WK in gevaar voor Iraanse voetballers • Trump zegt te wachten met aanvallen op energiecentrales Iran
Russian court alleges film promotes ‘negative attitudes’ about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine
A Russian court banned the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin from several streaming platforms on Thursday, alleging it promoted “negative attitudes” about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine.
The film documents pro-war propaganda lessons delivered at a school in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, using two years of footage secretly filmed and smuggled out of the country by the school’s videographer, Pavel Talankin.
Continue reading...Treasurer’s signature to be removed for first time since 1861 in change made to mark US’s 250th anniversary
Donald Trump’s signature will soon appear on US paper currency, the treasury department announced Thursday.
The move marks the first time a sitting US president’s signature will appear on legal tender. To accommodate this change, the treasurer’s signature will be removed for the first time since 1861.
Continue reading...Petition seeks accountability from Salvadorian authorities over human rights violations at notorious Cecot facility
A group of 18 Venezuelan men whom the US expelled a notorious Salvadorian mega-prison are demanding that Salvadorian authorities be held internationally accountable for violation of human rights – detailing new allegations of torture, sexual assault and medical neglect.
A new petition, filed on Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleges that El Salvador violated the human rights of these men, who were expelled to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) last year without charge.
Continue reading...Jono Ridler has battled loneliness and fatigue as he aims to break the record for the longest unassisted staged swim – and raise awareness about fragile marine life
First he hears a faint chatter coming from the ocean depths, then clicks and squeaks as the creatures draw closer. From the murky edges of his goggles they appear, swift and agile, darting within 10cm of his bare outstretched arms and following him for a time, as he swims hundreds of metres off the coast of New Zealand.
Jono Ridler, an ultra-distance swimmer who is 1,254km (779 miles) into his world record attempt for the longest-ever unassisted staged swim, has learned to hear dolphins more than 15 minutes before they reach him and long before his support boats can see them.
Continue reading...Graham Potter committed to Sweden for the long term this month but the immediate future does not look so bad. He will lead them to the World Cup if they overcome Poland on Tuesday and it would be a fairytale start for a manager whose return to his adopted homeland is beginning to make bundles of sense.
Part of Potter’s motivation to stay beyond this summer was the riches at his disposal. Viktor Gyökeres, awkward at Arsenal but talismanic for his country, is among those jewels and overpowered Ukraine with a resounding hat-trick. Goals six minutes into each half, topped by a late penalty, exhibited the full suite of desirable components in a No9; Sweden were disciplined at the other end and it was a game too far for Ukraine, who had dearly hoped to offer relief for those suffering back home but could only offer a late consolation from Matviy Ponomarenko.
Continue reading...Game seven of Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy tenure delivered comfort. In number eight, he will look to end the painful wait of a nation by returning his country to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Northern Ireland’s future, a bright one with this young squad, now means looking towards Euro 2028. This was simply a campaign too soon.
Gattuso has a stated aim of making World Cup impact, not simply qualifying. There were long spells in this playoff when the coach’s aspirations felt ludicrous. Perhaps Italy laboured, especially in the first half, under expectation. Yet it is an undoubted truism that they will require a huge uplift in performance level to feature prominently in the summer. Had Northern Ireland snatched the opening goal here, Italy would have been in serious bother.
Continue reading...As many organizations celebrate outcome, some are skeptical as to what it means for privacy protections
The verdict in a landmark social media trial that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products has sparked calls for reform across borders. International human rights and tech freedom groups issued statements after the decision, praising jurors for holding social media companies accountable for harms to children and urging tech giants to change their design features to ensure children are safe.
Amnesty International said in a statement on Thursday that “this court decision is clear: these platforms are unsafe by design and meaningful change is urgently needed”.
Continue reading...AI biz makes some Claude conversations more costly to manage capacity
Anthropic on Wednesday adjusted its opaque usage limits for Claude customers by reducing the power of the services it delivers during times of peak demand, in an effort to balance demand with its capacity to deliver service.…
You actually thing companies are going to pay Americans to take customer service calls in the AI age?
