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  • China urges U.S., Japan to withdraw Typhon missile system deployment

    China urges U.S., Japan to withdraw Typhon missile system deployment




    China urges the United States and Japan to withdraw the Typhon missile system deployed in Japan as soon as possible as the deployment poses a substantive threat to regional strategic security, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

    Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing that, despite China’s grave concerns, the U.S. and Japan went ahead with deploying an intermediate-range missile system in Japan under the pretext of joint exercises and training.

    “China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes this,” Lin said.

    He stressed that the U.S. deployment of such a system in Asian countries undermines the legitimate security interests of other countries, increases the risk of an arms race and military confrontation in the region, and poses a substantive threat to regional strategic security.

    Lin urged the U.S. and Japan to respect the security concerns of other countries, heed the voices of regional countries, and correct their wrongful actions.

    Due to its history of militarist aggression, Japan’s military and security moves have always been viewed with great vigilance by its Asian neighbors and the international community, the spokesperson added.

    China urges Japan to reflect deeply on its history of aggression as this year marks the 80th anniversary of victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Lin said.

    Japan should be cautious in its words and deeds in the military and security arenas, avoid assisting villainous acts, and refrain from doing anything that would break the trust of its Asian neighbors or undermine regional peace and stability, he said.

    (Cover: A file photo of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. /VCG) 



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  • Left and right have merged in America

    Left and right have merged in America


    “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” So wrote Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin in a text message to his roommatewhich investigators have now revealed.

    It’s the closest we’ve come to hearing a clear rationale for the murder so far, but it’s also more comprehensive than that. It’s a broad principle: a starting point whose natural ending is violence. Once we deem something to be intolerably hateful, and conclude there can be no negotiation with the people who espouse it, there is nothing left to do but vanquish them.

    Political violence is right now a condition of American life. The fact that one side avails itself of this tool more often than the other doesn’t change that.

    Political violence is right now a condition of American life. The fact that one side avails itself of this tool more often than the other doesn’t change that.Credit: AP

    That’s a bloodcurdling thought in the wake of a politically motivated murder. But political violence almost always sits atop a broader phenomenon. It’s the exceptional expression of a larger malaise. Here, we must acknowledge that this idea – that some of our fellow citizens are evil and unworthy of engagement – is an increasingly common one in our age. We’re applying it to an ever-expanding list of deplorables, according to our various political tastes: racists, fascists, communists, sexists, capitalists, homophobes, feminists, Zionists, Islamists, globalists, nationalists. Of course, we reserve the right to categorise people as loosely as we wish, whether they accept such descriptions or not, which is partly why terms such as “fascist” and (especially in the US) “communist” are thrown around so wantonly.

    This is apparently how we show our moral seriousness now. Not through restraint, patience or the discipline to deal fairly – even with our foes. Rather, it’s through emphatic, non-negotiable condemnation. This is righteousness through excommunication, through militant posturing. The result is an ever-growing circle of people with whom there can be no negotiation, no democratic deliberation, and ultimately no democratic future. The aim is not to find a way to go on together. It is to achieve total victory.

    The more politics becomes a series of do-or-die existential battles in which the ends justify all manner of means, the more it moves from democracy towards war. That is currently the United States’ direction of travel. So much of its political life – from its most partisan media outlets, to its succumbing to social media algorithms, to its parties’ frequent gerrymandering of electoral districts – is geared for total victory. That doesn’t mean everyone will suddenly embrace violence, of course. But it does mean that violence becomes a more viable option. And when it occurs, it will not reset things or trigger introspection. Instead, it will be conscripted immediately into the political war.

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    Thus, we see Jimmy Kimmel suggest Kirk’s alleged shooter is a member of “the MAGA gang” when the little available evidence we have suggests the opposite. That he did this during a monologue against “finger-pointing” and “political point-scoring”, with no sense of irony, emphasises just how deeply the disease has seeped.

    Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance immediately characterised his murder as a consequence of radical left extremism, even though there was no clear evidence to support that theory at the time. To be fair to them, their description may turn out to be true on this occasion. It is also true that left-wing political violence in America is an established phenomenon, evidenced by the attempted murder of a conservative Supreme Court judge or the shooting of the Republican House whip during a baseball practice session of Republican congressmen. But the aim here isn’t merely to describe the facts. It’s to prosecute a partisan struggle, with Vance pledging to set the justice department onto “radical left lunatics” as the administration sees them.

