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Big Tech crackdown looms as EU, UK ready new rules

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Amazon and other Big Tech companies are facing rising pressure from European authorities as London and Brussels advanced new rules Tuesday to curb the power of digital companies. The U.K. government unveiled draft legislation that would give regulators more power to protect consumers from online scams and fake reviews and boost digital competition.Meanwhile, the European Union was set to release a list of the 19 biggest online platforms and search engines that face extra scrutiny and obligations under the 27-nation bloc’s landmark digital rules taking effect later this year. The updates help solidify Europe’s reputation as the global leader in efforts to rein in the power of social media companies and other digital platforms.Britain’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers bill proposes giving watchdogs more teeth to draw down the dominance of tech companies, backed by the threat of fines worth up to 10% of their annual revenue. Und...

Colombia hosts conference on Venezuela’s political crisis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Diplomats from 20 countries were gathering Tuesday in Colombia to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela, where Nicolas Maduro’s socialist administration has strengthened its autocratic rule despite international efforts to expand political freedoms in the South American nation.The conference is hosted by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has called for sanctions on Venezuela’s government to be lifted, but also for policies that ensure “more democracy” in Venezuela.Delegates from the United States, the European Union, Brazil and the United Kingdom were slated to attend the one-day event, which also will look at ways to boost negotiations between the Maduro administration and a coalition of opposition parties known as the Democratic Unitary Platform. Those talks began in Mexico in 2021 but stalled at the end of last year.While members of the Unitary Platform are backing the Colombia meeting, some factions of Venezuela’s opposition have questioned...

H&R REIT reaches deal with activist investor K2, will increase board size to 10

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

TORONTO — H&R Real Estate Investment Trust has reached a deal with an activist investor that had sought changes at the trust’s board.Under the agreement, K2 Principal Fund LP and K2 & Associates Investment Management Inc. has withdrawn their four nominees who were slated to stand for election at the trust’s meeting on June 15.Instead, K2 has agreed with H&R to support the election of two additional, mutually agreed upon, independent trustees, Lindsay Brand and Leonard Abramsky.The move will increase the size of the trust’s board by two to 10 trustees.K2 will also vote in favour of the other trustees slated for re-election. H&R REIT is one of the country’s largest real estate investment trusts with a portfolio of residential, industrial, office and retail properties.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:HR.UN)The Canadian Press

EU nations seek to end Ukraine farm import standoff

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hoping to maintain a unified stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine, the European Union on Tuesday looked for a way to satisfy the concerns of member nations facing a destabilizing glut of Ukrainian farm exports. The 27-nation EU lifted agricultural import restrictions last year to help Ukraine get its vast grain supplies to world markets amid a Russian blockade. Eastern European nations like Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia have since reported being flooded with imported products. To protect their farmers, the countries unilaterally banned Ukrainian farm imports for their national markets. The moves went against the principle that the EU sets trade policy for all 27 nations and could give the impression that the bloc is fighting internally instead of facing Russia jointly. “We are really, really afraid of the consequences of these unilateral restrictions. And Finland sees that this restrictions can call into question unity in support of Ukraine,” Finnish Agricultur...

Professionals see less credibility, value on Twitter after Musk takeover

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

TORONTO — Professionals on Twitter say they’re noticing many people and organizations put less time into the platform after billionaire businessman Elon Musk bought it and made a slew of changes.Media relations professional Anne Marie Aikins sees organizations tweeting less and suspects it’s because of how easy Musk has made it to target brands with misinformation that could tarnish their image.She says it’s tiresome and hard for media relations workers to tamp down on false information on the platform and the companies they work for are seeing their tweets reach a diminishing audience.Courtney Radsch has similarly seen less Twitter activity from journalists, media outlets and academics and like Aikins, attributes it to Musk’s recent changes to verification and relaxed stance on moderation.She says professionals are less likely to want to be active on the platform, when they encounter harassment and hate filled speech that Musk isn’t quelling.Musk recently stripped notable use...

Moscow hosts more Turkey-Syria rapprochement talks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s defense minister on Tuesday hosted his counterparts from Iran, Syria and Turkey for talks that were part of the Kremlin’s efforts to help broker a rapprochement between the Turkish and Syrian governments.The Russian Defense Ministry said the talks focused on “practical steps to strengthen security in the Syrian Arab Republic and to normalize Syrian-Turkish relations.”Moscow has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government to reclaim control over most of the country while Turkey has backed armed opposition to Assad throughout the 12-year conflict.While the bulk of Russia’s armed forces have been busy fighting in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained its military presence in Syria and has also made persistent efforts to help Assad rebuild fractured ties with Turkey and other countries in the region following the civil war that has killed nearly 500,000 people and disp...

Cook County corrections officer charged with murder after Niles nightclub parking lot shooting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

NILES, Ill. — A Cook County corrections officer has been charged with murder following a deadly shooting in the parking lot of a suburban nightclub early Sunday morning.Just after 1 a.m., authorities responded to the Miraj Lounge, located in the 8800 block of North Milwaukee, on the report of a shooting.Officers at the scene located a 22-year-old man, later identified as Mark Asber, of Niles, suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Asber was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Previous: Man dead after shooting in Niles nightclub parking lot Alan Kettina, 25, of Northbrook, was taken into custody at the scene. On Tuesday morning, authorities announced he has been charged with first-degree murder.Kettina has worked as a Cook County correctional officer since Nov. 2021, the sheriff's office said.He is due in bond court on Tuesday.

Death investigation underway after 8-month-old girl found unresponsive inside West Side home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

CHICAGO — An 8-month-old girl has died after being found unresponsive inside a home on the city's West Side.Police said the baby was discovered in the 5800 block of West Arthington around 11:50 a.m. Monday. She was transported to West Suburban Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her identity has not yet been released. Man, 21, dies after found shot in elevator on South Side Detectives are conducting a death investigation. No further information has been provided at this time.

Ancient Roman bust found at Goodwill in Texas heading back to Europe

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – With her $35 purchase at a Goodwill Store in Texas nearly five years ago, resident Laura Young helped discover a lost piece of ancient Roman artwork.Young purchased the marble bust from an Austin Goodwill in August 2018. An antiques procurer, she knew right away there must have been a storied history behind the art piece. What she didn't realize was that story wound its way back to first-century A.D. Rome.How did an ancient Roman bust end up in Austin?Before Young's thrift-store discovery, the last known location of the bust was at a museum in Aschaffenburg, Germany, during the height of World War II, San Antonio Museum of Art specialists told Nexstar's KXAN in May 2022. Lynley McAlpine, a postdoctoral curatorial fellow at SAMA, said museum lootings were commonly conducted by infiltrating armies throughout the war.Austin resident Laura Young discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman bust at a local Goodwill. (Courtesy: Laura Young)Austin resident Laura Young discovered a 2,0...

Person hit, killed on FM 973 in Del Valle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:30 GMT

DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) -- A person was hit and killed Tuesday morning in Del Valle on FM 973. The investigation has caused road closures and heavy delays for commuters in the area. Austin-Travis County EMS responded to the crash around 5:30 a.m. and pronounced the person dead on the scene shortly after. It happened between the 2900 block and 3100 block. Real time traffic map Austin Police said the driver of the vehicle that hit the person stayed on the scene. FM 973 was closed for investigation of the crash, and traffic has spilled onto Hwy 71 and FM 969 as a result of the closure. Drivers heading to work at the Tesla Gigafactory will likely be impacted as well.