AI can help reduce inequality, says Indranee Rajah
Straits Times
- Business
India's Adani to invest $100 billion in AI-ready data centres by 2035
Feb 17 (Reuters) - Adani Enterprises said on Tuesday that the group will invest $100 billion to build renewable energy-powered AI-ready data centres by 2035, as it seeks to create the world's largest
Reuters
- News
Spain to probe X, Meta, TikTok over AI-generated child sexual abuse material
MADRID, Feb 17 () - The Spanish government has ordered prosecutors to investigate social media platforms X, Meta and TikTok for allegedly spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday. "These platforms are undermining the mental health, dignity, and rights of our children," he wrote on his X account.
- Business
Oil in spotlight as Trump's Iran warning rattles sleepy markets
Oil prices were in focus Tuesday as US President Donald Trump ramped up threats towards Iran, shaking up markets subdued by holidays in Asia and the United States.US markets were set to reopen later Tuesday after Monday's break for Presidents' Day.
AFP News
- News
Moscow, Kyiv set for Geneva peace talks amid Russian attacks
Russian and Ukrainian delegations were in Geneva for another round of talks on Tuesday as part of the latest push by the United States to end the four-year war.Zelensky said his team had already arrived in Geneva on Monday, while a source with the Russian delegation confirmed Tuesday that their team had touched down in the Swiss city in the early hours.
- News
Slovakia revamps bunkers with Ukraine war uncomfortably close
The war in neighbouring Ukraine feels distant to many in the Slovak city of Nitra but the local council is preparing for the worst and revamping its Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelters.However, every year since Ukraine was invaded in 2022, the city council has been repairing and refurbishing its 17 shelters, with the city planning to spend 40,000 euros ($47,500) this year.
- News
France's Macron eyes fighter jet deal in India
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on Tuesday, as he begins a three-day visit to India focused on artificial intelligence cooperation and a potential multibillion dollar fighter jet deal.Modi, who will meet Macron later on Tuesday afternoon, said he was "confident that our discussions will further strengthen cooperation".
- News
Russian prosthetics workshops fill up with wounded soldiers
After losing his right leg on the battlefield in Ukraine, Dmitry, a former fighter with Russia's Wagner paramilitary group, is walking again thanks to a new prosthetic limb.With hundreds of thousands of soldiers coming back from the front wounded, Russia's prosthetics workshops -- like the one outside Saint Petersburg where AFP met Dmitry -- have been filling up with ex-fighters.
- Politics
Trump's Latest Epstein Denial Has Critics Asking New Questions
The president insisted he was "totally exonerated" by the latest Epstein files release, but not everyone is buying it.
HuffPost
- News
Pedestrian, 63, dies in hospital after Havelock Road accident involving bus
SINGAPORE - A 63-year-old pedestrian died after he was involved in an accident with an SBS Transit bus in Havelock Road on the evening of Feb 16.
Straits Times
- News
Bangladesh PM-to-be Tarique Rahman and lawmakers sworn into parliament
Bangladesh's prime minister-to-be Tarique Rahman and lawmakers were sworn into parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first elected representatives since a deadly 2024 uprising.Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmakers are expected to formally elect Rahman as their leader, with President Mohammed Shahabuddin then to administer the oath of office to the prime minister and his ministers later on Tuesday afternoon.
- News
Palmerston, one of the UK’s top ‘diplocats,’ dies in Bermuda
Palmerston, the black and white feline who rose from the streets of London to the hallowed halls of Britain’s Foreign Office, has died in Bermuda, the British Foreign Ministry said Monday.
CNN
- Politics
While MAGA faces challenges at home, Rubio seeks to export it abroad
President Donald Trump often seems frustrated that many Americans don’t appreciate that they are living in his “golden age.”
- News
The house always wins: How the establishment finally came out on top in Thailand
A billionaire former owner of English soccer giants Manchester City who dominated politics in his homeland now watches his dynasty fade from inside prison.
- Business
Rupee slips, but state-run banks' dollar sales encumber fall toward 91
By Jaspreet Kalra MUMBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee weakened on Tuesday, weighed down by soft risk appetite and persistent weakness in local stocks, though dollar sales by state-run banks
- News
At least 14 killed in spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan
Two bomb attacks and a gunfight between police and militants in northwest Pakistan killed at least 11 security personnel and three civilians, including a child, a security official said.In another attack in the town of Bannu, a bomb planted in a rickshaw exploded at the Miryan police station, killing two civilians and wounding 17 others, the official said.
- Politics
Harry Enten Hits Trump With A Brutal Warning About His Poll Numbers Ahead Of Midterms
The president is not in good shape with the electorate as voters prepare to head to the polls later this year.
