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(PARIS) — France is now the first country in Europe to regulate influencer marketing on social media, cracking down on what people can monetize and promote online with a new law passed on Thursday.

“The law was passed in record time and unanimously, which shows how much support it had in both government and parliament,” Stéphane Vojetta, one of the French legislators who championed this new bill, told ABC News. “There was a clear understanding of the need to urgently respond to the challenge at hand.”

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that involves people leveraging their reputation to endorse products or services in exchange for money.

There are an estimated 150,000 influencers creating content on social media aimed at a French audience, according to France’s Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty.

This new law makes it unlawful for influencers to create paid content promoting cosmetic surgeries, online sports betting sites or financial products like cryptocurrencies.

Influencers and companies caught violating the law could face up to two years in prison and 300,000 euros ($330,000) in fines, and see their ability to post on platforms potentially be revoked, according to the text of the bill.

Until Thursday, no law in France directly regulated commercial activity on social media leaving consumers vulnerable to scams and frauds.

Influencers will now be required to label all paid content, adding extra disclaimers if the content has been filtered or edited.

The law also closes an existing loophole when it comes to online advertisement, Vojetta tells ABC News. Now, content creators will have to abide by existing French advertising laws when it comes to the promotion of products and services.

For example, posts promoting sodas or processed food will have to include a message reminding consumers to undertake physical activity, similar to how it would be done on television.

The Senate unanimously adopted the law and will go into effect within the next two weeks. The Ministry of Economics and Finance has already released guidance for paid influencers on how to operate lawfully moving forward.

“It is a sector in which we believe in because it creates jobs and because it values French culture and creativity,” said Bruno Le Maire, the French economic minister, describing the influencer economy at a press conference in March.

“The best way to protect it is to define a framework and rules so that in this dynamic sector, there are no profiteers, stowaways, or people who can take advantage of the weakness of certain consumers,” Bruno Le Maire said.

Over 42 million consumers in France purchase goods or services online, according to a report by the government’s Directorate General for Enterprise.

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(NEW YORK) — William and Kate traveled from their home in Windsor, England, to Jordan to attend the wedding of Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, 28, and Rajwa Alseif, 29, on Thursday.

The Waleses are reportedly among 1,700 guests at the high-profile wedding.

Kate was seen arriving in a pale pink dress, while William chose a dark suit and blue tie for the occasion.

U.S. first lady Dr. Jill Biden was also in attendance at the royal wedding, held at Zahran Palace.

The bride and groom were both educated in the United States.

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(LONDON and BERLIN) — German authorities said Thursday that “a number of items were seized” in Portugal during a renewed search for missing British child Madeleine McCann.

“These will be evaluated in the coming days and weeks,” the Braunschweig District Attorney’s Office in Germany said in a statement. “It is not yet possible to say whether any of the items are actually related to the Madeleine McCann case.”

German, Portuguese and British police took part in the three-day operation in the Algarve region of southern Portugal last week, during which officers were seen scouring the banks of the Arade reservoir for possible evidence. The area is about 30 miles from the Praia da Luz resort, where McCann was last seen in 2007. The 3-year-old was on vacation with her family at the time.

A number of searches have been conducted over the years, but the latest was done at the request of German authorities. Portuguese police said last week that all material collected during the operation would be handed over to German authorities for examination.

“Sincere thanks go out to all police officers involved in the search,” the Braunschweig District Attorney’s Office said. “The cooperation between the Portuguese police, the police officers from Great Britain and the and the Federal Criminal Police Office was excellent and very constructive.”

In 2020, German police identified 45-year-old German citizen Christian Brueckner as a suspect in McCann’s disappearance. Brueckner, who was in Portugal’s Algarve region in 2007, is currently in jail in the northern German city of Braunschweig for a different case.

“The investigations conducted here in Braunschweig against the 46-year-old suspect are are expected to continue for some time,” the district attorney’s office added.

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(NEW YORK) — Canada has announced that it will begin putting individual warning labels on cigarettes and other tobacco products in an effort to further reduce their appeal, becoming the world’s first country to use such a measure.

Beginning on Aug. 1, Canada will implement a phased approach that will force cigarette companies to put individual health warnings on their products starting with king size cigarettes by the end of July 2024 and all other products — including regular size cigarettes and little cigars — by the end of April 2025.

“The new Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations will be part of the Government of Canada’s continued efforts to help adults who smoke to quit, to protect youth and non-tobacco users from nicotine addiction, and to further reduce the appeal of tobacco,” Health Canada said in a statement announcing the new tobacco labelling policy. “Labelling the tipping paper of individual cigarettes, little cigars, tubes, and other tobacco products will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings altogether. In addition, the regulations will support Canada’s Tobacco Strategy and its target of reaching less than 5% tobacco use by 2035.”

