The next Fortnite World Cup, known as the FNCS Global Championship 2023, begins on Oct. 13 in front of a live audience in Copenhagen, Denmark.

STAFFORD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 11, 2023--

Spotify Technology SA is planning a more expensive subscription option that’s expected to include high-fidelity audio in an

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Jake Paul is arguably one of the most well-known influencers in the world right now, but unfortunately for gambling firm Ladbrokes, the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s widespread appeal has landed them in a bit of trouble with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The independent advertising watchdog, which regulates the advertising industry, enforces rules drawn up by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which has some pretty strict rules when it comes to gambling ads. In addition to requiring said adverts to be “socially responsible” and “protect children … from being harmed or exploited”, the CAP’s code states marketing communications must not be “likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture”. “They must not include a person or character whose example is likely to be followed by those aged under 18 years or who has a strong appeal to those aged under 18,” it reads. After Ladbrokes shared a promoted tweet in February featuring Paul – following his defeat to Tommy Fury – in which Twitter users were encouraged to vote on “what’s next for Jake Paul”, a single complaint was made to the ASA as to whether it may be in breach of the Code. Responding to the ASA’s enquiries, the betting company noted the advert contained no calls to action, promotions or links back to its website – and was “age-gated” so only users who had confirmed their age as being over 18 could see it. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The ad was specifically targeted at users aged 25 and over, receiving close to 16,500 impressions with just over 47 per cent of these being from individuals aged between 20 and 29 years. Ladbrokes also cited demographics for Paul’s following across several social media platforms, showing that the percentage of users aged between 13 and 17 years old was below 20 per cent on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. On Twitter, zero per cent of his followers were reportedly registered as being under 18. The company also directed ASA to the watchdog’s own guidance on “protecting under-18s” from advertising about gambling and lotteries, in which it states “sports like … boxing … are more adult-oriented and unlikely to be of inherent ‘strong’ appeal” to children and young people. Zing. However, in a decision which saw the regulator uphold the complaint against Ladbrokes, the ASA ruled there was still a responsibility to comply with the rule about not appealing to under-18s because the advert “appeared in a medium where under-18s could not be entirely excluded from the audience”. It continued: “CAP guidance stated that sportspeople involved in clearly adult-oriented sports who were ‘notable’ stars with significant social media and general profiles which made them well-known to under-18s were considered moderate risk in terms of how likely they were to be of strong appeal to under-18s. “We also considered that Jake Paul would primarily be known for making YouTube videos and that he had a large social media following. We acknowledged that he had within the last few years turned to boxing. “However, because of his career on YouTube, we considered that he had a high profile within the sport and was well known outside of the sport and social media.” Although they noted Paul had no followers aged under 18 on Twitter, where the ad was located, the ASA concluded the content creator was still of “inherent strong appeal” to under-18s because “such large numbers” of his followers were in that demographic. They also mentioned Paul’s appearance on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark between 2016 and 2018 about two teenagers, with the target audience for the show likely to be “around the same age”. As such, they found Paul still had a “strong appeal” to under-18s and that Ladbroke’s advert was “irresponsible”. Not the first time Paul and “irresponsible” have appeared in the same sentence, to be honest… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The cost of solar power has dropped by nearly 90 per cent over the last decade, according to new research, taking it towards a key level that will make fossil fuel-generated power no longer economically viable. Calculations by Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) found that the plummeting price of electricity produced by solar panels – down 87 per cent since 2013 – means the transition to renewable energy sources is “cheaper than expected”. The falling costs of batteries and other renewable technologies could also help supercharge the trend towards cleaner energy and meeting climate targets. “Some calculations even suggest that the world’s entire energy consumption in 2050 could be completely and cost-effectively covered by solar technology and other renewables,” said Felix Creutzig, who led the research. “This is an extremely optimistic scenario – but it illustrates that the future is open. Climate science, which provides policymakers with guidance in its scenario models, must reflect technical progress as closely as possible.” The publication of the research follows recent analysis that showed the cost of batteries fell by nearly 10 per cent last month. Energy analytics firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said the drop below $100/ kilowatthour (kWh) in August took batteries past a “tipping point” that puts electric vehicles (EVs) on a price parity with fossil fuel-burning vehicles. As well as accelerating the transition to EVs, the fall in battery prices is also a big boost for renewable energy technologies like solar and wind installations, as they use batteries to store excess energy during periods of overproduction. The falling costs for renewable technologies has been attributed to scientific breakthroughs that make them more efficient, as well as decreasing raw material costs. “Greenhouse gas emissions are higher than ever and the measures taken so far are too weak, but in this politically difficult situation, technological progress provides a ray of hope,” said Jan Minx, head of the MCC Applied Sustainability Science working group and one of the leaders of the latest research. “New scenario models, some of which are starting to be explored, are likely to demonstrate in the foreseeable future that the global climate transition might not be as expensive as previously assumed, and may even be cost saving – provided it is finally tackled.” The research was detailed in a study, titled ‘Technological innovation enables low cost climate change mitigation‘, which was published in the journal Energy Research and Social Science. Read More Hundreds of years after it was discovered, one material is about to change the world Solar panel breakthrough could supercharge ‘miracle material’ production Scientists invent solar panels that work in a snow blizzard New discovery is ‘holy grail’ breakthrough in search for aliens, scientist say

