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UN launches rescue operation after eight die off Djibouti coast; 22 missing
UN launches rescue operation after eight die off Djibouti coast; 22 missing

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

UN launches rescue operation after eight die off Djibouti coast; 22 missing

Eight refugees and migrants have died and 22 others are missing after they were forced off a boat near the Djibouti coast, according to the United Nations agency the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In a statement, IOM said the dead and missing were part of a group of 150 others who were forced by smugglers to get off a boat and swim to shore last week on June 5. The surviving refugees and migrants were reportedly found in the desert by IOM patrol teams and taken to a response centre. The IOM and Djibouti authorities are continuing with a search-and-rescue operation to find the missing. 'Every life lost at sea is a tragedy that should never happen,' said Frantz Celestin, IOM Regional Director for the East, Horn and Southern Africa. Celestin added that those on the boat were 'forced into impossible choices by smugglers who show no regard for human life'. Thousands of refugees and migrants from African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, fleeing conflict, persecution, or seeking a better life in Europe, attempt perilous crossings by sea every year. Smugglers prey upon them, packing often flimsy vessels full of desperate passengers, risking their lives to reach Europe. Most of the vessels get people across the Red Sea to Gulf countries before many try and travel on to European nations. Yemen is a key route for those from East Africa and the Horn of Africa who are trying to reach Gulf countries to work. Hundreds of thousands attempt the journey each year.

Scandalous tech entrepreneur beats Taylor Swift to become youngest self-made female billionaire
Scandalous tech entrepreneur beats Taylor Swift to become youngest self-made female billionaire

Daily Mail​

time22-04-2025

  • Business
  • Daily Mail​

Scandalous tech entrepreneur beats Taylor Swift to become youngest self-made female billionaire

AI entrepreneur Lucy Guo, 30, has beaten Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made female billionaire as she battles a shocking child pornography lawsuit against her company. Guo co-founded Scale AI, a company that provides data to train artificial intelligence, with Alexander Wang in 2016, when the now-billionaires were just 21 and 19, respectively. Although Guo left the company in 2018 after she was reportedly fired over a 'difference of opinion,' she still owns an estimated 5 percent stake in the company. Scale AI is now reportedly wrapping up an offer to allow early employees and investors to sell their shares, according to Forbes. The new deal has skyrocketed Guo's net worth from the deal alone to $1.2 billion. Accounting for her other assets, including her stake in her new company, Passes, Forbes estimates the entrepreneur's total net worth to be $1.25 billion. Guo's freshly minted billionaire status comes as another company of hers, Passes, was recently put under a microscope for allegedly allowing the production, possession, sale, and distribution of child pornography. Guo and Passes have adamantly denied these claims. Passes is a subscription-based start-up that allows its more than 100,000 creators to profit from their work, taking home 90 percent of their earnings. Alice Rosenblum, a woman who claims she used Passes, filed a class action lawsuit against the company in February in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that Guo waived safety controls on her account and allowed her to sell explicit content, knowing she was only 17 years old. Swift became the youngest female self-made billionaire in 2023 due to her massive Eras Tour and the revenue she made from her music Rosenblum claimed that she was recruited by someone she alleged was an agent of the company, Alec Celestin, to 'create images and videos of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct.' Passes has denied that Celestin worked for the company. She alleged that Celestin recruited her in July 2024 to 'produce, market, sell and distribute child pornography' knowing that she was underage. Rosenblum claimed that she was invited to Celestin's house to produce the explicit content, and he asked Guo to waive the age requirement so she could post the content on Passes. The lawsuit names Passes, Guo, and Celestin as co-defendants alongside Lani Ginoza, who was named as Celestin's assistant. The lawsuit accuses Passes and Guo of knowing that Celestin and Ginoza were allegedly conspiring to market and sell child pornography through the platform's messaging system to those known as 'big spenders' and 'whalers.' Guo was also accused of false advertising as Passes was branded as a non-explicit alternative to OnlyFans, where creators can post subscription-based content, 'minus the nudity.' Passes states in their community and content guidelines that explicit adult content, nudity, or pornography is not allowed; however, the lawsuit claims that Guo allegedly asked Celestin to recruit creators to specifically create pornographic content. The lawsuit also cites a text allegedly sent from Celestin to Rosenblum offering his mansion for her to shoot content in. After Rosenblum created the content, the lawsuit claims, 'Those images were uploaded to the Passes Vault and later were published on Passes with salacious verbiage in connection with Plaintiff's 18th birthday campaign.' The filing alleged that Guo specifically told Rosenblum on a phone call that she could 'upload anything.' Passes allows minors between the ages of 15 and 17 to have accounts with parental consent. Passes and Guo have denied the allegations cited in the lawsuit. 'To set the record straight, a Florida lawsuit was filed only after opposing counsel representing an adult star first demanded millions from the company, which Passes refused to pay,' a spokesperson for the company told the 'Passes refutes any claims that it approved or condoned the posting of underage explicit content on its platform. 'Any effort to attribute alleged misconduct of third parties to Passes is baseless and nothing more than an effort to entangle Passes and its founder, Lucy Guo, in the lawsuit. We look forward to presenting the facts in court.' Guo also has denied the allegations against her and her company, writing in a statement on social media, 'To be clear, these accusations are false and being wielded to undermine the success of the company we have built over the last three years.' 'Lucy Guo and Passes never approved or condoned the posting of underage explicit content on our platform. 'We disapprove of the actions allegedly taken by the plaintiff's talent manager and any attempt to involve us in this matter is baseless, which we intend to prove.' In a separate statement on X, the tech entrepreneur claimed she 'HAD ZERO interaction with the plaintiff (calls, texts, calendar invites, emails, etc).' 'I do not have any contact information of hers,' she added. 'I do not condone the actions described, and Alec Celestin was not an agent of passes nor was he ever an employee. 'We are confident the facts are on our side and look forward to presenting those facts in court.' A spokesperson for Passes confirmed to that Celestin didn't work for the company. In response to her billionaire status, Guo recently told Forbes in a text message, 'I don't really think about it much, it's a bit wild. Too bad it's all on paper haha.' Guo is the youngest of six self-made female billionaires, joining the ranks of Swift, 35, Daniela Amodei, 37, Melanie Perkins, 37, Rihanna, 37, and Lu Yiwen, 37. Perkins is an Australian technology entrepreneur and is the CEO and co-founder of the graphic design company, Canva. She has the highest net worth of the six women, clocking in at an impressive net worth of $5.7 billion. The rest of the women are worth between $1 and 2 billion, according to Forbes. Guo started building her fortune as a young woman, dropping out of her computer science program at Carnegie Mellon University to become a Thiel Fellow. She worked at the question-and-answer firm Quora, where she met her future business partner, Wang. The two founded Scale AI in 2016 before Guo left the company. Guo founded Passes in 2022 and has a host of celebrity creators, including Olivia Dunne, Shaquille O'Neal and DJ Kygo.

