Business

US prosecutors have indicted a former Apple engineer for theft of trade secrets after he fled to China with proprietary self-driving technology. Also in this edition: US senators lambaste executives of collapsed mid-sized lenders for evading responsibility after their banks' implosions, and France unveils new subsidies to support green industrial development.

The head of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has testified in US Congress for the first time. Sam Altman called on lawmakers to regulate artificial intelligence. The hearing comes as European lawmakers are working on a new law, the AI Act, to regulate the technology. Plus, US President Joe Biden has held a second round of talks with Congressional leaders in a bid to end a stalemate on raising the government's borrowing limit.

Europe's competition watchdog gives the green light to Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the game studio behind "Call of Duty", "World of Warcraft" and "Candy Crush", but UK and US regulators remain opposed. Also, Joe Biden is set to meet with Republican lawmakers to seek a compromise on raising the US borrowing limit, and China's latest economic data comes up short.

Sky-high inflation and a plunging lira continue to be at the forefront of Turkish voters' minds as the country appears set for a runoff election between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan's unorthodox economic theories have unnerved investors and analysts as he contradicts mainstream methods to tame the country's cost-of-living crisis.

Twitter boss Elon Musk says he has hired someone to replace him, without naming the new CEO, simply saying she will start in about six weeks. It comes after the billionaire asked Twitter users in a poll if he should step down, with 17 million accounts voting yes. Musk has come under pressure to hand over the reins and focus on his other businesses. Shares in his electric car company Tesla jumped about two percent after the announcement. Also in the show: as G7 finance ministers meet in Japan, the US calls for "coordinated action" to counter China's economic coercion.

For the fourth consecutive year, France was the European country that received the most foreign investment last year, according to a survey by consultancy firm EY. Looking at the details though, these investments are leading to fewer job creations than in the UK or Germany. We speak to Pascal Cagni, the chairman of Business France, which is the government agency tasked with promoting inward investment in the country.

EU member states are discussing a new sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The latest measures will be focused on tackling the issue of "third" countries circumventing existing sanctions. For the first time, they could include measures targeted at firms from other countries, including China and Iran. We also get the latest in the stalled talks over the US debt ceiling. Plus we look at how Tesla is taking advantage of electric car subsidies in France.

As a deadline looms on raising the US government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, President Joe Biden began talks with congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday. Republicans are seeking concessions from the Biden administration to lift the borrowing limit, but the White House has said there should be no negotiations. Officials have warned that the US could default on its debt by as soon as June 1.

The US president will be speaking with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday to discuss raising the debt ceiling. We take a closer look at the potential consequences of the US defaulting on its debt. Also in the show, Chinese police raid the offices of another US consultancy firm, accusing it of transmitting sensitive data abroad. Finally, good weather conditions in France mean fruit and vegetable prices have remained stable.

In an eleventh round of sanctions on Russia, Brussels is hoping to crack down on the evasion of existing trade restrictions, particularly when it comes to the re-exportation of sensitive technology that can be used on the battlefield in Ukraine. On Monday, the European Commission proposed curbing exports to nations it accuses of helping Moscow get around trade sanctions, as well as blacklisting several Chinese companies that sell equipment that can be used in weapons.