YouTube has suspended advertising on video blogger Logan Paul’s channels owing to his “pattern of behaviour”.
In December, he was criticised for uploading a video of a dead body recorded in Japan’s so-called suicide forest. He later apologised.
Since his return to YouTube, he has made a video in which he fired a taser at a dead rat, and joked on Twitter about eating detergent capsules.
YouTube said his actions could “damage” the wider video-making community.
Following the controversial video featuring a dead body, Paul was removed from the Google Preferred programme, which sells premium advertising for the most popular 5% of YouTubers.
This time it has decided to temporarily suspend all advertising on his channels.
‘Significant harm’
“This is not a decision we made lightly, however, we believe he has exhibited a pattern of behaviour in his videos that makes his channel not only unsuitable for advertisers, but also potentially damaging to the broader creator community,” the company said.
On 1 February, YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki said “egregious” behaviour by popular video bloggers had the potential to cause “significant harm” to the reputation of the platform.
The company has made it a “priority” to develop policies to deal with video-makers who damage the reputation of the website.
On his return to YouTube, Paul said: “I know for a fact everything I do from this point on will get criticism, it will get backlash, because I’m a very polarising dude. You either love me, or you hate me.”
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionTourists might slip and hurt themselves on the icy tower, officials said
Paris’s Eiffel Tower, which attracts six million tourists every year, will remain closed until Sunday as a result of heavy snowfall in the city.
The tower, a symbol of Paris, has been closed since Tuesday.
Officials say it is too dangerous for tourists to visit because of the risk of slipping.
The Paris City Hall says the level of snow that has fallen since Tuesday is “unprecedented since 1987”, with 12cm falling in one 24-hour period.
Heavy snow has caused great disruption in northern France this week. In Paris, skiers were pictured on the slopes around the Sacre Coeur cathedral on Wednesday.
Media captionEarlier this week, Parisians skied and snowboarded
At the Eiffel Tower, snow has turned into ice on platforms and stairs, making it difficult for tourists to move about.
Normal methods of de-icing cannot be used because salt would corrode the type of iron with which the tower was made and sand gets into the cogs of the lifts, officials say.
Image copyrightCALIFORNIA ASSEMBLYImage captionCristina Garcia has previously said alcohol is not an acceptable excuse for sexual misconduct
A California state assemblywoman who rose to national prominence as a campaigner against sexual assault is now herself accused of misconduct.
The state legislature is investigating Democrat Cristina Garcia, who featured in a Time magazine profile of #MeToo victims last year.
Ms Garcia denies groping another lawmaker’s male aide and attempting to fondle a lobbyist.
She said she would take a leave of absence during the inquiry.
When the allegations first emerged, Ms Garcia said she had “zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behaviour”.
“Such behaviour is inconsistent with my values,” she added.
Ms Garcia, who was elected in 2012 and chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus and the Natural Resources Committee. pledged to participate in any investigation.
“Every complaint about sexual harassment should be taken seriously,” she said.
But in a follow-up statement, the influential Los Angeles-area lawmaker added: “Upon reflection of the details alleged, I am certain I did not engage in the behaviour I am accused of.”
She says she volunteered for an unpaid leave of absence “so as not to serve as a distraction or in any way influence the process of this investigation”, adding that she looks forward to returning to work.
The first accusation comes from Daniel Fierro, who said a drunken Ms Garcia cornered him after an annual legislative softball game in 2014 in the team dugout.
He said Ms Garcia stroked his back, squeezed his buttocks and attempted to grab his crotch.
Mr Fierro told Politico he did not originally report the incident. He said he was 25 years old at the time.
He is not the only man accusing Ms Garcia of unwanted sexual advances.
Another accuser, whom Politico described as a prominent lobbyist at California’s state capital, claims the lawmaker tried to fondle him at a fundraiser last year.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous because he represents a major industry association, said Ms Garcia had leaned in close enough to him that he could smell alcohol on her breath.
She whispered that she had “set a goal” for herself to have sex with him and used a vulgarity, he said.
Both Mr Fierro and the lobbyist said Ms Garcia was heavily inebriated at the time of the alleged assaults.
In a November interview with the Associated Press news agency about alcohol at political fundraisers, Ms Garcia said that blaming drink is not an acceptable excuse for inappropriate sexual behaviour.
