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  • ‘Clearly me’: AI drama accused of stealing faces

    ‘Clearly me’: AI drama accused of stealing faces

    The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has opened a new chapter of ethical and legal uncertainty, highlighted by a recent high-profile case in China’s booming microdrama industry, where two creators have accused a viral AI-generated series of stealing their likenesses without consent to portray villainous characters.

    Christine Li, a 26-year-old model and social media influencer based in Hangzhou, never auditioned for, nor agreed to appear in, the AI microdrama *The Peach Blossom Hairpin*. The show, which premiered last month on Hongguo — a leading short-form microdrama platform owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok — gained significant traction before the controversy broke. Li only learned of her unauthorised appearance when fans reached out to alert her that the show’s lead antagonist was an obvious digital replica of her, created from public photos she had posted to her social media channels two years prior.

    What made the experience even more distressing for Li was the nature of the character: her digital deepfake was scripted to commit acts of violence against other women and animal abuse. “I was genuinely shocked. It was clearly me,” Li told Agence France-Presse in an interview. “I also felt a deep fear. I kept wondering what kind of person would do something like this.”

    Li is not alone in her experience. A male stylist specialising in traditional Chinese clothing and cosmetics, who requested the pseudonym Baicai to protect his privacy, also discovered his likeness had been stolen to play the role of Li’s character’s husband, another unsavoury, “sleazy” antagonist. Like Li, Baicai had shared public costume photos on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram-style social platform, which were used to generate his digital twin. Both individuals confirmed to AFP that their original photos bear an unmistakable resemblance to the characters featured in the series.

    Baicai shared the same concerns as Li, worrying that the negative portrayal could damage his personal reputation and harm future career opportunities. “There are probably plenty of cases with unknown victims,” he noted, pointing to the widespread lack of oversight for unauthorised AI deepfake use in the fast-growing sector.

    Microdramas, ultra-short online soap operas with episodes running just two to three minutes, have exploded in popularity across China and global markets in recent years. As of October 2024, Hongguo alone counts roughly 245 million monthly active users, hosting thousands of free AI-generated and live-action bite-sized shows. The industry has turned to AI as a low-cost tool to speed up production and cut expenses in the highly competitive, multi-billion-dollar market.

    However, the case has exposed critical gaps in content moderation and regulatory oversight. Even after the story gained public attention and sparked widespread outcry over AI ethics, AFP confirmed that *The Peach Blossom Hairpin* remained online for days before it was removed, with the unauthorised deepfake characters only quietly swapped out after public pressure grew.

    In early April, Hongguo released an initial statement confirming it had removed the series after finding producers violated platform rules and contractual agreements. In a follow-up statement released earlier this month, the platform said it would implement broader reforms to strengthen content review and creator authorisation protocols. It also noted that it had already removed 670 AI-generated microdramas that violated platform regulations, and would issue harsher penalties for repeat offenders. When contacted by AFP for comment, ByteDance directed reporters to the two existing Hongguo statements.

    Two Chinese companies are linked to the production of *The Peach Blossom Hairpin*: one is associated with a verified account on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, that published the series, while the other is listed as the official producer on a Chinese government registration portal. AFP contacted both firms for comment but received no response. Li and her legal team are still working with Hongguo to confirm the exact identity of the responsible creator, a necessary step before moving forward with the planned lawsuit against both the producers and the platform.

    Current Chinese regulation places primary responsibility for screening potentially problematic content on hosting platforms, according to rules set by the National Radio and Television Administration. Platforms that fail to complete mandatory content reviews face forced removal of non-compliant content. If platforms are aware of intellectual property or rights infringement and fail to take action, affected individuals can report the issue to Chinese cyberspace regulators, who can levy administrative penalties, explained Zhao Zhanling, a partner at Beijing’s Javy Law Firm.

    Yijie Zhao, Li’s lawyer from Henan Huailv Law Firm, noted that using AI to feature an individual in a demeaning, negative role without explicit permission may violate both portrait rights and reputation rights under Chinese law. New national regulations that took effect this month require all AI-generated microdrama content to be officially registered and licensed, but legal experts note that bad actors can still avoid accountability by registering temporary shell companies or hosting content on overseas servers to hide their activity.

    While 2024 saw a Beijing Court order a company to pay compensation and issue a public apology to a celebrity whose likeness was used without permission to create an AI deepfake for inappropriate purposes, lawyers note that plaintiffs who are not public figures with high commercial value often receive relatively low compensation for such violations. For Li, the damage extends far beyond financial compensation: she worries that her connection to the controversy will damage her reputation and cost her future modelling opportunities, leaving her permanently associated with the scandal.

    Baicai has not yet launched formal legal action, but he joins Li in calling for stronger regulatory and platform safeguards to prevent similar unauthorised deepfake misuse from happening to other people. The case has reignited global conversations around the risks of AI deepfake technology, which has already raised widespread concerns over job displacement for actors, as well as its misuse for scams, disinformation and non-consensual intimate content.

  • Woodside grilled by senator over political donations amid calls for new gas tax

    Woodside grilled by senator over political donations amid calls for new gas tax

    Australia’s largest ASX-listed energy firm Woodside Energy has found itself at the center of a fiery senate inquiry, where executives defended the nation’s existing gas taxation framework amid intense scrutiny over the company’s decade-long $2.5 million in political donations to Australia’s three major parties: the Liberals, Nationals, and Labor.

    The hearing, focused on reviewing gas resource taxation rules, was led by Greens committee chair Steph Hodgins-May, who pressed Woodside representatives hard over the nature of their political giving. Hodgins-May challenged the company to disclose what policy access the donations secured, questioning whether corporate funding should even buy entry into policy discussions. “As a Greens senator I could never ever imagine taking money in exchange for a meeting with a stakeholder,” she stated during the session. She further pressed for details on private communications between Woodside executives and Western Australian Premier Roger Cook ahead of Cook’s public stance opposing new gas taxes ahead of the upcoming federal budget, a question Woodside officials declined to answer immediately, saying they would respond to the query on notice.

    The inquiry comes amid growing public and political pressure to implement a new 25% minimum tax on gas exports, a push Hodgins-May has publicly backed. She has pushed back against industry warnings that the time is not right for such a reform, arguing that energy giants have long delayed sharing their extraordinary windfall profits with the Australian public, the rightful owners of the nation’s natural resources. This momentum for higher gas taxes has built following a global energy price surge triggered by ongoing geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which has delivered Australian gas exporters a combined $149 billion in export profits since 2022. Over that same period, Australia’s national debt has swelled to nearly $1 trillion, with economic analysts projecting a 25% export tax would add roughly $17 billion in annual government revenue.

    In his opening testimony before the committee, Woodside Chief Financial Officer Graham Tiver defended the company’s record and the current taxation structure. Tiver emphasized that Woodside already makes a massive contribution to Australian public finances and the national economy, noting that over the past four years, the company has paid roughly $13.8 billion in taxes, royalties, Petroleum Resource Rent Taxes, and other levies, equal to around 44% of revenue from its gas projects being returned to government. “Each year Woodside makes a very substantial contribution back to the Australian community through tax, royalties and other levies. When Woodside succeeds, Australian workers, community and shareholders share in that success, and governments receive the revenue needed to fund essential services such as hospitals, schools and roads,” Tiver said.

    Tiver added that Australia’s existing tax framework strikes the right balance between generating public revenue and supporting the stable, competitive investment environment needed to maintain domestic energy security, create jobs, and keep local energy prices affordable. He noted that Woodside invests more than $10 billion in upfront capital for new projects, and that effective tax rates increase naturally over the lifecycle of gas developments as upfront costs are depreciated.

    Market analysts have noted that the debate over windfall gas taxes brings legitimate arguments on both sides. Morningstar market strategist Lochlan Halloway explained that it is understandable for Australians to feel frustrated by the sudden surge in gas producer profits at a time of broader cost of living pressures. He acknowledged that as the collective owners of Australia’s natural resource endowment, the Australian public currently receives a smaller share of windfall profits than resource holders in comparable nations such as Norway or Qatar. However, Halloway warned that retroactively imposing a new windfall tax carries long-term economic risks. Unlike Norway, where the government is not just a tax collector but also an equity participant that shares upfront project costs and downside risks, a unilateral windfall tax in Australia would shift all asymmetric risk to private investors: the public would collect gains during price booms, but private capital would still bear all losses during price downturns. Halloway noted that the United Kingdom implemented a similar unbalanced windfall levy, and the policy has already led to a complete halt in new offshore North Sea oil and gas exploration, a situation not seen since 1964. Such an outcome in Australia would risk deterring future energy investment and undermining long-term energy security, he argued.

  • ‘Always has been’: Michael Cheika receives strong support as the former Wallabies coach continues to be linked with the Dragons

    ‘Always has been’: Michael Cheika receives strong support as the former Wallabies coach continues to be linked with the Dragons

