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LAW AND JUSTICE (PiS), the party that rules Poland, dislikes critics. Soon after coming to power in 2015, it took control of TVP, the public television broadcaster, and purged its management. Since then, Poland has slipped from 18th place in a World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit group, to 64th, its lowest-ever ranking. Now PiS has turned its attention to TVN, a television station owned by Discovery, an American media giant. A bill limiting foreign ownership of media companies adopted on August 11th by the Sejm, the lower chamber of parliament, could force Discovery to sell. Liberals fear that Polands independent media are in jeopardy.

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The Polish media should be Polish, says Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the ruling partys chairman and the countrys de facto leader. Repolonisation has become a buzzword in all sorts of industries. In March PKN Orlen, a state-owned oil refiner, bought Polska Press, the countrys leading newspaper publisher, from its German owner. Senior editors were subsequently replaced.

Law and Justices latest target is TVN24, a news channel. Unlike TVP, it is critical of the government. It is also influential: its evening news was the most-watched news programme in Poland in the first half of 2021, with an audience share of almost 22%, just ahead of TVPs rival offering.

The amendment to the broadcasting law proposes to bar entities from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) from owning more than a 49% stake in any Polish media firm. The party is defending Polish interests, says Marek Suski, the Law and Justice MP behind the proposed amendment. Critics warn that it is aimed at TVN24, whose licence expires in September and has not yet been renewed. If the amendment is adopted, Discovery may have to divest the channel.

The TVN law could spell trouble for the ruling party, though. American officials, who have leapt to TVNs defence in the past, are concerned. Unfettered press is crucial for democracy, tweeted Bix Aliu, Americas charg daffaires in Warsaw, in response to the draft legislation. It also added to the tensions that brought down the ruling coalition this week. Jaroslaw Gowin, a deputy prime minister and leader of Agreement, a pro-business party that was one of Law and Justices two junior coalition partners, was ejected from the government on August 10th. He had wanted an amendment to the media law that would allow ownership by companies in the OECD, a group of rich countries including America. He also opposed government-backed tax reforms.

The media-nobbling law must still pass the Senate, where Law and Justice lacks a majority. With the next parliamentary elections due in 2023, the party continues to lead in the polls, ahead of the centrist opposition. It has shrugged off criticism, including from the European Commission, which also complains about its subversion of the judiciary. Making Discovery sell TVN will harm relations with America. But Mr Kaczynski clearly values control over Polish media more.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline "Unwelcome Discovery"

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Poland's proposed media rules threaten press freedom - The Economist

The CEO of Discovery International vowed Friday to keep ownership of a Polish network aslawmakers in Polandpassed a bill in the lower house earlier this week that would reduce media ownership for non-European companies in the country.

The legislation targets Discovery-owned TVN. The bill, which still requires several other legislative steps before going to the president for signature, would mean that non-European companies in Poland could only retain up to 49 percent of their ownership of a media entity, The Associated Press reported.

In an interview with the wire service, CEO and President of Discovery International Jean-Briac Perrette said the network is worth about $3 billion.

We have no intent to sell or leave, Perrette told the news agency.

Polands government has said the legislation is necessary for sovereignty and security reasons, but opponents, including Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenTaliban's advance picks up speed, intensifying Afghanistan crisis Biden sending 3K troops to Afghanistan to help draw down embassy staff Poland passes controversial bills, straining ties with EU, US and Israel MORE, say it would hurt the most watched independent news station in the country.

Blinken said in a statement Wednesday that he was deeply troubled by draft legislation passed today by the lower house of the Polish parliament that targets the most watched independent news station, which is also one of the largest U.S. investments in the country.

Poland has worked for decades to foster a vibrant and free media. This draft legislation would significantly weaken the media environment the Polish people have worked so long to build, he continued.

Perrette said during his interview that he has called for intervention efforts from countries in Europe, the European Union and the U.S., but he worries it might not be enough to stop a possible passage of the bill in Poland.

Were seeing great support from the U.S. government and great support from the EU, he told the AP. The problem is, I fear, this (Polish) government is so ideologically dead set.

Discovery has already filed a lawsuit after theTV regulator in Polandsignaled it would not be renewing the license for TVN24, which is the news channel owned by parent company TVN, according to Reuters

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Discovery exec says network will fight to keep control of Polish media company | TheHill - The Hill

Aug 13 (Reuters) - In early July, as Taliban insurgents were seizing territory from government forces across Afghanistan, fighters from the group walked into the offices of Azizi Bank in the southern city of Kandahar and ordered nine women working there to leave.

The gunmen escorted them to their homes and told them not to return to their jobs. Instead, they explained that male relatives could take their place, according to three of the women involved and the bank's manager.

"It's really strange to not be allowed to get to work, but now this is what it is," Noor Khatera, a 43-year-old woman who had worked in the accounts department of the bank told Reuters.

"I taught myself English and even learned how to operate a computer, but now I will have to look for a place where I can just work with more women around."

The incident is an early sign that some of the rights won by Afghan women over the 20 years since the hardline Islamist militant movement was toppled could be reversed if it returns to power.