    That’s why there is no sense for Trump and Vance that when Minnesota’s Democrat House Speaker and her husband were shot to death in their home in June – allegedly by a registered Republican – it was a consequence of some right-wing equivalent. Or when there was an arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania’s Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro. Or when a man broke into then-Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s house, and when he couldn’t find her, took to her husband’s skull with a hammer instead.



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  • Four-year-old girl sexually assaulted in Mumbai school; female staffer held

    Four-year-old girl sexually assaulted in Mumbai school; female staffer held



    The police said a four-year-old girl has allegedly been sexually assaulted at a well-known Mumbai school, leading to the arrest of a female staffer, reported news agency PTI.

    The incident took place on Monday after the girl`s grandmother dropped her off at the Mumbai school, an official from Goregaon police station said on Wednesday.

    When the girl returned home, she complained of experiencing pain. After getting her medically examined, the girl`s family informed the school administration and lodged a police complaint, he said, reported PTI.

    Based on the complaint, police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested a female staff member of the Mumbai school, according to the official, reported PTI.

    However, her role in the alleged assault was not clear.

    Police were scanning CCTV footage of the school as part of their investigation.

    Three female assistant staff members of the school have been called for questioning, the official added, reported PTI.

    Tribal man killed, body dumped near Samruddhi Highway in Thane; 1 held

    In another case, four persons allegedly thrashed a tribal man to death following an old dispute and dumped the body near the Samruddhi highway in Maharashtra`s Thane district, police said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

    The body was found near Ratandhale village along the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway on Tuesday morning, they said, reported PTI.

    The accused had a dispute with the 47-year-old victim, identified as Ramdas Gorkhane, a resident of Pradhanpada village, an official from Shahapur police station said, reported PTI.

    After a heated argument, they allegedly kicked Gorkhane and also hit him with sticks. When his nephew tried to intervene, the accused asked him to step aside and forcefully bundled the victim into a jeep and took him away, the official said.

    At around 5 am on Tuesday, some passers-by found the body near the highway. The body was later sent to the government-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai for forensic examination, the police said.

    Following a complaint by the victim`s nephew, the police launched a probe and arrested one of the accused, identified as Sunil Nimse, senior police inspector Mukesh Dhage said, adding efforts were on to trace the others.

    A case has been registered against the accused on charges of kidnapping and murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

    (With inputs from PTI)



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  • Flores’ attorneys file for reconsideration of arbitration order

    Flores’ attorneys file for reconsideration of arbitration order


    Attorneys for Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and several other plaintiffs have filed for reconsideration of a court order that shifted some of their lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams to the league’s arbitration process.

    In a request filed earlier this week with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Flores — along with fellow coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton — argued that the 2023 order should be reconsidered based on an August ruling that found insurmountable flaws in the league’s arbitration process. That decision, Flores’ attorneys wrote in this week’s filing, “constitutes definitive controlling law” over the previous order.

    “Any attempt by the NFL to further delay and avoid litigation of these claims should respectfully be rejected,” the attorneys wrote.

    Flores sued the NFL and several teams in January 2022, after he had been fired by the Miami Dolphins as their head coach and was in the process of interviewing for other jobs. His original claim accused the league of being “rife with racism,” particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches.

    Standard NFL coaching contracts calls for disputes to be settled in an arbitration organized by the commissioner. Following the 2023 order, commissioner Roger Goodell named Peter C. Harvey as the arbitrator for the issues that had been shifted out of the lawsuit.

    That arbitration process has not progressed since an exchange of legal briefs in December 2024, Flores’ attorneys said in their filing this week.

    “As such,” they wrote, “the entire arbitration has been in a complete standstill and effective stay.”

    Flores spent the 2022 season as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Vikings in 2023. He interviewed for head coaching positions with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets after the 2024 season but did not advance out of the first round of applicants for any of them.

    Some of Flores’ claims led the NFL to strip the Dolphins of their first-round draft pick in 2023, among other disciplinary measures, for violations of league policies relating to the integrity of the game. Following a six-month investigation, the league found the Dolphins — primarily team owner Stephen Ross and vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal — violated the anti-tampering policy on three occasions from 2019 to 2022 in conversations with quarterback Tom Brady and the agent for then-New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.



