
In the rapidly evolving landscape of the digital economy, businesses find themselves traversing uncharted waters, encountering new challenges in the realm of cross-border taxation. This blog sets sail to explore the complexities of cross-border tax challenges in the digital age and how the expertise of an international law firm and international lawyers becomes instrumental in…
Greece’s move against mass tourism and the increasing flow of cruise ships that dock at its shores will be finalized with the imposition of a €20 tax, which will initially apply only to the two islands, Mykonos and Santorini. The plan to impose the tax […]
TikTok made a last-ditch effort in the Supreme Court aimed at stopping the app’s ban that was set to take effect in a few days – but the platform’s arguments may have ‘failed’. Most justices appeared inclined to uphold a federal law that would ban […]
Greece’s move against mass tourism and the increasing flow of cruise ships that dock at its shores will be finalized with the imposition of a €20 tax, which will initially apply only to the two islands, Mykonos and Santorini. The plan to impose the tax […]
Culture TravelGreece’s move against mass tourism and the increasing flow of cruise ships that dock at its shores will be finalized with the imposition of a €20 tax, which will initially apply only to the two islands, Mykonos and Santorini. The plan to impose the tax […]
Culture TravelSkype – once the dominant video calling service – has announced that it will shut down for good. The service boasted more than 300 million users at its peak, but the most recent figures Microsoft shared were in 2023, when it said it had more […]
TechnologyThe UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into tech giant Google. The company is being investigated for whether it has too much power in online search. Google accounts for 90% of online searches in the UK, and the Competition and Markets Authority is looking […]
TechnologyTikTok made a last-ditch effort in the Supreme Court aimed at stopping the app’s ban that was set to take effect in a few days – but the platform’s arguments may have ‘failed’. Most justices appeared inclined to uphold a federal law that would ban […]
Technology USATikTok, Reddit and Imgur are to be investigated by the UK’s data protection watchdog over how they use the personal information of teenage users. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it wants to look into how video-sharing app TikTok uses information from users aged 13 […]
TechnologySkype – once the dominant video calling service – has announced that it will shut down for good. The service boasted more than 300 million users at its peak, but the most recent figures Microsoft shared were in 2023, when it said it had more […]
TechnologyThe UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into tech giant Google. The company is being investigated for whether it has too much power in online search. Google accounts for 90% of online searches in the UK, and the Competition and Markets Authority is looking […]
TechnologyTikTok made a last-ditch effort in the Supreme Court aimed at stopping the app’s ban that was set to take effect in a few days – but the platform’s arguments may have ‘failed’. Most justices appeared inclined to uphold a federal law that would ban […]
Technology USATikTok, Reddit and Imgur are to be investigated by the UK’s data protection watchdog over how they use the personal information of teenage users. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it wants to look into how video-sharing app TikTok uses information from users aged 13 […]
TechnologySkype – once the dominant video calling service – has announced that it will shut down for good. The service boasted more than 300 million users at its peak, but the most recent figures Microsoft shared were in 2023, when it said it had more […]
TechnologyThe UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into tech giant Google. The company is being investigated for whether it has too much power in online search. Google accounts for 90% of online searches in the UK, and the Competition and Markets Authority is looking […]
TechnologyAstronomers are in for a treat this month as five of the solar system’s planets will be visible from Earth as part of a rare planetary alignment. On March 28, Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars and Aferditsa are expected to line up together in a small […]
Breaking News LifeStyleAstronomers are in for a treat this month as five of the solar system’s planets will be visible from Earth as part of a rare planetary alignment. On March 28, Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars and Aferditsa are expected to line up together in a small part of the sky after sunset.
Two of the brightest planets, Mercury and Jupiter, will be visible near the horizon, while Aferdita is expected to shine higher in the sky. Last year, astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere had the opportunity to see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
The planets are expected to line up at 50 degrees, meaning they will appear closer to each other from Earth in a small area. This visual phenomenon differs from an astronomical alignment, which refers to when the planets come together simultaneously on the same side of the sun.
Such events are not uncommon, but something like this won’t happen again until 2040.
