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Thu, Feb 12, 2026 05:20 PM All times are UTC

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The Gaza ceasefire is dead − Israeli domestic politics killed it

| Insights & Views

The ceasefire in Gaza appears to be over. And while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to blame Hamas for the resumption of fighting that killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18, 2025 only the...

Chimpanzee genes have changed over time to suit local conditions – new study

| Insights & Views

Chimpanzees are humans closest living relatives, sharing over 98% of our DNA. They are endangered, with fewer than 250,000 left and an annual decline of between 1.5% and 6%. This is due to habitat destruction, hunting and...

South Africa’s unsafe water supplies: licensing service providers won’t solve the issue

| Insights & Views

In many cities and towns across South Africa, water shortages and supply disruptions have become more frequent. Most recent figures show that 33% of all urban water users and 65% of rural users face regular water cut-offs....

Cameroon’s Baka people say they are part of the forest: that’s why they look after it

| Insights & Views

The Congo Basins hunter-gatherer people have the secret to living well with the forest. While doing fieldwork in 2020, I remember walking with Indigenous elders Ferdinand Mbita and Félix Mangombe up the small,...

Fossil face discovery highlights challenges faced by Europe’s earliest settlers

| Insights & Views

Piecing together the story of Europes earliest settlers is a challenge, largely because relevant human fossils are scarce. On March 12, researchers announced the discovery of a new fossil from the excavation site of Sime...

Labour says benefit reforms are a ‘moral mission’ – it looks more like moral panic

| Insights & Views

After weeks of speculation, Liz Kendall, work and pensions secretary, has unveiled her plans to reform welfare and cut the countrys ballooning benefits bill. The proposals include: stricter eligibility requirements for...

Why a journalist could obtain a minister’s ChatGPT prompts – and what it means for transparency

| Insights & Views

When the New Scientist revealed that it had obtained a UK government ministers ChatGPT prompts through a freedom of information (FOI) request, many in journalism and politics did a double take. Science and technology...

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Economy

Oil Prices Edge Higher as US-Iran Tensions and Strong Payroll Data Shape Market Sentiment

Oil prices moved higher in Asian trading on Thursday as ongoing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran kept a risk premium firmly embedded in crude markets. Investors closely monitored developments in the...

Gold and Silver Prices Slip After Strong U.S. Jobs Data, Fed Rate Cut Bets Fade

Gold and silver prices edged lower in Asian trading on Thursday after stronger-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. However, ongoing geopolitical...

Asian Stocks Hit Record High as Strong U.S. Jobs Data Tempers Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Asian stocks surged to fresh record highs on Thursday, supported by a rally in technology shares and renewed investor confidence across the region. South Korean and Japanese equities led gains in early trading, pushing...

RBA Signals Further Interest Rate Hikes if Inflation Persists, Says Governor Michele Bullock

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock has warned that additional interest rate hikes remain possible if inflation in Australia becomes entrenched, underscoring the central banks firm commitment to...

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Strong Jobs Data Clouds Fed Rate Cut Outlook

U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday evening following a muted session on Wall Street, as investors weighed a stronger-than-expected jobs report that dampened expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate...

Politics

House Votes to End Trump’s Canada Tariff Emergency, Senate Showdown Looms

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to terminate the national emergency declared by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Canada, marking a significant development in the ongoing debate over...

Pentagon Seeks Broader Access to AI Tools on Classified Military Networks

The Pentagon is accelerating efforts to deploy advanced artificial intelligence tools across both unclassified and classified military networks, signaling a major shift in how the U.S. Department of Defense plans to...

Trump to Host Governors at White House Amid Dispute Over Democratic Invitations

President Donald Trump plans to host a bipartisan group of U.S. governors at the White House on February 20, according to National Governors Association (NGA) Chairman Kevin Stitt. The annual NGA meeting in Washington...

U.S. Offers Payments to Afghans in Qatar as Camp As Sayliyah Closure Nears

The U.S. State Department has begun offering financial incentives to Afghans stranded in Qatar to encourage voluntary repatriation, as officials move to shut down Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) by the end of March. The facility, a...

Angus Taylor Challenges Sussan Ley as Liberal Party Leadership Tensions Escalate

Australias opposition leader Sussan Ley is facing mounting pressure within the Liberal Party after senior frontbencher Angus Taylor resigned from his role as shadow defence minister, signaling a potential leadership...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

U.S. Commerce Department Reaches $252 Million Settlement With Applied Materials Over China Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced a $252 million settlement with Applied Materials, resolving allegations that the semiconductor equipment maker illegally exported U.S. chip manufacturing technology to China....

Russia Moves to Fully Block WhatsApp as Kremlin Pushes State-Backed MAX App

Russia has reportedly attempted to fully block WhatsApp, the popular messaging service owned by Meta Platforms, as part of its broader efforts to tighten control over the countrys digital space. According to a company...

Instagram CEO Defends Platform in Youth Mental Health Lawsuit Over Social Media Addiction Claims

Adam Mosseri, head of Meta Platforms Instagram, defended the companys product decisions during a high-profile trial in Los Angeles centered on allegations that social media addiction has contributed to a youth mental...

FTC Questions Apple News Over Alleged Bias Against Conservative Media

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has raised concerns about Apple News following allegations that the platform favors left-leaning media outlets while excluding conservative publications. In a letter addressed to...

ByteDance Advances AI Chip Development With Samsung Manufacturing Talks

Chinas ByteDance is accelerating its push into artificial intelligence hardware, reportedly developing its own AI chip while holding discussions with Samsung Electronics for manufacturing support. The TikTok parent company...