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☆ Lamborghini has sold its last fully gas-powered supercar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lamborghini is all sold out of gas-powered supercars, its CEO told the German outlet Welt. Lamborghini plans to launch its first electric vehicle later this decade. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told the German newspaper Welt on Wednesday that the brand has sold out its remaining production run of fully gas-powered models, per Reuters. First up will be plug-in hybrid replacements for the Aventador and Huracan supercars and a plug-in hybrid Urus SUV. Winkelmann told Insider he is intent on giving Lamborghini buyers the adrenaline-pumping performance they expect — and more — while cutting the company's carbon footprint.

Persons: Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini, Lamborghini Revuelto, Tim Levin, Winkelmann Organizations: Lamborghini, bros, Welt, Huracan

☆ Lamborghini sells out combustion engine models - WELT
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Volkswagen AG FollowJuly 5 (Reuters) - Lamborghini's combustion engine models are sold out until the end of production, its chief executive was quoted as saying in the WELT newspaper on Wednesday, as the luxury carmaker transitions towards a pure hybrid lineup. Order books for its Hurucan and Urus models are full, marking the end of combustion engine vehicle production for the company, Stephan Winkelmann, head of the Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) subsidiary, said. Winkelmann told WELT the combustion engine models would be replaced by plug-in hybrids in 2024 and 2025, adding he expected the hybrid Revuelto model to be sold out by the end of 2025. The carmaker saw record sales last year and was aiming for a "very good result" this year again, he added. ($1 = 0.9175 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini, Winkelmann, Victoria Waldersee, Mark Potter Organizations: Volkswagen, WELT, Victoria, Thomson

☆ German coalition at odds over fighter jet sale to Saudi Arabia, Welt am Sonntag reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, July 1(Reuters) - Germany's coalition government is at odds over whether to bow to British pressure and approve the production of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets for Saudi Arabia, the newspaper Welt Am Sonntag reported on Saturday, citing anonymous sources. A third of the components for the jets come from Germany, industry sources told Reuters at the time. Since the rapprochement of Saudi Arabia and Iran, which could end their proxy war in Yemen, the British have argued that Germany cannot block the export of Eurofighter jets to third parties. A spokesperson for the Chancellery declined to comment to Welt am Sonntag. Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner, Jamal Khashoggi, Angela Merkel, Sabine Siebold, Victoria Waldersee, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Eurofighter Typhoon, BAE Systems, Reuters, Social Democrats, Finance, Greens, SPD, Eurofighter, Welt, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Yemen, Saudi, Germany, United States, France, Britain, Iran

☆ After jobs warning, Germany's Axel Springer says AI can liberate journalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"For newsrooms, AI opens up new paths and freedoms. While Springer did not comment on the number of jobs at risk, company sources told Reuters a low three-digit number of employees would ultimately have to leave. Fadlallah said his focus was on regulatory challenges and the opportunities the technology opens up for consumers. Axel Springer is active in more than 40 countries and employs more than 18,000 people worldwide. Alongside its German titles, the firm owns English-language news website Politico, U.S. media company Insider and classified portals StepStone and AVIV.

Persons: Axel Springer, Samir Fadlallah, Springer, Fadlallah, Klaus Lauer, Anna Mackenzie Organizations: Reuters, Bild, Politico, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Berlin, AVIV

☆ Inside the UK training camp where Ukrainians learn to destroy Russian tanks and survive on the battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Mandoline Rutkowski | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ukrainian soldiers are crouching in a dug trench, while two men stand at the edge. Ukrainian soldiers at a British training camp. Since 2015, after Russia annexed Crimea and began the war in the east of the country, London has been training Ukrainian soldiers. Among empty residential buildings, Ukrainian soldiers learn how to liberate an occupied building. Alina, the 28-year-old soldier, and the other newly trained Ukrainian forces at the military base are ready for their return.