The development of the Artificial Intelligence sector, which is being translated in recent months into ever closer programs for the public, is the greatest technological innovation of the last decades. We are not talking only about ChatGPT, the genius software that you can ask for […]
TechnologyThe development of the Artificial Intelligence sector, which is being translated in recent months into ever closer programs for the public, is the greatest technological innovation of the last decades.
We are not talking only about ChatGPT, the genius software that you can ask for any information, but about dozens of its clones that are specializing in more specific areas, from translating words to images, or tables.
But the research in this field seems really limitless, and it is going in a direction that is really reminiscent of some detailed scenarios in dystopian novels and films.
The latest case comes from the University of Osaka, in Japan, where researchers researching artificial intelligence are developing an algorithm that will most likely be able to read people’s minds.
In the conducted experiments, volunteer participants, after seeing different images, agree to undergo some magnetic resonance imaging. These scanned images are sent to artificial intelligence software, whose algorithm analyzes the data and translates it into real images.
The program is still in the phase of hypothesizing what each person’s brain thinks, but according to the researchers the answers were correct about 80% of the time, although there is still a lot of work to be done.
The study is a big step in the possible developments of Artificial Intelligence, but without the problems of one of Elon Musk’s major projects, Neuralink, which still meant a surgical intervention.
The time when we can create works of art from just a thought seems close, but perhaps not far seems the moment when our most secret thoughts will no longer have any privacy.
The long journey towards “Euro 2024” begins. From this Thursday and until November 2023, the qualifiers of the most important continental event will take place. After the group stage, the play-off matches will be played in March. The tournament will have 24 teams. Germany qualifies […]
SportsThe long journey towards “Euro 2024” begins. From this Thursday and until November 2023, the qualifiers of the most important continental event will take place. After the group stage, the play-off matches will be played in March.
The tournament will have 24 teams. Germany qualifies as the host country, while 20 tickets will be distributed from the qualifiers. This means that from ten groups, the winners and the teams placed in second place will continue. The last three tickets will be distributed from the Nations League play-off matches.
In the past, West Germany hosted the 1988 European Championship, but the tournament has never been hosted in the country since reunification. The final stage of the tournament will start on June 14, 2024 with the Germany match in Munich and will end with the final on July 14, at the “Olympiastadion” stadium in Berlin.
According to the draw, the groups reserve very interesting confrontations, while there are also challenges of the titans. The most beautiful duels are undoubtedly those of Group B, where the Netherlands will have France, the world runner-up, among its rivals.
Group C will also be quite beautiful, where Italy, the reigning champion of Europe, will have as a direct opponent England, which has been seeking glory in the international arena for years. As far as Albania is concerned, even though there are no big names, in Group E it faces two strong opponents with tradition, Poland and the Czech Republic. The Faroe Islands and Moldova are also in the Red and Black group.
Group I is also quite interesting, where Kosovo will face Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Belarus and Andorra. The mission is difficult, but the “Dardans” believe they can succeed.
A new Winnie the Pooh horror film will not be released in Hong Kong and Macau, its distributor has said. VII Pillars Entertainment apologized for the “disappointment and inconvenience” to viewers in China’s Special Administrative Regions. The film was released in the US in February […]
Entertainment What's HotA new Winnie the Pooh horror film will not be released in Hong Kong and Macau, its distributor has said.
VII Pillars Entertainment apologized for the “disappointment and inconvenience” to viewers in China’s Special Administrative Regions.
The film was released in the US in February and across the UK in March.
References to the original and family version of Winnie the Pooh have been used to protest against President Xi Jinping in recent years.
The protest began after an image showing Chinese President Xi Jinping and former US President Barack Obama began circulating in 2013.
Censors in China have since suppressed references to AA Milne’s character, and the 2018 Christopher Robin film was banned in the country.
The Hong Kong Film, Newspaper and Articles Administration Office denied the film was censored, saying it had issued a certificate of approval for the horror film.
The office told Reuters it would not comment on commercial decisions made about the film.
The film’s director Rhys Frake-Waterfield told Reuters: “The cinemas agreed to show it, then they all independently make the same decision overnight. It won’t be a coincidence.
“They claim technical reasons, but there is no technical reason. The film has been shown in over 4,000 cinema screens worldwide. These 30-plus screens in Hong Kong are the only ones with such problems.”
