Latest news with #SocialDemocraticParty
DW
2 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Germany updates: Social Democrats bid farewell to Scholz – DW – 06/28/2025
Olaf Scholz reflected on his years in government as the Social Democratic Party congress bids farewell to the former chancellor. He also warned against having any illusions about Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans.
Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Danish citizens to ‘own their own faces' to prevent deepfakes
Denmark plans to become the first country in the world to give its citizens copyright over their faces and voices in an effort to clamp down on 'deepfakes' — videos, audio clips and images that are digitally doctored to spread false information. In recent years the tools for making deepfakes, including artificial intelligence-assisted editing software, have become so sophisticated and ubiquitous that it takes not much more than a few clicks of a mouse to create them. They are already endemic in the political sphere and were deployed during recent election campaigns in Slovakia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Argentina. The former US president Joe Biden was subjected to an audio deepfake during the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire last year. In November an MP from the German Social Democratic party was reprimanded for posting a deepfake video of Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader and future chancellor, saying that his party 'despised' the electorate. The Danish culture ministry said it would soon no longer be possible to distinguish between real and deepfake material. That in turn would undermine trust in authentic pictures and videos, it warned. 'Since images and videos swiftly become embedded in people's subconscious, digitally manipulated versions of an image or video can establish fundamental doubts and perhaps even a completely wrong perception of genuine depictions of reality.' There is now broad cross-party support in Denmark's parliament for a reform to the copyright law that would make it illegal to share deepfakes. The bill includes a special protection for musicians and performing artists against digital imitations. 'We are now sending an unequivocal signal to all citizens that you have the right to your own body, your own voice and your own facial features,' said Jakob Engel-Schmidt, the culture minister. Lars Christian Lilleholt, the parliamentary leader of the Danish Liberal party, which is part of the ruling coalition, said AI tools had made it alarmingly easy to impersonate politicians and celebrities and to exploit their aura of credibility to propagate false claims. 'It is not just harmful to the individual who has their identity stolen,' he said. 'It is harmful to democracy as a whole when we cannot trust what we see.' The reform will include an exemption for parody and satire. This is a thorny area: several studies suggest a large proportion of political deepfakes are humorous or harmless rather than malicious. There are some experts who warn that concern about the phenomenon risks tipping over into a moral panic. In April last year Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Social Democratic prime minister, was targeted with an AI-generated deepfake that fell into this grey area. After her government announced that it was abolishing a Christian public holiday, the right-wing populist Danish People's Party released a video of a fake press conference where Frederiksen appeared to say she would scrap all the other religious holidays, including Easter and Christmas. The clip, which was presented as a dream sequence and clearly labelled as AI-manipulated content, prompted debate about the acceptable boundaries of the technology.
Arab Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab Times
Romania's new government sworn in
BUCHAREST, June 24, (Xinhua): Romania's new pro-European government, led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, was sworn in Monday evening before President Nicusor Dan, marking the end of a period of political instability and interim leadership. The new cabinet is backed by a broad ruling coalition comprising the Social Democratic Party (PSD), National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR). Earlier in the day, the coalition secured a strong parliamentary mandate with 301 votes in favor and only 9 against. Following the swearing-in ceremony, Bolojan outlined the government's core priorities: restoring public financial order, ensuring effective governance, and safeguarding citizens' rights. President Dan welcomed the formation of the new cabinet, emphasizing the urgent need for fiscal reform and expressing optimism about Romania's economic outlook. He cited the country's dynamic private sector and reiterated the national goal of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by the end of 2026 - a move he said could enhance foreign investment and reduce borrowing costs. Dan also underscored the importance of state reform and rebuilding public trust, urging both the coalition and minority representatives to act in the national interest. The newly formed government includes 16 ministers and five deputy prime ministers, one of whom is an independent tasked with overseeing state reform. Cabinet portfolios have been distributed proportionally among the coalition parties. With 311 seats in Romania's 464-member Parliament, the ruling coalition holds an outright majority. Earlier on Monday, party leaders signed a political agreement outlining a pro-Western agenda, a rotating premiership, and key policy objectives, including structural reforms and increased administrative transparency.
New York Post
19-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
German chancellor endorses Israel doing the world's ‘dirty work' with airstrikes on Iran
Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday endorsed Israel's airstrikes on Iran, saying it was doing essential work for Germany and others. 'This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us,' Merz told the ZDF broadcaster during an interview on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada. The phrasing came in response to a question from an interviewer who had used the term. 'We are also affected by this regime. This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world,' Merz added. Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, lauded Merz's remarks. 5 'This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us' said Merz during an interview. 'Chancellor Friedrich Merz clearly described the realities in the Middle East with his choice of words,' Prosor told German news agency DPA. He added that Iran's nuclear ambitions may be directed at Israel, 'but they threaten the security of the entire world. 'The missiles currently hitting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem also threaten Berlin, Paris and London,' Prosor said. The supply chain of terror must be interrupted.' 5 Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, lauded Merz's remarks. via REUTERS 5 Prosor claims 'The missiles currently hitting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem also threaten Berlin, Paris and London.' via REUTERS Prosor noted that Iranian arms shipments and Houthi attacks on international shipping had decreased recently, showing that pressure is working. 'This is a litmus test for whether Europeans are willing to stand up for their values and interests independently.' In the interview, Merz said he had 'the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army had the courage to do this, that the Israeli leadership had the courage to do this.' In the German political establishment, Merz's remark prompted some rebuke by opposition leaders and members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the left-center coalition partner of his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. 5 Merz has 'the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army had the courage to do this, that the Israeli leadership had the courage to do this.' Iranian Red Crescent/AFP via Getty Images 5 In the German political establishment, Merz's remark prompted some rebuke by opposition leaders and members of the Social Democratic Party. via REUTERS 'When people are killed, Merz calls it dirty work. In doing so, he mocks the victims of war and violence,' Jan van Aken, leader of the Left Party, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday. But within the CDU, senior party members defended Merz. 'What the chancellor expressed with his words was that it cannot be in the interest of all of us for a terrorist regime like the Iranian mullah regime to possess nuclear weapons,' one senior CDU official, Thorsten Frei, told the same newspaper. Frei added that the threat isn't limited to the Middle East. 'Iran's missile technology is such that medium-range missiles can reach very long-range targets—even in Europe. That's why we can't pretend that none of this concerns us.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's Pistorius again rejects his party's Russia policy demands
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Thursday again rejected demands from his centre-left colleagues for a reversal in the government's Russia policy, citing ongoing Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine. "How anyone can even imagine closer cooperation with Russia at this stage is completely baffling," Pistorius, one of the leading figures in Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), told public broadcaster ZDF. His comments come after prominent SPD figures issued a position paper calling for a shift in Germany's approach to Russia. The manifesto, signed by former parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, ex-party chief Norbert Walter-Borjans, foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner, and several federal and state lawmakers, urges direct diplomatic talks with Moscow and criticizes the government's rearmament plans. The SPD is the current junior partner in the coalition government. Speaking from Kiev on Thursday, Pistorius responded by referring to former SPD chancellor Willy Brandt. He said Brandt supported strong defence spending because he knew that "negotiations with the Soviet side could only take place from a position of strength." Germany is the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine behind the United States.
