LONDON: CNN has hired Sky News journalist Sam Kiley as senior international correspondent based out of its Middle East office in Abu Dhabi.
Kiley, whose journalistic career spans more than three decades, has worked at the BBC, America’s PBS Frontline program and Sky News, first as the network’s defense and security editor, then as Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem, and latterly as foreign affairs editor.
“CNN is the world’s most watched news network with an unmatched presence on every major global story. I have grown up as a journalist alongside CNN teams from Somalia to Sarajevo and Mosul. I have always admired them and am proud to be joining my friends at the network at this exciting, and unpredictable, time,” said Kiley.
Kiley’s long-standing experience covering Middle East affairs includes a stint as Middle East bureau chief for The Times before moving to the London Evening Standard newspaper in 2001 to report on the wars in Afghanistan and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
He then went on to present “Truth and Lies in Baghdad” for Channel 4 television’s current affairs series “Dispatches,” before joining the network full time. While covering the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Kiley was kidnapped along with his cameraman and team, narrowly avoiding execution.
The only journalist to have spent an entire tour with British troops fighting in Helmand, Kiley recounted the six-month deployment in his 2009 book, “Desperate Glory,” which was named an Economist Book of the Year.
“Sam is a uniquely experienced correspondent, with an outstanding record of investigative reporting. He has managed bureau, broken major stories and delivered powerful, important documentaries throughout an extraordinary career. He is a formidable addition to our international news gathering operation,” said Deborah Rayner, SVP of international newsgathering for TV & Digital at CNN International.
Becky Anderson, managing editor of CNN Abu Dhabi, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Sam to Abu Dhabi. He has a remarkable portfolio of achievements under his belt and will be a fantastic asset to our reporting across this region.”
Sky News correspondent Sam Kiley joins CNN in Abu Dhabi
Sky News correspondent Sam Kiley joins CNN in Abu Dhabi
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