What’s likely to be the hottest year on record brought never-before-seen rain to five continents, killing thousands of

Internet sensation PewDiePie has been hit with a mysterious Twitch ban – despite not even streaming. The Swedish influencer signed an exclusive deal with YouTube in 2020. However, a random stream appeared on PewDiePie's Twitch account in March, showing old videos and episodes of the Canadian comedy series Trailer Park Boys. PewDiePie's 'return' to the streaming platform left fans scratching their heads, with some speculating it to be a promotion for an upcoming project. Others believed his account was hacked. Dexerto later reported that CoPilotMedia appeared to have taken over the streamer's Twitch channel. Now, PewDiePie's Twitch account has been officially removed from the platform – and people aren't sure why. Instead, Twitch fans are greeted with a notice that reads: "This channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch's Community Guidelines or Terms of Service." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It comes after the 33-year-old announced he and his wife, Marzia Bisognin, were expecting a baby. In a February YouTube video shared on PewDiePie's 111 million subscriber-strong channel, the influencer said: "I’ve been keeping a secret from you guys, and that is I’m going to be a dad. "We found out that Marzia is pregnant first in November, and I’m just so thankful everything’s been going so well so far. "I’m so excited. It’s kind of strange to me, it’s entering new territory, but I feel really ready, and so does Marzia.” He added he feels "so lucky" to start a family "with the woman I love", going on to say that he has "absolutely no doubt" that Marzia will be "an amazing mother". Indy100 reached out to Twitch for comment. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

EU lawmakers are awaiting an announcement which is seen as major step in the drawn-out dispute over tax arrangements between technology giant Apple and Ireland. The advocate general at the European Court of Justice is to issue an opinion on Friday morning about whether Apple will be forced to pay more than 13 billion euro in back taxes to Ireland. While the opinion of the advocate general is non-binding, it is usually followed by the court and therefore could have significant implications for corporation tax bills. Ireland had fought the European Commission over the matter due to concerns over an intrusion on Irish sovereignty and potential impacts to investment in the country. There was no sweetheart deal Finance Minister Michael McGrath In 2016, following an EU investigation which launched in 2014, the commission concluded that Ireland gave undue tax benefits of 13.1 billion euro to Apple, which is illegal under EU state aid rules. The commission said that tax rulings issued by Ireland to Apple in 1991 and 1997 substantially and artificially lowered the tax paid by the iPhone manufacturer in the country since 1991, in a way which did not correspond to economic reality. As a result, competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Ireland had granted illegal tax benefits which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other business over many years. The investigation found that Apple had paid an effective corporate tax rate of 1% on its European profits in 2003, down to 0.005% in 2014 – 50 euro for every one million euro of profit. The process involved recording almost all sales profits of two Irish incorporated companies, which the commission said only existed on paper. The companies, fully owned by Apple, held the rights to use the firm’s intellectual property to manufacture and sell its products outside North and South America. The commission said this situation allowed Apple to avoid taxation on almost all profits generated by sales of its products in the entire EU single market. It said this was due to Apple’s decision to record all sales in Ireland rather than in the countries where the products were sold. The findings were disputed by the Irish State – which said all tax owed had been collected – and Apple, which had come under scrutiny in the US for its tax practices years earlier. At the time, Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, branded the EU findings as “political crap”, maddening and untrue. The Irish Government, which was also used to defending a comparatively low 12.5% corporation tax rate, said Europe had overstepped the mark in attempting to dictate tax laws and enforce retrospective taxes decades later. Ireland and Apple fought the commission on the matter and in July 2020, the General Court of the European Union annulled the decision. However, the commission subsequently appealed the decision to the European Court of Justice with Ms Vestager saying the lower court’s ruling contained “errors of law”. The European Court of Justice’s advocate general is to give a legal opinion on the dispute ahead of the court’s final decision. That decision is expected next year and will have significant implications for how member states grant tax breaks to major firms. Apple has argued it has been paying tax on the profits in question in the US, while Ireland has seen it necessary to defend its reputation on taxation issues to protect foreign direct investment. Last weekend, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said the advocate general’s opinion will be “significant” but added it is not the final step in the process. Mr McGrath said: “We are confident in our position in respect of the Apple case. We take encouragement from the findings they have made so far, but it is a significant day.” He added: “There was no sweetheart deal. This was the application of Ireland’s statutory corporation tax code.” In the interim, the 13.1 billion euro has been held in an escrow fund pending the outcome of the case. The money, with interest, is due to be entered into the Irish exchequer if the commission wins the case. However, other member states may make claims that they are owed some of the money. If the commission loses the appeal, the large sum will be returned to Apple.

Marc Jobst believes the role had become too "draining" and "demanding" for the Hollywood star.

A few sentences in a note from an obscure United Nations group has ignited a firestorm in the

Pokimane's streaming room has always been an integral part of her broadcasts, but it appears not everything is as it seems