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.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
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