NATION & WORLD BRIEFS
German activists sentenced for spraying paint on landmark
BERLIN – A German court on Tuesday handed down suspended eightmonth prison sentences to three climate activists who sprayed orange paint on the columns of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate last September to demand a stop to the use of fossil fuels by 2030.
The activists were supporters of the “Last Generation” climate activist group, which had made headlines in Germany with hundreds of roadblocks by protesters.
The defendants, aged between 22 and 64, admitted their involvement and said their motive was to protest against the federal government’s climate policy, Berlin Tiergarten District Court said in a statement.
The prison sentences were suspended for two years but could be enforced if the defendants commit new offenses.
Australia spy boss seeks help from Big Tech in hunt for extremists
SYDNEY – Australia’s spy agency says its ability to investigate a racist extremist group is being “seriously compromised” by technology companies that do not cooperate with laws allowing security agencies to access encrypted communication.
In a speech to be delivered in Canberra on Wednesday, agency chief Mike
A German court on Tuesday handed down suspended eight-month prison sentences to three climate activists who sprayed orange paint on the columns of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate last September to demand a stop to the use of fossil fuels.
Burgess will outline how “offshore extremists” are asking a commercially available artificial intelligence program for advice on building weapons.
Burgess, the director-general of security for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, will urge tech platforms to give the agency access to user messages, which Australian law allows in limited circumstances on the basis of a warrant.
“ASIO is investigating a number of Australians who belong to a nationalist and racist extremist network,” Burgess will say in his speech on threats posed by emerging technologies, according to excerpts viewed by Reuters. “They use an encrypted chat platform to communicate with offshore extremists, sharing vile propaganda, posting tips about homemade weapons and discussing how to provoke a race war.”