⚖️ U.S. Court Reschedules Citgo Auction Following Elliott’s $8.82 Billion Bid

Wilmington, Delaware — August 15, 2025A federal court in Delaware has rescheduled the long-awaited auction of Citgo Petroleum, the U.S.-based refining arm held by Venezuela, after a last-minute bid from a unit of activist investor Elliott Investment Management reshaped the competitive landscape. The $8.82 billion offer surpasses a prior $8.45 billion proposal from global energy […]

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🌍 Central Asia Unites Under UN Global Compact to Drive Sustainable Business Growth

Almaty, August 2025 — In a landmark move to accelerate sustainable development and ethical business practices, the United Nations Global Compact has officially launched the Central Asia Network, connecting over 140 companies across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. This multi-country initiative marks the region’s formal integration into the world’s largest corporate sustainability platform. 🤝 […]

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Plastic pollution talks adjourn, but countries want to stay engaged: UNEP chief

“This has been a hard-fought 10 days against the backdrop of geopolitical complexities, economic challenges and multilateral strains,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “However, one thing remains clear: despite these complexities, all countries clearly want to remain at the table.”    Speaking to media at the end of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee […]

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President Trump’s War on “Woke AI” Is a Civil Liberties Nightmare

The White House’s recently-unveiled “AI Action Plan” wages war on so-called “woke AI”—including large language models (LLMs) that provide information inconsistent with the administration’s views on climate change, gender, and other issues. It also targets measures designed to mitigate the generation of racial and gender biased content and even hate speech. The reproduction of this […]

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Flock Safety’s Feature Updates Cannot Make Automated License Plate Readers Safe

Two recent statements from the surveillance company—one addressing Illinois privacy violations and another defending the company’s national surveillance network—reveal a troubling pattern: when confronted by evidence of widespread abuse, Flock Safety has blamed users, downplayed harms, and doubled down on the very systems that enabled the violations in the first place. Flock’s aggressive public relations […]

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Torture Victim’s Landmark Hacking Lawsuit Against Spyware Maker Can Proceed, Judge Rules

PORTLAND, OR – Saudi human rights activist Loujain Alhathloul’s groundbreaking lawsuit concerning spying software that enabled her imprisonment and torture can advance, a federal judge ruled in an opinion unsealed Tuesday.  U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut of the District of Oregon ruled that Alhathloul’s lawsuit against DarkMatter Group and three of its former executives […]

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📈 Cisco Surpasses Earnings Estimates Amid Surge in AI Infrastructure Demand

San Jose, CA — August 2025Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported stronger-than-expected financial results for the final quarter of fiscal 2025, driven by robust demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and solid performance across its product portfolio. 💡 Key Financial Highlights 🌍 Regional Performance Cisco saw revenue growth across all major geographic segments: Region Revenue (US$) […]

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🫥 Spotify Face Scans Are Just the Beginning | EFFector 37.10

Catching up on your backlog of digital rights news has never been easier! EFF has a one-stop-shop to keep you up to date on the latest in the fight against censorship and surveillance—our EFFector newsletter. This time we’re covering an act of government intimidation in Florida when the state subpoenaed a venue for surveillance video […]

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🧠 AI Startup Perplexity Makes $34.5 Billion Bid for Google Chrome Amid Antitrust Pressure

San Francisco, August 12, 2025 — In a bold move that has stunned the tech industry, artificial intelligence startup Perplexity has made a formal $34.5 billion all-cash offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The unsolicited bid arrives as Google faces mounting legal pressure from the U.S. […]

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Celebrating youth: ‘When young people take the lead, everyone gains’

But after a decade of armed conflict and amidst a severe economic depression, educational toy imports have become way too expensive for many classrooms in Yemen. Shadia and Fatima, two young entrepreneurs in Yemen, identified this gap after participating in a training course run by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). They decided to begin a youth-led […]

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