Science

by AFP Staff Writers Hong Kong (AFP) Jan 5, 2026 Hong Kong reclaimed its position as the world’s top spot for initial public offerings in 2025 after it raised more than HK$285 billion (US$36.6 billion), a 225 percent increase on-year, accounting giant PwC said Monday. The Chinese finance hub saw 119 new listings last year

by AFP Staff Writers Washington, United States (AFP) Dec 30, 2025 Nearly 12 years after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board, the search for answers to one of aviation’s most haunting riddles resumed Tuesday in the remote southern Indian Ocean. Armed with cutting-edge deep-sea robots and smarter data, US investigators are

by AFP Staff Writers Mogadishu (AFP) Feb 9, 2026 Somalia Monday signed a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, as the Horn of Africa becomes an arena for proxy wars between Gulf monarchies, with Abu Dhabi at loggerheads with Riyadh. The region, strategically located between the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal on one of the

by AFP Staff Writers Quetta, Pakistan (AFP) Feb 1, 2026 Pakistan forces hunted on Sunday for the separatists behind a string of coordinated attacks in restive Balochistan province, with the government vowing to retaliate after more than 190 people were killed in two days. Around a dozen sites remained sealed off, with troops combing the

By Shrouq Tariq Islamabad, Pakistan (AFP) Feb 8, 2026 Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was once known for its lush greenery, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure and military monuments has prompted local anger and even lawsuits. Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and

By Arunabh SAIKIA New Delhi (AFP) Feb 8, 2026 Bangladesh’s elections next week could reshape South Asia’s balance of power, as Beijing seeks to consolidate influence and ties with India falter, analysts say. The February 12 poll will be the nation’s first since a student-led uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic regime in

by Simon Mansfield Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 06, 2026 Bacteria that thrive on Earth may not survive easily on Mars, where the soil contains toxic perchlorate salts at levels that can reach about 1 percent by weight. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science have now shown how a brick building soil bacterium responds to

by AFP Staff Writers Antananarivo, Madagascar (AFP) Feb 2, 2026 A tropical cyclone that hit Madagascar at the weekend killed seven people and forced more than 20,000 to leave their homes, authorities said Monday. Cyclone Fytia, packing gusts of up to 210 kilometres (130 miles) per hour, hit the Indian Ocean island early on Saturday

By Tenzin WOEDEN Dehradun, India (AFP) Feb 1, 2026 Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election on Sunday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia

by Erica Marchand Paris, France (SPX) Feb 02, 2026 A new analysis of satellite and ground data over the Tibetan Plateau indicates that Earths tectonic plates in this region behave far less rigidly than long assumed, with major fault zones acting as weak boundaries that allow the continental crust to flow. The work shows that