- News
Peru Congress to debate impeachment of interim president
Peru's Congress is set to consider Tuesday whether to impeach interim president Jose Jeri, the country's seventh head of state in 10 years, accused of the irregular hiring of several women in his government. If successfully impeached, Jeri would cease to exercise his functions and be replaced by the head of parliament as interim president.
- News
Shooting at youth hockey game in Rhode Island leaves 2 dead, 3 injured
Two people were killed and three others injured in a shooting at a hockey arena in Rhode Island, police said.
- News
Australia refuses to repatriate ISIS-linked citizens in Syria as escape attempt fails
Australia will not repatriate its citizens with links to Islamic State members, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the national broadcaster on Tuesday, with a blunt message for families stranded in Syria: “If you make your bed, you lie in it.”
- News
China is building submarines faster than ever, think tank says. Why that’s a problem for Washington
China has ramped up its production of nuclear-powered submarines over the past five years to the point where it is launching subs faster than the United States, threatening to negate a sea-power advantage that has long belonged to Washington, a new think tank report says.
- News
Bleak future for West Bank pupils as budget cuts bite
At an hour when Ahmad and Mohammed should have been in the classroom, the two brothers sat idle at home in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.In the northern West Bank, where Israeli military operations in refugee camps displaced around 35,000 people in 2025, some pupils have lost up to 45 percent of learning days, Fowler said.
- News
Iran, United States set for new talks in Geneva
President Donald Trump warned Iran of potential consequences should it fail to strike a deal with the United States, as negotiators prepare for the latest round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday."I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal," he told reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the talks.
- News
ComfortDelGro taxi turns turtle in Ang Mo Kio on first day of CNY
SINGAPORE – A ComfortDelGro taxi was involved in an accident that left it overturned on the road on the morning of Feb 17, the first day of Chinese New Year.
- News
China has slashed air pollution, but the 'war' isn't over
Fifteen years ago, Beijing's Liangma riverbanks would have been smog-choked and deserted in winter, but these days they are dotted with families and exercising pensioners most mornings."Back then when there was smog, I wouldn't come out," she told AFP, declining to give her full name.
- Business
Indian shares set to open lower with analysts expecting post-earnings consolidation
Feb 17 (Reuters) - India's benchmark indexes are set to open marginally lower, with analysts expecting a consolidation phase following a largely in-line earnings season, while tech stocks await
- News
Doctors, tourism, tobacco: Cuba buckling under US pressure
Cuba's already shattered economy is being assailed on various fronts as US President Donald Trump has vowed to bring the communist island to its knees.And countries wishing to stay in the good books of US President Donald Trump have started to yield.
- News
Indonesia capital faces 'filthy' trash crisis
Garbage-choked streets, overloaded landfills and the fear of trash avalanches haunt greater Jakarta, as the world's most populous metropolis grapples with a waste crisis.Experts say population growth, rising incomes leading to higher consumption, and a chronic lack of sorting and disposal enforcement have created the crisis.
- News
France grants safe haven to anti-Kremlin couple detained by ICE
France has granted safe haven to an anti-Kremlin Russian activist couple detained by ICE in the United States, but his wife was nowhere to be found after he landed in Paris on Monday.The couple eventually flew to Mexico and entered the United States in 2024.
- News
German carnival revellers take swipes at Putin, Trump, Epstein
From Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin, no one is safe when Germans celebrate carnival with floats that satirise politicians.One of Tilly's designs for the Duesseldorf carnival features Trump and Putin together feasting on a small blonde woman marked "Europe".
- News
St Peter's Basilica gets terrace cafe, translated mass for 400th birthday
Visitors to St Peter's Basilica will be able to follow mass in 60 languages and enjoy a coffee on a newly opened terrace as part of plans unveiled Monday by the Vatican.- Real-time monitoring -The Vatican also Monday launched a new app for liturgies in the basilica, which will allow pilgrims to follow mass by Pope Leo XIV in 60 languages via their smartphones.
- News
France loosens rules on allowing farmers to shoot wolves
The French government said Monday it would authorise the shooting of wolves that attack livestock even outside protected enclosures, a policy shift welcomed by farmers, a powerful and increasingly disgruntled constituency.Under current rules, farmers can only shoot wolves if they attack animals inside a protected enclosure -- a restriction centrist President Emmanuel Macron's government said would now be relaxed.
- News
US increases military pressure on Iran ahead of high-stakes talks
The US military is continuing a significant buildup of air and naval assets in the Middle East ahead of planned talks with Iran in Geneva on Tuesday. The pieces are being moved into place both to intimidate Tehran and to have options to strike inside the country should negotiations over its nuclear program fail, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
- News
Ireland opens probe into Musk's Grok AI over sexualised images
DUBLIN, Feb 17 () - Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) said on Tuesday it had opened a formal investigation into X's AI chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video, including of children. The DPC is the lead EU regulator for X because the U.
