England

LONDON/STOCKHOLM, April 28 (Reuters) - (This April 28 story has been refiled to remove repeated word in paragraph 1)

As recently as February, generative AI did not feature prominently in EU lawmakers' plans for regulating artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT.

The bloc's 108-page proposal for the AI Act, published two years earlier, included only one mention of the word "chatbot." References to AI-generated content largely referred to deepfakes: images or audio designed to impersonate human beings.

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III lives in a palace, travels in a chauffeur-driven Bentley and is one of Britain’s richest men, but he’s similar to many of his subjects in one very basic way: His family life is complicated — very complicated.

There’s a second wife, an embarrassing brother, and an angry son and daughter-in-law, all with allies who aren’t shy about whispering family secrets in the ears of friendly reporters.

LONDON/NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - Sudan's eruption into conflict has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic, one of the country's most sought-after products and a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics.

About 70% of the world's supply of gum arabic, for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa's third-largest country, which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.

LONDON (AP) — The chairman of the BBC quit Friday after a report found he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a loan more than two years ago for Boris Johnson, as scandals from the the former prime minister’s turbulent term continue to rattle U.K. public life.

The publicly funded national broadcaster has been under political pressure after it was revealed that Richard Sharp helped arrange the line of credit weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government’s recommendation.

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Television personality Jerry Springer, known for a long-running talk show that featured raucous audiences, controversial topics and fist-fighting guests and who briefly served as Cincinnati mayor, died at age 79 on Thursday, his family said.

Springer died peacefully after a brief illness at his home in suburban Chicago, his family said in a statement. The cause of death was not specified.

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Microsoft's (MSFT.O) president Brad Smith said the UK regulator's decision to prevent its acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard "had shaken confidence" in Britain as a destination for tech businesses.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which operates independently from government, blocked the deal on Wednesday, saying it could hit competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.

April 25 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to make a deal with the European Union to make it easier for Britons to travel to the bloc, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sunak is hoping to build on improved relations with the EU to reach an agreement to let Britons use EU e-gates for passport checks, which would speed up border crossings, the report said.

Sunak's spokesman, however, said he did not recognise the reporting that the prime minister was pushing for greater access.

LONDON (AP) — Kelly Curto is taking her first trip outside the U.S., and the die-hard fan of the British royal family is making it the one at the top of her bucket list — heading to London for King Charles III’s coronation.

After arriving on May 5, the 44-year-old school bus driver from Long Island and a friend will head to the Mall, the ceremonial avenue to Buckingham Palace where the monarch’s pomp-filled procession will pass by the following day.

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday the country's armed forces evacuated diplomatic staff and their family members from Sudan.

Sunak paid tribute to what he called a "complex and rapid" evacuation after he said there had been a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff. But British nationals living in Sudan were not rescued.

"I pay tribute to the commitment of our diplomats and bravery of the military personnel who carried out this difficult operation," Sunak said on Twitter.

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Britain's main opposition Labour Party has suspended high-profile lawmaker Diane Abbott over a letter she wrote in which she said the prejudice experienced by Jewish people was similar to, but not the same as, racism.

Labour, which polls indicate is likely to form Britain's next government after an election expected next year, faced accusations of discrimination and harassment against Jews under its former leader Jeremy Corbyn.