approves

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday granted Paramount Skydance’s request to allow Middle Eastern royal families to hold a substantial stake in a merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery.

The sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are slated to indirectly own nearly 50% of the equity in David Ellison’s proposed mega-studio, Paramount-Warner Bros. That will give them a hefty stake in CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, HBO and two historic Hollywood film studios.

Ellison needed FCC approval because the deal will change the ownership structure of CBS.

As part of the Communications Act of 1934, Congress placed restrictions on foreign ownership of broadcast outlets because of concerns about national security. Current rules prevent foreign investors from owning more than 25% of a company that holds a U.S. broadcast license — unless the FCC determines that foreign ownership would serve a public interest.

CBS owns more than two dozen TV stations with FCC licenses, including KCBS-TV Channel 2 and KCAL-TV Channel 9 in Los Angeles.

“Upon review of [Paramount’s] Petition and consideration of the record of this proceeding, we find that the public interest would be served by granting the Petition,” FCC said in its ruling, noting that Paramount has said the proposed ownership changes would “not result in a transfer of control of Paramount.”

Instead, “Ellison family will retain a majority of the voting interests and control of Paramount,” the FCC said.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, an appointee of President Trump, has been supportive of Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Trump and his lieutenants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have been cheering for Ellison to control CNN, a Warner property.

Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democratic FCC commissioner, slammed the agency’s decision, saying it “just let some of the most repressive governments in the world indirectly control nearly all of a combined Paramount-Warner Bros.”

“An investment this large in one of America’s biggest media companies doesn’t just buy equity, it secures influence over what gets said and what gets made,” Gomez said. “That’s why I called for this new and novel issue to go to a full commission vote given what’s at stake. Instead, the FCC snuck this ruling out as a staff-level decision, with no public vote and no accountability for a call of this magnitude.”

Ellison’s billionaire father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, in February agreed to personally guarantee the $47 billion in equity needed to buy out Warner Bros. Discovery’s existing shareholders for $81 billion. Ellison and longtime Skydance investor, RedBird Capital Partners, then entered into agreements to assign some of their purchase rights to the sovereign wealth funds.

The funds plan to invest $24 billion in the Paramount-Warner deal. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is set to contribute $10 billion while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. will separately add $7 billion.

Paramount has separately lined up debt financiers to help pull off the leveraged buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery — Hollywood’s biggest merger in decades. The deal has been stalled by an antitrust challenge brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and 11 other Democratic attorneys general, representing such states as New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon.

The foreign ownership rule was adopted nearly a century ago because members of Congress wanted to make sure that hostile foreign players were barred from using U.S. airwaves to spread propaganda, particularly in times of war.

“We appreciate the FCC’s careful review and are pleased that it has granted Paramount’s petition,” Paramount said in a statement, adding the Trump administration’s Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector had separately recommended approval of the deal, subject to several conditions to protect the data of the company’s U.S. based consumers.

Paramount said that, once the deal closes, the Ellison family and RedBird would “collectively hold the largest equity stake in the combined company and 100% of the voting shares, with no other equity participant having any governance rights.”

Paramount has two classes of stock — an ownership structure that will be replicated in a merged Paramount-Warner Bros.

The Ellison family owns 77.5% of Paramount’s voting Class A common stock. RedBird indirectly holds the remaining 22.5% of the Class A shares. The Ellison family separately has 40% of the non-voting Class B shares.

“At a time when the media industry faces unprecedented competitive pressure from dominant big tech companies, a combined Paramount-WBD will have the scale and resources necessary to compete, invest, innovate, and deliver premium content to audiences worldwide,” Paramount said in its statement.

MADRID: Spain’s ‌lower house voted on Thursday to grant citizenship to Sahrawis born when Madrid administered the North African territory of Western Sahara as a colony, a move that could inflame delicate relations with Morocco.

The legislation, which a statement from parliament said was approved with 168 votes in favor, 31 against and 145 abstentions, would also allow descendants of those granted citizenship to acquire it.

