Page 40 - Europe

OpenAI boss downplays fears ChatGPT maker could leave Europe over AI rules

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday downplayed worries that the ChatGPT maker could exit the European Union if it can't comply with the bloc's strict new artificial intelligence rules, coming after a top official rebuked him for comments raising such a possibility. Altman is travelling through Europe as part of a world tour to meet with officials and promote his AI company, which has unleashed a frenzy around the globe. At a stop this week in London, he said OpenAI might leave if the artificial intelligence rules that the EU is drawing up are too tough. That triggered a pointed reply on social media from European Commissioner Thierry Breton, accusing the company of blackmail. Breton, who's charge of digital policy, linked to a Financial Times article quoting Altman saying that OpenAI will try to comply, but if we can't comply we will cease operating. Altman sought to calm the waters a day later, tweeting: very productive week of conversations in europe about how to best regulate AI! we

Allies to train Ukrainians on F-16s; Jets no magic weapons, warns Pentagon

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that European allies are developing a coordinated program to train Ukrainian forces on the F-16 fighter jet, but Pentagon leaders warned that it will be a costly and complex task and won't be a magic solution to the war. Austin said the allies recognize that in addition to training, Ukraine will also need to be able to sustain and maintain the aircraft and have enough munitions. And he said air defense systems are still the weapons that Ukraine needs most in the broader effort to control the airspace. There are no magic weapons, said Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke alongside Austin at a Pentagon press conference. He said providing 10 F-16s could cost USD 2 billion, including maintenance. "The Russians have a thousand fourth and fifth-generation fighters, so if you're going to contest Russia in the air, you're going to need a substantial amount of fourth and fifth-generation fighters." As a result,

Nayara Energy exports dip, 0.07 mn tonnes diesel flows to Europe in FY23

Nayara Energy, India's second-biggest private oil refinery, reported a sharp decline in fuel exports as domestic sales surge on retail network expansion and demand rise, a company official said. During calendar year 2022, Nayara reported 61 per cent of sales from the domestic market and the remaining 39 per cent from exports of all products including jet fuel (ATF), diesel and petrol. Out of the total 6.91 million tonne of fuel exported by Nayara during 2022, diesel exports stood at about 4.39 million tonne or roughly 64 per cent of all exports. More than 84 per cent of all fuel exports were to Asia, the Middle East and Africa with only minuscule volumes going to the EU, a company spokesperson said. Nayara sold the bulk of the fuel it produced from its 20 million tonne a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat through its 6,500+ petrol pumps - the largest fuel retail network by any private company. During January-March 2023, subsequent to meeting domestic demand, Nayara Energy's .

Euro's use in international payments at 3-year low, Yuan's at 5 month high

Data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, showed the proportion of cross-border transactions involving Europe's common currency fell to 31.74%

NATO's 'reckless' expansion harms talks on European security: Russian FM

"The situation in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is "deplorable" and "continues to worsen due to the unwillingness of NATO members to moderate their ambitions," he added

Five on trial in Germany over plot to kidnap health minister, topple govt

Five people go on trial in Germany on Wednesday accused of planning a far-right coup and plotting to kidnap the country's health minister. The four men, aged 44 to 56, and a 75-year-old woman are accused of founding or being members of a terrorist organisation and treason. Federal prosecutors say the group is linked to the Reich Citizens scene that rejects the legitimacy of Germany's postwar constitution and has similarities to the Sovereign Citizens and QAnon movements in the United States. Prosecutors say they intended to create conditions similar to civil war by using explosives to cause nationwide blackouts, then kidnapping Health Minister Karl Lauterbach a prominent advocate of strict coronavirus measures. There were no indications the group, which called itself United Patriots, was close to launching a coup. But prosecutors said the group's procurement of weapons and money showed they were "dangerous criminals who wanted to implement their plans. The men, whose names weren'

Russia's parliament denounces Europe's Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has formally denounced the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), according to a statement published on its website

Will visit UK on Europe tour to seek military aid: Ukrainian prez Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Britain on Monday, as the staunch ally of Ukraine prepares to give more military aid in an effort to change the course of the war. It will be the fourth European country Zelenskky has visited in the past few days. He made an unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday evening to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, after trips to Germany and Italy, where he met those countries' leaders and Pope Francis. A message posted Monday on Zelenskyy's official Telegram Channel said: "Today London. The UK is leading the way when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations. Sunak's office confirmed the two leaders would meet at Chequers. the prime minister's country retreat outside London. The U.K. has become one of Ukraine's major military allies. Last week Britain announced it was sending Ukr

China, Russia increasing military collaboration, Japanese minister warns

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed concern on Saturday about Russian and Chinese military cooperation in Asia and said the security situation in Europe could not be separated from that in the Indo-Pacific region since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting of European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers in Sweden, Hayashi said Russia's war in Ukraine had shaken the very foundation of the international order and must face a united response by the international community. Otherwise, similar challenges will arise in other regions and the existing order which has underpinned our peace and prosperity could be fundamentally overturned, Hayashi said. Japan firmly backs Ukraine in the war but China says it remains neutral while declaring a no limits relationship with Moscow and blaming the US and NATO for provoking the conflict. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in March at the same time as Chinese President

