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Insights & Views

Tue, Dec 23, 2025 11:16 PM All times are UTC

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AIs flunk language test that takes grammar out of the equation

| Insights & Views

Generative AI systems like large language models and text-to-image generators can pass rigorous exams that are required of anyone seeking to become a doctor or a lawyer. They can perform better than most people in...

World’s largest insect faces extinction: how to save two species of Africa’s giant Goliath beetle

| Insights & Views

One of Africas giant beetles is just one step away from extinction. New research has found that one species of the enormous Goliath beetles has been almost wiped out by the west African cocoa industry and, to a lesser...

African Union’s new chair has a long list of tough tasks – what it will take to get them done

| Insights & Views

Following seven rounds of balloting, 60-year-old diplomat Mahmoud Ali Youssouf was elected the sixth chair of the African Union Commission in February 2025. Politics professor Ulf Engel, who is the editor of the Yearbook...

Theatre’s thriving horror revival reflects a cultural moment of collective anxiety

| Insights & Views

The stage has long presented horror as entertainment, from 19th-century ghost and revenge melodramas to the blood-soaked spectacles of the grand-guignol, the Parisian theatre of horror. In recent decades, horror theatre...

How Trump the ‘master deal-maker’ failed when it came to negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan

| Insights & Views

News that Ukraine may be ready to sign a deal granting the US joint development rights to its minerals in the hope of a future security guarantee may be seen as a win by Donald Trumps supporters who criticised Joe Bidens...

Will the UK’s proposed long-term emissions strategy get us to net zero? An expert review

| Insights & Views

In the seventh carbon budget, electric vehicles are key to reducing carbon emissions. nrqemi / shutterstock The UK governments official advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) has now published its recommendations for the...

We should care more about emerging infectious diseases, and the tools we need to fight them

| Insights & Views

A patient undergoing infusion therapy. Treatment failure can happen when a disease adapts to become resistant to antibiotics. (Unsplash/Olga Kononenko) Throughout human history, disease outbreaks have emerged and...

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Economy

IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With Egypt, Opening Path to $3.8 Billion in Funding

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt on the fifth and sixth reviews of the countrys Extended Fund Facility (EFF), a key step that could unlock around $2.5...

RBA Signals Possible Interest Rate Hike in 2026 as Inflation Pressures Persist

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has revealed that its board members discussed the possibility of raising interest rates in 2026, according to the minutes from the central banks December policy meeting. The discussion...

Wall Street Ends Higher as S&P 500, Nasdaq Extend Gains Ahead of Holiday Week

U.S. stock markets closed higher on Monday, extending recent gains as investors look to finish the year on a strong note despite thinning trading volumes in a holiday-shortened week. The SP 500 rose 0.5% by the closing...

Global Markets Rise as Tech Stocks Lead, Yen Strengthens, and Commodities Hit Record Highs

Global financial markets started a holiday-shortened week on a positive note, with most major stock indexes posting gains as technology stocks rebounded and investor sentiment improved. Wall Street was supported by...

Platinum Price Surges Past $2,000 as Demand and Supply Dynamics Tighten

Platinum prices surged sharply at the start of the week, rallying more than 4.6% on Monday to break above the $2,000 per ounce level for the first time since 2008. The move marks a 17-year high for the precious metal and...

Politics

Trump Administration Recalls Nearly 30 U.S. Ambassadors in Push for “America First” Agenda

The Trump administration has recalled nearly 30 U.S. ambassadors and senior career diplomats from overseas posts, a move officials say aligns embassies more closely with the presidents America First foreign policy, but...

Australia Moves Toward Tougher Gun Laws After Bondi Shooting

Australias most populous state, New South Wales, is set to introduce significantly tougher gun laws alongside new measures targeting terrorism and public protests, following a deadly mass shooting in Sydneys Bondi area....

Trump Announces Ambitious Plan for New U.S. Navy Super Battleships

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday an ambitious proposal for the United States Navy to begin building a new class of advanced battleships, a move that could significantly reshape the future of American naval...

China’s Nuclear Expansion Raises Arms Control Concerns as Pentagon Report Warns of Growing Military Ambitions

China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its nuclear weapons arsenal, with a draft Pentagon report warning that Beijing may have loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) across three newly...

Kremlin Downplays U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine as Ongoing Process

Russia has played down expectations surrounding recent discussions with the United States on the Ukraine conflict, emphasizing that the talks should not be interpreted as a major diplomatic breakthrough. Kremlin spokesman...

Science

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...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Technology

FTC Praises Instacart for Ending AI Pricing Tests After $60M Settlement

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has welcomed Instacarts decision to end its artificial intelligence-based price testing, a move that follows weeks of consumer backlash and regulatory scrutiny. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson...

John Carreyrou Sues Major AI Firms Over Alleged Copyrighted Book Use in AI Training

Investigative journalist John Carreyrou, widely known for exposing fraud at Silicon Valley blood-testing startup Theranos and for authoring the bestselling book Bad Blood, has filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit...

Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Dominance

Italys competition authority has imposed a 98.6 million ($115.53 million) fine on U.S. technology giant Apple and two of its subsidiaries, citing alleged abuse of a dominant market position related to the distribution of...

Moore Threads Unveils New GPUs, Fuels Optimism Around China’s AI Chip Ambitions

Moore Threads Technology Co Ltd (SS:688795), often described as Chinas potential alternative to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), attracted investor attention after unveiling a new lineup of graphics processing units at...

U.S. Lawmakers Urge Pentagon to Blacklist More Chinese Tech Firms Over Military Ties

A group of nine Republican U.S. lawmakers has formally urged the Pentagon to expand its list of Chinese companies accused of supporting Chinas military, intensifying scrutiny of Beijing-linked technology firms amid rising...