EU aims to start disbursing new Ukraine loan in second quarter

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest is asking a US federal court in Silicon Valley to hold Meta accountable for scam ads using his likeness without permission.

Forrest's legal team is asking a judge to rule that the social media colossus cannot hide behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that spares internet firms from being accountable for content posted by users on its platform.

"This is the first case brought in any court, but in particular in California where a verdict can resonate that says Facebook was never intended to get the benefit of this immunity for their advertising business," the billionaire's attorney Simon Clarke told AFP.

A hearing Thursday focused on whether Meta wrongly ditched evidence, forfeiting its ability to take shelter behind Section 230, according to Clarke.

The judge is expected to rule on Forrest's motion in the coming weeks.

Meta has countered that the offending marketing messages were not its doing, and that it made reasonable efforts to preserve the desired data.

The social media giant is also standing behind Section 230 when it comes to being held to account for what the advertisers posted.

Earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of an addictive design of their social media platformsm rather than just their content.

The jury concluded that Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms and that their negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm to the plaintiff, focusing on their business models rather than content.

Forrest's attorneys are using a similar legal tactic to navigate around Section 230, accusing Meta's ad business and its tools with being complicit in the creation and distribution of the bogus marketing messages, according to Clarke.

Forrest "has been plagued for years by paid ads and sponsored content produced by Meta Ads and run on Meta's Australian social media platforms, in which he falsely appears to be promoting fake cryptocurrency and other fraudulent financial schemes," the complaint filed in US District Court argues.

Since 2019, thousands of deceptive advertisements on Facebook have used the likeness of the highly prominent figure in Australia to promote scams, racking up thousands of victims, according to the suit.

The billionaire's legal team argues that Meta's artificial intelligence tools optimized and personalized fraudulent ads before distributing them, thereby making Meta an active participant, rather than a mere intermediary.

Early this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Section 230 does not protect Meta from the state's lawsuit concerning Instagram's design being addictive to children.

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Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones is expected to plead guilty to sports gambling charges, a court filing showed Thursday, in a betting scandal that engulfed elite US basketball.

Jones, 49, was charged over his alleged role in a scheme that prosecutors say provided inside information on injuries and game absences to bettors between December 2022 and March 2024.

In one instance, he allegedly shared that LeBron James would not play due to injury in a Los Angeles Lakers game against the Milwaukee Bucks before that information was made public.

Jones initially denied the charges but, according to the filing, will change his plea at an April 28 hearing in New York City. 

He is the first of six defendants charged in the case, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, to signal he will plead guilty.

Jones is also charged in a second, separate case in which he has pleaded not guilty.

That involves a national network of mafia-linked rigged poker games encompassing around 30 people and the use of highly sophisticated cheating equipment including X-ray tables.

Jones had a modest playing career across 11 different teams, notably the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008, where he played alongside four-time NBA champion James.

He later became an assistant coach, working again for the Cavaliers from 2016 to 2018 during James's second stint in Ohio. 

Jones served as James's personal coach during the 2022–2023 season after the star joined the Lakers, without being employed by the team.

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Where once there was ice, only rock remains.

One of the glaciers in a chain of snow-capped mountains in the Colombian Andes has vanished due to high temperatures driven by climate change. 

Satellite images show how the ice sheet covering the mountain gradually shrank from 2015 until it disappeared completely in March 2026.

Situated in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy range, in the northeast of Colombia, the Cerros de la Plaza glacier was officially declared disappeared last week by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM).

Its surface area shrank from five square kilometers (1.93 square miles) in the 19th century to zero today, according to the agency.

"Climate change is a reality that is already transforming our territories. And what is at stake is not only the landscape, but the very balance of these ecosystems," IDEAM said in a statement.

The Colombian Andes, like the country's other ecosystems, are incredibly biodiverse, home to condors and mammals such as the spectacled bear.

The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, with peaks over 5,000 meters above sea level, is one of the last six remaining glacial systems in the country, where the area covered by ice has shrunk by 90 percent since the 19th century, according to the environment ministry.

Glaciers feed the Andes' freshwater sources, sustain mountain ecosystems and play a crucial role in crop irrigation, fishing, and other human activities. 

The last 11 years have been the hottest 11 on record, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service and Berkeley Earth, a California-based non-profit research organization.

A study published in Science magazine in January 2023 predicted that half the planet's glaciers will have melted by 2100 even if the world meets its goal under the Paris Agreement of limiting warming to 1.5C.

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The European Union expects to start releasing a new 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine in the second quarter, the bloc's economy chief told AFP on Thursday.

EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis was speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings, which brought finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders to the US capital this week.

"Our support for Ukraine, also continued pressure and sanctions against aggressor Russia, was very much part of the agenda of these meetings," Dombrovskis said.

He warned that Moscow was "emerging as a winner from this war in Iran, because it provides windfall profits to feed Russia's war machine."

War in the Middle East, support for Ukraine and cooperation on critical minerals were key topics of discussion in Washington this week, particularly among G7 finance leaders.

