AFP
The U.K. media regulator Ofcom on Thursday banned Chinese state media giant CGTN from broadcasting in the country, citing violations of its license conditions.
Ofcom announced the move in a statement on its website, saying its investigation had concluded that CGTN s license was wrongfully held by Star China Media. We have decided it is appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the U.K., the agency said, adding that further investigations into impartiality and privacy complaints would be concluded soon. In the U.K., broadcasting laws . state that broadcast licensees must have control over the licensed service – including editorial oversight over the programs they show, the statement said. In addition, under these laws, license holders cannot be controlled by political bodies.
Regulators started looking into the channel after several people had filed complaints, saying it aired their forced confessions and violated rules on fairness and accuracy. One was from a former British Consulate employee in Hong Kong who says he was detained and tortured by Chinese police for information on protesters. Another was by a British corporate investigator who said he was forced to confess while imprisoned in China. CGTN did not respond to requests for comment on those claims at the time.
The watchdog said it found that the entity that held the channel’s license, Star China Media Limited, didn’t have editorial responsibility for CGTN’s output, which is a licensing requirement.
LONDON, U.K. Regulators in the U.K. stripped China s state TV channel of its national broadcasting license on Thursday, after an investigation cited lack of editorial control and links to China s ruling Communist Party. The communications watchdog, Ofcom, said it revoked the U.K. license for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English language satellite news channel. CGTN had been available on free and paid TV in the U.K. It did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Regulators started looking into the station after receiving a complaint from a human rights group, Safeguard Defenders, calling for an investigation into its ownership.
AP
Johnson & Johnson asked US drug regulators to clear its experimental COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, setting up what is likely to be a fast-moving review process that could lead to millions more doses becoming available to step up a stumbling immunisation drive.
The drugmaker said in a statement Thursday that it had filed an application for an emergency-use authorisation with the US Food and Drug Administration. If cleared, the shot would give the US a third vaccine to try to halt a pandemic that has killed more than 450,000 Americans.
Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, said that the company would be ready to begin shipping vaccines upon receiving an authorisation.
LONDON (AP) U.K. regulators stripped China s state TV channel of its national broadcasting license on Thursday, after an investigation cited lack of editorial control and links to China s ruling Communist Party.
The communications watchdog, Ofcom, said it revoked the U.K. license for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English language satellite news channel.
CGTN had been available on free and pay TV in the U.K. It did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Regulators started looking into the station after receiving a complaint from a human rights group, Safeguard Defenders, calling for an investigation into its ownership.