World
Could the EU's AI Act increase mass surveillance?
The use of facial recognition technology could increase across the European Union despite efforts to regulate it under the bloc-wide Artificial Intelligence Act.
Last December, EU negotiators reached a preliminary agreement on the AI Act, a world-first attempt to regulate the emerging technology that includes new rules on the use of biometric identification systems such as facial recognition.
But civil society organisations fear there are loopholes in the planned law.
“They have set very broad conditions for the police to use these systems. What we fear is that this will have a legitimising effect,” said Ella Jakubowska of Reclaim Your Face, a coalition calling to ban biometric mass surveillance.
Jakubowska says that until now it had been “possible to challenge” these systems and argue that they were not wanted “in a democratic society.” She fears they will now be harder to reject, and more likely to be adopted by other countries worldwide under the impression they have received the EU seal of approval.
The new regulation, which is awaiting final approval by the Council of the EU and the European parliament, would set different conditions for whether facial recognition systems are used directly or remotely. In both cases, it would be subject to judicial authorisation and would only be available in specific contexts.
Live use should be limited in time and space and should concentrate on the prevention of specific terrorist threats, the identification of suspects of crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking or kidnapping, or to anticipate a terrorist attack.
In remote use, it would focus on the location of persons convicted of or suspected of having committed a serious crime.
Parliament and member states clash
The European Parliament had called for a full ban on facial recognition, but softened its red line in response to the demands of countries such as France.
Paris was among the capitals that pushed hardest for exceptions that would allow wider use. It has even announced the use of AI to monitor suspicious activity during the 2024 Olympic Games to be held in the country.
Digital rights organisations decry the legislation for failing to put an end to mass surveillance. “What we can expect is a potential increase in the use of facial recognition systems in our public spaces, especially when these systems are used live,” Jakubowska said.
“While you are walking in a public space, going to the shops, to school, to the doctor, to a demonstration,” she explained, “there could be increased powers for law enforcement agencies to use this live facial recognition technology to track you through time and place, wherever you go.”
But for some MEPs, the AI Act strikes the right balance between security and civil rights. “I think it is a very good way of balancing integrity and security,” argued, Arba Kokalari, an MEP for the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP).
“If we had banned this technique, two things would have happened. Why should the integrity of a terrorist be more important than the security of our citizens? And secondly, this technique would continue to be developed by other countries and especially by China,” said Kokalari.
EU countries will vote on the final text of the law on Friday. Some of them have not yet decided how they will vote, but fears that the legislation could fall were allayed on Tuesday after Germany announced that it would vote in favour. Parliament will then have to approve the text.
Video editor • Vassilis Glynos
World
Harry Potter Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ in Racy SNL Sketch With Ron Romance, Naked Quidditch and Jason Momoa
The Wizarding World is taking on “Heated Rivalry.”
On this week’s “SNL,” host Finn Wolfhard starred as Harry Potter in a sketch mocking the new HBO series adaptation of the fantasy novels. But in this version, thanks to being “hastily rewritten after the success of a certain other HBO show,” Harry quickly becomes enamored with Ron (Ben Marshall) and the show is renamed “Heated Wizardry.” It’s also said to be “the first series written entirely by girls who wear tails.”
Of course, wand and broom puns and innuendo arrive quickly, as “the only thing hotter than hockey is Quidditch.” After seeing Harry and Ron’s meet cute, Harry is seen flying away from Ron on the Quidditch pitch without any bottoms and more sexy Hogwarts shenanigans take place.
In the segment, James Austin Johnson plays Severus Snape, Jason Momoa stops by to play Hagrid, Ashley Padilla plays Professor McGonagall and Kenan Thompson takes on Alastor Moody.
World
Woman wakes up with 8-foot python coiled on her chest while sleeping: ‘Don’t move’
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“Oh baby. Don’t move. There is like a 2.5-meter python on you.”
An Australian woman woke up in the middle of the night to discover a massive carpet python coiled across her chest after the snake slithered into her second-story bedroom in Brisbane, Queensland.
Rachel Bloor said she initially believed the heavy weight on her stomach and chest was her dog lying on top of her. But when she reached out under the covers, she felt something smooth move beneath her hand and realized it was not her pet.
“To my horror, I realized it wasn’t my dog,” Bloor told the BBC.
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Carpet pythons, while nonvenomous, can be lethal to their prey through constrictions. (WTVT)
The 2.5-meter, or roughly 8-foot, snake had made its way into her bedroom Monday night, according to the report.
Bloor said she immediately woke her husband and asked him to turn on the lights.
“He goes, ‘Oh baby. Don’t move. There is like a 2.5-meter python on you,’” she recalled.
