Global Pulse

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  • Google hit with €403m fine by Irish data watchdog over GDPR violations

    Google hit with €403m fine by Irish data watchdog over GDPR violations

    In one of the most significant penalties issued by Irish data privacy authorities to date, tech giant Google has been fined €403 million (£345 million) by the Republic of Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) over long-standing violations in its handling of user location data. The landmark penalty caps a six-year investigation launched after multiple European consumer advocacy groups submitted formal complaints against the company, shining a fresh spotlight on Big Tech’s compliance with European Union privacy rules.

    The DPC’s inquiry, which concluded this week, focused on Google’s processing of location information across three core user features: Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy. The investigation covered the period from May 25, 2018 — the exact date the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force — through February 4, 2020. The regulator found that Google’s processing practices during this window failed to meet three core GDPR requirements: they were not lawful, not fair, and not transparent to users.

    Location data, a category of personal information that can pinpoint an individual’s whereabouts at any given time, carries uniquely sensitive privacy risks. In an official statement announcing the ruling, DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle emphasized that this type of data “can reveal a significant amount of information about an individual, including information that is inherently private.”

    Doyle reiterated that the GDPR establishes strict, uniform data protection standards across the entire European Economic Area (EEA), mandating that all processing of personal user data adhere to the core principles of lawfulness, fairness, and transparency. He added that Google’s systemic failures left users in the dark about how their location information was being used, including for targeted advertising and building user interest profiles. This lack of clarity stripped users of meaningful control over their own personal data, a violation compounded by Google’s practice of retaining location data far longer than required for its stated purposes.

    Beyond the substantial financial penalty, the DPC has ordered Google to bring all of its location data processing operations into full compliance with GDPR requirements within a six-month timeline.

    Google has pushed back on the ruling by framing the violations as tied to outdated policies that the company has already overhauled. In its own public statement, the company noted that the case centers on historical practices that it began updating as early as 2019. “From 2019 onwards, we’ve significantly evolved our practices and launched robust tools that make managing location data simple,” the company said.

    Google highlighted a series of data protection improvements it has rolled out in recent years to address privacy concerns. These include industry-first auto-delete controls that allow all users to set their accounts to automatically delete location and activity data on rolling three, 18, or 36-month cycles. The company also pointed to simplified ad management tools that let users opt out of personalized advertising entirely, as well as increased transparency measures, including consolidated, easy-to-access information about Google’s location data practices and simplified account privacy settings.

  • US strikes on alleged drug boats could be crimes against humanity, says UN

    US strikes on alleged drug boats could be crimes against humanity, says UN

    Two days after the U.S. military published imagery of its latest strike on a vessel accused of drug trafficking in the Caribbean, a United Nations investigation has delivered a damning conclusion: the ongoing U.S. campaign of airstrikes on maritime targets outside American territorial waters violates international law, and may qualify as crimes against humanity. The findings, released Monday in an official briefing note by the UN Human Rights Council, come from special rapporteur Ben Saul, who has documented the scale of the operations launched by the U.S. as part of its counternarcotics initiative.
    Saul’s investigation confirms that between September of last year and the present, the U.S. has carried out no fewer than 68 such strikes across the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in the deaths of more than 220 people. Even in cases where targets can be accurately verified as members of internationally designated terrorist or drug trafficking groups, Saul argues the strikes do not meet the legal standard for triggering the right to self-defense under international law. For self-defense to apply, the targeted group would need to have launched an active armed attack against the U.S. — a threshold the U.S. has not met in any of these cases, according to the report.
    The UN findings land just 48 hours after U.S. Southern Command, the military body overseeing operations in the region, confirmed its latest attack. In an official statement accompanying grainy aerial footage of the strike, the command said confirmed intelligence proved the targeted vessel was actively involved in narco-trafficking, and that the operation killed four individuals labeled as narco-terrorists. But Saul’s report pushes back hard on the legal justification for the entire campaign, noting that the strikes amount to a pattern of serial extrajudicial killings that violate the fundamental right to life. “Such attacks are unjustified in national or personal self-defence or under international humanitarian law, the international law of the sea, narcotics suppression conventions, or international counter-terrorism law,” Saul wrote in the briefing.
    Going a step further, the special rapporteur concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe the 68 documented strikes that killed 223 people meet the definition of the crime against humanity of murder under customary international law.
    The U.S. launched its expanded counternarcotics air campaign, codenamed Operation Southern Spear, in early September of last year. From its launch, the initiative has faced sharp criticism and controversy. U.S. defense leaders have defended the mission, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously stating the operation focuses on removing “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere” and protecting the U.S. from the flow of illicit drugs that kill thousands of American citizens annually. However, the U.S. has yet to publicly release definitive, verifiable evidence proving all targeted vessels were actively engaged in drug trafficking.
    Critics of the operation have included regional leaders, but two of the most prominent opponents have been removed from power in controversial circumstances over the past year. Nicolás Maduro, the then-Venezuelan president who repeatedly spoke out against the strikes, was captured by U.S. forces in a dramatic, widely contested overnight raid on Caracas earlier this year. Meanwhile, Gustavo Petro, the left-wing former president of Colombia who also opposed Operation Southern Spear, left office in August after a Trump-backed candidate won the country’s June presidential election.
    As of Tuesday, the UN report has not yet received an official response from the U.S. government. BBC News has reached out to the White House and State Department for comment on the findings.

