Author: Eka Gerona

South Korea has banned new downloads of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, according to the country’s personal data protection watchdog.The government agency said the AI model will become available again to South Korean users when “improvements and remedies” are made to ensure it complies with the country’s personal data protection laws.In the week after it made global headlines, DeepSeek became hugely popular in South Korea leaping to the top of app stores with over a million weekly users.But its rise in popularity also attracted scrutiny from countries around the world which have imposed restrictions on the app over privacy…

Linda Koistinen and her husband Dale stood outside a Tesla dealership in Berkeley, California, on Saturday, protesting.They were not there to take aim at the company’s electric vehicles, but the person behind Tesla – Elon Musk – and join with others who are upset at the world’s richest man’s work to disrupt and take apart large portions of the US government.”It’s a place where we can make a visible stand against him personally,” Ms Koistinen told the BBC. “He should not be deciding the fate of our democracy by disassembling our government piece by piece. It’s not right.”As part of…

The US government is trying to bring back nuclear safety employees it fired on Thursday, but is struggling to let them know they should return to work, NBC News has reported.The National Nuclear Security Administration workers were among hundreds of employees in the energy department who received termination letters.An email obtained by NBC said the letters for some NNSA employees “are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel”. The terminations are part of massive effort by President Donald Trump to slash the ranks of the federal workforce, a project he…

Federica BedendoBBC News, North East and CumbriaBBCThe mine is deep under rolling farmland in CumbriaGypsum may be an unfamiliar name to many but we are surrounded by it every day. It is a mineral used to make types of plaster which coat our homes, schools and offices – and in Cumbria sits the world’s deepest gypsum mine.Outside the small village of Long Marton, against the backdrop of the North Pennines, stands a bungalow in the corner of a field. It is perhaps the only clue that something else is happening close by.Underground, at a depth of 1,000 ft (305m), is…

Getty ImagesThe government has announced plans to protect the UK’s steel industry in a bid to secure its long-term future, as it faces the impact of potential tariffs.The Plan for Steel will include measures that seek to bring down the cost of production and encourage the use of domestic steel in infrastructure projects.It also hopes to protect UK steel from “unfair trading practices abroad”, including being undercut by cheaper suppliers.The announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all steel imports from 12 March – something the UK sector fears would cost…

Map of the Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean through Panama The ports of Colon, Manzanillo and Cristóbal at the Atlantic end are highlighted along with Rodman and Baboa at the Pacific end. Panama City is visible on the Pacific coast to the right of the canal, image There are five container ports around the Panama Canal. All of them are operated by foreign companies.

Billy KenberPolitics investigations correspondentReutersSince BBC News reported on Thursday that Rachel Reeves had exaggerated her online CV and had been investigated over her use of expenses while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), Labour colleagues have mounted a robust defence of the chancellor.Sir Keir Starmer said she had “dealt with any issues that arise” from the questions about her CV, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting told BBC Newsnight that she was doing a “brilliant and difficult job”.But Labour figures have questioned our reporting on the expenses investigation, with one cabinet minister calling it totally inaccurate.Here we examine the key…

Rachel Looker & Lily Jamali, tech correspondentBBC NewsWatch: Elon Musk takes his son X to meet world leadersElon Musk’s children have been to places many will never see.From meetings with foreign leaders to the control room of a SpaceX launch, Musk’s children have debuted as constant sidekicks to their father’s endeavors in tech, business and now, politics.They have made frequent appearances in the nation’s capital since President Donald Trump tapped the tech billionaire and Tesla co-founder to lead the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency.Musk’s four-year-old, “Lil X”, hung on the corner of the Resolute desk in the Oval Office on…

Jorn MadslienBusiness reporterGetty ImagesLarge American pickup trucks are difficult to drive around Europe’s old and narrow streetsDonald Trump is threatening to introduce big tariffs on EU car imports, unhappy that Europeans don’t buy more American vehicles. But why are US cars, with the notable exception of Tesla, not more popular in Europe?Italy’s ancient towns and cities, with their narrow, cobbled streets, offer an obvious explanation why, in the words of US President Donald Trump, Europeans “don’t take our cars”.Or as car industry analyst Hampus Engellau puts it: “Try to go around Italy in a big SUV. I’ve done it, and…

EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockDonald Trump has ordered his team to come up with plans to impose a new set of taxes – known as tariffs – on goods coming into the United States. Trump wants to introduce “reciprocal tariffs” – taxes on imports to the US which are set at a similar rate to taxes other countries put on goods they import from the US.The president says other countries often have higher tariffs on imports from the US than the other way round and believes America “has been treated unfairly by trading partners, both friend and foe”. BBC Verify has explored whether he…