THURSDAY, 22 JANUARY 2026, 02:32
Asus won’t release any new smartphones this year, and that may signal the brand’s exit from the Android space altogether. From a report: Asus Chairman Jonney Shih confirmed the news at an event in Taiwan on Jan. 16. According to a machine-translated version of quotes reported by Inside, Shih said, “Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future.” Shih said Asus will continue to...
A British painter who argued that her ex-husband had signed over their $2 million north London home through WhatsApp messages has lost her High Court appeal after the judge ruled that the sender’s name appearing in a chat header does not constitute a legal signature. Hsiao-mei Lin, 54, presented messages from her former husband Audun Mar Gudmundsson, a financier, in which he stated he would...
Microsoft appears to be preparing an ad-supported tier for Xbox Cloud Gaming that would let players stream games they’ve purchased digitally without needing a Game Pass subscription, according to a Windows Central report citing sources familiar with the plans. Users last week began noticing a new message pop up while launching cloud games that referenced “1 hour of ad supported play time per...
Seven out of ten C-suite executives believe traditional enterprise resource planning software has seen its best days, though the category remains firmly entrenched in corporate IT and opinion is sharply divided on what comes next. A survey of 4,295 CFOs, CISOs, CIOs and CEOs worldwide found 36% expect ERP to give way to composable, API-driven best-of-breed systems, while 33% see the future in...
Alien lifeforms | Power of prayer | Corned beef | Remembering birthdays | Celebrity old-age home
Your article (Nasa moon rocket creeps to its launchpad in preparation for astronaut flight, 18 January) quotes the crew commander of Artemis II, Reid Wiseman: “They are so fired up that we are headed back to the moon. They just want to see humans as far away from Earth as possible.” I imagine...
Valve has substantially overhauled its guidelines for how game developers must disclose the use of generative AI on Steam, making explicit that tools like code assistants and other development aids do not fall under the disclosure requirement. The updated rules clarify that Valve’s focus is not on “efficiency gains through the use of AI-powered dev tools.” Developers must still disclose two...
Haims Capital, a financial technology firm specializing in data-driven investment analytics, announced plans to launch RKM 6.0, the latest version of its Real-time Kernel Matrix (RKM) intelligent investment decision system, in June 2026. The updated platform is designed to support investors in the U.S. market by integrating real-time market data, behavioral finance analysis, and adaptive […]
Africa is well positioned to lead the global renewable energy transition, given its abundant solar, wind, and hydropower resources. However, despite this potential, the sector continues to face significant structural barriers. One of the most critical challenges is access to climate finance, with African renewable energy projects currently attracting only about 2% of global climate […]
Netflix has begun asking filmmakers to adjust their storytelling approach to account for viewers who are scrolling through their phones while watching, according to Matt Damon. The traditional action movie formula involves three major set pieces distributed across the first, second, and third acts. Netflix now wants a large action sequence in the opening five minutes to hook viewers. The...
The answers to today’s puzzles
Earlier today, I set you these three geometrical puzzles. Here they are again with solutions.
1. Bonnie Tiler
Continue reading…
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, backed Nate Morris, a Republican businessman, in the primary race to succeed Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.
Study suggests being optimistic produces more antibodies, hinting at future healthcare potential of mental techniques
Being optimistic may boost the immune system according to research that points to a connection between the mind and our body’s natural defences.
Scientists have found people who used positive thinking to boost activity in the brain’s reward system responded better to...
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
Scientists have been forced to rethink the intelligence of cattle after an Austrian cow named Veronika displayed an impressive – and until now undocumented – knack for tool use.
Witgar Wiegele, an organic farmer and baker from a small town in Carinthia near the Italian...
BrianFagioli writes: The New York Stock Exchange, owned by Intercontinental Exchange, is developing a platform for trading tokenized versions of U.S. listed stocks and ETFs around the clock, pending regulatory approval. The system would combine the NYSE’s existing matching engine with blockchain-based settlement, enabling 24×7 trading, instant settlement, and fractional share purchases priced...
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa wants to enforce stricter pricing rules on Sentech.
Philip Green co-founded The Internet Solution in 1993 with two friends from university, pioneering an industry in South Africa.
The “surprisingly resilient” global economy is at risk of being disrupted by a sharp reversal in the AI boom, the IMF warned on Monday, as world leaders prepared for talks in the Swiss resort of Davos. From a report: Risks to global economic expansion were “tilted to the downside,” the fund said in an update to its World Economic Outlook, arguing that growth was reliant on a narrow range of...
Sansa has warned that a powerful solar eruption could trigger severe geomagnetic storm conditions.
China’s birth rate fell to 5.6 per 1,000 people in 2025, the lowest figure since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, and the country’s total population contracted by 3.39 million, the sharpest decline since the Mao Zedong era. The drop marks the fourth straight year of population decline and comes despite government efforts to encourage childbearing, including subsidies of about $500...
The South African National Space Agency says the country could see a geomagnetic storm reaching G4/Severe conditions in the next 24 hours.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has blocked a move by the South African National Roads Agency that could have led to increased forecourt, diesel, and charging prices along highways.