All posts tagged: South

Defender Kim out of South Korea squad with Achilles tendon injury

Defender Kim out of South Korea squad with Achilles tendon injury

Published by Sam

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae has been dropped from the South Korea squad ahead of their home World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Jordan due to an Achilles tendon injury, the Korean Football Association said on Saturday. The 28-year-old was named in coach Hong Myung-bo’s 28-man squad on Monday but has been cut after developing inflammation in his Achilles tendon. He will also miss Bayern’s Bundesliga game at Union Berlin later on Saturday. “We decided Kim Min-jae would need to take time to receive treatment on his left Achilles tendonitis and rehab during the international break,” the KFA told local media. “We will decide later whether a replacement player will be called up.” With Kim sidelined, the squad are left with three centre back options, Cho Yu-min (Sharjah), Jung Seung-hyun (Al-Wasl) and Kwon Kyung-won (Khor Fakkan). South Korea could secure one of the two automatic tickets to the 2026 finals from Group B with two qualifiers to spare if they beat Oman in Goyang on March 20 and Jordan in Suwon five days later. South …

US expels South African ambassador, saying he ‘hates’ Trump

US expels South African ambassador, saying he ‘hates’ Trump

Published by Sam

South Africa’s ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool speaks at the South African Embassy in Washington, December 6, 2013. CLIFF OWEN / AP The US decision to expel South Africa’s ambassador was “regrettable,” the office of the South African president said Saturday, March 15, after Washington’s top diplomat accused the envoy of hating America and President Donald Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that South Africa’s ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was “no longer welcome” in the United States. Rasool is “a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS,” Rubio posted on X, referring to Trump by his White House X account handle. “We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.” South Africa’s presidency said in a statement it had “noted the regrettable expulsion” and urged “all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter.” “South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America,” the presidency said. Rasool “was informed by the …

US to expel South Africa ambassador as relations deteriorate

US to expel South Africa ambassador as relations deteriorate

Published by Sam

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that South Africa’s ambassador to Washington had been declared persona non grata, signaling worsening relations between the two countries. In a post on X, Rubio said South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S., Ebrahim Rasool, was “no longer welcome in our great country.” “Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS [President of the United States].” There has been no immediate response from South Africa’s embassy in Washington. Rubio’s move came amid tense relations between the U.S. and South Africa. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order suspending aid to South Africa over a controversial land expropriation act that Trump said would lead to the takeover of white-owned farms. Trump also said that South African farmers were welcome to settle in the United States. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a post on X, defended his government’s measure. “We are guided by the Constitution, which places a responsibility on the state to take measures to redress the effects of past racial discrimination,” he …

Pioneering South West tech accelerator secures government funding

Pioneering South West tech accelerator secures government funding

Published by skeptic

Tech South West has secured government funding to expand its successful Growth Forge accelerator in 2025. The funding comes via the Barclays Eagle Labs Ecosystem Partnership Programme, funded by government, which supports organisations embedded in their local entrepreneurial ecosystem to boost their support to tech and digital businesses. Applications are now open for the 2025 programme, which introduces three specialist growth tracks covering AI, MarineTech and CleanTech alongside its core offering. The expansion follows Growth Forge’s successful first year in 2024, which saw participating tech companies secure over £1.6m in investment and £500k in grants and optimise their business operations. Dan Pritchard, founder of Tech South West, said: “Since Growth Forge launched we have supported founders of dozens of growth-focused companies across the region, helping them secure investment, access grant funding, grow their teams and enhance their business operations. “The introduction of specialist tracks in AI, MarineTech and CleanTech reflects the South West’s emerging strengths in these sectors. We’re delighted to be able to expand and deliver the programme with support from a host of …