  • Mohamed Salah given six-month driving ban

    Mohamed Salah given six-month driving ban

    A high-profile former Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been handed a six-month driving disqualification after failing to cooperate with police over a speeding incident involving his luxury Rolls-Royce, court officials have confirmed.

    The case dates back to March 27, just three days after Salah confirmed his departure from Liverpool following a storied nine-year tenure with the Premier League club. On that date, a speed camera caught the vehicle travelling at 36 miles per hour in a 30mph zone in Wilmslow, a market town in Cheshire, north-west England.

    When police sent an official inquiry asking Salah to identify who was operating the car at the time of the offence, the 34-year-old Egypt international did not respond to the request. He also failed to enter a plea to the charge of failing to provide driver identification information, which was brought by Cheshire Police.

    In a hearing processed under the Single Justice Procedure – a system that allows magistrates to handle minor offences without a public courtroom hearing – Salah was convicted on the charge. In addition to the six-month driving ban, Warrington Combined Court ordered the footballer to pay a total of £1,044 in fines and court costs.

    Salah’s departure from Liverpool was officially announced by the club on March 24, 2026. Over his nine seasons with the Merseyside club, the Egyptian attacker cemented his status as one of the most accomplished players in the club’s 140-plus year history, scoring 257 goals across 442 appearances in all competitions. He completed his transfer to Turkish top-flight side Trabzonspor at the end of the 2025-26 domestic season.

  • CNN, MS NOW and Politico to file lawsuit against Trump’s White House ban

    CNN, MS NOW and Politico to file lawsuit against Trump’s White House ban

    A major clash over press freedom has erupted in U.S. politics after three leading national media outlets—CNN, Politico, and MS NOW—announced they are taking legal action against the Trump administration following an abrupt ban that blocked their reporters from entering the White House complex.

    The controversial restriction was first announced by former President Donald Trump on a Friday, when he publicly lashed out at the three organizations, claiming they had deliberately published what he called “fiction or lies” covering his administration. The punishment moved from announcement to enforcement just one day later: when the outlets’ reporters attempted to enter the White House for scheduled work on Saturday, they were turned away at security checkpoints and had their official press credentials seized by officials, with no prior warning or formal disciplinary process.

    In a coordinated joint statement released to the public on Monday, legal teams for the three media outlets laid out their case for challenging the ban in court. The core of their argument centers on defending fundamental rights enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the federal government from curtailing press freedom. For decades, federal courts have consistently interpreted this constitutional language to bar the government from retaliating against media outlets or excluding reporters from official spaces based purely on disagreement with their coverage.

    “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the joint statement read. The outlets emphasized that the lack of any formal hearing or prior notification for the credential revocation makes the action constitutionally problematic. They added that if the ban is allowed to stand without legal pushback, it would set a dangerous precedent that undermines not just the independence of the press, but also the American public’s right to receive unfiltered, independent reporting about government activities that is not subject to official censorship.

    Legal experts note that the case marks one of the most direct confrontations between a sitting presidential administration and major national media outlets over access to official government spaces and constitutional press protections in modern U.S. history. The outcome of the lawsuit is expected to set a key precedent for the boundaries of presidential authority to regulate press access to the White House going forward.

