News Headlines - 21 March 2018

▽Tear gas released in Kosovo parliament by opposition party in bid to stop vote | The Independent

Tear gas has been released in Kosovo's parliament by opposition MPs in a bid to stop a vote on a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro.
The Self-Determination Movement party used three tear gas canisters in the Assembly building as the vote was due to start on Wednesday, forcing all politicians to leave the hall.

▽EU reveals a digital tax plan that could penalize Google, Amazon and Facebook

The European Commission — the executive arm of the European Union (EU) — unveiled plans Wednesday to tax companies where they actually generate business, rather than where they are headquartered.
The proposed changes to how digital businesses are taxed could substantially increase the amount such firms have to pay in taxes. It says those firms with significant online revenues should pay a 3 percent tax, but it would only apply to certain online revenue streams like the sale of user data or online advertising.
According to data from the European Commission, digital companies pay on average an effective tax rate of 9.5 percent — compared to 23.2 percent for traditional businesses.

▽Hacker Adrian Lamo Has Died at 37 | WIRED

Lamo first gained notoriety online in the early 2000s for hacking companies like Yahoo! and AOL, as well as The New York Times. In 2004, after accepting a plea bargain, Lamo was sentenced for hacking the newspaper, where he had added his name to an internal list of op-ed writers and racked up $300,000 in charges using the organization's subscription to Lexis-Nexis, a pay-per-use search tool.
He was also known for tipping US government authorities about the actions of whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who was later sentenced to 35 years in prison for providing Wikileaks with 750,000 classified military cables. (President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sentence in 2017.)

▽Austin bombings suspect commits suicide as police close in - France 24

US law enforcement officials have identified the Austin bombings suspect as Mark Anthony Conditt, 23, who blew himself up as police closed in on him in an Austin suburb overnight.

▽Serena Williams beaten by emerging talent Naomi Osaka at Miami Open | The Guardian

Naomi Osaka defeated 23-times grand slam singles champion Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 in the Miami Open first round on Wednesday, the latest big win for the emerging 20-year-old Japanese player.