Uncle Sam is trying to make American call centers great again. The question is whether they will be great because they're filled with local workers or whether this will provide yet another excuse for companies to turn customer service jobs over to AI.…
Deze week een jaar geleden opende C3-Studios haar deuren in Rotterdam Charlois. 6000 m2 kunstenaarsateliers plus tentoonstellingsruimtes plus gaarkeuken plus boekhandel plus binnenplaats. Allemaal uit de koker van duizendpoot Kamiel Verschuren in samenwerking met SKAR [Meer...]
Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
date stamped on slide, April 1972, from a Kodachrome slide box addressed to Morgan Kane, 1st West 57 Street, New York City, handwritten on slide box, "Mod big print dress"
NEW YORK (ANP/AFP/BLOOMBERG) - Zakenbanken en investerings- en beleggingsmaatschappijen op Wall Street hebben vorig jaar in totaal 49,2 miljard dollar, omgerekend 42,7 miljard euro, aan bonussen uitgekeerd. Dat is een recordbedrag aan bonussen voor bijvoorbeeld zakenbankiers voor het begeleiden van beursgangen, het adviseren bij overnames en fusies, vermogensbeheer en handel in aandelen en obligaties.
Het gemiddelde bonusbedrag steeg met 6 procent tot 246.900 dollar, oftewel ruim 214.00 euro, aldus de financiële controleur van de staat New York, Thomas DiNapoli, in zijn jaarlijkse melding. Het is het tweede jaar op rij dat bonusrecords worden gebroken voor de zakenbankiers, beleggingsadviseurs, analisten en beurshandelaren op Wall Street.
De cijfers gaan terug tot 1987. Het gaat bijvoorbeeld om bonussen bij grote namen op Wall Street zoals Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Blackstone, Charles Schwab en BlackRock.
Oorlog Midden-Oosten
"Wall Street zag sterke prestaties voor een groot deel van het jaar, ondanks alle binnenlandse en internationale onrustigheden", aldus DiNapoli in het rapport. Vorig jaar werden records geboekt op de Amerikaanse financiële markten ondanks de onrust rond het handelsbeleid van president Donald Trump. Momenteel zorgt de oorlog in het Midden-Oosten voor onzekerheid op de markt.
De staat New York haalde in het vorige boekjaar ruim 19 procent van zijn belastinginkomsten uit Wall Street. Voor de stad New York was dat meer dan 8 procent.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Prospective Vizio TV buyers should know there's a good chance the set won't work properly without a Walmart account. In an attempt to better serve advertisers, Walmart, which bought Vizio in December 2024, announced this week that select newly purchased Vizio TVs now require a Walmart account for setup and accessing smart TV features. Since 2024, Vizio TVs have required a Vizio account, which a Vizio OS website says is necessary for accessing "exclusive offers, subscription management, and tailored support." Accounts are also central to Vizio's business, which is largely driven by ads and tracking tied to its OS.
A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that Walmart accounts will be mandatory on "select new Vizio OS TVs" for owners to complete onboarding and to use smart TV features. The representative added: "Customers who already have an existing Vizio account are being given the option to merge their Vizio account with their Walmart account. Customers with an existing Vizio account can opt out by deleting their Vizio account." The representative wouldn't confirm which TV models are affected. Walmart's representative said the Walmart account integration is "designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways" but didn't specify how.
A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that Walmart accounts will be mandatory on "select new Vizio OS TVs" for owners to complete onboarding and to use smart TV features. The representative added: "Customers who already have an existing Vizio account are being given the option to merge their Vizio account with their Walmart account. Customers with an existing Vizio account can opt out by deleting their Vizio account." The representative wouldn't confirm which TV models are affected. Walmart's representative said the Walmart account integration is "designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways" but didn't specify how.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