  • Inside a camp for Yemeni refugees who have fled to Djibouti

    Inside a camp for Yemeni refugees who have fled to Djibouti

    The ongoing military conflict on Yemen’s western coast has triggered a new wave of displacement, driving thousands of vulnerable civilians to seek safety across a key maritime border. Amid escalating clashes that have shattered daily life in coastal Yemeni communities, many families have packed their few belongings and boarded small, overcrowded boats to cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategically critical waterway that separates Yemen from the Horn of Africa. Their destination is Djibouti, a small East African nation that has opened its borders to absorb the growing influx of people fleeing violence in their home country. Right now, these newly arrived refugees are sheltering in purpose-built camps across Djibouti, where aid organizations are working around the clock to provide basic necessities including clean drinking water, food, emergency medical care and temporary housing. The displacement crisis adds to already mounting pressure on regional humanitarian systems, as Djibouti continues to grapple with the economic and social strains of hosting a growing population of displaced people from Yemen’s nearly decade-long civil conflict.

  • Seven Ethiopian rebel groups form new alliance

    Seven Ethiopian rebel groups form new alliance

    After years of fragmented, regional armed unrest across Ethiopia, seven major and minor rebel factions have announced a unified coalition aimed at removing the national government in Addis Ababa, rekindling international concerns over stability in the Horn of Africa nation.

    The newly formed bloc, dubbed the Alliance for Survival, unites some of the most prominent armed opposition groups operating across the country. It brings together the Amhara-region Fano militia, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and four smaller factions based in Ethiopia’s Ogaden, Afar, and Benishangul-Gumuz regions. Combined, the alliance represents groups operating in six of Ethiopia’s 12 regional states, covering half of the country’s administrative subdivisions.

    In the statement announcing the coalition, the seven groups levied severe accusations against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration, claiming his leadership has overseen widespread war, systematic genocide, mass infrastructural destruction, and crippling economic poverty that has left Ethiopia at risk of national disintegration. As of initial reporting, federal government officials have not issued a formal response to the formation of the alliance.

    The unification of these groups marks a significant escalation of long-simmering conflict that has gripped Ethiopia for years. Armed unrest has persisted for years in Oromia and Amhara, the country’s two most populous regional states, while the northern Tigray region has seen a sharp resurgence of tensions in recent months. A brutal two-year civil war in Tigray that ended with an African Union-brokered peace deal in 2022 killed an estimated hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more. Though the formal conflict was halted, both the federal government and TPLF have repeatedly accused one another of violating the terms of the peace agreement, leaving the region on the brink of a return to full-scale war.

    Notably, the Fano militia once fought alongside federal Ethiopian forces against the TPLF during the Tigray civil war. However, the group launched an insurgency against the Abiy administration less than a year after the war concluded, when it refused federal orders to disarm and integrate into national security forces. The OLA, meanwhile, has waged an insurgency against the Ethiopian government since 2018.

    The formal formation of the Alliance for Survival comes months after unconfirmed reports emerged of a separate secret alliance between the TPLF and Eritrea, Ethiopia’s northern neighbor. Speaking to national lawmakers in July, Abiy dismissed those earlier threats, asserting he had full confidence in Ethiopia’s defensive capabilities. “Even if others were added, we do not have an iota of fear regarding Ethiopia’s sovereignty,” the prime minister said at the time.

    The coalition announcement also follows Ethiopia’s June 2024 general election, where Abiy’s Prosperity Party retained its overwhelming parliamentary majority. The election, however, was widely marred by ongoing armed conflict, opposition accusations of state repression, and minimal participation from major opposition groups. Both Fano and the OLA rejected the election and its final results, while the entire Tigray region, home to roughly six million Ethiopian citizens, was fully excluded from participating in the poll.

