Town Hall News

By Jeffrey Dastin and Greg Bensinger MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) -Alphabet Inc’s Google is rolling out more artificial intelligence for its core search product, hoping to create some of the same consumer excitement generated by Microsoft Corp’s update to rival search engine Bing in recent months. At its annual I/O conference in Mountain View, California, on Wednesday, Google offered a new version of its namesake engine. Called the Search Generative […]

By Hyunjoo Jin and Kiyoshi Takenaka SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO (Reuters) – Panasonic said on Wednesday that it will delay the commercial production of its 4680 battery cells championed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and begin operations during the April to September period in 2024, later than previously scheduled, as the company aims to improve their performance.  Tesla’s Japanese supplier, Panasonic, previously planned to start volume production for Tesla between April 2023 […]

By Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday will end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency that allowed millions of Americans to receive vaccines, tests and treatments at no cost. The emergency is also tied to telehealth flexibilities, Medicaid enrollment safeguards, and the ability of government health agencies to collect data on the spread of the coronavirus. Here is what will change after Thursday, and what does not: […]

By Jeffrey Dastin MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) – The financial report you read, the apparel marketing you see and the chat assistant you engage may soon reflect a common origin: artificial intelligence from Google. The cloud division inside Alphabet Inc is lining up customers to put its newest technology to the test, so-called generative AI that produces human-like prose or other content from past data. Deutsche Bank AG, Uber Technologies […]

By Sergio Goncalves LISBON (Reuters) -The European Central Bank’s key interest rate is approaching its peak but further adjustments are still necessary, ECB Governing Council member Mario Centeno said on Wednesday, adding he expected rates to start easing at some point during next year. “We must be approaching the terminal rate,” he told a press conference, adding that the ECB could reach the peak in June or July, always watchful […]

(Reuters) -A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted in favor of using Perrigo Co’s contraceptive without a prescription, paving the way for the country’s first approval for an over-the-counter birth control pill.  Contraceptives have been in focus since the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies as it scrapped a landmark ruling in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case. The panel […]

By Kirsty Needham and Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Trade Minister will travel to Beijing on Thursday to meet his Chinese counterpart, as Canberra pushes for the removal of all trade impediments and diplomatic relations stabilise. In a statement, Trade Minister Don Farrell said he would meet with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing and “be advocating strongly for the full resumption of unimpeded Australian exports to China […]

By Jeffrey Dastin and Greg Bensinger MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google rolled out more artificial intelligence for its core search product, hoping to create some of the same consumer excitement generated by Microsoft Corp’s relaunch of rival search engine Bing in recent months. At its annual I/O conference in Mountain View, California, on Wednesday, Google offered an updated version of its namesake engine. Called the Search Generative […]

By MacDonald Dzirutwe LAGOS (Reuters) – A British university has postponed the return of more than 100 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria after a presidential decree named a royal ruler as the owner and custodian of all returned artefacts, the head of museums and monuments said on Wednesday. Nigeria is on a quest to get thousands of intricate bronze sculptures and castings that were looted by British soldiers during a raid […]