A Duolingo logo is seen on a smartphone. Pavlo Gonchar | LightRocket | Getty Images Duolingo shares rose nearly 7% on Thursday following a large spike in users signing up to learn Mandarin in conjunction with soaring usage of Chinese social media app RedNote, a TikTok rival. The company confirmed to CNBC that there’s been…
SpaceX launched the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday, as the company looks to push development of the mammoth vehicle further, including with a crucial test for how it will deploy satellites. The company launched Starship from its private “Starbase” facility near Brownsville, Texas, shortly after 5:30 p.m. ET. A few minutes later, the…
The Biden administration on Thursday withdrew a proposal to expand protections for an endangered whale species. The rules would have required some ships along the Eastern Seaboard to slow down. North Atlantic right whales, a rare species conservationists have aimed to safeguard, have been injured or killed by collisions with vessels along the East coast….
Getty Images Strikes continued in Gaza overnight on Wednesday after the ceasefire deal was announced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed a cabinet vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal, due on Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking last-minute changes to the agreement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a “loose end” was being…
Family handout Bipin Joshi (far right) with his sister Puspa, father Mahananda and mother Padma In a remote village in western Nepal, thousands of miles from Israel, Mahananda Joshi was sitting restlessly at home on Thursday, his phone in his hand. The phone is never far from his hand now. And never on silent. He…
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, the US and mediators Qatar have said. Should the Israeli cabinet and government formally approve the agreement, which is yet to happen, the first six-week phase will take effect on 19 January. The deal follows 15 months of fighting between Israel and…
Ghanaian music legend and saxophonist Teddy Osei, who founded the Afro-rock band Osibisa, has died aged 88. The talented drummer and vocalist passed away in London on Tuesday. He was “an important voice in music and culture, and he will be missed, but never forgotten,” the statement read. Osei rose to acclaim as the leader…
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Thursday named Ashley Moody, the Republican state attorney general, to replace Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate, elevating a close ally to Mr. Rubio’s seat after he is confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s secretary of state. “I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results,” Mr. DeSantis…
Reuters Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been leading the army during Sudan’s 21-month civil war The US government has imposed sanctions on the head of Sudan’s army and de facto president, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the treasury department said. He has been leading one of the two sides in the 21-month civil war that has…
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, has reactivated his X account barely a week after he quit the social media platform, citing renewed focus on his military duties. “I’m back!” Gen Kainerugaba posted on his verified account @mkainerugaba that has quickly amassed hundreds of followers. He came back in his characteristic…
