Emmanuel Macron’s address to a joint meeting of Congress was interrupted by frequent standing ovations. Fox News twitter feed

Emmanuel Macron’s address to a joint meeting of Congress was interrupted by frequent standing ovations. Fox News twitter feed

Standing ovations for Macron

French president Emmanuel Macron rounded off his visit to the United States with a 50-minute address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. Despite several rebukes of the policies of US president Donald Trump, Macron’s speech was “interrupted by frequent standing ovations, many from both sides of the aisle,” The Guardian reports. “We will not let the rampaging work of extreme nationalism shake a world full of hopes for greater prosperity,” he said. Macron also tackled the Iran nuclear deal, trade tariffs and climate change in his speech. “I’m sure one day the United States will come back and join the Paris agreement,” he said. “Let us face it. There is no planet B.”

Mail uses Lux journalist’s tweets

Tweets about the state dinner for Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron by Luxembourg journalist Philip Crowther, the White House correspondent for France 24, have been used for an entire article by the Daily Mail. “I did give them my approval to use them,” Crowther wrote on Facebook. The British paper seemed fascinated by the fact that Apple CEO Tim Cook was seated next to Brigitte Macron.

EU seeks AI boost

The European Commission has unveiled a recommendation that the European Union should increase investments in artificial intelligence by at least €20 billion by 2020. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Commission says that investment in AI research and innovation is required to put AI at the service of Europeans and boost Europe's competitiveness. The Commission is increasing its investment to €1.5 billion for the period 2018-2020, which it hopes will trigger an additional €2.5 billion of funding from existing public-private partnerships. “Just as the steam engine and electricity did in the past, AI is transforming our world,” said Commissioner for the digital single market Andrus Ansip.

Davis expects parliament approval on customs union

The UK’s Brexit minister David Davis says he is confident that parliament will vote in favour of leaving the customs union with the EU. Reuters cites the minister telling a parliamentary committee that “the government always respects parliament but I expect the government’s position to be upheld.”

Facebook revenue record

Social media giant Facebook made $11.97bn in revenue in the first quarter of 2018, up 49% from the previous year. The popularity of the Facebook platform rose significantly, with daily active users up to 1.45 billion, an increase of 13% on the first three months of 2017, The Guardian reports. “Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018,” said Mark Zuckerberg.

Rise in e-bike fatalities

The number of e-bike deaths among men aged over 65 in the Netherlands has doubled as the mode of transport becomes increasingly popular. Indeed, The Guardian reports that cycling fatalities in the Netherlands surpassed car fatalities in 2017. Of the 206 cyclists who died, a quarter were riding e-bikes.