    As the St. George Illawarra Dragons search for a permanent replacement for outgoing head coach Shane Flanagan ahead of next season, a high-profile cross-code candidate has received a glowing endorsement from one of the NRL’s most respected club leaders. \n\nTrent Robinson, the long-serving Sydney Roosters head coach, has publicly backed former dual-code international rugby union coach Michael Cheika, confirming the 59-year-old possesses every quality needed to succeed as an NRL head coach — and argued that club CEOs and chairmen simply need to take a chance on him.\n\nCheika’s name has repeatedly circulated as a candidate for NRL head coaching vacancies over the past several years, but the decorated mentor has never been given an opportunity to lead a top-flight NRL side, despite a stellar track record across global rugby union. His resume includes head coaching roles with the Australian Wallabies, Argentina’s Pumas, and the Lebanese rugby league international side, a resume that has kept him on the radar for NRL clubs seeking fresh leadership.\n\nCheika already has deep ties to the Roosters organization: he first joined the club as a consultant back in 2020, and has recently returned to the NRL premiership contenders in a specialist role working with the club’s forward pack. That working experience has given Robinson a first-hand look at what Cheika would bring to any NRL head coaching role.\n\nWhen asked whether NRL clubs would be willing to hire a coach with a primarily rugby union background, Robinson redirected the question to the decision-makers at the top of clubs, but left no doubt about Cheika’s credentials. “He’s a head coach, that’s pretty clear, and he always has been,” Robinson told reporters. “Whenever that comes up, he’ll be a head coach in the future somewhere pretty quickly, so he’ll be ready to go.”\n\nRobinson added that Cheika’s work with the Roosters forwards has been a major boost to the squad, noting that while Cheika continues to familiarize himself with the specific nuances of NRL play, his decades of elite coaching experience have already added immense value to the club. “He works with the forwards a lot and he’s worked really well with that crew. Building that mindset along with the skill set, he’s learning at the same time around the nuances of the game, but the mindset he’s had for a long time, so he’s been a good value add,” Robinson said.\n\nBeyond Cheika, Robinson also praised another product of the Roosters’ coaching pathway: club legend and former NSW captain Boyd Cordner, who recently stepped into a new role as assistant coach for the NSW Blues State of Origin side. Cordner replaced outgoing Dean Young, who stepped up to serve as the Dragons’ interim head coach following Flanagan’s departure announcement.\n\nCordner has already built a strong coaching resume through his work leading the Roosters’ SG Ball Cup youth side, and Robinson said the former premiership-winning forward has all the tools to become a top-level head coach in the future. “He is a great coach. He will be a great coach. And it’s a good step towards his future,” Robinson said. “(He’s got a) deep knowledge of rugby league, so he knows the nuances of the game. He knows how the game should be played, and then he’s got the ability to communicate that. So it’s Boydo’s choice that if he wants to go down that line, then he can, and he’s obviously doing it in part-time roles. But Boyd is and will be a very good coach.”\n\nLooking ahead to the Roosters’ upcoming Anzac Day clash against the Dragons, Robinson said his side is focused on preparing for their opponents rather than being distracted by the Dragons’ ongoing off-field coaching saga. The biggest talking point for the match is the NRL debut of Dragons rookie halfback Kade Reed, who is expected to be a primary target for the Roosters’ aggressive defensive line.\n\nRobinson confirmed that the Roosters have done their full scouting work on Reed, noting that while the young half is making his first NRL appearance, he has extensive experience through the junior and reserve grade pathways. When asked about the strategy of targeting debutant playmakers, Robinson said modern NRL requires all 13 players to step up physically, regardless of position or experience.\n\n“That’s the game, that will always be a part of it. But it won’t just be him,” Robinson said, also confirming Roosters centre Billy Smith will not return to the side for this week’s clash. “The game used to be played where years ago, they (smaller halves) used to play second line (defence) and they used to slot in on the far side of where the defensive lines were or where the ball was and move around. That’s not the case anymore. You need 13 guys aiming up and it’s a physical game.”\n\nRobinson added that the Roosters’ preparation for the match has centered on reviewing their own recent performance and locking in their game plan, rather than making drastic adjustments to target Reed. “Our most important preview for this game was our review, and that’s the things that we want to do and the things that we want to improve on,” he said. “You don’t change direction, but our style of game can double down on some of those areas that we want to attack. We’ve done our work as we do each week, no more than any other player that we face each week. But we’re really clear on the way that he plays the game and what he’ll bring to them, and then also what we need to do. He’s played a lot of footy, and we’ve watched him play a lot of footy. He just hasn’t played NRL yet. He’s played a trial, but he’s played a lot of reserve grade and he’s come through the grades, so as long as you do your work, you know the player.”

  • Raiders take Mendoza with first pick of NFL Draft

    Raiders take Mendoza with first pick of NFL Draft

    The 2026 NFL Draft opened its three-day selection process in dramatic fashion Thursday outside Pittsburgh Steelers’ home stadium, drawing a record crowd of 320,000 fans to the outdoor event, where the Las Vegas Raiders landed highly touted college football star Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick.

    The 22-year-old quarterback was a near-unanimous favorite to claim the top selection after a historic 2025 college season, where he led Indiana to its first ever national championship and claimed the Heisman Trophy. With the selection, Mendoza becomes just the third player in NFL history to earn a Heisman Trophy, a national title, and the first overall draft pick in the same calendar year, joining elite company that includes Cam Newton (2011) and Joe Burrow (2020).

