Online giant Amazon on Monday plans to open a convenience store in Seattle where hungry customers will be able to grab sandwiches and go, without having to wait in line or use a checkout.

The American group unveiled the concept for its cashierless "Amazon Go" shop just over a year ago, saying the 1,800 square feet (170 square meters) store would initially offer grocery products to its own employees before being opened to the public.

Early testing however revealed bugs, leading to a delay.

In a message Sunday on its website, Amazon said it had created "the world's most advanced shopping technology so you never have to wait in line."

But if the rollout has taken some time, it's now ready to Go.

People armed with the app are able to pick up items as they roam the store and place them directly in their bags -- without the need for shopping carts or baskets.

Instead, items are automatically added onto a customer's online account when they're removed from a shelf, or taken off if the item is put back.

The system relies on a mix of cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence, according to Amazon.

A Mexican television reporter was shot on Wednesday in the resort city of Cancun, his employer said, the eighth journalist killed this year in a country notoriously dangerous for the media.
Javier Enrique Rodriguez Valladares worked as a cameraman and reporter for Canal 10.

The station said his family had confirmed his death.
News reports in Cancun said he was shot while walking with another man in the central part of the city. Local officials have not released any information about the case.
Valladares is the second journalist to meet a violent death in the Cancun area this year.

Ruben Pat, the editor-in-chief of the Playa News weekly, was shot dead outside a bar in Playa del Carmen in July, not far from the tourist hotspot.
Last year 11 journalists were killed in Mexico, which has been torn by drug-related violence.
According to various freedom of speech organizations, more than 100 journalist have been killed in Mexico since 2000. The vast majority of those crimes have gone unpunished.

Turkish security forces on Tuesday detained dozens more people nationwide on accusations of spreading propaganda for "terror" groups, in a major clampdown as Ankara presses its new offensive inside Syria.

Ninety-one people were detained in 13 provinces ranging from Izmir on the Aegean to Van in the east over their postings on social media.

Twenty-four people had been detained in other cities on Monday in raids that have raised new concerns among rights groups over freedom of expression in the country.

Among those taken into custody were five journalists, including writer and activist Nurcan Baysal, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.

The detentions come as Turkey pressed ahead with its military incursion in northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia.

Ankara views the YPG as "terrorists" linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) waging a three-decade long insurgency in Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for national unity over the operation and warned those responding to calls for protests would pay a "heavy price".

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin urged the "public, and especially the media, to be wary of lying, fake, distortive and provocative news, images and gossip".

Kalin said in a statement that the authorities were watching the "disinformation activities closely" and would "quickly and resolutely" act within the framework of the law if necessary.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim added: "We are watching the provocations being spread on social media very closely."

- 'Making propaganda' -

Twenty-three suspects were detained in the Aegean province of Izmir, the agency said. Six of the suspects had been planning a protest in a park, the agency said.

The Izmir provincial chairman of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was reportedly also detained.

The authorities are responding to what they see as deliberate disinformation, including the use of images that some Turkish media said had been "manipulated" or simply taken from other conflicts but presented as from the current offensive.

Yildirim hit out at those using images of children and civilians to blame Turkey for violence against innocent parties. "Social media is not unaccountable media," he said.

Other arrests took place in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, the capital Ankara, the southern city of Mersin and Mus and Van in the east.

Two reporters for the pro-Kurdish news agency Mezopotamya, Hayri Demir and Seda Taskin, were detained late Monday in Ankara, RSF said.

- 'Intolerance of criticism' -

The head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk Johann Bihr said the "increase in the witchhunt against critics" and the lack of debate over the offensive highlighted "the degree to which pluralism has collapsed in Turkey".

He added: "The government is now trying to assert complete control over everything that the media report, at the risk of undermining public trust and fuelling tension."

After the arrests on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Turkey researcher Emma Sinclair-Webb hit out at Ankara's "intolerance of criticism".

Meanwhile, controversy rumbled over the vandalising by protesters of the offices of a newspaper in the Turkish Cypriot breakaway statelet -- recognised only by Ankara -- that had called the operation an "occupation".

Hundreds had demonstrated outside the offices of the daily Afrika newspaper in Nicosia on Monday, apparently responding to a call by Erdogan who had criticised the paper.

"Intimidating journalists is unacceptable. The European Parliament will always defend media freedom, the cornerstone of democracy," wrote the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani on Twitter, as he condemned the attacks on the newspaper.

Among the many celebs getting engaged and married in 2018, another Bollywood actor has joined the bandwagon.

Prateik Babbar got engaged to his girlfriend Sanya Sagar on Monday. The couple has been together for over a year and decided to take the plunge and get their relationship formalised with an engagement.

It was a private ceremony at Sanya's Lucknow farmhouse as the couple wanted to keep it under wraps.  

Prateik shared a funny picture of the couple shocked ovebye engagement on Instagram with the caption - 'holy snappp!.. that just happened!'Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, the actor said, "Sanya and I, along with our families, decided that something as pure as love should be solemnised on an auspicious day and what better day than Basant Panchami. She's the best partner I could have asked for. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was the one for me. I know it sounds clichéd, but I can't stop counting my blessings and thanking God for all the good that is happening in my life."

We recently reported about Sonam Kapoor's 2018 wedding plans and her cousin Mohit Marwah's grand wedding in Dubai. 

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:
// HM King receives Egyptian Speaker, praising Egypt's support to region's security, stability.
// HM King receives BACA president, commending Shaikh Ibrahim Cultural Centre's documenting Bahrain's history.
// HRH Premier directs governmental departments to develop revenue sources without recourse to price hikes.

// HRH Premier: Egypt's stability is Arab nation's stability.
// Wife of HM King: SCW supports voluntary initiatives that boost community stability.
// Environmental concern is part of genuine Bahraini traditions: Southern Governor.
// Deputy Premier honours Bayan School after being awarded Zayed Future Energy Prize.
// BDF Commander-in-Chief inspects Resolve Force Drill stages on field.
// Coalition states launch comprehensive humanitarian operation in Yemen: FM.
// KHUH installs advanced radiotherapy equipment in oncology department.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch on Monday called on Facebook to pay “trusted” news publishers a carriage fee, similar to the model used by cable companies, amid efforts by the social media company to fight misinformation on its platform.“Facebook and Google have popularized scurrilous news sources through algorithms that are profitable for these platforms but inherently unreliable,” Murdoch, who controls the Wall Street Journal as executive chairman of News Corp (NWSA.O), said in a statement.