The horror film received a score of only 4% on the film rating site Rotten Tomatoes. It depicts the bear, known for being kind and honest, as a vengeful ax wielding half man, half bear.
It went viral on the internet when the trailer was released.
Frake-Waterfield was able to make the film when the 95-year-old copyright for Milne’s first Winnie the Pooh story passed to the US in January last year.
But Disney — which bought several licenses in the 1960s — still owns some rights. Trademark laws mean the bear can’t wear a red T-shirt in a horror movie, for example.
“We weren’t allowed to have him say things like ‘oh shit’,” Frake-Waterfield told BBC Culture last month.
“There are these elements where we have to be careful not to infringe on their brand and territory because that is not the goal.
“The goal isn’t just to steal their copyright and use it for our own purposes. It’s to get away from something that’s possible to use because it’s now publicly available, and just go to a extreme tangents from that point and make this horrible. alternate version of it.”
The creators of Stranger Things have said their upcoming stage show, based on their hit supernatural Netflix series, is a possibility they “never expected”. Matt and Ross Duffer said the concept had not been “not part of the original plans” when they first wrote it […]
EntertainmentThe creators of Stranger Things have said their upcoming stage show, based on their hit supernatural Netflix series, is a possibility they “never expected”.
Matt and Ross Duffer said the concept had not been “not part of the original plans” when they first wrote it for television eight years ago.
The duo told the BBC there were more spin-off ideas in the works, but said taking the series to the stage is “completely new ground”.
Presented by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions, the new play, called Stranger Things: The First Shadow, will premiere in London’s West End in 14 December 2023.
The spin-off prequel will take place in the same universe as the much-loved TV series.
Ross Duffer spoke of his surprise at the TV show’s success.
“When we made that first season, we were just shocked we were allowed to make a show, so to see what it has become, and now the world is starting to expand, is pretty great. But this is something we never expected,” he said.
Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2016. Nine years and 12 Emmy Awards later, the show is still garnering record-breaking viewing figures.
The fourth season was released in 2022 and currently tops the Netflix most popular English TV list, with over 1.35 billion viewing hour. It also became the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English-language TV show on the streaming service.
The new play is written by Stranger Things writer Kate Trefry and directed by three-time Tony Award-winning director Stephen Daldry.
Daldry was also Oscar-nominated for The Reader, The Hours and Billy Elliot and is executive producer on the TV series The Crown.
Asked how the idea for a theatre production came about, Matt Duffer explained: “The idea did not come from us. I don’t think I would have had the idea. The idea came from Stephen Daldry.”
“Daldry was a big fan of the show and wanted to do a play, but he was so busy with The Crown that I thought this would never happen. Finally a window opened up, he came back and expressed his interest again, and we met up with him and started to talk about what the play could be.”
He added that Daldry had firm ideas about what he had in mind.
“I think when I first heard play, you immediately think it’s going to be a musical of season one or something like that. He was not interested in that kind of thing at all. He wanted to tell a new and original story,” he said.
The Lazio-Roma derby had a lot of tension on the field between the players, but also controversy on the stadium steps. The Jewish community of the Italian capital has denounced anti-Semitic chants in the stadium and posted photos of a fan wearing a Lazio jersey, […]
SportsThe Lazio-Roma derby had a lot of tension on the field between the players, but also controversy on the stadium steps.
The Jewish community of the Italian capital has denounced anti-Semitic chants in the stadium and posted photos of a fan wearing a Lazio jersey, with “Hitlerson” written on the back, above the number 88.
Hitlerson means Hitler’s son, while the number 88 refers to the 8th letter of the alphabet, H, which leads to the phrase “Heil Hitler”.
Since Russia decided to invade Ukraine more than a year ago, its soccer team and Russian clubs have been banned from the World Cup and other competitions organized by FIFA and UEFA. In this long “rest”, the team led by Valery Karpin will be able […]
SportsSince Russia decided to invade Ukraine more than a year ago, its soccer team and Russian clubs have been banned from the World Cup and other competitions organized by FIFA and UEFA.