Persons: —, Mandoline, Alina, Putin, Rishi Sunak, James, London, Dmitry Medvedev, Alexei Leonkov, Truton, Truton Mandoline, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: London, Service, Nine, German Armed Forces, Command, EU, Patriot, Challenger, NATO, Twitter Locations: United Kingdom, Ukraine, WELT, England, Britain, Russian, British, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Germany, Berlin, Crimea, London, Ukrainian, Moscow, United States, Great Britain, Kyiv

☆ 'Moscow is becoming a front line city' – The Ukraine War has finally come home to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Dominik Kalus | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

For weeks now, attacks by Ukraine within Russia have been increasing. Dead civilians, villages cleared out, and a seemingly overworked government: Moscow's war on Ukraine has finally hit home in Russian society. A woman waits at a bus stop next to a poster promoting Russian army service, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, in Moscow, Russia April 12, 2023. "The attacks in Belgorod are busting the myth of Putin's military being invincible," said political scientist Abbas Galljamow to the DPA news agency. Because these attacks within Russia are making even initially neutral Russians care about the war – and they're starting to approve of it.

Persons: —, Schapscha, Moscow's, Sergej Markow, Michail Rostowski, Alexander Dugin, Yulia Morozova, Jens Siegert, who's, Savva Tutunow, Putin, Abbas Galljamow, There's, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Konstantin Satulin, Russia hasn't, –, Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, They're, Peskov, Alarmism Organizations: Service, Putin, Pictures, REUTERS, Novaya Gazeta, Wagner Group, Russia, Publicly Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kherson, South Ukraine, Belgorod, Strelkovka, Kaluga, Moscow, Voronezh, Russian

☆ The stress-free way to respond when your boss comes at you with a random idea
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sebastian Freier | Die Welt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A boss who gives you random tasks at short notice can add to already packed to-do lists. Having said that, it's wise to make the boss feel heard. "Then we quickly realize: Even if the boss has 10 good ideas every day, it doesn't mean they want them all implemented by tomorrow," Rach said. "A boss with many ideas sets a good example in this regard," Remdisch said. Ideally, it is a collaborative effort where employees also contribute their suggestions, and ideas build upon each other.

Persons: you've, —, Peter Rach, Rach, Miro, Sabine Remdisch, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Remdisch Organizations: Service, Leuphana University

☆ Ticks die when they bite him. This man's immunity to ticks could pave the way for a tick vaccine.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He has acquired tick resistance, which may help guide research and development of a tick vaccine. (But don't go searching for ticks just to try and build immunity, since you might contract a debilitating tick-borne disease.) "There clearly has been an increase in recent decades in the incidence of tick-borne disease in the human population. CDCThe latest US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reported 50,865 cases of tick-borne disease across the US in 2019. The Lyme disease vaccine currently in development would only protect against the bacteria Lyme borreliosis, meaning you could still get other tick-borne diseases.

Persons: Richard Ostfeld, welt, aren't, JUAN GAERTNER, Ostfeld, Ostfelt, Lyme, Remus Belododia, haven't Organizations: Service, for Disease Control, National Center for Emerging, Vector, CDC Locations: Lyme, Alaska, Maine

☆ German police investigate possible poisoning of two Russian exiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, May 21 (Reuters) - German police said they are investigating the possible poisoning of two Russian exiles who attended a conference in Berlin at the end of April, organised by Russian Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Berlin police told Reuters "a file had been opened" after German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, citing Russian investigative media group Agentstvo, said two women reported symptoms that suggested possible poisoning. Police gave no further details. Reporting by Maria Martinez Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia has a plan to sabotage European wind farms, gas pipelines, and internet cables, report say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia has been using ships to spy in Nordic waters, a joint investigation by four countries' public broadcasters found. They are collecting intel on wind farms, gas pipelines, and power and internet cables, report said. Norway's NRK reported at least 50 Russian ships gathered intelligence there in the last ten years. DR reported that intercepted Russian navy communications showed Russian ships who had turned off their transmitters sailing in Nordic waters. One of the ships, Russian marine research vessel "Admiral Vladimirsky," sailed near current and future offshore wind farms, and stayed there for a few days, the outlets found.

