Author: AFP

Japan lawmakers vote to keep Ishiba as PM

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba kept his job in a parliamentary vote on Monday, despite having led the ruling coalition to its worst general election result in 15 years. Lawmakers appointed former defence minister Ishiba head of a minority government — meaning he may face political gridlock, or need

ChatGPT search engine released

SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI on Thursday beefed up its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot with search engine capabilities, as the startup takes on Google’s decades-long dominance of finding answers on the web. With the update, “you can get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously

Spain flood death toll soars to 158

VALENCIA (Spain): Spain mourned at least 158 deaths on Thursday and authorities told people in floodstricken regions to stay at home as rescuers raced to find survivors in the rare disaster. An exceptionally powerful Mediterranean storm from Tuesday unleashed heavy rains and torrents of mud-filled water that swept away people

Taiwan cleans up after Typhoon Kong-rey

YILAN (Taiwan): Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris in Taiwan on Friday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the island in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing wind speeds of 184 kilometres an hour when it slammed into eastern Taiwan

Asian stocks mostly down after weak Wall Street lead

HONG KONG: Asian stocks were mostly down on Thursday following a weak lead from Wall Street, though better-than-expected manufacturing data from China provided a glimmer of good news for local markets. The three main US stock indices lost ground on Wednesday, and Asian investors appeared to be in a risk-averse

Japan’s zombie train spooks passengers

TOKYO: It’s usually a serene two-and-a-half-hour ride on Japan’s famously efficient bullet train. But the journey quickly descended into a zombie apocalypse, with passengers screaming in terror. Organisers of Saturday’s adrenaline-filled trip, less than two weeks before Halloween, touted it as the “world’s first haunted house experience on a running

Prabowo takes over as president of Indonesia

JAKARTA: Former general Prabowo Subianto was sworn in Sunday as president of Indonesia, seeking a more prominent position on the global stage for the world’s fourth most populous nation. The 73-year-old fiery nationalist — accused of rights abuses during his time in the military — took the oath at parliament

Thousands bid farewell to Tokyo zoo pandas

TOKYO: Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China. Sporting T-shirts, hats and sun umbrellas featuring the black and white bears, visitors shed tears, took selfies and eagerly waved at

Israel says it eliminated Hezbollah chief in strike

BEIRUT: Israel’s military said on Saturday it had “eliminated” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, though the group has yet to comment on his fate. If confirmed, Nasrallah’s death would deal a massive blow to the Iran-backed group which he has led since 1992,

Israel warns Lebanese as wave of strikes hits Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Israel’s military pounded targets in south and east Lebanon on Monday and said more strikes were coming, warning Lebanese to stay out of harm’s way despite international calls for restraint. Hezbollah has said it is ready for “all military possibilities”. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, made