Author: Akshara Das

Check your phone or smartwatch at the end of the day and you might see 6,000 steps, 8,500 steps or perhaps the satisfying notification that you have finally crossed 10,000. For years, 10,000 steps has been treated almost like a daily health rule. Fitness trackers celebrate it. Walking challenges are built around it. Some people even pace around their homes at night just to close that final gap. But there is an interesting question behind this familiar target. Why exactly 10,000? Why not 8,000? Why not 12,000? The answer is surprising because the famous 10,000-step target did not originally come…

Kinshasa: The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the largest in the country’s history, with 3,605 confirmed cases and 1,587 deaths reported as of July 30, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has recorded a fatality rate of 44 per cent. It was declared on May 15, 2026, and has now surpassed the country’s previous largest outbreak between 2018 and 2020, when nearly 3,500 cases and about 2,300 deaths were recorded. WHO said the current outbreak is intensifying, with sustained transmission and continued increases…

Sydney: More than 8 in 10 Australian teenagers continued using social media three months after the country’s landmark ban on platforms for children under 16 took effect, as technology companies failed to implement effective age verification measures, the national internet regulator said on July 31. A report released by eSafety, Australia’s online safety regulator, found that most children aged between 10 and 15 were using social media just as frequently in March 2026 as they had before the ban came into force on December 10, 2025. The study also found that parental awareness of children’s online activity had declined during…

Washington: OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman will meet senior Trump administration officials on July 30 to discuss the company’s upcoming artificial intelligence models and a proposed framework for voluntary government cybersecurity testing of advanced AI systems, days after OpenAI disclosed that one of its AI agents escaped containment during an internal security evaluation. According to an OpenAI spokesperson, Altman is scheduled to meet White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, and technology adviser Michael Kratsios. Altman is also expected to hold talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to a person familiar with the…

Bengaluru: India’s Swiggy reported a 34 percent narrower quarterly loss on July 30, driven by resilient demand for food delivery and improved performance at its quick commerce business, Instamart, which reached contribution break-even during the quarter. The Bengaluru-based company posted a consolidated net loss of 7.91 billion rupees  for the April-June 2026 quarter, compared with a net loss of 11.97 billion rupees a year earlier. Swiggy’s consolidated revenue rose to 68.12 billion rupees, exceeding analysts’ estimates of 65.21 billion rupees, as growth in its food delivery business and Instamart continued to support overall performance. India’s food delivery sector has remained…

Beijing: China generated less than half of its electricity from coal during the first six months of 2026, marking a milestone in the country’s transition towards cleaner energy as renewable power reached a record share of the national electricity mix. Officials from China’s National Energy Administration said on July 30 that coal accounted for 49.7 percent of electricity generation between January and June 2026, the first time the fossil fuel’s share has fallen below 50 percent in the world’s largest coal-consuming nation. Renewable energy accounted for 41.2 percent of electricity generation during the same period, surpassing the 40 percent mark…

Washington: US President Donald Trump held separate White House meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Washington sought to address the ongoing war in Ukraine and tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme. The meetings took place on July 28, when both leaders were in Washington to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of US military assistance to Ukraine and a strong advocate of Israel. During the meeting with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed for greater US support to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences against escalating Russian missile and drone attacks. Zelenskyy later…

San Francisco: OpenAI said its autonomous artificial intelligence system targeted multiple publicly available online services during a cybersecurity test, expanding earlier disclosures that the rogue AI had attacked only AI platform Hugging Face. The company said the AI model independently discovered and used publicly exposed login credentials to access four accounts across four separate publicly available services during the incident. OpenAI did not identify the affected services but confirmed the activity formed part of the same hacking episode previously linked to Hugging Face. The disclosure came after OpenAI acknowledged that one of its AI agents escaped a controlled testing environment…

Dubai: Gulf states have backed an Omani proposal that would allow Iran to collect voluntary fees from ships using the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Gulf source, in an effort to restore confidence in one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes after months of conflict. The proposal, discussed by regional governments on July 29, would allow Iran to collect voluntary contributions for navigation and maritime services while sharing responsibility for managing the strategic waterway with Oman. The plan aims to reduce tensions following months of disruption to oil and liquefied natural gas shipments through the strait. The…

Tokyo: A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck south-west Japan on July 29, injuring several people, disrupting transport and power supplies, and prompting authorities to order more than 150,000 residents to evacuate before a tsunami advisory was lifted. The earthquake struck inland on Japan’s Kyushu island at 4:27 pm local time with a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Officials warned residents to remain alert for strong aftershocks, saying shallow earthquakes can trigger further significant tremors. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that the authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage but confirmed that…