On the EU side, Dombrovskis said, "election results in Hungary allow us now to unblock our 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) support package for Ukraine for this year and next."

"We are aiming for the first tranche of our Ukraine support loan to be transferred to Ukraine still in the second quarter of this year," he added.

The loan is meant to address two-thirds of Ukraine's financing needs.

EU officials will visit Hungary on Friday for talks with Peter Magyar's incoming government, with his victory sparking hope that key EU initiatives blocked by Viktor Orban, such as support for Ukraine, will soon go through. Magyar is set to take power next month.

Following his meetings, Dombrovskis flagged willingness from other partners to provide assistance: "One can be quite confident that we will be able to cover the entire Ukraine financing need."

- 'High uncertainty' -

On the Middle East war, Dombrovskis said the economic outlook is "subject to very high uncertainty."

Fallout depends on how long the conflict will last, the degree of energy price shocks, and whether the strategic Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

US-Israeli strikes targeting Iran began on February 28, triggering Tehran's retaliation in virtually blocking off the strait, a key shipping route for oil and gas supplies. 

Oil prices have since surged.

Dombrovskis said he expects the EU economy could see a slowdown between 0.2- and 0.6-percentage points, with higher inflation.

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Missouri softball’s series opener against ranked South Carolina on Friday has been moved to noon due to inclement weather in the forecast.

Originally scheduled for 6 p.m., the game was moved because mid-Missouri's forecast for Friday called for severe storms from 3 p.m. to midnight. The Tigers enter the series after beating ranked Kansas 4-2 on Wednesday and will look to continue the momentum over the weekend against the Gamecocks.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States and Iran were "very close" to a peace deal and that he would consider going to Pakistan to sign an agreement.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump added that Tehran had agreed to hand over its store of enriched uranium, as the two countries mull further talks in Islamabad.

"We're very close to making a deal with Iran," Trump said as he left to board his helicopter for a trip to Las Vegas.

"We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon... They've totally agreed to that. They've agreed to almost everything, so maybe if they can get to the table, there's a difference."

Asked if he might travel to Pakistan to sign an agreement, Trump added: I might go, yeah. If the deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go." 

The US leader praised Pakistan's "really great" Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and powerful army chief Asim Munir for their role in brokering the talks with Iran.

Vice President JD Vance led a US delegation to Islamabad last weekend for talks with Iranian officials but came away empty handed. The White House says it is in discussions about a second round of talks that would likely be in Pakistan again.

Trump added that Iran had agreed to hand over its store of enriched uranium -- a key sticking point for any deal -- although he gave no details about any such agreement.

"They've agreed to give us back the nuclear dust," Trump said, using his name for the enriched uranium stockpile that the United States says could be used to build nuclear weapons. 

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UK opposition leaders Thursday called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign after the government confirmed that an associate of Jeffrey Epstein failed a background security check before becoming envoy to Washington.

Starmer has faced repeated questions about his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson, who was sacked last year only months into the post over his ties to the late convicted US sex offender Epstein.

The opposition renewed calls for Starmer's resignation after an investigation by The Guardian newspaper discovered Mandelson had failed an initial background check -- later confirmed by the government.

Opposition right-wing Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on X that "Starmer has betrayed our national security. He should go".

Leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, wrote on X: "If Keir Starmer has misled Parliament and lied to the British people, he has to go."

The prime minister has accused Mandelson of lying about the extent of his ties to Epstein during the vetting process for his Washington posting.

A government spokesperson said that foreign ministry officials made the decision to allow Mandelson's appointment to proceed "against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting".

But the spokesperson said neither Starmer nor the foreign minister "was aware" of this "until earlier this week".

The recommendation of UK Security Vetting was not binding, the spokesperson added.

Starmer said in February that Mandelson had been cleared by security vetting.

In March, Starmer's Labour government released about 150 pages of details of how Mandelson, a friend of Epstein, was vetted before being appointed ambassador in 2024.

Starmer sacked Mandelson as ambassador after documents released by a US Congressional committee revealed new details about the depth of his ties to Epstein. 

Police have opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson, who was arrested and bailed in February.

The force is investigating Mandelson over allegations he leaked sensitive documents to Epstein when he was a government minister, including during the 2008 financial crash.

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Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund announced Thursday the sale of its majority stake in Saudi Pro League football club Al-Hilal, where French striker Karim Benzema plays. 

The PIF, which also owns English Premier League side Newcastle United,  sold 70 percent of Al-Hilal to Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the firm run by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman and member of the Saudi royal family. 

The deal values the share capital of Al-Hilal at 1.4bn Saudi riyals ($373m).

The sale comes amid scrutiny over the PIF's investment in LIV Golf, with reports circulated that the breakaway tour is on the verge of collapse due to the possible withdrawal of Saudi Arabian financing.

"Al-Hilal is a national symbol and a source of pride for the Saudi people," Bin Talal said in a statement. 

