Tag: case

US court absolves top tech companies in Congo’s child labor case

LONDON — A U.S. court has absolved five of America’s biggest tech companies in a case over their alleged support of child labor in cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday

The five tech giants — Apple; Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google; Dell; Microsoft; and Tesla — were accused of “knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children in the Democratic Republic of Congo to mine cobalt” in case documents seen by ABC News.

However, in a 3-0 decision on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia held that the tech companies could not be held liable, with the court decision stating they did not have anything more than an “ordinary buyer-seller transaction” with suppliers in the DRC.

“Many actors in addition to the cobalt suppliers perpetuate labor trafficking, including labor brokers, other consumers of cobalt, and even the DRC government,” the decision read. “Issuing an injunction to the Tech Companies to ‘stop the cobalt venture from using forced child labor’ would not bind the direct perpetrators of the unlawful labor, who are not before this court.”

The case was brought by 16 plaintiffs in December 2022, including four former miners and legal representatives of child miners who lost their lives and suffered major injuries in cobalt mining operations in the DRC.

The defendants were accused of “knowingly benefitting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children in the DRC to mine cobalt,” and the case claims that the defendants “know and have known for a significant period of time” about the human rights violations in the DRC’s cobalt mining supply chain.

PHOTO: In this stock photo an aerial view of Artisanal Gold Miner, near Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of the Congo is seen.

In this stock photo an aerial view of Artisanal Gold Miner, near Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of the

Stephen Roche’s appeal over case related to cycling business partially upheld

Irish cycling hero Stephen Roche’s appeal against a damning court ruling following the collapse of his Spanish firm has been partially upheld.

The 1987 Tour de France winner was ordered to repay nearly €750,000 in April 2022 after a judge blasted him for “knowingly and negligently” bankrupting his Majorca-based cycling tourism business by plundering it to finance a luxury lifestyle.

On Wednesday, it emerged the 64-year-old Dundrum, Co Dublin-born dad-of-four had failed to convince appeal judges the earlier court decision to find him at fault for Shamrock Events SL going bust was not the correct one.

They confirmed the insolvency was rightfully declared “culpable” and not “fortuitous”.

But in a partial win for the former professional road racer, the three Palma-based judges ruled he should repay the cash he took out of his firm for only the two years prior to it going into administration in April 2019.

Mr Roche’s lawyers had claimed nearly €350,000 of the six-figure sum he had initially been told to hand over following the April 2022 judgement should be excluded from the repayment order because it related to pre-April 2017 “asset stripping”.

The final figure the ex-cyclist will have to repay has yet to be calculated but is now expected to be around €380,000 instead of the previous €733,866.

Mr Roche also got his seven-year company director ban reduced to two on appeal.

Document

The appeal judges ruled in a 33-page document they had found no evidence to support the former cyclist’s claims he had done anything to justify his expenditure of cash he took out of his bankrupted company.

They confirmed: “In this case the insolvency has been declared culpable because of the absence of accounts, the breach of duty in asking for the company to be placed in administration and the asset-stripping that

Donald Trump must pay US$354.9M in civil case

NEW YORK –


Donald Trump must pay US$354.9 million in penalties for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders, a New York judge ruled on Friday, handing the former U.S. president another legal setback in a civil case that imperils his real estate empire.


Justice Arthur Engoron, in a sharply worded decision issued after a contentious three-month trial in Manhattan, also banned Trump, who is running to regain the presidency this year, from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba vowed to appeal.


Engoron cancelled his prior ruling from September ordering the “dissolution” of companies that control pillars of Trump’s real estate empire, saying on Friday that this was no longer necessary because he is appointing an independent monitor and compliance director to oversee Trump’s businesses.


Trump and the other defendants in the case, Engoron wrote in the ruling, “are incapable of admitting the error of their ways.”


“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,” Engoron wrote. “Instead, they adopt a ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ posture that the evidence belies.”


The lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his family businesses of overstating his net worth by as much $3.6 billion a year over a decade to fool bankers into giving him better loan terms. Trump, who faces criminal charges in four other cases, has called the lawsuit a political vendetta by James, a Democrat.


In posts on his social media platform, Trump called Engoron “crooked,” James “corrupt,” and the case against him “ELECTION INTERFERENCE” and a “WITCH HUNT.”


“This ‘decision’ is a Complete and Total SHAM,” Trump wrote.


“We cannot let injustice stand.”


Engoron,

Google loses monopoly case to Fortnite maker Epic Games

By Suranjana TewariBBC News

Getty Images A man plays Fortnite game on smartphoneGetty Images
Hundreds of millions of people access gaming apps through Google’s Play Store

The maker of popular video game Fortnite has won a US court battle against Google, with a jury deciding that the search giant had operated an illegal monopoly.

Epic Games sued Google in 2020, accusing it of unlawfully making its app store dominant over rivals.

Hundreds of millions of people use the store to install apps for smartphones powered by Google’s Android software.

Google said it would challenge the outcome.

However Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney welcomed the verdict.

“Victory over Google! After four weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts,” Mr Sweeney wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He said the court would start considering the issue of compensation in January.

The lawyers for the two companies made their final arguments on Monday in a trial that lasted more than a month.

Jurors unanimously found in favour of Epic on all counts.

Despite the legal defeat, Google is continuing to defend its business model.

“Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform,” Wilson White, vice-president of government affairs and public policy at Google, said.

“The trial made clear that we compete fiercely with Apple and its App Store, as well as app stores on Android devices and gaming consoles,” he added.

“We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem.”

The case also challenged transaction fees of up to 30% that Google imposes on Android app developers, and how the tech giant ties together its Play Store and billing service, which means developers must use both

Iranian press review: Tea business brews record-breaking $3.37bn corruption case

Corruption case sets new record in Iran

A scandal involving the importation of tea and machinery for the tea industry has established a new monetary record for a corruption case in Iran.

Local media reports indicated that over $3.37bn had been siphoned from the subsidised foreign currency provided by the government to the Debsh Tea company.

In Iran, the government offers subsidised foreign currency to import medicines and essential goods, but only well-connected individuals can access these resources.

This case once again spotlighted the systematic corruption pervading the economy amid the government’s new initiatives to raise taxes and restrict resources available for social support to vulnerable sectors of society.

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“If this substantial sum of money were circulating in the economy, many families dependent on government assistance could better organise their lives,” said the Arman Meli daily on Tuesday.

While the government denies any involvement in the scandal, reformist outlets and politicians suggest that such enormous corruption could not have occurred without the participation of some officials.

Abbas Abdi, a prominent political figure, accused the government of being responsible, saying, “It is not believable that this has happened without high-ranking people in power being aware of it.”

Opposition figures also expressed their rage, demanding that the judicial system bring the perpetrators to justice.

“The existence of an organised corruption system is evident in this case,”  Khabar Online quoted lawmaker Ahmad Alireza Beigi from the city of Tabriz. 

“Wherever there is favouritism and lack of control, corruption will happen, regardless of which government is in power.”

Rise in stillbirths due to air pollution

Environmental experts have warned about an increase in stillbirths in the capital, Tehran, and other major Iranian cities due to

Demand for sustainable buildings and tightening regulations drive business case for investment

JLL research analyzes three key factors owners and occupiers must consider in decision-making  

CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The current economic environment is creating challenges for investors and occupiers to make the case for investing in retrofitting and futureproofing their real estate. JLL’s new The Commercial Case for Making Buildings More Sustainable report outlines three key factors that should be prioritized in occupiers’ and owners’ decision-making to create a more resilient and sustainable built environment.

