Germany, France join US and UK in backing Mark Rutte for top NATO job – POLITICO

Germany, France join US and UK in backing Mark Rutte for top NATO job – POLITICO

Berlin’s endorsement follows an intense 24-hour diplomatic campaign to shore up support for the Dutchman, amid ongoing hesitation from a group of around 10 countries including in Eastern Europe as well as Hungary and Turkey. POLITICO first reported on Wednesday that two-thirds of NATO’s allies now support Rutte. The U.S. declared its backing for the … Read more

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says 2% defense spending just the start

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says 2% defense spending just the start

However, Boris Pistorius, Germany’s federal minister of defense, stressed that spending 2% was always designed to be a minimum. “2% can only be the start of it. We might — we’ll probably need more — in the next years,” Pistorius said on a CNBC-moderated panel at the Munich Security Conference. Former US President and 2024 … Read more

Germany’s Scholz warns of extremists stoking rage as farmers protest and discontent is high

Germany’s Scholz warns of extremists stoking rage as farmers protest and discontent is high

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for calm and a readiness to accept compromises on Saturday as the country faces protests by farmers angry about a plan to cut their fuel subsidies. He warned of extremists stoking rage against a backdrop of wider discontent. Farmers have blocked major roads and snarled traffic across … Read more

EU Summit: Germany’s Scholz gets Órban to leave room for decision on Ukraine accession

EU Summit: Germany’s Scholz gets Órban to leave room for decision on Ukraine accession

As this month’s European Summit draws to a close, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted that it was him who convinced his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Órban to leave the Council room temporarily during discussions on Ukraine – but Scholz noted that this cannot be a “universal solution”. ADVERTISEMENT This allowed the rest 26 leaders to take … Read more

5 things about AI you may have missed today: More leaders to skip UK AI Summit, Music publishers sue AI firm, more

5 things about AI you may have missed today: More leaders to skip UK AI Summit, Music publishers sue AI firm, more

In what turned out to be another interesting day in the artificial intelligence universe, this emerging technology touched diverse areas from policy making to medtech. The UK’s AI Summit might be in trouble. After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden too may skip UK PM Rishi Sunak’s … Read more

5 things about AI you may have missed today: China’s Ernie AI challenges OpenAI, boAt’s AI music video on cricket, more

5 things about AI you may have missed today: China’s Ernie AI challenges OpenAI, boAt’s AI music video on cricket, more

It was yet another intriguing day in the artificial intelligence space, as major developments over the emerging technology occurred today, October 17. Baidu, the Chinese multinational technology company, unveiled the newest version of the Ernie AI model, called Ernie 4.0, and said that it can rival OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. In other news, New York City … Read more

Far-right surge upends German state elections – POLITICO

Far-right surge upends German state elections – POLITICO

In two German state elections that are seen as a bellwether of the national mood, the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, surged while the three parties that make up the country’s federal coalition government suffered significant losses. Conservative forces won clear victories in both the states of Bavaria and Hesse. In Bavaria, the Christian … Read more