In this long “rest”, the team led by Valery Karpin will be able to play against Iran and Iraq, two of the few remaining “allied” countries. And another opportunity has appeared on the horizon: CAFA (Central Asian Football Federation) has decided to invite Russia to the first edition of the tournament organized by it, which takes place from June 9 to 21.
Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Russia will be the participating countries. Faridun Saliev, Press Secretary of the Tajikistan Federation, announced that Russia has accepted the invitation, although the terms of participation are still being discussed. It doesn’t look like there will be any problem because the tournament seems to be manufactured so that Russia can compete after a long time without doing something like that.
The major sponsor of the event is the company Gazprom, the largest company in all of Russia. Gazprom was also one of UEFA’s big clients, until the war with Ukraine ended that relationship. In Moscow, they initially planned to leave the highest European body and join the Asian Confederation, but this plan was not realized.
For now, the Russians will compete in friendly tournaments such as CAFA, while the Russian women’s national under-17 team is playing in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship this week.
Barcelona beat Real 2-1 at the Camp Nou in week 26 of La Liga and move to +12 on Los Blancos, ending their title hopes. As for the match, the result was unlocked after nine minutes of play when Ronald Araujo scored an own goal. […]
SportsBarcelona beat Real 2-1 at the Camp Nou in week 26 of La Liga and move to +12 on Los Blancos, ending their title hopes.
As for the match, the result was unlocked after nine minutes of play when Ronald Araujo scored an own goal.
But at the end of the first half, Sergi Roberto equalized the numbers.
When it was thought that the game would end in a draw, in the extra minutes (90’+2), Franck Kessie accepted a ball from Alejandro Balde to score the winning goal.
Meanwhile, in the next match, Barcelona plays on the transfer to Elche, while Real awaits Valladolid.
Sergio Perez was the winner of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Formula 1 this Sunday. The Mexican was put in danger only by his teammate, Max Verstappen, who, although he started from the 15th place, halfway through the race he was second and tried […]
SportsSergio Perez was the winner of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Formula 1 this Sunday. The Mexican was put in danger only by his teammate, Max Verstappen, who, although he started from the 15th place, halfway through the race he was second and tried to win, but in the end he did not succeed as Perez did everything perfectly until the end.
It was the second double of the season for the Red Bull duo and a huge signal to all the other teams that, unless things change quickly, this will be their undisputed season.
Fernando Alonso finished in third place, confirming the quality of the Aston Martin, but after the race he was given a 10-second penalty for having committed another in-race penalty while the safety car was on track. Thus, although Alonso climbed to the podium, in the end the third place went to George Russell and the Spaniard dropped to fourth. In fifth place was Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari was aiming for at least third place in this race, but Carlos Sainz was only sixth, followed by Charles Leclerc. The latter started 12th, but stuck in front of his teammate.
After two races this season, Verstappen leads the standings with 44 points, followed by Perez with 43, while Fernando Alonso has 30 points. As for the cars, Red Bull has 87 points, Aston Martin follows with 38, the same as Mercedes, while Ferrari has accumulated only 26 points.
The next race will take place in Australia on April 2.
Hollywood stars are being asked to pay taxes on this year’s gift bags given to them at the Oscars. It is generally thought that those who are famous are exempt from certain obligations, but the reality is different. At least, when it comes to such […]
EntertainmentHollywood stars are being asked to pay taxes on this year’s gift bags given to them at the Oscars.
It is generally thought that those who are famous are exempt from certain obligations, but the reality is different. At least, when it comes to such amounts.
Gift bags are handed out to Oscar nominees each year and are called “Everybody Wins.” The value of this year’s gift bags is estimated to reach $126,000, and while everyone thought it was a free perk for the candidates, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers it taxable income.
According to Forbes, the value of the gifts would cost $46,620 in federal taxes. Applicants living in California will have to pay an additional 13.3% in state taxes, which amounts to about $16,000. In total, celebrities are required to pay $63,378 in taxes on their supposedly “free” gifts.
Distinctive Assets sees this as a huge benefit, giving companies the exposure they need and allowing stars to try new products and experiences.
However, the heavy tax burden can make gift bags less desirable than they first appear. While some celebrities may be able to “afford” the taxes, this is a significant expense that can affect some financially.