Wednesday, 14 January 2026

Author: AFP

Baboons are wily cooperators, study shows

PARIS: Like humans, baboons are able to cooperate with another of their kind for the common good — or punish them if they don’t reciprocate, a study said on Friday. Scientists have long debated whether animals other than humans are capable of this complicated tit-for-tat interaction known as “strategic cooperation”.

Warning of halt to Gaza aid operations

JERUSALEM: A UN agency warned it could be forced to stop aid operations in war-riven Gaza on Wednesday due to dwindling fuel supplies, as calls mounted for a humanitarian “pause” in fighting. After 18 days of withering Israeli air strikes and a near-total land, sea and air blockade of the

Singapore pilgrims seek divine help at temple

KUSU ISLAND (Singapore): On Singapore’s tiny Kusu islet, legend has it that a giant turtle turned itself into an island to save two sailors. A century after a Chinese temple was opened on its shores, pilgrims are still flowing in, seeking good fortunes. Tens of thousands of Taoist, Buddhist and

Indonesia’s 3-way presidential race set

JAKARTA: The candidates for next year’s Indonesian presidential election were set Wednesday, with septuagenarian former special forces general Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, the president’s son, seen as the frontrunners. Nearly 205 million eligible voters can cast their ballot on February 14, with the winner set to succeed President

Alphabet, Microsoft earnings rise on AI-infused cloud

SAN FRANCISCO: Google parent Alphabet and computing colossus Microsoft Tuesday reported that quarterly profits climbed on demand for cloud computing enhanced with artificial intelligence. “Google Cloud missed consensus revenue expectations on slowing growth, and we believe consistent with the view that newer (generative artificial intelligence) workloads will take time to

Germany business morale up

FRANKFURT: German business sentiment improved slightly in October, a survey showed yesterday, but analysts warned the Israel-Hamas conflict posed new risks as Europe’s top economy struggles to emerge from a downturn. The Ifo institute’s closely watched confidence barometer, based on a survey of 9,000 companies, rose to 86.9 points from

Global stocks dip more on Mideast woes

NEW YORK: Global stock markets slid Friday on worries that an expected ground invasion of Gaza by Israel would spark a wider conflict in the Middle East. Wall Street stocks declined Friday, as investors looked to lower their risk going into the weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9 per

3 dead as Storm Babet batters UK

BRECHIN (United Kingdom): Three people died in Scotland and England and families were trapped in flooded homes Friday as Storm Babet moved east after pounding Ireland and headed for Scandinavia. The UK’s Met Office issued a rare red severe weather warning for parts of eastern Scotland. Police said the body

VinFast EVs sales struggle in Vietnam

HANOI: Vietnam’s VinFast has grand ambitions of selling its electric vehicles in the United States and Europe to compete with the likes of Elon Musk’s Tesla, but it is struggling to find buyers for its cars at home. Backed by Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate, Vinfast has enormous brand recognition in

Exiled former Pakistan PM Sharif arrives home

ISLAMABAD: Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif arrived back in Pakistan Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile, primed to make a political comeback ahead of elections. The South Asian nation is facing overlapping security, economic and political crises ahead of polls already pushed back to January 2024, with Sharif’s primary