Latest news with #Rubio
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
It's illegal to die in this Spanish town due to overcrowded cemetery
This law gives the death penalty a whole new meaning. In Lanjarón — a tiny village in Granada province in Andalusia, Spain — it's illegal for residents to die there. Yes, this is actually a rule that former mayor Jose Rubio put into place over 25 years ago. Advertisement In 1999, Rubio provided a declaration that urged citizens of Lanjarón 'to take utmost care of their health so they do not die until town hall takes the necessary steps to acquire land suitable for our deceased to rest in glory,' according to Deseret News. Lanjaron is also known among hikers for the wealth of nearby natural beauty. KukiLadrondeGuevara – 'It is hereby forbidden to die in Lanjaron,' the edict added, making the policy crystal clear. Advertisement According to reports at the time, the mayor was being pressured to rapidly resolve an overcrowding problem in a local cemetery — even though it had been an issue plaguing the town for years. His solution? This snarky statute. 'I am just a mayor,' he said. 'Above me there is God, who is ultimately the one who runs things.' Advertisement At the time, Rubio said: 'Everyone has taken the edict with a sense of humor and a strong desire to comply with it.' It's unclear whether or not the town ever got its expanded cemetery, but 26 years later, Lanjarón still only has one graveyard within municipal limits. Aside from the bizarre burial ban, the small village is a perfectly normal town. Home to almost 4,000 residents, it's best known as a wellness destination, thanks to nearby mineral-rich springs. Advertisement It has recently become a popular under-the-radar travel spot among Gen Zers on TikTok — especially as an alternative to overcrowded Spanish tourism hotspots like Barcelona and Majorca. Aside from the peculiar prohibition on passing away, the town is notably located near a natural spring and has a bustling water bottling industry. saiko3p – Given current interest in the area, the wild pseudo publicity stunt has resurfaced — and is making its rounds across the Internet, cropping up on random meme pages on Instagram, TikTok and X. While it's certainly a drastic approach to death, Rubio is far from the only mayor to make the move. In Longyearbyen, Norway, residents are also forbidden to die — and have been since 1950. In the 20th century, researchers discovered that the deceased were not sleeping soundly six feet under — as a matter of fact, they weren't decomposing at all due to the region's subarctic climate. Advertisement Scientists even tested buried bodies for the 1917 influenza virus, and were able to retrieve live samples of the virus. As a result, the cemetery is closed to corpses because of concerns that the disease will spread.
Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
With ‘Ring Ring,' Niko Rubio captures the California she grew up in
Niko Rubio knew she always wanted to be a singer. The hard part was figuring out what she wanted to sound like. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter, who was born in the Los Angeles South Bay and is of Mexican and Salvadoran descent, was always encouraged by her family to pursue her artistic ambitions. When Rubio was a preteen, her maternal grandmother even pushed her to audition for 'La Voz Kids,' the Spanish offshoot of 'The Voice' for singers under the age of 15. She wasn't picked for the show, but it reaffirmed her belief that she was meant to be a singer. 'I'm the first generation that is allowed to sing, that has the opportunity to really not have a baby,' she said. 'To say 'Grandma, grandpa, I'm not going to go to college. I'm going to go figure out how to be a songwriter.'' Like many children of immigrants in Southern California, Rubio grew up listening to music in English and Spanish. Her grandfather Sergio would play Pedro Infante and Shakira, while her mother, Vilma, exposed her to the likes of Sublime and No Doubt. Rubio, who's very close to her maternal grandparents, said they wanted her to sing traditional Mexican music, but it was a piece of advice from her mom that relieved some of the pressure she might have been feeling. 'I wanted to make them happy,' she says. 'Then my mom was like, 'F— that! Do whatever the f— you want.'' In 'Ring Ring,' she does exactly that. The four-track EP, released July 15 on Atlantic Records, is an expression of her upbringing and explores what it means to grow up bilingual and first generation in this country at this time. Instruments that are staples of traditional Mexican music underpin catchy pop ballads sung in Spanish. 'Baby,' the EP's first track, opens with the accordion before Rubio's sultry voice kicks in. In 'Quisiera Saber,' Rubio beckons to someone she desires but cannot have in a dreamy intonation, channeling Lana del Rey and backed by percussion and strings reserved for boleros romanticos. Rubio began her career in the world of alt-R&B and alt-rock. At 19, she signed with independent label Sandlot Records, founded by songwriter Jacob Kasher, who has written for Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Maroon 5, Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga. She looks back on her early work fondly, but recognizes she was still learning who she was as an artist. 'I was so young,' she says. 