Friday good news: Business confidence rises across South West and West Midlands

Friday good news: Business confidence rises across South West and West Midlands

Published by skeptic

Business confidence across the South West and West Midlands rose nine points during February to 42 per cent and 60 per cent respectively, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds. While companies in the South West reported slightly lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down three points at 54 per cent, their optimism in the economy rose 10 points to 30 per cent. A net balance of 32 per cent of businesses in the region also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up seven points on last month.  Looking ahead to the next six months, South West businesses identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team, for example through training and development, evolving their offering, for instance by launching new products or services and introducing new technology such as automation or AI.  Companies in the West Midlands reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up five points at 65 per cent. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up 12 points to …

South Korea requests exclusion from US plan to increase tariffs

South Korea requests exclusion from US plan to increase tariffs

Published by Sam

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  South Korean officials have asked the Trump administration to exclude their country from U.S. plans to impose aggressive tariffs on trade partners, emphasizing that Seoul is already applying low duties on American products under the free trade agreement between the two nations. South Korea’s government on Friday said Deputy Trade Minister Park Jong-won made the request while traveling to Washington this week for meetings with unspecified officials from the White House, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The South Korean Trade Ministry didn’t say what Park heard from the Americans. Park cited how South Korean companies were contributing to the U.S. economy through large-scale business investments and noted that the country was already imposing low duties on free trade partners such as the United States. He called for South Korea to be excluded from U.S. plans to establish reciprocal tariffs with trade partners and raise duties for imported steel and aluminum, the ministry said. South Korea’s top economic think tank this month slashed its growth …

South Korea suspends new downloads of DeepSeek, citing privacy concerns

South Korea suspends new downloads of DeepSeek, citing privacy concerns

Published by Sam

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s data protection authority said Monday that new downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek had been suspended in the country after DeepSeek acknowledged failing to take into account some of the agency’s rules on protecting personal data. The service of the app will be resumed once improvements are made in accordance with the country’s privacy law, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said in a media briefing. The measure that came into force on Saturday aims to block new downloads of the app, the agency said, though DeepSeek’s web service remains accessible in the country. The Chinese startup appointed legal representatives last week in South Korea and had acknowledged partially neglecting considerations of the country’s data protection law, the PIPC said. Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante, said last month it had ordered DeepSeek to block its chatbot in the country after failing to address the regulator’s concerns over its privacy policy. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When asked about earlier moves by South Korean government departments to block DeepSeek, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told …

Teacher questioned in stabbing death of first-grader in South Korea

Teacher questioned in stabbing death of first-grader in South Korea

Published by Sam

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  South Korean police on Tuesday were questioning an elementary school teacher who allegedly stabbed a first-grader to death in the city of Daejeon. The killing on Monday during after-school care has shocked the nation and prompted the country’s acting president to order school safety standards reviewed. The female suspect was receiving medical treatment for self-inflicted wounds following the death of the girl in an audio-visual room on the second floor of the school, said Yuk Jong-myeong, chief of Daejeon’s western district police station. The suspect, reported to be in her 40s, told police that she had recently returned to work after a period of leave for health reasons, Yuk said. She told police she has received treatment for depression since 2018. After the first-grade student was reported missing at 5:15 p.m. local time Monday, police and family members searched throughout the school and surrounding areas. Her grandmother found her in the audio-visual room around 5:50 p.m. The girl was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Choi Sang-mok, who …

'AI regulatory conversations must be globally inclusive, bring in voices of Global South countries'

'AI regulatory conversations must be globally inclusive, bring in voices of Global South countries'

Published by Sam

World leaders and technology executives are convening in Paris on Monday to discuss how to safely embrace artificial intelligence at a time of mounting resistance to red tape that businesses say stifles innovation. Eagerness to rein in AI has waned since previous summits in Britain and South Korea that focused world powers’ attention on technology’s risks after ChatGPT’s viral launch in 2022. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland welcomes Damini Satija, Head of the Algorithmic Accountability Lab and Interim Director at Amnesty Tech. She warns that “while some civil societies will be present at the AI Summit in Paris, it’s an inadequate level to ensure that all the voices, concerns of the Global South are truly represented in that forum.” Source link