“I would say that most of the public realises that our job is based on relationships, and so we are expected to go out there and socialise,” she said.
“I think our public also expects us to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
Image copyrightAFPImage captionTechnology firm Waymo accused Uber of stealing trade secrets relating to self-driving cars
Uber and Waymo have reached a settlement over claims Uber stole trade secrets from the self-driving company.
As part of the agreement, Uber is giving a 0.34% Uber stake to Waymo, worth approximately $245m (£177m).
Uber has also agreed not to use Waymo’s technology in its self-driving cars, though it maintains it never did.
Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, expressed “regret” over the way his company had handled the issue.
In a statement, he said to Waymo: “While we won’t agree on everything going forward, we agree that Uber’s acquisition of Otto could and should have been handled differently.”
Otto was a self-driving trucking company co-founded by former Google employee Anthony Levandowski. It was acquired by Uber for $650m in 2016.
The deal comes after four days in a San Francisco federal court in which former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick took the stand.
He was accused of orchestrating a plan to steal more than 14,000 confidential files from Waymo when the firm was still part of Google. It is now owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
The jury was shown internal emails referencing demands Mr Kalanick was said to have made. He wanted “pounds of flesh” from Google, it was claimed. Mr Kalanick said he used the phrase “from time to time”.
A vistors’ pass for Mr Levandowski – dated at a time he was still working at Google – was also produced as evidence.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionUber’s current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the controversial acquisition could have been handled differently
Uber’s defence was that there was no proof it had used any of the disputed secrets in its technology, a position it still holds.
“We do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber,” said Mr Khosrowshahi.
“Nor do we believe that Uber has used any of Waymo’s proprietary information in its self-driving technology, we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work.”
The jury was asked to consider whether Uber had used eight trade secrets – whittled down from an original list of 121 – in its self-driving technology. The details of the secrets were not made public – discussions about the content of the document happened in front of the jury in closed sessions.
Waymo had sought damages, which could have totalled more than $1bn, and/or an injunction – a move that could have halted Uber’s work on autonomous driving.
“We are committed to working with Uber to make sure that each company develops its own technology,” a Waymo spokesman said on Friday.
“This includes an agreement to ensure that any Waymo confidential information is not being incorporated in Uber Advanced Technologies Group hardware and software.”
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionFormer Uber CEO Travis Kalanick took to the stand in the case.
Mr Kalanick, who was removed as chief executive last year but still sits on Uber’s board, released a separate statement.
“Our sole objective was to hire the most talented scientists and engineers to help lead the company and our cities to a driverless future,” he said.
“The evidence at trial overwhelmingly proved that, and had the trial proceeded to its conclusion, it is clear Uber would have prevailed.”
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe car park where the van was emptied. A police source told the AFP news agency that it was carrying 20-30m Swiss Francs ($21-32m; £15-23m)
Thieves have targeted a cash van delivery driver on the French-Swiss border in an elaborate heist involving the kidnap of his daughter.
They stole up to 30m Swiss francs ($32m; £23m) from the van, reports say.
The driver’s 22-year-old daughter had been kidnapped from her apartment in the French city of Lyon on Thursday by two men posing as plumbers.
The driver was headed toward the Swiss city of Lausanne when he received a call demanding a ransom for her.
He was forced off the motorway and directed to a car park near the municipality of Chavornay in Switzerland, where several armed and disguised men were waiting, police said.
“There, several armed men who were awaiting the van made him park it. They then held up the delivery drivers, completely emptied the van’s contents and fled in a dark-coloured Porsche SUV,” Swiss police were quoted as saying in a statement by the AFP news agency.
The daughter was later found on a road, uninjured, on the outskirts of Lyon shortly before 22:00 (21:00 GMT).
The heist has been compared to an action film plot.
Police have appealed for witnesses as no arrests have been made.
They say the suspects are thought to be three men, dressed all in black, with an accent thought to be from the south of France or North Africa.
Image copyrightPRESS ASSOCIATIONImage captionRob Delaney said the NHS nurses and doctors who cared for his son were “heroes”
US actor and comedian Rob Delaney has revealed that his two-year-old son Henry has died after spending half his life battling a cancerous brain tumour.
Mr Delaney, who lives in London and is best known for starring in the British sitcom Catastrophe, announced the “very sad news” in a Facebook post on Friday.
“I will endeavour to not go mad with grief,” he wrote, adding: “We had so many wonderful adventures together.”
