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Australia’s two most populous states are trialling facial recognition software that lets police check people are home during COVID-19 quarantine, expanding trials that have sparked controversy to the vast majority of the country’s population.

Little-known tech firm Genvis said on a website for its software that New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, home to Sydney, Melbourne and more than half of Australia’s 25 million population, were trialling its facial recognition products. Genvis said the trials were being conducted on a voluntary basis.

The Perth, Western Australia-based startup developed the software in 2020 with WA state police to help enforce pandemic movement restrictions, and has said it hopes to sell its services abroad.

South Australia state began trialling a similar, non-Genvis technology last month, sparking warnings from privacy advocates around the world about potential surveillance overreach. The involvement of New South Wales and Victoria, which have not disclosed that they are trialling facial recognition technology, may amplify those concerns.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in an email the state was “close to piloting some home quarantine options for returning Australians”, without directly responding to questions about Genvis facial recognition software. Police in NSW referred questions to the state premier.

Victoria Police referred questions to the Victorian Health department, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Under the system being trialled, people respond to random check-in requests by taking a ‘selfie’ at their designated home quarantine address. If the software, which also collects location data, does not verify the image against a “facial signature”, police may follow up with a visit to the location to confirm the person’s whereabouts.

Though the technology has been used in WA since last November, it has more recently been pitched as a tool to enable the country to reopen its borders, ending a system in place since the start of the pandemic that requires international arrivals to spend two weeks in hotel quarantine under police guard.

Aside from the pandemic, police forces have expressed interest in using facial recognition software, prompting a backlash from rights groups about the potential to target minority groups.

While the recognition technology has been used in countries like China, no other democracy has been reported as considering its use in connection with coronavirus containment procedures.

‘Keep communities safe’

Genvis Chief Executive Kirstin Butcher declined to comment on the trials, beyond the disclosures on the product website.

“You can’t have home quarantine without compliance checks, if you’re looking to keep communities safe,” she said in a phone interview.

“You can’t perform physical compliance checks at the scale needed to support (social and economic) re-opening plans so technology has to be used.”

But rights advocates warned the technology may be inaccurate, and may open the window for law enforcement agencies to use people’s data for other purposes without specific laws stopping them.

“I’m troubled not just by the use here but by the fact this is an example of the creeping use of this sort of technology in our lives,” said Toby Walsh, a professor of Artificial Intelligence at University of NSW.

Walsh questioned the reliability of facial recognition technology in general, which he said could be hacked to give false location reports.

“Even if it works here … then it validates the idea that facial recognition is a good thing,” he said. “Where does it end?”

The government of Western Australia has said it banned police from using data collected by COVID-related software for non-COVID matters. The WA police say they have put 97,000 people through home quarantine, using facial recognition, without incident.

“The law should prevent a system for monitoring quarantine being used for other purposes,” said Edward Santow, a former Australian Human Rights Commissioner who now leads an artificial intelligence ethics project at University of Technology, Sydney.

“Facial recognition technology might seem like a convenient way to monitor people in quarantine but … if something goes wrong with this technology, the risk of harm is high.”

© Thomson Reuters 2021


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Shenzhou 18 Astronauts Return to Earth Post Six-Month Space Mission

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Shenzhou 18 Astronauts Return to Earth Post Six-Month Space Mission

After a six-month mission aboard the Tiangong space station, Chinese astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu safely returned to Earth, touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China. Having launched on April 25, the crew concluded their mission on Sunday, November 3, 2024, with the capsule landing at approximately 12:24 p.m. EST (or 12:24 a.m. Beijing time on November 4th). All three astronauts are reported to be in good health following their extended stay in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Mission Highlights and Scientific Endeavours

As per a recent report by Space, Commander Ye and his crewmates conducted numerous scientific investigations, which included studying ancient microbes and conducting emergency drills during this tenure. The astronauts also completed a record-breaking spacewalk in May and another in June, during which they installed shielding to protect the station from space debris. Commander Ye made history, becoming China’s first astronaut to accumulate over 365 days in space, following his prior involvement in the Shenzhou 13 mission in 2021-2022.

The astronauts captured views of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, from where they launched in April, as well as China’s Wenchang spaceport, located on Hainan Island, where modules of Tiangong were previously launched.

Space Station Expansion Plans and Future Crews

The Shenzhou 18 crew welcomed the arrival of their successors, the Shenzhou 19 team, aboard Tiangong on 30th October, marking a brief period where six astronauts shared the station. The official handover of station command to Shenzhou 19’s Commander Cai Xuzhe took place on 1st November, continuing China’s practice of smooth orbital transitions since Tiangong’s completion in late 2022.
Chinese space officials plan to expand Tiangong with three additional modules, forming a double T-shaped structure. The expansion will support continuous occupancy, and a Hubble-class telescope is also scheduled for launch to the same orbit, where it will dock with the station for maintenance.