Facebook Inc (FB.O) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday his company would fight misinformation and sensationalism on its platform by using member surveys to identify “trustworthy” outlets.“There has been much discussion about subscription models but I have yet to see a proposal that truly recognizes the investment in and the social value of professional journalism,” Murdoch said.

The quality of news on Facebook has been called into question after alleged Russian operatives and spammers spread false reports on the site, including during the 2016 U.S. election campaign.Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Facebook acknowledged Monday that the explosion of social media poses a potential threat to democracy, pledging to tackle the problem head-on and turn its powerful platform into a force for "good."

The comments from the world's biggest social network were its latest response to intense criticism for failing to stop the spread of misinformation among its two billion users—most strikingly leading up to the 2016 US election.

In a blog post, Facebook civic engagement chief Samidh Chakrabarti said he was "not blind to the damage that the internet can do to even a well-functioning democracy."

"In 2016, we at Facebook were far too slow to recognize how bad actors were abusing our platform," he said. "We're working diligently to neutralize these risks now."

The post—one in a series dubbed "hard questions"—was part of a high-profile push by Facebook to reboot its image, including with the announcement last week that it would let users "rank" the trustworthiness of news sources to help stem the flow of false news.

"We're as determined as ever to fight the negative influences and ensure that our platform is unquestionably a source for democratic good," said Katie Harbath, Facebook's head of global politics and government outreach, in an accompanying statement.

Facebook, along with Google and Twitter, faces global scrutiny for facilitating the spread of bogus news—some of it directed by Russia—ahead of the US election, the Brexit vote and other electoral battles.

The social network has concluded that Russian actors created 80,000 posts that reached around 126 million people in the United States over a two-year period.

"It's abhorrent to us that a nation-state used our platform to wage a cyberwar intended to divide society," Chakrabarti said.

"This was a new kind of threat that we couldn't easily predict, but we should have done better. Now we're making up for lost time," he said.

Chakrabarti pointed at Facebook's pledge last year to identify the backers of political advertisements—while also stressing the need to tread carefully, citing the example of rights activists who could be endangered if they are publicly identified on social media.

He also elaborated on the decision to let Facebook's users rank the "trustworthiness" of news sources, saying: "We don't want to be the arbiters of truth, nor do we imagine this is a role the world would want for us."

While acknowledging concerns over the rise of "echo chambers," he argued that "the best deterrent will ultimately be a discerning public."

'What could possibly go wrong?'

Facebook's plan to rank news organizations based on user "trust" surveys has drawn a mixed response.

Renee DiResta of the nonprofit group Data for Democracy was optimistic.

"This is great news and a long time coming. Google has been ranking for quality for a long time, it's a bit baffling how long it took for social networks to get there," she wrote on Twitter.

But technology columnist Shelly Palmer warned that Facebook appeared to be equating trust and truth with what the public believes—what some call "wikiality."

"Wikiality is Facebook's answer to fake news, alternative facts, and truthiness," Palmer wrote. "Facebook, the social media giant, is going to let you rank the news you think is most valuable. What could possibly go wrong?"

For media writer Matthew Ingram, the changes "not only won't fix the problem of 'fake news,' but could actually make it worse instead of better."

"Why? Because misinformation is almost always more interesting than the truth," he wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review.

News Corp. founder and executive chairman Rupert Murdoch also expressed skepticism, suggesting Facebook should instead pay "carriage feeds" to trusted news organizations, following the example of cable TV operators.

"I have no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg is a sincere person, but there is still a serious lack of transparency that should concern publishers and those wary of political bias at these powerful platforms," Murdoch said in a statement issued by his group, which publishes the Wall Street Journal and newspapers in Britain and Australia.

Hundreds of protesters Monday demonstrated outside the offices of a Turkish Cypriot newspaper that aroused the ire of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by slamming Ankara's operation inside Syria as an "occupation".

The Afrika newspaper -- which is often anti-Ankara and staunchly critical of Erdogan -- wrote on its front page Sunday: "One more occupation from Turkey."

This was an ironic reference to the 1974 Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus which is regarded in Turkey as a "peace operation" but, in the eyes of the international community, led to Turkish troops occupying the northern third of the island.

Around 500 protesters, waving Turkish flags and the flag of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet, gathered outside the offices of the paper, throwing eggs, water bottles and stones which smashed the building's windows.

"Allahu Akbar! (God is Greatest!)", they shouted. Some unfurled banners saying: "Afrika newspaper must be shut down immediately." Others carried a huge banner of Erdogan.

A group climbed a flagpole outside and dismantled the newspaper's main sign on the building's balcony. Police refrained from taking action, an AFP journalist reported.

Mehmet Demirci, the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) representative in northern Cyprus, said the newspaper had exceeded the limits of criticism.

"We condemn those who put such headlines in the Afrika newspaper and who dare to make politics over this headline," he was quoted as saying by the Anadolu news agency.

- 'Immoral'-

At the weekend, Erdogan had personally taken aim at the newspaper, criticising its headline as "immoral".

"They say the Turkish army is carrying out another 'occupation' after Cyprus. How immoral it is, how shameless it is!" he seethed.

Erdogan called on the Turkish Cypriots not to remain silent over the newspaper's controversial headline, in what some saw as encouraging the protest.

The foreign ministry of the internationally recognised Cypriot government expressed "grave concern" over the events in the north and condemned Erdogan's comments as "incitement to violence."

It "is yet another proof of Mr Erdogan's policy to consolidate Turkey's authoritarian policies in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, including restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the press," it said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci defended the paper's right to freedom of speech, saying he had often been the target of criticism by Afrika but had never told the paper to be silent.

"It is not possible to correct wrong ideas with wrong actions," he said, in reference to the protests, warning against provocations.

OSCE representative for media freedom Harlem Desir said on Twitter he condemned "the attack vandalising" the offices of Afrika adding that "media freedom must be protected and respected."

The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union between Greece and Cyprus.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is recognised only by Ankara.

Turkey on Saturday launched its operation with Ankara-backed Syrian rebels to root out the Syrian Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) militia from Afrin.

Turkey views the YPG militia as "terrorists" linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has fought against the Turkish state since 1984 and is designated as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Erdogan has urged national solidarity over the operation and the government has reached out to leaders of the main nationalist and secular opposition parties.

But Erdogan warned those who respond to calls for protests in Turkey will have to pay a "heavy price". The authorities on Monday detained 24 people on suspicion of disseminating "terror propaganda" on social media.

Online giant Amazon on Monday plans to open a convenience store in Seattle where hungry customers will be able to grab sandwiches and go, without having to wait in line or use a checkout.