"This acquisition expresses our deep belief in the power of sports as a unifying force and a catalyst for national development. 

"By applying our global investment standards and cultivating strategic partnerships, we will unlock Al-Hilal's full potential while preserving its history and identity."

The PIF, a wealthy public fund managed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, acquired a majority stake in the Riyadh-based club in 2023, along with three other teams in the Saudi league -- Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad -- as part of the kingdom's sports investment policy. 

This capital injection enabled Al-Hilal to attract numerous foreign players, notably Brazilian star Neymar, before his departure in January 2025. 

French striker Benzema joined Al-Hilal most recently after terminating his contract with Al-Ittihad. 

"The sale aligns with PIF's strategy to maximize returns and redeploy capital within the domestic economy," the PIF statement read. 

"This strategy supports PIF's wider efforts to drive the development and diversification of Saudi Arabia. 

"PIF is unlocking opportunities to make a transformative impact in the Saudi sports sector and deliver positive, long-term results."

The PIF added that it had "led the transformation of Al-Hilal... empowering it to achieve significant growth in value.

"As a remaining shareholder, PIF will continue supporting Al-Hilal's growth journey."

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France's social security is to reimburse the cost of reusable menstrual cups and underwear for women under the age of 26 or battling poverty, the government said Thursday.

The move to tackle period poverty is expected to help 6.7 million people -- almost a tenth of France's population of 69 million -- from the start of the next academic year in the autumn, it says.

Women under 26 with a state health insurance card, as well as women of all ages who benefit from special healthcare support due to their limited income, will be able to get their money back after buying these products in a pharmacy.

Parliament approved the measure as part of the country's social security budget for 2024.

But there was no decree to order implementation, causing anger among feminist groups and companies making the sustainable sanitary items.

A survey of 4,000 women in France in November showed one in ten used alternatives to mainstream period products such as ripped up clothes due to tight budgets, according to French charity Dons Solidaires.

France in 2016 reduced sales tax on period products from 20 percent to 5.5 percent.

In 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to sign into law free universal access to period products in public buildings.

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(The Center Square) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure, 224-204, to extend temporary protected status to Haitian nationals living in the United States.

Ten House Republicans joined House Democrats and one Independent in advancing the protected status for Haitian migrants. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, supported the extension measure as the administration has sought to terminate the protected status.

“The situation in Haiti is deteriorating, not improving, and the families here in our communities like Spring Valley and beyond deserve certainty, not chaos,” Lawler said.

The measure would require the Trump administration to extend for three years temporary protected status to Haiti. The status is granted to individuals who flee war or environmental disasters in their home countries.

In June 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order attempting to strip temporary protected status from several nations, including Haiti. Haitian nationals challenged the order, citing violations of the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear challenges to Trump’s order on April 29.

Temporary protected status was first granted to Haiti in 2010, after an earthquake hit the country. Around 350,000 Haitian nationals are currently residing in the United States under temporary protected status, according to court documents.

“This is a common-sense policy that will save lives,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said on the House floor. “Congress can help. Congress can do the right thing.”

In 2024, the Biden administration extended temporary protected status for Haiti, based on general security and humanitarian concerns in the country.

Republicans who voted against the measure said extending temporary protected status for Haitians is dangerous and will lead to more criminal activity. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., accused immigrants from Haiti of killing his constituents.

“This is an effort to undermine our country with people who have killed three people in my state,” Fine said on the House floor. “I did not come here to protect Haitians.”

Democrats in support of the petition said Haiti is suffering under intense political and economic pressure. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, D-Fla., said Haitian nationals allowed in the country are thoroughly screened for security risks and should be allowed to remain.

She said Haitian migrants pay into social welfare programs including Medicaid and social security without receiving benefits in return.

“My Haitian neighbors in Florida are an indispensable part of our community, economy, and culture,” Wasserman-Shultz said. “Haitian-Americans deserve better. We all deserve better.”

Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., said the temporary protected status program has resulted in amnesty for thousands of foreign nationals in the United States, something it was never intended to do.

“TPS was never intended to be the ‘Hotel California’ that allows illegal aliens to enter any time, but they may never leave,” Tiffany said.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said the conditions in Haiti are some of the “worst humanitarian crises in the world.” He pointed to the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory for Haiti that warns against visiting the country due to crime, civil unrest and terrorist activity.

In 2023, the State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees to leave Haiti due to safety risks. Haiti has been under a national state of emergency since March 2024. U.S. commercial flights do not currently operate to or from Port-au-Prince, according to the State Department.

“We must do everything in our power to prevent further harm during this humanitarian crisis,” Meeks said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to determine whether Trump’s order to end temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants can continue. Approximately 6,100 Syrians hold temporary protected status.

"Terminating Haitian's TPS designation 'reflects a necessary and strategic vote of confidence in the new chapter Haiti is turning," lawyers for the Trump adminstration said. 

The extension of TPS to Haiti will go to the Senate, where passage is uncertain.