she has just been convicted of cyberlibel in a manila court room, so, is president rodrigo duterte'sngling press freedom 7 maria ressa in manila, thank you forjoining hardtalk. thank you, stephen. starting with your personal situation, earlier this month you were convicted on this charge of cyberlibel, as they called it. has it change things for you? aside from the emotional rollercoaster and the fact we have crossed yet another divide, i think i'm on the same race i have been on for the last four years, which is really standing up for my rights both as a filipino and as a journalist. you are on bail and i think your legal team said there will be an appeal. do you, in any sense, feel frightened right now? you know, stephen, i have gone through this. when you have been under attack for four years, as we have been, there have been all the stages, like the stages of grief, right? in 2016, we were pummelled on social media, exponential attacks that are extremely visceral and take you by surprise, the viciousness of it. the same narratives in 2017 come out of government's mouth. president

no one better epitomises the strong man style of political leadership than president rodrigo duterteippines. he has a visceral dislike of independent journalism he has a visceral dislike of independentjournalism and no—one knows that better than my guest today. maria ressa, founder of the rappler online news website. she hasjust founder of the rappler online news website. she has just been she has just been convicted of cyber—libel in a case that has raised worldwide concern. is press freedom being strangled by populist politics? maria ressa in manila, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me, steven finn. let's start with your personal situation. you have, earlier this month, been convicted on this charge of cyber—libel, as they are calling it. is it changed things for you? aside from the emotional rollercoaster and the fa ct we emotional rollercoaster and the fact we have crossed yet another divide, i think i am ready much on the same road i have been on for the last four yea rs have been on for the last four years which is really standing up years which is really standing upfor m

really what we are seeing borisjohnson struggling with, we are seeing the philippines leader rodrigo dutertehis as well. the philippines is 94% christian, so christmas is a really big deal. for weeks now, he has been pleading with the population to keep gathering small, to stop singing, so church choirs, but also karaoke. and he is trying to introduce the idea that christmas should include small, solemn gatherings. a lot of people are probably going to ignore him. it is really interesting watching that play out in two different countries around the world. martyn, how worried do think some of boris johnson's parliamentary colleagues and his conservative party are about this? very interesting, because of course at the time of talking there are meetings ongoing about what to do about the situation in the south—east of england and in london in particular, so it is that cluster around the capital where there are reports of a new strain. and that is reforcing him to rethink the christmas rule. it is a issue across europe, not unique to the uk. boris johnson, a few weeks ago you would have said, an

really what we are seeing borisjohnson struggling with, we are seeing the philippines leader rodrigo dutertel. the philippines is 94% christian, so christmas is a really big deal. celebrations stretch on for months but mr duterte four weeks has been pleading with the population to keep gatherings small, to stop singing iso church choirs but also karaoke. he wants that to stop. and he is trying to introduce the idea that christmas should include small, solemn gatherings. but he has also admitted a lot of people are probably going to ignore him. it is really interesting watching that playing out in two different countries around the world. iain martin, how worried do think some of borisjohnson‘s parliamentary colleagues and his conservative party are about this, and about the decisions being taken on having a system or tiers or potentially and england—wide lockdown in the new year? very interesting, because of course at the time of talking live, there are meetings ongoing about what to do about the situation in the south—east of england and in london in particular, so it is that cluster around

basis to believe" the philippines has committed crimes against humanity as part of president rodrigo duterte'swar on drugs. the crimes include murder, torture, and serious physical and mental harm. the icc will decide on whether it will undertake a formal investigation in the next year after the decision was delayed due to pandemic. european union and british regulators unveiled draft laws that seek to halt big tech monopolies, as well as stop the spread of misinformation and harmful content online. the new rules are designed to rein in the power of so-called gatekeepers like amazon, apple, facebook, google, and microsoft and would impose hefty fines and offers a possible path to breaking up companies that repeatedly violate european antitrust laws. this is european commissioner for competition margreta vestager. >> in this proposal, there is a sense of proving because this is also a dynamic step we can to investigations if need be so that we can see if gatekeepers are emerging and we can put them then obligation. and this is because without enforcement, not worth much. amy: in immiation news,