European Parliament names 5 lawmakers targeted in Huawei bribery scandal
The European Parliament has named five of its lawmakers whom Belgian prosecutors have targeted in a
bribery scandal investigation involving Chinese technology giant
Huawei Technologies
Authorities have asked the parliament to waive the lawmakers' immunity so that they can be investigated under the probe, which has been running for two months.
They are accused of accepting gifts from Huawei in exchange for lobbying for the firm's interests in the parliament.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Wednesday named the lawmakers as Maltese Socialist MEP Daniel Attard, Bulgarian centrist lawmaker Nikola Minchev and three Italian members from the centre-right European People's Party – Salvatore De Meo, Fulvio Martusciello and Giusi Princi.
The parliament's committee on legal affairs will now consider the request from Belgium's federal prosecutor and draft a report. The committee will vote on waiving immunity, after which a final decision will be taken in a vote of all the parliament's 720 members.
Huawei has denied any wrongdoing, saying it 'has a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
The Day of the Jackal author Frederick Forsyth dead at 86
Prolific British thriller writer Frederick Forsyth, who instantly became a global bestselling author when his book The Day of the Jackal was published in 1971, died on Monday aged 86, his literary agents Curtis Brown said. Forsyth famously penned his most famous work about a fictional assassination attempt on French president Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists in just 35 days after falling on hard times. The Jackal went on to be made into a hit film starring Edward Fox as the assassin. A Netflix remake last year with Eddie Redmayne in the lead role was released last year. 'We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers,' his agent Jonathan Lloyd said. Published in 1971, The Day of The Jackal propelled Frederick Forsyth into global fame. Forsyth died at home surrounded by his family following a brief illness, according to Curtis Brown.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Tech war: Huawei founder Ren says state-of-the-art chip performance can be achieved
Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies , said the company's Ascend chips are still lagging behind those from the US 'by a generation', but state-of-the-art performance can still be achieved by using other tactics. Advertisement In a front page interview published on Tuesday with People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, Ren said by using methods like 'stacking and clustering, the computing results are comparable' to the most advanced programmes in the world. Huawei has patented some techniques to package chiplets on top of each other to make processors smaller. It was the first time that Ren spoke about the effects of US sanctions since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. His comments echoed a view that Washington has failed to arrest China's technological advances, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). People visit Huawei's Ascend AI booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 4, 2024. Photo: AP He said China has many advantages in developing AI, including 'hundreds of millions of young people' in addition to 'sufficient electricity and a developed information network'. 'China's power generation and power grid transmission are very good, and the communication network is the most developed in the world,' Ren said. 'In terms of software, there will be hundreds of open source software [programmes] in the future to meet the needs of the entire society,' he said. Advertisement The interview was published at a time when Washington is ramping up its restrictions on China and Huawei Technologies is in the eye of the storm. In May, the US Department of Commerce published new guidance saying the use of Ascend chips 'anywhere in the world' could be interpreted as a violation of American export controls.
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Russia, Ukraine start new exchange of prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine launched on Monday a new prisoner exchange, agreed earlier this month during direct negotiations in Istanbul between representatives from both countries. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the first group of Russian soldiers under the age of 25 has been released from Ukrainian captivity. In return, a similar number of Ukrainian prisoners were handed over by Moscow. Neither side disclosed the exact number of individuals involved. Moscow said the repatriated Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving medical assistance. 'Our people are home,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X. He confirmed the return of young soldiers and seriously injured individuals but did not provide specific figures. Zelensky said the exchange process is 'quite complex' although he expressed hope that the Istanbul agreement would be fully implemented. Ukrainian prisoners of war pose with flags following a prisoner swap with Russia on Monday. Photo: via EPA-EFE He said the swaps would 'continue in several stages over the coming days'.