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  • UN chief Guterres: Two-state solution 'the only viable' way for peace

    UN chief Guterres: Two-state solution 'the only viable' way for peace




    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday reaffirmed that the two-state solution remains the only viable way to resolve the Palestine issue. 

    “I think we absolutely must do everything and mobilize as much as we can the international community to make sure that the two-state solution prevails,” Guterres said in response to China Media Group at a press conference at the UN headquarters.

    The question is simple, what is the alternative? Is it a one-state system where people are stripped of basic rights? Or one where they are displaced from their lands? Is this even possible in the 21st century? Is it acceptable?” he asked. “I believe Israel must realize that a one-state solution involving the subjugation of Palestinians without rights is completely unacceptable.

     And so the two-state solution remains the only viable alternative to preserve peace,” he said. “Without a two-state solution, there will be no peace in the Middle East, and extremism will expand everywhere in the world, with consequences that I consider extremely, extremely negative,” Guterres added. The UN chief’s remarks came one day after Israel launched a massive ground offensive in Gaza City.

    Guterres also rebuffed claims by U.S. and Israeli officials that recognizing a Palestinian state would be “a gift to Hamas.” “First of all, it’s not a gift to Hamas. It is a gift to the Palestinian people that has also suffered a lot because of Hamas,” he said. 

    The UN General Assembly last Friday approved a draft resolution supporting the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

    (Cover: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefs reporters at UN Headquarters on the start of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 16, 2025. /VCG)



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  • New hotel and restaurant construction banned on untouched land after deadly floods

    New hotel and restaurant construction banned on untouched land after deadly floods



    The moratorium has the support of Indonesian Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, who said the Ayung River Basin, which encompasses Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan, had lost 97 per cent of its forest cover to development.

    “If only 3 per cent remains, its capacity to withstand extreme rainfall is clearly very low,” Hanif said.

    Denpasar regularly floods at the beginning of the wet season because the drains are blocked with rubbish and sludge. But the floods this month were extreme.

    “I have lived in this home my entire life, and it has never flooded that high. Ever,” Wayan Sundri, 85, said. “The floods usually just go up the riverbanks. It has never gone into my house.”



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  • Main accused in cyber slavery case held by Mumbai Police

    Main accused in cyber slavery case held by Mumbai Police



    Mumbai Police, currently investigating a cyber slavery case involving five individuals trafficked to Laos under the pretext of job offers in Thailand, arrested the prime accused on Wednesday, officials said, reported news agency PTI.

    The accused, identified as Salman Munir Shaikh, was apprehended by the South Region Cyber Police Station team from Nayanagar in Mira Road, an official said, reported PTI.

    Shaikh had been operating as an agent, allegedly sending people to Laos by offering them lucrative call centre jobs. According to officials, he promised data entry positions at a Thailand-based company with a monthly salary of Rs 70,000 to five individuals in August 2024, reported PTI.

    A complainant and his friend, who expressed interest in the offer, paid Rs 30,000 each to Shaikh for visa processing and airfare. Initially, Shaikh sent them to Thailand, from where they were transported to Laos in a private vehicle and handed over to a Chinese national, reported PTI.

    Once in Laos, the victims were forced to work in a call centre involved in duping individuals and extorting money through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, the official added, reported PTI.

    During their captivity, the accused confiscated the victims` passports and restricted their movement, preventing them from leaving the premises. The traffickers also demanded 20,000 Chinese Yuan from each victim to allow them to return home.

    Three held for robbery of over Rs 2 crore cash in Mumbai

    In another case, the Mumbai police have arrested three persons in connection with the robbery of more than Rs 2 crore cash belonging to a private finance company at Girgaon in south Mumbai, officials said on Tuesday, reported PTI.

    The police first arrested Abdul Rahim Shaikh (40), a resident of Mumbra in Thane. He was held by the Mumbai crime branch team from Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, an official said, reported PTI.

    His interrogation led to the arrest of two more accused in the case, he said.

    After him, the police arrested Baijnath Yadav from Mumbai with a local court sending him in police custody till September 22.

    Another accused, Munish Paul, was held from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Rs 35 lakh were recovered from him and he is being brought to Mumbai, the official said, reported PTI.

    As per the complaint, the incident occurred on September 11, at Girgaon under the V P Road police station limits. Unidentified robbers threatened a driver of the vehicle, which was carrying cash of the private finance company, using a gun and fled with the bag containing cash, he said, reported PTI.

    The complainant had initially told the police that Rs 50 lakh were robbed, he said.

