International

South Korea suspends DeepSeek service in the country due to security risks

The Government of South Korea suspended the local service of the Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) application DeepSeek due to doubts about the data collection system, which are stored on servers in China, and the possibility of leaking sensitive information.

The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said on Monday that the service was suspended at 18:00 local time on Saturday (9.00 GMT) and will resume after “improvements” are made in accordance with South Korea’s personal information protection laws.

The measure comes after the PIPC issued an official warning about the Chinese AI model advising against its use and local government ministries and agencies blocked its use.

The warning came after the PIPC sent a query to the startup asking for detailed information about its data collection policy, and said it plans to request cooperation from the Chinese authorities on the matter through official diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, the South Korean car company Hyundai Motor had already restricted its employees’ access to DeepSeek, also about possible leaks of their data.

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The Ministries of Finance and Environment of South Korea announced two weeks ago the blockade, at least provisionally, of DeepSeek, and thus joined those of Foreign Affairs, National Defense and Economy, Trade and Industry, which prevented connecting to this model of the Chinese language from their terminals.

The Interior portfolio had already recommended to ministries and the 17 regional governments of the country to exercise caution against possible data leaks due to the use of DeepSeek in the face of what it considers a non-transparent data storage process by the Chinese startup.

DeepSeek has revolutionized the global AI landscape after its presentation last month of its most recent language model, which has impressed experts for its more efficient and economical performance when compared to the United States competition.

However, its data management has led countries such as Italy or Australia to analyze the service more deeply and impose access restrictions on public institutions arguing risks to national security.

Meanwhile, the Chinese digital giant Tencent, developer of the most popular messaging platform in the country, WeChat, rose more than 6% on the stock market on Monday before the launch of a beta of that application that allows you to make queries on DeepSeek’s R1 artificial intelligence (AI) model.

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Specifically, Tencent securities, the highest value per trading weight of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, rose 6.15% around 10.00 local time and exceeded Hong Kong $500 ($64.3) per unit for the first time since mid-2021.
At the moment, this beta is only available for the Chinese version of the application, which has more than 1.3 billion users.

In it, it will be possible to select the DeepSeek model apart from the one developed by Tencent, called Hunyuan. This, according to a representative of the company quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, will allow access “to the full version of the DeepSeek R1 model for free to enjoy a more diverse search experience.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”