EU

The new academic year in France commenced on Tuesday, introducing significant measures including a mobile phone ban in schools and a revised bullying questionnaire incorporating sexual violence queries. Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced around 10 million pupils will participate, with findings expected to highlight serious issues in child safety.

A Canadian national of Chinese origin, accused of espionage, will remain in pre-trial detention in Belgium. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office extended her detention by one month after rejecting her appeal, following her arrest linked to NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe amid an ongoing investigation.

Italy has yet to finalise its €14.9 billion SAFE defence loans as domestic issues delay the decision, causing frustration in Brussels. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani indicated the amount may be lower, complicating access for other EU nations needing unspent funds for military support.

A fatal attack during Berlin’s Pride parade has prompted renewed scrutiny of EU intelligence-sharing on suspected extremists. The suspect, Abdul Ballout, previously known to authorities, travelled outside the Schengen Area and returned undetected, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current cross-border security measures.

AI companies will face new obligations under the EU’s AI Act starting Sunday, mandating that deepfakes and AI-generated content be clearly identified as artificial. While the regulations aim to enhance transparency, technical challenges may undermine their effectiveness, raising concerns about the accuracy of content detection.

Mainstream large language models (LLMs), including Google Gemini, have reportedly cited pro-Russian propaganda from a US- and EU-sanctioned outlet, the Foundation to Battle Injustice (r-FBI), during interactions. Researchers found these LLMs occasionally regarded claims about Ukraine as legitimate, raising concerns over their susceptibility to misinformation.

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