Page 32 - Europe

ChatGPT violated European privacy laws, Italy tells chatbot maker OpenAI

Italian regulators said they told OpenAI that its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot has violated European Union's stringent data privacy rules. The country's data protection authority, known as Garante, said on Monday that it notified San Francisco-based OpenAI of breaches of the EU rules, known as General Data Protection Regulation. The watchdog started investigating ChatGPT last year, when it temporarily banned within Italy the chatbot that can produce text, images and sound in response to users' questions. Based on the results of its fact-finding activity," the watchdog said it concluded that the available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions in the EU privacy rules. OpenAI has 30 days to reply to the allegations. It didn't respond immediately to a request for comment. The company said last year that it fulfilled a raft of conditions that the Garante demanded to get the ChatGPT ban lifted. The watchdog had imposed the ban after finding that some

Europe's economic blahs drag on with zero growth at end of last year

Europe's economy failed to expand at the end of 2023, with the stagnation now lasting for more than a year amid higher energy prices, costlier credit and lagging growth in powerhouse Germany. Zero economic growth for the October-to-December period of last year follows a 0.1 per cent contraction in the three months before that, according to figures released on Tuesday by EU statistics agency Eurostat. That extends a miserable run of economic blahs: The 20 countries that use the euro currency have not shown significant growth since the third quarter of 2022, when the economy grew 0.5 per cent. And the start of this year looks no better, with indicators of business activity still flashing red for contraction. Plus, disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea have constricted global trade through the Suez Canal, a major route between Asia and Europe, surging shipping costs and threatening to boost inflation. The eurozone is still struggling to find a bottom, said Holger Schmieding, chief ..

EAM speaks to Israeli counterpart Katz, discusses regional security issues

Israel on Monday expressed its gratitude towards India for its friendship and support and discussed regional security threats, including the security of shipping and regional projects which connect India with the Middle East. Had a good conversation today with Indian foreign minister @DrSJaishankar in which I expressed my gratitude for his friendship and support of Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. We discussed regional security threats including security of shipping and regional projects which connect India with the Middle East," Katz said in the post. Freedom of navigation in international waters has been a major concern in the region with Iran-backed Houthis disrupting shipping lines, causing major economic concerns raising prices of essential items and also threatening regional peace. The continued attacks will also adversely impact the plans for an India- Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) projec

Amazon calls off bid to buy vacuum maker iRobot amid scrutiny in Europe, US

Amazon called off its proposed acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot on Monday as the deal faced antitrust scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, with the ecommerce giant blaming undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles. The companies said in joint statement that they entered into a mutual agreement to terminate their announced acquisition agreement and expressed disappointment. Amazon's announced in 2022 that it would buy iRobot, maker of the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum, for $1.7 billion in cash. But the value of the deal fell 15% after iRobot incurred new debt. Amazon will pay the Bedford, Massachusetts-based company a previously agreed termination fee, which wasn't disclosed in the statement Monday. The same day, iRobot announced that it would now lay off about 31% of its staff and its CEO would depart. The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, had informed Amazon last year of its preliminary view that the acquisition of t

Bank of Japan meeting gives yen a jolt, euro dips amid global volatility

After that excitement, however, the yen last traded flat on the day at 148.0 per dollar, having been as weak as 148.6 and as strong as 146.9

Consumer goods companies set for mixed sales as prices in US ease

The easing of prices came as U.S. consumer confidence increased during the quarter after months of decline, with Americans growing more optimistic about current and future business conditions

What does disruption to shipping in Red Sea mean for Europe's economy?

For the European economy, already skirting a mild recession as it tries to shake off high inflation, prolonged disruption would be a new risk to its outlook

UK economy grew more than expected in Nov but still risks recession

Britain's economy struggled to gain momentum in 2023, as households were squeezed by rapid inflation and the highest Bank of England (BoE) interest rates in 15 years

Know my VIP pick, commitment to Nato on European treatment, says Trump

The frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Trump was asked by anchors at a live Fox News town hall who was under consideration for vice president on his ticket.

Gabriel Attal becomes France's youngest PM as Macron shakes up govt

Gabriel Attal was named on Tuesday as France's youngest-ever prime minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Macron's office announced the appointment in a statement. Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government spokesman and education minister. He is France's first openly gay prime minister. His predecessor Elisabeth Borne resigned Monday following recent political turmoil over an immigration law that strengthens the government's ability to deport foreigners. Macron, a 46-year-old centrist whose term ends in 2027, is to name a government in the coming days.

