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The arrival of a previously little-known Chinese tech company has attracted global attention as it sent shockwaves through Wall Street with a new AI chatbot.

On Monday, DeepSeek, a tiny company which reportedly employs no more than 200 people, caused American chipmaker Nvidia to have almost $600bn wiped off its market value – the biggest drop in US stock market history.

The Chinese AI chatbot threatens the billions of dollars invested in AI while causing US tech stocks to lose well over $1trn (£802bn) in value, according to market analysts.

DeepSeek, which has developed two models, V3 and R1, is now the most popular free application on Apple’s App Store across the US and UK.

What’s DeepSeek?

The startup was founded in 2023 in Hangzhou, China, by Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded one of China’s top hedge funds, High-Flyer.

The fund had by 2022 amassed a cluster of 10,000 of California-based Nvidia’s high-performance A100 graphics processor chips that are used to build and run AI systems, according to a post that summer on Chinese social media platform WeChat.

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Former US President Joe Biden’s administration restricted sales of those chips to China soon after, something likely to be pursued by his successor, Donald Trump, who was recently sworn in for a second term in the White House.

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China’s DeepSeek should be a ‘wakeup call’

Why all the attention now?

The hype – and market turmoil – over DeepSeek follows a research paper published last week about the R1 model, which showed advanced “reasoning” skills.

They include the ability to rethink its approach to a math problem while, depending on the task, being 20 to 50 times cheaper to use than OpenAI’s o1 model, according to a post on DeepSeek’s official WeChat account.

That’s why there are fears it could undermine the potentially $500bn AI investment by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that Mr Trump has touted.

What’s so cool about it?

As Morgan Brown, vice president of product and growth in artificial intelligence at Dropbox, put it, it is currently “insanely expensive” to train top AI models.

“DeepSeek just showed up and said ‘LOL what if we did this for $5M instead?’

“And they didn’t just talk – they actually DID it. Their models match or beat GPT-4 and Claude on many tasks. The AI world is (as my teenagers say) shook,” he said in a post on X.

So how much did it cost?

The company wrote in a paper last month that the training of DeepSeek-V3 required less than $6m (£5m) worth of computing power from Nvidia H800 chips.

How has President Trump responded?

Speaking to House Republicans on Monday, the 78-year-old Republican called the development a “wakeup call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win”.

But Mr Trump signed an order on his first day in office last week that said his administration would “identify and eliminate loopholes in existing export controls”, signalling that he is likely to strengthen Mr Biden’s approach.

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Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has advised Mr Trump on tech policy, has warned overregulation of the AI industry by the US government will hinder American companies and enable China to get ahead.

“Deepseek R1 is AI’s Sputnik moment,” said Mr Andreessen in a recent post on X, referencing the 1957 satellite launch that set off a Cold War space exploration race between the Soviet Union and the US.

What are the concerns?

Some people expressed their reservations about the Chinese company and its handling of users’ data.

Too controversial?

People have also been flagging how, when it comes to questions about alleged wrongdoing and human rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese government, the app seems unable to respond.

Seemingly controversial topics include Taiwan, which China claims as its own, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre as well as China’s treatment of its Uyghur population, which the UN has previously said “may constitute crimes against humanity”.

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Dublin protests: Prams filled with fireworks as teens – and children as young as seven – clash with police

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Dublin protests: Prams filled with fireworks as teens - and children as young as seven - clash with police

At least 23 people have been arrested during a second night of violent disorder near an asylum hotel in Dublin.

Two police officers were taken to hospital with injuries sustained during clashes with protesters – including one who was struck on the head by a bottle.

A Sky News crew was caught in the confusion as police charged at crowds, who were throwing fireworks, stones and other debris.

Eyewitness: It got ugly – and fast

By Connor Gillies, news correspondent

The Telegram and WhatsApp group chats were alive with activity organising night two of unrest here on the edge of Dublin.

City chiefs halted trams and buses to this part of the Irish capital in a bid to reduce the number of mobs coming from other areas to fight police.

It got ugly, and fast.

I witnessed children as young as seven throwing bricks at riot officers, that were standing in rows 5ft deep.

Balaclava-clad thugs were spotted pulling and shaking bollards on the roadside in an effort to dislodge the tarmac to use as projectiles.

Pepper spray from fire extinguisher-size canisters pelted the eyes of those who dared to confront law enforcement.

Teenagers dragged a baby pram filled with fireworks lit their missiles as they chucked them at officers who were charging forward in a bid to get the hundreds of locals under control.

There is palpable, deep anger in this community after the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl near a large hotel housing asylum seekers.

The recent incident has fuelled a “get them out” pitchfork mentality that authorities, so far, appear to be struggling to get a grip of.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

It is the third night of demonstrations at the Citywest Hotel following an alleged sexual assault in the early hours of Monday morning.

A demonstration in the wake of the incident, which allegedly involved a 10-year-old girl, turned violent on Tuesday night. A police officer was injured and six arrests were made.

A 26-year-old man, who cannot be named due to rules that apply to all sexual assault cases in the Republic of Ireland, appeared in court on Tuesday charged over the alleged attack.

Gardai officers block protesters near the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.  Pic: PA
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Gardai officers block protesters near the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Pic: PA

Police had earlier pledged a “robust response” if the violence continued.

Between 7pm and 8pm, hundreds of protesters faced off with around 40 uniformed officers.

The uniformed officers were replaced with the Public Order Unit, who were carrying plastic shields and additional body protection.

A police van was set on fire on Tuesday night.
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A police van was set on fire on Tuesday night.

Protesters detained after stand-off

Hundreds of protesters had been facing off against the public order unit of the Irish police force along Citywest Drive.

While large parts of the crowd dispersed throughout the night, an additional public order unit was deployed to tackle those remaining at the protest shortly after 10pm.

A number of protesters have been detained after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police. Pic: PA
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A number of protesters have been detained after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police. Pic: PA

Several of those caught between the two units were tackled and detained as they tried to flee.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said “many have been arrested” and “more will follow” – and went on to praise officers who had responded professionally to “thuggish violence” in the area.

Mr O’Callaghan vowed that those arrested would be “charged, named and dealt with relentlessly” by the criminal justice system.

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Donald Trump imposes sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies as frustration grows with Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war

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Donald Trump imposes sanctions against Russia's two biggest oil companies as frustration grows with Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war

Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies – and spoke of his frustration with Vladimir Putin.

In a major policy shift, new restrictions have been unveiled against Rosneft and Lukoil – as well as dozens of subsidiaries – due to “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine”.

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. We encourage our allies to join us in, and adhere to, these sanctions.”

The move marked a significant change for the Trump administration, which has veered between pressuring Moscow and taking a more conciliatory approach aimed at securing peace in Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the White House. Pic: Reuters
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the White House. Pic: Reuters

Trump frustrated with Putin

The US president has resisted pressure to impose energy sanctions on Russia, hoping that Putin would agree to end the fighting. But with no end in sight, he said he felt it was time.

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Mr Trump explained he has a “very good relationship” with his Russian counterpart, but felt he had to cancel their planned meeting as “it didn’t feel right to me”.

In a sign of growing frustration, he told reporters: “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it. But we’ll do it in the future.

“I have good conversations. And then, they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere.”

He also hinted that the sanctions could be lifted if the Russian president was prepared to cooperate in peace talks.

“We hope that they [the sanctions] won’t be on for long,” he said in the Oval Office. “We hope that the war will be settled.”

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Putin-Trump talks: The view from Moscow

Trump wants Xi to help with Ukraine

Ahead of a meeting next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Mr Trump said he would like Beijing to help put pressure on Moscow to halt the fighting.

“I think he [Xi] can have a big influence on Putin. I think he can have a big influence … he’s a respected man. He’s a very strong leader of a very big country. And we will certainly be talking about Russia-Ukraine,” he said.

Xi and Putin have formed a strategic alliance between their countries.

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Why Tomahawks are off the table

Ukraine denied Tomahawk missiles

However, Mr Trump warned he is not prepared to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles, which Kyiv has requested.

He explained it would take the Ukrainians up to a year to learn how to use the “highly complex” weapons.

“The only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot … is if we shot it. And we’re not going to do that.

“It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it, and we’re not going to be teaching other people.”

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Ukraine: How powerful are the Storm Shadow missiles donated by Britain?

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Ukraine: How powerful are the Storm Shadow missiles donated by Britain?

Storm Shadow cruise missiles made in the UK and donated to Ukraine have once again been used to strike targets inside Russia.

The long-range weapons – which cost roughly £2m each – have been used to devastating effect in the Black Sea, sinking or damaging several Russian ships, and now against a chemical plant.

Last year, Ukraine’s allies lifted restrictions on Storm Shadows and other long-range missiles, meaning Kyiv’s military can use them against targets across the border.

Follow latest: Storm Shadow missiles used in ‘massive’ attack on Russia

A Storm Shadow missile system. Pic: Gary Dawson/Shutterstock
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A Storm Shadow missile system. Pic: Gary Dawson/Shutterstock

What are Storm Shadow missiles?

Storm Shadows are cruise missiles developed by the UK and France in the 1990s.

Launched from aircraft, they have a range more than 155 miles, manufacturer MBDA says, and can travel at speeds exceeding 600mph.

The missiles can be used with high precision for deep strikes while evading detection, the manufacturer says.

They have been used by the RAF and French air force and in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya, and more recently have been used by Ukrainian forces.

What sets them apart from some other projectiles is they use terrain mapping to navigate to their target, rather than relying just on GPS, military analyst Sean Bell says.

A Tornado GR4 with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Pic: Crown copyright
Image:
A Tornado GR4 with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Pic: Crown copyright

How have they been used in Ukraine?

Back in May 2023, the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles – the first country to do so.

Since then they have been used by Kyiv’s defenders to strike Russian targets inside Ukraine and also inside Russia.

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While operational details of their use do not always emerge, it has been reported Storm Shadows have been used against targets including military headquarters and ships.

Storm Shadows can likely be operated entirely from within Ukraine, though probably with the assistance of intelligence gathered by Western surveillance planes over international waters.

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