WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
The Justice Department, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster LLC (Live Nation-Ticketmaster) for monopolization and other unlawful conduct that thwarts competition in markets across the live entertainment industry. The lawsuit, which includes a request for structural relief, seeks to restore competition in the live concert industry, provide better choices at lower prices for fans, and open venue doors for working musicians and other performance artists.
The complaint, filed May 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Live Nation-Ticketmaster unlawfully exercises its monopoly power in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. As a result of its conduct, music fans in the United States are deprived of ticketing innovation and forced to use outdated technology while paying more for tickets than fans in other countries. At the same time, Live Nation-Ticketmaster exercises its power over performers, venues, and independent promoters in ways that harm competition. Live Nation-Ticketmaster also imposes barriers to competition that limit the entry and expansion of its rivals.
“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”
“Today’s announcement reflects the latest efforts by the Justice Department to combat corporate misconduct,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Our fight against corporate wrongdoing includes an intense focus on anticompetitive conduct – which disadvantages consumers, workers, and businesses of all kinds. Today’s complaint alleges that Live Nation-Ticketmaster have engaged in anticompetitive conduct to cement their dominance of the live concert market and act as the gatekeeper for an entire industry. Today’s action is a step forward in making this era of live music more accessible for the fans, the artists, and the industry that supports them.”
“The Department is committed to competition throughout the economy, including in live music,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “As our complaint alleges, Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopolizes the markets for concerts and other live events at the expense of fans, venues, and artists across the country. The Department is proud to bring this case to restore competition to this industry.”
“The live music industry in America is broken because Live Nation-Ticketmaster has an illegal monopoly,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Our antitrust lawsuit seeks to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopoly and restore competition for the benefit of fans and artists.”
According to the complaint, Live Nation-Ticketmaster has unlawfully maintained monopolies in several concert promotions and primary ticketing markets and engaged in other exclusionary conduct affecting live concert venues, including arenas and amphitheaters. The complaint further alleges that Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s exclusionary practices fortify and protect what it refers to as its “flywheel.”
The flywheel is Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s self-reinforcing business model that captures fees and revenue from concert fans and sponsorship, uses that revenue to lock up artists to exclusive promotion deals, and then uses its powerful cache of live content to sign venues into long term exclusive ticketing deals, thereby starting the cycle all over again. Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive conduct creates even more barriers for rivals to compete on the merits.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. It describes itself as the “largest live entertainment company in the world,” the “largest producer of live music concerts in the world,” and “the world’s leading live entertainment ticketing sales and marketing company.” Live Nation also owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America, including more than 60 of the top 100 amphitheaters in the United States. It generates over $22 billion globally in annual revenue from three business segments: concerts (e.g., promotions, venue management, and music festival production), ticketing (e.g., Ticketmaster business), and sponsorship and advertising.
Ticketmaster LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Live Nation. It is a Virginia limited liability company with headquarters in Beverly Hills. Ticketmaster sells concert tickets to fans when those tickets first go on sale and operates resale platforms that enable purchasers to resell those tickets at a later time. Ticketmaster is by far the largest concert ticketing company in the United States, multiple times the size of its closest competitor.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 5-28-2024 at 12 p.m.
2024 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2024)
Total Mass Shootings: 216
Total Dead: 291
Total Wounded: 825
Shootings Per Day: 1.45
Days Reached in Year 2024 as of May 28: 149
MIDDLE EAST
WORLD APPALLED BY RAFAH ATTACK
Senior UN officials have condemned Israeli air strikes on May 26 that hit a camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza, reportedly claiming over 35 Palestinian lives, including women and children.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced his horror at further loss of civilian lives in the war-ravaged enclave.
“The images from the camp are horrific and point to no apparent change in the methods and means of warfare used by Israel that have already led to so many civilian deaths,” he said in a news release.
“Sunday’s strike underscores once again that there is literally no safe place in Gaza.”
On May 26, Palestinian armed groups fired a large barrage of rockets towards Tel Aviv in Israel, with several people reported to have been slightly injured. A few hours later, munitions from an Israeli aircraft struck a camp in the Al Hashash area in Rafah.
Reports from the ground indicate several explosions and fires were ignited. The area was said to be sheltering people who had been displaced from North Gaza. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that the strike targeted senior “Hamas officials”, and that they were aware of reports that civilians had been harmed in the resulting fires.
“I note that the IDF has announced a review, but what is shockingly clear is that by striking such an area, densely packed with civilians, this was an entirely predictable outcome. It is crucial that such reviews lead to accountability and changes in policy and practices,” Mr. Türk said.
He reiterated his called on all parties to the conflict to put in place a ceasefire, given the imperative of protecting civilians.