'My first EP [2021's 'Wish You Were Here'] is like a very pop, alt-rock project that I love and I'm very proud of, but I was just too afraid. I didn't have the knowledge or really the understanding of myself.' And though the EP did include a track in Spanish — 'Amor' — her sound was missing a key component: her Latino roots. She wanted to capture a mix of the California she grew up in. 'I had this idea of making this alternative Mexican California beach rock-meets-mariachi romanticos kind of album,' she said. 'I told the whole f—team, I told my whole label: 'I'm making two projects in Spanish. I'm taking a break from English. This is what I have to do for my family. This is what I have to do for myself.'' She agonized over what it would sound like. 'I didn't want to just be another Latin artist that was making another thing for the void that wasn't going to be special, or say anything, or tell the right story,' she said. She eventually found the perfect collaborator in Grammy Award-winning producer Lester Mendez. Rubio says she admired how Mendez tapped into Shakira's Lebanese and Colombian influences in her 2005 album 'Fijación Oral, Vol. 1.' She wanted something like that for her own work — an eclectic blend of personal influences. The two worked on 'Mar y Tierra,' Rubio's first Spanish-language EP released last September. It features the standout track 'Sirena,' a bossa-nova-influenced romantico duet with Hawthorne-based singer Cuco. 'Ring Ring' was originally slated to drop in June, but then masked federal agents descended on Los Angeles, carrying out immigration raids and terrorizing immigrant communities across the country. Like the rest of the world, she was in shock — so much that she postponed her album release show. She rescheduled it to July 15, donating 10% of all her merch sales to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, the immigration advocacy group that provides legal assistance and policy organizing. 'My first headline show was the most epic amazing special sweet perfect night,' she wrote on her Instagram after her show. 'I'm just the luckiest girl in the world.' In many ways, Rubio was inspired to see people fight back against the immigration raids and proud that Southern California presented itself as a unified front. 'It was amazing to see everyone come together for the protest, and how the city of Bell stood up to ICE agents was incredible,' she said, referring to a mid-June protest. 'We need more of that. This is a fight that isn't equal because people are afraid to stand up and become the next target, so those of us who need to speak up. I'm proud of my generation speaking out; it would be easy to turn a blind eye, but we won't. We were raised by and around immigrants, and we won't allow for this disturbing abuse of power.' When asked what it means to sing in Spanish at this moment, Rubio is unapologetic about her roots. 'I think right now, more than ever, it is so important to be proud of being Mexican and Salvadorian,' Rubio said. 'It is so important to speak our truth. It is so important to honor our culture, honor our heritage, honor the fact that our families worked so hard for us to be here, and we deserve to be here, and we are. We are here. We're here.'
L'Orient-Le Jour
8 hours ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Washington says UN conference an 'insult' to the victims of Oct. 7
In a scathing statement released July 28, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced that the United States would boycott the U.N. conference on the two-state solution, which began Monday in New York at the initiative of Paris and Riyadh, ahead of a General Assembly summit in September. Describing the event as a "publicity stunt" detrimental to ongoing diplomatic efforts, Washington is sending a clear message: for the Rubio administration, this is not the time for grand international gatherings, but for on-the-ground diplomacy that is firm and resolute. "This conference does not promote peace. It extends the war, strengthens Hamas, rewards obstruction and undermines real efforts for peace," Bruce declared. Using especially strong language, she denounces an initiative that, in her view, plays into Hamas's hands and betrays the memory of Israeli victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, already highly critical of unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, sees this conference as an "affront to the hostages still held in the tunnels" of Gaza and a reward for terrorism. The United States will therefore not take part in what it calls an "insult" and promises to continue "carrying out concrete efforts" to achieve lasting peace. A direct dig at Emmanuel Macron The American statement doesn't just blast the U.N. It directly targets French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently announced that France was ready to recognize a Palestinian state. This position, seen by Washington as counterproductive, would, according to Bruce, "have been applauded by Hamas," which she says is further proof of its harm to cease-fire negotiations. In a sharply worded comment, the spokesperson adds: "This reflects a pattern of counterproductive gestures that only serve to encourage Hamas, hinder a cease-fire, and undermine our diplomatic efforts to end the suffering in Gaza." A strategic break with the UN The boycott of this conference marks a turning point. By distancing itself from an initiative supported by several Security Council members, including France, Spain, and certain Arab countries, the United States is taking a breakaway stance. U.S. diplomacy under Rubio favors bilateral channels, far removed from the multilateral forums it now accuses of "maintaining the illusion of their relevance." This