Technology, Policy & regulation, Health, AI, War & conflict
780 storiesBoston Dynamics names former Amazon AI executive Rohit Prasad as CEO
Boston Dynamics, described by Korean outlets as Hyundai Motor Group's robot affiliate, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad, a former Amazon executive who led work on the Alexa voice assistant, as its new chief executive. The company said the…
AMD CEO Lisa Su to visit Korea Oct. 7 for Gamer Day; AI chip talks expected
AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su will visit Korea on Oct. 7, about seven months after her March trip, to attend an “AMD Gamer Day” event at 2 p.m. at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, AMD said. Su and senior vice president Jack Huynh will attend, …
Turkey, Pakistan to send forces to Saudi Arabia as Houthi strikes widen
Turkey and Pakistan said they will provide agreed military forces and take steps to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia, after an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5, in the first activation of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed on …
Asian Games exemption row: Ahn Cheol-soo urges review, defense ministry regrets remarks
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said on 7 October that the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists should be reviewed for abolition starting with this tournament, noting the rule is a presidential decree that Pre…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
SME Minister Lee So-young unveils startup venture regulatory innovation committee at audit
South Korea's SMEs and startups minister, Lee So-young, said on October 7 that her ministry will create a "Startup Venture Regulatory Innovation Committee" to find regulatory improvements, and set out plans to expand the small-business soci…
JCS: North Korean mines caused DMZ blast; military clears minefield south of MDL
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said a Sept. 21 explosion in the western-front Demilitarized Zone that seriously injured a soldier was caused by a North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine laid south of the Military Demarcation Line. JCS…
Trump announces “Super Intelligence Force” AI task force led by Jay Clayton
President Donald Trump announced Sunday the creation of a “Super Intelligence Force,” a federal task force he said will coordinate government efforts to keep the United States leading in artificial intelligence, which he has directed the fe…
Saudi Arabia says 2 airports hit in renewed fighting with Houthis
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said airports in Najran and Jizan were hit Monday, damaging both facilities and leaving three people lightly injured; the statement did not say who was responsible. A Houthi brigadier gener…
Land minister says Gangnam, Yongsan home prices have turned negative
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon told a National Assembly audit on Oct 7 that home prices in Seoul's Gangnam three districts and Yongsan have turned negative, and said price growth should ease with the market stabili…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adding Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years ago. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon and …
Russian woman at plague research institute dies; cause disputed
A woman in her 20s who worked at a plague control research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region died on October 2. Russian health authorities said on October 4 the cause was “pneumonia of unknown origin,” while speculation of plague infecti…
France's Mistral releases largest open-weight AI model, Mistral Large 4
France's Mistral released Mistral Large 4, its largest open-weight AI model, nicknamed “Chonk”, on Oct 6 foreign local time, with general availability set for Oct 27. Users can download the parameters, or weights, and customize the model on…
Korea's FSS tells 21 securities firms to shift to preventive internal audits
The Financial Supervisory Service met auditors from 21 securities firms in Seoul on Oct 7 and told them to move from audits that catch problems after the fact to preventive checks that protect investors first. The regulator cited repeated v…
KFF poll finds Medicare for All support at 66% in US, highest since 2016
A KFF poll published Tuesday found 66 percent of U.S. adults support Medicare for All, the highest level since 2016, with 32 percent saying they strongly favor a single government health plan. Support was up about 13 points from 2020, but t…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
OpenAI safety lead resigns, says company's safety culture is broken
David Robinson, who wrote the safety reports accompanying OpenAI's major model releases, has resigned and published an essay in The Atlantic saying the company's culture is "broken" and its approach to safety is reactive. He cited a July 20…
Korea's top individual tax delinquent Kwon Hyuk to pay 393.8 billion won
The National Tax Service said on Oct 7 that Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Sido Group and the country's largest individual tax delinquent, has submitted a plan to pay 393.8 billion won in back taxes in full, 15 years after the tax was assessed. He …
Russia says its forces advance in northern and central Dobropolye
Russia's Defence Ministry said its assault groups advanced in the northern and central parts of Dobropolye, in the Donetsk People's Republic, and that marine infantry units finished clearing residential buildings in the city's eastern distr…
Russia's Defence Ministry says forces tighten encirclement in northeast Kharkiv region
Russia's Defence Ministry said units of its “North” grouping are tightening an encirclement of Ukrainian formations in northeastern Kharkiv region and expanding an outer zone of control, with fighting for several villages. The ministry said…