Top Asian News 4:46 a.m. GMT

Australian leader urges Facebook to lift its news blockade

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister on Friday urged Facebook to lift its blockade of Australian users and return to the negotiating table with news publishing businesses, warning that other countries would follow his government’s example in making digital giants pay for journalism. Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Facebook’s move Thursday to prevent Australians accessing and sharing news as a threat. The blockade has escalated a fight with the government over whether powerful tech companies should have to pay news organizations for content. “The idea of shutting down the sorts of sites they did yesterday, as some sort of threat — well, I know how Australians react to that and I thought that was not a good move on their part,” Morrison told reporters.