The issue was discussed by a committee of secretaries, which was constituted following lynching of nearly 40 people in last one year apparently due to circulation of fake news in popular social media platforms like WhatsApp, an official privy to the development said.

The panel, headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, submitted its report to a Group of Ministers headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, which in turn will submit its recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“There are country representatives of all global social media platforms in India. Action may be initiated against them if they do not comply to remove objectionable contents and video from their sites,” the official said.

The top officials of different ministries and departments deliberated the issue in the wake of reports of many incidents of lynching, communal tension and abuse following circulation of fake news and communally sensitive contents and videos.

During recent meetings with the representatives of the Twitter India, Facebook, WhatsApp and Youtube, the government officials made it clear that the social media platforms have to comply with the directives without delay, and if not done, action under law would be initiated against them.

The law enforcement agencies have been maintaining that the social media platforms cannot remain aloof to the spread of “irresponsible and explosive messages” and they cannot evade their responsibilities.

Another official said that the India representatives of the social media platforms have promised to cooperate and the law enforcement agencies will closely monitor their actions.

The committee held consultations with a cross-section of society and other stakeholders before submitting its report to the GoM.

It is understood that they have suggested tightening the law by inserting clauses in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure through parliamentary approval.

The panel report will now be discussed by the GoM comprising External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot. The home minister heads the GoM.

Last month, the Home Ministry issued advisories to states and Union Territories following the Supreme Court’s directives to check incidents of lynching.

The Centre asked them to appoint an officer in each district at the level of Superintendent of Police, set up a special task force to gather intelligence, and closely monitor social media contents to prevent mob attacks on suspicion of being child-lifters or cattle smugglers.

In its communique to states and UTs, the ministry had said incidents of violence and lynching by mobs in some parts of the country fuelled by various kinds of rumours and unverified news such as child lifting, theft, cattle smuggling etc, are a matter of serious concerns.

Such instances of persons taking the law in their hands run against the basic tenets of the rule of law, it said.

“All state governments, UT administrations and their law enforcement agencies are requested to implement the directions of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit,” it said.

Bernstein and Bob Woodward led the Washington Post team that investigated the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex, which eventually led back to the White House, prompting a scandal that forced Nixon to resign in 1974.

“Sloppy @carlbernstein, a man who lives in the past and thinks like a degenerate fool, making up story after story, is being laughed at all over the country!” Trump tweeted.

He also slammed CNN — a frequent target of criticism from the president — saying that the network “is being torn apart from within based on their being caught in a major lie and refusing to admit the mistake.”

Bernstein was one of the reporters on a CNN story that cited Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen as claiming that the US president knew in advance about a June 2016 meeting in which Russians were expected to share dirt on then-election rival Hillary Clinton.

The story has since been called into question as one of the sources — Cohen’s own lawyer Lanny Davis — recanted, but the network has stood by it.

Trump’s attack on Bernstein comes as the White House braces for the release of a book by Woodward.

“Fear: Trump in the White House,” which comes out on September 11, “reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside Donald Trump’s White House and how the president makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies,” publisher Simon & Schuster said.

A federal district court judge in May ruled that blocking people from the president’s @realDonaldTrump account violated First Amendment free speech rights in a case brought by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

The seven people named in the suit were unblocked as the decision was appealed.

The institute tweeted on Wednesday that it had gotten word that many people on a list of 41 more Twitter users it had given to the Department of Justice had also been unblocked by @realDonaldTrump.

“We’re pleased to see the White House take steps to comply with the district court’s ruling that the First Amendment prohibits the president from blocking Twitter users simply because they have criticized him,” the institute said.

“However, we continue to receive reports that individuals beyond those we identified remain blocked from the @realDonaldTrump account.”

The institute argued that it was incumbent on the White House to immediately unblock any Twitter users shut off from the president’s account because of political viewpoints.

The Justice Department in June vowed to appeal the ruling, which the institute expressed confidence in defending.

The Sabahan, who only wanted to be identified as Gan, said he had been wanting to meet the woman again after that day and decided to put up the advertisement.

The ad which reads “Looking for a lady I met on 9th May 2018 – I’m Gan looking for the lady that I met in the St. Francis Secondary School polling station on election day. You were so sweet and kind to shelter me with your umbrella, we had a good chat”.

