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Down 45% so far this year, palladium is on course for its worst year of losses since 2008, when the financial crash hit demand. Top producer Russia's Nornickel expects the palladium market to swing to a surplus of 300,000 ounces in 2024 from a 200,000-ounce deficit in 2023 due to supplies, boosted by recycling, outpacing demand. Consultancy Metals Focus forecasts above-ground palladium stocks of about 11.64 million ounces in 2023, compared with 12.35 million in 2022 and 12.89 million in 2021 - meaning ample supplies. In March 2022, palladium was trading at more than double the price of platinum, prompting a switch by automakers. However, longer-term Metals Focus is quite bearish on palladium," said Nikos Kavalis, managing director at Metals Focus.

Persons: Alexander Manzyuk, hastening, Russia's Nornickel, John Meyer, Edward Meir, Nikos Kavalis, Brijesh Patel, Harshit Verma, Ashitha, Anjana Anil, Anushree Mukherjee, Abhijith, Arpan Varghese, Pratima Desai, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, Russia, ICE, International Energy, Consultancy, Metals, Thomson Locations: Siberian, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Ukraine, Bengaluru

'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's X social media platform has just 2,294 content moderators to ensure users comply with EU online content rules, significantly fewer than Google (GOOGL.O) and TikTok, a senior European Commission official said on Friday. X has triggered concerns after Musk laid off many employees responsible for monitoring and regulating content amid the spread of disinformation on the platform. According to reports the companies submitted to the EU in September, X's 2,294 EU content moderators compared with 16,974 at Google's YouTube, 7,319 at Google Play and 6,125 at TikTok, the senior Commission official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Regulators are hoping that X will feel the pressure to boost its number of content moderators to catch up with its rivals, the official said.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Elon Musk's, Musk, Foo Yun Chee, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Google, European Commission, EU's Digital Services, Apple, Microsoft, EU, YouTube, DSA, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, BRUSSELS, STOCKHOLM, X's, TikTok, EU

Spot gold dipped 1.1% to $1,936.09 per ounce by 2:38 p.m. ET (1938 GMT) and was down 2.8% in its worst week in six. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield and the dollar index (.DXY) headed for weekly gains, making non-yielding gold less attractive for investors. Platinum shed 2% to $842.34, on track for its worst week since mid-2021. Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Fawad, Bullion, Jim Wyckoff, Ashitha Shivaprasad, Anushree Mukherjee, Tasim Zahid, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Federal, Index, Reuters Graphics U.S, Federal Reserve, Treasury, Kitco Metals, Thomson Locations: East, India, Bengaluru

☆ EU AI Act to serve as blueprint for global rules, Benifei says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. While several countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, European lawmakers have taken a lead by drafting AI rules aimed at setting a global standard for a technology key to almost every industry and business. Executives and experts attending the conference stressed the importance of establishing guardrails to AI to prevent threats to society and democracy. Last week, Britain published a paper known as the "Bletchley Declaration", agreed with 28 countries including U.S. and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to cooperate on AI safety. "We can build these common alphabet because it's very important to deal with higher level challenges on AI development, for example, the risk of AI used as weapons," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brando Benifei, Benifei, Joe Biden, Liz O'Sullivan, Supantha Mukherjee, Diane Bartz, Jeffrey Dastin, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Union, Reuters NEXT, U.S, Congress, National AI, Reuters, reuters, Thomson Locations: EU, New York, Britain, Bletchley, U.S, China, Stockholm, Washington, San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk's X restructuring curtails disinformation research, spurs legal fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

It also shows a majority of survey respondents fear being sued by X over their findings or use of data. European Union regulators are also currently investigating X's handling of disinformation, which was the focus of multiple stalled or canceled independent research studies, the survey found. She helped conduct the research survey for the coalition, a global group with more than 300 members, that works to advance the study of technology's impact on society. 'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. Short-form video app TikTok announced an academic research API earlier this year, but its onerous terms and conditions limit its usefulness for researchers, said Megan A.