The American group unveiled the concept for its cashierless "Amazon Go" shop just over a year ago, saying the 1,800 square feet (170 square meters) store would initially offer grocery products to its own employees before being opened to the public.

Early testing however revealed bugs, leading to a delay.

In a message Sunday on its website, Amazon said it had created "the world's most advanced shopping technology so you never have to wait in line."

But if the rollout has taken some time, it's now ready to Go.

People armed with the app are able to pick up items as they roam the store and place them directly in their bags -- without the need for shopping carts or baskets.

Instead, items are automatically added onto a customer's online account when they're removed from a shelf, or taken off if the item is put back.

The system relies on a mix of cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence, according to Amazon.

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:
// HM King receives HRH Premier, ruling out any new fees before restructuring subsidies.
// Deputy Premier affirms educational progress at all schooling stages on track.
// Interior Minister reveals massive pre-emptive security operation conducted, thwarting assassination plots and oil installation sabotage.
// Media progressing in harmony with national development process: Information Minister.
// MPs, Shura Councillors hail HM King directives, keenness on citizens' interest.
// MoFA affirms its support to citizens whenever in need abroad.
// Bahrain denounces Houthi ballistic missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia's populated cities.
// Nationwide praise of Interior Minister's initiative to engage community in safeguarding security.
// King Hamad University Hospital wins gold in two international contests.
// Large mercantile bloc to compete in BCCI elections.

Laura Heffernan, previously editorial assistant at Inside Soap, has been appointed entertainment journalist at WENN. Laura will be working for Cover Media / WENN as an online news writer, creating content focused on beauty, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment news.

JPR Media Group has been appointed to handle the press and publicity for the events company and fashion brand, Candypants. JPR has been instructed to raise brand awareness for the events, the fashion brand and attract profile press for founder Ray Chan.

Despite the growth of sophisticated cyber threats globally, Google has said that less than 10 per cent of active Gmail users have enabled two-factor authentication, making the remaining 90 per cent more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

According to Google engineers, compromised passwords are the top way hackers gain access to accounts and all users -- especially those in the enterprises -- should implement two-factor authentication immediately.

"Further, only 12 per cent of Americans use a password manager to protect their accounts," US-based news website Techrepublic quoted Google engineer Grzegorz Milka as saying in a presentation at the Usenix Enigma 2018 security conference in California late on Saturday.

Two-factor authentication is one of the most effective ways to protect online accounts given that compromised passwords are the top way attackers gain access to accounts.

In the enterprise, if a hacker can break into the email of even one employee, it gives them not only access to company data but also ammunition for future phishing attacks -- making it even more important for firms to ensure all employees have enabled two-factor authentication and gone through cybersecurity training.

The feature, which Google calls 2-step verification, requires using a second step-often a single-use key or password-along with the account password to verify a user's identity and allow them into their account.

With Google, the second step can come in the form of a text message, a phone popup, through a Google Authenticator app or from a number of printed single-use codes.

Google first rolled out its two-factor authentication feature back in 2011, yet users have failed to adopt the safety measure in large numbers. The feature adds a few seconds to the login time but is claimed to be the best option to stay away from cyber attacks.

Milka said that Google did not make two-factor authentication mandatory for all users due to usability.

"It's about how many people would we drive out if we force them to use additional security," he was quoted as saying.

Google has made a number of other efforts to improve security for its users.

In January 2017, the company announced new layers of enterprise-grade security controls for "G Suite" to give users more control and visibility over sensitive information.

In October last year, it rolled out the "Advanced Protection Programme" that offers better defenses against phishing, accidental data sharing and fraudulent account access for executives and professionals in fields where confidential information is shared online.

Twitter on Friday said the number of Russia-linked accounts firing off tweets evidently aimed at the US election in 2016 was more widespread than initially determined.

The social media company found, and shuttered, an additional 1,062 accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency, considered a “troll farm” connected to the Russian government, Twitter said in an update posted online.

Along with Google and Facebook, Twitter has been criticized for allowing the spread of bogus news — some of which was directed by Russia — ahead of the 2016 US election and in other countries.

Twitter also said it is emailing notifications to almost 670,000 people in the US who followed, retweeted, or “liked” posts from any of those suspect accounts during the election period.“Any such activity represents a challenge to democratic societies everywhere, and we’re committed to continuing to work on this important issue,” Twitter said in the update.

For the 10-week time span investigated prior to the November, 2016 election, Twitter identified a total of 3,814 Internet Research Agency-linked accounts, according to the San Francisco-based company.

Those accounts posted 175,993 tweets, approximately 8.4 percent of which were election related, Twitter said.

The analysis at Twitter also found an additional 13,512 automated accounts identified as “Russia-linked” and tweeting election-related content during that period, bringing the total to 50,258 accounts.

Twitter said it is sharing information about the accounts with Congress, where testimony late last year by Twitter, Facebook and Google revealed startling new data showing many more millions of Americans were exposed to the fake news than previously thought.

The companies said they were taking necessary steps to rid their platforms of disinformation, propaganda and provocation.

US legislators have been investigating whether President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in its bid to influence the 2016 US elections.

Facebook announced Friday it will ask its two billion users to rank their trust in news sources, in its latest attempt to combat the spread of misinformation on the social network.

The change comes as the online giant seeks to address charges that it has failed -- along with Google and Twitter -- to prevent the spread of bogus news, most strikingly ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.

In a Facebook post, co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the network would seek to "prioritize news that is trustworthy, informative, and local."

"There's too much sensationalism, misinformation and polarization in the world today," Zuckerberg said. "Social media enables people to spread information faster than ever before, and if we don't specifically tackle these problems, then we end up amplifying them."

The new "trusted sources" ranking, which starts next week, would aim to "make sure the news you see is high quality" and "helps build a sense of common ground" rather than sow division, Zuckerberg said.

To do so, he said, Facebook decided to rely on member surveys as the most "objective" way to rank trust in news sources.

"We could try to make that decision ourselves, but that's not something we're comfortable with," Zuckerberg said. "We considered asking outside experts, which would take the decision out of our hands but would likely not solve the objectivity problem."

The new ranking system, he said, would hopefully separate news organizations that are only trusted by their readers or watchers, from ones that are broadly trusted across society.

"This update will not change the amount of news you see on Facebook," he said. "It will only shift the balance of news you see towards sources that are determined to be trusted by the community."

- Friends get priority -

The latest move comes a week after Facebook announced a major update to its user feed that highlights what friends and family share on the network, over advertisements, celebrity and media posts.