Canada announced other measures they plan on implementing as well such as strengthening and updating health-related messages on tobacco product packaging, extending the requirement for these messages to all tobacco product packaging and making sure there is a periodic rotation of the message.

“Tobacco use continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year. We are taking action by being the first country in the world to label individual cigarettes with health warning messages. This bold step will make health warning messages virtually unavoidable, and together with updated graphic images displayed on the package, will provide a real and startling reminder of the health consequences of smoking,” Carolyn Bennett, minister of Mental Health and Addictions and associate minister of Health, said in the government’s statement announcing the new measures. “We will continue to do whatever it takes to help more people in Canada stop smoking and help young people to live healthy tobacco-free lives.”

While copies of the full regulations are currently available upon request, the new policy will be published for the general public on June 7 in an edition of the Canada Gazette, Health Canada said.

“The requirement for a health warning directly on every cigarette is a world precedent setting measure that will reach every person who smokes with every puff,” said Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society. “The new regulations deserve strong support.”

Canada first adopted imaged warning requirements on tobacco product packages in 2000 but the current health-related messages and images for cigarettes and little cigars have been in place since 2011. These new regulations also bring Canada into full compliance with the tobacco labelling obligations under Article 11 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by extending health warning and toxicity information requirements to all tobacco product packages.

“Tobacco use continues to be one of Canada’s most significant public health problems, and is the country’s leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in Canada,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s minister of Health, in the announcement. “Our government is using every evidence-based tool at our disposal to help protect the health of Canadians, especially young people. Beginning next year, these new measures will help make sure that everyone across the country can receive credible information on the risks of tobacco use so they can make healthier choices for their wellbeing.”

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(LONDON) — Negotiations between Sudan’s warring parties fell apart Wednesday as both sides accused each other of cease-fire violations.

ABC News has reached out to the Sudanese Armed Forces for comment.

There was no immediate comment Saudi Arabia or the United States, which have been mediating the talks.

In response to the military’s move, the Rapid Support Forces said in a statement that it “unconditionally backs the Saudi-U.S. inititive” and the “recent SAF violations have not deterred us from honoring our commitments.”

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(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea acknowledged on Wednesday its failure to launch a military spy satellite, an attempt that U.S. officials called a “brazen violation” of U.N. resolutions.

After admitting the failure in an unusually short time, North Korea’s state news agency reported that a second launch attempt will be made as soon as possible.

The satellite crashed into the West Sea as it lost its thrust due to an abnormality in the start of the two-stage mover after the first stage was separated during a normal flight, according to state media.

The satellite essentially blew up in the air, an embarrassment for Kim Jong Un’s government, a senior U.S. official told ABC News. North Korea said in 2018 that it put a satellite into space, but international analysts later said that wasn’t true.

Citizens in Seoul, South Korea received a “presidential alert” phone message early on Wednesday morning, shortly after the satellite launch, from the Seoul Metropolitan Government which noted that “all citizens should be ready to evacuate.”

Twenty-two minutes later, the Ministry of Interior and Safety in charge of sending disaster alerts across the country sent another alert noting that the initial message to Seoul was “an erroneous alert.”

Another 22 minutes later, Seoul Metropolitan Government clarified that their earlier message was due to a “North Korean missile launch” and “the alert has been lifted.”

Some citizens whose phones’ operating systems were set up in English received messages titled “wartime alert,” which sent jitters across the foreign community.

The confusing alert messages from the city and the government raised criticisms over whether the authorities were overreacting or actively administering.

“Unlike North Korea’s usual launch into the East Sea, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which is responsible for the safety of 10 million citizens in the situation of launching south this time, decided that immediate action is necessary and issued an alert,” Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, said.

“South Korean people are not trained nor have they been carrying out drills to prepare for such attacks. The problem is, cases like this will most likely happen again more frequently,” Park Jae Wan, professor of Security Strategy at Seoul-based Kookmin University in Seoul, told ABC News.

President Joe Biden and his national security team are assessing the launch in close coordination with allies and partners, according to National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge.

The launch used ballistic missile technology, “which is a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, raises tensions, and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond,” Hodge said in a statement.

“We urge all countries to condemn this launch and call on the DPRK to come to the table for serious negotiations,” Hodge said. “The door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement.”

South Korea’s military retrieved parts of North Korea’s satellite wreckage from the sea and plans to analyze the technology used in the projectile which North Korea claims to be a “satellite.”

