Friday, 6 February 2026

Author: AFP

First wolf-dog hybrid confirmed

ATHENS (Greece): A prominent Greek wildlife group on Friday said it had confirmed the first case of a wolf-dog hybrid in the north of the country. The Callisto group — which is currently involved in efforts to trap a rogue wolf in Halkidiki, northern Greece — said the hybrid was

AI-powered CCTV cameras in HK soon

HONG KONG: Hong Kong plans to install tens of thousands of surveillance cameras that will make use of AI-powered facial recognition, the city’s security chief said on Friday, bringing it closer to China where authorities often monitor public spaces with cutting-edge technology. The Chinese finance hub has already installed almost

Takaichi set to be first woman PM in Japan

TOKYO: Conservative Sanae Takaichi hailed a “new era” yesterday after winning the leadership of Japan’s ruling party, putting her on course to become the country’s first woman prime minister. The 64-year-old, whose hero is Margaret Thatcher, said that a “mountain of work” lay ahead to restore the fortunes of her

Search winds down

BOGO (Philippines): The death toll from a powerful earthquake in the central Philippines rose to 72 yesterday, officials said, as the search for the missing wound down and rescuers turned their focus to the hundreds injured and thousands left homeless. The bodies of the three latest victims were pulled from

Violent clashes erupt after days of protests

RABAT (Morocco): Violent clashes erupted in several Moroccan cities late Tuesday between youths and security forces, local media reported, after days of protests calling for reforms in the public health and education sectors. Videos published by news outlets which AFP was unable to verify showed masked demonstrators in Inezgane, near

US govt shutdown begins

WASHINGTON: The US government began shutting down yesterday after lawmakers and President Donald Trump failed to break a budget impasse during acrimonious talks that hinged on Democratic demands for health care funding. Republicans and Democrats immediately blamed each other for the deadlock that will impact hundreds of thousands of government

Taiwan will not agree to making 50% of its chips in US

TAIPEI: Taiwan “will not agree” to making 50 per cent of its semiconductors in the United States, the island’s lead tariff negotiator said yesterday, as Washington pressures Taipei to produce more chips on US soil. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said he

Desperate parents await news at school collapse

SIDOARJO (Indonesia): Desperate parents yesterday demanded Indonesian officials speed up efforts to find dozens of children missing in the collapse of a school, with rescuers detecting signs of life under the rubble. An estimated 91 people are believed to be in the ruins of the multi-storey school on the island

Philippines quake toll rises to 69

BOGO: The death toll from a powerful earthquake in the central Philippines rose to at least 69 yesterday, a disaster official said, with scores of injured patients overwhelming hospitals on the island of Cebu. Injured children cried and adults screamed while being treated on beds beneath blue tents outside the

Muslim States join European powers in backing Trump’s Gaza plan

DOHA, Qatar: Key Muslim nations have thrown their weight behind a plan by United States (US) President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza, even as some Palestinians decried the proposal as a “farce”. Washington’s European allies have urged Hamas to accept the plan, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin