Author: ALJAZEERA

Lawsuits challenging legislation come after similar cases taken by online retailers Amazon and Zalando.Pornhub and two other adult sites are suing the European Union over a landmark digital content law that imposes age verification and other obligations on large platforms. The European Commission last year named Pornhub, Xvideos and Stripchat as belonging to the category of “very large online platform” under the Digital Services Act, which imposes certain obligations on sites with more than 45 million monthly visitors. Brussels has listed 22 platforms that are subject to the rules – which include the need to establish age verification measures to…

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Montreal, Canada – Canada has announced it is lifting a freeze on funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), after facing fierce criticism for cutting assistance during Israel’s war in Gaza. In a statement on Friday, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen said the government is “resuming its funding to UNRWA so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians”. Canada had joined the United States and several other countries in cutting funding to UNRWA in late January, after Israel accused about a dozen of the agency’s more than 13,000 employees…

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Bengaluru, India – On February 20, India’s chief opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), uploaded a video parodying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Instagram that has amassed over 1.5 million views. It is a short clip from a new Hindi music album named “Chor” (thief), where Modi’s digital likeness is grafted onto the lead singer. The song’s lyrics were humorously reworked to describe a thief’s – in this case, a business tycoon’s – attempt to steal, and Modi handing over coal mines, ports, power lines and ultimately, the country. The video isn’t hyperrealistic, but a pithy AI meme that…

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Erdogan pitches himself as go-between, Zelenskyy indicates Russia would not be invited to the first meeting.Turkey is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul. Speaking after their meeting on Friday, Erdogan, who has balanced relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the two-year war, spoke of “opportunities that Turkey can provide with its stance”. “While we continue our solidarity with Ukraine, we will continue our work to end the war with a just peace on the basis of negotiations,” he…

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It divided communities, split families and changed the face of a nation. The 1984-85 United Kingdom miner’s strike, which kicked off 40 years ago this week, was an epoch-defining event in the social history of Britain as thousands of coal miners left their pits in protest against Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s drive to close collieries across northern England. A year-long struggle would lead to the arrest of more than 11,000 miners and would cement Thatcher’s status as a hate figure among trade unionists and supporters of the left. Five years ago, however, many of these former mining heartlands, once…

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EDITOR’S ANALYSISBiden is struggling to convince Americans of his economic credentials despite strong growth and low unemployment.United States President Joe Biden has hailed the US economy as the “envy of the world” as he seeks to assuage voters’ doubts about his economic stewardship in an election year. In a fiery State of the Union address on Thursday, Biden pointed to a series of economic data points, including record job creation and rock-bottom unemployment, to make the case that the economy has gone from strength to strength on his watch. “I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our…

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Azaz, Syria – With a quick, confident step and a wide smile, Shaima Hilal walks through the streets of Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo, stopping every few seconds to respond to people greeting her. The young woman who arrived in the city four years ago has quickly become a popular figure. Many people know her not only for her humanitarian work in psychological support, case management, and sponsoring orphans, but also as a charismatic character who earned their respect. Shaima, 33, has overcome all possible vulnerabilities in a conservative society; she is a woman displaced by war who…

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Critics say Beijing could force video-sharing app to share data on its US users and spread propaganda.Lawmakers in the United States are moving ahead with proposals to ban TikTok unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company amid claims the platform could be used to spy on Americans and manipulate public opinion. A US House of Representatives committee on Thursday voted 50-0 to advance the bill, setting it up for a likely full vote in the near future. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on X that he would bring the “critical national security bill” to the House floor…

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