position also reveals the vision of the Trump II administration: without full alignment with Israeli security priorities, there can be no credible peace process. Recognition of a Palestinian state without guarantees of demilitarization is seen as a red line. A tense conference The U.N. conference on the two-state solution, announced as a milestone toward lasting peace in the Middle East, thus opened Monday in a chilly atmosphere. The absence of the heavyweight United States weakens its impact but could also reveal deep divides. On one side, advocates of diplomatic recognition of the Palestinian people as a lever for peace; on the other, supporters of a hardline security approach to Hamas, prioritizing the release of hostages and the neutralization of armed groups. Between the two, the U.N. is trying to keep alive a diplomatic option many consider moribund.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Creating realistic deepfakes getting easier than ever, fighting back may take even more AI
For Washington insiders, seeing and hearing is no longer believing, thanks to a spate of recent incidents involving deepfakes impersonating top officials in President Donald Trump's administration. Digital fakes are coming for corporate America, too, as criminal gangs and hackers associated with adversaries including North Korea use synthetic video and audio to impersonate CEOs and low-level job candidates to gain access to critical systems or business secrets. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence , creating realistic deepfakes is easier than ever, causing security problems for governments, businesses and private individuals and making trust the most valuable currency of the digital age. Responding to the challenge will require laws, better digital literacy and technical solutions that fight AI with more AI. "As humans, we are remarkably susceptible to deception," said Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO and founder of the tech firm Pindrop Security. But he believes solutions to the challenge of deepfakes may be within reach: "We are going to fight back." AI deepfakes become a national security threat This summer, someone used AI to create a deepfake of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an attempt to reach out to foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor over text, voice mail and the Signal messaging app. In May someone impersonated Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Another phony Rubio had popped up in a deepfake earlier this year, saying he wanted to cut off Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink internet service. Ukraine's government later rebutted the false claim. The national security implications are huge: People who think they're chatting with Rubio or Wiles, for instance, might discuss sensitive information about diplomatic negotiations or military strategy. "You're either trying to extract sensitive secrets or competitive information or you're going after access, to an email server or other sensitive network," Kinny Chan, CEO of the cybersecurity firm QiD, said of the possible motivations. Synthetic media can also aim to alter behaviour. Last year, Democratic voters in New Hampshire received a robocall urging them not to vote in the state's upcoming primary. The voice on the call sounded suspiciously like then-President Joe Biden but was actually created using AI. Their ability to deceive makes AI deepfakes a potent weapon for foreign actors. Both Russia and China have used disinformation and propaganda directed at Americans as a way of undermining trust in democratic alliances and institutions. Steven Kramer, the political consultant who admitted sending the fake Biden robocalls, said he wanted to send a message of the dangers deepfakes pose to the American political system. Kramer was acquitted last month of charges of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. "I did what I did for USD 500," Kramer said. "Can you imagine what would happen if the Chinese government decided to do this?" Scammers target the financial industry with deepfakes The greater availability and sophistication of the programmes mean deepfakes are increasingly used for corporate espionage and garden variety fraud. "The financial industry is right in the crosshairs," said Jennifer Ewbank, a former deputy director of the CIA who worked on cybersecurity and digital threats. "Even individuals who know each other have been convinced to transfer vast sums of money." In the context of corporate espionage, they can be used to impersonate CEOs asking employees to hand over passwords or routing numbers. Deepfakes can also allow scammers to apply for jobs - and even do them - under an assumed or fake identity. For some this is a way to access sensitive networks, to steal secrets or to install ransomware. Others just want the work and may be working a few similar jobs at different companies at the same time. Authorities in the US have said that thousands of North Koreans with information technology skills have been dispatched to live abroad, using stolen identities to obtain jobs at tech firms in the US and elsewhere. The workers get access to company networks as well as a paycheck. In some cases, the workers install ransomware that can be later used to extort even more money. The schemes have generated billions of dollars for the North Korean government. Within three years, as many as 1 in 4 job applications is expected to be fake, according to research from Adaptive Security, a cybersecurity company. "We've