The company cast the change as part of a refocus on "community" -- prioritizing social interactions and relationships -- while acknowledging it would likely result in people spending less time on the platform.

"For some time, we have argued that Facebook should give priority to news from trusted sources," David Chavern, head of industry group News Media Alliance, said in a statement.

"This would be positive for consumers, as well as help to address 'fake news' issues."

The group will watch how the Facebook ranking changes are implemented and whether they deliver on the social network's stated goals, according to Chavern.

"My hope is that this update about trusted news and last week's update about meaningful interactions will help make time on Facebook time well spent," Zuckerberg said.

Known for annual personal goals ranging from killing his own food to learning Chinese, Zuckerberg's stated mission for this year is to "fix" the social network.

He plans to target abuse and hate, and interference by nation states.

- Brexit vote -

Meanwhile, British lawmakers probing possible Russian interference in the Brexit referendum revealed this week that Facebook agreed to broaden its own investigation into fake news around the vote, after the social media platform's initial efforts drew criticism.

The House of Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said Simon Milner, the tech titan's head of policy in Britain, had vowed the company would now search for "clusters engaged in coordinated activity around the Brexit referendum" that appeared to have originated in Russia.

Milner said it may take several weeks to produce results.

The commitment follows demands from MPs for Facebook and Twitter to provide further information on alleged Russian social media meddling in the run-up to the June 2016 referendum.

Executives from the platforms, as well as from Google, are due to give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry in February, when MPs will visit America for the occasion.

Veteran photographer Mario Testino -- a global icon in celebrity and fashion photography -- was accused of sexual harassment by 13 people Saturday.

Fashion photographer Bruce Weber -- already sued over harassment claims in December by model Jason Boyce -- was also implicated in a New York Times article on allegations against both photographers.

The allegations are the latest in a deluge of accusations concerning influential figures in entertainment, media, fashion and politics, sparked by revelations about longtime film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Peruvian-born Testino, 63, has photographed dozens of campaigns for big fashion houses and seen his work published in the likes of Vogue magazine over his career, which has spanned four decades.

His photograph of tennis player Serena Williams and her baby daughter appears on Vogue's February edition, unveiled this week -- while his other works include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's engagement photo and a series of images of Princess Diana in 1997 published in Vanity Fair.

Several models and ex-assistants of Testino accuse him of making increasingly aggressive sexual advances.

"He was a sexual predator," said Ryan Locke, a supermodel in the late 1990s.

Locke alleged that during a photo shoot on a bed, Testino asked his team to leave the room and then climbed onto the bed on top of him.

"I'm the girl, you're the boy," the photographer allegedly told the model, who said he walked out of the room.

A former photography assistant, Hugo Tillman, recalled a similar experience -- while another, Roman Barrett, accused Testino of rubbing up his leg and masturbating in front of him.

"Sexual harassment was a constant reality," he said.

Mario Testino did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

For the same New York Times article, 15 current or retired male models also accused Bruce Weber of sexual harassment. Weber also did not respond to a request for comment.

- Conde Nast bans Testino, Weber -

Conde Nast -- publisher of glossy magazines including Vogue -- said it would stop working with the two photographers.

"We are deeply disturbed by these accusations and take this very seriously," CEO Bob Sauerberg and Vogue editor Anna Wintour said in a joint statement.

"In light of these allegations, we will not be commissioning any new work with Bruce Weber or Mario Testino for the foreseeable future," they added.

The company also announced it had begun to formulate a code of conduct to protect models from sexual harassment in October, according to the Times.

The newspaper reported the guidelines include a ban on under-18 models and alcohol on sets -- and recommend that models are not left alone with photographers or other team members.

Nudity or poses of a "sexually suggestive" nature will be detailed and agreed upon before a shoot.

In October, several magazines and fashion houses also said they would no longer work with fashion photographer Terry Richardson after he too was accused of harassing models, following years of rumors about his behavior.

Tunisian actress Dora expressed her pleasure for participating in her new TV drama show “The Backstreet” , saying that she resumes the filming of her role during the current period. She added that the TV drama show presents new kind of drama not only in Egypt but also in all over the Arab world.

She stressed her confidence that the new drama show will be a turning point in her career as an actress and will meet the expectations of her fans in all over the Arab world. She added that the series discusses the idea of the presence of souls at home after death.

The TV drama show is considered the first work for the Tunisian actress in which she takes the leading character after ten years of her presence in the dramatic career in Egypt.

In the same context, she revealed secrets of beauty and elegance that dazzled everyone and raised a sensation on the social networking sites among fans. She stressed her keenness to choose her clothes carefully, saying that she follows the latest fashions to choose what suits her.

She added, in a statement to “Arabs Today”, that she prefers simple designs, saying that such simple designs underline the beauty of woman, saying that she is considered one of the worrying customers for the designers with whom she deals. She added that the designers who deal with me suffer from exhaustion, while they enjoy dealing with me.

She stressed that the designers like to deal with her, as her outstanding appear promotes their work. She revealed that a large number of designers are keen to contact with her asking to deal with her to promote their products.

She added, “I always prefer to wear a suitable dress that suits me to be distinctive and elegant because each occasion has its own designs. I always choose from each designer what is appropriate for me and suitable for the time and place to which I go. Of course, we discuss and sometimes have differences, while we reach to agreement over what is suitable for all.”

She added that she prefers the warm colors especially pastel colors, pink, blue, pink. She stressed also her keenness to drink large amounts of water, saying that the water rejuvenates the skin and protects it from dehydration. She added that she uses sun protection cream if she is walking or shooting for long hours in the sun.

She added that she also uses nourishing skin cream whether during the daytime or in the night. She added that she prefers quiet colors in make-up which show the beauty of the face without putting many cosmetics and loud colors whether for lipstick or other lotions.

Regarding her fitness, she said that Sports play a very important and important role in maintaining fitness with drinking plenty of water, indicating that she plays sport for half an hour a day with healthy food that include vegetables and fruit significantly. She stressed that this type of food is best for good health, maintaining fitness and beauty.

Online giant Amazon on Friday hiked the price of its Prime service for US monthly subscribers which includes access to streaming video and other perks.

The new fee will be $12.99 a month, up from $10.99, but customers may also opt for an annual membership of $99, which is unchanged.

Prime, a major growth driver for Amazon, includes its growing video service but also offers free delivery for many items as well as music streaming, photo storage and other benefits.

For US customers only seeking Amazon video, the cost will be $8.99 a month.

