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2 men who helped run popular pirating website Megaupload sentenced to prison in New Zealand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Two men who helped run the once wildly popular pirating website Megaupload were each sentenced by a New Zealand court on Thursday to more than two years in prison. The sentencing of Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk ended an 11-year legal battle by the men to avoid extradition to the United States on more serious charges that included racketeering.The men last year struck a deal with prosecutors from New Zealand and the U.S. in which they pleaded guilty to being part of a criminal group and causing artists to lose money by deception.Meanwhile Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, is continuing to fight the U.S. charges and threat of extradition. He has said he expects his former colleagues to testify against him as part of the deal they struck.U.S. prosecutors say Megaupload raked in at least $175 million — mainly from people who used the site to illegally download songs, television shows and movies -— before the FBI shut it down in early 2012 and...

Report finds Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over ‘partygate’ during COVID lockdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament about the lockdown-flouting parties that undermined his credibility and contributed to his downfall, a committee of lawmakers said Thursday after a year-long investigation.A scathing report from the House of Commons Privileges Committee found that Johnson’s actions were such a flagrant violation of the rules that they warranted a 90-day suspension from Parliament. While a damning indictment of the former prime minister’s conduct, the recommendation is largely symbolic because Johnson angrily quit as a lawmaker Friday after the committee informed him of its conclusions.Johnson, 58, last week described the committee as a “kangaroo court” that conducted a “witch hunt” to drive him out of Parliament. A majority of the panel’s seven members come from Johnson’s Conservative Party.The report is just the latest episode in the “partygate” scandal that has distracted lawmakers since local news organizations revea...

The Fed has paused. How long will Europe’s central bank keep raising rates in a shaky economy?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The U.S. Federal Reserve may have hit “pause” on interest rate hikes, but the European Central Bank still has its finger on “fast forward” as inflation plagues consumers with higher costs for everything from groceries to utility bills and summer vacations.Analysts say an increase of a quarter-percentage point is a foregone conclusion when the ECB’s governing council meets Thursday, a day after the Fed took at least a temporary breather after 10 straight hikes.The Fed made no change in its key rate Wednesday as it waits to see the impact of sharply higher rates on the U.S. economy. The question for the European Central Bank is: How much longer will its own rapid series of rate increases last? One reason for the ECB to keep hiking is that it started later than the Fed and has not raised as far, increasing its benchmark deposit rate by 3.75 percentage points since July 2022, while the Fed has laid on 5 percentage points since March 2022. Higher rates fig...

In The News for June 15 : Bell layoffs put Bill C-18 back in the spotlight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of June 15 …What we are watching in Canada …A bill meant to force big tech companies to compensate Canadian media for news content appearing on their platforms is back in the spotlight amid BCE Inc.’s decision to slash 1,300 positions, including six per cent of its media arm.Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson raised concerns this week about Bill C-18, saying it won’t do what it’s meant to if companies such as Google and Meta restrict or block news links on their sites.Meta said this week it is blocking news for one to five per cent of its 24 million Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram in a temporary test that is expected to last the majority of the month.Google blocked links to news stories for about five weeks earlier this year for some Canadian users in response to the ...

‘Captured and killed’: LGBTQ Ukrainians worried about Russia winning war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine — Some LGBTQ Ukrainians say winning the war against Russia is a matter of life and death for many in their community.The Russian parliament passed a law last year banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among all age groups.President Vladimir Putin also indicated Russia is fighting not only Ukraine but western values and has called LGBTQ rights “pure Satanism.”Vladslav Olegovich with the National LGBTI Consortium, which includes four Ukrainian organizations, said Putin represents a serious threat.There are some areas in his country where discrimination is a problem, Olegovich said, but things aren’t going to improve under Russian rule.“If we win the war, it will be a very bright future. But if not, some of us will be captured and killed,” said Olegovich, 26. “There are rumours that Russia has some lists of activists in Ukraine, and it is some kind of kill list.” Men ages 18 to 60 were banned from le...

