AUSTRALIA
AI articles criticized
A science magazine yesterday drew criticism after publishing artificial intelligence (AI)-generated articles that experts said were incorrect or oversimplified. Cosmos, published by the state-backed national science agency, used Open AI’s GPT-4 to produce six articles that were published last month. Although the use of AI was disclosed, the Science Journalists’ Association of Australia said its use had caused serious concerns. Association president Jackson Ryan told reporters that in the article “What happens to our bodies after death?” descriptions of scientific processes were incorrect or vastly simplified. These inaccuracies would damage people’s trust in and perception of the publication, he said. A spokesperson for the national science agency said the AI content had been fact-checked by a “trained science communicator and edited by the Cosmos publishing team.”
AUSTRALIA
Dog abuser sentenced
A crocodile expert was sentenced yesterday to more than 10 years in jail for sexually abusing and killing dozens of dogs, and a string of other crimes. Adam Britton, 53, had pleaded guilty to 63 charges relating to bestiality, animal cruelty and possessing child abuse material. In sentencing Britton, Northern Territory Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Grant described the acts as “unspeakable” and “grotesque.” Broadcster ABC reported that Britton acquired 42 dogs online from 2020 to 2022, promising their owners he would give them a “good home.” Instead, Britton filmed himself raping and killing dogs in a shipping container on his property in Darwin, ABC reported. The footage was shared via Telegram. Police arrested Britton in 2022. Britton was a crocodile expert in Australia and worked on several productions with the BBC and National Geographic. He would be eligible for parole in April 2028 and is banned from owning mammals for the rest of his life.
AUSTRIA
Swift concerts canceled
Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week on Wednesday called them off after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts. Swift was scheduled to play at the Ernst Happel Stadium yesterday, today and tomorrow as part of her Eras Tour. Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” It cited government officials’ “confirmation” of a planned attack at the stadium.
PANAMA
‘VIP smugglers’ arrested
Border police on Wednesday arrested 15 people connected to a criminal organization that helped smuggle Chinese across the Darien jungle via a “VIP route” with fewer challenges to traverse. The arrests were made in the town of Santa Fe. More than 500,000 people traversed the so-called Darien Gap last year, where migrants face dangers such as rapid rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs. However, the “VIP route” used all-terrain vehicles and even horses to speed up the sometimes week-long journey for those who could afford it. Chinese were the primary migrants to pay to use the “VIP route,” local prosecutor Emeldo Marquez said. He attributed this to their generally higher purchasing power compared with other migrant groups.
POLITICAL PRISONERS VS DEPORTEES: Venezuela’s prosecutor’s office slammed the call by El Salvador’s leader, accusing him of crimes against humanity Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on X, directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s electoral crackdown last year. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro. “However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Young women standing idly around a park in Tokyo’s west suggest that a giant statue of Godzilla is not the only attraction for a record number of foreign tourists. Their faces lit by the cold glow of their phones, the women lining Okubo Park are evidence that sex tourism has developed as a dark flipside to the bustling Kabukicho nightlife district. Increasing numbers of foreign men are flocking to the area after seeing videos on social media. One of the women said that the area near Kabukicho, where Godzilla rumbles and belches smoke atop a cinema, has become a “real
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
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