A barge carrying Timmy the humpback whale journeys to the North Sea.

#BERLIN — A barge carrying a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March has begun its journey toward the North Sea. It reached Danish waters on Wednesday, German authorities said.

Nicknamed Timmy by German media, the whale was spotted swimming near Germany’s Baltic Sea coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. The mammal’s health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters, and unsuccessful efforts to coax it toward deeper seas were livestreamed across the globe.

Rescuers on Tuesday pulled the whale to a flooded barge using straps and a channel previously dredged to create a passage to the vessel, the Germany press agency dpa reported.

The barge is now expected to go around the northern tip of Denmark via the strait of Skagerrak toward the North Sea.

“Something like this has never happened before in Germany, where a life-saving operation of this kind has been carried out,” Till Backhaus, minister for climate protection, agriculture, rural areas and the environment of the federal state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern, told a press conference. “And this was an experiment, and the experiment was a success, and that’s wonderful.”

The minister said the whale was resting peacefully and on Tuesday night it vocalized, which meant it was doing well.

The minister had given the green light for the latest attempt to save the whale, proposed by a private initiative, despite some warnings from the scientific community that it may be too much for the animal.

The debate about whether to let it die in peace or try to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean has gone on for weeks. Activists have staged protests on the beach in Wismar calling for its liberation, while others have supported new ideas about how the whale could be transported.

Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, told the The Associated Press earlier this month that efforts to save Timmy have caused the animal severe stress.

“I believe the whale will die very soon now. And I would also like to raise the question: What is actually so bad about that?” he said. “Yes, animals live, animals die. This animal is really, really very, very, very sick. And it has decided to seek rest.”

Some scientists believe the whale had searched especially for shallow waters because it was weak and needed rest. The veterinarians of the private initiative, however, consider the animal fit for transport.

#W5 investigation prompts proposed Criminal Code changes targeting rape videos. Conservative MP Burton Bailey has introduced a private member’s bill called Melanie’s Law, named for a woman featured in the W5 documentary Sleeping With the Enemy.

“Hearing their story, I felt compelled to bring justice for Melanie and do whatever I can to help heal their hurt,” Bailey told Parliament as he introduced the bill.

In the documentary, Melanie described seeing video of herself after she had been drugged and raped.

“It looked just like a dead body. I knew it was me, but I looked like a dead body because I was so lifeless,” she said in the W5 documentary.

For years, Melanie’s boyfriend had been secretly drugging and raping her, then selling and sharing videos of the crimes.

He is now behind bars. But W5’s investigation exposed a wider global network of predators and led to the arrests of two men, one in Switzerland and another in Hamilton, Ont.

Bryan Hayward, the Hamilton man arrested after the W5 investigation, is now facing more than 60 charges related to alleged crimes against more than a dozen women. None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.

Melania Trump and Queen Camilla play supporting roles during state visit

More than fashion: A pin worn by Venezuela's Rodríguez on state visits riles #Guyana.

The pin, which Rodríguez wore on her attire, is in the shape of Guyana’s resources-rich Essequibo region that makes up two-thirds of its territory that’s at the heart of a centuries-old territorial dispute with #Venezuela, which neighbors Guyana to west.

The pin has been increasingly worn by Venezuelan government officials, state television anchors, lawmakers and members of the ruling party following the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, in early January.

In a note to Terrance Drew, the prime minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and chairman of a Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said the pin asserts “Venezuela’s claim to Guyana’s territory.”

Rodríguez wore the pin when she visited Barbados on Monday, and previously, during a visit to Grenada earlier in April, her first overseas trip since she took over after Maduro’s seizure.

In his note, Ali said he fears Rodríguez’s use of the pin on official trips could be misinterpreted as her hosts’ “acquiescence or tolerance” of Venezuela’s territorial claims.

“Caricom’s principled support for Guyana must be reflected not only in declarations but in the context and conduct of official engagements,” he added, referring to the bloc.

Venezuela has long argued that an 1899 international boundaries commission cheated it out of the area during British colonial rule. The land dispute is currently before the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.