Amazon launched Prime in 2016, with the video service competing against rivals like Netflix, which recently raised its basic prime by one dollar to $10.99 a month.

Hulu, the number three streaming video provider in the United States, costs $7.99 a month, with an ad-free option at $11.99.

Amazon has not revealed details on the number of Prime subscribers but a report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) estimated it had 90 million in the United States as of September.

Amazon has also been expanding Prime, called Premium in some countries, to other markets around the world.

Mobile phone access was partially restored in war-torn eastern Ukraine on Friday after it was lost more than a week ago, the last major Ukrainian provider in the area said.

Almost two million people lost mobile connection in the devastated region after a Vodafone Ukraine fibre optic line was cut on January 11 as a result of fighting.

The provider sought to restore service after its workers had received security assurances from the warring parties in a conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives in nearly four years.

"Repair work on the restoration of communications... is completed. In the Lugansk region, communication services are provided in full," Vodafone Ukraine said in its statement, referring to the smaller of two breakaway provinces.

Meanwhile, the insurgent-controlled parts of the bigger Donetsk region still remain without a mobile connection.

"In the Donetsk region, the network does not work for reasons unknown to us. There is a possibility that the equipment is out of order or there is no power supply," Vodafone added.

The separatist authorities of the self-proclaimed Lugansk republic confirmed the restoration of mobile phone access as Donetsk leaders declared no changes in the area under their control.

The outage all but severed communication between family members living on opposite sides of the frontline splitting eastern Ukraine.

Russian-backed operator Pheonix, now the sole provider in Donetsk, only this week introduced a service that is theoretically able to place calls to Kiev-controlled regions at international rates.

The departure of Ukraine's KyivStar in 2015 and Lifecell last year left Vodafone as the only major provider in the region of some 3.5 million people.

This has left Phoenix filling the void in Donetsk, but it has only 600,000 subscribers and is already operating at full capacity.

The self-declared "communications minister" of Donetsk, Viktor Yashchenko, told the separatist DAN news agency earlier this week that 80,000 people had joined Phoenix since Vodafone went down.

An espionage campaign using malware-infected messaging apps has been stealing smartphone data from activists, soldiers, lawyers, journalists and others in more than 20 countries, researchers said in a report Thursday.

A report authored by digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation and mobile security firm Lookout detailed discovery of "a prolific actor" with nation-state capabilities "exploiting targets globally across multiple platforms."Desktop computers were also targeted, but getting into data-rich mobile devices was a primary objective, according to the report.

With fake versions of secure messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, the scheme has enabled attackers to take pictures, capture audio, pinpoint locations, and mine handsets for private data.

EFF and Lookout researchers dubbed the threat "Dark Caracal."

People in the US, Canada, Germany, Lebanon, and France have been hit by Dark Caracal, according to EFF director of cybersecurity Eva Galperin.

"This is a very large, global campaign, focused on mobile devices," Galperin said.

"Mobile is the future of spying, because phones are full of so much data about a person's day-to-day life."Hundreds of gigabytes of data have been taken from thousands of victims in more than 21 countries, according to Lookout and the EFF.

There were indications that Dark Caracal might be an infrastructure hosting a number of widespread, global cyberespionage campaigns, some of which date back years, the report said.

Because the apps fool people into thinking they are legitimate, users give them access to cameras, microphones and data.

"All Dark Caracal needed was application permissions that users themselves granted when they downloaded the apps, not realizing that they contained malware," said EFF staff technologist Cooper Quintin.

"This research shows it's not difficult to create a strategy allowing people and governments spy to on targets around the world."

Researchers reported that they tracked Dark Caracal to a building in Beirut belonging to the Lebanese General Security Directorate.

Analysis showed that devices of military personnel, businesses, journalists, lawyers, educators, and medical professionals have been compromised, according to the report.

"Not only was Dark Caracal able to cast its net wide, it was also able to gain deep insight into each of the victim's lives," the report concluded.

Cyber security professionals consistently warn people to be wary when downloading software, avoiding programs shared through links or email and instead relying on trusted sources.

Alphabet’s Google has agreed to a patent licensing deal with Tencent Holdings as it looks for ways to expand in China where many of its products, such as app store, search engine and email service, are blocked by regulators.
The US technology company has signed similar agreements before with Samsung, LG and Cisco Systems, but the deal with Tencent is a first with a large Chinese tech firm.
Google has previously said that agreements such as these reduce the potential of litigation over patent infringement.
The agreement with the Chinese social media and gaming firm Tencent covers a broad range of products and paves the way for collaboration on technology in the future, Google said on Friday, without disclosing any financial terms of the deal.
Tencent oversees China’s top social media and payments app, WeChat, which has close to a billion users. It also oversees one of the country’s most popular app stores and hosts the country’s biggest gaming and livestream platforms.
Google did not disclose the scope of the new patent deal and Tencent did not immediately respond to questions about which products the patent agreement will cover.
“By working together on agreements such as this, tech companies can focus on building better products and services for their users,” said Mike Lee, Google’s head of patents.
Over the past year, Google has indicated that it was looking to increase it presence in the restrictive Chinese market, with the launch of a local AI research lab, introduction of a version of its translation app and expansion into new cities.
The company announced this month that it had invested in Chinese livestream gaming app Chushou, which is similar to Google’s own YouTube game livestreaming services.
In December, Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke at a conference in China hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of China, which oversees censorship in the country.

Bahrain dailies issued today focused in their principal headlines on the main local, Arab and international events which happened over the past 24 hours. Here is a round-up of the main press headlines:

-HM the King congratulates Bahrain Bayan School over Zayed Future Energy Award.

-Crown Prince gave directives to speed up compensation for people affected by the oil pipeline blast.

- Consumer Protection takes legal action and warns against any tampering with prices.

-Princess Sabeeka opens the Art from the Islamic Civilization exhibition, hails Muharraq capital of Islamic Culture 2018 in promoting Bahrain.

-Nasser bin Hamad visits Bahrain Bayan School and hails the educational milestone for fostering creativity.

- Al-Meftah honours Quran Memorisation winners.

-Electricity and Water Affairs Minister takes part in panel discussion on renewable energy in Abu Dhabi and announced a 10-Megawatt solar station in Bahrain.

-Bahrain University - First term results to be announced on Sunday.

- Technical Committee: reassessment of the Government subsidies and targeted social categories.

- Al-Ansari: Bahrain committed to submitting the National CEDAW Report on time.

- UAE submits UAE submits two notes to UN on Qatar’s aircraft interception.

