Italy approved a decree offering state guarantees for a €6.3bn loan to Fiat Chrysler’s Italian unit, paving the way for the largest crisis loan to a European carmaker,  news wires reported. Italy’s audit court had signed off on the decree, in a final step of what had been a lengthy and contested process to get the loan approved, said a source close to the matter. The court’s approval follows an earlier endorsement by the economy ministry.

Volkswagen AG is in talks to acquire French car rental firm Europcar Mobility Group SA, in a deal that would allow the German carmaker to better capitalise on its fleet, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The acquisition would come as Europcar struggles to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has weighed on travel around the world and sapped demand for car rentals.

With each week, more data emerges to show how the Covid-19 pandemic is permanently reshaping the restaurant industry. The world is currently on track for a radical overhaul of its food-service landscape: Hundreds have filed for bankruptcy over the last three months, according to consulting firm Aaron Allen & Associates, and the situation is poised to keep worsening. 

Japan is aiming to conclude its current trade negotiations with the UK by the end of next month, news wires reported, citing a Japanese government official familiar with the talks. Japan wants to close the deal early as it will need time to check each detail before it can be sent to the Diet for approval, according to the government official. The Diet is expected to start an extra session this autumn.

Facial recognition has numerous applications that could simplify our lives as we've seen with Apple using it to unlock smartphones or in stores to replace cash registers. But the technology has a dark side, with facial recognition integrated into China's massive public surveillance system and its social credit experiment where even minor infractions of public norms can result in sanctions.

5G phones are growing in popularity – and with the four iPhone 12 models set to come with 5G later this year, the technology will only grow more attractive. However, one of the biggest problems with 5G phones is that their price point tends to be set quite high. But that could all change with the latest announcement from Qualcomm, the leading chipset manufacturer.

Energy ministers from EU members Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and from Switzerland on Monday urged the European Commission to set targets for renewable hydrogen to 2030 and increase financial support for the technology. The ministers took part in a video conference of the Pentalateral energy forum.

The world leader in the development of robotic exoskeletons, German Bionic, presents the latest generation of its smart power suit. Made of ultra-light carbon fiber, the 4th generation Cray X supports workers when lifting heavy loads of up to 28 kg by actively amplifying their movements and
thus protecting the lower back from excessive strain. 

To meet the growing technology needs of Spanish businesses, Google Cloud and Telefonica announced last week a new partnership to foster the country’s digital transformation and advance 5G mobile edge computing. As part of this agreement Google Cloud also announced its plans to open a new cloud region in Spain that will leverage Telefonica’s Madrid region infrastructure.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that Beijing needs to take action to open up its market and treat foreign companies fairly, her spokesman said on Thursday following a video conference, during which the two leaders discussed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.