For her part, Rodriguez questioned the focus on her choice of official attire and said Tuesday the pin reflects “the only map of Venezuela that I’ve known in my life.” She reiterated Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo and expressed confidence that the international court would soon “ratify our historic stance.”

In his note, Ali also reminded the trade bloc that it has unequivocally supported Guyana’s claim to the region at key meetings and insisted Venezuela should not be allowed to display “symbols and maps” of Essequibo as it would only undermine the case before the international court.

Caricom issued a statement later Tuesday acknowledging Ali’s letter and saying that “platforms and engagements should not be used, whether directly or indirectly, to advance or appear to legitimize claims that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.”

The bloc expressed “longstanding and unequivocal support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana, and for the peaceful resolution of the controversy.”

Ali, Guyana’s president, also railed against the inclusion of Essequibo on official maps of Venezuela, calling it a ”calculated and provocative assertion of a claim” that Guyana has persistently rejected.

In recent years, Venezuela has sent gunboats to U.S.-run offshore oilfields licensed by Guyana, demanding that oil production there be halted, threats that the rigs have ignored.

In Caracas, government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Bert Wilkinson, The Associated Press

#Russian superyacht crosses blockaded Strait of #Hormuz, Nord - a 142-meter (465-foot) yacht worth over US$500 million - left a #Dubai marina at around 1400 GMT on Friday, crossed the strait on Saturday morning, and arrived in Muscat early on Sunday, according to data on the MarineTraffic platform.

It is not clear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel gained permission to use the route. Since February, Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strait, which typically handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

A representative of steel magnate Mordashov declined to comment on Monday.

Just a few, mainly merchant vessels, have been passing daily through the crucial ‌waterway at the entrance to the Gulf as Washington and Tehran maintain an uneasy ceasefire. This represents a fraction of the average 125 to 140 daily passages before the Iran war began on February 28.

In a countermeasure, the U.S. has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports.

Russia and Iran are longstanding allies and have become closer in recent years, including via a 2025 treaty that strengthened intelligence and security cooperation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin on Monday after discussions with mediators in Pakistan and Oman over the weekend.

Mordashov, known to be close to Putin, is not officially listed as the owner of Nord. But shipping data and Russian corporate records from 2025 show the vessel was registered to a Russian firm owned by his wife in 2022. This firm is registered in the Russian town of Cherepovets, where Mordashov’s steelmaker Severstal is also registered.

Mordashov was among a number of Russians sanctioned by the United States and European Union after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for their links to Putin.

One of the largest yachts in the world, Nord has 20 staterooms, a swimming pool, a helipad and a submarine, according to industry publisher Superyacht Times.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Gleb Stolyarov; Additional reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova and Jonathan Saul; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Ros Russell)

Man pleads guilty to plotting attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austrian media report

South #Korean court convicts wife of ousted President Yoon on further corruption charges. In January, ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to 20 months in prison in a district court for receiving gifts including a Graff #diamond necklace and a Chanel bag from the Unification #Church in return for promises of political favours. However, she was acquitted of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme before she became first lady.

Both parties appealed, and on Tuesday, the Seoul High Court raised her jail term to four years by convicting her of receiving another Chanel bag from the church and the price rigging charge.

The presidential couple suffered a dramatic fall from grace after Yoon’s martial law imposition in December 2024 led to his impeachment and eventual removal from office. Yoon faces a slew of criminal trials related to his martial law debacle and other scandals. Investigators say Kim was not involved in Yoon’s martial law enforcement.

The Seoul High Court said that a first lady, being closest to a president, represents the country together with her husband and has a big influence on him. It said Kim failed to meet public expectations for her integrity and rather exploited her high-profile status to get the gifts from the Unification Church.

Both Kim and an independent counsel have one week to appeal to the Supreme Court, the country’s top court. Independent counsel Min Joong-ki’s team earlier requested a 15-year term; Kim’s defence team has argued Min’s investigation was politically driven.

