2 months ago
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A group of Chinese artists is boycotting a major art exhibition in South Korea over the organizers' plans to use the name "Taiwan Pavilion" for an exhibition of works by Taiwanese artists.
China considers self-governing Taiwan to be part of its territory and rejects the island's claim to sovereignty. Beijing generally refers to Taiwan as "China's Taiwan region."
China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the South Korean organizers of the biennial Gwangju Biennale, one of Asia's most prominent art exhibitions, saying the organizers have "stubbornly clung to the wrongful practice, allowing China's Taiwan region to participate under a designation that is completely incompatible with its status."
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China hopes the South Korean government will uphold its political commitment to the "one China" principle through concrete action.
The Chinese artists said the same day that they were withdrawing from the festival, which opens Saturday and runs through mid-November.
#korean
China considers self-governing Taiwan to be part of its territory and rejects the island's claim to sovereignty. Beijing generally refers to Taiwan as "China's Taiwan region."
China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the South Korean organizers of the biennial Gwangju Biennale, one of Asia's most prominent art exhibitions, saying the organizers have "stubbornly clung to the wrongful practice, allowing China's Taiwan region to participate under a designation that is completely incompatible with its status."
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China hopes the South Korean government will uphold its political commitment to the "one China" principle through concrete action.
The Chinese artists said the same day that they were withdrawing from the festival, which opens Saturday and runs through mid-November.
#korean
3 months ago
By Diana Novak Jones
Aug 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to move forward against Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, ByteDance's TikTok, and other social media companies over claims they designed their products to be addictive to young users.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies' bid to reverse a lower court's ruling forcing them to face more than 3,000 lawsuits over the claims filed in federal court, concluding that the appeal came too early in the litigation.
The defendants, which also include Snap Inc's Snapchat, had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 -- which generally shields online companies from claims over content posted by their users - also bars lawsuits claiming they failed to warn the public about the addictive nature of their platforms.
Most appeals come after a case has concluded with a ruling or a verdict. Meta had argued that Section 230 provided it broad immunity and that it should be able to appeal the lower court's decision immediately. But the 9th Circuit said Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not immunity from lawsuits, so the appeal was premature.
#court #Companies #appeal #platforms
Aug 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to move forward against Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, ByteDance's TikTok, and other social media companies over claims they designed their products to be addictive to young users.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies' bid to reverse a lower court's ruling forcing them to face more than 3,000 lawsuits over the claims filed in federal court, concluding that the appeal came too early in the litigation.
The defendants, which also include Snap Inc's Snapchat, had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 -- which generally shields online companies from claims over content posted by their users - also bars lawsuits claiming they failed to warn the public about the addictive nature of their platforms.
Most appeals come after a case has concluded with a ruling or a verdict. Meta had argued that Section 230 provided it broad immunity and that it should be able to appeal the lower court's decision immediately. But the 9th Circuit said Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not immunity from lawsuits, so the appeal was premature.
#court #Companies #appeal #platforms
3 months ago
CAIRO (AP) — A volley of fire between the Iranian-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia has threatened to upend a 2022 truce in Yemen and open another front in the already expanding war in the Middle East after the collapse of the ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran.
"Yemen today faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the U.N.-brokered truce of April 2022, " U.N. envoy Hans Grundberg warned.
The escalation, he said, risks "jeopardizing the gains of the 2022 truce ... while also drawing the country into a broader regional confrontation, with devastating consequences for its people."
Grundberg said he has engaged in intensive talks with Yemeni parties and regional governments to avert further escalation.
The ***** -for-tat attacks started July 13 with a Saudi airstrike that hit the runway of the airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, preventing the landing of an Iranian flight carrying a high-ranking Houthi delegation.
#saudi
"Yemen today faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the U.N.-brokered truce of April 2022, " U.N. envoy Hans Grundberg warned.
The escalation, he said, risks "jeopardizing the gains of the 2022 truce ... while also drawing the country into a broader regional confrontation, with devastating consequences for its people."
Grundberg said he has engaged in intensive talks with Yemeni parties and regional governments to avert further escalation.
The ***** -for-tat attacks started July 13 with a Saudi airstrike that hit the runway of the airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, preventing the landing of an Iranian flight carrying a high-ranking Houthi delegation.
#saudi
4 months ago
T. Denny Sanford wanted to die broke. He nearly pulled it off.
The South Dakota banking magnate spent decades giving away his fortune, and by the end he had parted with more than $4 billion, $2 billion of which went to his namesake health system. The billionaire philanthropist died July 18 at age 90. As of March, his net worth was estimated at $2.4 billion.
"I want to die broke," Sanford told Forbes in 2007. "Very plainly, very succinctly, I look at life as an investor. What will give me or my community the best return?"
His donations turned a small regional hospital into one of the largest rural health-care networks in the country. That made him the "greatest philanthropist in South Dakota history," according to South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden.
Sanford gave across the state, which resulted in the Sanford Underground Research Facility, a major state ***** et in science and education; the Build Dakota Scholarships and the Premier/Freedom Scholarship, which have gone to thousands of young people; the Sioux Falls Development Foundation; and the Children's Home Society of South Dakota, where he was the biggest donor, according to the governor's office.
The South Dakota banking magnate spent decades giving away his fortune, and by the end he had parted with more than $4 billion, $2 billion of which went to his namesake health system. The billionaire philanthropist died July 18 at age 90. As of March, his net worth was estimated at $2.4 billion.
"I want to die broke," Sanford told Forbes in 2007. "Very plainly, very succinctly, I look at life as an investor. What will give me or my community the best return?"
His donations turned a small regional hospital into one of the largest rural health-care networks in the country. That made him the "greatest philanthropist in South Dakota history," according to South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden.
Sanford gave across the state, which resulted in the Sanford Underground Research Facility, a major state ***** et in science and education; the Build Dakota Scholarships and the Premier/Freedom Scholarship, which have gone to thousands of young people; the Sioux Falls Development Foundation; and the Children's Home Society of South Dakota, where he was the biggest donor, according to the governor's office.
