Europe

LONDON (AP) — Google said Thursday that it’s rolling out its AI-powered chatbot Bard across Europe and in Brazil, expanding its availability to hundreds of millions more users.

The company also said it’s adding more features to Bard as it scrambles to keep up with rival Microsoft — which uses OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT service in its Bing search engine — in the race to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence technology that has captured worldwide attention.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — President Joe Biden pledged Wednesday that western allies “will not waver” in defense of Ukraine, casting the struggle against Russian aggression as one of the world’s central challenges requiring a broad coalition of countries to stand in defense of freedom.

“Our unity will not falter,” Biden declared. “I promise you.”

HELSINKI (AP) — President Joe Biden said he and other NATO leaders showed the world that the military alliance remains “more united than ever,” as he on Thursday capped off a trip in Europe meant to demonstrate the force of the international coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The allies “understand that this fight is not only a fight for the future of Ukraine,” Biden said, noting that it’s also about sovereignty and security.

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian civilians woke long before dawn in the bitter cold, lined up for the single toilet and were loaded at gunpoint into the livestock trailer. They spent the next 12 hours or more digging trenches on the front lines for Russian soldiers.

Many were forced to wear overlarge Russian military uniforms that could make them a target, and a former city administrator trudged around in boots five sizes too big. By the end of the day, their hands curled into icy claws.

12 July 2023; MEMO: Turkey should be under no illusion that it might one day be allowed to join the European Union, the Kremlin said yesterday, as Moscow stressed its desire for strong relations with Ankara despite existing disagreements between them, including over the growth of NATO, Reuters reported.

12 July 2023; MEMO: German authorities have handed over to Egypt more than 40 artefacts that were smuggled out of the country and discovered at Frankfurt airport, reports the Egypt Independent.

The artefacts came from Thailand and were on their way to the UK when they were seized, according to Khaled Galal, the Egyptian ambassador to Berlin.

Galal told the Egypt Independent that this is the fifth time Egyptian artefacts have been smuggled into Germany.

13 July 2023; MEMO: The UN Human Rights Council condemned recent attacks on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, despite Western countries' votes against the resolution, Anadolu Agency reports.

The draft resolution was presented by Pakistan on behalf of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The resolution, which calls for condemnation of attacks targeting the Quran and described them as "acts of religious hatred", was put to vote by the 47-member council.

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/: The price of security guarantees from the Group of Seven (G7) is a Ukraine cleared of Ukrainians by Western weapons, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov expressed concern over the G7’s security guarantees, saying that "Kiev will not believe in them until it finds out what their price is."

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/: Russia will have to respond to Ukraine potentially using cluster munitions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, without elaborating.

"Naturally, the potential use of this type of weapons is a game-changer and it will certainly force Russia to take specific steps in response," Peskov said, as he forwarded questions about exactly what measures will be taken to the Defense Ministry.

Earlier, emergency services in the Zaporozhye Region reported that Ukrainian troops had shelled the city of Tokmak with cluster munitions.