Gouvea’s arrest came as the Trump administration pressed Harvard to reach a deal to resolve a litany of allegations it has made against the Ivy League institution

International News via Reuters:

U.S. immigration authorities arrested a visiting professor at Harvard Law School this week after he was charged with discharging a pellet gun outside a Massachusetts synagogue the day before Yom Kippur, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.

Carlos Portugal Gouvea, a Brazilian citizen, was arrested on Wednesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his temporary nonimmigrant visa was revoked by the U.S. State Department following what President Donald Trump’s administration labeled an “anti-Semitic shooting incident” — a description at odds with how local authorities have described the case.

Gouvea, an associate professor at the University of Sao Paulo Law School who had taught at Harvard during the fall semester, has agreed to leave the country, the Homeland Security Department said.

Gouvea’s press representatives in Brazil issued a statement saying that after ICE took him for questioning, it gave him the option of leaving the country voluntarily, allowing him to return to Brazil as of Thursday.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard declined to comment.

Gouvea’s arrest came as the Trump administration pressed Harvard to reach a deal to resolve a litany of allegations it has made against the Ivy League institution, including that Harvard had not done enough to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish students on campus.

Harvard has sued over some of the actions the administration has taken against it, leading a judge to rule in September that the administration unlawfully terminated more than $2 billion in research grants awarded to the university.

Police in Brookline, Massachusetts, arrested Gouvea on October 1 after responding to a report of a person with a gun near the Temple Beth Zion on the eve of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. Gouvea said he was using a pellet gun to hunt rats nearby, according to a police report.

He reached a deal last month to resolve a charge that he illegally discharged a pellet gun under which he would serve six months of pretrial probation and pay $386.59 in restitution. Other charges he faced for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and vandalism were dismissed as part of the deal.

Despite the Trump administration’s claims, the Temple Beth Zion has previously told its community members that the incident did not appear to have been fueled by antisemitism, a view shared by the Brookline Police Department, which investigated the matter.

The temple has said that police informed it that Gouvea was “unaware that he lived next to, and was shooting his BB gun next to, a synagogue or that it was a religious holiday.”

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Kate Mayberry and David Gregorio

The European Commission is set to present a package of measures to support European automakers, such as an easing of the effective ban on internal combustion engines from 2035

International News via Reuters:

Six European Union countries have on Friday asked the European Commission to water down an effective ban on the sale of internal combustion engine cars slated for 2035 ahead of the release of a new auto package next week.

The countries have asked the EU Commission to allow the sale of hybrid cars or vehicles powered by other, existing or future, technologies “that could contribute to the goal of reducing emissions” beyond 2035, a joint letter seen by Reuters showed on Friday.

The letter was signed by the prime ministers of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia.

They also asked for low-carbon and renewable fuels to be included in the plan to reduce the carbon emissions from transportation.

The European Commission is set to present a package of measures to support European automakers, such as an easing of the effective ban on internal combustion engines from 2035. The package is due to be published on Dec. 10, but could be delayed.

Since they adopted a regulation that all new vehicles from 2035 should have zero emissions in March 2023, EU countries are now having second thoughts. Back then, the outlook for battery electric vehicles was positive, but carmakers’ efforts have later collided with the reality of lower-than-expected demand and fierce competition from China.

“We can and we must pursue our climate goal in an effective way, while not killing our competitiveness in the meanwhile since there is nothing green in an industrial desert,” the prime ministers said in their letter.

Reporting by Inti Landauro, writing by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Louise Heavens

Euro zone manufacturing activity slipped into contraction territory in November

International News via Reuters:

The European Union should drop a looming carbon border tax that risks pushing its aluminium sector into long-term decline by inflating costs and benefiting more polluting overseas suppliers, the CEO of aluminium products maker Constellium said on Friday.

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which will impose a levy on imports of a handful of commodities starting in January, is intended to shield European producers against cheaper rivals in countries with looser climate laws.

But industry representatives see it as deeply flawed and hope the EU’s final adjustments to the mechanism, due to be released this month, will address their concerns.

“The first thing to do about CBAM is just to eradicate it, get rid of it,” said Jean-Marc Germain, the chief executive officer of Paris-based Constellium, one of the world’s largest suppliers of aluminium products for aviation, car making and packaging.

“The core of the issue is the competitiveness of Europe. We are shooting ourselves in the foot knowingly,” he told Reuters.

Euro zone manufacturing activity slipped into contraction territory in November.

Constellium mostly buys European aluminium, which is not subject to a CBAM charge, for processing at its factories in the region. But the upcoming tax – coupled with concerns over supply from smelters in Iceland and Mozambique – has nonetheless pushed up European premiums for physical metal to a 10-month high.

The premium will rise to the cost of the last ton of aluminium needed to satisfy demand, meaning all metal will become more expensive regardless of its origin, Germain said, warning that the cost inflation would be “death by a thousand cuts” for Constellium’s industrial customers in Europe.

Loopholes in the scheme mean overseas suppliers could avoid CBAM by shipping in scrap, or could send low-carbon aluminium to Europe and keep producing high-carbon metal for other regions. “It doesn’t do anything for the planet,” Germain said.

CBAM’s impact will not be immediate but could eventually see companies invest elsewhere and shut European capacity, he said. “It’s not one of those things where all of a sudden you turn the lights off. It’s going to be a gradual decline.”

Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Tom Daly; Editing by Paul Simao

Europe’s crackdown on Big Tech to ensure smaller rivals can compete and consumers have more choice has been criticised by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump

International News via Reuters:

Elon Musk’s social media company X was fined 120 million euros ($140 million) by EU tech regulators on Friday for breaching online content rules, the first sanction under landmark legislation that once again drew criticism from the U.S. government.

While X did not respond to an emailed request for comment, Musk replied “Bullshit” under a European Commission post about the fine. He also reposted several messages criticising the decision and wrote: “Freedom of speech is the bedrock democracy. The only way to know what you are voting for.”

X’s rival TikTok staved off a penalty with concessions.

Europe’s crackdown on Big Tech to ensure smaller rivals can compete and consumers have more choice has been criticised by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which says it singles out American companies and censors Americans. 

The European Commission, the EU’s executive, said its laws do not target any nationality and that it is merely defending its digital and democratic standards, which usually serve as the benchmark for the rest of the world. 

EU TECH CHIEF SAYS FINE IS NOT CENSORSHIP

The EU sanction against X followed a two-year-long investigation under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content.

The EU’s investigation of ByteDance’s social media app TikTok led to charges in May that the company had breached a DSA requirement to publish an advertisement repository allowing researchers and users to detect scam advertisements.

The European Commission’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen said X’s modest fine was proportionate and calculated based on the nature of the infringements, their gravity in terms of affected EU users and their duration. 

“We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced and if you comply with our rules, you don’t get the fine. And it’s as simple as that,” she told reporters.

“I think it’s very important to underline that DSA is having nothing to do with censorship,” Virkkunen said.

She said forthcoming decisions on companies which have been charged with DSA violations are expected to take a shorter time than the two years for the X case.

“I’m really expecting that we will do the final decisions now faster,” she said. 

VANCE SAYS EU SHOULD NOT ATTACK AMERICAN COMPANIES

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr denounced the EU’s fine.

“The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over,” Rubio posted on X.

Carr said on X that the sanction showed Europe fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company.

Meta and TikTok were charged with breaching DSA transparency obligations in October while Chinese online marketplace Temu was accused of violating rules to prevent the sale of illegal products.

X has between 60 to 90 working days to come up with measures to comply with the DSA, with the time frame depending on the issue.

Ahead of the EU decision, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on X: “Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.” 

TikTok, which pledged changes to its ad library to be more transparent, urged regulators to apply the law equally and consistently across all platforms.

EU regulators said X’s DSA violations included the deceptive design of its blue checkmark for verified accounts, the lack of transparency of its advertising repository and its failure to provide researchers access to public data.

The Commission said the investigation into the dissemination of illegal content on X and measures taken to combat information manipulation and a separate probe into TikTok’s design, algorithmic systems and obligation to protect children continue.

DSA fines can be as high as 6% of a company’s annual global revenue. 

($1 = 0.8579 euros)

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels, Katharine Jackson and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Charlotte Van Campenhout in Amsterdam and Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Toby Chopra and Louise Heavens

Three months after hitting Google with an unexpectedly high 2.95 billion euro ($3.44 billion) fine, the European Commission on Friday imposed a 120 million euro penalty on Elon Musk’s X

International News via Reuters:

Europe is forging ahead with its crackdown on Big Tech, levying fines on Alphabet’s Google and Elon Musk’s X and opening new investigations, asserting its sovereign right to enforce its laws in defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Three months after hitting Google with an unexpectedly high 2.95 billion euro ($3.44 billion) fine, the European Commission on Friday imposed a 120 million euro penalty on Elon Musk’s X for breaching European Union online content rules.

The U.S. government has pushed back, linking reductions in U.S. steel import tariffs to weaker EU digital rules and ordering its diplomats to launch a lobbying blitz against the laws.

At issue are the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which seeks to rein in the power of Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta Platforms and Microsoft as well as Booking.com and ByteDance, and the Digital Services Act, which forces big online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content.

EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera has flatly rejected U.S. criticism.

“It is our duty to remind others that we deserve respect. I don’t enter into how they regulate the health standards in the U.S. market. But I am in charge of defending the well-functioning digital markets in Europe and it is not related at all with any type of joint conversation,” she told one event.

At another, she rebuffed those who see competition law as a tool for controlling markets or advancing narrow economic interests.

“It is an essential pillar of open, fair, and sustainable markets. It should never be a bargaining chip in trade negotiations or a tool for protectionism,” Ribera said.

HARDER TO BACK DOWN

The effect of the U.S. threats, while a shock initially, may be wearing off, said Daniel Mandrescu, a lawyer at Geradin Partners and an associate law professor at Leiden University.

“The EU Commission’s announcement of an official investigation into Meta indicates that the threat of political pressure is rapidly losing its strength – the rule of law is simply not a negotiable matter,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Supporters of European values have the upper hand for now, but the real test still lies ahead, said Rupprecht Podszun, a professor at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and a director at the Institute for Competition Law.

“I was amazed to see this new vigour in EU enforcement. Now, this also comes as an obligation: It becomes harder now to back down. The commitments in the Google Ad-Tech case will provide the litmus test as well as the fate of the Meta AI probe,” he said.

Last month, Google offered to make it easier for publishers and advertisers to use its online advertising technology, defying EU antitrust regulators’ call for it to sell part of the business to address conflicts of interest.

An EU decision on the proposal will likely come early next year. EU regulators on Thursday started an investigation into Meta and could order it to pause its rollout of AI features in its WhatsApp messenger that would block rivals.

($1 = 0.8582 euros)

Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Mark Potter