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Big Tech firms first in line for fines under the EU’s content law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

After years of light-touch regulation, tech leviathans including Meta, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Google could soon face investigations — and hefty fines — in the European Union if they don’t sufficiently crack down on toxic content.The European Commission will as soon as Friday have the power to investigate and fine some of the most popular social media and e-commerce platforms up to 6 percent of their global annual revenue if they don’t comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission could also temporarily ban a tech company under exceptional cases. A total of 19 companies had until late August to comply with the wide-ranging obligations in the EU’s content moderation law. But some digital firms have over time already attracted the Commission’s scrutiny and prompted backlash from NGOs, politicians and the wider public for how they managed their widely used platforms.Here are some of the tech companies that could be in the European Commissio...

Filmmakers speak out against femicide at Sarajevo Film Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

Emily Schrader is a student at Stanford University, interning with the Post-Conflict Research Center in Bosnia.Filmmaker Kumjana Novakova arrived at southeastern Europe’s largest film festival last week to debut her documentary on mass rape during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. After her arrival in Sarajevo, however, a brutal act of femicide made painfully clear that gender-based violence is not relegated to the Balkan nation’s past. After a gunman in the country’s northeast live streamed his ex-wife’s murder on Instagram on August 11, sparking protests across Bosnia, Novakova and other female directors participating in the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) were asked to speak out on femicide.“Patriarchy is not only sexual and gender-based violence,” the director told me. “Patriarchy is a never-ending workday for women.”  Premiering at the festival, Novakova’s film, “Silence of Reason” highlights the survivors behind the first international trial to prosecute rape ...

Anti-Semitism accusations over rapper split France’s left

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

PARIS — The left’s anti-Semitism problem has taken center-stage in France.The summer jamboree of the French Green party and the hard left was supposed to be an opportunity to discuss climate change, wealth inequalities and next year’s European elections in a festive, holiday vibe.Instead the meeting has been overshadowed by a spat over a rapper’s alleged pun about the Holocaust that now threatens drive a wedge between the parties in the Nupes coalition of the hard left and Greens, which is leading polls in France.The French left’s troubles with anti-Semitism are more subtle than those on the far-right — former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen both played down the Holocaust and defended France’s collaborationist Vichy regime in World War II — but they are still palpable, and stand to further deepen political rifts that have been brewing for months.Several high-profile Green mayors have decided to boycott the annual “Summer University” get-t...

Preparing for a post-Soros Europe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

Alberto Alemanno is the Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris and founder of The Good Lobby, a nonprofit committed to equalize access to power.The Open Society Foundation’s (OSF) decision to end a large part of its European operations caught many by surprise — including many of its founder George Soros’ foes.Historically, no other foundation has done more to build and support European civil society. After initially encouraging dissent behind the Iron Curtain — including Soros’ native country of Hungary — today, it’s difficult to find a well-established nonprofit (or public interest initiative) operating across the European Union that hasn’t benefited from the foundation’s support at some point.And it is this entrenched, ubiquitous nature of OSF support for EU civil society, combined with its massive funding capacity and professional support, which makes its sudden decision to leave deeply consequential.Because of the OSF’s massive structural presence within EU civ...

Trial delayed for University of Idaho student killing suspect Bryan Kohberger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

(CNN) — The murder trial of University of Idaho student killings suspect Brian Kohberger – initially slated to begin in October – has been delayed.Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial during a status conference Wednesday afternoon.Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty for Kohberger, who is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 13 killings of students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were brutally stabbed in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.Kohberger, who has had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf, repeatedly confirmed to the judge Wednesday that he wishes to waive his right to a trial within six months of his arraignment in May.Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor, said the defense team could not be prepared to effectively present their case on the previously set trial date of October 2 – now less than six weeks away. Pros...