Global salmon farm company with B.C. ties backs land-based aquaculture in Japan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

VICTORIA — The backing of a land-based salmon farm in Japan by a global company with ties to ocean fish farms in British Columbia has Indigenous and conservation groups calling on the federal government to accelerate its transition away from open-net farms.The international tide in aquaculture is shifting toward land-based salmon farms, and the sooner Canada gets on board the better for the protection of threatened wild salmon and the future of aquaculture in B.C., say representatives of the 120-member B.C. First Nation Wild Salmon Alliance and non-profit group Wild Salmon Forever/Wild First.“Canada really has to decide at this point if it wants wild Pacific salmon or if it wants this dirty, harmful industry. It can’t have both,” Tony Allard, founder of Wild Salmon Forever/Wild First, said in an interview. “That’s how I see it. It’s hard to talk your way out of it.”Open-net fish farms off B.C.’s coast are a flashpoint, with environment...

Bell cuts put Bill C-18 back in the spotlight as Meta tests blocking news

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

A bill meant to force big tech companies to compensate Canadian media for news content appearing on their platforms is back in the spotlight amid BCE Inc.’s decision to slash 1,300 positions, including six per cent of its media arm.Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson raised concerns this week about Bill C-18, saying it won’t do what it’s meant to if companies such as Google and Meta restrict or block news links on their sites.Meta said this week it is blocking news for one to five per cent of its 24 million Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram in a temporary test that is expected to last the majority of the month.Google blocked links to news stories for about five weeks earlier this year for some Canadian users in response to the bill.Malcolmson said Bell could not afford to wait for a resolution to the impasse before announcing its layoffs.Bill C-18 awaits third reading in the Senate.This report by The Canadian Press was first published J...

Daily horoscope for June 15, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT today (6 p.m. to 7 p.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Taurus into Gemini.Happy Birthday for Thursday, June 15, 2023:You are charming and entertaining, and you know how to make others feel good. This is why people are attracted to you. This is the beginning of a new moon in your cycle. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities. Take the initiative. Open any door!ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Take it easy today and be kind to yourself. It’s important to know that there are gloomy vibes in the air today, which makes things look worse than they really are. Ah yes, the power of the mind will paint everything around you “drab.” Tonight: Conversations!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★You are the financial wizard of the zodiac. This is a fortunate year for you, because lucky, moneybags Jupiter is in your sign bringing you marvelous opportunities that will make you richer next year. Meanwhile, toda...

Miss Manners: A neighbor was inexcusably rude to our new acquaintance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When my spouse and I attended a neighborhood party, we began a conversation with a woman we had never met. A few minutes into our conversation, a neighbor approached us — someone known to us but not the woman.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Am I wrong to reply sarcastically to their terse texts? Advice | Miss Manners: The way this man sits bothers me no end Advice | Miss Manners: Is it just a verbal tic or is she insulting me? Advice | Miss Manners: I’m insulted when they imply my profession makes me a monster Advice | Miss Manners: Would this combo party be too peculiar? And what about gifts? This neighbor is known to have serious mental health issues and an addiction to alcohol.When we introduced him to the woman we had just met, he replied with an extremely rude and inappropriate remark directed at her. She immediately left us. We stood there in shocked silence fo...

Man City starts EPL title defense against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Manchester City will begin its latest English Premier League title defense against Burnley, a promoted team managed by City great Vincent Kompany.The opening round of the season also contains a match between two of the league’s so-called “Big Six,” with Chelsea — with a new manager on board in Mauricio Pochettino — hosting Liverpool.City’s trip to Turf Moor will start the season on Aug. 11 — and on a Friday night — and it’s laden with narrative because of the presence of Kompany, who spent 11 years at the club and has a statue outside the team’s Etihad Stadium.He was City captain for eight years and won four league titles.He led Burnley back into the league in his first season as a manager in English soccer.The first league game for new Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is a London derby at Brentford.Manchester United is at home to Wolverhampton on Aug. 14.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsS...