian's ‘selfie with Merkel' case
A German court held its first hearing in the case of a Syrian refugee who is suing Facebook after the social networking site declined to remove all posts linking him to crimes and militant attacks.
The posts feature a picture showing Anas Modamani, a 19-year-old from Damascus, taking a selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel in September 2015 at a refugee shelter in the Berlin district of Spandau.
Modamani's image was subsequently shared on Facebook on anonymous accounts, alongside posts falsely claiming he was responsible for the Brussels Airport bombing of March 2016 and the setting on fire of a homeless man in December by six migrants at an underground station in Berlin.
The case is being closely watched as Germany, a fierce critic of Facebook, is preparing legislation to force the social networking website to remove "hate speech" from its web pages within 24 hours or face fines.
"Some people are trying to harm the reputation of the refugees like me and they are using Facebook to spread hatred against us," Modamani told Reuters by phone from Wuerzburg.
A spokesman for Facebook said the company had already removed two defamatory posts reported by Modamani's lawyer but could not simply disable all content related to the pictures. Facebook was open to a case-by-case approach, the spokesman said.
"We have already quickly disabled access to content that has been accurately reported to us by Mr. Modamani's legal representatives, so we do not believe that legal action here is necessary or that it is the most effective way to resolve the situation," the spokesman said.
"We will continue to respond to Mr. Modamani's legal representatives in relation to any other content of concern to them," he added.
Modamani's lawyer told rbb-Inforadio that Facebook's restrictions on content were inconsistent. "Nudity is forbidden, but hate only in certain circumstances," Chan-jo Jun said.
Facebook said it had asked Modamani and his legal team to point to posts and content that could amount to defamation and that it was willing to look into each case separately.
"They have so far refused to do so despite us providing clear instructions as to the precise information that we require," Facebook said in a statement.


Clic here to read the story from its source.