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European Union President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new initiative to give artificial intelligence (AI) startups expedited access to European supercomputers.

The announcement came during the president’s 2023 EU State of the Union address on Sept. 13.

In introducing the topic of AI, von der Leyen invoked an open letter sent by members of the global AI community calling for increased regulatory scrutiny of the potential for “extinction from AI.”

Per von der Leyen’s speech:

“AI is a general technology that is accessible, powerful and adaptable for a vast range of uses — both civilian and military. And it is moving faster than even its developers anticipated. So we have a narrowing window of opportunity to guide this technology responsibly.”

The president called for the assemblage of a “new global framework for AI, built on three pillars: guardrails, governance and guiding innovation.”

In describing the necessary guardrails, the president invoked the EU’s “AI Act,” calling it “a blueprint for the whole world.” For the “governance” pillar, von der Leyen beseeched the global community to form a governance council similar to the International Panel on Climate Change.

Related: Bitcoin is on a collision course with ‘Net Zero’ promises

Lastly, in support of the tenant of “guiding innovation,” President von der Leyen announced an EU-wide initiative to accelerate access to Europe’s supercomputers for artificial intelligence startups wishing to train models and conduct research.

“Europe has now become a leader in supercomputing – with 3 of the 5 most powerful supercomputers in the world,” the president said, adding, “We need to capitalise on this.”

President von der Leyen also lauded U.S. technology companies that have chosen to voluntarily adopt AI standards and ethics and praised EU companies that have done the same. “Now,” the president added, “we should bring all of this work together towards minimum global standards for safe and ethical use of AI.”

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Almost 400,000 patients spend 24 hours or more in A&E, figures show

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Almost 400,000 patients spend 24 hours or more in A&E, figures show

Twenty-four hours in A&E is now “no longer a documentary”, leading medics have warned, as figures show almost 400,000 patients spent a day or more in an emergency department in England last year.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the very long waits are a “matter of national shame”.

Figures uncovered by the college and shared with the PA news agency show 399,908 people waited 24 hours or more in an emergency department in England in 2022-23.

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The college warned there could be a similar situation this year, with Dr Adrian Boyle, its president, cautioning that patients are coming to avoidable harm as a result of long waits.

“We know that long stays in emergency departments are harmful,” Dr Boyle said.

“There is good scientific data that shows that once people spend more than about six hours, and they need to be admitted into hospital, actually their mortality starts to get worse.

More on Nhs

“I think it should be a matter of national shame that we have these very long waits for admitted patients.”

He said people caught up in the long waits are “often elderly and vulnerable”.

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Political parties urged to end overcrowding

The RCEM has made a number of calls to political parties in its general manifesto, including:

• To end overcrowding in emergency departments, including by ensuring there are enough hospital beds to prevent people being stuck in emergency departments when they need a bed on a ward.

• More funding for social care to prevent a system where people who no longer need hospital care can be discharged when ready.

• More emergency medicine staff to deliver “safe and sustainable care” and for more work to retain current staff.

• More data to be published on hospital performance.

• A call to “resource the NHS to ensure the emergency system can provide equitable care to all”.

Cardiac arrest patients should be taken to their closest emergency department

Record number attend A&E

A record number of patients attended A&E in England in 2022-33, 25.3 million, up 4% from the previous year, according to figures released last week.

The data also shows 71% of people spent four hours or less in A&E in 2022-23.

The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March 2024 for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, with further improvements expected the following year.

An NHS England spokesperson said: “This data relates to last year and winter, when services were facing record demand, industrial action and a twindemic of COVID and flu, but since we published our urgent and emergency care recovery plan in January we have seen significant improvements.

“Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff Category 2 ambulance response times are now an hour faster than in December, A&E four-hour performance is up from 69% to 73%, and the proportion of patients waiting 12 hours in A&E is down a sixth.

“We know there is more to do, which is why we set out our winter plans earlier than ever before this year, expanding care ‘traffic control’ centres, delivering additional ambulance hours and extra beds to boost capacity and reduce long waits for patients, and other initiatives like same day emergency care units and virtual wards which can mean patients are able to get the care they need without an unnecessary trip to an emergency department – this is better for them, and means A&E staff can continue to prioritise those with the most urgent clinical need.”

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Hong Kong to list ‘suspicious’ crypto platforms in wake of JPEX scandal

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Hong Kong to list 'suspicious' crypto platforms in wake of JPEX scandal

One of Hong Kong’s principal financial regulators, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has vowed to step up efforts to combat unregulated cryptocurrency trading platforms in its jurisdiction.

According to a Sept. 25 announcement, the SFC said it will publish a list of all licensed, deemed licensed, closing down and application-pending virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) to better help members of the public identify potentially unregulated VATPs doing business in Hong Kong. 

The SFC said it will also keep a dedicated list of “suspicious VATPs” which will be featured in an easily accessible and prominent part of the regulators’ website.

The new measures being introduced by the SFC to combat unregulated VATPs. Source: Hong Kong SFC

The new rules come immediately in the wake of the ongoing  JPEX crypto exchange scandal, an affair which local media outlets are describing as one of the worst cases of financial fraud to ever hit the region. JPEX stands accused of promoting its services to Hong Kong residents despite not having applied for a license in the country.

Speaking at a Sept. 25 press briefing on the new rules and the JPEX scandal, Kit Wilson, the SFC’s director of enforcement explained that due to “evasive” behavior from stakeholders and unsatisfactory responses to requests for information, JPEX was placed on their alert list in July 2022.

Wilson shared that the SFC then launched a complex investigation involving multiple parties across a range of jurisdictions, which escalated in April 2023 after the organization received its first official investor complaint.

“In June 2023, an AMLO (Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance) came into full effect. At that time enforcement commenced a more formal fraud investigation. As a result of that investigation we issued a formal warning on Sept. 13 and referred the matter to the police.”

The financial fallout from JPEX is estimated to reached around $178 million at the time of publication, with local police havi received more than 2,200 complaints from affected users of the exchange. 

A total of 11 people including crypto influencers, YouTubers, and employees of the allegedly fraudulent crypto exchange have been taken into custody for questioning.

Related: Troubled crypto exchange JPEX applies for deregistration in Australia

In a statement, the SFC said the resulting fallout from JPEX “highlights the risks of dealing with unregulated VATPs and the need for proper regulation to maintain market confidence.”

The regulators added that it would be working with local police to establish a dedicated channel for citizens to share information on suspicious activity and potential legal breaches by VATPs, as well as better investigating the JPEX incident to help “bring the wrong-doers to justice.”

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