☆ Russian spies are using Tinder to ensnare German soldiers and politicians to get them to disclose Ukraine war secrets, counterintelligence warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian spies are using Tinder to pursue intelligence about the Ukraine war, Germany warned. Spies are targeting German soldiers and politicians, the country's counterintelligence service said. Intelligence services like Russia's appear to be using the dating app to seek intel and recruits. Other governments have previously warned that spies and foreign intelligence bodies could be using dating apps like Tinder to find sources and gather information. But the dating app has also been used by others in relation to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

☆ Germany's military gaps cannot be fully bridged by 2030, defence minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 1 (Reuters) - Germany's military cannot completely fill its existing gaps by 2030, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying, as Berlin seeks to revamp its armed forces after Russia's invasion of Ukraine following decades of neglect. "We all know that the existing gaps cannot be completely closed by 2030... Everyone is aware of that," Pistorius said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday. As federal defence minister, I cannot give everything away," he said. "If that is then set in motion at the end of the (legislative) period, then I would be satisfied," he added.

☆ EU's von der Leyen is in the running to be new NATO head -The Sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in the running to be the new head of NATO, The Sun newspaper reported on Friday, citing a diplomatic source. A number of NATO member states have suggested von der Leyen would take over the alliance this October, the report said. The Sun report, citing UK sources, also said Britain would likely veto von der Leyen, who was the former German defense minister, citing her poor track record in charge of Germany's Armed Forces. German newspaper Welt am Sonntag has reported that Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace were among the leading candidates to succeed Stoltenberg. Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain ready to fill Warsaw's air defence gaps after MiG-29 delivery to Ukraine - newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Britain is ready to help Poland fill its air defence gaps caused by Warsaw sending some of its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine but Poland has not yet made such requests, British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey was quoted as saying on Monday. Poland last week said it would send Ukraine four MiG-29 fighter jets in coming days, making it the first of Kyiv's allies to provide such aircraft and possibly creating a need to ramp up Poland's air defence equipment. Britain would be able to help fill such gaps, as it previously did when Poland sent T-72 main battle tanks to Ukraine, providing Warsaw with Challenger 2 tanks, Heappey told German newspaper Welt. "We will look very positively at a Polish request to fill in the gaps that have arisen," Heappey said. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals. GERMANY LAGGINGWhile several countries across Europe are still formulating telecom policies, only Britain and Sweden have so far banned Huawei and ZTE from supplying critical 5G network equipment. The German government was last month unable to answer a parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks, filed in part in response to the report. The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

☆ If China allies with Russia there will be a new World War, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that China allying with Russia would lead to another world war. The Ukrainian president expressed his hope that China backs Ukraine over Russia in the ongoing war. US officials have expressed concern that China could support Russia by providing lethal aid. But "if China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that," he said. US Vice President Kamala Harris also warned China against providing support to Moscow during a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

☆ How Putin's Russian goon squad used Mexican gig workers to troll an American election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

Posting to social media sounded like an easy work-from-home gig, so he applied. This post from the Prigozhin-backed Social CMS network in Mexico referred to America as "we." He verified his account by providing chat transcripts, screenshots, contracts, and internal company documents. But just because Social CMS didn't yield an immediate, large-scale impact doesn't mean it should be ignored. "I didn't know who are you," wrote the person who is listed in the corporate directory as Prigozhin's media liaison.

☆ Google didn't think its Bard AI was 'really ready' for a product yet, says Alphabet chairman, days after the chatbot's very public mistake tanked the company's stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

John Hennessy, the chairman of Alphabet, said Google was hesitant to use its Bard AI in a product as it wasn't "really ready," per CNBC. Google unveiled its Bard AI last week amid intense interest in competitor ChatGPT. But a promo for Google Bard featured a factual error — which sent Alphabet's stock down 9% in a day. Google unveiled Bard amid intense interest in rival chatbot ChatGPT, and just a day before Microsoft rolled out its AI-powered Bing search engine which is built using technology from OpenAI, the parent of ChatGPT. At the conference, Hennessy declined to comment specifically on the public's reaction to Google's Bard, per CNBC.