European tour issues more fines for 26 players who competed for LIV

Equipped with a favorable court ruling, the European tour has expanded its sanctions against players who competed in LIV Golf or Asian Tour events without permission over eight months. The tour already has issued fines of 100,000 pounds ($125,000) to 17 players who played in the first two LIV Golf events outside London and Portland, Oregon. Now it is going after 26 players with fines that range from 12,500 pounds to 100,000 pounds for each tournament they played without a release. The amount depends on what the tour deems caused a negative effect on the European tour. Players also could face suspensions up to eight regular European tour events on the schedule if they pay their fines and remain members. Any suspension would not start until the Porsche European Open in Germany on June 1-4. Sergio Garcia was the only player who did not pay the initial fine. Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Richard Bland resigned their memberships last week. Henrik Stenson told Golf Digest he ha

Electric bikes are breaking through in Germany, Europe's carmaking capital

Battery-powered two-wheelers will outsell traditional bikes in Germany for the first time in 2023, according to projections from the country's industry group

Europe to build satellite constellation akin to SpaceX's Starlink: Report

A group of European space and telecommunications players have come together to form a partnership to bid on the European Commission's IRIS2 multi-orbit secure satellite constellation

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Europe's gas crunch could return as Goldman Sachs sees winter spike

Europe was saved this winter by mild weather and weak demand for LNG by China, but it's uncertain whether those conditions will last

Europe's inflation inches up ahead of central bank's interest rate decision

Europe's painful inflation inched higher last month, extending the squeeze on households and keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to unleash another large interest rate increase. Consumer prices in the 20 countries using the euro currency jumped 7 per cent in April from a year earlier, just down from the annual rate of 6.9 per cent in March, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said on Tuesday. Food prices eased a little, falling to an annual 13.6 per cent from March's 15.5 per cent, while energy prices rose a more modest 2.5 per cent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel, slowed slightly but was still high at 5.6 per cent, underlining the expectation that the ECB will press ahead with its campaign to beat inflation into submission with rate hikes. The question is: How quickly will the bank go? Analysts say the ECB's meeting on Thursday in Frankfurt could end in an increase of a quarter- or a half-percentage point. A quarter-point hike would be a

Biocon Biologics facility gets EU GMP certification for Bevacizumab

Biotechnology major Biocon on Friday said the Bengaluru-based plant of Biocon Biologics has received EU GMP approval for a biosimilar product. Biocon Biologics' facility has received a certificate of GMP compliance for Bevacizumab from the representative European inspection authority -- Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), Ireland. Bevacizumab is indicated for the treatment of various types of cancers and a specific eye disease. "This approval reflects Biocon Biologics compliance with the highest international regulatory standards and enables the company to continue addressing the needs of patients in the EU," a company spokesperson said in a statement. This (B3) facility, which is one of India's largest monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) manufacturing facilities, had received the EU GMP Certification for manufacturing biosimilar Trastuzumab last year, the spokesperson said. Biocon Biologics is a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd.

Europe's economy barely gains momentum as inflation pinches consumers

The European economy scraped out meager growth in the first three months of the year, barely gaining momentum as stubborn inflation raises the price of groceries and erodes people's willingness to spend paychecks that are failing to keep pace. Friday's less-than-stellar increase of 0.1 per cent from the previous quarter follows disappointing growth estimates from the US, which kept alive fears of a looming recession in the world's largest economy. The 20 countries that use the euro currency picked up a little speed from January through March after zero growth in the last three months of 2022. The eurozone avoided a winter recession thanks to mild weather that alleviated pressure on natural gas supplies. European governments and utilities also scrambled to line up additional sources to heat homes, generate electricity and power factories after Russia cut off most of its supply to the continent over its war against Ukraine. Germany, Europe's largest economy, turned in disappointing z

Expect India to be Citroen's biggest growth driver outside Europe: CEO

French automaker Citroen expects India to be its biggest growth driver outside Europe as it looks to have 30 per cent of its total sales coming from international markets outside the continent by 2025, its global CEO Thierry Koskas said on Thursday. The company, which unveiled its all-new mid-sized SUV C3 Aircross, will introduce another new product next year as it seeks to have a presence in the core segments of the Indian market. "India is a key pillar of the Citroen strategy. It is a market that could very soon reach 5 million units (annually). We want to grow 30 per cent of our sales outside Europe (by 2025). India is a key pillar for that amongst other regions, like for example Latin America," Koskas told PTI here in an interview. At the moment, he said, "It (India) is a very significant operation and probably that will become more and more significant in the years to come". When asked about the sales targets in India, he said, "We do not communicate on numbers, but I can tell

Xis effort to counter US narrative falters after China envoy angers Europe

In a statement Monday night, the Chinese embassy in Paris said that Lu gave "an expression of personal points of view" that shouldn't be "over-interpreted"

China affirms ex-Soviet nations' sovereignty after European backlash

The Chinese government said Monday it respected the sovereignty of former Soviet Union republics after Beijing's ambassador to France caused an uproar in Europe by saying they weren't sovereign nations. The governments of former Soviet republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were among those who rejected Ambassador Lu Shaye's comment to a French broadcaster. While answering a question about the status of Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, Lu said that there was no agreement to solidify their status as a sovereign country." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China respects the sovereign status of the former Soviet countries after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Mao NingMao said Beijing's position is consistent and clear but gave no indication whether Lu's comment was considered incorrect. The ambassador drew a parallel between Ukraine and the other former Soviet republics that declared independence from Moscow when the Soviet Union broke up in ...