Author: Euronews

The use of facial recognition technology could increase across the European Union despite efforts to regulate it under the bloc-wide Artificial Intelligence Act. ADVERTISEMENTLast December, EU negotiators reached a preliminary agreement on the AI Act, a world-first attempt to regulate the emerging technology that includes new rules on the use of biometric identification systems such as facial recognition. But civil society organisations fear there are loopholes in the planned law. “They have set very broad conditions for the police to use these systems. What we fear is that this will have a legitimising effect,” said Ella Jakubowska of Reclaim Your Face,…

HSBC neglected to adequately protect customer deposits from around 2015 to 2022, leading to the PRA issuing its second largest fine ever. ADVERTISEMENTHSBC was served with a massive £57 million fine on Tuesday by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), due to the bank failing to do enough to protect customer deposits.The PRA said HSBC did not correctly recognise which deposits fell under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) between 2015 and 2022. This scheme entitles customers to have up to £85,000 of their deposits protected. About 99% of eligible customers were wrongly classified as ineligible for the…

Transparency International has released its latest report about anti-corruption efforts in Western Europe and the EU. ADVERTISEMENTCorruption in Western Europe and the European Union is getting worse, according to experts’ perceptions, and this is the first time it’s got worse in over a decade.Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) looked at 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).According to the report, experts and business people find that the world’s least corrupt country is Denmark, followed closely by Finland and New Zealand in second…

Following a drone attack on a US airbase in Jordan, the Middle Eastern conflict could get worse. US President Joe Biden says his country “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing”. ADVERTISEMENTA drone attack over the weekend on the Tower 22 US base on the Jordan-Syria border has killed three US troops and injured several others. The White House has blamed the attack on “radical Iran-backed militant groups” but has not yet said which group it believes to be responsible.Following the attack, crude oil prices inched up 0.27% to $78.2…

Amazon drops $1.4 billion bid for iRobot amid disagreements with EU regulators threatening to block the deal in 2022. ADVERTISEMENTAmazon has abandoned its intended $1.4 billion (€1.3 billion) acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba, following disagreements with European Union regulators who warned of blocking the deal.The European Commission informed Amazon in November that it believed the company’s purchase could restrict competition in the robot vacuum cleaners market, particularly as other manufacturers sell their vacuums through the online marketplace.”Amazon may have the incentive to foreclose iRobot’s rivals because it may be economically profitable to do so,” a statement from the…

The European Commission will not push forward Article 7, the so-called nuclear option, against Hungary over breaches of fundamental rights until there is a strong majority in favour among member states. ADVERTISEMENT”It’s not possible for the Commission to take a decision in the process,” Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice, said on Monday afternoon.Hungary has been under the first phase of Article 7 since 2018 over the democratic backsliding overseen by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is accused of weakening judicial independence, perpetuating cronyism, diluting media pluralism, abusing emergency powers, passing anti-LGBT legislation and hindering asylum rights.Although unrelated to the rule…

The budget airline shows support for Boeing and its series of manufacturing crises while forecasting a fall in profits of its own. ADVERTISEMENTRyanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has said his company will buy Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft “at the right price” if US airlines backtrack on their orders.The offer comes after a major incident on one of the 737 MAX 9 planes earlier this month, when a cabin panel blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight.Although the mishap caused no casualties, it has brought Boeing under heavy regulatory scrutiny.Last week, the Federal Aviation Authority blocked Boeing from expanding production…

The rial lost 17% in the past four months in the free market against the US dollar, as Iran tackles inflation soaring above 40%. ADVERTISEMENTThe escalating risk of a direct military confrontation between the US and Iran is hitting the Middle Eastern country’s economy hard: its currency the rial has been tumbling against the US dollar in recent months. The intensification of attacks by Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East against US positions is fuelling these fears and putting increasing pressure on Iran’s economy.The rial has suffered a sharp devaluation on the free market, which is not officially recognised by the…

The European Commission said on Monday it will “review” its support to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, following allegations several of its staff members were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU executive said in a statement it will “determine upcoming funding decisions for UNRWA in light of the very serious allegations” made in relation to the UN agency’s staff.The Commission also calls for a probe into all UNRWA staff as soon as possible to “confirm that they did not participate in the attacks.””We are asking first of all for the organisation to carry out the…

The world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer has been ordered to undergo liquidation. But their assets don’t cover their liabilities. ADVERTISEMENTEvergrande’s Hong Kong-traded shares plunged more than 20% early on Monday before they were suspended from trading after a Hong Kong court ordered the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer to undergo liquidation. The firm is the second biggest company in China’s enormous property market, with $300 billion (€277 billion) owed to banks and bondholders. A court order for a liquidation process means that the company’s assets will be seized and sold off to repay its debts. But in the case…