LONDON: European Union negotiators clinched a deal Friday on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of technology used in popular generative AI services like ChatGPT that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member countries overcame big differences on controversial points including generative AI and police use of facial recognition surveillance to sign a tentative political agreement for the Artificial Intelligence Act.
“Deal!” tweeted European Commissioner Thierry Breton, just before midnight. “The EU becomes the very first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI.”
The result came after marathon closed-door talks this week, with the initial session lasting 22 hours before a second round kicked off Friday morning.
Officials were under the gun to secure a political victory for the flagship legislation but were expected to leave the door open to further talks to work out the fine print, likely to bring more backroom lobbying.
The EU took an early lead in the global race to draw up AI guardrails when it unveiled the first draft of its rulebook in 2021. The recent boom in generative AI, however, sent European officials scrambling to update a proposal poised to serve as a blueprint for the world.
The European Parliament will still need to vote on it early next year, but with the deal done that’s a formality, Brando Benifei, an Italian lawmaker co-leading the body’s negotiating efforts, told The Associated Press late Friday.
“It’s very very good,” he said by text message after being asked if it included everything he wanted. “Obviously we had to accept some compromises but overall very good.” The eventual law wouldn’t fully take effect until 2025 at the earliest, and threatens stiff financial penalties for violations of up to 35 million euros ($38 million) or 7 percent of a company’s global turnover.
Generative AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have exploded into the world’s consciousness, dazzling users with the ability to produce human-like text, photos and songs but raising fears about the risks the rapidly developing technology poses to jobs, privacy and copyright protection and even human life itself.
Now, the US, UK, China and global coalitions like the Group of 7 major democracies have jumped in with their own proposals to regulate AI, though they’re still catching up to Europe.
Strong and comprehensive regulation from the EU “can set a powerful example for many governments considering regulation,” said Anu Bradford, a Columbia Law School professor who’s an expert on EU and digital regulation. Other countries “may not copy every provision but will likely emulate many aspects of it.”
AI companies who will have to obey the EU’s rules will also likely extend some of those obligations to markets outside the continent, she said. “After all, it is not efficient to re-train separate models for different markets,” she said.
Others are worried that the agreement was rushed through.
“Today’s political deal marks the beginning of important and necessary technical work on crucial details of the AI Act, which are still missing,” said Daniel Friedlaender, head of the European office of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech industry lobby group.
The AI Act was originally designed to mitigate the dangers from specific AI functions based on their level of risk, from low to unacceptable. But lawmakers pushed to expand it to foundation models, the advanced systems that underpin general purpose AI services like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard chatbot.
Foundation models looked set to be one of the biggest sticking points for Europe. However, negotiators managed to reach a tentative compromise early in the talks, despite opposition led by France, which called instead for self-regulation to help homegrown European generative AI companies competing with big USrivals including OpenAI’s backer Microsoft.
Also known as large language models, these systems are trained on vast troves of written works and images scraped off the Internet. They give generative AI systems the ability to create something new, unlike traditional AI, which processes data and completes tasks using predetermined rules.
Under the deal, the most advanced foundation models that pose the biggest “systemic risks” will get extra scrutiny, including requirements to disclose more information such as how much computing power was used to train the systems.
Researchers have warned that these powerful foundation models, built by a handful of big tech companies, could be used to supercharge online disinformation and manipulation, cyberattacks or creation of bioweapons.
Rights groups also caution that the lack of transparency about data used to train the models poses risks to daily life because they act as basic structures for software developers building AI-powered services.
What became the thorniest topic was AI-powered facial recognition surveillance systems, and negotiators found a compromise after intensive bargaining.
European lawmakers wanted a full ban on public use of facial scanning and other “remote biometric identification” systems because of privacy concerns while governments of member countries wanted exemptions so law enforcement could use them to tackle serious crimes like child sexual exploitation or terrorist attacks.
Civil society groups were more skeptical.
“Whatever the victories may have been in these final negotiations, the fact remains that huge flaws will remain in this final text,” said Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at the digital rights group Access Now. Along with the law enforcement exemptions, he also cited a lack of protection for AI systems used in migration and border control, and “big gaps in the bans on the most dangerous AI systems”
EU reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules
https://arab.news/5qvgh
EU reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules

- Under the deal, the most advanced foundation models that pose the biggest “systemic risks” will get extra scrutiny
- Researchers have warned that these powerful foundation models could be used to supercharge online disinformation and manipulation, cyberattacks or creation of bioweapons
Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says