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Meet Hang Son Doong: The World’s Largest Cave with Two Jungles and More

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Meet Hang Son Doong: The World’s Largest Cave with Two Jungles and More

The Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam, located in Quang Binh Province within Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park currently holds the title as the largest known cave in the world. With dimensions exceeding three miles (5 km) in length and 660 feet (200 m) in height, this natural wonder could house 15 Great Pyramids of Giza within its vast chambers. Its enormous passages are so spacious that a Boeing 747 could hypothetically fly through parts of the cave. The unique “skylights” in the cave’s limestone structure allow sunlight to flood in, nourishing two jungles nestled within the cave, and creating an ecosystem unlike any other on Earth.

A Discovery Decades in the Making

As per a recent report by LiveScience, Hang Son Doong, meaning “Mountain River,” was first discovered by Ho Khanh, a local resident, in 1990. Khanh stumbled upon the cave while hunting, noting the rush of wind and sound of water echoing from inside. However, surrounded by dense foliage, he was unable to relocate it until 2009. That year, Khanh successfully led a team from the British Cave Research Association, including cave expert Howard Limbert, to its entrance. Limbert, technical director at Oxalis Adventure, which now organises tours of Son Doong, described the discovery as monumental, with the team quickly recognising its scale and significance.

A Cave of Record-Breaking Dimensions

Upon detailed exploration, researchers determined that Hang Son Doong has a total volume of around 1.35 billion cubic feet (38.5 million cubic metres). This makes it the largest natural cave ever measured. In 2019, divers found an underwater tunnel connecting Son Doong to Hang Thung, adding another 57 million cubic feet (1.6 million cubic metres) to its volume. Limbert compared the discovery to “finding an additional peak on Mount Everest,” underscoring the cave’s unmatched scale in the subterranean world.

A Natural Masterpiece and Ecosystem

Beyond its size, Son Doong features remarkable geological formations. It houses one of the world’s tallest stalagmites, standing 260 feet (80 m) high, and includes the Great Wall of Vietnam, a calcite barrier that challenged explorers on their initial visits. The cave’s fossil passages offer a glimpse into the area’s ancient marine history, with fossils from sea creatures that once inhabited the region. Inside the Passchendaele Passage, named after a World War I battlefield, explorers encounter muddy terrain that mirrors the historic battlefield’s conditions.

In the heart of the cave, the collapsed ceiling forms skylights that allow light to reach its depths, nurturing thriving jungles and completing the surreal landscape of Son Doong.

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Scientists Are Reportedly Interested in Uncovering the Secrets of UFOs

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Scientists Are Reportedly Interested in Uncovering the Secrets of UFOs

In 2015, U.S. Navy pilots conducting training flights along the East Coast reported encounters with unusual, high-speed objects moving over the water. Descriptions from the pilots reveal that these oval-shaped objects appeared to rotate as they moved, covering vast distances at incredible speeds. Multiple pilots confirmed sighting these objects, which they noted were different from any known aircraft; they had no visible engines, exhaust, or defining propulsion systems.

According to Lt. Ryan Graves, a seasoned F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot with over a decade of experience, these objects were not a one-time sighting but were observed repeatedly over a period of months. The pilots’ observations, recorded on video, showed the objects not only hovering above the ocean’s surface but also appearing at altitudes of up to 30,000 feet, travelling at speeds beyond the capabilities of conventional military aircraft.

A Secret Unveiled to the Public

The public was made aware of these sightings in 2019 which was four years after they took place, when The New York Times published an article including the footage captured by the Navy. This article marked the beginning of a shift in how the U.S. government and the military approached the topic of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as they are now officially termed. Shortly after, in April 2020, the U.S. Navy officially verified the authenticity of these videos, sparking renewed public and scientific interest in the nature and origin of these mysterious sightings.

Roswell and UFO Fever: A Lingering Curiosity

Public curiosity around UFOs is not new. In 1947, the Roswell Incident—where debris from an unidentified object was discovered on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico—captured the nation’s imagination. Initial reports suggested it was a “flying saucer,” though the Army quickly retracted this, claiming the debris was from a weather balloon. This incident began a national obsession with UFOs, and the lore around Roswell has only grown over the decades. The Roswell Incident, combined with further sightings and theories around “Area 51,” left a lasting cultural impact on the public’s perception of UFOs and government secrecy.

Government Engagement and Investigation

As UAP sightings continued, the U.S. government initiated a more transparent approach to investigations. In 2021, a report was released acknowledging the existence of several unexplained UAP incidents since 2004, while maintaining that there was no evidence to suggest these sightings were of extraterrestrial origin. However, the U.S. government did highlight the need for investigation, given the potential implications for national security.

In response, the Pentagon established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in July 2022, tasked with coordinating and leading efforts to gather and analyse information on UAP. While there is no conclusive evidence linking UAP to extraterrestrial life, the objective remains to uncover the origins of these sightings, including the possibility of advanced foreign technology.

Science Takes a Stand

The rising interest in UAP has encouraged scientists to step forward in challenging long-standing stigma. NASA formed a scientific panel in 2022 dedicated to exploring UAP with an evidence-based approach. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has also made waves in the scientific community by establishing the Galileo Project, which applies observational and analytical technology to gather objective data on UAP.

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