- Iraqi President: we support efforts to combat terrorism and consolidate relations with Bahrain.

-Emirates buys 36 Airbus planes for $16 billion.

- Al-Quds conference calls for urgent action to halt the decision to transfer the US embassy.

-Tillerson: the US Army will remain in Syria to fight Daesh, Iran and Assad.

-The occupation force killed Palestinian, accusing him of involvement in killed a Rabbi in the West Bank.

-President el-Sisi expressed concerns to Ethiopian Premier over the stalled technical studies into Al-Nahdha Dam. 

The EU's anti-trust authority on Thursday approved US semiconductor maker Qualcomm's $47-billion purchase of Dutch rival NXP, the biggest ever in the sector.The European Commission said it had given the go-ahead to the transaction after an "in-depth investigation", but subject to conditions.

The deal announced is aimed at extending Qualcomm's dominance in powering smartphones and extending its footprint into the "internet of things"—everyday objects connected to the web.

The EU, under the authority of Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, opened the probe in June due to concerns that the deal would affect competition and lead to higher prices for consumers.

"We use our smartphones for many different things and now also more and more as mobile wallets, to pay for public transport or make other secure payments," Vestager said in a statement.

"With this decision, we ensure that Qualcomm's takeover of NXP will not prevent consumers from continuing to enjoy the benefits of these innovative technologies at competitive prices," she said.

Qualcomm said it was "pleased" that the European Commission had approved the buyout, adding that the deal also got the green light from authorities in South Korea, leaving only China outstanding.

"Acquiring NXP is complementary to Qualcomm's global portfolio, providing tremendous scale in automotive, IoT, security and networking," said Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf.

"We are optimistic that China will expeditiously grant its clearance," he added.

The Commission is responsible for carrying out investigations to uphold free and fair competition in the 28-nation bloc's single market.

The deal, the largest ever in the semiconductor market, was designed to boost the US company amid falling mobile phone sales and stiff market competition.

Based in the Dutch town of Eindhoven, NXP is a leading maker of chips for the auto industry, as well as for contactless payment systems.

A former division of the Dutch electronics giant Philips, it became independent in 2006.

To win the EU's approval, Qualcomm committed to exclude certain patents from the transaction and ensure that NXP continues to license them to third parties as before.

The revered head of Taiwan's semiconductor giant said cryptocurrencies would be a key driver for growth despite a bitcoin slump due to the threat of stricter regulations.

Morris Chang's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) produces chips that power Apple's iPhones and, more recently, that enable new businesses like artificial intelligence and digital currency mining.

TSMC -- which is the world's biggest microchip producer by contracts -- announced its fourth-quarter results Thursday, saying revenue grew 5.9 percent to Tw$277.6 billion ($9.4 billion), citing new phone launches and cryptocurrency mining as key factors.

Some analysts estimate TSMC sales from producing chips used in digital currency mining could double this year to five to 10 percent of its total revenue, according to Bloomberg.

Chang warned "the price of cryptocurrency is very volatile" and said for that reason TSMC would not invest in new manufacturing capacity specifically for cryptocurrencies, but that the sector would be covered by the firm's wider high-performance computing platform.

He named high-performance computing including cryptocurrency mining as one of the drivers for future revenue growth, alongside artificial intelligence, the "internet of things" and automotives.

Chang's remarks come a day after bitcoin, the dominant virtual currency, crashed below $10,000 for the first time in six weeks following concerns of tightening regulations.

China is preparing for a new crackdown on cryptocurrency, according to the nation's state media, while South Korea's Justice Minister Park Sang-Ki indicated Seoul was preparing a bill to shut down virtual coin exchanges.

But TSMC forecast the sector would remain resilient as long as miners still make positive returns.

"The demand... has been very strong and we expect it to continue to be strong," Chang told analysts and investors at a briefing in Taipei.

TSMC is optimistic for overall growth in 2018, expecting revenue to increase by 10 to 15 percent -- more than the 9.1 percent increase in 2017 in US dollar terms.

Chang, 86, -- who is known as the "godfather" of Taiwan's semiconductor industry -- is set to retire in early June after his company's annual shareholders' meeting.

He built up the company over four decades to be come a multi-billion dollar powerhouse.

Lebanese authorities have banned Steven Spielberg's latest film, political thriller "The Post", and Australian drama "Jungle" to comply with a boycott of Israel, an official told AFP Monday.

"Screening of the film 'The Post' has been banned," said the official from Lebanon's General Security authority, speaking on condition of anonymity.Spielberg "is blacklisted by the Arab League's boycott office, which Lebanon complies with", the official explained.

The pan-Arab body maintains a regional boycott of Israel, and blacklisted Spielberg after he donated $1 million to Israel during its 2006 war with Lebanon.

The two countries are still technically in a state of war.

While Lebanon is generally considered the most liberal of Arab countries, it occasionally bans content considered immoral, inciteful, or supportive of Israel.

Lebanon's General Security -- in addition to controlling the country's borders -- is responsible for censoring films, plays, and books.

"The Post" was slated for a January 18, 2018 release date in Lebanese theatres.

The acclaimed production tells the behind-the-scenes story of the 1971 publication by The Washington Post of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the lies behind US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, the film has been hailed for using star power to highlight the virtues of a free press.

- Survival drama 'pulled' -

The other film that got the censorship axe was "Jungle", a survival drama about Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg, who got lost in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon in 1981.

The production, starring Daniel Radcliffe, had been screening for two weeks in Lebanon but is now being pulled, the same official told AFP.

"It received an authorisation to be screened, and it was indeed screening, but several registered complaints prompted us to pull it from theatres to avoid any problems," the official said, without specifying the nature of the protests.

Several days ago, the Lebanese branch of the Campaign to Boycott the Supporters of Israel (CBSI) called on Lebanese nationals to boycott "Jungle," citing ties to Israel.

"It is about an Israeli backpacker and is based on the book by an Israeli author, Yossi Ghinsberg, who was born in the Zionist entity, grew up in Tel Aviv and served in the Israeli navy," the campaign said.

"One of its producers, Dana Lustig, is also Israeli," it added.

Restrictions from Lebanese authorities and public pressure from groups including CBSI have swelled recently.

Last year, Lebanon banned the screening of Hollywood blockbuster "Wonder Woman" because lead actress Gal Gadot had served in the Israeli military.

- 'Clear standards' -

French-Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri was held for questioning by Lebanese authorities in September over his film "The Attack," which was partially shot in Israel.

The 2012 film, banned in Lebanon, follows the story of an Israeli surgeon of Arab origin whose wife is the perpetrator of a suicide attack.

