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Maldives approves defamation law criticized by U.N., U.S.
The Maldives legalized criminal defamation in a move the opposition said was aimed at stifling dissent in the Indian Ocean archipelago, and was criticized by the United Nations and the United States. REUTERS

Russian officials in Crimea shut off the internet at the Ukrainian border
Russian officials shut off internet access “for security reasons” in northern Crimea, near the border town of Armyansk, where Moscow claims to have prevented an armed incursion by Ukrainian spies. GLOBAL VOICES

Second suspect detained in slaying of Veracruz reporter
Veracruz state prosecutor Luis Angel Bravo Contreras announced the arrest of a man identified as a local leader of the Zetas drug gang for the killing of Anabel Flores Salazar, who was a crime reporter for a newspaper in Orizaba. THE NEW YORK TIMES

Mayor of Cannes bans burqinis on resort’s beaches
Mayor David Lisnard has banned the wearinng of burquinis on the beaches of the French Riviera resort on the ruling that “access to beaches and for swimming is banned to anyone who does not have [bathing apparel] which respects good customs and secularism.”
THE GUARDIAN

German police to search refugees’ phones in new security proposals
German police could be given the power to search the phones and social media accounts of refugees who arrive in Germany without a passport, in proposals announced by the interior minister. INDEPENDENT

Nauru teachers speak out for children: ‘We don’t have to torture them’
Three teachers who educated child asylum seekers on Nauru have accused Australia of exposing children to excessive harm and trauma. Their decision to speak publicly is in defiance of the Australian government and Save the Children Australia, which warned staff not to speak about their time on the island. THE GUARDIAN