Kim has been in jail since last August when the Seoul district court approved a warrant to arrest her, citing the chance she might destroy evidence. When Yoon was in office, Kim was embroiled in a series of scandals that hurt her husband’s approval rating and provided relentless political ammunition to his rivals.

On Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon, a conservative, abruptly declared martial law and sent troops and police officers to the National Assembly, saying he aimed to eliminate “anti-state forces” and “shameless North Korea sympathizers.” He has defended his action, calling it a desperate attempt to draw public support for his fight against the liberal opposition Democratic Party which obstructed his agenda.

In February, the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the Assembly, arrest political opponents and establish unchecked power for an indefinite period.

#Robot dogs with #Musk and #Zuckerberg heads roam around Berlin #museum in Beeple's new exhibit

Taylor Swift files to #trademark her voice, likeness to ward off AI #deepfakes.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift filed trademark applications for two audio clips and one image of herself in what a trademark attorney said is an attempt to protect her voice and likeness from deepfake videos and audio created by artificial intelligence.

The applications were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday and list Swift’s TAS Rights Management as being the owner of the audio clips and image.

A spokesperson for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday, nor did lawyers who were listed on the filings.

In one of the audio clips, Swift is heard saying: “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift, and you can listen to my new album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ on demand on Amazon Music Unlimited.”

The second clip says: “Hey, it’s Taylor. My brand new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is out on October 3 and you can click to presave it so you can listen to it on Spotify.” SPOT.N

The image Swift is seeking to trademark is of her onstage in a sequined outfit, pink guitar in hand.

Swift’s image and voice have been used in countless AI-generated deepfakes - from false advertising to fake political endorsements to explicit images.

Actor Matthew McConaughey has had similar filings approved. He told the Wall Street Journal in January that “we want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who first publicized that Swift made the applications on his blog on Monday, wrote that they “are specifically designed to protect Taylor from threats posed by artificial intelligence.”

“While existing ‘Right of Publicity’ laws offer some protection against unauthorized use of a famous individual’s likeness, trademark filings can provide an additional layer of protection,” Gerben wrote.

Gerben added that registering a celebrity’s spoken voice is a new use of trademark registration that has not been tested in courts.

“Historically, singers relied on copyright law to protect their recorded music,” Gerben wrote. “But AI technologies now allow users to generate entirely new content that mimics an artist’s voice without copying an existing recording, creating a gap that trademarks may help fill.”

Gerben said the photo Swift is seeking to trademark serves a similar purpose.

“By protecting a distinctive visual, down to Swift’s commonly worn jumpsuit and pose, Swift’s team may gain additional grounds to pursue claims against manipulated or AI-generated images that evoke her likeness,” he wrote.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Donna Bryson and Bill Berkrot)

DR #Congo to set up paramilitary unit to secure mines. The Democratic Republic of Congo announced Monday it was setting up a paramilitary unit to secure mining sites in the country, which has abundant deposits of sought-after minerals.

The central African nation produces around 70 per cent of global cobalt output -- key for making electric batteries and in defence technology -- and holds some of the world’s richest deposits of copper, coltan and lithium.

Chinese mining firms have a dominant position in the country, though there are companies from the United States and elsewhere.

The General Inspectorate of Mines (#IGM), a government body that oversees and fights fraud in the mining sector, announced the creation of “the mining guard”.

It said in a statement it was a “paramilitary special unit intended to secure the entire mineral exploitation chain” in the DRC.

With funding of US$100 million, it said the plan was part of “strategic partnerships” with the United States and United Arab Emirates but gave no details on its sources of financing.

The DRC and Rwanda signed an agreement in December aimed at ending conflict in the eastern DRC, a region long mired in violence which has intensified with the emergence of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group.

The accord includes an economic component aimed at ensuring that American high-tech companies have a supply of strategic minerals.

The IGM said the mining guard would be responsible for securing mining sites and mineral transport.

“By the end of 2028, a gradual deployment is planned of a workforce of more than 20,000 guards covering the 22 mining provinces under IGM supervision,” the body said.

Recruits will undergo a six-month training program, with a first contingent deployed in December this year, it said.