Some 70,000 to 110,000 Sahrawis could be eligible for Spanish citizenship, according ‌to local media.

Spain’s ‌ruling Socialist Party and its junior ‌left-wing partner Sumar, which filed the initiative, were among those who supported the bill, while the opposition conservative People’s Party abstained and far-right Vox voted against it.

“With the adoption of this legislation, we are restoring – and I emphasise, restoring – the Spanish national identity card to those Sahrawis who once held it and from whom this state ‌took it away,” said Tesh ‌Sidi of the leftist Sumar coalition, the first woman of Sahrawi ‌origin to serve in parliament.

Tensions with Morocco

Tensions have ‌grown between Spain and Morocco following the mass arrival of at least 70,000 migrants in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in July.

Spain controlled Western Sahara under various administrative arrangements ‌from 1884 until 1976. Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara and began asserting control over the territory after Spanish rule ended.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement seeks recognition of an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Many Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, or elsewhere abroad, while others remain in Western Sahara. Spain had supported a referendum in the territory — in line with United Nations resolutions — until Sanchez’s government reversed course in 2022 and backed Morocco’s position. Tensions eased somewhat after that shift, with Madrid describing Rabat’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara as “serious, credible and realistic”.

RIYADH: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has granted marketing authorization for two locally developed, artificial intelligence-enabled medical software products — Dental IQ and SAARIA — designed to support dental and ophthalmic diagnosis.

The authorization was granted following a comprehensive regulatory review, including the assessment of technical documentation and clinical evidence to verify the software’s safety, performance, and effectiveness for its intended uses, the authority said. The SFDA in a statement to Arab News said the aim is to enhance diagnostic accuracy for dental and periodontal diseases. Dental IQ utilizes deep learning algorithms to analyze dental X-ray images and support the identification of potential pathological findings, including dental caries, periodontal disease, and structural changes affecting the teeth and supporting tissues.

“This supports healthcare practitioners in improving diagnostic accuracy and informing appropriate treatment planning,” said the SFDA.

SAARIA will enable early detection of diabetic retinopathy. The software utilizes AI technologies to analyze retinal images to support the screening of diabetic patients and the early detection of diabetic retinopathy in healthcare settings.

This supports the identification of patients who may require further specialized ophthalmic evaluation, thereby facilitating timely referral and interventions and helping to reduce the risk of disease-related complications. These two products, according to the SFDA, represent a significant national milestone as the first Saudi-developed AI-enabled medical software solutions in dentistry and ophthalmology to receive the authority’s marketing authorization.

Designed as clinical support tools, they assist healthcare practitioners in making informed clinical decisions. Notably, both software products have been developed by Saudi startups specializing in AI-driven digital health solutions.

The companies enrolled in the SFDA’s Innovative Medical Devices Pathway, receiving early regulatory guidance and fulfilling the relevant requirements.

This included conducting local clinical studies in the Kingdom to validate the performance of their software in local healthcare settings and committing to post-marketing clinical follow-up plans to monitor real-world performance and ensure continued safe use. The SFDA, however, cautions against relying solely on the outputs of AI-enabled medical software for clinical decision-making.

“Such outputs are intended to support clinical decision-making and do not replace the healthcare professional’s clinical judgment. Healthcare professionals are responsible for reviewing and validating the outputs and making appropriate clinical decisions based on the patient’s condition,” said the authority.

The granting of marketing authorization for the software reflects the SFDA’s strategic commitment to fostering responsible innovation in digital health, supporting the localization of advanced medical technologies, and facilitating timely market access to safe, effective, and high-quality medical devices.

This milestone also contributes to the broader objectives of the Health Sector Transformation Program in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to improve healthcare access and quality by enhancing primary care, hospital services, emergency response, and digital transformation.

Sept. 4 (UPI) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new, targeted breast cancer drug for patients who become resistant to hormone therapy.

