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Weekly Lists
September 1, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 22
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Azerbaijan's last independent news agency to close in September
IT minister sees bright side of Apple’s Iranian app ban
The last independent news agency in Azerbaijan, Turan, announced in a statement on August 25 that it is to suspend operations start- ing in September after its director was placed under pre-trial arrest and its bank accounts were frozen.
The news agency, which reports in Russian, English and Azerbaijani and was one of the last critics of the regime of President Ilham Aliyev left in the country, has been subjected to what critics have deemed a politicised investigation into its tax payment records. It stands ac- cused of failing to pay some AZN37,000 (€19,500) in taxes since 2014.
Accusing government critics of financial misdemeanours and sen- tencing them to long sentences behind bars is how the Aliyev regime has silenced most of critical voices in the country in recent years.
Apple's decision to remove Iranian apps from its App Stores, claiming it is required to do so under US economic sanctions, stands as testimony to Iran’s success in developing local start-ups, Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology has claimed, Tasnim News Agency reported on August 27.
Apple has no official presence in Iran with the iPhone not legally available for sale in the country and no Iranian App Store in operation, but Iranians own millions of iPhones smuggled in from Dubai, Hong Kong and other locations. Iranian app developers have thus created thousands of apps for Iranian iPhone users, which they offer for download via App Stores abroad.
However, since August 19, Apple has been aggressively removing Iranian apps from the online stores.
The Uzbek authorities have dismissed Uzbek National Television and Radio Company chief Bobur Alikhonov who had served for less than a month in his post, Ozodlik reported on August 30. The news has not been officially confirmed.
The reports came following news that Uzbekistan's government had backtracked on its experiment with state television in which journalists were allowed to question and criticise officials during live broadcasts. The authorities halted the live broadcasts in August.
Uzbekistan fires head of state TV