And just last week, celebrated Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was the subject of public scrutiny over a picture he posted on Instagram of Gal Gadot wearing one of his dresses.

The photograph was deleted after a barrage of critical comments.

The boycott-driven bans have sparked controversy in Lebanon.

Some have welcomed them as a bulwark against the "cultural normalisation" of Israel's occupation.

Writer and CBSI member Samah Idris said the recall of "Jungle" was "another achievement for supporters of the boycott of the Israeli enemy in Lebanon and the Arab nation, and supporters of Palestine generally."

But others have insisted that boycotting should be a choice made by individuals, not imposed by authorities.

Film critic Nadim Jarjura called on the government to adopt "clear standards" when restricting films.

"When Lebanese authorities decide a particular film is allowed to be screened because it complies with the laws and conditions of the boycott, I don't understand how other authorities can come back and change this decision," he told AFP.

Banned films can often be found in bootleg movie shops across the country for as little as a one dollar, and even blacklisted books can sometimes be found in regular bookstores.

Actor Michael Douglas has issued a pre-emptive denial of accusations that he committed a sex act in front of a female employee three decades ago.

"She claims that I masturbated in front of her," the 73-year-old Oscar winner told Deadline magazine. "This is a complete lie, fabrication, no truth to it whatsoever."

Douglas said he was issuing the denial after being told by his attorney that The Hollywood Reporter planned to publish a story about the allegations.

Another Hollywood star, James Franco, denied meanwhile that he had engaged in sexual misconduct after accusations surfaced on social media.

"The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn't have a voice for so long," Franco said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

"So, I don't want to shut them down in any way. I think it's a good thing and I support it," Franco said.

Franco was referring to the deluge of sexual misconduct allegations brought about by the downfall of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Douglas, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for "Wall Street" in 1988, said the woman, who was not identified, also alleged that he had used "colorful language" in front of her and "blackballed" her.

"She may have overheard private conversations, and if she was offended, she could have excused herself," he said.

"As far as blackballing her, that was completely untrue.

"She was a lady who was involved in development at my company, and we just didn't have a good development record in the time she was there, so I just moved on," he said. "I never blackballed her."

"I pride myself of being so supportive of the women's movement," Douglas added. It's extremely painful. I pride myself on my reputation in this business."

Franco, 39, told Colbert that he had no idea why actress Ally Sheedy had criticized him on Twitter.

Sheedy, in tweets later removed, said she did not understand how Franco was allowed to attend Sunday's Golden Globes, where he won a Best Actor award for "The Disaster Artist."

"Please never ask me why I left the film/TV business," Sheedy tweeted after Franco got his Golden Globe.

"First of all, I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy," Franco said. "I directed her in a play off-Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her -- total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset."

Franco also said that "if there's restitution to be made I will make it."

"If I've done something wrong I will fix it," he said.

Hollywood's elite head for the red carpet Sunday for the Golden Globes, the glitzy launch of the entertainment industry's awards season, with sexual harassment scandals casting a long shadow over celebrations.

Billed as the most raucous event in the showbiz calendar, the champagne-drenched Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual prize-giving is a draw for filmmakers and actors looking to create some buzz ahead of March's Academy Awards.

But this year's ceremony, seen as the first big opportunity for the industry to unite against a pervasive culture of sexual misconduct brought to light by the downfall of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, may strike a more somber tone.

"The deluge of sexual misconduct revelations has been the story of the year, so it's safe to predict that it will be the story of the night at the Golden Globes," Debra Birnbaum, executive editor for television at industry weekly Variety, told AFP.

"It will influence everything from Seth Meyers' monologue to impassioned acceptance speeches to the fashion."

The ceremony at the Beverly Hilton -- the first for late night NBC funnyman Meyers as host -- is not as reliable at predicting Oscars glory as the galas held by Hollywood's acting, producing and directing unions.

But it remains one of the most high-profile and glamorous events of the awards calendar and tends to generate more headlines for tipsy tributes, daring gowns and wacky tuxedos.

- Solidarity -
Actors and actresses are however expected to turn out in black this year, in solidarity with victims of Weinstein and numerous other figures exposed by the harassment and abuse scandal, including Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner and Dustin Hoffman.

The directors of the best foreign film entries were asked at a Q&A in Hollywood on Saturday if even attending the Globes could be taken as a sign of tolerance for the film industry's misogynistic culture.

"We have many things that have to be dealt with in the world," said Angelina Jolie, who made the Cambodian entry, "First They Killed my Father."

"The issues are very big and very serious. We have a lot of work to do."

Leading the pack this year is Guillermo del Toro's fantasy romance "The Shape of Water" with seven nominations, while "The Post" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" are tied for second, with six each.

Overall, 25 awards are given out -- 14 for movies and 11 for TV -- and, as usual, the 90-member HFPA has sprung more than a few surprises in the nominations, placing horror satire "Get Out" in the best comedy-musical category.

- Wide open -
While many fields are wide open, James Franco ("The Disaster Artist") is almost certain to win best actor in a musical/comedy movie, according to awards prediction website Gold Derby, ahead of Daniel Kaluuya ("Get Out").

The site expects Saoirse Ronan ("Lady Bird") to pip Margot Robbie ("I, Tonya") in the parallel race for best actresses for her acclaimed performance as a troubled teen.

On the small-screen, HBO's "Big Little Lies" leads with six nominations, followed by FX's "Feud: Bette and Joan," with four, and "The Handmaid's Tale," "Fargo," and "This Is Us" all picking up three nods apiece.

Gold Derby's Amanda Spears speculated that the harassment scandal could boost "Big Little Lies" star Shailene Woodley in the race for best supporting TV actress for her Emmy-nominated performance as a single mother raising a child conceived by rape.

The star-studded roll call of presenters this year includes "Game of Thrones" duo Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington, as well as Penelope Cruz, Gal Gadot, Hugh Grant and Chris Hemsworth.

The ceremony will air live on NBC from 5:00 pm Pacific time (0100 GMT Monday).

Below are some headlines from Bahrain's newspapers on local events:

// HM King receives minister, staff of Labour Ministry, lauding Bahraini workforce efforts, productivity.
// HM King hails Bahrain’s success to improve in many growth indices.
// HM King underlines key role of civil society institutions in fast-tracking modernisation.
// Deputized by HRH Premier, Deputy Premier HH Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa opens 44th Fine Arts Exhibition.
// Bahrain dismisses Qatari allegation of its airspace being violated by UAE military aircraft.
// Priority to recruitment of Bahrainis in health sector: Supreme Health Council.
// Streamlining administrative procedures for investors: SLRB president.
// Subsidies to include up to BD1500 salary recipients: MP.
// New blocs to compete in BCCI elections.