  • ‘No surprises’ as results emerge in Russian parliamentary election

    ‘No surprises’ as results emerge in Russian parliamentary election

    As preliminary vote counts roll in from Russia’s recent parliamentary election, political observers and analysts are describing the projected outcome as entirely predictable, with no unexpected shifts in the country’s legislative power structure. Early data from election commissions across the nation points to a clear victory for United Russia, the political party closely aligned with the Kremlin and current presidential administration. The projected seat share indicates the party is well-positioned to hold onto its constitutional supermajority, a level of representation that allows it to pass constitutional amendments and advance core policy priorities without requiring support from opposition factions. Political commentators have widely noted that the projected result follows pre-election polling and expert projections that consistently showed United Russia holding a significant lead over competing parties. This outcome is expected to reinforce the current political balance in Russia’s national legislature, maintaining the status quo that has defined the country’s parliamentary landscape for multiple election cycles.

  • Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband explains why he forgave her over children’s killings

    Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband explains why he forgave her over children’s killings

    The devastating 2023 case of three young children killed at the hands of their mother, Lindsay Clancy, in Duxbury, Massachusetts, has captured national attention, and recently ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the murder charges. Now, Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s ex-husband and the father of the three slain children – 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan – has broken his silence in a candid interview with CBS, opening up about forgiveness, his own struggle with grief, and the toxic online harassment that has upended his life in the aftermath of the tragedy.

    Lindsay Clancy, 36, has not denied killing her three children on January 24, 2023. Immediately after the deaths, she jumped from the second-story window of the family home, leaving her permanently paralyzed, and she attended her seven-week trial in a wheelchair. Her legal team has argued that she should not be held criminally liable for the deaths, as she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis – a rare and severe mental health condition that can trigger episodes of mania, psychosis, and debilitating depression following childbirth. Patrick Clancy, who testified during the trial about his ex-wife’s declining mental state after the births of their children, stood by this account, noting that mental illness often hides its severity until it is too late.

    In the interview, Patrick Clancy explained that his choice to forgive Lindsay came from his firm belief that her severe untreated mental illness, not inherent cruelty, caused the unthinkable act. Rejecting the inflammatory tabloid headlines that labeled Lindsay a “killer mom” and “monster,” Clancy said none of these dehumanizing labels matched the reality of his ex-wife’s struggle. “I believe that it was her mental illness that caused that,” he stated. “So I shared those words. And I think when it comes to forgiveness, I also felt that if I didn’t get there, I would be eaten up inside forever.” When asked if he carried guilt over failing to prevent the tragedy, Clancy said he did the best he could with the limited understanding and resources he had at the time, a burden he carries with him every day.

    In the weeks after the deaths of his children, Clancy said his grief became so overwhelming that he experienced suicidal ideation, admitting he did not expect to live to see his 35th birthday and felt at peace with that possibility. What has compounded his pain, he says, is the relentless wave of online hate and baseless conspiracy theories that have targeted him in the months since the tragedy. Internet users have falsely accused him of covering up for Lindsay and sharing blame for the children’s deaths, while tabloid media has hounded him and his new wife, Rachel Danis, publishing invasive photos of the couple during their daily lives.

    Clancy called these false, widespread accusations deeply harmful, noting they distract from the core issue at the heart of the tragedy: gaps in care and awareness for perinatal mental health. The vitriol has been so severe that Clancy was forced to leave his longtime home in Duxbury and relocate to New York City to seek anonymity and escape the constant public scrutiny. “It’s painful to see,” he said of the online harassment. “And it makes it difficult to be in public and it’s possible that some of those people after seeing lie after lie after lie, they start to believe it and that’s what we’re left with.”

    Today, Clancy is rebuilding his life with Danis, and the couple are expecting a new family together. Looking forward, he says he is eager to share the story of his three late children with his future kids, noting that all children hold an equal place in a parent’s heart regardless of whether they are here physically. The mistrial, declared earlier this month after the deadlocked jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, leaves the future of the case unresolved. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will pursue a retrial, and the next court hearing is scheduled for September 29 at Plymouth Superior Court in Massachusetts.

    The case has sparked urgent conversations about the need for greater awareness and accessible care for perinatal mental health conditions, which can have devastating consequences for families when left untreated. For anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, support is available through global mental health organizations including Befrienders Worldwide, with dedicated resources listed for UK and US residents.

  • US and China discuss AI safety plan ahead of Trump-Xi summit

    US and China discuss AI safety plan ahead of Trump-Xi summit

    Top economic policymakers from the United States and China convened in New York over the weekend for wide-ranging discussions that addressed a growing list of shared priorities, from artificial intelligence risk management to long-simmering trade tensions, ahead of a much-anticipated bilateral summit between the two nations’ leaders in Washington later this week.