Henry’s brain tumour was diagnosed in 2016, shortly after his first birthday.
Mr Delaney, 41, said that at the time Henry was suffering from “persistent vomiting and weight loss”.
After he was admitted to an NHS hospital, doctors discovered the tumour and Henry underwent surgery to remove it.
He had further treatment last year but the cancer returned and Henry died in January, Mr Delaney wrote.
“His tumour and surgery left him with significant physical disabilities, but he quickly learned sign language and developed his own method of getting from A to B, shuffling on his beautiful little bum,” he added in his post.
The comedian went on to praise the work of NHS nurses and doctors along with others who had helped care for his son, who he said had spent 15 months in hospital.
Image copyrightALAMYImage captionOfficials confirmed the arrest in a press conference in Mexico City on Friday
A leader of the notorious Zetas drug cartel has been caught in Mexico City, according to Mexican authorities.
José María Guízar Valencia is wanted in the US, which had offered a $5m (£3.6m) reward for his capture.
Known as Z-43, he is a dual US-Mexican citizen and is thought to have run the Zeta’s south-eastern operations.
The US state department said he was responsible for “importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine to the US every year”.
On its website, it said the Zetas “have murdered an untold number of Guatemalan civilians during the systematic overtake of the Guatemalan border region with Mexico during recent years”.
The alleged kingpin was arrested in Mexico City’s Roma neighbourhood, which is known for its hip bars and restaurants.
He was captured “without the use of force”, said the head of the National Security Commission, Renato Sales, in a press conference on Friday, when the news was confirmed.
He is now likely to face extradition to the US, on drugs smuggling and money-laundering charges.
Image copyrightUS DEPARTMENT OF STATEImage captionThe US state department website describes the California-born drug cartel leader
Organised crime is thought to account for nearly three-quarters of those deaths.
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, a leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was extradited to the US last January, after twice breaking out of Mexican jails.
Earlier this week, a New York judge said jurors would be kept anonymous to protect them from possible retaliations by the extremely violent gang. Guzmán’s trial is set to begin in September.
Who are the Zetas?
The Zetas was founded by corrupt members of Mexico’s special forces.
More than 30 had been hired by the leader of the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s, but they split to run their own operations in 2010.
The two cartels then clashed violently, particularly in the country’s north-east.
The Zetas are known for their brutality, including torturing and decapitating their victims.
Over the years, they have moved beyond drugs to turn their hand at any crime that will bring them money, from cigarette smuggling to human trafficking.
The group uses the letter Z (“zeta” in Spanish) as it is said to correspond with police radio codes.
In 2012, one of the leaders, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as Z-3, was killed in a shootout with the Mexican Navy. The following year, his replacement, Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, alias Z-40, was captured. His younger brother, Omar Treviño Morales (Z-42), took over but was also caught in 2015.
Media captionTrump on Porter: ‘We absolutely wish him well’
US President Donald Trump has paid tribute to an ex-aide who quit this week amid domestic abuse allegations.
“We wish him well,” he said in his first public remarks on the claims against ex-White House staff secretary Rob Porter. “He worked very hard.”
Chief of staff John Kelly reportedly offered to resign his post over his handling of the matter.
It is alleged Mr Porter, 40, gave one ex-wife a black eye while another filed a restraining order. He denies it.
Despite the allegations, he received interim security clearance to act as gatekeeper to the US president. Mr Porter resigned on Wednesday.
Mr Trump’s remarks come a day after the White House said it could have better handled the accusations.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionMr Trump is seen walking with Mr Porter at the White House in December 2017
What did the president say?
Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Mr Trump said: “We found out about it recently and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well and it’s a tough time for him.
“He did a very good job while when he was in the White House.
“And we hope he has a wonderful career and he will have a great career ahead of him.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMr Porter (R) and chief of staff John Kelly (L)
“But it was very sad when we heard about it and certainly he’s also very sad now.
“He also, as you probably know, says he’s innocent and I think you have to remember that.”
Mr Trump did not refer to Mr Porter’s accusers.
But US Vice-President Mike Pence condemned Mr Porter, saying he was “appalled” by his alleged behaviour.
“There’s no tolerance in this White House, no place in America for domestic abuse,” he told NBC.
