Author: HeraldStar

Duo, the green cartoon owl mascot for language learning app Duolingo, has died, and singer Dua Lipa is grieving. The brand announced Duo’s passing on Tuesday, writing in a cheeky statement on their official X page that “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know.” Duolingo is a smartphone-based language-learning app that offers more than 100 courses covering over 40 languages in bitesize sessions. It became hugely popular during the pandemic, and when you miss a lesson, the app famously sends silly or teasing messages to…

By Wang Kai One month after Donald Trump took office, U.S. inflation surged to 3% for the first time since June, marking it as one of the administration’s most pressing economic challenges. However, the root causes of this inflationary pressure go deeper than short-term policy changes. A recent report by KTrade Securities highlights that amidst upward inflation risks that stemmed from fiscal deficit, fueled by exorbitant debt, and complicated by rising tariffs, the U.S. economy is slowing down and showing signs of recession. It warns that adopting an isolationist approach—focusing on domestic priorities while disengaging from global trade—will not address…

South Korea finalised on Friday a new energy mix plan that envisages the construction of two new large-scale nuclear power plants and one small nuclear power reactor by 2038, the country’s industry ministry said. The plan also aims to secure renewable energy accounting for an average of 7 gigawatts (GW) per year by 2030, the ministry said in a statement. South Korea said its nuclear power generation is expected to grow from 180.5 terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2023 to 248.3 TWh in 2038. The portion of nuclear power generation in its energy mix is also expected to grow from 30.7% in…

Spanish energy firm Naturgy (NTGY.MC), opens new tab expects a 19% decline in the volume of natural gas it gets from long-term contracts as it plans to replace them in part with biomethane, Executive Chairman and CEO Francisco Reynes said on Thursday. The company expects volumes bought through long-term contracts to fall to 170 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2027 from 210 TWh in 2024, he said.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L), opens new tab on Friday pledged to cut the emissions linked to the bonds it sells for oil and gas companies and will press ahead with its net-zero strategy, in contrast with other lenders who are reassessing their climate plans. The London-listed bank plans to reduce by 26.9% the polluting emissions associated with bond deals it arranges for oil and gas companies by 2030, it said as it announced an 18% annual profit jump and $1.5 billion share buyback. Most large banks have targets for reducing emissions associated with their lending, but only a handful have set so-called facilitated emissions. Campaigners…

The U.S. government’s foreign aid freeze has upended the supply chain for medical products crucial for fighting diseases including HIV and malaria in some of the world’s poorest countries, and life-threatening gaps could persist for months, according to two sources familiar with the sector. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) usually places around $600 million of orders annually for products such as medicines, diagnostic tests and equipment like bed nets, as part of one of its biggest health supply contracts including HIV, malaria and reproductive health. But the freeze has put orders and forecasts, particularly those made months in advance, on…

New Zealand said the Chinese navy conducted a live-fire exercise in international waters near the Pacific nation on Saturday, a day after it held a similar drill between Australia and New Zealand that forced airlines to divert flights. “Reporting from the New Zealand Defence Force that the Chinese naval Task Group has advised of a second window for live firing activity, on Saturday afternoon,” a spokesperson for Defence Minister Judith Collins said in a statement. Personnel on New Zealand Navy frigate Te Kaha observed live rounds fired from a Chinese vessel’s main gun, the statement said, adding that the task…

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Saturday called for the law governing the central bank to be amended, raising concerns the lender will lose its independence and of direct government intervention in monetary policy. Saied said in a meeting with central bank Governor Zouhair Nouri that “it is time to change the 2016 law” that granted the bank power over monetary policy, reserves and gold. “We want a national central bank, not as others wanted it based on dictates from abroad,” he added, in a video published by the presidency. In October, dozens of Tunisian lawmakers proposed a bill that would strip the…

Italian Federica Brignone won a women’s World Cup giant slalom on home snow in Sestriere on Friday as U.S. ski great Mikaela Shiffrin finished 25th on her return to the discipline after a crash in Vermont last November. New Zealand’s Alice Robinson was second, after setting the fastest time in the first run, and Thea Louise Stjernesund of Norway finished third. The top two was the same as at this month’s world championships. Shiffrin did not race the giant slalom at those championships in Saalbach, Austria, after deciding she was not mentally ready. Still chasing a record-extending 100th World Cup win, the American suffered…

Tiger Woods will miss a TGL match for the first time next week, according to the lineups revealed on Friday by the tech-infused indoor golf league he co-founded based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The decision opens the door for Woods, who withdrew from last week’s Genesis Invitational that began nine days after the death of his mother, to play in his hometown PGA Tour event — the Cognizant Classic — in Palm Beach Gardens. The deadline to commit to the Cognizant Classic field is 5 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) on Friday. Woods participated in each of his TGL team’s first three matches and his…