The drug, camizestrant, was approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval program.

It acts on ESR1 mutations, which are acquired resistances that tumors may develop during treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

“Women living with metastatic breast cancer face an uphill battle as their tumors continuously evolve to escape treatment,” acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said in a statement. “We owe them every weapon in our arsenal.”

“Today’s approval delivers a win to these patients by granting them a targeted therapy designed specifically to overcome resistance, giving them more time before their disease progresses.”

Dr. Angelo de Claro, director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence, said, “I commend both the FDA and the sponsor for their commitment to advancing cancer care and securing this accelerated approval.”

“This marks the first FDA approval of a cancer therapy guided by the detection of a resistance mutation in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) before imaging tests show that the disease is progressing,” he added.

“But additional evidence is needed to confirm clinical benefit.”

Sept. 3 (UPI) — The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill to bar colleges and universities from participating in boycotts of Israel or preventing students taking part in exchange programs with the country.

The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, which was backed by Republicans, passed in a 237-169 vote. Thirty-three Democrats broke with the rest of their party to vote for the bill, while two Republicans voted no.

According to the bill, colleges and universities that take part in federal student aid programs would be barred from participating in boycotts of Israel. Institutions that receive federal funds for international and foreign language programs would be required to certify they do not impose restrictions on students taking part in programs in Israel.

Students from Israel taking part in programs on their campuses also would be covered.

“This legislation is about a simple principle: our colleges and universities should not discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students, and federal taxpayer dollars should never support institutions that engage in such discrimination,” said House Education Committee Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mich.

The ranking Democrat on the educational committee, Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, said the bill possibly violated the First Amendment.

“No college or university has embraced the BDS movement anyway,” he said. “So, we should combat antisemitism wherever it occurs, but we should not do so by punishing protected speech or conflating a student’s view with university policies.”

Most of the Democrats who voted in favor of the bill are facing tough re-election races in November, or back Israel. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, who co-sponsored the bill, called it “narrow and tailored’ and needed to fight anti-Semitism.

“No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they are from or what religion they practice,” he said in a statement.

“Yet, that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do – targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.”

The legislation now goes to the Senate for debate.

Sept. 2 (UPI) — Nicaragua’s National Assembly gave initial approval to a constitutional reform that would bar opposition parties from participating in elections and extend presidential terms from six to seven years.

The measure formally suspends elections scheduled for November, extending the terms of co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo and pushing the country’s next elections to 2028.

Nicaraguan law requires constitutional amendments to be approved by two separate legislative sessions before taking effect.

The reform cleared its first vote in the National Assembly but faces a second round of approval in January, according to Murillo, local news outlet Divergentes reported.

If approved, the reform would consolidate a political system without electoral competition by giving the state the authority to exclude opposition groups under broad and discretionary criteria related to the defense of sovereignty and national security.

The reform also extends the terms of the co-presidents and other elected officials, as well as the heads of the military and police, from six to seven years, HCH reported.

Following the reform’s approval, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday called on international partners to immediately end business as usual with Nicaragua’s government, warning that repressive regimes should not enjoy the commercial and political benefits afforded to democracies in the region.

In a statement, the State Department condemned the constitutional reform, accusing the Ortega-Murillo-controlled National Assembly of “gutting what was left of Nicaragua’s democracy.”

Washington said it would pursue multilateral action at the next foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organization of American States, or OAS, and reaffirmed its commitment to coordinating and implementing a new round of economic and financial sanctions aimed at curbing abuses by the Sandinista government.

The approved reform builds on constitutional changes enacted in February 2025, when Nicaragua’s National Assembly extended the presidential term from five to six years, created the position of co-president for Murillo, who had previously served as vice president, and reorganized the structure of the state, Infobae reported.

Ortega, 80, has governed Nicaragua since 2006 and publicly declared in July that the country would no longer hold elections in order to prevent the opposition from returning to power.