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Google set to roll out AI chatbot Bard in EU

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

Google is set to roll out its artificial intelligence chatbot Bard in European Union Thursday after resolving concerns raised by the Irish Data Protection Commission, the regulator told POLITICO.“Google have made a number of changes in advance of [the] launch, in particular increased transparency and changes to controls for users,” the Irish regulator’s deputy commissioner and spokesperson Graham Doyle said in a statement.The U.S. technology giant in June delayed the release of its competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT after the Irish regulator said the company had given insufficient information about how its tool respected the EU’s privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Irish watchdog is Google’s main data regulator in the EU because the U.S. firm has its European headquarters there. “We will be continuing our engagement with Google in relation to Bard post-launch and Google have agreed to carrying out a review and provid...

China exports slumped 12.4% in June from a year earlier as global demand weakened

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports tumbled 12.4% in June from a year earlier as demand weakened after central banks raised interest rates to curb inflation even as Chinese leaders struggled to keep a post-COVID recovery from faltering.Customs data released Thursday showed imports slid 6.8% to $214.7 billion. Exports edged up slightly from the month before, totaling $285.3 billion. The trade surplus was $70.2 billion, rising from $65.8 billion in May. Trade weakness adds to downward pressure on the world’s second-largest economy. Global consumer demand has weakened after the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia raised interest rates to bring inflation down from near multi-decade highs by reining in business and consumer activity. In January-June, China’s total trade including imports and exports fell nearly 5% from a year earlier. Exports slipped 3.2% and imports declined 6.7% as prices of commodities like oil fell and demand inside China also faltered. Exports to...

Pilot says he escaped serious injury by jumping into the ocean when a New Zealand volcano erupted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A helicopter pilot said in court on Thursday he and two of his passengers had escaped serious injury by jumping into the ocean when a New Zealand volcano erupted in 2019, killing 22.Another two of pilot Brian Depauw’s joy flight passengers did not make it to the water, were engulfed by a cloud of hot ash from the White Island eruption, and suffered serious burns.Belgian-born Depauw, who speaks with an Irish accent, testified at the Auckland District Court on Thursday in the trial of three tourism companies and three directors charged with safety breaches over the Dec. 9 disaster.“The water is what saved us,” Depauw told the court.Depauw and his four German passengers were among 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name, Whakaari, when superheated gases erupted. Most of the 25 survivors were severely burned.Depauw, who currently lives in Canada, said he had only been working for tour operator Volcanic ...

Homeless World Cup makes US debut in California and scores victories beyond the field for players

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lisa Wrightsman was a former college soccer player whose life was derailed by drug addiction before she eventually made her way back to the sport through a tournament for players from around the globe who have experienced homelessness. Wrightsman qualified for the Homeless World Cup in Brazil. It was a competition that would forever change her life. When she returned to Sacramento, friends at the sober living facility where Wrightsman lived told her they wanted “to feel the way you look right now.”“I actually started to feel value,” she said. “The whole tournament kind of instills you with that.”Wrightsman is now a coach for the U.S. women’s team in the Homeless World Cup. The tournament made its U.S. debut July 8 in the capital of California, a state home to the largest homeless population in the country. It runs through Saturday.The tournament is being held after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, when homeless populations surged in many U.S. ...

3 soldiers, 2 insurgents killed in shootout in southwest Pakistan, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Assailants attacked Pakistani soldiers conducting an operation in a restive southwestern province, and three of the soldiers and two insurgents were killed, local officials and the military said Thursday.The military said in a statement the shootout happened Wednesday in the Baluchistan district of Sui, where the country’s main pipelines of natural gas are located. It was unclear who was behind the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on local separatist groups who have been blamed for previous such attacks.Local officials said an operation to arrest those insurgents who fled after the shootout was underway. The violence in Sui came hours after five militants attacked a security post in Zhob district in Baluchistan, killing nine soldiers. The military said those five attackers were killed.Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatist groups for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of the provinc...

Influencer arrested over TikTok video satirizing wealthy Emiratis in Dubai shows limits on freedoms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An online influencer has been arrested in Dubai over a satirical TikTok video in which he portrays a brash Emirati on a spending spree inside a luxury car showroom. The comedic sketch, in which he tosses stacks of bills at bewildered employees and offers to buy the most expensive car — a $600,000 Ferrari SF90 — poked fun at the lavish lifestyles on display in the city, known for its gleaming skyscrapers and over-the-top tourism attractions.Dubai is more socially lenient than much of the Middle East, with a relaxed dress code, bars and clubs serving alcohol — and even a local comedy scene. But vaguely worded laws forbid any speech, including journalism and satire, that is deemed critical of authorities or insulting to the United Arab Emirates, the federation of sheikhdoms that includes Dubai.The influencer, Hamdan Al Rind, who refers to himself as the “Car Expert” online, is a UAE resident of Asian nationality. He boasts over 2.5 million followers o...

Most populous US states and city ask for census corrections over misplaced ship and missed students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

A misplaced naval ship in California. Overlooked college students in New York City. Missed inmates in Texas.These are some of the reasons why the two most populous states and the largest city in the U.S. filed last-minute requests for corrections to their 2020 census figures right before the deadline at the end of last month. California, Texas and New York City were joined by a dozen and a half other stragglers, including Illinois and New Orleans, that made down-to-the-deadline appeals over the numbers that help determine political power and the annual distribution of $2.8 trillion in federal funding.In total, nearly 200 requests for corrections were filed by local, state and tribal governments through two programs started by the U.S. Census Bureau to give governments opportunities to have their population totals reviewed and corrected if need be.If successful, any corrections will be applied only to future population estimates used for the rest of the decade in determining federal ...

Millions of Chicagoans under tornado warning as multiple tornadoes touchdown in in the area during rush hour Wednesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

Maximum Heat Index Forecasts:CONTINUE READING

Austin falls on the road 2-1 to Vancouver Whitecaps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Pedro Vite scored in the first minute and Sergio Córdova accounted for the only goal of the second half to lead the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 2-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday night.Córdova used a pass from Ryan Gauld in the 72nd minute to score the winner for the Whitecaps (7-7-7). It was his first goal this season for Vancouver after scoring nine times for Real Salt Lake last season.Vite used an assist from Brian White to score for a fourth time this season and give Vancouver the lead.Rodney Redes notched his first career goal for Austin (8-9-5), scoring the equalizer unassisted two minutes into the second half.Yohei Takaoka finished with one save for the Whitecaps. Brad Stuver had two saves for Austin.Austin returns home to host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. Vancouver will host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.

Multinational companies upbeat about investing in Bao'an district, South China's Shenzhen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:12 GMT

Photo shows the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, which is under construction in south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo courtesy of Guangdong Provincial Communications Group Co., Ltd.)Representatives of more than 160 famous multinational companies, foreign consulates and international chambers of commerce attended the 2023 Shenzhen-Zhongshan Joint Investment Promotion Conference in Bao'an district of Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on 28 June, People's Daily Online.During the activity, Bao'an district briefed the guests on the development plan for the Jiuwei International Headquarters Area.The Jiuwei International Headquarters Area is located near the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, while connecting to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It plans to develop into a "headquarters courtyard" for Fortune Global 500 companies by seizing the opportunities delivered by the fast growth of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.Aaron Finley, a director from Del...