    In a break from draft tradition, Mendoza skipped the iconic red carpet walk and opening ceremony in Pittsburgh to share the life-changing moment with his family at his Miami home. In a playful, modern twist on the draft declaration process, the business graduate had previously announced his entry to the draft by updating his LinkedIn status to “Open to Work” — and he refreshed the profile less than 60 minutes after receiving the iconic call from Raiders management to confirm his selection.

    The franchise’s minority owner, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, who is also Mendoza’s childhood idol, was quick to welcome the rookie to Las Vegas. Posting on social platform X shortly after the pick, Brady wrote: “Welcome to Las Vegas. Time to get to work.” Mendoza, who will join veteran quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and 2023 first-round selection Aidan O’Connell in the Raiders’ quarterback room, noted ahead of the draft that Brady has already committed to mentoring the team’s new signal-caller. “He has mentioned that whatever quarterback they select… he is going to pour into them and give them advice,” Mendoza said. “I’m really looking forward to that.”

    While Mendoza’s selection was widely expected, the first round of the 2026 draft was defined by unexpected picks, strategic trades, and heartwarming personal stories from across the league. Analysts had widely labeled the defensive front as the deepest position group in this year’s draft class, and the New York Jets lived up to pre-draft projections by selecting star pass rusher David Bailey with the second overall pick. The next two selections swung back to offense: the Arizona Cardinals took dynamic running back Jeremiyah Love at third, before the Tennessee Titans turned heads with a surprise fourth-round pick of wide receiver Carnell Tate, who appeared just as shocked as fans and analysts by the early selection.

    The New York Giants held two of the first 10 selections, and used the picks to shore up both sides of the ball, selecting pass rusher Arvell Reese at fifth and offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at 10. The 20-year-old Mauigoa, who grew up in American Samoa, paid tribute to his roots with a custom collage of his homeland printed on the back of his draft suit. “I never thought I’d be here,” he said after the pick. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

    The Kansas City Chiefs, who missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014 this past season and are in the midst of a roster rebuild, pulled off one of the first major trades of the night, moving up from the ninth selection to sixth to land coveted cornerback Mansoor Delane. “They weren’t really on me too much in this process,” Delane said after the pick. “But they said they just wanted to keep it quiet and make that sneaky move, and they made the best move of the draft so I’m excited.”

    Multiple other teams climbed the draft board to target priority prospects: the Dallas Cowboys moved up one spot to select star safety Caleb Downs at 11, while the Los Angeles Rams pulled off the most controversial surprise of the first round by selecting former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at 13. Simpson had been projected as a possible first-round pick, but few analysts expected him to be taken as early as the 13th overall selection, after only 15 career college starts. The Rams’ selection has sparked widespread speculation that the team is planning for life after veteran starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, the 2025 league MVP who turned 38 in February and has only committed to one additional season with the franchise.

    BBC Radio analyst Rob Staton noted that the Rams’ move hints at a long-term plan that was put in motion a full year ago, when the team traded with Atlanta to acquire the 13th overall pick. “There’d been little expectation that the Alabama quarterback would go that high, given he only started 15 games in college,” Staton explained. “You can’t help but wonder if the Rams, when making that trade a year ago, did so with a plan for the future at quarterback in mind. He does have some excellent throws on tape and he clearly has natural talent, yet his inexperience showed up when he started to feel pressure in the second half of last season. It’ll help that Simpson is working with a head coach like Sean McVay, but there’s no substitute for game experience.”

    Elsewhere in the first round, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off a last-minute trade to jump in front of the host Pittsburgh Steelers and select wide receiver Makai Lemon at 20th overall. The Steelers responded by selecting Nigerian-born offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, who moved to the United States at age 13. First-round picks featured many legacy prospects as well: Washington Commanders selected pass rusher Sonny Styles, the 21-year-old son of Super Bowl-winning linebacker Lorenzo Styles Sr., whose older brother Lorenzo Jr. is also expected to be selected later in the draft. “He’s my best friend, my inspiration,” Sonny Styles said. “We’ve dreamed about this since we were five years old so to see it all happen, we’re living out the dream, but it’s just the beginning.”

    Day one of the draft saw eight total trades shake up the selection order, with six teams finishing the first round holding two selections, while the New York Jets ended up with three first-round picks after jumping back into the round to select wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. The draft will continue Friday with rounds two and three, before concluding Saturday with rounds four through seven.

  • Headscarf with a beret: Muslim designers showcase floral dresses and boxy streetwear in Paris

    Headscarf with a beret: Muslim designers showcase floral dresses and boxy streetwear in Paris

    Against the backdrop of longstanding debates over religious attire in French public life, Paris made history this week with its first-ever Modest Fashion Week, bringing together nearly 30 international designers specializing in loose, full-coverage garments and modest headwear. The event, held at the historic Hôtel Le Marois steps from the Champs-Élysées, showcases the rapidly expanding global modest fashion movement while challenging prevailing narratives around religious clothing in a country with strict secular policies.

    Modest clothing, defined by designs that cover arms, legs, and often the hair, is most commonly worn by Muslim women adhering to religious modesty principles, but its appeal has expanded far beyond this demographic in recent years. For organizers, holding the groundbreaking event in France carried unique symbolic weight. France is home to an estimated 5 to 7.5 million Muslims, and Özlem Şahin, head of the organization behind Modest Fashion Week, calls Paris “one of the leading modest fashion capitals in Europe.”

    Runway collections spanned a wide range of aesthetics, blending global cultural influences with contemporary design trends. Nature-inspired palettes dominated many presentations: Turkish label Miha founder Hicran Önal centered her collection on romantic themes, pairing fluid silhouettes with water-like teals, soft blues, and delicate floral pinks. Indonesian designer Nada Puspita offered a modern take on modest design with cleaner, more structured lines, while Australian brand Asiyam creator Aisa Hassan drew from warm, earthy natural tones—deep forest greens and autumnal reds—adding a nubby bucket hat as a nod to her Australian heritage. Hassan’s soft, flowing designs stood in stark contrast to the sporty streetwear aesthetic that has grown popular in modern modest fashion, a trend already embraced by global sportswear giants Nike and Adidas.

    Local French brands brought a distinctly Parisian Gen Z edge to the event. Soutoura and Nour Turbans presented boxy, jewel-toned nylon streetwear silhouettes, with Nour Turbans making a striking cultural statement by styling a model’s headscarf beneath a classic French beret. Turkish swimwear label Mayovera showcased burkinis—full-coverage swimwear that leaves only the face, hands, and feet exposed—a garment currently banned from most French public swimming pools despite being permitted on public beaches.

    The global modest fashion industry has expanded exponentially over the past decade, with research firm DinarStandard projecting global consumer spending on modest clothing will surpass $400 billion by 2025. While the segment initially launched to serve Muslim women, it has increasingly gained traction among other faith groups and secular shoppers seeking full-coverage, stylish clothing options.

    For participating designers, the event represents far more than a fashion showcase—it is a milestone for inclusion in a country where religious clothing has faced decades of restrictions. France’s strict interpretation of secularism, known as laïcité, has banned religious symbols including hijabs in state-run schools for over 20 years, with abayas (loose full-length robes) added to the school ban in 2023. Public sector workers including teachers and civil servants are also prohibited from wearing visible religious attire.

    Fatou Doucouré, founder and creative director of French label Soutoura, shared that she has long faced challenges related to wearing her hijab in France, but presenting her work at the Paris event left her feeling hopeful. “Exhibiting my designs in Paris made me feel that women who wear headscarves could take on any role in society,” she said. That sentiment was echoed by attendees, many of whom spoke to the BBC about the event’s transformative impact. One young attendee of Malian heritage, who has faced discrimination for wearing a hijab, said the historic event in central Paris filled her with joy and made her “never want to leave France.” Another attendee noted a visible shift in French culture: for the first time, her hijab no longer felt like the center of political debate, both at the event and on city streets, as people are starting to see her as more than her clothing.

  • EU unblocks funds as Ukraine presses for membership progress

    EU unblocks funds as Ukraine presses for membership progress

    After months of diplomatic gridlock driven by Hungarian opposition, European Union leaders have formally given final approval to a €90 billion ($105 billion) aid package for Ukraine, paired with a new round of anti-Russia sanctions. The breakthrough comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Cypriot coastal resort of Ayia Napa for talks with EU leaders, where he immediately shifted the conversation to advancing Kyiv’s long-held ambition of full European Union membership.

    Zelensky opened his remarks by expressing profound gratitude for the long-delayed financial support, noting that the funds would be critical to keeping Ukraine’s military equipped and sending a clear, unified message to Moscow that European backing for Kyiv remains unshaken. But speaking to reporters outside the seaside conference venue, the Ukrainian leader made clear that his priority now is moving accession talks forward, stating bluntly: “We will push everybody.” He added that his ultimate goal is securing full Ukrainian membership in the bloc by 2027.

    The path to membership talks has recently cleared significantly, following the electoral defeat of Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban earlier this month, who had spent months blocking progress on both the aid package and the opening of accession negotiating clusters. Orban, who skipped what would have been his final EU summit before leaving office, had wielded his veto over the €90 billion loan as leverage to force Ukraine to repair a pipeline damaged in a Russian strike. With repair work completed this week, Russian oil has resumed flowing through the pipeline to both Hungary and Slovakia, resolving the last sticking point for the aid package.