The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, have overrun many of Afghanistan's biggest cities in recent days and are closing in on the capital Kabul. read more

Under the group's strict interpretation of Islamic law, women could not work, girls were not allowed to attend school and women had to cover their face and be accompanied by a male relative if they wanted to venture out of their homes.

Women who broke the rules sometimes suffered humiliation and public beatings by the Taliban's religious police.

During hitherto fruitless talks over a political settlement in recent years, Taliban leaders made assurances to the West that women would enjoy equal rights in accordance with what was granted by Islam, including the ability to work and be educated.

'THE WORLD SHOULD HELP US'

Two days after the episode at Azizi Bank, a similar scene played out at a branch of another Afghan lender, Bank Milli, in the western city of Herat, according to two female cashiers who witnessed it.

Three Taliban fighters carrying guns entered the branch, admonishing female employees for showing their faces in public. Women there quit, sending male relatives in their place.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to a request for comment about the two incidents. Spokespeople for the two banks did not respond to requests for comment.

On the broader question of whether women would be allowed to work in banks in areas it controls, Mujahid added that no decision had yet been made.

"After the establishment of the Islamic system, it will be decided according to the law, and God willing, there will be no problems," he said.

The United States and others Western powers fear that the Taliban will roll back many of the freedoms won by women.

Gains made in women's right have been touted as one of the biggest accomplishments during the 20 years that U.S.-led forces have been deployed in Afghanistan, although they have mostly been made in urban centres. read more

Afghan women working in fields including journalism, healthcare and law enforcement have been killed in a wave of attacks since peace talks began last year between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

The government blames most targeted killings on the Taliban, who deny carrying out assassinations. read more

"The Taliban will regress freedom at all levels and that is what we are fighting against," an Afghan government spokesperson said.

"Women and children are suffering the most and our forces are trying to save democracy. The world should understand and help us."

Scores of educated Afghan women took to social media to appeal for help and express their frustration.

"With every city collapsing, human bodies collapse, dreams collapse, history and future collapse, art and culture collapse, life and beauty collapse, our world collapse," Rada Akbar wrote on Twitter. "Someone please stop this."

Reporting by Rupam Jain in Mumbai; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Mike Collett-White

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Afghan women forced from banking jobs as Taliban take control - Reuters

In 2015, the year that the populist Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in Poland, the country ranked 18th its highest ever position out of 164 countries on Reporters without Borders (RSF) annual World Press Freedom Index.

By this year it had fallen to its lowest ever position, 64th, continuing an annual slide that has left it just below Malawi and Armenia, in 62nd and 63rd, and just above Bhutan and Ivory Coast, with a classification from RSF of problematic.

The PiS-led governments new media bill, which would ban companies outside the European Economic Area from majority ownership of any TV channel, is widely seen in this context as an attempt to silence the countrys largest independent broadcaster.

TVN, whose broadcasts are often critical of the government, is owned by the US Discovery group, which would have to sell most of its stake if the bill passes.

The move is just the latest in a sustained, three-pronged assault on Polands media freedoms that began soon after PiSs 2015 election victory, when the ruling party legislated to give itself direct control of the public broadcaster, TVP, removing senior management and putting appointments in the hands of ministers.

Since then, aggressively partisan news coverage has been the norm. Analysis of TVPs flagship evening news programme in 2019 found that in the run-up to EU elections that year, of 105 items about the polls, 69 were focused on PiS, of which 68 were positive and one neutral. All 33 items about the opposition were negative.

A separate study found TVP systematically portrayed the ruling party in a positive light, routinely used words such as reform, sovereign, strong, hero and patriotic, while items about the opposition deployed words such as shocking, scandalous, provocation and putsch.

RSF also found bias in coverage of last years presidential elections, with state media openly backing President Andrzej Dudas successful campaign for re-election while doing their best to discredit his main rival, Rafa Trzaskowski, who was accused of working for a powerful foreign lobby and seeking to fulfil Jewish demands.

PiS argues the partys control of TVP is a necessary and proportionate response to what it says is a wider media environment skewed in favour of its liberal opponents, pointing to the fact that many private media outlets are foreign-owned.

That has led the government to also pursue a relentless policy of repolonising privately owned media, including through buyouts by state-owned companies friendly to the administration, insisting the policy is in the national interest.

This year the state oil giant, Orlen, Polands largest company, bought Polska Press, the countrys largest local media owner with a portfolio of hundreds of local newspapers and websites, from Polskas German majority shareholder.

Independent media have been targeted in other ways, such as a proposed solidarity tax on advertising revenue of between 2% and 15%. The government said the plans would help raise public funds for healthcare and culture, but TV and radio stations said it would threaten their survival.

Commercial TV channels, radio stations and web portals briefly went off air in February in protest at the tax proposals, which RSF described as another step in the governments censorship strategy that risked finishing off media outlets whose finances were already weakened by the pandemic.

Finally, Polish police have been accused of failing to protect journalists covering anti-government protests, and of using violence and arbitrary arrests including during mass demonstrations over strict new abortion laws to further intimidate reporters and thus restrict the publics access to free and fair information.

