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“Everyone is absolutely terrified” » Inside India’s secret war against its critics abroad

Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent at Vox, writes »

Interviews with political figures, experts, and activists revealed a sustained campaign where Narendra Modi’s government threatens American citizens and permanent residents who dare speak out on the declining state of the country’s democracy. This campaign has not been described publicly until now because many people in the community — even prominent ones — are too afraid to talk about it.

Prior to last year, the idea of India killing American citizens on American soil might have sounded absurd. But in the fall of 2023, both the Canadian government and a US Justice Department indictment alleged that Indian government agents had attempted to assassinate Sikhs living in North America. While federal agents disrupted the American plot, a Canadian citizen was killed by (alleged) Indian agents. The Modi government has denied involvement in both cases, but evidence — including reporting from the Washington Post and the Intercept —suggests they were deeply involved.

U.S. House of Representatives came to a pause over remarks about Trump’s 88 felony counts

Again, evidence that democracy is under attack from the far-right.

The House floor unexpectedly came to a standstill for more than an hour on Wednesday after Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., listed off the criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

Lauren Peller writing for ABC News »

Rep. McGovern: “Donald Trump might want to be a king. But he is not a king. He is not a presumptive king. He’s not even a president. He’s a presumptive nominee. And I know you’re trying to do your job and follow precedent but, frankly, at some point it’s time for this body to recognize that there is no precedent for this situation. We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts and we are being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. There are real facts. A candidate for president of the United States is on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign, and then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law. He is also charged with conspiring to overturn the election. He is also charged with stealing classified information. And a jury has already found him liable for rape in a civil court. And yet, in this Republican-controlled House, it’s okay to talk about the trial but you have to call it a sham.”

Republican Rep. Erin Houchin: “We take down his words.”

Rep. McGovern: “It’s okay to say the jury is rigged, but not that Trump should be held accountable.”

Rep. Houchin: “Mr. Speaker, I demand that his words be taken down.”

Rep. McGovern: “It’s okay to say the court is corrupt, but not Trump corrupting the rule of law.”

More » NBC / Axios / Politico

US Department of Justice and 30 state attorneys general announced a lawsuit against ticketing giant Live Nation on antitrust grounds

The U.S. government filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, seeking to “break up” the company, accusing it of unlawfully dominating the market.

Alexander Mallin, writing for ABC News »

The lawsuit, filed by the DOJ and 30 state and district attorneys general in federal court in the Southern District of New York, accuses the company of creating a monopoly over the live entertainment market that has harmed music fans, artists and promoters around the United States through higher prices and frustrating consumer experiences.

“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

More » The Guardian / Le Monde / BBC / CBC / CNBC / Axios / Business Insider / The Verge / Gizmodo / Fortune / Fast Company / Al Jazeera / Matt Stoller

ICC seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas leader Sinwar over alleged war crimes

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim A.A. Khan, said on May 20, 2024 that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Khan said he has “reasonable grounds to believe” these five men bear “criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to Hamas’s October 7 attack in Israel and the war in the Gaza Strip.

The full statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC » Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine

A panel of six experts in international law – Lord Justice Fulford, Judge Theodor Meron CMG, Amal Clooney, Danny Friedman KC, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, and Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG KC – authored Why we support ICC prosecutions for crimes in Israel and Gaza, published in the Financial Times. In it they state »

The attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7 and the military response by Israeli forces in Gaza have tested the system of international law to its limits. This is why, as international lawyers, we felt compelled to assist …

In our legal report published today, we unanimously agree that the prosecutor’s work was rigorous, fair and grounded in the law and the facts. And we unanimously agree that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspects he identifies have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the ICC.

More » CNN / The Guardian / BBC / Le Monde / Euronews / Radio Free Europe / DW / France 24 / NYT / The East African / Al Jazeera / CBC

A deepfaked CFO on a video call convinced an employee to wire US$25 million to an attacker

London-based architecture and design firm Arup Group were defrauded of some US$25 million (HK$200m) after scammers used AI-generated “deepfakes” to falsely pose as the group’s CFO and request transfers from an employee to bank accounts in Hong Kong.

Arup, which employs about 18,000 people globally, has annual revenues of more than £2bn.

Cheng Leng and Chan Ho-him, writing for Financial Times »

The case highlights the threat posed by deepfakes — hyper-realistic video, audio or other material generated using artificial intelligence — when used by cyber criminals to target companies or governments.

“We can confirm that fake voices and images were used,” the company said, declining to give details because the incident was still being investigated. “Our financial stability and business operations were not affected and none of our internal systems were compromised,” it said.

Hong Kong police acting senior superintendent Baron Chan told local media in February that a member of staff at the targeted company had received a message purporting to be from the UK-based chief financial officer regarding a “confidential transaction”.

CNN »

According to police, the worker had initially suspected he had received a phishing email from the company’s UK office, as it specified the need for a secret transaction to be carried out. However, the worker put aside his doubts after the video call because other people in attendance had looked and sounded just like colleagues he recognized.

He subsequently agreed to send a total of 200 million Hong Kong dollars — about $25.6 million. The amount was sent across 15 transactions, Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK reported, citing police.

“Deepfake” normally refers to fake videos that have been created using artificial intelligence (AI) and look extremely realistic.

Elsewhere » Fortune | CFO  | CFO Dive | Architects’ Journal

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