Her first concern, Bloor said, was getting the family dogs out of the room before anything escalated.
“I thought if my Dalmatian realized that there’s a snake there, it is gonna be carnage,” she said.
After her husband removed the dogs, Bloor carefully worked her way out from beneath the covers.
LARGE BURMESE PYTHON ON VIDEO GETTING PULLED FROM FLORIDA NEIGHBORHOOD TREE: ‘IT WAS PRETTY DANGEROUS’
Rachel Bloor calmly handled the nearly 8-foot carpet python herself instead of calling professionals in the moment. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“I sort of side shuffled out,” she said.
Rather than calling a professional snake catcher, Bloor said she stayed calm and ushered the large reptile out of the bedroom herself through a window.
“I grabbed him,” she said, adding that the python “didn’t seem overly freaked out.”
“He sort of just wobbled in my hand,” she said.
Bloor suspects the snake entered through plantation shutters on her window and crawled onto the bed while she slept.
“It was that big that even though it had been curled up on me, part of its tail was still out the shutter,” she said.
FLORIDA WOMAN WINS ANNUAL PYTHON CHALLENGE WITH RECORD SNAKE HAUL
Bloor said she just ‘sort of side-shuffled out.’ (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The snake was identified as a carpet python, a non-venomous constrictor commonly found in Australia’s coastal regions.
Despite the frightening encounter, Bloor said she was relieved it was not another animal.
“Toads freak me out,” she said.
Snake catcher Kurt Whyte told ABC News that snake activity has increased with breeding season over and eggs beginning to hatch.
“Obviously, with this hot weather, we’re seeing plenty of them getting out and about and basking in this sun,” Whyte said.
Whyte added that while snake populations have not necessarily increased, sightings are becoming more common as housing developments expand into Australian bushland.
“They have got to find places to live, and our backyards are offering the perfect habitat,” he said.
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He warned that common household features could provide easy access for snakes seeking shelter.
“Unfortunately, the gaps in our garage doors… provide the perfect entry points for a snake,” Whyte said.
World
US-backed Palestinian committee shares mission statement on Gaza governance
The technocratic body will operate under the direction of Trump’s ‘board of peace’, stacked with pro-Israel figures.
The Palestinian committee tasked with overseeing the future administration of Gaza as part of a US-backed ceasefire plan has released what it says is a “mission statement”, laying out its key priorities and goals.
The general commissioner of the National Committee for Gaza Management (NGAC), Ali Shaath, said that the technocratic body would seek to restore core services and cultivate a society “rooted in peace”.
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“Under the guidance of the Board of Peace, chaired by [US] President Donald J Trump, and with the support and assistance of the High Representative for Gaza, our mission is to rebuild the Gaza Strip not just in infrastructure but also in spirit,” Shaath said in a statement.
The NGAC was established as part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza and authorised under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803. The White House has said it will be concerned with the day-to-day rebuilding and stabilisation of the enclave, “while laying the foundation for long-term, self-sustaining governance”.
Under Trump’s plan, the reconstruction of Gaza would be broadly overseen by a “board of peace” and more closely guided by a “Gaza executive board”.
The NGAC faces enormous challenges. Gaza has been physically destroyed after more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war, and there is widespread scepticism from Palestinians over how much autonomy the body will have.
Those concerns have been compounded by the presence of firm supporters of Israel, and a lack of Palestinians, so far, on the board of peace and the Gaza executive board.
In his statement, Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy minister, said the body would focus on establishing security control of the Strip, more than half of which remains under direct Israeli control, and restoring basic services destroyed throughout the war.
“We are committed to establishing security, restoring the essential services that form the bedrock of human dignity such as electricity, water, healthcare, and education, as well as cultivating a society rooted in peace, democracy, and justice,” he said.
“Operating with the highest standards of integrity and transparency, the NCAG will forge a productive economy capable of replacing unemployment with opportunity for all.”
In defiance of an existing ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, Israel has maintained severe restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, which UN agencies and humanitarian groups have said is necessary to deliver services to Palestinians.
Hundreds of Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza during that period, bringing the death toll to 71,548 since October 7, 2023.
The board of peace was announced as part of phase two of the ceasefire agreement, but letters from Trump inviting foreign leaders to join the body have suggested the US president may see it as a model for bypassing traditional international forums, such as the UN.
In mid-December, Israel announced it was banning more than three dozen international aid organisations from operating in Gaza.
Some Palestinians also worry that the NGAC’s technocratic approach may circumvent key political questions, such as the creation of a future Palestinian state and an end to Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territory, in favour of a focus on economic development and outside investment opportunities.
In his statement, Shaath said the committee will “embrace peace, through which we strive to secure the path to true Palestinian rights and self determination”.
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