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg will not seek another extension of his term, spokesperson says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will end his term as planned in October, a spokesperson for the alliance said, after a newspaper reported a further extension was in the works. "The mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times, and he has served for a total of almost nine years," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said late on Saturday. "The Secretary-General's term comes to an end in October of this year and he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate." Stoltenberg, an economist by training and a former leader of Norway's Labour Party, had his NATO term extended last year. Welt said alliance members wanted to give Stoltenberg the opportunity to chair the organisation's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in April 2024.

☆ NATO to extend Stoltenberg's term to April 2024, Welt am Sonntag reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - NATO will extend again the term of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday, citing unidentified diplomatic sources, as the alliance seeks to maintain stability during the war in Ukraine. Members will extend Stoltenberg's term until April 2024 due to his "outstanding achievements" and to guarantee the military alliance's stability during the ongoing war in Ukraine, the newspaper said. Stoltenberg, an economist by training and a former leader of Norway's Labour Party, had his original NATO term extended last year. He was prime minister of Norway from 2000-01 and 2005-13 before becoming NATO chief the following year. Welt said alliance members want to give Stoltenberg the opportunity to chair the organisation's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in April 2024.

☆ Google search chief warns AI chatbots can give 'convincing but completely fictitious' answers, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Google's search engine boss said AI chatbots can give "convincing" but "fictitious" answers. Prabhakar Raghavan told Welt am Sonntag it's considering how to integrate Bard with Google search. Prabhakar Raghavan told Welt Am Sonntag on Saturday that they can sometimes give false but convincing answers. However, an ad for Bard showed it giving an inaccurate answer to a question about the James Webb Space Telescope. Maarten Bosma, a former research engineer at Alphabet's AI division Google Brain, tweeted that the presentation showed the company wasn't taking AI seriously enough.

☆ China cranking up political espionage, German official tells newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] German and Chinese national flags fly in Tiananmen Square ahead of the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, China, May 23, 2018. We must be prepared for these to increase in the coming years," Verfassungsschutz agency chief Thomas Haldenwang told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He warned that economic dependence on China could be exploited for political influence. "The political leadership is already using its economic power, which also results from intensive relations with the German and European economies, to implement political goals." The German government has been reassessing its economic relations with authoritarian countries after the Ukraine war laid bare the vulnerabilities of Berlin's years-long energy dependence on Russia.

☆ Google cautions against 'hallucinating' chatbots - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The boss of Google's search engine warned against the pitfalls of artificial intelligence in chatbots in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, as Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.O) battles to compete with blockbuster app ChatGPT. "This kind of artificial intelligence we're talking about right now can sometimes lead to something we call hallucination," Prabhakar Raghavan, senior vice president at Google and head of Google Search, told Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper. "This then expresses itself in such a way that a machine provides a convincing but completely made-up answer," Raghavan said in comments published in German. Alphabet, which is still conducting user testing on Bard, has not yet indicated when the app could go public. "We obviously feel the urgency, but we also feel the great responsibility," Raghavan said.

There are "continued calls for violence directed at U.S. critical infrastructure," the agency warned last February, "as a means to create chaos and advance ideological goals." Law enforcement and utility companies, though, say they're working to resolve the open cases and prevent future attacks. Members of accelerationist groups have been charged with several plots in recent years to attack critical infrastructure. "The critical infrastructure element has become one of the core components of neo-fascist accelerationist movements in the US. "They don't really care who is doing the violence, who's doing the critical infrastructure attacks, Lewis said.

☆ Germany has evidence of war crimes in Ukraine 'in three-digit range' - prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country's prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at international level. So far, prosecutors have pieces of evidence in the "three-digit range", he added, without elaborating. Germany began collecting evidence in March 2022 to prosecute possible war crimes, including by interviewing Ukrainian refugees and evaluating publicly available information, Frank said, adding that German prosecutors were not yet investigating specific individuals. Ukraine is pushing for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian military and political leaders it holds responsible for starting the war. Moscow has rejected allegations by Kyiv and Western nations of war crimes.

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