Orioles shut out Blue Jays, 7-0, behind unexpected starter Dean Kremer, Anthony Santander’s two-homer return

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

Dean Kremer didn’t need the extra day anyway.The Orioles right-hander’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays was pushed up one day after fellow starter Jack Flaherty was scratched because of fatigue. Kremer still had proper rest to toe the rubber Wednesday night at Camden Yards, and the shake-up didn’t rattle him.Kremer twirled six magnificent innings and the bullpen followed with three sparkling frames of its own to bounce back from Tuesday night’s series-opening defeat to shut out the Blue Jays, 7-0. Anthony Santander provided two of the Orioles’ first three runs before the offense broke out in the eighth inning, as the switch-hitter hit two solo home runs in his return to the field after missing the previous three games with lower back soreness.Kremer, Jacob Webb, Yennier Cano and Shintaro Fujinami combined to allow just five hits without issuing a walk for the Orioles’ eighth shutout of the season. It is their third this month, joining the club...

Aaron Judge’s 3 homers snap Yankees’ losing streak as Luis Severino holds Nationals scoreless

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

After a nine-game hiatus, the Yankees are back in the win column. They can thank their captain for that.The Bombers defeated a sloppy Nationals team, 9-1, on Wednesday night after enduring the franchise’s worst losing streak since 1982. Aaron Judge homered three times in the victory, while Luis Severino shined on the mound.Judge’s 25th dinger of the season came in the first inning, when he belted a MacKenzie Gore pitch to the Toyota Terrace, which lies beyond the Yankees’ bullpen in right-centerfield at Yankee Stadium. The home run traveled 431 feet and 111.3 miles per hour, but it was hardly Judge’s biggest blast of the night.That came in the second inning when he clubbed a grand slam off of Gore. Judge’s 26th home run went 437 feet at 112.8 mph and all but assured the end of the Yankees’ losing streak.But the slugger wasn’t done yet, as Judge took Jose A. Ferrer over the right field wall in the seventh inning for his 28th home run of the s...

Charlie Morton dominates, Jose Quintana flounders as Mets drop rubbermatch to Braves

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

The Mets got a lesson from Uncle Charlie Wednesday night.Braves starter Charlie Morton dominated the Amazins’ lineup while receiving plenty of run support in the rubber match of a three-game series winning 7-0.Morton tossed seven shutout innings allowing just two hits while striking out 11. Buck Showalter’s squad hardly put up a fight as the 39-year-old was on cruise control throughout the night.While Morton was dominant, his counterpart was quite the opposite. Jose Quintana was roughed up as the MLB-best Braves broke out the lumber registering five runs on nine hits while working three walks against the southpaw.Atlanta’s four-run sixth inning was the breaking point for Quintana as his ERA jumped up to 3.73.Marcell Ozuna’s tormenting of the Mets continued Wednesday night. After homering three times in the first two games of this three-game set, the 32-year-old for a fourth time (and 28th of the season) off of reliever Phil Bickford. Ozuna also plated the fir...

Trump absent from stage, not mentioned for first hour of GOP debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

Participants in the first Republican Party primary debate of the 2024 election season did not spend much time addressing the elephant conspicuously absent from the room.Just after former President Donald Trump’s pre-recorded sit down with an ousted Fox News host hit the web, his GOP rivals mounted a stage in Milwaukee Wednesday evening to attempt a debate without him.Nine candidates qualified for the debate, though only eight arrived after the 45th president declined — perhaps to avoid further incriminating himself ahead of his impending fourth arrest, scheduled this time for Thursday in Georgia.The first question asked to candidates by the Fox News hosts was framed around a Billboard-charting song by independent country artist Oliver Anthony.“Our country is in decline,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in response. “Those rich men north of Richmond have put us in this situation.”Newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, recently charging forward in the polls, was the frequent target of critici...

US approves new $500M arms sale to Taiwan as tension from China intensifies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has approved a $500 million arms sale to Taiwan as it ramps up military assistance to the island despite fervent objections from China.The State Department said Wednesday it had signed off on the sale of infrared search tracking systems along with related equipment for advanced F-16 fighter jets. The sale includes the infrared systems as well as test support and equipment, computer software and spare parts, it said. Although the deal is modest in comparison to previous weapons sales, the move is likely to draw fierce criticism from Beijing, which regards self-governing Taiwan as a renegade province and refuses to rule out the use of force to reunify it with the mainland. “This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the State Department said in a statement. “The proposed sale wil...