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BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Apple was hit with a complaint to EU antitrust regulators by two civil rights groups on Wednesday over the terms and conditions of its App Store and devices for allegedly breaching landmark rules aimed at reining in Big Tech. The joint complaint by Article 19 and Germany's Society for Civil Rights to the European Commission could pose yet another headache for Apple, which was fined 500 million euros ($583 million) in April for violating the Digital Markets Act. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Joe Bavier)

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(Corrects day of release in first paragraph) By Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy (Reuters) -Tesla is expected to post a surge in third-quarter results later on Wednesday, thanks to U.S. buyers rushing to take advantage of an expiring $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit. But investors and analysts may be more focused on Chief Executive Elon Musk's outlook, including whether new, cheaper versions of its Model 3 and Model Y Tesla can keep U.S. customers buying and attract new ones in Europe and Asia.  The new trims – called Standard – are $5,000 to $5,500 cheaper than their predecessors as Tesla shrunk the battery, switched to a less-powerful motor and stripped out a myriad of features – from rear touchscreens to seat-back pockets. The company also temporarily has slashed lease prices on the higher-priced Premium versions. The cheaper Standard variants as well as Tesla's offers and discounts to stave off competition globally throughout the year have pressured the company's once-enviable margins, worrying investors. Sales of Tesla's aging lineup declined for the first time last year and analysts expect an 8.5% fall this year, in part because of Musk's far-right political rhetoric. ROBOTAXIS ROLLOUT UPDATE Musk also will be expected to update on robotaxis, the project that he sees as the key to Tesla's next stage of growth. Musk has said Tesla's robotaxis will serve half the population of the U.S. by year-end. "What are the relevant metrics – fleet size, cumulative miles, and territories – you expect in Q4 and 2026?" was the top question for the CEO in a note by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald on Tuesday.  While Musk has pivoted Tesla's focus to robotics and artificial intelligence and much of the company's $1.4 trillion valuation hangs on that bet, most of its current revenue and profit comes from vehicle sales.  Analysts expect Tesla to report a revenue of $26.24 billion in the quarter ended September, up 4.2% from a year earlier, according to data compiled by LSEG. Tesla also will report on whether regulatory credits that it sold to makers of gasoline-powered cars to satisfy pollution standards have faded away after policy changes by the Trump administration. Automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits, is estimated to be 15.6%, according to 19 analysts polled by Visible Alpha. That is lower than 17.05%, a year earlier. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; editing by Peter Henderson and Stephen Coates)

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BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraq has banned U.S. user-generated videogame platform Roblox due to concerns over child safety, the government said, joining other countries in cracking down on virtual worlds. The government said late on Sunday that the ban was motivated by concerns that the game allowed direct communication between users in ways that exposed children and adolescents to attempts of exploitation or cyber-extortion, and that its content was "incompatible with social values and traditions". Roblox Corp said safety was its top priority and it wanted to work with the government to restore access. "We strongly contest recent claims made by the Iraqi authorities, which we believe to be based on an outdated understanding of our platform," a Roblox spokesperson said. Earlier this year, Roblox temporarily suspended certain communication features such as in-game chat for users in Arabic speaking countries, including Iraq, the spokesperson added. The Iraqi communications ministry said the nationwide ban was based on a comprehensive study and field monitoring which found that "the game involves several security, social, and behavioural risks". The move places Iraq among several Middle East countries tightening regulation of online gaming and interactive platforms over child safety and moral concerns. Turkey blocked access to Roblox in August 2024, also citing child abuse risks. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Alexandra Hudson; Editing by Muvija M and Alison Williams)

