Light News (LN)

  The lawsuit follows Colorado's string of Supreme Court defeats in culture war cases over speech and religious freedoms The Department of Justice joined forces with  Elon Musk  on Friday by backing a lawsuit his xAI company brought against Colorado alleging a state law regulating artificial intelligence developers was a masked effort to force them to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion on their platforms. DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said DOJ's intervention was the department's first constitutional challenge in an AI case.  Colorado faces allegations from the DOJ and xAI that its state law, set to take effect in June, violates the First and 14th amendments by forcing AI developers to inadvertently discriminate, an allegation familiar to Colorado, which has faced a  string of legal losses  in other high-profile culture war cases in recent years.  "We join @xai's landmark suit, and stand against woke DEI standards being imposed by Co...

  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday said he was "not worried" after a report suggested the US is considering expelling Spain from   NATO   for failing to support American operations in the   war with Iran . According to a US official cited by Reuters news agency, an internal Pentagon email outlines possible measures targeting   NATO allies perceived as uncooperative . Among the options are suspending   Spain   from NATO and a review of the US stance on Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands, the official said. Spain — along with Italy and France — did not allow US aircraft to use its bases or airspace to attack Iran.  Sanchez   was also one of the few European leaders to criticize the US-Israeli attack on Tehran that sparked the war, condemning it as a breach of international law. "We do not work off emails. We work off official documents and government positions, in this case of the United ​States," Sanchez told ...

  Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives in Islamabad, but Tehran yet to commit to more talks with US delegation. United States President Donald Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan as Iran’s foreign minister arrived in the country, raising hopes of new talks on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran amid a fragile ceasefire and growing tensions over control of the  Hormuz Strait . White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday that US envoys would sit down with Abbas Araghchi, expressing hope that parties would “move the ball forward to a deal”, but it remained unclear whether the Iranian delegation had agreed to hold talks. Writing on X on Friday, Iran’s top diplomat had said he was off on a “timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow”, to coordinate on “bilateral matters”, with no specific mention of any intention to meet with US negotiators. Trump expressed optimism over a potential deal, telling the news agency Reuters tha...

  Hamas says the Israeli escalation represents the failure of the international community to uphold the truce in Gaza. Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinians in attacks  throughout Gaza , medical sources in the enclave tell Al Jazeera, as Israel continues its daily violations of the ceasefire struck last year. An Israeli attack on a police vehicle on Friday killed at least eight people, including three civilian bystanders, in Khan Younis. A separate attack in Gaza City also killed two police officers. Two other people were killed in the bombing of a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. Gaza’s Ministry of Interior called on the international community on Friday to intervene and end the Israeli targeting of local police forces working to restore security in civilian areas. It said the attack in Khan Younis came after security forces intervened to break up a fight in the area. “The continued silence of international organisations … regarding the targeting of civilian police...

  Israeli forces killed six Hezbollah fighters in an exchange of fire in the area of Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon. Israel has continued its attacks on southern Lebanon, hours after ceasefire between the two countries was  extended for a further three weeks . The Israeli military on Friday said it had “eliminated” six Hezbollah fighters in an exchange of fire in the area of Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry also reported that two people were killed in an Israeli air strike in the southern area of Touline. The attacks mark the latest violations of a ceasefire that  began on April 16  after weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group. Israeli forces also remain stationed in southern Lebanon, after establishing a so-called “ yellow line ” in the region, similar to an Israeli military measure in the besieged Gaza Strip. The casualty toll since the current round of fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah bro...

  The UK has accused Tehran of using criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil targeting opposition media outlets and the Jewish community. Four men charged with an arson attack on London ambulances owned by a Jewish charity appeared in a UK court for the first time on Friday, when the judge set a trial date. The 23 March attack in Golders Green, north London, destroyed four vehicles parked near a synagogue and has been followed by a spate of similar incidents, mainly targeting venues in the capital linked to Israel or Jewish people. London police have arrested 25 people over the attacks and said they are investigating whether those involved were paid proxies. The young men who appeared in central London's Old Bailey court have been charged over the attack on the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola. The group was established in 1979 and is operated by volunteers. It provides free medical transportation and emergency response to those living in north London. Two of...