“Palestinian armed groups must stop the firing of rockets which are inherently indiscriminate, in clear violation of international humanitarian law. They must also unconditionally release all hostages at once,” the High Commissioner said.
“Israel must take immediate steps to protect civilians, and ensure they have access to essential humanitarian assistance, and release all those detained arbitrarily,” he added.
Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, also underscored the need for investigation.
“I call upon the Israeli authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into this incident, hold those responsible for any wrongdoing to account, and take immediate steps to better protect civilians,” he said in a statement.
“All parties in the conflict must refrain from actions that set us further away from achieving an end to hostilities and further jeopardize the already fragile situation on the ground and the broader region.”
Echoing those comments, the UN independent human rights expert on housing also urged for “concerted global action” to halt the war, days since the UN’s top court called for an end to Israel’s expanding military operation in Rafah.
“Attacking women and children while they cower in their shelters in Rafah is a monstrous atrocity,” said Balakrishnan Rajagopal, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing. “We need concerted global action to stop Israel’s actions now.”
Appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteurs are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic or country situations. They are not UN staff, do not receive a salary, and serve in their individual capacity.
In a separate social media post the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, also expressed concern about the safety and status of colleagues in Gaza with whom contact has been lost after the attack in Rafah.
“We do not have an established communications line with our colleagues on the ground. We are not able to confirm their location and are extremely concerned for their wellbeing, and the wellbeing of all the displaced people sheltering in this area. No place is safe. No one is safe.”
In addition to the deadly threat of violence, UN humanitarians insisted that famine is still a daily danger for the people of Gaza.
The warning comes amid an almost total halt to lifesaving aid convoy deliveries since the Israeli military seized Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza earlier this month, in response to a rocket attack on Kerem Shalom crossing on May 5 that resulted in the deaths of four Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers.
According to UNRWA’s online portal for UN relief items and fuel entering Gaza via Rafah and nearby Kerem Shalom, no aid trucks have made it into the enclave since last Sunday.
“Aid is there, tens of kilometers away on the boundaries – while the population gets closer to famine,” UNRWA Director of Planning, Sam Rose, said in a post on X (fka Twitter).
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also confirmed serious ongoing challenges receiving and delivering aid throughout Gaza, citing frequent delays, arbitrary checks access restrictions by the Israeli authorities.
ASIA
BANGLADESH & INDIA BATTERED BY CYCLONE
UN teams are working alongside authorities and relief partners to assist communities battered by a tropical cyclone that lashed coastal parts of southern Bangladesh and eastern India.
At least 16 people are reported to have been killed as the region was hit by Cyclone Remal on Sunday evening, local time, bringing gales of over 110 kilometers per hour (about 70 miles per hour), torrential rain and storm surges that inundated low-lying areas.
Classified as a “severe” cyclonic storm, Remal is the first one to occur in the Bay of Bengal during the 2024 pre-monsoon season. The region witnesses several cyclones each year, and the frequency and intensity of these storms have been worsening due to climate change.
At least 150,000 houses have been partially or fully damaged in Bangladesh, and more than 25,000 Rohingya refugees sheltering in camps are at risk of landslides, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) office there.
The agency had teams on the ground since the beginning, supporting early warning and prepositioning supplies to enable a swift response in the aftermath of the storm.
“Through our initial response, UNICEF plans to reach people in the coastal region including Rohingya camps and Cox’s Bazar. Critical funding gaps remain across all sectors to meet the immediate needs of girls, women, and persons with disabilities,” Sheldon Yett, head of UNICEF in Bangladesh, said in a statement late on May 27.
With 3.2 million children estimated to be living in the affected areas – and the most vulnerable during disasters – “the priority is to protect lives and well-being,” he added.
“We remain committed to standing by the people of Bangladesh through this challenging time and providing all necessary assistance to help them survive and recover from the aftermath of Cyclone Remal.”
Other UN agencies for their part are also assisting with the response, including prepositioning emergency food, water, dignity-kits and other essential non-food relief items. They also identified potential buildings and communal spaces that could be used as shelters, helped early warning efforts and activated sector-specific teams.
In India, the cyclone made landfall in southern West Bengal state, near the border with Bangladesh.
According to the UNICEF office in India, about 23.2 million people have faced the impact, including 7.3 million children.
Storm surges coupled with high tides prolonged the inundation of coastal and low-lying areas, salinizing, or saturating with salt, ground water sources of drinking water.
UNICEF is helping efforts to identify the damaged water sources.
It has put eight mobile water treatment plants on standby for deployment, should the Government request the support.
It is also working with provincial authorities and partners to address child protection, water and sanitation, nutrition, health, and education needs of affected children and families.
