Latest news with #AI)ActionSummit
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Czech president pardons soldiers prosecuted in death of Afghan prisoner
Czech President Petr Pavel, arrives for a meeting with international investors in IA at the Elysee Palace as part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France, February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo PRAGUE - Czech President Petr Pavel granted pardons on Wednesday to four members of the country's special forces, who had been facing prosecution for alleged crimes related to the death of a detained Afghan soldier. The four members of the 601st special operations forces group were to stand trial on charges of extortion, insubordination, violation of guard duty obligations and failure to provide aid. Czech media had reported that the accusations related to the death of 19-year-old Wahidullah Khan after he was detained over an attack on troops at the Shindand base in western Afghanistan in 2018. One Czech soldier was killed in the attack and two others were injured. "After carefully assessing all the circumstances of this case, the President of the Republic took into account in particular the exceptional nature of the war situation in which the incident under investigation occurred," Pavel's office said. It added that the fact the soldiers were not primarily accused of violent crimes had also been taken into consideration. The New York Times first reported the incident in 2018. It reported that Khan was beaten after being taken into custody by U.S. and Czech troops, was unconscious when he was returned to Afghan forces the same day and died shortly afterwards. U.S. and Czech troops were being investigated over the incident, it reported at the time. The Czech army operated in Afghanistan from 2002 until 2021. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Czech president pardons soldiers prosecuted in death of Afghan soldier
FILE PHOTO: Czech President Petr Pavel, arrives for a meeting with international investors in IA at the Elysee Palace as part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France, February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Poland says Russia is trying to interfere in presidential election
FILE PHOTO: Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski arrives for a meeting with international investors in IA at the Elysee Palace as part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France, February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Poland says Russia is trying to interfere in presidential election WARSAW - Poland is facing an unprecedented attempt from Russia to interfere in its presidential election, the digital affairs minister said on Tuesday, as the campaign entered its final stages ahead of the first round of voting on May 18. Poland says its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation efforts, and Warsaw has been on high alert for interference, especially after Romania cancelled a presidential election in December due to allegations of Russian meddling. Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it interferes in foreign elections and criticised the decision to cancel the election in Romania. "During the current presidential elections in Poland, we are facing an unprecedented attempt to interfere in the electoral process from the Russian side," Krzysztof Gawkowski told a defence conference. "This is being done... (by) spreading disinformation in combination with hybrid attacks on Polish critical infrastructure in order to paralyse the normal functioning of the state," he added. He said that attacks had targeted water and sewage companies, heat and power plants and state administration bodies. The level of Russian activity in terms of cyberattcks in Poland had more than doubled compared to last year, he said. "Today in Poland, during every minute of my speech, a dozen or so incidents targeting critical infrastructure were recorded," he said. The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Warsaw said in March that there had been a cyberattack on the Polish space agency. In 2024 Poland said the state news agency had likely been hit by a Russian cyberattack. Warsaw and its allies have also alleged that Moscow is behind acts of arson and sabotage around Europe. Russia dismisses these claims. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Usha Vance Lunches in Blue Suede Pumps With French President Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Macron and Husband JD Vance in Paris
Usha Vance and her husband Vice President JD Vance met with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron for lunch during the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit yesterday in Paris. France is hosting representatives from around a hundred countries, including heads of state and business leaders, for the Action on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summits at the Grand Palais. More from Footwear News Saweetie Goes Cozy in Boho-Inspired Suede Boots at EA Sports' The Madden Bowl in New Orleans Martha Stewart Attends NYFW Parties in Her Favorite Grey Suede Booties The lawyer stuck to one of her favorite silhouettes, popping on a pair of classic and simple deep blue suede pumps, seemingly a pair of Jimmy Choo's Romy 60 Navy Suede Pointed Pumps. The chosen silhouette included textural blue suede uppers accompanied by sharp pointed toes and 3 to 4-inch stiletto heels. Simple in composition, the footwear choice allowed Usha's dress to take center stage, acting as a supporting character of sorts. Additionally, the deep blue hue complimented the lighter blue tone of her dress. Beloved by the likes of Kate Middleton and Melania Trump, suede styles are classic and versatile. Many public figures tend to reach for the style because the texture of the suede diversifies whatever silhouette it is attached to. For those looking to replicate Usha's look, other top brands Sam Edelman, Aquazzura, Christian Louboutin and Gianvito Rossi feature similar suede styles for a range of price points and sizing options. Dressy and formal, Usha partnered her suede footwear with a light blue dress. The garment was light blue and featured long sleeves and a draped bodice and a pencil-esque skirt. The political figure accessorized her look with dainty gold jewelry. When it comes to footwear, Usha tends towards simplistic silhouettes like classic pumps and knee-high boots in neutral suede or leather styles. The public figure reaches for top brands like Christian Louboutin, Rothy and Manolo Blahnik, among others. Dressed for formal occasions, Usha often wears gowns and suiting looks from brands like Oscar de la Renta, Gaurav Gupta and Sergio Hudson. Celebrities Wearing Jimmy Choo Romy Pumps View Gallery11 Images Launch Gallery: A Look at Usha Vance's Style Throughout the Years Best of Footwear News Chrissy Teigen and John Legend's Couple Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Sneaker Style at the Grammys: Billie Eilish and More Stars Through the Years Taylor Swift's Best Shoes at the Grammy's Over the Years [PHOTOS]
