International

Italian authorities recovered the door with Banksy’s art

A gate door of the Parisian venue Bataclan, with a mural attributed to Banksy commemorating the victims of the terrorist attack of 2015, was found by Italian authorities at a property in the Abruzzo region.

Following an investigation conducted by the Carabinieri corps, the gate door, which was stolen in January 2019, was found at a property in the municipality of Alba Adriatica.

The discovery and investigation’s success results from police collaboration between France and Italy.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.

International

Meningitis outbreak in England rises to 27 cases with two deaths reported

The number of cases linked to a meningococcal meningitis outbreak that has caused two deaths in England has risen from 20 to 27, health authorities confirmed.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, of the 27 cases reported in southeast England, 15 have been confirmed while 12 remain under investigation.

“Preventive antibiotic treatment continues to be administered to students at the University of Kent, as well as to anyone who attended the Club Chemistry in Canterbury between March 5 and 7,” the agency said in a statement.

A large-scale vaccination campaign against meningococcal B began on Wednesday at the University of Kent campus, which has approximately 18,000 students. The UKHSA noted that the campaign could be expanded if necessary.

The two fatalities include an 18-year-old secondary school student and a 21-year-old University of Kent student.

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Meningitis is a potentially life-threatening infection that affects the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and it is more common among young children and adolescents.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.