It goes on to say: “You went to your car to get your outer shirt. We had to split when it was our turn to vote and I failed to ask you for your handphone number. I’d like to see you again. Please SMS or WhatsApp me at 012-8358467. I await (sic) to hear from you. Regards, Gan”.“I have been thinking about this lady for months and I just want to be friends with her. I have no ill intentions but to sincerely find a friend whom I can hang out with,” he said.

He said on that May 9 morning, he was queuing up for his turn to vote under the scorching sun.

“Then this lady just came over and offered to share her umbrella with me while commenting about the hot weather. We chatted on as if we were old friends,” Gan said.

After talking for about 20 minutes, it was time to part ways as it was their turn to vote.

“I can’t get her off my mind. I hope to see her again, maybe go out for a cup of coffee,” he added.

Gan said he hopes the lady, whom he described as cute with short hair and about 160cm tall, would see the ad and contact him.

Cars trapped in an expressway between Hswar and Yedashe have been moved to safer areas.

Authorities have blocked vehicles from entering the expressway as it is flooded, while a bridge near the 165mile post has been damaged due to tributary channel’s collapse on Wednesday morning.

At present, large amounts of water has been flowing on Old YangonMandalay Road and expressways causing traffic jams.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a revised law will go into effect on Sept. 14 banning the sales of all coffee and caffeinated products — typically available for adults and teachers — in schools.

Schools are already prohibited from selling soda pop, fruit juice and dairy products if they contain caffeine. But selling other coffee drinks via vending machines and in cafeterias for consumption by adults and teachers had previously been allowed.

High intake of caffeine can cause insomnia, heart palpitations, anxiety and growth inhibition, and can be more dangerous for growing children.

Food and drink products that have over 0.15 milligrams of caffeine per milliliter are designated as highly caffeinated.

    “In agreement with state police, Mayor Sven Gerich decided to have the statue removed as security could no longer be guaranteed,” the city’s government said on Twitter.

Firefighters arrived shortly after midnight with a crane to lift the four-metre (13-feet) tall golden effigy of Erdogan from the central German Unity Square, where it had been placed on Monday as part of Wiesbaden’s Biennale art festival.

Organisers had hoped the statue would provoke public debate relevant to this year’s theme of “bad news”.

Since a failed 2016 coup attempt in Ankara, Erdogan’s crackdown on political opponents and journalists — including some German nationals — has been closely followed in Germany, home to a sizeable Turkish minority.

The statue, which had been posed to point boldly into the distance, was quickly defaced with insults like “Turkish Hitler”.

A “slightly aggressive atmosphere” developed, a police spokesman told the DPA news agency, while city councillor Oliver Franz told the Wiesbadener Kurier newspaper that verbal confrontations had escalated into scuffles and “bladed weapons were spotted”.

“We put up the statue to discuss Erdogan,” Wiesbaden city theatre chief Eric Laufenberg told DPA.

“In a democracy, we have to put up with all kinds of opinions”.

But Emil Saenze, a local representative of far-right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) blamed the outcry on “stupidity” by the organisers, who had “given a stage to a despot who spends his time humiliating Germans”.

Just under 60 centimetres (two feet) high, the autonomous robot named Keeko has been a hit in several kindergartens, telling stories and challenging children with logic problems.

Round and white with a tubby body, the armless robot zips around on tiny wheels, its inbuilt cameras doubling up both as navigational sensors and a front-facing camera allowing users to record video journals.

In China, robots are being developed to deliver groceries, provide companionship to the elderly, dispense legal advice and now, as Keeko’s creators hope, join the ranks of educators.

At the Yiswind Institute of Multicultural Education on the outskirts of Beijing, the children have been tasked to help a prince find his way through a desert — by putting together square mats that represent a path taken by the robot — part storytelling and part problem-solving.

Each time they get an answer right, the device reacts with delight, its face flashing heart-shaped eyes.

“Education today is no longer a one-way street, where the teacher teaches and students just learn,” said Candy Xiong, a teacher trained in early childhood education who now works with Keeko Robot Xiamen Technology as a trainer.

“When children see Keeko with its round head and body, it looks adorable and children love it. So when they see Keeko, they almost instantly take to it,” she added.

Keeko robots have entered more than 600 kindergartens across the country with its makers hoping to expand into Greater China and Southeast Asia.

Beijing has invested money and manpower in developing artificial intelligence as part of its “Made in China 2025” plan, with a Chinese firm last year unveiling the country’s first human-like robot that can hold simple conversations and make facial expressions.