Passes Addresses Misinformation and Meritless Lawsuit Against the Company
Passes Addresses Misinformation and Meritless Lawsuit Against the Company

Associated Press

time14-03-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Associated Press

Passes Addresses Misinformation and Meritless Lawsuit Against the Company

Passes refutes any claims that it approved or condoned the posting of underage explicit content on its platform The safety of creators on its platform is Passes' top priority and the company actively works to ensure compliance with its policies Passes is pursuing all legal avenues to hold those accountable including those who have perpetuated this false narrative LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, creator technology platform Passes released the following statement in response to false allegations about the Company and its founder, Lucy Guo. Passes was founded in 2022 to empower creators by enabling them to tap into their audience to create meaningful sources of income. Passes prides itself on delivering a world-class product and fostering a safe, creator-first platform with the best trust and safety measures available. In line with its mission, Passes forbids the uploading of explicit content and actively works to identify and remove any violations of its guidelines. In recent weeks, Passes has been accused of encouraging or authorizing creators to post explicit content on its site, including in a recent lawsuit in Florida. To be clear, any claim that Passes approved or condoned the posting of explicit content from any user, particularly a minor, on its platform is categorically false and recklessly disregards the truth. The assertion that Passes would bypass its safeguards to encourage anyone to violate the company's Terms of Service and post explicit content directly contradicts Passes' entire business ethos. Passes has built a world-class content screening process to prevent such actions from occurring. Passes has and will continue to defend itself against these meritless claims. To set the record straight, a Florida lawsuit was filed only after opposing counsel first demanded millions from the company, which Passes refused to pay. Now, plaintiff's counsel and others have resorted to spreading these false allegations in the media and behind the scenes to third parties before Passes has the opportunity in court to prove that the allegations in the complaint are baseless. To be clear, the allegations in that lawsuit are appalling. Passes denounces the actions allegedly taken by the plaintiff's talent management, Alec Celestin and his assistant. Neither Celestin nor his assistant were acting on Passes' behalf or with its approval. Rather, they were intentionally deceiving Passes and violating its rules. Any effort to attribute their misconduct to Passes is baseless and nothing more than an effort to entangle Passes and its founder, Lucy Guo, in the lawsuit. Passes has zero tolerance for bad actors who attempt to violate its policies and is fully committed to holding the perpetrators of these malicious activities accountable. Given the misrepresentations, Passes has cut ties with Celestin and his agency. The company is currently exploring all legal options for holding them accountable as well as those who have perpetuated this false narrative about the company. It appears that Passes' competitors have turned Celestin's misconduct into a smear campaign to discredit Passes, its founder, and its status as the premier creator platform. Unlike some of its peers, Passes does not and has never encouraged or condoned explicit content on its platform—and it clearly communicates its rules to fans and creators. It is ironic that Passes is facing scrutiny for the content on its site given the total lack of meaningful content moderation from certain of its competitors. Regardless, the company cannot stand for such falsehoods to recklessly circulate in the court of public opinion. Passes is proud of its community of thousands of creators. It takes very seriously both its role as a prominent platform in the creator community and its responsibility to keep that community safe. For more information about Passes, please visit Founded by tech entrepreneur Lucy Guo in 2022, Passes is the premier direct-to-fan engagement and monetization platform. Our platform connects creators with their fans through unique in-app experiences including live streams, one-to-one messaging, exclusive podcasts, custom merch, unlocked content, and much more. Passes has raised over $50 million from BOND capital, Abstract Ventures, Craft Ventures, Michael Ovitz (CAA founder), Emma and Jens Grede (SKIMS founders), Paris Hilton, Jake Paul, and many more.

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