AnewZ Morning Brief - January 31st, 2025

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for January 31st, covering the latest developments you need to know.

1. Samsung warns of slow AI chip sales in Q1, hurt by US restrictions on China

Samsung Electronics on Friday warned of sluggish sales of its artificial intelligence chips in the current quarter due to U.S. export restrictions to China, and as it worked towards launching an improved version of its high-end chips.

Advanced chips used for AI have been the bright spot in the weak memory chip market, but rival SK Hynix  is Nvidia's main supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI graphics processing units (GPUs), whereas Samsung has struggled to meet Nvidia's requirements.

2. Rescuers recover bodies of 40 victims in Washington plane crash

The US authorities have recovered 40 intact bodies of the Washington plane crash and the partial remains of several others, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation

3. Rwanda’s evolving stature ensures muted global pressure as M23 advances in eastern Congo

When Rwanda-backed rebels seized control of eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma this week, it prompted a flurry of declarations condemning Rwanda from the U.N. and western nations, including the United States, France and the U.K.

Yet, the international community has stopped short of putting financial pressure on Kigali to withdraw its support for the rebels as happened when they took Goma in 2012.

4. US looking into whether DeepSeek used restricted AI chips

The U.S. Commerce Department is looking into whether DeepSeek - the Chinese company whose AI model's performance rocked the tech world - has been using U.S. chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China, a person familiar with the matter said.

China's DeepSeek last week launched a free assistant it says uses less data at a fraction of the cost of U.S. models. Within days, it became the most downloaded app in Apple's App Store and stirred concerns about United States' lead in AI, sparking a rout that wiped around $1 trillion off U.S. technology stocks.

5. Uganda confirms outbreak of Ebola in capital Kampala, one dead

Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the capital Kampala with the first confirmed patient dying from it on Wednesday, the health ministry said on Thursday.

It is the East African country's ninth outbreak since it recorded its first infection of the viral disease in 2000.

6. Italy blocks access to the Chinese AI application DeepSeek to protect users’ data

Italy’s data protection authority on Thursday blocked access to the Chinese AI application DeepSeek to protect users’ data and announced an investigation into the companies behind the chatbot.

The authority, called Garante, expressed dissatisfaction with DeepSeek’s response to its initial query about what personal data is collected, where it is stored and how users are notified.

8. An Iraqi man who carried out Quran burnings in Sweden is killed in a shooting

An Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden has been killed in a shooting near Stockholm, authorities said Thursday.

Salwan Momika, 38, staged several burnings and desecrations of Islam’s holy book in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Quran burnings got worldwide publicity and raised anger and criticism in several Muslim nations, leading to riots and unrest in many places.

9. Panama’s president says there will be no negotiation about ownership of canal

Panama President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday there will be no negotiation with the United States over ownership of the Panama Canal, and he hopes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s upcoming visit will allow them to focus on shared interests including migration and combating drug trafficking.

10. UEFA Europa League group stage ends

With the group stage in the new format of the organization coming to an end, Lazio, Athletic Bilbao, Manchester United, Tottenham, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lyon, Olympiakos and Rangers finished as the top eight teams, respectively. These teams qualified for the final 16 round.

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