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Iranian Nobel laureate handed further prison sentence, lawyer says

BBC News

Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been handed further prison sentences of seven-and-a-half years by an Iranian court, her lawyer has said. The human rights activist was sentenced to six years for gathering and collusion, and one-and-a-half years for propaganda activities by a court in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, Mostafa Nili announced on social media on Sunday. Mohammadi was arrested in December for making provocative remarks at a memorial ceremony, Iranian authorities said at the time. Her family said she was taken to hospital after being beaten during the arrest . The 53-year-old was made a Nobel laureate in 2023 for her activism against female oppression in Iran.


People Are Protesting Data Centers--but Embracing the Factories That Supply Them

WIRED

As the data center backlash grows, support is growing for server factories and the hundreds of jobs they're expected to bring. Last month, Pamela Griffin and two other residents of Taylor, Texas, took to the lectern at a city council meeting to object to a data center project. But later, they sat back as council members discussed a proposed tech factory. Griffin didn't speak up against that development. A similar contrast is repeating in communities across the US.


The Gaza Flotilla Story You Didn't Hear

Mother Jones

Activists sailed to Gaza to deliver aid, but were met with drone attacks and imprisonment. "All of this preparation, all of this work--it's actually come together and we're sailing east, finally," said Dane Hunter. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Earlier this fall, hundreds of activists from all over the world crowded onto several dozen boats and set sail for Gaza. They thought that by sharing their journey through social media, they could capture the world's attention.


The Strange Disappearance of an Anti-AI Activist

The Atlantic - Technology

Sam Kirchner wants to save the world from artificial superintelligence. He's been missing for two weeks. B efore Sam Kirchner vanished, before the San Francisco Police Department began to warn that he could be armed and dangerous, before OpenAI locked down its offices over the potential threat, those who encountered him saw him as an ordinary, if ardent, activist. Phoebe Thomas Sorgen met Kirchner a few months ago at Travis Air Force Base, northeast of San Francisco, at a protest against immigration policy and U.S. military aid to Israel. Sorgen, a longtime activist whose first protests were against the Vietnam War, was going to block an entrance to the base with six other older women. Kirchner, 27 years old, was there with a couple of other members of a new group called Stop AI, and they all agreed to go along to record video on their phones in case of a confrontation with the police.


The Age-Gated Internet Is Sweeping the US. Activists Are Fighting Back

WIRED

The Age-Gated Internet Is Sweeping the US. Half of the country now requires age verification to watch porn or access "harmful" content. Digital rights advocates are pushing back against legislation they say will make the internet less safe. To prove you're an adult, you may have to upload your ID or submit to an age-verifying face scan. Members of Congress considered 19 online safety bills Tuesday that may soon have a major impact on the future of the internet as age-verification laws have spread to half of the US and around the world .


OpenAI Locks Down San Francisco Offices Following Alleged Threat From Activist

WIRED

A message on OpenAI's internal Slack claimed the activist in question had expressed interest in "causing physical harm to OpenAI employees." OpenAI employees in San Francisco were told to stay inside the office on Friday afternoon after the company purportedly received a threat from an individual who was previously associated with the Stop AI activist group. "Our information indicates that [name] from StopAI has expressed interest in causing physical harm to OpenAI employees," a member of the internal communications team wrote on Slack. "He has previously been on site at our San Francisco facilities." Just before 11 am, San Francisco police received a 911 call about a man allegedly making threats and intending to harm others at 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, which is near OpenAI's offices in the Mission Bay neighborhood, according to data tracked by the crime app Citizen.


Activists Are Using 'Fortnite' to Fight Back Against ICE

WIRED

Players are roleplaying ICE raids in and to prepare for real-world situations. SteveTheGamer55 is live on YouTube . He's streaming a session to his 4.6 million subscribers of, a mod that allows people to role-play with other players. "Really wanna show you guys some real-life scenarios," he says, offering a little background on his character, a man headed to his job while on a work visa. His character doesn't get far before an SUV swings onto the sidewalk in front of him; masked ICE agents spill out of the vehicle.


RSF drone strike kills dozens in Sudan's war-ravaged el-Fasher: Activists

Al Jazeera

RSF drone strike kills dozens in Sudan's war-ravaged el-Fasher: Activists A deadly drone strike at a displacement centre and university grounds, where people had been seeking refuge, in the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher in North Darfur state has been blamed on the Rapid Support Forces RSF), with the brutal civil war now in its third year. A local journalist told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that at least 12 people had been killed in the strike on a displacement shelter, while local activists said nearly 60 people were killed. The el-Fasher Resistance Committee said the RSF had carried out a "massacre." El-Fasher is the last major city held by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the vast western Darfur region, and has faced intensified attacks from the paramilitary RSF since the army recaptured the capital, Khartoum, in March this year. The RSF has been fighting SAF for control of the country since April 2023, after the two generals leading the forces fell out.


Amid drone attacks, activists confront fear and hope on Gaza flotilla

Al Jazeera

Can Israel survive economic isolation? The activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla remain alert. Wednesday's drone attack on the vessels - heading towards Gaza to break Israel's siege on the Palestinian enclave - is not expected to be the last. As the flotilla, currently travelling in Greek territorial waters, nears Gaza, a larger Israeli attack is expected. Acar is experienced in spotting drones and assessing security risks, having previous experience trying to reach Gaza on June's Madleen flotilla, which Israel intercepted.


Italy, Spain send navy ships to protect Gaza flotilla after drone attacks

Al Jazeera

Can Israel survive economic isolation? Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his country's navy will join Italy in sending warships to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla, which has come under drone attack in international waters en route to deliver aid to Gaza. Speaking to reporters in New York on Wednesday, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Sanchez said international law must be respected and the citizens of 45 nations participating in the aid mission had every right to sail in the Mediterranean unharmed. "Tomorrow we will dispatch a naval vessel from Cartagena with all necessary resources in case it is necessary to assist the flotilla and carry out a rescue operation." On Wednesday night, activists described a wave of attacks by Israeli drones and other aircraft which targeted vessels in the small fleet in what flotilla organisers described as "an alarmingly dangerous escalation".