SOUTH KOREA AND AUSTRALIA BAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FROM USING CHINA’S DEEPSEEK AI CHATBOT

Wed 05 February 2025: South Korea and Australia barred officials in select departments on Wednesday from using Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot DeepSeek, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported. Access to the service has been blocked on computers linked to external networks in foreign, trade, and defense ministries, The Interior and Safety Ministry sent a notice Tuesday […]

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SOCIAL MEDIA REWIRES YOUNG MINDS – HERE’S HOW

Wed 05 February 2025: That satisfying feeling after doomscrolling through endless TikTok videos or impulsively shopping online mimics the relief of scratching an itch. This is dopamine at work — a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) responsible for feelings of reward and accomplishment. Whether indulging in viral videos or engaging in new hobbies, dopamine creates a sense […]

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CHINESE SCIENTISTS DEVELOP NEW AI METHOD TO FORECAST CYCLONE INTENSITY

Wed 05 February 2025: Chinese scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) method to forecast dramatic increases in the intensification of tropical cyclones over a short period, state media reported on Tuesday. Developed by researchers from the Institute of Oceanology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the latest method sheds new light on improving […]

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ONLINE PLATFORMS RISK BECOMING IDEOLOGICAL ECHO CHAMBERS THAT UNDERMINE MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE

Tue 04 February 2025: There has recently been a shift online from centralized platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to decentralized alternatives like Bluesky. In particular, many users unhappy with the politics and antics of X owner Elon Musk are moving to Bluesky. Users migrating from X have cited a rise in bots and hate speech as the reason for […]

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WHEN NEWS IS STRESSFUL, HOW DO YOU BALANCE STAYING INFORMED WITH ‘DOOMSCROLLING’?

Mon 03 February 2025: It all begins innocently – a late-night peek at your favourite social media site before bed. You catch a headline that grabs your attention with “breaking news” you can’t afford to miss. Like following digital breadcrumbs, one click leads to another. Before you know it, you’re tumbling down a rabbit hole […]

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ASTRONOMERS HAVE SPIED AN ASTEROID THAT MAY BE HEADING FOR EARTH. HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

Sun 02 February 2025: On 27 December last year, astronomers using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile discovered a small asteroid moving away from Earth. Follow up observations have revealed that the asteroid, 2024 YR4, is on a path that might lead to a collision with our planet on 22 December 2032. In other words, the newly-discovered space rock […]

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DOZENS OF JOURNALISTS, CIVIL SOCIETY MEMBERS TARGETED BY ISRAELI SPYWARE IN WHATSAPP HACK

Sat 01 February 2025: Scores of journalists and civil society members were targeted on WhatsApp by Israeli spyware firm, Paragon Solutions, according to a report published Friday, Anadolu Agency reports. In all, WhatsApp said it has “high confidence” that 90 journalists and members of civil society were targeted and “possibly compromised”, the company said in a statement […]

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MEXICAN PRESIDENT SHEINBAUM TO SEEK EXPLANATION FROM GOOGLE OVER GULF OF MEXICO NAME CHANGE

Thu 30 January 2025: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her administration will send a letter to US tech giant Google to address President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” The executive order was among the first signed by Trump the day after he was […]

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CYBERATTACKS TARGETING DEEPSEEK ORIGINATED IN US, CLAIMS CHINA’S STATE MEDIA

Thu 30 January 2025: Major and sustained cyberattacks on the Chinese AI model DeepSeek originated in the US, Chinese media reported on Thursday. The cyberattack on DeepSeek began on Jan. 3 and peaked on Monday and Tuesday with a massive brute-force attack from US IP addresses, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing […]

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SOUTH AFRICAN TELESCOPE DISCOVERS A GIANT GALAXY THAT’S 32 TIMES BIGGER THAN EARTH’S

 Inkathazo’s glowing plasma jets are shown in red and yellow. The starlight from other surrounding galaxies can be seen in the background. K.K.L Charlton (UCT), MeerKAT, HSC, CARTA, IDIA, CC BY Wed 29 January 2025: You may not know it, but right now there’s a huge cosmic rave party happening far, far above our heads. The […]

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