Author: Akshara Das

Toronto: Greater Toronto Area home sales increased for a fifth consecutive month in July 2026, while prices also moved higher as improving signs from Canada’s economy helped support the housing market. Seasonally adjusted home sales rose 3.2 percent from June to 5,582 units, according to data released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board on August 6. The increase pushed sales to their highest level since September 2025. Home prices also recorded another monthly gain. The board’s seasonally adjusted home price index increased 0.3 percent from June to C$933,800 ($665,811), marking the second consecutive month of rising prices. The Greater…

San Francisco: Meta has revealed that one of its artificial intelligence models accessed and made changes to another company’s internal systems during cybersecurity testing, adding to a series of similar incidents involving advanced AI models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic. The incident occurred after an error in the configuration of a ‘sandbox’ testing environment allowed the Meta model to access the public internet. The testing environment was managed by independent testing company Irregular and was intended to isolate the AI system while its cybersecurity capabilities were evaluated. The model involved was reported to be Muse Spark 1.1. Meta said the…

Wellington: An Antarctic cold snap has sent temperatures plunging across New Zealand, bringing rare snowfall to the capital Wellington and allowing residents in the southern city of Dunedin to ski and snowboard through snow-covered streets. The cold front moved across the country on August 4, bringing freezing conditions, widespread frost, snow, hail and strong winds. Wintry weather continued into August 5, with three locations on the South Island recording temperatures as low as -9C. In Wellington, a mixture of sleet and snow fell to sea level shortly after midday on August 4, prompting office workers and residents to rush outside…

Canberra: Australia will cut the cost of installing rooftop solar systems on factories, warehouses, farms and other businesses by around 20 percent, as the government expands renewable energy subsidies to accelerate the country’s transition towards cleaner power. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the expanded support on August 5, saying the government would increase the maximum size of solar installations eligible for its discount programme. Under the changes, subsidies will be available for rooftop solar systems of up to 1 megawatt (MW), around 10 times larger than the previous maximum. The expansion is designed to make solar installations…

Washington: Tesla’s extensive operations in China could become a major obstacle to a potential merger with SpaceX, as the automaker’s reliance on the country for manufacturing and sales clashes with the space company’s growing involvement in sensitive US government and defence contracts. Speculation about combining the two Elon Musk-led companies has intensified in recent months, particularly following SpaceX’s record $75 billion initial public offering in June. Both companies are valued at more than $1 trillion. Musk further fuelled speculation during Tesla’s latest earnings call by pointing to increasing overlap between the businesses. However, Musk rejected a report that Tesla executives…

Tokyo: Three female lions have died at Tama Zoological Park in western Tokyo within a week, with zoo officials suspecting heat-related illness as Japan struggles with dangerously high summer temperatures. Autopsies found that all three lions suffered from systemic dehydration and multiple organ failure, suggesting heat stress may have contributed to their deaths. However, the zoo said the precise causes will only be confirmed after further test results are available. The youngest lion, three-year-old Mugi, began showing a loss of appetite on July 19 and was unable to stand the following day. Zoo staff attempted to cool the animal using…

Wellington: New Zealand has formally recognised English as an official language after parliament passed legislation on July 30, placing the country’s most widely spoken language alongside te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language. The English Language Bill became law despite criticism from linguists, legal experts and some opposition lawmakers, who questioned the need to provide statutory protection to a language spoken by about 95 percent of New Zealand’s population. The legislation was introduced as part of a coalition agreement between the centre-right National Party and New Zealand First. National formed the government after reaching agreements with New Zealand First…

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is tightening hiking regulations and banning some high-risk ‘compressed hikes’ after authorities recorded a sharp increase in hikers becoming lost or stranded, with officials warning that social media trends are encouraging people to take greater risks in remote areas. The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department recorded 52 cases of lost hikers during the first five months of 2026, nearly 30 per cent more than during the same period in 2025. Officials have linked some of the increase to the popularity of hiking content on social media, where participants attempt demanding routes within shorter periods to document their…

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…