- Politics
Even Republican election officials are balking at Trump Justice Department’s voter roll crusade
As the Trump administration has sued 25 mostly-Democratic state election chiefs for their voter rolls, it has also encountered quieter resistance from Republican officials who have balked at the Justice Department’s demands for confidential voter registration information.
- Politics
Citing Orwell’s ‘1984,’ judge orders Trump administration to return slavery exhibits removed from Philadelphia museum
A federal judge, evoking the dystopian world of George Orwell’s novel “1984,” ordered the Trump administration on Monday to return a long-standing exhibit on slavery it removed from a popular historical museum in Philadelphia.
- Business
Copper powers profit surge at Australia's BHP
Australian resources giant BHP reported Tuesday a jump in half-year net profit boosted by demand for copper to meet the world's need for electrical power.Copper is in demand as countries expand electrical networks to harness renewable energies.
- News
Survivors recount deadly 2024 Georgia school shooting as alleged shooter’s father goes on trial
Jurors heard emotional testimony and a harrowing 911 call on the first day of testimony in the trial of Colin Gray, who prosecutors say bears responsibility for the deadly 2024 shooting allegedly carried out by his son at the teen’s Georgia high school.
- News
Here are the key developments in the weekslong search for Nancy Guthrie
The search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has stretched into a third, anguished week, with mounting pressure on investigators and a family grappling with uncertainty.
- News
A partial government shutdown has hit the Department of Homeland Security. Here’s what that means
The Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.
- Business
SpaceX to compete in Pentagon contest for autonomous drone tech, Bloomberg News reports
Feb 16 () - Elon Musk's SpaceX and its wholly-owned subsidiary xAI are competing in a secret new Pentagon contest to produce voice-controlled, autonomous drone swarming technology, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. SpaceX, xAI and the Pentagon's defense innovation unit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- Politics
Trump’s damage is done. Democrats – and Europe – are struggling to define what’s next
Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on the Munich Security Conference over the weekend as they might normally flood Des Moines, Iowa, or Manchester, New Hampshire. They found a Europe that’s all but ignoring them – and assuming leaders like Donald Trump will define the future.
- News
Russian poisonings aim to kill -- and send a message
Polonium, Novichok and now dart frog poison: the finding that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed with a rare toxin has revived the spectre of Moscow's use of poisons against opponents -- a hallmark of its secret services, according to experts.In 2006, the Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko was killed by polonium poison in London.
- News
'How long?': Day Three of hunger strike for Venezuelan political prisoners' release
With dark circles under their eyes and feeling weak but angry, about a dozen female relatives of Venezuelan political prisoners staged day three of a hunger strike Monday demanding their loved ones' immediate release.The doctor, Arreaza, said he had been denied permission to go inside to check on the prisoners, and it was not clear whether any of them were also on hunger strike.
- News
Hopes that the FBI would share evidence in Alex Pretti’s killing with state investigators have shattered
Hopes that the FBI would share information gathered in the investigation into Alex Pretti’s killing with state investigators in Minnesota have shattered.
- Business
Nexperia to receive $60 million loan from Invest International to boost chip output
AMSTERDAM, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Dutch state-owned finance institution Invest International will provide chipmaker Nexperia with a $60 million loan to support a series of global investments in its
- News
Obama clarifies alien comments after telling podcast ‘they’re real’
Former US President Barack Obama said he’s seen no evidence that aliens have made contact with Earth, clarifying his position on extraterrestrials after comments he made in a podcast went viral.
- Business
Stocks mixed, dollar up in subdued start to week
European stock markets traded mixed and the dollar advanced in thin holiday trading Monday following a subdued showing for Asian equities ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and after Japan reported lacklustre economic growth.News of limp economic growth in Japan rattled the country's stocks and yen on Monday, which came after recent record highs for Tokyo equities thanks to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent landslide win in parliamentary elections.
- News
Amazon delivery van gets stuck after following GPS onto ‘dangerous’ mudflats
An Amazon delivery van had to be recovered after its driver followed a GPS route onto “extremely dangerous” mudflats.
- News
France opens murder probe as killing of far-right activist stokes tensions
French authorities have opened a murder probe into the death of a far-right activist last week, a public prosecutor said Monday, in a killing the government has blamed partly on the hard left. The government has already blamed rhetoric from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party for fuelling the violence that led to Deranque's death.
- News
Iran says US 'more realistic' on nuclear issue, as Guards begin drills in Hormuz Strait
Iran said on Monday that the United States's position on Iran's nuclear programme "has moved towards a more realistic one", a day ahead of a second round of US-Iranian talks in Geneva."A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, the official IRNA news agency reported.