World News

Birds and crocodiles may share a warm-blooded past, fossil study suggests

New research suggests the ancestors of modern crocodiles were active, warm-blooded land dwellers before their metabolism slowed and they adapted to an ambush-predator lifestyle in water

Rescue ops continue after Indonesia quake kills 47, injures over 100

The disaster agency said the quake destroyed more than 900 homes and damaged nearly 450 more, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters

US asks countries to pick sides in AI race with China or face consequences

By pressing countries to choose sides the US hopes to starve China of resources in a race to make the most sophisticated AI, which could be used for military or economic dominance

Bond traders agonise over $70 bn of shadow credit backstops for AI firms

With its latest move, Nvidia is poised to provide potentially tens of billions of dollars of what's called "residual value" support for debt deals tied to the artificial intelligence build out

UK inflation set to rise as AI chip crunch, energy costs add pressure

Data on Wednesday are set to show inflation accelerating for the first time in four months, with the median economist estimate in a Bloomberg survey predicting a 2.9% jump in July

At least five people killed as severe storms, flooding hit Indiana

The state has been hammered over the past week by heavy rains, resulting in rivers reaching record levels and sending residents in search of higher ground

Fresh 6.0 quake hits Indonesia, third tremor after deadly 7.7 quake

The Northern Sumatra earthquake struck hours after the deadly earthquake off eastern Indonesia. India Today reported the magnitude at 6.8

5 shot at Virginia State University, campus lockdown lifted after 8 hours

The university said in a statement that the shooting involves "multiple suspects." The statement asked people to avoid the immediate area

Iran says Qatar holds 3 missing pilots as Hormuz attack raises tensions

The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Iran-backed Houthis struck a Red Sea port in Yemen.

Iran, Oman edge closer to Hormuz shipping routes deal as war continues

The move follows a series of attacks in Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited before the war

Trump's Iran war pulls US carrier from Pacific as China steps up pressure

Beijing sees the US military presence in the region as a threat to China's rise and an obstacle to its ambition to seize Taiwan, the self-governing island it claims as its own

India@80: Tricolour flies high worldwide as diaspora celebrates I-Day

From Fiji to San Francisco, Indians and friends of India joined global Independence Day celebrations with the Tricolour, Vande Mataram, cultural programmes and messages from key partners

Japan PM skips controversial shrine visit on anniversary of WW-II surrender

Takaichi also said Japan can play a key role in addressing global challenges as "a dependable nation" in the region

Alibaba's Qwen AI models cross 3 billion downloads, overtake Meta, Google

Alibaba says its open-weight Qwen models have topped 3 billion downloads in six months, with more than 460 models and 300,000 derivatives as Chinese AI gains global traction

Taliban mark five years in power as Afghanistan faces growing crises

The ​Taliban have also faced a string of assassinations of key regional officials in the country's northeast in recent weeks

20 killed, buildings toppled as 7.7 magnitude quake hits Indonesia's coast

The powerful earthquake struck near Flores early Saturday, triggering a tsunami warning for four Indonesian provinces as authorities urged residents along affected coastlines to move to higher ground

6 dead, including shooting suspect, in Michigan; police launch manhunt

Three people were found dead at a home and another was critically injured in Missaukee County, while a fourth victim was later found dead at another house during the search for the suspect

Trump dismisses concerns over USS Abraham Lincoln crew's long deployment

Families of sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier have raised concerns over food shortages, contaminated water and poor living conditions as its West Asia deployment nears nine months

US tax court strikes down digital ad tax, orders refunds to Apple, Google

State's first-of-its-kind tax on digital ads ruled unconstitutional under federal and state law, with officials ordered to repay money collected from Apple, Google and Peacock TV

Online forum Reddit to join closely-tracked S&P 500 index next week

Inclusion in the benchmark index is expected to boost Reddit's visibility and attract investments from mutual funds and ETFs that track or benchmark the S&P 500