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Russia's lower house of parliament approved the third reading of a draft law that aims to increase Moscow's sovereignty over its internet segment and defend against foreign meddling. The law will come into force on 1 November 2019. Some parts of the legislation: on cryptographic protection of the information and national system of domains — will come into force on 1 January 2022.
Source: meduza.io

UK universities have spent nearly £90m on payoffs to staff that come with “gagging orders” in two years, raising fears that victims of misconduct at higher education institutions are being silenced.
Source: theguardian.com

Press freedom in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Malta ranks among the worst in the world, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based NGO. From journalists' murders to media take-overs by oligarchs close to state powers, the three EU states were portrayed as an embarrassment for the European Union.
Source: euobserver.com

The German Cabinet passed draft legislation aimed at speeding up the deportation of unsuccessful asylum seekers, but critics warn it would break EU law. The proposed law could see the asylum seekers that did not succeed detained in prison.
Source: politico.eu

The EU passed a law to strengthen protections for whistleblowers who report violations of EU law and increase whistleblower reporting to aid law enforcement.
Source: jurist.org

Police say 94 incidents reported last year for offence now punishable with jail term up to two years. Upskirting is a term used to describe the act of taking a sexually intrusive photograph up someone’s skirt without their permission.
Source: theguardian.com

Trash collection companies in at least nine Russian regions are at risk of shutting down over unpaid bills. Waste disposal operators may stop work due to non-payment in nine regions of the Russian Federation. The difficulties are blamed on nationwide reforms tasking regions with choosing operators to collect waste that took effect on Jan. 1. Half of the citizens don’t pay new bills.
Source: svoboda.org

The governing "Law and Justice" party in Poland says LGBT groups are a dangerous threat and it’s turning them into an election issue.
Source:bloomberg.com

Google and other search engines will have to pay publishers to share articles and other materials in the Internet. New copyright regulations are supposed to be implemented by the EU countries within two years.
Source: dw.com

UN Special Rapporteur Leilani Farha on Friday highlighted an extreme lack of adequate housing in France, as detailed in her preliminary findings. Farha’s report breaks down France’s housing issues, detailing the government’s lack of response to housing needs, the poor conditions of the existing housing supply, and the continued increase in extreme poverty and homelessness.
Source: jurist.org

Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry has prepared a bill that, if passed, would introduce stricter requirements for migrants who are deported from Russia to reimburse the costs of their own deportation.
Source: meduza.io

An international conservative congress aimed at promoting “family values” saw the otherwise quiet city of Verona become the scene of a culture clash between ultra-religious participants and tens of thousands of protesters.
Source: politico.eu