NORTH KOREA
Kim’s daughter tests pistol
The government yesterday released an image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter, Kim Ju-ae, firing a pistol, weeks after photographs showed her shooting a rifle — once again stoking speculation she is being groomed as heir. State media images showed the duo, donning matching leather jackets — often seen as a symbol of power in the country — at a “major munitions factory” being briefed by officials as they inspected the facility. Despite her young age, “it appears the regime is trying to cultivate the image of a strong and formidable woman,” said Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at South Korea’s Kyungnam University. “The pistol-shooting scene clearly serves to signal that she is cultivating the attributes of a military leader.”
Photo: Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service / AFP
AUSTRALIA
Two bodies recovered
Police have recovered two bodies during a search for two Chinese backpackers who went missing in a flood-hit region in the east, local media reported yesterday. The bodies, believed to be those of the missing Chinese tourists, were found inside a car, national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) reported, citing police. Police divers and emergency personnel were expected to arrive at the scene in the Gympie region of Queensland to confirm the identities of the bodies, it said. The missing tourists — a 26-year-old man and 23-year-old woman — had been traveling to North Burnett in Queensland, police said in a statement. “These people have come to Australia to see our beautiful country ... and tragically they’ve ended up losing their lives,” Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig told ABC News.
DENMARK
Noma cofounder resigns
Chef Rene Redzepi — the cofounder of Noma, several times crowned the best restaurant in the world — yesterday said that he was stepping down, following reports of past abuse at his fabled restaurant. “After more than two decades of building and leading this restaurant, I’ve decided to step away,” Redzepi wrote on Instagram. Over the weekend, the New York Times published a story detailing witness testimony about stories of past abuse at Noma, including physical violence and episodes of public shaming. The newspaper said it had interviewed 35 former employees about the period from 2009 to 2017. “I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years. I recognize these changes do not repair the past,” Redzepi said. Noma on Wednesday opened a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles, but the opening was marked by a protest led by former employees.
UNITED STATES
Fox stows away on ship
This stowaway truly was sly as a fox. A red fox somehow slipped onto a cargo ship that traveled from Southampton, England, to New York, where the animal is now in the Bronx Zoo’s care. The zoo on Wednesday said that the 5kg male fox appears healthy after early examinations. “He seems to be settling in well,” said Keith Lovett, the zoo’s director of animal programs. “It’s gone through a lot.” It is not clear how the animal got on the ship full of automobiles, which left Southampton on Feb. 4, the zoo said. The ship arrived on Feb. 18 at the Port of New York and New Jersey, and officials brought the fox to the zoo the next day. He is estimated to be two years old. Zoo representatives were not sure how and when the fox was discovered.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: The majority of chatbots tested provided guidance on weapons, tactics and target selections, with Perplexity and Meta AI deemed to be the least safe From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm. Researchers from the nonprofit watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate and CNN posed as 13-year-old boys in the US and Ireland to test 10 chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Deepseek and Meta AI. Eight of the chatbots assisted the make-believe attackers in more than half the responses, providing advice on “locations to target” and “weapons to use” in an attack, the study said. The chatbots had become a “powerful accelerant for
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
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