X Offices Raided in France, Nike Faces US Discrimination Probe, and More
French authorities raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X as part of a cyber-crime investigation, while Nike is under scrutiny in the US for alleged discrimination against white workers. Separately, in Norway, the son of the country's crown princess testified in a rape trial, and in Italy, an artist scrubbed out a church fresco resembling the prime minister after public outcry.
The Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit raided X's French offices as part of an investigation into suspected offenses, including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography, according to BBC Technology. The prosecutor's office stated that both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino had been summoned to appear at hearings in April. In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced a probe into Musk's AI tool, Grok, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content," BBC Technology reported. Musk responded to the raid on X, calling it a "political attack." The company issued a statement.
Nike is under investigation by the US government over claims of discrimination against white workers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on Wednesday that it has demanded company records going back to 2018, including data on race and ethnicity, and whether such information influenced executive pay, according to BBC Business. Court documents show the EEOC is examining claims that Nike engaged "in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants, and training program participants." Nike stated it was "committed to fair and lawful employment practices," calling the inquiry "a surprising and unusual request."
In Norway, Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway's crown princess, testified in court during his rape trial. Høiby, 29, said he has lived a life of partying out of an extreme need of validation, according to BBC World. He appeared overwhelmed, his voice quivering as he paused several times to take off his glasses and wipe his eyes. Holding back tears, he said it was very difficult to talk and complained of being followed by the press since he was three years old. He denies four allegations of rape as well as other serious charges against him.
In Italy, the face of an angel on a restored church fresco in Rome, which sparked outrage because of its likeness to Italy's prime minister, was crudely scrubbed out by the artist who painted it, BBC World reported. Church and government officials launched an investigation after pictures of a cherub at the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina showed her newly restored face had an uncanny likeness to right-wing leader, Giorgia Meloni. The artist, Bruno Valentinetti, at first denied the claims, but on Wednesday he admitted that it was indeed the prime minister's face. He insisted that it was similar to the faces of other people.
In other news, a legal letter claimed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein asked an exotic dancer to "engage in various sex acts" at Epstein's Florida home, according to BBC World. The letter, released as part of the latest tranche of Epstein files, stated that the unnamed woman's lawyers said she had been offered $10,000 to dance and that after she performed, Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor had asked for a threesome. Lawyers said the woman had not been paid the promised amount and would keep the alleged 2006 encounter in which she was "treated like a prostitute" confidential in exchange for a payment of $250,000. BBC News has contacted Mountbatten-Windsor for comment.
Discussion
AI Experts & Community
Be the first to comment