Rising demand for sustainable buildings
In many global markets, rising corporate demand for buildings with sustainability credentials will have an impact on office market dynamics. Across 20 major office markets, including New York, Paris and Singapore, only 34% of future demand for low-carbon workspace will be met in the next several years. In other words, for every 3 square meters of demand, only 1 square meter is in the current pipeline.

The way occupiers think of sustainable buildings is also changing. Historically, green certifications have been the primary mark of sustainable buildings and tenants have been willing to pay the price. Transaction evidence from 2023 shows healthy rental premiums are still being achieved for certified buildings across a range of global office markets – but the industry is shifting.

Tenants will increasingly seek environmental performance indicators, such as energy intensity and electrification, on top of green credentials. JLL is already seeing evidence of this in advanced European markets, like London and Paris, where low-carbon prime office spaces are reaching historic rental highs this year, even with an overall slowdown in the sector.

“Despite the current headwinds from today’s global economic environment, the business case for making investment into decarbonizing and resilience across real estate portfolios is getting even stronger,” says Guy Grainger, Global Head of Sustainability Services and ESG. “Taking

Ripple hopes judge ruling in SEC case will lead to US banks using XRP

In this photo illustration, a visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency Ripple is displayed on January 30, 2018 in Paris, France. 

Chesnot | Getty Images

Blockchain startup Ripple is confident U.S. banks and other financial institutions in the country will start showing interest in adopting XRP in cross-border payments after a landmark ruling determined the token was not, in itself, necessarily a security.

The San Francisco-based firm expects to start talks with American financial firms about using its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product, which uses XRP for money transfers, in the third quarter, Stu Alderoty, Ripple’s general counsel, told CNBC in an interview last week.

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Last week, a New York judge delivered a watershed ruling for Ripple determining that XRP, a cryptocurrency Ripple is closely associated with, in itself was “not necessarily a security on its face,” contesting, in part, claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the company.

Ripple has been fighting the SEC for the past three years over allegations from the agency that Ripple and two of its executives conducted an illegal offering of $1.3 billion worth via sales of XRP. Ripple disputed the claims, insisting XRP cannot be considered a security and is more akin to a commodity.

Ripple’s business suffered as a result, with the company losing at least one customer and investor. MoneyGram, the U.S. money transfer giant, ditched its partnership with Ripple in March 2021.

Meanwhile, Tetragon, a U.K.-based investor that previously backed Ripple, sold its stake back to Ripple after unsuccessfully trying to sue the company to redeem its cash.

Asked whether the ruling meant that American banks would return to Ripple to use its ODL product, Alderoty said: “I think the answer to that is yes.”

Ripple also uses blockchain in its business to send messages between

Holiday travel turmoil – the case for parametric insurance

“Not only is it incredibly disruptive for the airlines and global air infrastructure, it’s also a nightmare for consumers because they’re not where they want to be,” said Carl Carter (pictured), chief commercial officer for Blink Parametric, an Ireland-based tech firm providing parametric services to travel insurers worldwide.

“It’s very emotional. They’re travelling to see friends and family are peak time. People have spent a lot of money to travel. On top of that, if they’re stranded somewhere, then they have additional costs,” Carter said.

“Beyond the period of disruption, there is also a global knock-on effect because those planes are meant to be somewhere else, which impacts schedules around the world.”

Blink Parametric said it has served 60,000 US and Canadian travellers during the recent travel peak period. The firm, one of Insurance Business’ 5-star insurance technology providers in 2022, enables a pre-defined amount of coverage with automatic payout across its travel, luggage, and cyber products.

Is parametric insurance a gamechanger for travel?

The spike in travel and luggage delay claims during the peak period has the potential to cause immense overhead and operation burdens in claims processing for traditional insurance companies. The surge could inundate already-swamped staff who also need to manage other high-value claims in the business.

“Add to that the disruption to your call centres, which get incredibly busy – wait times add up, customer frustration and upset mount,” said Carter, who is familiar with these overwhelm scenarios having worked with a global travel insurance claims and emergency