TRANSCRIPT
- Firefighters in western Victoria are battling six out of control fires.
- US President Donald Trump says China's DeepSeek AI is a ‘wake-up call’ for American companies.
- And in sport, Cricket New South Wales has signed a new agreement to train China's cricket team.
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Firefighters are battling six out-of-control fires in western Victoria, after overnight lightning ignited five new fires in the Grampians National Park.
A fire in Dimboola, in Victoria's west, has also burnt through 65,000 hectares of land.
Rail lines between Victoria and South Australia have been closed temporarily amid fire threats.
Jason Heffernan is Victoria's Country Fire Authority Chief Officer. He says the heatwave across the state on Monday has created challenges to put out the fires.
"Yesterday we saw very high temperature across northwest of the state, around mid 40s, led tending to very high 30s to low 40s elsewhere across the state. But it was those warm hot winds here again that brought challenges for firefighters and storms that make their way across the state. We've seen significant lightning bang across the state of Victoria last 24 hours, and continue to see lightning occurring in the state, and I do anticipate the situation will be around for the next 12 hours or so."
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United States President Donald Trump says the rise of a Chinese company's new Artificial Intelligence model should be a wake-up call for American companies.
The release of DeepSeek's new AI assistant has sent shockwaves through the US stock market, with leading AI computing giant Nvidia losing almost $1 trillion in a single day.
Mr Trump says the rise of DeepSeek shows companies can spend less and still come up with good results.
"This is very unusual, when you hear it DeepSeek, when you hear something, somebody come up with something. We always have the ideas, we're always first. So I would say that's a positive, that could be very much a positive development. So instead of spending billions and billions, you'll spend less and you'll come up with hopefully the same solution."
But, the AI chatbot is also reported to have censored questions relating to the Chinese Communist Party.
And, as DeepSeek becomes the most popular app in the U-S Apple Store, the Chinese startup is reported to have suffered from a cyber attack, and it has limited new registration to the platform.
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New South Wales will ban gambling advertising on the state's public transport network.
Advertising related to casinos, lottery and online betting will also be banned from the state-controlled advertising assets.
Currently, the New South Wales government manage over 800 advertising assets at train stations and roads.
The state government controls over 3,500 buses and close to 800 advertising assets at train stations.
The state Minister for Transport Jo Haylen says the state government will implement the ban over the next 12 months.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief Executive Martin Thomas says the ban is "long overdue".
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has sent her greetings to Australians who celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The Lunar New Year is widely celebrated by Asian Australian communities, which make up around 17 per cent of the Australian population.
In a video speech to SBS Chinese, Ms Wong recalls her arrival to Australia from Malaysia as an eight-year-old child.
She says at that time, she couldn't have imagined the celebrations of Lunar New Year in Australia the way she sees today.
"I couldn't have imagined the lion dance and the firecrackers just like when I was a kid. I couldn't have imagined that many performers keeping ancient arts alive for families teaching younger generations, their cherish customs, and friends of all cultures experiencing this tradition for the first time. This is the true spirit of our Australian community, where diversity and inclusion become the source of shared joy and connection."
The Lunar New Year celebration will last for two weeks, from tomorrow to February 12.
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Now in sport,
Cricket New South Wales will help train the Chinese cricket team in preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The Sydney Cricket Club, Cricket NSW and the Chinese Cricket Association have signed a five-year agreement which will see more support and training for the Chinese team.
Around 50 players and staff from the Chinese Men's and Women's National Cricket teams have been living and training in Sydney in the past two months.
The new partnership comes as cricket is making its return to the Olympic Games in 2028.
Cricket New South Wales Chief Executive Lee Germon says his organisation is looking forward to growing the partnership, and helping China qualify for the Olympic Games.