According to the International Federation of Robots, China has the world’s top industrial robot stock, with some 340,000 units in factories across the country engaged in manufacturing and the automotive industry.

The service robot market — which includes devices ranging from specialised medical equipment to automated vacuum cleaners — is estimated to be worth $1.32 billion last year.

It is expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2022, said market research firm Research In China.

Last week, Beijing hosted the World Robot Conference, featuring machines that can diagnose diseases, play badminton and wow audiences with their musical skills.

– Robocompanion –

Last year, a group of monks in Beijing created a two-foot-high robot monk dispensing mantras and advice to attaining nirvana.

The iPal — a companion of sorts for children — is the latest humanoid robot to be marketed for family use, following in the footsteps of the diminutive, wisecracking “Pepper” companion released by Japan’s SoftBank in 2015.

But Xie Yi, principal of the kindergarten where Keeko has been put on trial, believes that it will be a long while before robots can completely replace humans in the classroom.

“To teach you must be able to interact, have a human touch, eye contact and facial expressions. These are the things that make an education,” Xie said.

“It’s not just the language or the content, it’s everything.”

She said the Keeko robots, which cost about 10,000 yuan ($1,500), or about the monthly salary of a kindergarten teacher, may have some advantages over a flesh-and-blood educator.

“The best thing about robots? They’re more stable (than humans),” she said with a laugh.

“We have already dissociated ourselves from the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council, meaning Myanmar does not accept the establishment of that mission. So we do not accept any finding of that mission, and there is no way to cooperate with the Fact Finding Mission. We do not accept the one-sided accusations by that mission,” said presidential spokesperson Zaw Htay.

The UN mission report on Monday called for investigation and prosecution of Myanmar’s commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and several other senior military officers for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes over their responsibility for violence in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states.

The mission and international players also want to refer the case to the International Criminal Court.

“Actually, it is like an intentional attack on our country. For one thing, August 27 is not the date set for the launch of UN Fact-Finding Mission’s report, which was supposed to be submitted on September 18. But as the UN Security Council currently is holding a meeting on Myanmar affairs , we believe the report was timed as a blow to us just before the meeting,” Zaw Htay said.

“Our zero-tolerance policy on human rights violation is very clear. We have already told Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) and police to address the Rakhine conflicts cautiously and legally, respecting human rights. If there is any evidence of human rights violations, let us know and we will investigate and take severe actions,” he said.

“Now, the Independent Enquiry Commission is doing its job very well. It will definitely let us know if it finds any evidence of such violations and then we will take actions against those who are involved.”

The spokesman also denounced Facebook for banning Min Aung Hlaing and other Myanmar officials and organisations for their alleged involvement in genocide and hate speech in the country.

The government has asked Facebook how the removed accounts can be retrieved, and whether it will remove any accounts and pages created anew by banned military officials, he said.

“This kind of intentional attack may have negative impacts on our efforts for national reconciliation. I want to reiterate that there was no input by the government in Facebook’s ban on military officials.”

Win Mara, chairman of Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, said Myanmar has frequently asked the international community to be sceptical of one-sided accusations.

“Everything seems to emerge from exaggerations about the conflicts,” he said. The country’s human rights body is happy to witness that the government has willingly followed the suggestions of Kofi Anan’s commission and the advisory board led by Thailand’s former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai, he said.

The recent launch of the Independent Enquiry Commission by the government was a smart move to find the real truth behind the conflict in Rakhine state, and should be supported by the international community, he added.

Thaung Aye, an MP for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, slammed the report as biased and one-sided.

“This was systematically arranged to attack our country in different ways. It seems like an insult to our sovereignty,” he said.

Min Zaw Oo, director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, agreed, saying he believed it was a dishonest effort to foster confrontation between the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the Tatmadaw.

The more confrontations between the two institutions, the harder it will be to build trust and peace, he said.

The UN report indicated that civilian authorities had little scope to control the actions of the Tatmadaw. It also found that “through their acts and omissions, the civilian authorities have contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes”.

“The State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, has not used her de facto position as head of government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events in Rakhine state,” the report states.

Nay Zin Latt, chairman of National Development Party, said conflict in Rakhine was started by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The military merely tried to restore peace and stability in conflict-hit state, he claimed.

“I think everything was well-planned to pose further pressures on Myanmar, creating misunderstanding between the civilian government and the military,” he said.