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(Reuters) -Teledyne Technologies raised its 2025 profit forecast on Wednesday, betting on sustained demand for its defense electronics and military drones. The maker of target detection sensors also beat Wall Street expectations for its third quarter results. Defense contractors and suppliers are benefiting from a surge in demand for military equipment as geopolitical tensions rise and global conflicts simmer. The company, however, cautioned of a possible short-term hit to new contracts from the U.S. government shutdown that is now three weeks old. Teledyne raised its annual adjusted profit forecast to between $21.45 and $21.60 per share, from $21.20 to $21.50 per share. It posted a third-quarter revenue of $1.54 billion, up 6.7% from a year ago and above expectations of $1.53 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its adjusted profit per share came in at $5.57, also surpassing estimates of $5.48. (Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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(Reuters) -Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it is rebranding its “Uber Green” service as “Uber Electric” and launching a $4,000 grant program for drivers, as part of the ride-hailing giant's push toward zero-emission rides by 2040. The new grants, branded “Go Electric,” will provide eligible drivers $4,000 to buy new or used EVs in states including California, New York, Colorado and Massachusetts. The program could be crucial to meet Uber's climate targets and competitiveness in the green mobility race as it can be combined with other discounts and state-level incentives — potentially slashing thousands more off sticker prices even as a federal tax incentive ends. A $7,500 federal tax credit for new electric vehicle purchases, introduced during President Joe Biden’s term, expired last month, making EVs costlier for buyers. Earlier this year, Uber shifted its Uber Green service in the U.S. to an all-electric model, moving away from the mix of hybrids and fully electric vehicles. Uber said more than 200,000 EVs are now on its platform globally, with drivers in the U.S., Canada and Europe going electric up to five times faster than other motorists. One in four riders reported their first EV experience was through Uber, the company said. It will offer riders a 20% discount on their next electric trip to mark the rebrand. Uber is also expanding its battery-aware matching feature to 25 countries, aiming to ease “range anxiety” for drivers, which refers to the fear that an electric vehicle will run out of charge before reaching a charging station or completing a trip. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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(Reuters) -A group including right-wing U.S. media personalities Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck has signed a statement calling for a ban on developing superintelligent artificial intelligence until the public demands it and science paves a safe way forward, according to the non-profit organizers of the initiative. The proposal, also signed by technology pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, is the latest organized by the Future of Life Institute, which for more than a decade has raised concerns about the risk it says intelligent machines pose to humanity. The institute, founded in 2014, was supported early on by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and software programmer and tech investor Jaan Tallinn. Many in the technology industry and the U.S. government have opposed such pauses, arguing these worries are unwarranted and undermine innovation and economic growth. Still, the support from figures such as Bannon reflects potentially growing AI unease among the populist right at a time when many with ties to Silicon Valley hold influential roles in the Republican administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other signatories for the statement include Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak, Ireland's former President Mary Robinson, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, the institute said. (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)

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(Reuters) -AT&T added more wireless subscribers than expected in the third quarter on Wednesday, as bundled plans and heavy promotions around the latest iPhone launch helped it attract more customers in a fiercely competitive market. Shares of the company were up 4% in premarket trading. The quarter ended September is a critical period for U.S. wireless carriers, with competition peaking around Apple's annual iPhone launch. Like all other carriers, AT&T has also rolled out lucrative promotions for the iPhone 17 series to lock in new subscribers and encourage existing users to upgrade to pricier plans. It added 405,000 monthly bill paying wireless subscribers, compared to expectations for 334,100 additions, according to FactSet. By packaging wireless and fiber broadband services together for a discount, AT&T has encouraged more customers to take multiple offerings and reduce customer exits. More than 41% of fiber households have also opted for mobile plans. Investor focus has also been on the company's recent strategic moves to bolster its network capabilities. AT&T recently announced a landmark $23 billion deal to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar. Equipment revenue in the third quarter grew 6.1%, pushed by stronger phone sales. Operating costs in the mobility unit rose 3.8%, driven by higher expenses from selling more and pricier phones and increased spending on marketing and promotions. Revenue from its business wireline unit fell 7.8% in the quarter, hurt by declines in legacy voice and data services. On an adjusted basis, AT&T earned 54 cents per share, largely in line with estimates, according to LSEG data. Total third-quarter revenue stood at $30.7 billion, missing estimates of $30.87 billion. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil BENGALURU (Reuters) -India's government on Wednesday proposed that artificial intelligence and social media firms should clearly label AI-generated content to tackle the spread of deepfake and misinformation, prompted by similar moves by the European Union and China. With nearly 1 billion internet users, the stakes are high in a sprawling country of many ethnic and religious communities where fake news risks stirring up deadly strife and AI deepfake videos have alarmed officials during elections. The new rules require platforms to label AI-generated content with markers covering at least 10% of the surface area of a visual display or the initial 10% of the duration of an audio clip, placing more responsibilities on the likes of OpenAI, Meta, X and Google. Social media companies will also have to obtain a user declaration on whether uploaded information is AI-generated, and deploy reasonable technical measures to ensure checks and balances, the Indian government's draft proposal said. The rules will "ensure visible labelling, metadata traceability, and transparency for all public-facing AI-generated media," India's IT ministry said, inviting suggestions from the public and industry by November 6. GOVERNMENT WORRIED ABOUT GROWING RISKS OF AI The potential for misuse of generative AI tools "to cause user harm, spread misinformation, manipulate elections, or impersonate individuals has grown significantly," the government added. OpenAI, Google and Meta did not respond to Reuters queries. Indian courts are hearing high-profile lawsuits related to deepfakes. Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have asked a New Delhi judge to remove and prohibit creation of AI videos infringing their intellectual property rights, and challenged YouTube's AI training policy. The rules about covering 10% of surface area are "among the first explicit attempts globally to prescribe a quantifiable visibility standard," said Dhruv Garg, founding partner at public policy research firm, Indian Governance and Policy Project. If implemented, the rules will require AI platforms in India to build in automated labelling systems to identify and mark AI-generated content at the point of creation, he added. India is emerging as a big market for AI firms. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in February that India was its second-largest market by number of users, which have tripled in the past year. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ed Osmond)