    European Council President Antonio Costa, who represents the bloc’s 27 member states, signaled openness to moving forward, saying the EU must “look forward and prepare the next step”, which would include formally opening the first negotiating clusters for Ukraine’s accession. However, not all EU capitals are on board with accelerating the process. Several senior leaders have pushed back against a fast track, arguing that accession must follow a strict merit-based system that requires Ukraine to meet all membership criteria before advancing. “Fast tracks are not possible,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said. Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden echoed that stance, noting that “you simply cannot become a member of a club without meeting the conditions.”

    French President Emmanuel Macron declined to take a position on accelerated membership, but called on the EU executive branch to draft a clear timeline and outline next steps to be completed in the coming weeks. For his part, Zelensky has rejected calls for a lesser, symbolic membership status, reiterating that Ukraine will accept nothing less than full membership in the bloc. Zelensky also outlined plans for the aid, saying the €90 billion will go toward strengthening Ukraine’s military, expanding domestic air defense production, and shoring up the country’s damaged energy grid. He expects the first disbursement of funds to arrive by late May or early June at the latest.

    Beyond Ukraine, the summit in Cyprus, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, will tackle a range of pressing global and internal issues. EU leaders will turn their attention to the ongoing Middle East conflict and its economic fallout, which has driven sharp spikes in global energy prices. The island nation was drawn into the conflict in March when a drone struck a British military base located on Cypriot territory. On Friday, EU leaders will be joined by their counterparts from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan for what a senior EU official described as “intensive dialogue” on regional stability.

    A top economic priority for the bloc is addressing disruption to global energy supplies linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. A de facto partial closure of the key shipping route has already pushed oil prices sharply higher and reduced jet fuel supplies across Europe. Leaders will also hold their first discussion on the EU’s 2028-2034 multi-year budget. The European Commission has proposed a expanded two trillion euro ($2.3 trillion) budget to account for new priorities including aid for Ukraine and defense spending, but many national governments have already pushed back against calls to increase their national contributions to the bloc.

  • US soldier charged after winning $400,000 betting on removal of Maduro

    US soldier charged after winning $400,000 betting on removal of Maduro

    An active-duty U.S. Army special forces soldier has been arrested and charged by the Department of Justice for illegally trading on classified information about the military operation that captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, turning confidential mission details into hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal profits, federal officials announced Thursday.

    Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, used nonpublic classified information about Operation Absolute Resolve — the codename for the night-time raid that seized Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their Caracas compound on January 3 — to place targeted bets on Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction platform, according to the unsealed indictment. Prosecutors allege that Van Dyke, who was involved in the planning and execution of the operation between December 2025 and January 2026, gained authorized access to highly sensitive mission details including the operation’s timing and expected outcome.

    In late December 2025, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and invested more than $33,000 across Venezuela and Maduro-related prediction markets, all with the explicit goal of personal financial gain, the DOJ said. When the operation concluded as planned, Van Dyke walked away with more than $409,000 in winnings from his insider trades.

    Polymarket officials confirmed Thursday that after the platform detected suspicious activity tied to classified government information, it immediately referred the case to the Department of Justice and fully cooperated with the ongoing investigation. “Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof the system works,” the company said in a social media statement.

    Van Dyke faces five separate federal charges: unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction. As a member of the U.S. military granted access to classified information, Van Dyke had previously signed binding non-disclosure agreements promising he would never reveal or misuse any classified or sensitive operational information for any unauthorized purpose, DOJ officials noted.

    “Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain,” said acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply.”

    U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York — the judicial district where the case will be tried — echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that prediction markets do not qualify as safe havens for actors looking to profit from misappropriated confidential or classified information. The independent U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a separate civil complaint against Van Dyke on Thursday, bringing additional insider trading allegations against him.

    The raid that captured Maduro transferred the former Venezuelan leader and his wife to New York, where they face ongoing charges of weapons trafficking and drug trafficking, allegations the pair have repeatedly denied.

    During a press briefing on an unrelated matter Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he had not yet been briefed on the allegations against Van Dyke but would review the case. When asked about growing concerns that unregulated prediction markets create openings for widespread insider trading involving sensitive government information, Trump said he disapproved of the practice. “The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things,” he said. “I was never much in favour of it.”

  • Trump ‘gold card’ visa granted to one person so far: US commerce chief

    Trump ‘gold card’ visa granted to one person so far: US commerce chief

    A high-profile immigration initiative launched by US President Donald Trump has marked its first formal approval, with only one applicant successfully clearing the process for the administration’s signature $1 million ‘gold card’ residency visa to date, the nation’s top commerce official told lawmakers this week.