British lawmakers probing possible Russian interference in the Brexit referendum revealed Wednesday that Facebook had agreed to broaden its own investigation into fake news around the vote, after the social media platform's initial efforts drew criticism.

The House of Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee said Simon Milner, the tech titan's head of policy in Britain, had vowed the company would now search for "clusters engaged in coordinated activity around the Brexit referendum" that appeared to have originated in Russia.

Milner said security experts would begin their investigation "promptly" but that it may take several weeks to produce results.

The commitment, detailed in a letter to committee chair Damian Collins, follows demands from MPs for Facebook and Twitter to provide further information on alleged Russian social media meddling in the run-up to the June 2016 referendum.

"It is right that companies like Facebook should initiate their own research into issues like this where there is such clear public concern, and not just act on intelligence that has been passed to them," Collins said in a statement.

"They are best placed to investigate activity on their platform."

Collins had previously criticised Facebook for doing "no work" in its initial probe of Russia's alleged disinformation campaign.

The UK Electoral Commission had asked the company to look at accounts identified as part of Russia's "Internet Research Agency" of trolls and propagandists, which interfered in the US presidential election.

Facebook concluded last month that their impact in Britain was limited because they had spent so little on adverts before the referendum.

But Collins' sceptical committee asked the company to look again.

In his letter to MPs, Milner said Facebook believed the Russia-linked accounts identified "seemed to be the most likely area" to find evidence of meddling in Britain, and agreed to look deeper into records.

Collins added in his statement: "I look forward to seeing the results of this investigation, and I'm sure we will want to question Facebook about this when we know the outcome."

Executives from the platform, as well as from Twitter and Google, are due to give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into fake news in February, when MPs will visit America for the occasion.

A maverick senator from Donald Trump's own Republican party launched a stinging attack on the president on Wednesday, accusing him of employing Stalinist language to attack and undermine the free press.

Arizona lawmaker Jeff Flake levelled the broadside in an address from the Senate floor, timed to coincide with the expected announcement of controversial "Fake News Awards" by Trump's administration.

Flake -- an outspoken critic of the president who is not seeking re-election this year -- hit out at what he called Trump's disregard for the truth, and his repeated designation of the news media as an "enemy."

"The 'enemy of the people' was how the president of the United States called the free press in 2017," Flake told lawmakers.

"Mr. President, it is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Joseph Stalin to describe his enemies," he said.

"So fraught with malice was the phrase 'enemy of the people,' that even Nikita Khrushchev forbade its use."

Flake accused Trump's White House of a "daily assault" on the constitutionally protected right to free speech, calling it "as unprecedented as it is unwarranted."

And he accused Trump of committing "moral vandalism" against the truth, from his longtime questioning of Barack Obama's birth certificate to his dismissal of Russian meddling in the 2016 election as a "hoax" -- and warned he was emboldening authoritarian regimes around the world to persecute the press.

"2017 was a year which saw the truth -- objective, empirical, evidence-based truth more battered and abused than any time in the history of our country, at the hands of the biggest figure in our government," Flake said.

"Without truth and a principled fidelity to truth and to shared facts, Mr President, our democracy will not last," he warned.

Trump tweeted last week that he would be awarding "Fake News Awards" to the "most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media" this Wednesday -- but the White House has remained evasive on whether the controversial event, already once delayed, would take place.

YouTube on Tuesday announced ramped-up rules regarding when it will run ads with videos as it scrambled to quell concerns by brands about being paired with troublesome content.

“There’s no denying 2017 was a difficult year, with several issues affecting our community and our advertising partners,” YouTube vice president of display, video and analytics Paul Muret said in a blog post.

“The challenges we faced in 2017 have helped us make tough but necessary changes in 2018.”Channels at YouTube will need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time within the past year to be eligible for ads, according to Muret.

Previously, channels could be eligible for ads as part of a YouTube Partner Program by racking up 10,000 views or more.

“We want to take channel size, audience engagement, and creator behaviour into consideration to determine eligibility for ads,” Muret said.

YouTube will closely watch for spam, abuse flags and other signals to make sure channels are remaining within the Google-owned video-sharing platforms policies regarding content, according to the post.

Muret said that manual reviews of video will be added to a Google Preferred system that brands use to place ads with popular YouTube content to better vet videos.

YouTube is also providing advertisers simpler controls regarding where ads appear and transparency including safety checks by outside parties, according to Muret.

The changes were expected to affect “a significant number” of YouTube channels eligible to run ads.

YouTube late last year pulled 150,000 videos of children after lewd comments about them were posted by viewers and went public with a vow to greatly increase the ranks of workers focused on rooting out content violating its policies.The moves came as YouTube strived to assure companies their ads would not appear with offensive or inappropriate videos.

“We are passionate about protecting our users, advertisers and creators and making sure YouTube is not a place that can be co-opted by bad actors,” Muret said.

“While we took several steps last year to protect advertisers from inappropriate content, we know we need to do more to ensure that their ads run alongside content that reflects their values.”

Google on Tuesday said it is adding three new undersea data cables as it continues to bulk up its ability to power cloud services around the world.

The US internet behemoth has spent $30 billion improving its infrastructure during the past three years and "we're not done yet," according to cloud platform vice president Ben Treynor Sloss.

Fast, reliable internet connections have become imperative as games, social networks, television, financial transactions, documents and more are accessed as services hosted online at data centers.

"Simply put, our cable systems provide the speed, capacity and reliability Google is known for worldwide," Sloss said in a blog post.

"While we haven't hastened the speed of light, we have built a superior cloud network as a result of the well-provisioned direct paths between our cloud and end-users."

Google competes with Amazon Web Services as a platform that companies can contract to handle cloud offerings.

Google is adding network capabilities in Netherlands, Montreal, Finland, Hong Kong and Los Angeles this year, according to Sloss.

Next year, Google will commission three subsea cables.

A 'Curie' cable connecting Chile and Los Angeles will be the first intercontinental connection of its kind not owned by a telecom company, Sloss said.

Google will work with leading social network Facebook and other companies on a "Havfrue" cable linking the US with Denmark and Ireland.

A Hong Kong-Guam cable system in the Pacific Ocean will improve capacity between Australian and locations in Asia, according to Google.

"Together, these investments further improve our network - the world's largest - which by some accounts delivers 25 percent of worldwide internet traffic," Sloss said.