US merchant vessel struck by Houthi militants as shippers told to avoid Red Sea
Houthi militants hit a US-owned commercial vessel with an anti-ship ballistic missile on Jan 15, underscoring warnings that the world’s most important trade artery remains too risky for navigation.
The Gibraltar Eagle, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was struck at about 4pm local time in the Gulf of Aden, US Central Command said on X.
No one was injured, the vessel avoided significant damage and continued its journey.
The strike underscores warnings from the US, reported by a top industry trade group, that ships should steer clear of the Red Sea. The Department of Transportation also issued a warning to US merchant ships Monday, telling them to avoid the area until further notice.
US defence chief Lloyd Austin released from hospital
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has been released from Walter Reed hospital, he said Monday, after initially concealing his stay there from both the White House and Congress.
Austin kept President Joe Biden and lawmakers in the dark about being diagnosed with prostate cancer for weeks, and did not inform them for days about his hospitalisation on January 1 for complications from his treatment.
While the situation has been a headache for Biden, putting him on the defence and providing an opening for Republican attacks in an election year, the president has resisted calls for Austin to leave office.
US SEC willing to delay Terraform Labs trial for Do Kwon’s extradition
The US Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to delay a civil trial against Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon for allegedly orchestrating a US$40 billion cryptocurrency fraud, so that Kwon can be extradited and attend.
In a Monday filing in Manhattan federal court, the SEC said a “modest” adjournment of the Jan 29 trial was justified, based on statements from Kwon’s lawyer that Kwon wanted to attend, agreed to extradition from Montenegro, and could be in the United States by mid-March.
It also opposed separate trials for Terraform and Kwon, saying the cases were virtually the same, and that two trials would unnecessarily require whistleblowers and ordinary retail investors to testify twice.
OpenAI will roll out new tools to thwart election misinformation
OpenAI is rolling out a series of initiatives to prevent its products from being used for misinformation ahead of a major year for US and global elections.
On Monday, the artificial intelligence startup announced new tools that will attribute information about current events provided by its chatbot ChatGPT, and help users determine if an image was created by its AI software.
The changes come as concerns rise over the risks of so-called “deepfake” images and other AI-produced content that could misguide voters during campaigns.
Lionel Messi named Fifa player of 2023
Argentine Lionel Messi retained the Fifa player of the year award on Jan 15, beating Manchester City’s treble-winning Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and France’s Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to the award.
Messi, who also secured the award in 2022 after guiding Argentina to World Cup victory, clinched the Ligue 1 title with PSG alongside Mbappe following that success, before moving to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.
The 36-year-old, voted the best player by national teams coaches, captains, journalists and fans, helped Inter Miami win the 2023 Leagues Cup – a competition between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX sides – scoring 10 goals.