    US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the disclosure Thursday during a hearing before the US House of Representatives, updating Congress on the status of a program that has sparked intense debate since its unveiling last year. First ordered into creation by Trump in September 2024, the gold card scheme offers permanent US residency in exchange for a flat entry fee. It opened its application portal to prospective candidates in December 2024.

    Beyond the single completed approval, Lutnick confirmed that hundreds of additional candidates are currently moving through the multi-stage review pipeline. All applicants face not just the steep financial cost, but also rigorous background screening. The program sets a $1 million fee for individual applicants, while corporate sponsorship of candidates carries a $2 million price tag. Applicants must also cover a separate $15,000 processing fee charged by the US Department of Homeland Security, and all submissions undergo what Lutnick described as ‘most serious vetting and analysis.’

    The gold card program was paired with another Trump immigration policy: a new $100,000 annual fee added to the popular H-1B skilled worker visa program for foreign employees. When first announcing the initiative, Trump framed it as a measure that would attract high-impact job creators to the US while generating new revenue to help cut the federal national deficit.

    The update on the gold card program comes amid broader shifts in US immigration policy under Trump’s second term. Since returning to the presidency in 2025, the administration has pushed for stricter immigration controls and carried out a series of large-scale, aggressive deportation raids across the country.

  • Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump hopes for historic deal

    Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump hopes for historic deal

    In a development that keeps fragile peace hopes alive along the Israel-Lebanon border, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the two rival nations have agreed to extend their existing temporary ceasefire for an additional three weeks. The announcement came as the US leader laid out his vision for a landmark three-way summit at the White House to advance a potential full peace deal, even as fresh deadly exchanges of fire underscored the truce’s deep instability.

    Speaking alongside Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the White House – the first high-level direct encounter between the two states, which have no formal diplomatic relations, since 1993 – Trump struck an optimistic tone about the prospect of ending decades of open conflict between the two nations. “I think there’s a very good chance of having peace. I think it should be an easy one,” he told reporters, adding that he expects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to travel to Washington for talks during the newly extended truce window.

    The original ceasefire was first agreed on April 14 following initial ambassador-level talks and was set to expire Sunday. Lebanese officials had previously pushed for a one-month extension, with Aoun demanding the truce explicitly include commitments to halt destruction of civilian infrastructure, and end attacks on civilians, places of worship, medical and education facilities, and journalists. The demand gained urgent traction after a Lebanese journalist, Amal Khalil, was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon Wednesday, with mourners holding a funeral procession for her in the southern Lebanese town of Bissariye this week.

    The current round of open conflict between Israel and Hezbollah dates back to late February, when Israel launched a major offensive in Lebanon in response to Hezbollah rocket fire. The Iran-aligned militant group had pledged retaliation after Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the opening of the US-Israel war on Iran that began February 28. According to Lebanese authorities, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 2,450 people and displaced over one million, while Israeli forces have occupied a 10-kilometer deep “security zone” along the southern Lebanese border.

    Even as the ceasefire extension was being announced at the White House, new violence erupted Thursday: Hezbollah confirmed it had launched a fresh barrage of rockets into northern Israel, saying the attack was retaliation for repeated Israeli violations of the original truce. Israeli officials reported that all incoming rockets were intercepted by their defense systems. The exchange followed a deadly day of Israeli strikes Wednesday that killed five people across Lebanon, including Khalil. On Thursday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle near the southern city of Nabatieh, roughly 35 kilometers north of the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel has repeatedly argued that truce terms allow it to carry out operations against what it frames as imminent or ongoing Hezbollah attacks, while Hezbollah has launched multiple small-scale attacks on Israeli troops and military assets in southern Lebanon in recent days.

    Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter struck a conciliatory tone Thursday, saying Israel seeks a formal peace agreement with the Lebanese government and claimed the campaign against Iran has significantly weakened Hezbollah’s military capacity. “We’re united with the Lebanese government in wanting to rid the country of this malign influence called Hezbollah,” he said.

    The ceasefire extension comes against a backdrop of stalled US-Iran negotiations. Iran had made a full ceasefire in Lebanon a precondition for resuming talks with Washington aimed at ending the ongoing war, but refused to attend a planned second round of negotiations this week in protest of a continuing US naval blockade of Iran. Despite the breakdown, Trump announced Thursday he was extending an existing truce with Iran indefinitely. Notably, Lebanese President Aoun has already pushed back on a prior Trump claim that he would hold a direct telephone call with Netanyahu, signaling ongoing divisions remain even as diplomatic efforts move forward.

  • Palestine Action defendant wounded by taser and sledgehammer in raid, court hears

    Palestine Action defendant wounded by taser and sledgehammer in raid, court hears

    A high-profile trial of six Palestine Action activists opened this week at London’s Woolwich Crown Court, with shocking testimony about police use of force and violent confrontations during an August 2024 raid on an Israeli-owned arms factory near Bristol.