    During the probe, police examined the CCTV footage of the area and found that Yadav, the driver of the vehicle, was misleading the police. Accordingly, the police officials obtained his call detail records (CDR) and found that he was in contact with other accused persons of the case.

    (With inputs from PTI)



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  • Tony Stewart to race vs. wife, Leah Pruett, in 2026 NHRA season

    Tony Stewart to race vs. wife, Leah Pruett, in 2026 NHRA season


    NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will continue his drag-racing career in 2026 — and he will compete against his wife.

    Stewart announced Thursday that he will drive a Top Fuel dragster for Elite Motorsports next season. The move comes a week after he announced plans to turn his NHRA seat back over to his wife, Leah Pruett, who took a little more than a year off after giving birth to their son, Dominic.

    Pruett will resume her role at Tony Stewart Racing in 2026, and Stewart will now race against her even though their teams have a marketing alliance.

    “First things first, though, we need to get the program funded, but letting everyone know our intentions, that will help,” team owner Richard Freeman said. “Tony is a great driver. We all know he can drive anything.

    “He’s great for drag racing, not just as a team owner but behind the wheel. We’re excited that through our marketing alliance with Tony Stewart Racing, we’re creating an opportunity for Tony to keep a Top Fuel seat and a chance to race alongside his wife, Leah.”

    Freeman purchased the Top Fuel operation from Josh Hart earlier this month and now has one of the motorsport’s most accomplished drivers behind the wheel.

    “I said from the very beginning that I was just keeping Leah’s seat warm and that it was hers as soon as she was ready to come back,” Stewart said. “And as much as I wanted to continue driving, TSR is not in a position to add a second Top Fuel car. But with Richard buying Josh Hart’s team and our recent alliance, I can still work as an owner and a driver to help both our organizations grow.”

    The 2026 season will be Stewart’s third in Top Fuel. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 1997 IndyCar champion earned NHRA Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and broke through with two Top Fuel wins this year. With five races left in the NHRA season, Stewart is second in points.



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  • Israel opens Gaza route; EU proposes Israeli trade sanctions

    Israel opens Gaza route; EU proposes Israeli trade sanctions




    <img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-09-17/Israel-opens-Gaza-route-EU-proposes-Israeli-trade-sanctions-1GKnFIox9Xq/img/4876b62dc07748a397dbda5573919185/4876b62dc07748a397dbda5573919185.png' alt='Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza along the coastal road toward the south, as Israel announced an expanded operation in Gaza City, September 16, 2025. /VCG'

    The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it will open a temporary new route to allow people to escape Gaza City, as it continued its major ground assault aimed at destroying Hamas. 

    The Israeli military launched a heavy bombardment of Gaza City before dawn on Tuesday and pushed its troops further into the Gaza Strip’s largest urban center. 

    Meanwhile, a United Nations (UN) investigation accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Palestinian territory, stating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials had incited the crime. 

    On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it was creating “a temporary transportation route via Salah al-Din Street.” Its Arabic spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, explained that the corridor would remain open for only 48 hours starting at midday on Wednesday. 

    The UN estimated at the end of August that approximately one million people lived in Gaza City and its surrounding areas. 

    The Israeli army reported on Wednesday that “more than 350,000” had so far fled south. Many Palestinians interviewed by AFP in Gaza insist there is no safe place in the territory and say they would rather die in their homes than be displaced again.

    Hamas said the assault was “systematic ethnic cleansing targeting our people in Gaza.”

    On Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak for the world body, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur,” said Navi Pillay, head of the COI.

    Israel said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the “immediate abolition” of the COI.

    On Wednesday, Qatar became the latest country to urge Israel to stop its assault on Gaza City, calling it “an extension of its genocidal war against the Palestinian people.”

    <img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-09-17/Israel-opens-Gaza-route-EU-proposes-Israeli-trade-sanctions-1GKnFIox9Xq/img/bd0e6b351e284ac2903638dc935bbc98/bd0e6b351e284ac2903638dc935bbc98.png' alt='High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Kaja Kallas reacts as she speaks during a press conference on the Mercosur trade agreement, at the EU headquarters, Brussels, September 3, 2025. /VCG'

    EU proposes Israeli trade, sanctions

    The European Commission stated on Wednesday that it has submitted a proposal to the Council of the European Union (EU), recommending a partial suspension of trade preferences granted to Israel, along with sanctions on certain Israeli ministers, settlers, and related entities. 

