Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox, News Corp

Murdoch stepping down put an end to a more than seven-decade career. (AFP/File)
Murdoch stepping down put an end to a more than seven-decade career. (AFP/File)
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Updated 21 September 2023
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Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox, News Corp

Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox, News Corp
  • His son, Lachlan Murdoch, to replace him

LONDON: Rupert Murdoch has stepped down as the chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp, ending a more than seven-decade career during which he created a media empire spanning from Australia to the United States.
His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will become the sole chairman of News Corp. and continue as the chair and CEO of Fox, the companies said on Thursday.
The news comes just months after Murdoch, 92, scrapped a plan that would have reunited his media empire by merging Fox and News Corp.
Murdoch, who has near-controlling stakes in both the companies, will be appointed chairman emeritus of both the companies.


Clip emerges of Israeli troops burning aid in Gaza

Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show IDF troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Screenshot
Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show IDF troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Screenshot
Updated 55 sec ago
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Clip emerges of Israeli troops burning aid in Gaza

Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show IDF troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Screenshot
  • In the footage, men in IDF uniforms smile as they set food and water in the back of a truck alight

LONDON: Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show Israel Defense Forces troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

In the footage, shared by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, men in IDF uniforms smile as they set food and water in the back of a truck alight.

The incident reportedly took place in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, where IDF forces are engaged in fighting against suspected Hamas militants.

Muhammad Shehada, chief of communications at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said of the footage on X: “Note the immense satisfaction & smile from ear to ear on one of the soldiers’ faces! They were the ones to film & post this b/c there will be ZERO consequences to this depravity.”

Reporting on the footage, Gergana Katseva, a news reporter for Britain’s Metro newspaper, described it as “sickening.”


Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online

Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online
Updated 10 December 2023
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Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online

Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online

LONDON: Spanish fashion retailer Zara is facing an online backlash for its latest advertising campaign, which social media users have criticized for its alleged similarities with destruction in Gaza.

The campaign, named “The Jacket” and part of the brand’s Atelier series, features model Kristen McMenamy carrying a mannequin covered in white cloth, while other mannequins appear with limbs missing. She is surrounded by rubble in the images.

Social media users are comparing the depiction with images of the bodies of those killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

One eagle-eyed critic also alleged one of the pieces of plasterboard in the background of the images is shaped like a map of Palestine.

 

 

As the campaign images went viral over the weekend, many on social media were calling for people to boycott Zara. The firm has since deleted posts containing the images but is yet to issue a statement.

“Using death and destruction as a backdrop for fashion is beyond sinister, it’s complicity and should outrage us as consumers, boycott Zara,” Palestinian artist Hazem Harb wrote on Instagram.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Hazem Harb (@hazemharb)

 

Influencers Noor Amra and Hina Cheema also posted on Instagram, with the message: “We have all seen the devastating images of shrouded bodies coming out of Gaza ... It’s clearly a deliberate mock to Palestinians. They know exactly what they are doing.”

Responding to the post, the president of Huda Beauty, Mona Kattan, wrote: “Sick.”

Twitter user @AKoleWorld added: “My favorite brand until now. Whole closet was Zara. Sending to a homeless shelter and never buying again.”


Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes

Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes
Updated 09 December 2023
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Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes

Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes
  • The Haaretz study corroborates an investigation conducted by two other Israeli news websites, suggesting Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks

LONDON: Civilians in Gaza constituted a staggering 61 percent of the total death toll in the first three weeks of Israel’s assault on the Palestinian enclave, a study published on Saturday by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz found.

The Israeli military’s operation in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack, killed more than 9,000 people, including at least 3,600 children, in the first three weeks alone.

As the offensive expands into southern Gaza, where civilians were previously ordered by the Israeli Defense Forces to relocate, the death toll has passed 21,731, including more than 8,697 children, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

The Haaretz analysis found that in three of Israel’s previous assaults on Gaza between 2012 and 2022, about 40 percent of the total deaths were civilians.  

The newspaper’s findings confirm an investigation conducted 10 days ago by two other Israeli news websites, +972 Magazine and Local Call, which concluded that Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks.

These studies come as the US administration faces global criticism, as well as allegations of supporting war crimes, for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said that the US “risks complicity in war crimes” by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover.


Israel’s former justice minister walks out during RT interview

Israel’s former justice minister walks out during RT interview
Updated 09 December 2023
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Israel’s former justice minister walks out during RT interview

Israel’s former justice minister walks out during RT interview
  • The host later asked Beilin about dubious evidence surrounding the events of Oct. 7 and evidence of Israeli friendly fire on the same day
  • Beilin became furious with the direction of the interview before deciding to walk away

DUBAI: Former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin walked out of a televised interview after being challenged by the presenter to respond to reports on the Israel-Hamas war.

During an interview with Russia Today presenter Afshin Rattansi, Beilin was asked about the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the parallels between the Palestinian resistance and Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress resistance.

A heated exchange took place when the presenter challenged the ex-Israeli minister to respond to unverified accounts regarding the rape of Israeli women hostages captured by Hamas.

Beilin said: “I don’t want even to argue about it. If people don’t believe these poor women were hit and raped and whatever, I’m not in the situation to prove them that they are wrong.”