Euronews
14-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
‘Devoid of any meaning': Why experts call the Paris AI Action Summit a ‘missed opportunity'
The Paris Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit closed this week with a declaration that outlined policies for ensuring AI is 'open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy'. Some 60 countries signed the declaration but notably the United Kingdom and the United States did not. The UK cited national security concerns as its reason while the US did not specify exactly why it did not sign the doctrine but the country's vice president, JD Vance, warned delegates in Paris that too much regulation would stifle innovation. However, experts at the summit told Euronews Next that the declaration did not go far enough to address the possible risks and harms caused by AI. Need for addressing risks and inequities 'I think that the communique doesn't adequately speak to the sort of real-world risks and harms,' said David Leslie, director of ethics and responsible innovation research at The Alan Turing Institute. Some of the most pressing risks of AI include bias, cybersecurity, and data privacy issues. 'Action obviously means forward action and progressive action in terms of advancing opportunities for growth and economic benefit,' he told Euronews Next. 'But action also has to do with redressing the set of existing risks and harms that over the last couple of years, and especially with the scaling of the production and user-generated AI systems, has become sort of obvious to researchers in the field,' he added. The AI summit comes as tech companies race to release AI models with competition heating up across the globe. The latest release by China-based company DeepSeek a month ago challenged the status quo of Western tech companies dominating the market with AI models that are more expensive to train. Governments are also ensuring they do not get left behind in the AI race. The newly installed Trump administration in January rescinded previous initiatives under the former government that prioritised AI safety, citing them as obstacles to US innovation. Another approach to the summit that did not go far enough was 'addressing the ecosystem level inequities,' Leslie said, adding that they were 'real barriers to the advancement of inclusive and equitable innovation'. He argued that having globally equitable structures for trade between larger tech companies and small and medium-sized countries, especially in the Global South, and access to compute or digital infrastructures, were discussions that could have been spoken more about at the summit. Anthropic's CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei said in a statement that he was disappointed the summit did not do more to address the risks of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and called it a 'missed opportunity'. 'Greater focus and urgency is needed on several topics given the pace at which the technology is progressing,' Amodei said in a statement shared with Euronews Next. 'The need for democracies to keep the lead, the risks of AI, and the economic transitions that are fast approaching—these should all be central features of the next summit'. Open for AI business Unlike the previous AI summits held in the United Kingdom and in South Korea, which focused more on the potential harms and risks of AI, France made its intentions clear that it was open for business. The Paris summit resembled more of a tech fair or even festival atmosphere with many fancy corporate side events and even a DJ closing the first day at the Grand Palais, which followed French President Emmanuel Macron telling the audience 'I have a good friend in the other part of the ocean saying 'drill, baby, drill',' referring to his US counterpart. 'Here there is no need to drill. It's 'plug, baby, plug'. Electricity is available, you can plug [it in], it's ready,' Macron added. But while strong statements were echoed, a lot of the words from the declaration were just that, experts say. 'Being familiar with the diplomatic aspect of these things, I know that when this many countries get together to draft a text, identifying the smallest common denominator often leads to a very weak statement, or even platitudes,' said Jessica Galissaire, studies and partnership manager at the France-based Renaissance Numerique think tank. 'The use of words like 'sustainable' and 'inclusive' are devoid of any meaning if we don't have a shared understanding of what they mean - which I'm not sure we do at such a high level,' she told Euronews Next. 'In the end, on the specific topic of ensuring AI developments respect fundamental rights and freedoms, signatories just committed to talking more…so much for an AI 'Action' Summit,' she added. However, Galissaire said she was more positive about the environmental pledge and looked forward to seeing the results of a proposed observatory to asses AI's energy impact with the International Energy Agency (IEA). Max Tegmark, the MIT physicist who is the founder and president of the Future of Life Institute, also said he was disappointed in the outcomes of the summit, saying the declaration was weak and did not address security threats. 'Given the urgency of the situation, appeasing words that lack substance represent a step backwards for international and technical collaboration, and this weakness led countries not to sign,' he said in a statement. 'As AI continues to soar ahead, the next summit must reset the conversation, and embolden decisive action to ensure secure, controllable and beneficial AI," he added. The next AI summit will be held in India, which jointly hosted the Paris summit with France. It is unclear what the topics of the next AI summit will tackle.