    According to a senior EU official, the move does not equate to stopping trade with Israel but involves suspending its preferential treatment under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Once in effect, Israeli exports to the EU would be subject to the World Trade Organization’s most-favored-nation (MFN) rules, leading to higher tariffs.

    According to EU trade data, Israel’s goods exports to the EU totaled about 15.9 billion euros (roughly $18.8 billion) in 2024. The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, making up around 32 percent of its global trade.

    The Commission estimates that if trade volumes remain the same, Israeli exporters would face approximately 220 million euros (around $260.48 million) in additional tariffs each year, affecting about 37 percent of their exports to the EU, primarily agricultural products like fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

    The Commission stated that the measures are a response to Israel’s violation of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, citing its effects on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the decline of the two-state solution.

    Additionally, the Commission proposed sanctions against two Israeli ministers—National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—as well as certain violent settlers and related entities. The EU also plans to add 10 Hamas political bureau members to its sanctions list, imposing asset freezes and travel bans.

    Under EU rules, trade measures must be approved by a qualified majority in the Council of the European Union. They will officially take effect 30 days after notifying the EU-Israel Association Council. 



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  • Trump threatens TV licences over coverage of him

    Trump threatens TV licences over coverage of him


    While late-night TV talk shows face declining ratings due to competition from streaming services, Kimmel was second in his timeslot behind Stephen Colbert in the second quarter of 2025, according to LateNighterand won the timeslot in the important 18-to-49 demographic.

    Kimmel has not commented publicly. In his most recent post on the social network BlueSky, a week ago, he sent love to Kirk’s family and said: “Can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?”

    But on his Monday night show, Kimmel incorrectly implied Kirk’s accused assassin was “one of them”, that being the MAGA movement, and said Trump’s allies were using the murder to “score political points”.

    TV station owners Sinclair and Nexstar said these remarks were offensive and insensitive, and announced they would “pre-empt”, or replace, his program with something else. ABC then announced a broader suspension.

    The Federal Communication Act requires licensed broadcasters to act in the public interest, though a “fairness doctrine” was repealed in 1987.

    Carr told cable network CNBC on Thursday that he was going to reinvigorate the FCC’s enforcement of public interest. “Broadcast TV is different,” he said.

    FCC chairman Brendan Carr.

    FCC chairman Brendan Carr.Credit: Bloomberg

    “If you have a broadcast TV licence, that means you have something that very few people have, and you’re excluding other people from having access to that valuable public resource, and it comes with an obligation to serve the public interest.”

    Meanwhile in Washington, Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, announced an investigation into attempts to censor criticism of Trump, while party leaders vowed to use congressional power to uncover the truth. “This will not be forgotten,” they said in a statement.

    Under scrutiny will be the particulars of proposed media mergers involving the two ABC affiliates that raised concerns about Kimmel. Nexstar and Sinclair want to acquire a rival TV station owner, TEGNA, in deals worth billions that would have to be approved by Carr’s FCC.

    Hours before ABC yanked Kimmel’s show, Carr gave an interview to right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson and warned: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way … these companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action on Kimmel [or] there’s actions we can take on licensed broadcasters.”

    The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sparked a furore over political violence and free speech.

    The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sparked a furore over political violence and free speech.Credit: AP

    Carr also urged station owners to push back on companies such as Disney, which owns ABC, and tell them “we’re not going to run Kimmel any more” – which is what occurred.

    Hollywood has been rocked by the decision. Comedian, writer and actor Marc Maron, who appeared regularly on David Letterman and Conan O’Brien’s shows, said it was a deciding moment for freedom of speech and called on free speech proponents to act now, lest they be next.

    “This is government censorship,” he said. “This isn’t people getting cancelled because of a cultural pile-on. This is the United States government silencing voices that they disagree with.”

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    Actor Ben Stiller said Kimmel’s ousting “isn’t right”, while actress Jean Smart said she was horrified. “People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda,” Smart wrote on Instagram. “What is happening to our country?”

    Former president Barack Obama also got involved, calling on media owners to stand up to Trump’s bullying.

    “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like,” he said.

    “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent – and media companies needed to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”

    Various Hollywood unions backed Kimmel. “What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree,” the Writers Guild of America west and east divisions said in a joint statement.

    “Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.”

    SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, said Kimmel’s suspension was “the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms”.

    with Reuters



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