Image copyrightBORNEBACKCEASELESSLYImage captionJennifer Willoughby says she filed a protective order against Mr Porter
Mr Porter’s ex-wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby, both accuse him of physical and emotional abuse.
His first spouse, US government analyst Ms Holderness, said he kicked her on their 2003 honeymoon in the Canary Islands and punched her in the face a couple of years later on holiday in Florence, Italy.
Ms Willoughby says she was married to Mr Porter from 2009-13. The motivational speaker says she obtained a protective order against him in June 2010 after he punched the glass of the door at their Alexandria, Virginia, home.
According to CBS News, Mr Porter approached White House Counsel Don McGahn in January 2017 to inform him his ex-wives might say unflattering things about him to background check investigators.
In June 2017, Mr Porter’s preliminary file was sent from the FBI to the White House security office, containing the abuse allegations.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionMr Porter (L), White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn (2nd L) and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
In November, Mr McGahn received a call from an ex-girlfriend of Mr Porter alleging physical violence by the aide.
Mr McGahn told the White House chief of staff there was an issue with Mr Porter’s security clearance, although he was vague, reports CBS.
Mr Porter told Mr Kelly his ex-wives were saying false things about him.
A White House spokesman said on Thursday that Mr Kelly did not realise the extent of the claims until a photo of Ms Holderness’ black eye emerged on Wednesday.
Media captionBethany Haines on the capture of IS duo
The families of some of the victims of an Islamic State group that beheaded hostages have said two captured fighters should face trial.
British fighters Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were captured by Syrian Kurdish forces.
Bethany Haines – whose father David, a British aid worker, was beheaded by the cell – said she hopes they die a “slow, painful death”.
Kotey and Elsheikh were two of four UK IS members known as “the Beatles”.
“They should be locked up and throw away the key,” Ms Haines said.
Should there be a trial, she said she would attend and “look them in the eye and let them know I am who I am and they have certainly destroyed a big part of my life. Hopefully there will be some justice.”
Image copyrightKOTEY/FAMILY HANDOUTImage captionAlexanda Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh were the last two members of the cell at large
Diane Foley – whose son James, an American journalist, was beheaded by the cell – said she wanted the two men to face life imprisonment.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Their crimes are beyond imagination.”
Mrs Foley said that she would like the men to face trial in the US but she would be “most grateful” as long as “they are brought to fair trial and detained and justice is served”.
“It doesn’t bring James back, but hopefully it protects others from this kind of crime,” she said.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionJames Foley was kidnapped by IS while reporting in Syria in 2012. In 2014, a video emerged showing his execution
Kotey and Elsheikh were the last two of “the Beatles”.
They and Mohammed Emwazi and Aine Davis had gained that nickname because of their British accents.
Kotey, from west London, was a guard for the execution cell. The US State Department says he took part in the torture of hostages and acted as a recruiter for IS.
Both men are designated terrorists by the US, which says they have used “exceptionally cruel torture methods.”
They both worked with the cell’s alleged ring-leader, Mohammed Emwazi.
Dubbed Jihadi John, he was the masked militant from west London who featured in gruesome IS videos, taunting Western powers before beheading hostages.
Mr Foley was one of the victims whose death was seen in those videos. Others were British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, US journalist Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.
Image captionMr Haines was working for a French aid agency when he was captured by Islamic State militants
The father of Aine Davis has told the BBC that his son had nothing to do with the cell.
“Bringing my son into this is rubbish. He was with a bunch of students when he was arrested,” Benno Davis said. “It will come to light that he wasn’t (in the cell).”
Nicolas Henin, a French journalist who spent 10 months as an IS captive, also told Today that he wanted justice.
He stressed that any attempt to deny the men of their civil rights would only feed IS’s claims of victimisation by the West.
“For them, they were doing it for revenge, against all the grievances they can argue against the western world, which are largely fantasised, and this is why I am now looking for justice and not revenge,” he said.
“I will be extremely frustrated if they were not offered a fair trial and I don’t think the local authorities in northern Syria or detention in Guantanamo Bay would be justice.”
US officials said the “execution cell” had beheaded at least 27 hostages and tortured many more. They confirmed the latest arrests.
Officials quoted by US media said the two men had been captured by members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are targeting remnants of IS.
It is understood that Kotey and Elsheikh have been stripped of their British citizenship, but the Home Office says it cannot comment on individual cases.
What happened to all the foreign fighters?
