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

Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids

Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.

The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.

In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.

He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”

The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.

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The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.

International

Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win

Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.

“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”

International

Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains

Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.

The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.

“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”

Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.