    On the first day of witness testimony Thursday, the court heard detailed accounts of the injuries sustained by 30-year-old Leona Kamio, a nursery school teacher from Swansea and one of the six defendants facing joint criminal damage charges linked to the break-in at Elbit Systems’ Filton facility. A medical examination following her arrest documented multiple injuries: taser burns to her right arm and right hip, a bruise to her chin, a small scratch, and a distinct wound to her right hand inflicted by a sledgehammer. Kamio told the court she cannot identify who caused the sledgehammer wound.

    Body-worn camera footage from arresting officer PC Peter Adams played in court shows Adams deploying his taser against Kamio during the raid. After being stunned, Kamio was tackled to the ground, where she hit her chin on the floor and went rigid. Kamio described the experience of being tasered as “not good, very painful”, adding that Adams twisted her arm behind her back and attempted to drag her up by her wrist while she screamed in pain. The footage captures Kamio shouting “you’re fucking hitting me” as Adams attempted to place her in handcuffs, calling the officer an “idiot” in response to his own verbal provocation. Kamio emphasized she was not faking her pain or resisting arrest, joking to the court “I failed drama” to underscore the authenticity of her reaction.

    Alongside Kamio, the other defendants facing criminal damage charges are Charlotte Head, 29, Jordan Devlin, 31, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and 23-year-old Samuel Corner. Corner faces an additional charge of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm, for allegedly striking two police officers with a sledgehammer during the confrontation.

    Testifying earlier on Thursday, Corner – an autistic Oxford graduate with an ADHD diagnosis – explained his actions as a reaction to the panic and disorientation caused by Pava, a synthetic incapacitant pepper spray sprayed at him by PC Aaron Buxton. Corner told the court the spray produced an “all consuming” stinging and burning effect that left him unable to see or focus clearly. He added that he did not initially recognize the approaching responders as police officers, and believed they were aggressive security guards intent on harming him and his fellow activists.

    “I was scared about what they were going to do to us, especially the women,” Corner told the court. He explained that when he heard screaming and saw what he believed was a large male security guard attacking a fellow female activist, he acted instinctively. He has since acknowledged the person he struck was Sergeant Kate Evans, a female police officer who was not attacking Rogers, the activist he thought was in danger.

    Corner admitted he raised his sledgehammer and struck Evans twice, but said he had no intent to cause her serious harm. When pressed by prosecutor Deanna Heer KC on whether attacking a police officer with a sledgehammer was unreasonable, he responded: “it seemed reasonable to do something and I had to act quite quickly. If I had thought about what it was going to do to her, I agree it would have been unreasonable.” When asked if he understood the severity of harm he could have caused, he replied “I genuinely didn’t.” Footage also shows Corner striking PC Buxton twice with the sledgehammer, though Corner says he has no memory of the encounter.

    Multiple character witnesses have described Corner as a gentle, compassionate person with a strong commitment to justice who finds any form of violence abhorrent. The court heard he has even helped fellow prisoners improve their literacy skills while in pre-trial detention.

    Kamio, for her part, told the court how she joined Palestine Action in March 2024, after receiving an email from the direct action group about its campaign to close Elbit Systems facilities across the UK. She was soon added to a Signal messaging group to plan the Filton raid, which the group identified as Elbit’s most important UK site, opened in July 2023 by the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom.

    The activists’ stated goal, Kamio told the court, was to remain inside the facility for as long as possible to destroy as many weapons components as possible. Organizers had told the group security would not enter the facility, but head of security Nigel Shaw burst into the area within the first five minutes, an encounter that left Kamio frightened. “He looked so angry. Everything about his body language and face was just rage. He was charging towards us,” she said, adding that she believed Shaw was holding his umbrella in a position to strike her. She said she shouted at him to “fuck off” and told him confronting activists was “above your paygrade” – that stopping them was a job for police, not private security. She only later realized Shaw had been injured and was bleeding.

    Kamio added that a second security guard, Angelo Volante, appeared extremely unpredictable, swinging an angle grinder and holding a hammer. “I panicked because I’m at Elbit, this is a very evil company, the people that work there describe themselves as being the backbone of the Israeli military,” she explained. She stressed she never intended to harm anyone, and had the sledgehammer taken from her before she could use it against anyone. She also reaffirmed her belief that the action was necessary: “I came here to do something to stop people from suffering. Working with children, I would put one of their lives before any property.”

    Kamio’s employer at the Swansea nursery where she works submitted a character reference confirming that her extended pretrial detention has “upset and confused” the children in her care, and that “I cannot imagine her ever hurting anyone.”

    The trial, which is being closely watched by activists on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is set to continue in the coming days.