North Korea’s National Space Development Administration is analyzing the cause of the accident.

Wednesday’s launch also prompted brief evacuation alerts in Japan.

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(NEW YORK) — A young couple who were living together have been shot dead by their landlord following a dispute with the man who was 30 years their elder, police say.

Police in Hamilton, Canada, initially received a call at approximately 5:40 p.m. on Saturday evening and responded to a residence on Jones Road in Stoney Creek, Ontario — located 45 miles south of Toronto.

But when officers from the Hamilton Police Service arrived on site, they found two deceased victims — a 27-year-old female and a 28-year-old male who would later be identified by the Hamilton Police Service as Carissa MacDonald of Stoney Creek, but formerly of Huntsville, and Aaron Stone from Hamilton.

The suspect involved in the double homicide was the 57-year-old landlord who had allegedly committed the crime before police arrived, according to the Hamilton Police Service.

“The 57-year-old landlord barricaded himself in the residence with firearms that were registered to him. Hamilton Police Emergency Response Unit contained the area, while negotiators engaged in contact with the male in an attempt to peacefully resolve the incident,” police said. “At one point during the negotiations, the suspect fired at the Hamilton Police [armored] vehicle. The suspect later fired additional rounds, which resulted in an interaction with police.”

The threat was neutralized by the police and authorities say Special Investigations Unit was subsequently contacted and invoked their mandate over the investigation. It was unclear whether the suspect had been taken into custody alive.

Families of both victims have been notified, police said, and several witnesses have already been interviewed by the Homicide Unit and have been cooperative with the ongoing investigation as police continue to appeal for more witnesses.

Anybody with information is asked to contact Detective Robert DiIanni of the Hamilton Police Service at 905-546-3836.

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(NEW YORK) — A passenger sitting next to the man on the Asiana Airlines flight who opened an emergency exit door in mid-air has spoken out about those terrifying moments on the plane.

Lee Yoon-Joon told the Yonhap News Agency that he initially didn’t have a good impression of his seatmate, claiming the man gave off a “bad vibe.”

After the man opened the door, Lee said he jumped into action, pulling the man back with the help of the flight attendants. Initially, they said they thought a mechanical malfunction had caused the door to open.

“Frankly speaking, I thought, ‘Am I going to die?'” Lee recalled. “A million things were on my mind at that moment.”

Lee said it became hard to breathe with the door open and the wind was like a “disaster movie.” Other passengers on the plane were crying, he said.

“I am an ordinary citizen and did what the flight attendant told me,” he added.

Dramatic video shows Lee, wearing red shorts, and his fellow passengers getting blasted by the high-speed wind through the open door in the final minutes of the flight.

“Air would be rushing by the airplane just outside,” Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who was not on the flight, told ABC News, speaking to what the passengers would have experienced once the door was opened. “At that speed, about 160 miles an hour, from all indications, that would be the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane-scale speed.”

Experts say the door was only able to open because of the plane’s altitude.

The plane, an Airbus A321-200, was about 700 feet above the ground as it prepared to land at Daegu International Airport in South Korea, Transport Ministry officials said. At cruising altitude, experts say, the pressure in the plane would have made it impossible to open the exit door.

Asiana Airlines said in a statement that it has since stopped selling emergency exit seats on certain planes as a safety precaution.

Twelve passengers on board were taken to the hospital for respiratory issues and other minor symptoms after the flight landed following the May 26 incident. They’ve since all been released.

Police said the suspect, who was arrested Sunday and faces up to 10 years in prison for violating aviation security laws, is “mentally struggling.” During preliminary questioning, the 33-year-old told police he felt like was suffocating and wanted to get off the plane quickly. The suspect had recently lost a job and was under stress when the incident occurred, according to police.

There were 194 people on board the aircraft, including a group of teenage athletes on their way to a track and field competition, according to Asiana Airlines.

Ahead of his court appearance, the suspect told reporters, “I’m really sorry to the kids.”

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(CHINA) — A Chinese J-16 jet fighter flew directly in front of an American surveillance plane flying in international airspace over the South China Sea last Friday, forcing the U.S. Air Force plane to fly through the fighter’s wake turbulence and causing the U.S. aircraft to shake.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command labeled the Chinese intercept as “unprofessional” and “an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” and released a video taken from inside the American plane’s cockpit that captured the incident.

