YunoBlog

Author: tio

  • Third Kuciak Murder Trial Starts in Slovakia

    A Slovak court on Monday ruled that encrypted Threema messages would remain in evidence as proceedings resumed in the third trial over the 2018 murders of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová.

    Kuciak, 27, was an investigative reporter covering corruption and organized crime, while Kušnírová was his fiancée. The two were shot dead at their home in the village of Veľká Mača in February 2018, in a contract-style killing that triggered mass protests in Slovakia and led to the resignation of senior government officials.

    Businessman Marián Kočner and his associate Alena Zsuzsová stand accused of ordering the killing and they again appeared before a newly constituted panel of the Specialized Criminal Court.

    The retrial was ordered after Slovakia’s Supreme Court overturned a May 2023 verdict, saying the lower court made “unclear factual findings” and failed to examine all relevant evidence. The top court said the previous judges “did not deal with all circumstances significant for the decision” and sent the case back for a fresh hearing before a new panel.

    At Monday’s hearing, Kočner’s lawyer Marek Para challenged the prosecution’s use of Threema messages, questioning whether they were legally obtained, and attacked the credibility of key witness Zoltán Andruskó, calling him “absolutely untrustworthy.” 

    Zsuzsová’s lawyers echoed the criticism, saying the case relied almost entirely on Andruskó and that the evidence presented so far did not prove her involvement in the murders.

    Lawyers representing the victims’ families opposed the defense motion. Roman Kvasnica, who represents Kuciak’s parents and Kušnírová’s mother, said there was no reason to exclude the digital evidence.

    The court rejected the defense request and ruled that Kočner’s Threema communications would remain part of the case file.

    The next hearing was scheduled for Feb. 9, with the court setting 42 hearing dates through the end of 2026.

  • Infant formula batch recall over toxin discovery

    Parents are warned to return any of the specific product affected because it is not safe for babies to consume.

  • An Open Letter to the Minnesota Law Community

    In light of recent events in Minnesota, the LPE Blog is republishing an open letter, signed by seventy-two University of Minnesota Law Faculty. ** ** ** We, the undersigned faculty of the University of Minnesota Law School, write in our individual capacities to address the federal government’s ongoing campaign of fear, intimidation, and violence against Minnesotans. Like many of you…

    Source

  • Independent experts alarmed by child rights violations in US immigration procedures

    UN-appointed independent human rights experts have raised alarm over violations of children’s rights during US immigration procedures, nearly a year after federal funding for legal representation for unaccompanied minors was terminated. 

  • Remembering the Holocaust: ‘You are here because you choose hope over hate’

    The Holocaust is a warning, that hatred “can consume everything” – a message that feels more urgent than ever, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as antisemitism rages worldwide.

  • From lunch tray to lifelong health: WHO sets global standards for school meals

    For the first time ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) is providing recommendations for healthy and nutritious food in schools around the world.
  • The Oscar Surge: ‘Sinners’ Piracy Triples Following Record-Breaking 16 Nominations

    The Oscar Surge: ‘Sinners’ Piracy Triples Following Record-Breaking 16 Nominations

    The Oscars remain the most anticipated movie awards show of the year, followed closely by hundreds of millions of film enthusiasts around the globe.

    In March, the 98th Academy Awards ceremony will return to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where millions of fans will watch the crowning of this year’s “Best Picture”.
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    There are currently ten contenders in the race for the prestigious award. The nominees range from Hollywood heavyweights such as F1 and One Battle After Another, to international critical darlings such as Norway’s Sentimental Value and Brazil’s The Secret Agent.

    Sinners’ Oscar Nominations Record

    While these are all serious contenders, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners clearly stands out. The movie received a record-breaking number of sixteen nominations last week, including one for the best picture category.

    The record elevated the press attention for the film, which directly impacted legal demand. After the nominations, Sinners immediately shot back into the Top 10 on Max, while VOD sales on Prime Video and Apple TV also got a boost.

    There is also a darker side to this increased exposure in the form of online piracy. Pirates are simply a subset of movie fans, and when legal demand increases, interest in pirate sites follows in the same direction.

    We have reported on this phenomenon in the past, but this year offers one of the most clear examples.

    Sinners’ Piracy Triples

    By looking at the BitTorrent download estimates collected through a large sample of data, we can see the interest in Sinners tripling after the nominations were announced last Thursday.

    Oscar Nominations Piracy (sample)

    sinners oscars

    These data, collected with help from Iknow, also show a healthy 50% boost in downloads for Bugonia, another best picture nominee. However, that pales in comparison to the Sinners surge.

    Meanwhile, the 2025 Superman release, which acts as a control group because it wasn’t nominated, saw no download boost at all. This confirms that the other observed increases are triggered by the Oscars nominations.

    These findings once again show how the Oscar nominations can have a clear and direct effect on piracy numbers. And if Sinners can convert its record number of nominations into a record number of wins, we can expect an even bigger surge.

    In closing, it is worth stressing that the download estimates reported here are based on a large sample of BitTorrent activity. This represents merely a fraction of the overall piracy interest, which also includes pirate streaming portals that are good for many millions of unauthorized views.

    From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

  • Large quantity of Mounjaro stolen from company

    The weight loss drug is taken by thieves from Phoenix Healthcare Distribution in St Albans.

  • EFF Statement on ICE and CBP Violence

    Dangerously unchecked surveillance and rights violations have been a throughline of the Department of Homeland Security since the agency’s creation in the wake of the September 11th attacks. In particular, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been responsible for countless civil liberties and digital rights violations since that time. In the past year, however, ICE and CBP have descended into utter lawlessness, repeatedly refusing to exercise or submit to the democratic accountability required by the Constitution and our system of laws.  

    The Trump Administration has made indiscriminate immigration enforcement and mass deportation a key feature of its agenda, with little to no accountability for illegal actions by agents and agency officials. Over the past year, we’ve seen massive ICE raids in cities from Los Angeles to Chicago to Minneapolis. Supercharged by an unprecedented funding increase, immigration enforcement agents haven’t been limited to boots on the ground: they’ve been scanning faces, tracking neighborhood cell phone activity, and amassing surveillance tools to monitor immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. 

    Congress must vote to reject any further funding of ICE and CBP

    The latest enforcement actions in Minnesota have led to federal immigration agents killing Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Both were engaged in their First Amendment right to observe and record law enforcement when they were killed. And it’s only because others similarly exercised their right to record that these killings were documented and widely exposed, countering false narratives the Trump Administration promoted in an attempt to justify the unjustifiable.  

    These constitutional violations are systemic, not one-offs. Just last week, the Associated Press reported a leaked ICE memo that authorizes agents to enter homes solely based on “administrative” warrants—lacking any judicial involvement. This government policy is contrary to the “very core” of the Fourth Amendment, which protects us against unreasonable search and seizure, especially in our own homes.  

    These violations must stop now. ICE and CBP have grown so disdainful of the rule of law that reforms or guardrails cannot suffice. We join with many others in saying that Congress must vote to reject any further funding of ICE and CBP this week. But that is not enough. It’s time for Congress to do the real work of rebuilding our immigration enforcement system from the ground up, so that it respects human rights (including digital rights) and human dignity, with real accountability for individual officers, their leadership, and the agency as a whole.

  • Menopause linked to Alzheimer’s-like brain changes

    Menopause is linked to a loss of grey matter in regions involved with memory and emotion, study suggests.