- Trump said in May he would extend the June 19 deadline after the app helped him with young voters in the 2024 election
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will extend a June 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of short video app TikTok for 90 days despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown absent significant progress, the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump had already twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban on TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January. “President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
That would extend the deadline to mid-September.
“President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” she added, saying the administration will spend the next three months making sure the sale closes so that Americans can keep using TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.
Trump said in May he would extend the June 19 deadline after the app helped him with young voters in the 2024 election.
Earlier on Tuesday, he had told reporters on Air Force One he expected to again extend the deadline.
“Probably, yeah,” Trump said when asked about extending the deadline. “Probably have to get China approval but I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”
The law required TikTok to stop operating by January 19 unless ByteDance had completed divesting the app’s US assets or demonstrated significant progress toward a sale.
Trump began his second term as president on January 20 and opted not to enforce it. He first extended the deadline to early April, and then again last month to June 19.
In March, Trump said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the short video app used by 170 million Americans.
A deal had been in the works this spring that would spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new US-based firm and majority-owned and operated by US investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump’s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Democratic senators argue that Trump has no legal authority to extend the deadline, and suggest that the deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements.
Saudi’s Manga Productions, Japan’s KOEI TECMO announce new gaming partnership

- Manga Productions licensed for Nioh 3 in Mideast, North Africa
- Full Arabic support for region’s gamers, says CEO Essam Bukhary
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions has announced a partnership with Japan’s KOEI TECMO as the publisher of the highly anticipated action game Nioh 3 in the Middle East and North Africa region.
According to a recent Saudi Press Agency report, the game is scheduled for release in early 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Steam.
Nioh 3 is the latest installment in the popular RPG series known for its mysterious samurai setting, earning widespread acclaim for its unique blend of Japanese mythology and intense combat.
The series has achieved global success, selling over 8 million copies worldwide. This new installment features an open-world environment and innovative combat system that allows players to switch between “samurai” and “ninja” fighting styles during battles.
As a part of this collaboration, Manga Productions will handle its Arabic translation, marketing and publishing for the Middle East and North Africa region.
Manga Productions, which is a subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, will engage Saudi creators in the localization process to ensure a culturally relevant experience for Arabic-speaking gamers.
Dr. Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, stated: “The launch of Nioh 3 with full Arabic support for gamers in the region is an additional step towards delivering world-class experiences while empowering Saudi talent at every stage of development.”
He added: “The trust we have earned from our global partners reflects Manga Productions’ capabilities in publishing, distribution, and marketing, as well as our continued success in professionally delivering high-quality content to audiences in the region while respecting local culture.”
Hisashi Koinuma, president and chief operating officer of KOEI TECMO, said the success of DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS has further strengthened the partnership with Manga Productions to bring Nioh 3 to Arabic-speaking gamers.
Abdulaziz Al-Naghmoush, head of business development and content licensing at Manga Productions, welcomed the pact.
“Following our collaboration on DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, which was well-received for delivering a uniquely localized Arabic experience, we are now taking a new step with Nioh 3.”
He said the offering would be a “seamless, localized experience that makes players feel as if it was made especially for them from day one.”
WhatsApp to start showing ads to users in parts of the messaging app

- WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they’re located, the language they’re using, the channels they’re following in the app, and how they’re interacting with the ads they see
WhatsApp said Monday that users will start seeing ads in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people that use the messaging service.
Advertisements will be shown only in the app’s Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they won’t appear where personal chats are located, developers said.
“The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn’t changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.
It’s a big change for the company, whose founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009.
Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they’re located, the language they’re using, the channels they’re following in the app, and how they’re interacting with the ads they see.
WhatsApp said it won’t use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user.
It’s one of three advertising features that WhatsApp unveiled on Monday as it tries to monetize the app’s user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions so they can get exclusive updates. And business owners will be able to pay to promote their channel’s visibility to new users.
Most of Meta’s revenue comes from ads. In 2025, the Menlo Park, California-based company’s revenue totaled $164.5 billion and $160.6 billion of it came from advertising.
Israel strikes Iran’s state broadcaster building