entered an era where anyone with a laptop and access to an open-source model can convincingly impersonate a real person," said Brian Long, Adaptive's CEO. "It's no longer about hacking systems - it's about hacking trust." Experts deploy AI to fight back against AI Researchers, public policy experts and technology companies are now investigating the best ways of addressing the economic, political and social challenges posed by deepfakes. New regulations could require tech companies to do more to identify, label and potentially remove deepfakes on their platforms. Lawmakers could also impose greater penalties on those who use digital technology to deceive others - if they can be caught. Greater investments in digital literacy could also boost people's immunity to online deception by teaching them ways to spot fake media and avoid falling prey to scammers. The best tool for catching AI may be another AI programme, one trained to sniff out the tiny flaws in deepfakes that would go unnoticed by a person. Systems like Pindrop's analyse millions of datapoints in any person's speech to quickly identify irregularities. The system can be used during job interviews or other video conferences to detect if the person is using voice cloning software, for instance. Similar programmes may one day be commonplace, running in the background as people chat with colleagues and loved ones online. Someday, deepfakes may go the way of email spam, a technological challenge that once threatened to upend the usefulness of email, said Balasubramaniyan, Pindrop's CEO. "You can take the defeatist view and say we're going to be subservient to disinformation," he said. "But that's not going to happen."
Euronews
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Former Colombian president convicted of witness tampering and bribery
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been convicted of witness tampering and bribery in a historic trial that shocked the South American nation. The ruling followed an almost six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe tried to influence witnesses who accused him of links to a paramilitary group. The 73-year-old — who was president from 2002 to 2010 — faces up to 12 years in prison but a sentencing will be delivered in a separate hearing. He is Colombia's first-ever former head of state to be convicted of a crime. Uribe is expected to appeal the ruling, having maintained his innocence. He was not in court in the capital, Bogota, for the verdict as the judge has so far not ordered his arrest. The former president attended the trial virtually and could be seen shaking his head as the verdict was read out. Uribe is a polarising figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s. Rubio criticises ruling In her ruling, Judge Sandra Heredia said there was sufficient evidence to find that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to persuade three imprisoned former members of paramilitary groups into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a left-wing senator. Cepeda had launched an investigation into Uribe's alleged links to a paramilitary group. The case dates back to 2012 when Uribe filed a libel suit against Cepeda before the Supreme Court. However, in an unexpected twist, the high court dismissed the charges and instead began investigating Uribe in 2018. During Uribe's presidency, the Colombian army forced Latin America's oldest leftist insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), into remote areas and held peace talks which led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016. Known for his work ethic and temper, Uribe still has many supporters in Colombia and is one of the fiercest opponents of the current president, leftist ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted to the ruling as it became clear that Judge Heredia would find the former president guilty of bribery. "Uribe's only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland," Rubio wrote on Monday on X. "The weaponisation of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent." Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended the ruling. He wrote on X that "a solid justice system" would allow Colombia to emerge from violence. He added in another message that Rubio was interfering with Colombian sovereignty. "The world must respect Colombia's judges," Petro wrote. Heredia said that her ruling should not be interpreted as "a victory for anyone" but as "an act of justice". State crimes Critics blame Uribe for several state crimes. According to Colombia's Truth Commission, which was set up in 2017, more than 6,400 civilians were executed by the Colombian army and identified as members of rebel groups by soldiers seeking promotions during the conflict with paramilitary groups. This phenomenon reportedly peaked during Uribe's government. Prosecutors accused Uribe of sending lawyers to meet with imprisoned ex-paramilitary members and pressuring them to withdraw testimony they had given to Cepeda. During the trial, Uribe denied trying to manipulate the witnesses, but acknowledged requesting interviews with them as part of his preparation for the trial. He said this was also done to verify testimony that was also being used in a murder trial against his brother, Santiago Uribe, who was also accused of links to armed paramilitaries. Cepeda spoke to the press after the ruling and said he would continue to fight for truth and justice for the victim of Colombia's conflict. "No one can defy or sully the rule of law," he said.