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Polish governments media bill is latest move to silence its critics - The Guardian

KABUL, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The Taliban claimed control over two of Afghanistan's biggest cities on Thursday, according to media reports, as the United States and Britain said they would send thousands of troops to help evacuate their embassy staff.

The capture of Kandahar and Herat - the country's second and third largest cities - would represent the Taliban's two biggest military victories since they began a broad offensive in May.

The fall of major cities was a sign that Afghans welcome the Taliban, a spokesperson for the group said, according to Al Jazeera TV.

The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday and told him the United States "remains invested in the security and stability of Afghanistan". They also said the United States was committed to supporting a political solution to the conflict.

In response to the Taliban's swift and violent advances, the Pentagon said it would send about 3,000 extra troops within 48 hours to help evacuate embassy staff.

"We expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in the coming weeks," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price, adding the embassy was not closed. A person familiar with the matter said there were no guarantees the embassy would remain open.

The State Department said it would also increase the tempo of Special Immigration Visa flights for Afghans who helped the U.S. effort in the country.

Britain said it would deploy around 600 troops to help its nationals and local translators get out. read more

As the United Nations warned that a Taliban offensive reaching the capital would have a "catastrophic impact on civilians," the United States and Germany urged all their citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately. read more

In Qatar, international envoys to Afghan negotiations called for an accelerated peace process as a "matter of great urgency," and for an immediate halt to attacks on cities. read more

The fall of both Kandahar and Herat was reported by media including the Associated Press. Combined, the cities represent the two biggest prizes yet for the Taliban in their offensive over the past week.

"As you can see, we are inside the Herat police headquarters right now," a Taliban fighter said in a video shared by a group spokesperson, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi.

Earlier on Thursday, the Taliban captured Ghazni, situated on the Kandahar-to-Kabul road some 150 km (90 miles) southwest of the capital.

On the border, Afghans stranded in Pakistan after the Taliban closed a commercially vital crossing point clashed with Pakistani forces. The death of an Afghan traveller of a heart attack as he waited in the dusty heat near the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing sparked an attack by others on Pakistani security forces, who responded by firing tear gas and charging with batons. read more

On Wednesday, a U.S. defense official cited U.S. intelligence as saying the Taliban could isolate Kabul in 30 days and possibly take it over within 90.

With phone lines down across much of the country, Reuters was unable to immediately contact government officials to confirm which of the cities under attack remained in government hands.

Taliban fighters gather on main road intersection in city of Ghazni, Afghanistan in this screen grab taken from a video released by the Taliban on August 12, 2021. Taliban Handout/via REUTERS

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SAIGON COMPARISONS

The speed and violence of the Taliban offensive have sparked recriminations among many Afghans over President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. troops, 20 years after they ousted in the Taliban in the wake of the Sept. 11 U.S. attacks.

Biden said on Tuesday he does not regret his decision, noting Washington has spent more than $1 trillion in America's longest war and lost thousands of troops. He added the United States continues to provide significant air support, food, equipment and salaries to Afghan forces. read more

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the exit strategy was sending the United States "hurtling toward an even worse sequel to the humiliating fall of Saigon in 1975."

"President Biden is finding that the quickest way to end a war is to lose it," McConnell said, urging him instead to commit to providing more support to Afghan forces.

"Without it, al Qaeda and the Taliban may celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by burning down our Embassy in Kabul."

Former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said it was "a huge foreign policy failure with generational ramifications just shy of seven months into this administration. Everything points to a complete collapse."

VIOLENCE VS DIPLOMACY

In a deal struck with former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last year, the insurgents agreed not to attack U.S.-led foreign forces as they withdrew. The Taliban also made a commitment to discuss peace.

Given the speed of the Taliban's advance, prospects for diplomatic pressure to affect the situation on the ground seemed limited, although the Taliban spokesman told Al Jazeera: "We will not close the door to the political track."

Al Jazeera reported a government source saying it had offered the Taliban a share in power if the violence stopped. It was not clear to what extent the reported offer differed from terms already discussed in Qatar.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said he was unaware of any such offer but ruled out sharing power.

"We won't accept any offer like this because we don't want to be partner with the Kabul administration. We neither stay nor work for a single day with it," he said.

The international envoys in Doha, who met with Afghan government negotiators and Taliban representatives, reaffirmed that foreign capitals would not recognise any government in Afghanistan "imposed through the use of military force."

The U.N. Security Council was discussing a draft statement that would condemn the Taliban attacks, threaten sanctions, and affirm the non-recognition of an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, diplomats said on Thursday. read more

The formal statement, drafted by Estonia and Norway and seen by Reuters, has to be agreed by consensus by the 15-member body.

Reporting by Kabul bureau; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali, Jonathan Landay, Patricia Zengerle, Humeyra Pamuk, Arshad Mohammed and Simon Lewis in Washington and Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai; Writing by John Stonestreet, Cynthia Osterman and Jane Wardell; Editing by Nick Macfie, Frances Kerry, Peter Cooney and Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Taliban advances in Afghanistan, U.S. and Britain to evacuate embassies - Reuters