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A withdrawal by the United States from the Paris climate deal would be disappointing but the European Union stood ready to take global leadership on this issue, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

United States president Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement on whether he will stay in the agreement this week, with media reports on Wednesday suggesting he had made up his mind to withdraw.

Representational image. Reuters

"If they decide to pull out it would be disappointing but I really do not think this would change the course of mankind," said European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic.

"There is a much stronger expectation from our partners across the world from Africa, Asia and China that Europe should assume leadership in this effort and we are ready to do that," Sefcovic added.

Earlier on Wednesday, an Axiosreport suggested that Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, citing two unidentified sources with direct knowledge of the decision.

Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, refused to endorse the landmark climate change accord at a summit of the G7 group of wealthy nations on Saturday, saying he needed more time to decide. He then tweeted that he would make an announcement this week.

Fox News also cited an unidentified source confirming the pullout.

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European Union says ready for climate leadership if US pulls out of Paris deal - Firstpost

Uber's executive exodus continues, as head of finance Gautam Gupta is leaving in July, the company told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday and later confirmed to Axios. Gupta will be joining an undisclosed San Francisco startup where he'll be COO, Axios has learned.

Uber also revealed its latest quarterly financials (which it also reported to investors) on Thursday: It brought in $3.4 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 18% from the fourth quarter. Its losses (not including employee stock and other items) also shrunk to $708 million, down from $991 million three months earlier. Its non-GAAP revenue for the quarter, which is adjusted for fares from carpool rides, is much lower at $1.5 billon, up from $1.4 billion.

Help wanted: Though Gupta has been Uber's highest ranking finance executive, he's not the company's CFOa position that has been vacant since Brent Callinicos left in 2015. The company is now launching a CFO search, and will be looking for candidates with public-company experience as it eyes an eventual IPO, according to a source familiar with the efforts.

Mass exodus: Gupta is only the latest Uber executive and senior employee to depart in the last few months, though a the company says his departure is unrelated to its recent challenges, including a lawsuit and allegations of sexism. Others include its head of PR, its president of ride-sharing, its VP of global vehicle programs, and several self-driving car employees, among others.

The story has been updated with additional information about Gupta's departure and Uber's disclosure of financials and CFO search.

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European Union will fund public wifi - Axios

Greece is the EUs heaviest-smoking country, a survey published by the European Commission for World No Tobacco Day has found.

Thirty-seven percent of Greeks are smokers, according to the report, which also showed that Greece had the smallest proportion of people, 44 percent, who said theyve never smoked a cigarette.

The survey showed a wide range of smoking rates among countries in the EU, which overall has a smoking rate of 26 percent. After Greece, France and Bulgaria were tied in second place, both with a 36 percent smoking rate, then Croatia at 35 percent.

Sweden had the lowest rate at just 7 percent. It also found that overall in the EU, the smoking rate among 15- to 24-year-olds has gone up from 25 percent in 2014 to 29 percent this year.

In terms of measures to stamp out smoking, 63 percent of those surveyed for the study said the use of electronic cigarettes should also be banned in places where smoking is prohibited.

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Survey: Greeks are heaviest smokers in European Union - Kathimerini

It lists 74 different EU bodies which it wants Britain to pay its share of funding, including the European Commission, the European Standards Agency and the EU Council.

The final bill should be paid in euros, it says, adding that the financial settlement should be based on the principle that the United Kingdom must honour its share of the financing of all the obligations undertaken while it was a member of the Union.

The United Kingdom obligations should be fixed as a percentage of the EU obligations calculated at the date of withdrawal in accordance with a methodology to be agreed in the first phase of the negotiations.

The bill should also take into pensions and other employee benefits of staff at the EU institutions.

Mrs May will use the demands to try to convince voters that she is better placed than her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn to negotiate Britains exit from the EU.

Mrs May is expected to say today: The European Commission has shown the importance of the choice faced by the British public next week.

They are adopting an aggressive negotiating position, which can only be met by strong leadership on behalf of Britain. Jeremy Corbyn is in no position to provide that kind of leadership. He has no plan to deliver Brexit, and he has already admitted he would give control of our borders and control of our laws back to Brussels. The Brexit negotiations are due to begin only eleven days after polling day.

If I lose just six seats, Jeremy Corbyn could become Prime Minister at the head of a coalition of chaos, with the parties still arguing among themselves rather than negotiating for Britain.

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European Union demands indefinite right to remain for unborn children of EU nationals in UK - Telegraph.co.uk

EUROPEAN LOCAL COMMUNITIES, WHATEVER THE HELL THEY ARE, are to be equipped with and offered WiFi hotspots under European Union proposals.

This plan has been bubbling under for some little time now, and was hinted at in September last year when the EU said that a thing called WiFi4EU could be used to blanket cities and towns with free and fast wireless when otherwise it would not be available.

"On 14 September 2016, the Commission published a proposal for the promotion of very fast wireless internet access in local communities. This service would be provided free of charge to the public at large. The areas covered would encompass public administrations, libraries and hospitals, as well as outdoor spaces accessible to all," explains the European Parliament.

"The aim is to increase accessibility to high-performance mobile internet, and to raise awareness of the benefits of such connectivity. It is planned to simplify administrative procedures and to use EU funds to provide financial support to the establishment of such networks."

The UK did a thing last June that surprised us, and could now mean that we stand outside of this WiFi bonanza and look on enviously and wonder how a gigabit society would feel under our feet. So we cannot be too enthused about this right now, but the Eurocrats certainly are.

"This action comes within the framework of the digital single market, and is one of several legislative proposals announced by the Commission with its communication, Connectivity for a competitive digital single market - Towards a European gigabit society'", they added.

"The proposal aims to develop, by 2025, fast wireless internet connections for citizens in spaces where public services are provided. These could be public administrations, libraries and hospitals. Other places where community life takes place should be targeted too, such as outdoor spaces accessible to the general public.

"It is expected that this operation will raise citizens' awareness of, and interest in, high capacity internet services, thus promoting both the use of new, fast services, and the development of public infrastructure."

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European Union greenlights free WiFi for towns and villages - The INQUIRER