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A new campaign backed by Britain's Queen Camilla is encouraging people to check their risk of osteoporosis using a quick online tool. London (PA Media/dpa) – Britain's Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) charity has launched a simple three-minute online assessment to help people identify their risk of osteoporosis. This Great British Bone Check campaign has been backed by the Queen, who is a long-standing supporter of the charity, and ROS hopes this easy digital tool will help people get diagnosed and treated quicker. The initiative follows a YouGov survey, conducted for the ROS, of 2,082 adults. The results found that 79% said they had never checked their bone health and 49% were unaware that women face a higher risk of fractures after menopause. In light of this, we got in touch with Julia Thomson, nurse manager at ROS, who has highlighted five silent risk factors of osteoporosis and explained how the disease is diagnosed. What is osteoporosis? “Osteoporosis is a condition which makes bones more fragile and more likely to break,” explains Thomson. The NHS website states that it develops slowly over several years and is often only diagnosed when a fall or sudden impact causes a bone to break. Approximately 3.5 million people in the UK are estimated to have osteoporosis, according to the Royal Osteoporosis Society. “A lot of people believe that osteoporosis only affects women, but we know that men are also affected,” adds Thomson. “One in two women and 20% of men over 50 will break a bone as a result of osteoporosis.” The nurse manager also highlights that the idea that osteoporosis always causes pain is another common misconception. “It only hurts if you break something,” clarifies Thomson. “The actual fragility, having fragile bones, doesn’t hurt or cause any symptoms at all. It’s the broken bones that cause all the symptoms, problems and pain that we associate with the condition.” What are the main risk factors of osteoporosis? 1. Family history “The Great British Bone Check is all about identifying the risk factors early to prevent fractures, and these risk factors include things like family history, so if you’ve got osteoporosis in the family,” says Thomson. For example, research suggests that if one of your parents broke their hip, you are more likely to break a bone yourself, according to the Royal Osteoporosis Society. “It’s not as obvious as some of the other conditions where there is a really strong genetic link, but there seems to be family traits,” says Thomson. 2. Age We reach our peak bone health at the age of 30 and it begins to naturally decline as we get older, according to the Royal Osteoporosis Society. “We’re all building our bones during childhood and adolescence and there’s two types of cells in the bone, the cells which break bone down, and the cells which build up bone,” explains Thomson. “During our childhood and adolescence, the cells which build up bone are working more quickly than the cells which break it down to build our skeleton. “Then when we get into our 30s we plateau as both types of cells work at the same rate and in our 40s, the cells which break down the bone start to take over as the quick workers. So, we’re all starting to lose bone quite naturally as a consequence of ageing.” However, Thomson stresses that osteoporosis is not just a “disease of the elderly”. “It can affect people around menopause and, more unusually, it can also affect people a lot younger than that,” says Thomson. “But, that is usually due to something else going on which has affected their risk of osteoporosis.” 3. Gender “Osteoporosis is more common in women than men partly because women tend to build less strong bones than men to start with,” explains Thomson. “Also, during around the time of the menopause we start to lose the protective effects of oestrogen. “Oestrogen is a hormone which we produce pre-menopausally that protects our bones, and when we lose that protection our bone loss accelerates, which increases the risk of osteoporosis .” 4. Medications Certain medication like steroids can have negative impact on our bones. “Some steroids play a really important part of the management of lots of conditions like arthritis and some inflammatory bowel conditions but unfortunately they’re not good for bones. This is because steroids can impact those bone building cells and dampen their actions,” explains Thomson. “So, it’s important that when these drugs are prescribed that whoever’s prescribing them is also thinking about that person’s bone health at the same time.” 5. Lifestyle factors “Drinking too much alcohol and smoking is damaging for many health reasons, including the impact it can have on our bones,” says Thomson. “Keeping your body weight within a healthy range for your age and your height is also very important. “Limiting dietary intake to the extent that your body weight is dangerously low, for example, can have a huge impact on bone health because you won’t be getting the nutrition your bones need and often periods will stop, which is a sign that you’re not producing oestrogen, which is not good for your bones. “So, keeping active, eating a well-balanced, calcium-rich diet, not smoking and keeping alcohol consumption within the guidance we get from the government, is all going to help your bones.” How is osteoporosis officially diagnosed? “It will start with a conversation with your GP talking about the risk factors and then they may suggest a bone density scan which will show how your bone strength compares to an average,” explains Thomson. “Then if your bone density is within the range which is classified as osteoporosis, your GP may consider prescribing a drug treatment to help reduce the risk of fractures.” The following information is not intended for publication dpa pa arw

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