Persons: Elon, Musk's, Josephine Lukito, Musk, Carlos Barria, Lukito, Tim Weninger, Megan A, Brown, X, CCDH, Imran Ahmed, Bond Benton, Linda Yaccarino, Sheila Dang, Zeba Siddiqui, Martin Coulter, Supantha Mukherjee, Kenneth Li, Anna Driver Organizations: Social, Reuters, Twitter, Coalition for Independent Technology Research, Center, Union, University of Texas, San, EU, Reuters Graphics, REUTERS, University of Notre Dame, New York University, Tech Policy Press, Facebook, Montclair State University, Sprinklr, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, quantifies, U.S, Australian, Austin, San Francisco, San Francisco , California, China, Sprinklr, London, Stockholm

[1/3] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba looks on during his meeting with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor, as they hold a joint press conference in Pretoria, South Africa, November 6, 2023. Jacoline Schoonees/DIRCO/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsPRETORIA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - South Africa is recalling diplomats from Israel to assess its relationship with the country amid a rise in civilian casualties from its war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, its foreign minister said on Monday. South Africa does not have an ambassador in Israel. The country is "extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians" in the Palestinian territory, the foreign minister said. Over 1,400 people were killed by Hamas in the deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which South Africa has condemned, while also calling for the return of hostages.

Persons: Dmytro Kuleba, Naledi, Jacoline, Naledi Pandor, Cyril Ramaphosa, Pandor, Carien du Plessis, Tannur Anders, Bhargav, Promit Mukherjee, Christina Fincher Organizations: Ukrainian Foreign, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Palestinian, Hamas, ., Cairo Peace, United Nations, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Pretoria, South Africa, Handout, Rights PRETORIA, Israel, Africa, Palestine, Cairo, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine

The central bank left interest rates unchanged from its September meeting, but its formal statement acknowledged that “economic activity expanded at a strong pace in the third quarter.” In its last statement in September, it referred to the economy’s “solid” pace. But the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell made sure that the lack of action Wednesday does not mean that rates could be raised should incoming data show the economy is remaining strong. And the Fed says it remains committed to bringing annual inflation down to its target level of 2%. “As of Oct 31, markets expect that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates above 4.5% through the end of 2024. But we think that interest rates could go much lower,” said BeiChen Lin, investment strategy analyst at Russell Investments.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, “, We’re, ” Powell, “ We’re, It’s, ”, Neel Mukherjee, Subadra Rajappa, BeiChen Lin Organizations: Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Fed, Societe Generale, Russell Investments Locations: TIAA, 10y

The U.N. last week created a 39-member advisory body to address issues in the international governance of AI. "We need to examine the landscape of existing governance responses across borders, and then see where the gaps are and how we can connect the governance responses together so that there are no gaps," Gill said. Gill, appointed by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres as tech envoy last year, is tasked with coordination across the U.N. on tech issues, ranging from AI to neural technologies. Guterres had in June backed a proposal by some AI executives for the creation of an international AI watchdog body like the International Atomic Energy Agency. The AI body, co-chaired by Spanish digital minister Carme Artigas and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) James Manyika, will have at least three in-person meetings and several virtual meetings.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Amandeep Singh Gill, Gill, António, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Guterres, Carme Artigas, James Manyika, Supantha Mukherjee, Emelia Sithole Organizations: . Security, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Reuters, U.N, British, International Atomic Energy Agency, Spanish, Carme, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Rights STOCKHOLM, Alphabet's, Stockholm

☆ A minor recession is in the cards for 2024, says TIAA Wealth Management's Niladri Mukherjee
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailA minor recession is in the cards for 2024, says TIAA Wealth Management's Niladri MukherjeeNiladri Mukherjee, TIAA Wealth Management CIO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest market trends, the Fed's rate hike campaign, recession outlook, and more.

Persons: Niladri Mukherjee Niladri Mukherjee Organizations: TIAA Wealth Management

☆ Jeep, Dodge maker Stellantis to invest $1.6 billion in Chinese EV startup Leapmotor
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Arjun Kharpal | CNBCStellantis on Thursday said it will invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.58 billion) in Chinese electric vehicle startup Leapmotor , as traditional automakers look for a way to compete in China's cutthroat market. The companies will form the Leapmotor International joint venture, aiming to boost sales of the Chinese brand's electric cars overseas. China, the world's biggest electric vehicle market, is dominated by domestic company BYD , as well as U.S. automaker Tesla . Traditional vehicle companies have been seen to be too slow to transition to manufacturing electric vehicles, hampering potential growth in the Chinese market. Stellantis eyes China boostThe deal could boost Stellantis' efforts in China, by having a local partner lead the way.