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters following the closed-door talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng that the meeting was productive, with the two sides advancing a proposal to establish a pioneering cross-border notification system for AI-related events that could carry national security implications for either country.

    The push for greater coordination on AI governance comes amid mounting global scrutiny of the rapidly developing technology. In recent weeks, leading AI researchers and some of the tech industry’s most prominent leaders have issued urgent warnings about unregulated advancement, calling for developers to adopt more risk-conscious development practices. On the U.S. side, the White House has faced growing public pressure to slow AI rollouts to mitigate potential long-term harm to humanity, a concern President Donald Trump has pushed back on. Trump has repeatedly argued that existing guardrails are adequate, and that the U.S. cannot cede technological leadership to China — emphasizing earlier this month that “whoever wins in AI, wins the future.”

    Bessent framed the proposed notification framework as a critical step toward greater openness between the world’s two largest AI developers. “We think that, just like with any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the number one and the number two AI powers in the world is very important,” he told reporters after the meeting. This is not the first time the two nations have explored AI collaboration: during a May bilateral summit hosted by President Xi Jinping in Beijing, AI cooperation was already a core agenda item for the two leaders. That meeting produced a concrete trade deal under which China agreed to purchase Boeing commercial aircraft and large volumes of U.S. agricultural products in exchange for temporary U.S. tariff reductions.

    Beyond AI, the talks also covered progress on a U.S.-China trade initiative called the Board of Trade, a working group tasked with identifying potential reciprocal tariff cuts on thousands of traded goods. The world’s two largest economies have maintained a temporary tariff truce that is scheduled to expire on November 10, making near-term progress on trade liberalization a top priority ahead of the leader-level summit.

    Chinese state news agency Xinhua confirmed the details of the talks in its own readout, noting that the two sides held “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on key economic and trade issues” that included a full discussion of AI-related topics. The BBC has reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington for additional comment on the meeting outcomes, and had not received a response as of publication.

    In a post to social media platform X Sunday, Bessent emphasized that the successful New York talks have cleared the way for the upcoming Washington summit. “These talks help lay the groundwork for President Trump to advance America’s economic interests and deliver results for the American people,” he wrote. The meeting comes as the U.S. and China remain locked in a long-term strategic competition to dominate the global AI and advanced technology sectors, but the weekend dialogue signals that both sides remain open to targeted cooperation on areas of shared risk and mutual interest.

  • Presley Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s son, dies aged 27

    Presley Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s son, dies aged 27

    The modeling world is mourning the sudden passing of Presley Gerber, the 27-year-old son of legendary supermodel Cindy Crawford, who died over the weekend at a Los Angeles rehabilitation center, according to official records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. No official cause of death has been released to the public as of yet.\n\nFollowing the news, Allie Jenkins, a spokesperson for the Gerber-Crawford family, confirmed the loss in a statement to CBS News, the US news partner of the BBC. The family has requested space and privacy as they navigate this devastating and painful period, asking that the public respect their grief.\n\nLike his mother and younger sister Kaia Gerber, Presley followed a path into professional modeling. He made his first runway appearance at the age of 16 for iconic Italian fashion house Moschino, kicking off a career that would see him front campaigns and walk shows for some of the biggest names in luxury fashion, including Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and Bottega Veneta.\n\nPresley came from a prominent family beyond the fashion industry: his father Rande Gerber is a successful entrepreneur who co-founded the wildly popular Casamigos tequila brand alongside Hollywood A-lister George Clooney.\n\nIn recent years, Presley spoke openly about his longstanding battles with mental health issues and substance use, becoming an advocate for others navigating similar struggles. In a 2023 interview with the Studio 22 podcast, he opened up about his experiences with depression and related challenges, saying he hoped sharing his story could help even one person pull themselves out of the dark place he once occupied.\n\nJust this month, his sister Kaia opened up about how Presley’s addiction struggles shaped the whole family in a feature for American Vogue. She reflected that when a family member faces this kind of battle, it shifts every person’s dynamic within the family, explaining that she had long positioned herself as the “easy, low-maintenance sibling” and avoided asking for support for her own struggles because of the focus on Presley’s health.