Signing up to the code is voluntary, but companies who decline to do so will not benefit from the legal certainty provided to a signatory

International News via Reuters:

A code of practice designed to help thousands of companies comply with the European Union’s landmark artificial intelligence rules will focus on transparency, copyright, safety and security, the European Commission said on Thursday.

The comments came as the EU executive presented a final draft of the guidance, which will apply from Aug. 2 but will only be enforced a year later.

Signing up to the code is voluntary, but companies who decline to do so, as some Big Tech firms have indicated, will not benefit from the legal certainty provided to a signatory.

While the guidance on transparency and copyright will apply to all providers of general-purpose AI models, the chapters on safety and security target providers of the most advanced models.

“Co-designed by AI stakeholders, the Code is aligned with their needs. Therefore, I invite all general-purpose AI model providers to adhere to the Code. Doing so will secure them a clear, collaborative route to compliance with the EU’s AI Act,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee;Editing by GV De Clercq

The European Union’s Court of Justice (CJEU) is handling a dispute between Facebook owner Meta and the Italian communications authority AGCOM

International News via Reuters:

EU member states have the right to impose their own measures to strengthen the position of publishers in their dealings with large online platforms as long as these do not undermine freedom of contract, an adviser to the EU’s highest court said on Thursday.

The European Union’s Court of Justice (CJEU) is handling a dispute between Facebook owner Meta and the Italian communications authority AGCOM, over a fee the U.S. tech giant has to pay publishers in Italy for using snippets of their news articles.

Meta had questioned whether such national measures are compatible with rights already granted to publishers under the EU copyright legislation.

But CJEU Advocate General Maciej Szpunar said the rights the EU had intended to give to publishers went beyond only allowing them to oppose the use of their material if they were not paid for them.

“Their purpose is to establish the conditions under which those publications are actually used, while allowing publishers to receive a fair share of the revenues derived by platforms from that use,” he said.

“The limitations introduced pursue a public interest recognised by the EU legislature: strengthening the economic viability of the press, a key pillar of democracy.”

However Szpunar said the Italian regulator should keep in mind contractual freedom.

“The powers conferred on AGCOM – including the definition of benchmark criteria for determining remuneration, the resolution of disagreements and the monitoring of the obligation to provide information – are permissible if they are limited to assistance and do not deprive the parties of their contractual freedom,” he said.

The court, which usually follows the majority of recommendations by the advocate-general, will rule in the coming months.

The case is C-797/23 Meta Platforms Ireland (Fair compensation).

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Bart MeijerEditing by Tomasz Janowski

Swimming was dominated by Americans in Doha, winning eight gold out of 20 medals overall while China came second with seven gold from 11 medals overall

International News via Reuters:

World Aquatics chief Brent Nowicki is expecting to see swimming medallists from more countries than ever at the upcoming World Championships in Singapore, reflecting the sport’s growth outside its traditional power bases.

China claimed 23 gold medals out of a table-topping total of 33 in the previous edition last year in Doha, with United States well behind as the next most successful team bagging nine gold out of 23 medals overall across six sports.

Swimming was dominated by Americans in Doha, winning eight gold out of 20 medals overall while China came second with seven gold from 11 medals overall. However, 29 countries won swimming medals in Doha, resulting in the deepest medal table in World Aquatics Championship history.

“I think the sport’s really at that point where general dominance of individuals or countries is dissipating,” Nowicki told a press conference ahead of the World Championships in Singapore on Thursday.

“It’s getting thinner and we’re seeing, I think, much, much to the great work of the development of world aquatics and team, but also the national federations.

“We’re seeing more and more rising stars, and I think that’s a special thing. And so I expect to see more of that here. Will we see more than 30 world records? I don’t know. Will we see more than 29 medallist countries? Yeah, maybe. And maybe that’s what I expect.

“I think if we can pull that off, that would be a real testament to the growth of our sport. The growth our individuals, the growth through our national federations, an overall commitment from our coaches to really get the best out of the athletes that they possibly can be.”

The upcoming championships will notably miss one of Singapore’s own swimming heroes. Joseph Schooling, dubbed “Singapore’s Flying Fish” and the nation’s only Olympic gold medallist with two World Championship bronzes to his name, retired from competitive swimming in April last year at age 28.

The 2025 championships take place in Singapore from July 27 to August 3.

Reporting by Joseph Campbell, writing by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa;Editing by Christian Radnedge

The conservative politician faces criminal charges of insurrection over his martial law decree

International News via Reuters:

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was back in a solitary jail cell on Thursday with basic food and a khaki prison uniform after prosecutors secured a new detention warrant over his bid to impose martial law last year.

The Seoul Central District Court’s decision to approve the warrant bolstered the special counsel investigation into allegations that Yoon’s move in December represented obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

The court said in a statement it granted the request because of concerns Yoon could seek to destroy evidence, returning him to confinement at the Seoul Detention Center where he spent 52 days earlier in the year before being released four months ago on technical grounds.

He moved back with his wife and his 11 dogs and cats to their 164 square metre (1,765 square feet) apartment in an upscale district of Seoul. The couple’s net worth is estimated at 7.5 billion won ($5.47 million), according to a government filing.

But Yoon will now be housed in a 10 square-metre solitary cell, have to wear a two-piece khaki-coloured uniform and sleep on a foldable mattress on the floor without an air conditioner, an official at the detention centre and media reports said.

With a heat wave gripping the country, Yoon will have to rely on a small electric fan that switches off at night, Park Jie-won, an opposition lawmaker who had been incarcerated there, said on a YouTube talk show.

The detention facility served a breakfast of steamed potatoes and mini cheese breads for inmates on Thursday, another official said.

The conservative politician faces criminal charges of insurrection over his martial law decree, which could carry a sentence of life in prison or death.

YOON SKIPS COURT HEARING

Hours after he ended up in jail, the court held a hearing on Thursday morning for his insurrection trial, but Yoon did not attend.

His lawyers told the court that he was unable to go to the hearing due to health issues, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

The Constitutional Court ousted Yoon as president in April, upholding parliament’s impeachment for the martial law bid, which shocked South Koreans and triggered months of political turmoil.

The special prosecution team launched its investigation after new leader Lee Jae Myung was elected in June, and has been looking into additional charges against Yoon.

The special counsel team, made up of more than 200 prosecutors and investigators, is now expected to speed up its probe into allegations, including whether Yoon hurt South Korea’s interests by intentionally inflaming tensions with North Korea.

The team plans to question Yoon on Friday, informing his wife and lawyers about his detention via letters, Park Ji-young, a deputy to the special counsel, told reporters on Thursday.

National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said Yoon’s detention should help in the mission to determine the truth behind the martial law crisis and restore democracy.

“No one is above the law,” Woo said in a Facebook post.

Yoon attended the court hearing on Wednesday on the detention warrant, wearing a dark navy suit and a red tie, but did not answer questions from reporters.

His lawyers have denied the allegations against him and called the detention request an unreasonable move in a hasty investigation.

More than 1,000 supporters rallied near the court on Wednesday, local media reported, waving flags and signs and chanting Yoon’s name in searing 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) heat.

In their warrant request, prosecutors said Yoon poses a flight risk, local media reported.

($1 = 1,371.9000 won)

Reporting by Joyce Lee, Ju-min Park, Urvi DugarEditing by Ed Davies, Cynthia Osterman, and Saad Sayeed