Persons: Arjun Kharpal, Li Auto, Stellantis, Abhik Mukherjee, Carlos Tavares, Leapmotor, Zhu Jiangming, Counterpoint's Mukherjee, Bill Russo Organizations: Leapmotor, CNBC, International, JV, Chrysler, Maserati, Tesla, Huawei, Counterpoint Research, EV, IAA, Guangzhou Automobile Company Locations: Leapmotor . China, China, Hangzhou, Munich, Greater China, Europe, Stellantis, China's Xpeng

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday announced the creation of a 39-member advisory body to address issues in the international governance of artificial intelligence. Sony (6758.T) Chief Technology Officer Hiroaki Kitano, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and Microsoft (MSFT.O) Chief Responsible AI Officer Natasha Crampton are among the executives representing technology companies. Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT last year, interest in the new technology has spread across the world, leading AI researchers to raise concerns about "risks to society." While many governments are working to formulate laws to regulate the spread of AI, researchers and lawmakers have called for global collaboration. The UN body will issue preliminary recommendations by the end of this year and final recommendations by the summer of 2024.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, António Guterres, Hiroaki Kitano, Mira Murati, Natasha Crampton, Vilas Dhar, Yi Zeng fom, Mohamed Farahat, Guterres, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Supantha Mukherjee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Sony, Microsoft, Representatives, UN, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, Spain, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Russia, Japan, Yi Zeng fom China, Stockholm

STOCKHOLM, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) has more than 181 million users in the European Union and directly employs more than 150,000 people in the region, the company said on Wednesday, in its first store transparency report as required by the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). In August, the Digital Services Act (DSA) imposed new rules on content moderation, user privacy and transparency for platforms and search engines labelled as very large online platforms (VLOP), which were defined as having more than 45 million users in the EU. Amazon has challenged its inclusion in the group, saying it was not the largest retailer in any of the EU countries in which it operates. Germany is by far the biggest market for Amazon store with more than 60 million monthly active users, followed by Italy with 38 million users, according to the report. Amazon also received 8,863 legal requests from EU governments for information about users of its service in the first half of 2023.

Persons: Supantha Mukherjee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: European Union, EU Digital Services, Digital Services, Amazon, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, EU, Germany, Italy, France

After two years of negotiations, the bill was approved by the European parliament in May. At Tuesday's meeting which lasted until midnight, lawmakers agreed on most parts of Article 6 of the draft AI Act, one of the stumbling blocks in talks, the sources said, declining to give further details on what was agreed. Article 6 outlines the types of AI systems that will be designated "high risk", and therefore subject to greater regulatory scrutiny, the sources said. Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, Reuters reported citing sources that European lawmakers were yet to agree on several issues leaving any deal off the table until December. Failure to reach a deal could push negotiations to early next year, increasing the risk that discussions are further derailed by European parliament elections in June.

Persons: Dragos Tudorache, Brando Benifei, Benifei, Supantha Mukherjee, Martin Coulter, Elvira Pollina, Josephine Mason, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Union, Reuters, EU, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, LONDON, MILAN, Stockholm, London, Milan

☆ Amazon Web Services to launch European sovereign cloud
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the AWS (Amazon Web Service) cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) Web Services (AWS) said on Wednesday it will launch a sovereign cloud in Europe for government and customers in highly regulated industries. The sovereign cloud will store data on servers located in the European Union, and only EU-resident AWS employees will have control of the operations and provide support, the cloud-computing division of Amazon said in a statement. Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Oracle (ORCL.N) have also launched their cloud versions for European government customers. AWS will launch first in Germany and make its service available to all European customers.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Supantha Mukherjee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Services, European Union, Amazon, European, Microsoft, Oracle, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, Europe, European Union, Germany, Stockholm

The letter, issued a week before the international AI Safety Summit in London, lists measures that governments and companies should take to address AI risks. Currently there are no broad-based regulations focusing on AI safety, and the first set of legislations by the European Union is yet to become law as lawmakers are yet to agree on several issues. "It (investments in AI safety) needs to happen fast, because AI is progressing much faster than the precautions taken," he said. Since the launch of OpenAI's generative AI models, top academics and prominent CEOs such as Elon Musk have warned about the risks on AI, including calling for a six-month pause in developing powerful AI systems. "There are more regulations on sandwich shops than there are on AI companies."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, Andrew Yao, Daniel Kahneman, Dawn Song, Yuval Noah Harari, Elon Musk, Stuart Russell, Supantha Mukherjee, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Safety, European, Elon, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, London, European Union, British, Stockholm

The company posted a third-quarter operating income of 32 million euros ($34.1 million), its first quarterly profit since 2021, helped by a higher gross margin and lower marketing and personnel costs. "We believe moving forward, we should see pretty consistent growth in our operating income," its Chief Financial Officer Paul Vogel said. It forecast operating income of 37 million euros in the current quarter. Revenue rose 11% to 3.36 billion euros, beating estimates of 3.33 billion. Analysts were expecting a forecast of 232.4 million premium subscribers and revenue of 3.69 billion euros.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Paul Vogel, Daniel Ek, Vogel, Supantha Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan, Jan Harvey Organizations: Spotify, Cannes Lions International, Creativity, REUTERS, Companies, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cannes, France, STOCKHOLM, LSEG, Stockholm

The draft AI rules have to be agreed by the European Parliament and European Union member states. A fourth trilogue meeting will be held on Tuesday, a day after EU lawmakers are scheduled to discuss their negotiating stance around foundation models and high-risk AI systems, sources said. Discussions could then be further de-railed by the European parliament elections in June. The EU started working on the draft AI Act in 2021. In May this year, the European parliament agreed on draft legislation including new rules around the use of facial recognition, biometric surveillance, and other AI applications.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Thierry Breton, Dragoș Tudorache, Brando Benifei, Supantha Mukherjee, Foo Yun Chee, Matt Scuffham, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Reuters, EU, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, BRUSSELS, trilogues, Spain, Stockholm, Brussels

☆ Elon Musk's X to launch premium subscriptions soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo for social media platform X, following the rebranding of Twitter, is seen covering the old logo in this illustration taken, July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk said on Friday social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions. Earlier this week, the company started charging new users $1 in New Zealand and the Philippines as a test case for accessing the platform. Musk has acknowledged that the platform has taken a hit on revenue and has blamed activists for pressuring advertisers. To generate revenue, Musk started charging $8 per month for the blue check subscription service and tried to woo advertisers back to X with offers of discounts.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon Musk, Musk, Gursimran Kaur, Supantha Mukherjee, Savio D'Souza, Jason Neely Organizations: Twitter, REUTERS, Supantha, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Philippines, Bengaluru, Stockholm

As demand has slowed in countries such as the United States, Nokia and rival Ericsson (ERICb.ST) have tried to offset some of the weakness with higher sales to India, a low-margin market. Nokia is targeting savings of between 800 million euros ($842 million) and 1.2 billion euros by 2026, its deadline to deliver a long-term comparable operating margin plan of at least 14%. Nokia expects at least 400 million euros of savings in 2024, and a further 300 million euros in 2025. Quarterly comparable net sales fell to 4.98 billion euros from 6.24 billion last year, missing an estimate of 5.67 billion euros according to a LSEG poll. "There are signs here and there that demand would start to pick up again but it's too early to call it a broad-based trend," Lundmark said.

Persons: Albert Gea, Pekka Lundmark, Lundmark, it's, Supantha Mukherjee, Anne Kauranen, Anna Ringstrom, Clarence Fernandez, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Mobile World Congress, REUTERS, STOCKHOLM, Nokia, Ericsson, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, American, HELSINKI, Finnish, United States, India, North American, China, Stockholm, Helsinki

☆ Mercedes-Benz local boss urges South Africa to speed up EV shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Promit Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

For South Africa as a whole, three quarters of its vehicle production is exported. At the same time, South Africa's policy paper on EVs is two years behind schedule. "The train (EV shift) is a global one, and it's leaving the station. If South Africa doesn't jump onto the train, it runs the risk of being left behind," Mark Raine, co-CEO Mercedes-Benz Cars South Africa, told Reuters in an interview. Specifically, South Africa will need to boost local demand by cutting the import tax for EVs, setting up large-scale EV charging stations and investing in skills needed for the new ecosystem that EVs bring, he said.

Persons: it's, Mark Raine, Mercedes, Raine, Promit Mukherjee, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Mercedes Benz Group AG, Mercedes, Benz, Reuters, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Africa, Europe

☆ Amazon to launch online shopping service in South Africa in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa will be Amazon's 21st country with a local domain name-based website, challenging a slew of online retailers dominated mainly by Naspers' (NPNJn.J) Takealot.com. "The launch of Amazon.co.za in 2024 will provide independent sellers throughout the country an opportunity to rapidly launch, grow, and scale their businesses," Amazon said in a statement. The launch of its service comes at a time when South Africa has seen a sharp rise in online shopping after the pandemic created an opportunity for e-commerce to finally take hold, with retailers doubling down on investments in response. "I don't think their takeover of South Africa retail is a slam dunk," said Sasfin Wealth senior equity analyst Alec Abraham. While Amazon is expected to intensify competition with local online and traditional retailers, "the reality is that the consumer pie in South Africa is not growing," he said.

Persons: Naspers, Pascal, Alec Abraham, Mamongae Mahlare, Nqobile, Promit Mukherjee, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Sasfin Wealth, Amazon, Takealot, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Africa, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Egypt

A general view of an exterior of the Ericsson headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, January 24, 2020. The Swedish telecom equipment maker's shares fell 9% in early trade to lows last seen in 2017, when the company was going through another downturn. Gear makers such as Ericsson and Nokia (NOKIA.HE) have been hit by a slowdown in spending by telecoms companies. Mellander said the company had increased its previously announced 2023 cost saving target of 11 billion Swedish crowns ($1.01 billion), including the laying off 8,500 employees, to 12 billion crowns. India has been a rare growth area with sales quadrupling to about 10 billion crowns, but that is expected to slow down next year.

Persons: Fredrik Sandberg, Carl Mellander, Mellander, Borje Ekholm, Supantha Mukherjee, Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Ericsson, TT News Agency, REUTERS, Reuters, Gear, Nokia, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, India, STOCKHOLM, North America, Swedish

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) companies have become the major driver of unicorns -- startups reaching $1 billion valuation -- with 60% of the new ones falling in this category, according to a report from venture capital firm Accel. AI foundation models, developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Meta and others, are capable of generating text, images or other media in response to prompts. Europe, home to AI startups such as AI video avatar platform Synthesia and Stability AI, is already producing 50% more AI publications than the United States with similar citation rate, according to the report. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Deborah KyvrikosaiosOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Philippe Botteri, Botteri, Supantha Mukherjee, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Accel, Microsoft, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, Israeli, Meta, Europe, United States, Stockholm

☆ Web Summit CEO apologises for comments on Israeli conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Web Summit Chief Executive and founder Paddy Cosgrave on Tuesday apologised for comments he made on the Israeli-Hamas conflict that prompted some technology companies and investors to withdraw plans to attend its conference in Portugal next month. Web Summit, one of the world's largest tech conferences, will take place in Lisbon from Nov. 13-16, with attendees from companies such as Meta (META.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) to investors such as Atomico. "War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are," wrote Cosgrave, who was born in Ireland. Among executives to have cancelled their participation at Web Summit are AI21 Labs' Ori Goshen; Tome's Keith Peiris; Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta; Yinon Costica, co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Wiz; and Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, according to LinkedIn and X posts. Philippe Botteri, CEO of tech investor Accel, said in a LinkedIn post on Monday he would no longer speak at Web Summit.

Persons: Paddy Cosgrave, Cosgrave, I’m, Leo Varadkar's, Israel, Cosgrove, Goshen, Tome's Keith Peiris, Ravi Gupta, Yinon Costica, Y, Garry Tan, Philippe Botteri, Portugal Dor Shapira, Steven Scheer, Supantha Mukherjee, Josephine Mason, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Web, Microsoft, Palestinian, Hamas, Irish, AI21 Labs, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Lisbon, Gaza, Israel, Ireland, Jerusalem, Stockholm, London

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowSTOCKHOLM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) said on Friday it was taking steps including removing praise and substantive support for Hamas from its platforms after the European Union reprimanded social media companies for not doing enough to tackle disinformation. Following the attack, Hamas has taken scores of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Meta said it was aware of Hamas' threats to broadcast footage of the hostages and it would swiftly remove any such content and prevent copies being re-shared. While Hamas is banned from the platforms, Meta allows social and political discourse - such as news reporting, human rights related issues, or academic, neutral and critical discussion.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, Supantha Mukherjee, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Union, Facebook, Hamas, European Commission, Digital Services, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Israel, Gaza, Stockholm

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