“A People’s Republic of China J-16 fighter pilot performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver during the intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, May 26, 2023,” said a statement from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Here is video of the incident where the J-16 flew in front of the RC-135 at a distance of 400 feet, the US plane then flew through its wake — you can see the plane bounce. pic.twitter.com/rRdGfDSR1x

— luis martinez (@LMartinezABC) May 30, 2023

“The PRC pilot flew directly in front of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the U.S. aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence,” said the statement. “The RC-135 was conducting safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law.”

The video released by INDOPACOM captured the moment that the Chinese fighter streaked across the American plane’s flight path at what a U.S. official said was a distance of 400 feet.

Taken from inside the RC-135’s cockpit, presumably by a crew member, the video also captured the moment when the reconnaissance aircraft flew through the wake turbulence causing the aircraft to shake.

American aircraft and ship transiting in the international airspace and waters in the South China Sea are routinely harassed by Chinese ships and aircraft. The American aircraft and warships transit through the region regularly to counter China’s broad territorial maritime claims.

The American statement reaffirmed that the “The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Joint Force will continue to fly in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law.”

“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” it added.

A senior U.S. defense official speaking Tuesday about Friday’s incident to a small group of reporters expressed the belief that the Chinese harassment is coordinated and increasing in frequency.

“We don’t believe it’s done by pilots operating independently,” said the official. “We believe it’s part of a wider pattern we see in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and elsewhere.”

The last such incident occurred on Dec. 21, 2022, when a PLA J-11 fighter pilot “performed an unsafe maneuver during an intercept of a U.S. Air force RC-135,” according to INDO-PACOM.

The official noted that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other U.S. officials have publicly voiced concern over what they say is an increase in unsafe incidents by Chinese military assets that could have the potential to create an unsafe incident or miscalculation.

The senior defense official said the U.S. would express its concerns about Friday’s incident “through the appropriate, established diplomatic and military channels.”

Austin is headed to Asia this week for meetings with regional defense leaders but he will not meet with his Chinese counterpart as China declined a U.S. offer for a meeting at an international security conference in Singapore.

The senior defense official said the timing of the U.S. military’s release of the video was not tied to that meeting but was instead “subject to the U.S. military declassification process and U.S. diplomatic communication process.”

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(LONDON) — Several artisanal miners are feared trapped in an underground gold mine shaft in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

Several illegal miners have reportedly entered AngloGold Ltd.’s Obuasi Mines in the Anwiam, Ashanti Region, searching for gold deposits. However, the miners found themselves unable to exit after the entrances were shut, officials said.

AngloGold Ashanti Ghana told ABC News it is aware of reports alleging that illegal miners may have been trapped in the northern areas of its mine.

“Obuasi Gold Mine’s management team has notified the relevant authorities and public security services and is working closely with them,” a statement from the company said.

Several illegal miners are reported to have been in the mine, according to local reports, with devastated family members of the miners telling local media that they have been unable to reach them for four days.

AngloGold tells ABC that seven illegal miners have thus far exited the mine and are currently in the custody of the Ghana Police Service.

“Intrusion of illegal miners into underground areas remains a significantly dangerous activity and AngloGold Ashanti Ghana is working alongside authorities to ensure that only authorized personnel and contractors can access underground work areas,” the company said in a statement.

AngloGold has denied any of the illegal miners are trapped or “confined in any way,” saying the main exit ramp — where security and police remain — is open.

“Unauthorised persons underground are able to exit on foot, via the existing ramp, through the main access of this mining area,” AngloGold’s statement said.

AngloGold Ltd. Is the world’s fourth-largest gold producer. According to AngloGold, its Obuasi underground mine operation runs to a depth of 1,500 meters at its deepest point. It has produced 250koz of gold, with a workforce of 4,403 people, including contractors.

Studies have found that rising unemployment coupled with the lucrativeness of mining has led to an upsurge in miners, many of whom operate illegally as a means to earn a living. Gold mining is a lucrative revenue source for corporations and small-scale and artisanal miners alike. The artisanal and small-scale mining sector is estimated to employ up to 1 million people in Ghana.

According to Ghana’s Minerals and Mining Act, persons partaking in small-scale mining are required to obtain a license, however regulation of small-scale mining in Africa’s top gold-producing nation has been mostly unsuccessful, with research finding that over 85% of small-scale mining still occurs illegally. Poor regulation has also led to the occurrence of human rights violations in Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining trade such as child labor, according to the Human Rights Watch.

“Intrusion of illegal miners into underground areas remains a significantly dangerous activity and AngloGold Ashanti Ghana is working alongside authorities to ensure that only authorized mine personnel and contractors can access underground work areas,” AngloGold told ABC News.

ABC News reached out to Ghana’s Mineral Commission, who confirmed that incident was ongoing, but declined to comment further.

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