Extreme cold weather leaves thousands without power in Nordic countries

Extremely cold temperatures compounded by gale-force winds and snow wreaked havoc across the Nordic region Thursday, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways. Heavy rains in Germany, France and the Netherlands again caused floods in regions that have seen persistent flooding in the last two weeks. One death was reported in France. The deep freeze disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region amid reports of traffic chaos following closures of sections of highways and major roads. Problems with rail service have also been reported. Electricity was cut to some 4,000 homes in Arctic Sweden where temperatures plummeted to minus 38 degrees Celsius (minus 36.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Swedish public radio. In the southern part of the country, motorists were stuck in their cars or evacuated to a nearby sporting complex where they spent the night. In neighbouring Denmark, police urged motorists to avo

Chinese automaker BYD's first car factory in Europe planned in Hungary

Chinese automaker BYD said on Friday that it plans to build a new electric vehicle plant in Hungary, its first car factory in Europe, as part of its rapid global expansion. Hungary will be the centre for its European operations, BYD said in a notice on its Weibo social media account. BYD, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said it plans to create thousands of jobs in creating a local green ecosystem for manufacturing its electric vehicles. The factory will have an advanced production line and will be built in phases, it said without giving details on the amount of money to be invested. BYD is among EV manufacturers making fast inroads into Europe, to the extent that European regulators have begun a probe into Chinese government support for the industry. The company, whose name stands for Build Your Dreams, began direct EV sales in Hungary in October. The company says it plans to launch three new models in Europe within the coming year in addition to the five models it

10 people killed, 30 injured in a mass shooting in downtown Prague

A mass shooting in downtown Prague killed 10 people and injured about 30 others, and the person who opened fire also is dead, Czech police and the city's rescue service said Thursday. Police gave no details about the victims or the circumstances of the gunfire in the Czech Republic's capital. They said officers were deployed due to a shooting at a school in Jan Palach Square. The philosophy department of Charles University, which is located in the square, was evacuated, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said. The police department said the square has been sealed off. It urged people to leave the surrounding streets and stay inside. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said no other assailant was at the scene, but he urged people to cooperate with police. Prague's rescue service confirmed that 11 people had died, including the shooter. It said about 30 others suffered various injuries, including nine with serious ones. Pavel Nedoma, the director of Rudolfinum Gallery, which also is loc

Fears over asylum-seekers' rights as EU hails migration deal breakthrough

European Union leaders and top officials hailed on Wednesday a major breakthrough in talks on new rules to control migration, but critics said the reforms will weaken the rights of asylum-seekers and encourage more morally dubious deals with countries that people leave to get to Europe. After overnight talks, visibly exhausted EU lawmakers emerged expressing relief that agreement was found on the core political elements of the Pact on Asylum and Migration a major overhaul of rules that many hope will address the challenges posed by migrant arrivals over the last decade. It's truly a historic day, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, flanked by lawmakers responsible for the key parts of the agreement. With migration likely to be a hot campaign issue ahead of EU elections next June, Metsola said, it was vital to make a breakthrough. Let's not underestimate the risk if we had not reached such a deal, she told reporters. This means, hopefully, that member states will fee

Ready to talk on Ukraine but will defend our national interests: Putin

Putin, who sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, has repeatedly said he would be prepared to talk about peace, though Western officials say he is waiting for the U.S. presidential election

No place for Islam in Europe: Italy's Giorgia Meloni

Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni on Saturday said that Islamic culture and the values and rights of European civilisation have a "compatibility problem". Watch the videos to know more >

Iceland volcano erupts in Reykjanes Peninsula weeks after people evacuated

A volcanic eruption started Monday night on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the country's civil defence to be on high alert. The eruption appears to have occurred about four kilometers (2.4 miles) from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of light illuminating the sky at 22:17 local time. As the eruption spread, magma, or semi-molten rock, could be seen spewing along the ridge of a hill. The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic metres per second, maybe more. So this would be considered a big eruption in this area at least, Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland's Civil Protection and Emergency Management told the Icelandic public broadcaster, RUV. In November, police evacuated the town or Grindavik after strong seismic activity in the area damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption. Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North ...

Adobe calls off $20 bn deal to acquire Figma after pushback from Europe

Adobe's planned $20 billion acquisition of online design company Figma is being called off due to pushback in Europe over antitrust concerns, the companies said Monday. The companies announced the cash-and-stock deal in September 2022, seeking a path with Figma's web-based, multi-player capabilities to accelerate the delivery of Adobe's creative cloud technologies on the web. Although both companies continue to believe in the merits and procompetitive benefits of the combination, Adobe and Figma mutually agreed to terminate the transaction based on a joint assessment that there is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority, Adobe and Figma said in a prepared statement on Monday. US companies have regularly run into roadblocks in Europe over similar concerns of monopolies. Biotech giant Illumina on Sunday said that it will undo its $7.1 billion purchase of the cancer-screening company Grail after

Over 60 drown in migrant vessel off Libya while trying to reach Europe: UN

A boat carrying dozens of Europe-bound migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people including women and children dead, the U.N. migration agency said. Saturday's shipwreck was the latest tragedy in this part of the Mediterranean Sea, a key dangerous route for migrants seeking a better life in Europe, where, according to officials, thousands have died. The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration said in a statement the boat was carrying 86 migrants when strong waves swamped it off the town of Zuwara on Libya's western coast and that 61 migrants drowned, citing survivors of the dramatic shipwreck. The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world's most dangerous migration routes, the agency wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. The North African nation has plunged into chaos following a

Never been closer to reaching pact on free trade with India: EFTA

The European Free Trade Association is a trade organisation and free trade area consisting of four European states- Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland