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Mehta pressed him, for example, on if being dominant in search means that Google's search engine will improve faster than its competitors. Google's Schmidtlein replied: "Offering a superior product, winning business on the merits is never unlawful." Google has argued in court filings that the payments at issue are legal revenue-sharing deals and not illegal efforts to exclude rivals. Since this lawsuit was filed, Google has been hit with other antitrust complaints. The Justice Department filed a second lawsuit in January accusing the company of abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business.

Google has argued in court filings that the payments are legal revenue-sharing deals and not illegal efforts to exclude rivals. The case is being heard by Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Since this lawsuit was filed, Google has been hit with other antitrust complaints. The Justice Department filed a second lawsuit in January accusing the company of abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business. A group of states led by Texas also sued on ad tech in 2020 while states led by Utah filed a lawsuit in 2021 saying the company broke antitrust law in handling its play store.

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The Biden administration said Tuesday it is seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for artificial intelligence (AI) systems as questions loom about its impact on national security and education. The agency wants to know if there are measures that could be put in place to provide assurance "that AI systems are legal, effective, ethical, safe, and otherwise trustworthy." “Responsible AI systems could bring enormous benefits, but only if we address their potential consequences and harms. President Joe Biden last week said it remained to be seen whether AI is dangerous. "Tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public," he said.

☆ World Bank says Ukraine, Russia boost eastern Europe, Central Asia growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The World Bank on Thursday lifted its 2023 economic growth forecast for eastern Europe and central Asia to 1.4% from an earlier 0.1% prediction, citing improved outlooks for both Russia and Ukraine despite their ongoing war. The regional forecast, released just days before the World Bank and International Monetary Fund hold their annual spring meetings, has Ukraine's economy growing by 0.5% this year following a staggering contraction of 29.2% in 2022, the year Russia launched its invasion. Russia's economy shrank 2.1% last year, considerably less than the 3.5% contraction the World Bank forecast in January. For 2023, the World Bank forecast Russia's economy to contract by 0.2%, compared to its previous forecast of a 3.3% contraction. The World Bank's regional grouping includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday ordered Illumina (ILMN.O) to divest cancer diagnostic test maker Grail, finding that its ownership would stifle competition in the U.S. market for cancer tests. Illumina said it would appeal the decision, and will seek expedited consideration from an appeals court. The company said the FTC order to unwind the deal would be automatically put on hold. Meanwhile, Illumina completed the takeover of Grail in August 2021, despite the lack of regulatory approval from Europe or the United States. He has called for Illumina, now valued at $36 billion, to unwind its deal for Grail, which he called a risky acquisition that cost shareholders $50 billion.

☆ Kosovo war crimes court begins trial of ex-guerrilla chief and president Thaci
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

THE HAGUE, April 3 (Reuters) - Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci stands trial at a special court in The Hague on Monday for alleged war crimes during the 1998-99 insurgency that eventually brought independence from Serbia and made him a hero among compatriots. Thaci was indicted in 2020 by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, torture and forced disappearance of people, including after fighting ended. Thaci and three co-defendants, all former close associates in the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and later in peacetime politics, have pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts. The trial, conducted by international judges and prosecutors, will begin with opening statements by the prosecution followed by defence lawyers and a representative of Kosovo's war Victims Council over the ensuing three days. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly after his indictment and was transferred to detention in The Hague.

☆ How to watch Joshua vs. Franklin: live stream boxing online
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Brendan Griffiths | Senior Commerce Director | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

No belts are on the line, but career prospects certainly are, so take a look at our global guide on how to watch a Joshua vs. Franklin live stream today. An Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin live stream might be the biggest professional heavyweight bout we see for a while. Where to watch Joshua vs. Franklin live stream (US)You can catch a US live stream of Joshua vs. Franklin today live on DAZN. How to watch Joshua vs. Franklin live stream (UK)UK boxing fans can also catch the Joshua vs. Franklin live stream from DAZN. How to watch Joshua vs. Franklin online with a VPNSign up for a VPN if you don't have one.

A special Kosovo court set up in The Hague indicted Thaci in November 2020 on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, torture and enforced disappearance of people among other things during the uprising. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly afterward and was transferred to detention in The Hague. As the fighting abated and Serbian forces withdrew under NATO bombardment from Kosovo, Thaci traded in his green uniform for a blue suit and tie. Milosevic went on trial before a separate U.N. tribunal in The Hague for war crimes against Kosovo Albanians in the conflict, but he died in 2006 before a verdict was reached. Some senior Serbian officials including then-army chief Nebojsa Pavkovic and deputy prime minister Nikola Sainovic were sentenced to long prison terms over war crimes in Kosovo.

☆ Germany unveils immigration reform plan to tackle labour shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, March 29 (Reuters) - Germany on Wednesday unveiled draft reforms on immigration, skills training and promoting immigration from Western Balkan countries, a bid by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government to plug labour shortages in Europe's largest economy. "Securing our skilled labour base is one of Germany's biggest economic tasks for the coming decades," Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said. One of the reforms is a new immigration law that aims to address key hurdles for migrants to Germany, particularly for those coming from outside the European Union. The draft law, seen by Reuters, says the reform could increase the number of workers from countries outside the EU by 60,000 people a year. The opportunity card follows a points-based system that takes into account qualifications, language skills, professional experience, connection to Germany and age.

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) asked a U.S. federal judge on Monday to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit alleging that the search giant illegally abused its dominance of online advertising. The government, which filed the ad tech lawsuit in January along with eight states, had argued that Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite. It also said that the government's estimate of Google's ad exchange as having "more than 50%" of the market fell short of the 70% needed to allege market power. The company also said the government was wrong to assert that Google's acquisitions of DoubleClick and AdMeld, both more than 10 years ago, harmed competition. The Justice Department's ad tech lawsuit follows a separate lawsuit filed in 2020, at the end of the Trump administration, that accused Google of violating antitrust law to maintain its dominance in search.

Companies Alphabet Inc FollowALEXANDRIA, Virginia, March 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge said on Friday that a Justice Department lawsuit against Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google regarding its dominance of advertising technology would remain in Virginia, rejecting Google's bid to move it to New York. "I am going to rule against you," Judge Leonie Brinkema told an attorney for Google. Google has denied any wrongdoing in running its ad tech business. Eric Mahr, an attorney for Google, argued that there was a risk of an inconsistent judgment if the case were not moved to New York. Wood also said there were "meaningful differences" between the Justice Department's case and many of the New York cases.

JetBlue will face "an uphill battle" as it fights the government," said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute. "If I'm JetBlue, that's where I focus right now, developing that divestiture offer and lining up a buyer to 'litigate the fix,'" said Dryden. Whatever arguments JetBlue uses, a court fight could last six to eight months and cost tens of millions of dollars in attorney fees, legal experts said. Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, said the government's complaint "shows that there is meaningful competition between Spirit and JetBlue." "JetBlue brags about the 'JetBlue effect,' where they enter a market and fares tend to go down," he said.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston was randomly assigned the case despite the Justice Department's contention that the lawsuit should be heard by another judge who is overseeing a separate antitrust case involving JetBlue. The Justice Department on Tuesday argued that Sorokin should hear the Spirit case as well because both involved "an assessment of JetBlue's network plans, aircraft orders and configurations, and pricing strategy." Sorokin, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, on Wednesday in a brief order said the Spirit case was wrongly assigned to him because it was "incorrectly marked as related and thus not randomly assigned." The Justice Department and JetBlue declined to comment. In the case filed on Tuesday, the Justice Department said the merger of JetBlue and Spirit would "combine two especially close and fierce head-to-head competitors."

The complaint, which was filed in Boston federal court, said that JetBlue planned to remove 10% to 15% of seats from every Spirit plane. "Fewer seats means fewer passengers - and higher prices for those who can still afford to make their way onto the plane. Spirit shares were up about 1.8% on Tuesday after dipping the previous day on expectations of a lawsuit. JetBlue had previously said it expected the deal to close in early 2024, leaving time for litigation if necessary. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July.

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) from buying Spirit Airlines <SAVE.N>, saying that the planned merger "would put travel out of reach for many cost-conscious travelers." The complaint, which was filed in Boston federal court, said that JetBlue planned to remove 10% to 15% of seats from every Spirit plane. This is unlikely to stop business travelers flying on corporate expense accounts, but would put travel out of reach for many cost-conscious travelers," the complaint said. JetBlue had previously said it expected the deal to close in early 2024, leaving time for litigation if necessary. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) said on Monday it believes there is a "high likelihood" the U.S. Justice Department will file an antitrust lawsuit this week to block its $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N). JetBlue said in a statement that it accounted for the possibility of a lawsuit when it provided a timeline to close the deal in the first half of 2024. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July. JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes said on Monday he expected a government lawsuit to stop the deal and that the company would fight it, the Wall Street Journal reported. JetBlue is also awaiting the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department which asks the court to force JetBlue and American to scrap its Northeast Alliance.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) said Monday it believes the U.S. Justice Department has a "high likelihood" of filing an antitrust lawsuit this week to block its $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N). "We have always accounted for that in our timeline to close the transaction in the first half of 2024," JetBlue said in a statement to Reuters. The Transportation Department, which is also reviewing the deal, is expected to take parallel action to stop the planned transaction, Bloomberg News reported said. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July. JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes said on Monday he expected a government lawsuit to stop the deal and that the company would fight it, the Wall Street Journal reported.