Analysis by OP’S NEWS
The pair are said to have provided valuable intelligence following their capture. That may be helpful in answering the wider question of what happened to the foreign fighters as the so-called caliphate disintegrated.
How many of the thousands of foreign fighters were killed and how many went to other countries or would seek to come home? These men will have been priority targets – but not the only ones.
Their capture also raises the issue of what happens next. They could be put on trial in the US, since they were allegedly involved in the killing of US hostages – but there may be some in the Trump administration who would like to send them to Guantanamo Bay.
And it is not clear if this is – formally – an issue for the UK Government, as there are reports the pair may have had their UK citizenship stripped from them using powers available to the Home Office.
Mr Barnier’s comments potentially throw into doubt the UK’s plans for a smooth landing for business after the UK leaves the EU.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said firms need “about two years” with much the same trading rules as they have now to allow them to adjust.
And he had hoped to get a deal with the EU on it by March, so talks could then move on to the bigger issue of the UK’s future relationship with the remaining 27 EU nations.
But Mr Barnier, speaking after a week of technical discussions between civil servants on both sides, said that three “substantial” disagreements remained over the transition period.
The pound fell sharply against the dollar and the euro during Mr Barnier’s speech before recovering slightly to stand about 0.7% down on the day.
The main sticking points
The UK’s refusal to guarantee permanent rights to EU nationals who come to live and work in Britain during the transition period
The right of the UK to object to new EU rules and laws during the period
Whether the UK could continue to participate in new justice and home affairs policies during the transition period.
“To be frank, I am surprised by these disagreements. The positions of the EU are very logical, I think,” said Mr Barnier.
He said the UK must “accept the ineluctable consequences of its decision to leave the EU, to leave its institutions and its policies”.
“If these disagreements persist the transition is not a given.”
Barnier’s message to British negotiators
Image copyrightNUMBER 10
By OP’S NEWS
This was a politely delivered but pointed message to Britain: you can’t keep up your cake-and-eat-it approach of vowing to leave the single market and customs union while still wanting no checks at the Irish border.
And don’t bank on a transition period (which was supposed to be the easy bit to agree) as there’s still plenty we don’t see eye-to-eye on.
Theresa May has been keeping the government’s position deliberately vague as her ministers struggle to agree among themselves on exactly how they see Britain’s future ties with the EU.
But the bottom line from Brussels today? Time to talk straight and put flesh on the bones.
Labour blames ‘cabinet in-fighting’
Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the prime minister should should take immediate action to avoid a “cliff-edge” for business.
“Theresa May must end the infighting within her cabinet, drop her reckless redlines and accept Labour’s proposals for a transitional deal.
“That means seeking to remain in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during that period.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who wants a referendum on any final deal with the EU, said the government “has no plan, no strategy, and no idea”.
Courtesy row: Davis v Barnier
Mr Barnier hit back at comments by David Davis, who described a leaked EU document suggesting any dispute with the UK during the transition period could mean UK benefits, such as access to the single market, being suspended as “frankly discourteous”.
The EU negotiator said he had “not been in the least discourteous or vindictive” adding: “Quite simply we have to construct a withdrawal agreement which is legally sound and does not give rise to any uncertainty in anyone’s mind.”
Is a hard Irish border ‘inevitable’?
Media captionIreland’s Europe minister tells Today they need proposals from UK on Irish border post-Brexit
On the thorny issue of the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, Mr Barnier said there was agreement that a hard border must be avoided, but added: “It is important to tell the truth.
“A UK decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable.”
Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK will leave the single market and the customs union, although she has yet to spell out in detail what she wants instead.
She secured an agreement on withdrawal – including avoiding the return of a hard Irish border – in December.
But that has now got to be translated into a legal text before it can be ratified by the EU – and Mr Barnier said he wanted to get rid of any ambiguity on the Irish border question.
The withdrawal agreement includes a fall back position if the UK leaves without a deal, which proposes “full regulatory alignment” with the EU.
To some this sounds like staying in the single market and customs union – but other options, preferred by the UK, to avoid border checks are still on the table.
Mr Barnier said the UK has accepted the need to discus how to make “full regulatory alignment” work in practice, while the other options are discussed in parallel.
But he added: “Time is short – very short – and we haven’t a minute to lose if we want to succeed. And we do want to succeed in this orderly withdrawal.”
GETTY IMAGES
OP's News 