Rattansi said the claims had never been proven. 

The host later asked Beilin about dubious evidence surrounding the events of Oct. 7, as well as evidence of Israeli friendly fire on the same day, published in a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz. 

He sarcastically responded, saying: “Maybe it is true, and all the 1,200 people who were killed on Oct. 7 were killed by Israelis … Are you crazy? … We killed ourselves and raped ourselves.”

The presenter replied that it was not a matter of believing whether this truly happened, but rather a matter of presenting evidence to verify or dispute such claims.   

As Beilin became furious with the direction of the interview, the presenter moved on to the topic of Israel’s support for Daesh fighters in Syria.

Beilin, however, refused to comment on the matter before abruptly ending the interview.


EU reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules

EU reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules
Updated 09 December 2023
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EU reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules

EU reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules
  • Under the deal, the most advanced foundation models that pose the biggest “systemic risks” will get extra scrutiny
  • Researchers have warned that these powerful foundation models could be used to supercharge online disinformation and manipulation, cyberattacks or creation of bioweapons

LONDON: European Union negotiators clinched a deal Friday on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of technology used in popular generative AI services like ChatGPT that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member countries overcame big differences on controversial points including generative AI and police use of facial recognition surveillance to sign a tentative political agreement for the Artificial Intelligence Act.
“Deal!” tweeted European Commissioner Thierry Breton, just before midnight. “The EU becomes the very first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI.”
The result came after marathon closed-door talks this week, with the initial session lasting 22 hours before a second round kicked off Friday morning.
Officials were under the gun to secure a political victory for the flagship legislation but were expected to leave the door open to further talks to work out the fine print, likely to bring more backroom lobbying.
The EU took an early lead in the global race to draw up AI guardrails when it unveiled the first draft of its rulebook in 2021. The recent boom in generative AI, however, sent European officials scrambling to update a proposal poised to serve as a blueprint for the world.
The European Parliament will still need to vote on it early next year, but with the deal done that’s a formality, Brando Benifei, an Italian lawmaker co-leading the body’s negotiating efforts, told The Associated Press late Friday.
“It’s very very good,” he said by text message after being asked if it included everything he wanted. “Obviously we had to accept some compromises but overall very good.” The eventual law wouldn’t fully take effect until 2025 at the earliest, and threatens stiff financial penalties for violations of up to 35 million euros ($38 million) or 7 percent of a company’s global turnover.
Generative AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have exploded into the world’s consciousness, dazzling users with the ability to produce human-like text, photos and songs but raising fears about the risks the rapidly developing technology poses to jobs, privacy and copyright protection and even human life itself.
Now, the US, UK, China and global coalitions like the Group of 7 major democracies have jumped in with their own proposals to regulate AI, though they’re still catching up to Europe.
Strong and comprehensive regulation from the EU “can set a powerful example for many governments considering regulation,” said Anu Bradford, a Columbia Law School professor who’s an expert on EU and digital regulation. Other countries “may not copy every provision but will likely emulate many aspects of it.”
AI companies who will have to obey the EU’s rules will also likely extend some of those obligations to markets outside the continent, she said. “After all, it is not efficient to re-train separate models for different markets,” she said.
Others are worried that the agreement was rushed through.
“Today’s political deal marks the beginning of important and necessary technical work on crucial details of the AI Act, which are still missing,” said Daniel Friedlaender, head of the European office of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech industry lobby group.
The AI Act was originally designed to mitigate the dangers from specific AI functions based on their level of risk, from low to unacceptable. But lawmakers pushed to expand it to foundation models, the advanced systems that underpin general purpose AI services like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard chatbot.
Foundation models looked set to be one of the biggest sticking points for Europe. However, negotiators managed to reach a tentative compromise early in the talks, despite opposition led by France, which called instead for self-regulation to help homegrown European generative AI companies competing with big USrivals including OpenAI’s backer Microsoft.
Also known as large language models, these systems are trained on vast troves of written works and images scraped off the Internet. They give generative AI systems the ability to create something new, unlike traditional AI, which processes data and completes tasks using predetermined rules.
Under the deal, the most advanced foundation models that pose the biggest “systemic risks” will get extra scrutiny, including requirements to disclose more information such as how much computing power was used to train the systems.
Researchers have warned that these powerful foundation models, built by a handful of big tech companies, could be used to supercharge online disinformation and manipulation, cyberattacks or creation of bioweapons.
Rights groups also caution that the lack of transparency about data used to train the models poses risks to daily life because they act as basic structures for software developers building AI-powered services.
What became the thorniest topic was AI-powered facial recognition surveillance systems, and negotiators found a compromise after intensive bargaining.
European lawmakers wanted a full ban on public use of facial scanning and other “remote biometric identification” systems because of privacy concerns while governments of member countries wanted exemptions so law enforcement could use them to tackle serious crimes like child sexual exploitation or terrorist attacks.
Civil society groups were more skeptical.
“Whatever the victories may have been in these final negotiations, the fact remains that huge flaws will remain in this final text,” said Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at the digital rights group Access Now. Along with the law enforcement exemptions, he also cited a lack of protection for AI systems used in migration and border control, and “big gaps in the bans on the most dangerous AI systems”