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday said the government will encourage companies to build at least two advanced domestic computer chip factories employing thousands of union workers, as part of a $52.7 billion dollar initiative. The centers would also include a "robust supplier ecosystem," Raimondo said in a speech in Washington. "America needs to design and produce the world's most advanced chips right here in America," Raimondo said, adding that the United States leads in design but not manufacturing. Raimondo said the department planned to invest $11 billion in semiconductor research and development, including the creation of a public-private partnership she called the National Semiconductor Technology Center. The United States has some chip production, and signs of expansion despite a very tight labor market.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West formed what looked like an overwhelming global coalition: 141 countries supported a United Nations measure demanding that Russia unconditionally withdraw. South Korea Indonesia Israel Thailand Japan Saudi Arabia Philippines Afghanistan CambodiaBy contrast, Russia seemed isolated. Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus Syria Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus SyriaBut the West never won over as much of the world as it initially seemed. But like many other African countries, South Africa appears careful to balance its growing ties with Russia against maintaining a relationship with the West. Others that provided Ukraine with military support have declined to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

☆ Chinese consortium seals highway deal with Bosnia's Serb Republic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SARAJEVO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A consortium of Chinese companies and the government of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic on Thursday sealed a 350 million marka ($190.5 million) loan deal for the construction of a section of a northern highway connecting the region with Serbia. China Overseas Engineering Group Co Ltd. and China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd., with help of the China Construction Bank, will plan, build and finance the 17-kilometre-long Brcko-Bijeljina section, Serb Republic Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic said at the signing ceremony. The Serb Republic wants to build a modern highway connecting most of its territory with Serbia, its political ally and largest trade partner. It turned to Chinese investors after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) declined to support the project, which it said was not vital. In August, the regional government signed a 650 million marka deal with China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd. (601668.SS) to build a 33-kilometre-long section of the same highway in northern Bosnia.

☆ One year on, Russia's war in Ukraine ramps up fears over Europe's next security 'soft spot'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, North Macedonia President Stevo Pendarovski said that, aside from Kyiv, he believed that the Western Balkan region was the "soft spot" of Europe's security architecture. For sure, the Western Balkans is a second battleground for Russia in terms of foreign interference and information manipulation. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesĆerimagić said Russia's war in Ukraine provides Europe with a clear opportunity to cement stability in the Western Balkans. "For sure, the Western Balkans is a second battleground for Russia in terms of foreign interference and information manipulation. watch nowNorth Macedonia's Pendarovski last month described the U.S. as a "key player" in supporting Western Balkan countries through Russia's war in Ukraine.

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Christine Wilson, the sole Republican on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said on Tuesday she will resign soon, blaming the move on the agency's top official, Lina Khan. "Much ink has been spilled about Lina Khan's attempts to remake federal antitrust law as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission," Wilson wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Wilson said in the piece that she would resign "soon" but gave no date. "I dissented on due-process grounds, which require those sitting in a judicial capacity to avoid even the appearance of unfairness," wrote Wilson. Wilson accused the Biden administration FTC of overstepping by being too aggressive in stopping mergers and banning most noncompete clauses.

It was created by OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), and made available to the public for free. Its ubiquity has generated fear that generative AI such as ChatGPT could be used to spread disinformation, while educators worry it will be used by students to cheat. A second congressional aide described the discussions as focusing on the speed of changes in AI and how it could be used. In an interview with Time, Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, said the company welcomed input, including from regulators and governments. "The whole value proposition of these types of AI systems is that they can generate content at scales and speeds that humans simply can't," he said.

☆ After bloody failures in Ukraine, Russians are reconsidering the role of their military's 'elite' paratroopers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The issues raised about the role and value of paratroopers are not unique to Russia's military. Russian paratroopers in the Kyiv region in March 2022. Russian paratroopers unload a truck from an IL-76 to join the NATO peacekeeping operation in Bosnia in January 1996. That point underlines the debate about the value of airborne forces — a debate that isn't unique to Russia. That battle, an ignominious Allied defeat, has stood as a lesson in the limits of airborne forces.

☆ Losses in Ukraine are 'out of proportion' to what NATO has been planning for, the alliance's top general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NATO leaders have been worried by the heavy casualties and massive ammunition usage in Ukraine. "The scale of this war is out of proportion with all of our recent thinking," NATO's top general said in January. Now the scale and intensity of the fighting in Ukraine has raised questions about the alliance's ability to fight a big-unit war against Russia. "Scale, scale, scale," US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told a Swedish defense conference in January. That Moscow is buying artillery shells from North Korea suggests that Russia's military is no shape to fight NATO and Ukraine.

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