- Online footage online shows IRIB’s Glass Building engulfed in flames after the attack
LONDON: Israel has launched an airstrike on the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, in central Tehran, according to numerous videos circulating on social media on Monday.
Footage shared online appeared to show the Glass Building of the IRIB engulfed in flames after the strike.
One widely circulated clip shows the moment a missile hit the facility during a live broadcast — the presenter, Sahar Emami, is seen on-air before a loud explosion interrupts the feed.
Smoke and debris fill the room as the presenter takes cover and a man is heard shouting. Iran’s state-run media confirmed the attack, directly attributing it to Israel.
Israel has attacked the building of the state radio and TV broadcaster IRIB in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/QHlrPatHVe
— nofmgeopolitics (@nofmgeopolitics) June 16, 2025
According to the first reports, there were several casualties although the exact number has not officially been released.
Videos posted online show significant damage to the building, which appeared to be on fire.
London-based news channel Iran International, reported that IRIB resumed broadcasting from another studio after the attack, with Emami joining the Khabar Network’s live broadcast.
The strike came shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Monday that Iran’s state media outlets would soon be targeted.
The famous Glass Building of Iran's state broadcaster is on fire following the Israeli airstrikes, a report by the state TV shows.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) June 16, 2025
The broadcasting has resumed from another studio. pic.twitter.com/GC2sJhv1Rl
“The Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear,” he said in a statement earlier on Monday, adding that nearby residents had been urged to evacuate.
“In the coming hours, the (Israeli military) will operate in the area, as it has in recent days throughout Tehran, to strike military infrastructure of the Iranian regime,” the military said in a post in Persian on X.
The strike hit an upmarket district of Tehran, home to several diplomatic and international offices, including the embassies of Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, as well as UN buildings and the Agence France-Presse bureau.
The area also contains major medical facilities and a large police headquarters, raising concerns over the broader impact of the strike.
Ex-Syrian commander claims Assad ordered execution of missing US journalist Tice: BBC

- Maj. Gen. Bassam al-Hassan said to have tried to dissuade former Syrian president but ultimately relayed order
- BBC claims US officials met Hassan in Beirut at least three times, are investigating the uncorroborated account
LONDON: A former Syrian commander who allegedly oversaw the detention of missing American journalist Austin Tice claims that ex-President Bashar Assad personally ordered Tice’s execution, according to a BBC investigation released over the weekend.
The report centers on Maj. Gen. Bassam al-Hassan, a former commander in the elite Republican Guard and one of Assad’s most trusted advisers. According to the BBC, Hassan spoke to FBI and CIA officials about Tice’s fate during at least three meetings in Lebanon, one of which reportedly took place inside the US embassy compound.
Hassan, who also served as chief of staff of the National Defense Forces — a pro-regime paramilitary group previously linked by the BBC to Tice’s abduction — allegedly oversaw the facility where the journalist was held. Sources close to Hassan said that in 2013, following Tice’s brief escape attempt, he was instructed to execute him.
According to the sources, Hassan initially sought to dissuade Assad but ultimately relayed the order, which was then carried out. The detail of Tice’s escape attempt aligns with prior reports, including a Reuters investigation citing witnesses who recalled seeing “an American man, dressed in ragged clothing” attempting to escape through the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighborhood — believed to be Tice’s final sighting.
Tice disappeared in August 2012 while reporting on Syria’s civil war in the Damascus suburbs, just days after his 31st birthday. A former US Marine captain who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Tice was working as a freelance journalist while studying for a law degree at Georgetown University. He was abducted while preparing to leave the country to go to Lebanon.
For years, the Assad regime has denied any knowledge of Tice’s whereabouts or involvement in his disappearance. However, the BBC previously reported that classified documents obtained during its investigation supported long-standing suspicions by US authorities that Damascus was directly involved. The latest investigation suggests that Tice was held in the notorious Tahouneh prison, a regime-controlled facility in Damascus. Hassan is also said to have provided the US officials with possible locations for Tice’s remains, though efforts to verify his claims are ongoing.
“There is not anything, at least at this time, to corroborate what (Hassan) is saying,” a source familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post. “The flip side of it is, with his role in the regime, it’s hard to understand why he would want to lie about something like that.”
Despite the recent developments, skepticism persists. Western intelligence officials expressed doubt that Assad would have issued a direct kill order, noting that the Syrian president typically relies on intermediaries to insulate himself from such decisions.
Speaking to the BBC during a recent trip to Lebanon, Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, said she believed Hassan may have told US officials “a story they wanted to hear” to help close the case.
“I am his mother. I still believe that my son is alive and that he will walk free,” she said.
A former NDF member also told the BBC that Tice was viewed as a valuable bargaining chip for possible negotiations with Washington.
According to the report, Hassan fled to Iran following the collapse of the Syrian regime in December. He was later contacted by phone and invited to Lebanon to meet US officials, who assured him he would not be detained.
The BBC revelations come on the heels of an interview published by The Economist with Safwan Bahloul, a three-star general who previously served in Syria’s external intelligence agency and was tasked with interrogating Tice.
Bahloul, who speaks fluent English and has lived in Britain, said Hassan assigned him to question Tice and handed him the American’s iPhone. His mission was to determine whether Tice was “merely a journalist” or “an American spy.”
Bahloul also said Hassan orchestrated the recording of a video, released on YouTube in September 2012, that showed Tice blindfolded and surrounded by armed men. US intelligence later concluded that the video had been staged by the regime to suggest that Tice was being held by Islamic militants.