The Sen Times

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, September 18, 2026 (AP) A powerful bomb exploded Friday at a mosque near a building housing police offices in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 15 people and wounding 56 others, police and rescue officials said. The attack came as violence has surged in the region with security forces targeting militants. The bombing occurred in Kohat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, when an attacker apparently rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into th

NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (Reuters) Indias food regulator on Friday said it found a Nestle baby food sample substandard in testing and has begun legal action against the company, the latest multinational to fall foul of the countrys food safety drive. Indian authorities found a sample of follow-up formula, which is a milk product for infants, sub-standard with respect to biotin food additive, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in a social media post. The FSSAI has also filed

September 18, 2026 (Conversation) Coffee is best known, and perhaps most valued, for its caffeine and its ability to make us feel more awake and alert. But coffee is much more than caffeine dissolved in hot water. Coffee is a chemically complicated plant extract containing hundreds of bioactive compounds. These can have all kinds of weird and wonderful effects in your body, even when youre drinking decaf. Here are seven of the strangest. 1. Coffee can make you poo One study shows about three in

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) A bill passed by the US House of Representatives authorising President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including India, could expose New Delhi to tariffs of up to 100 per cent, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. However, the actual impact of new tariffs on Indian exports can be assessed only after the US announces the tariff rates, product coverage and implementation timetable, it said. The Lindsey O Gra

Mumbai, Sep 17 (PTI) Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading marginally higher in early trade on Thursday as crude oil prices eased slightly from their recent highs, although caution prevailed after the US Federal Reserves rate hike and indications of further tightening. Foreign fund outflows and muted trend in Asian markets also capped the gains in the domestic equities during initial trading. The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 86.49 points to 74,422.94 in early trade. The 50-share

Mumbai, Sep 17 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 19 paise to breach the 96 level against the US dollar for the first time in over two months in early trade on Thursday following weak investor sentiments amid global uncertainties. The currency, however, pared losses and traded with a gain of 10 paise following suspected RBI intervention. According to forex analysts, the rupee is expected to see high volatility pressured by elevated crude oil prices hovering at USD 105 per barrel and the broad strength

Melbourne, 17 September 2026 (Conversation) How should we refer to people with mental ill health, disability, or neurodivergence? Terminology should be respectful, apt and avoid carrying stigma. Its also important to listen to peoples preferences about how they refer to their condition. But how much consensus is there and how has terminology changed? Our new study the largest of its kind explores how this language has evolved over the past 45 years to reflect our shifting views of mental illne

BENGALURU, India, September 17, 2026 (AP) Human-caused global warming thinned glaciers and thawed mountain permafrost, likely helping to destabilize the Himalayan slope that collapsed last month and unleashed catastrophic flooding across Nepal, according to a report released Thursday. The report by the World Weather Attribution cautioned that climate change was not the sole cause of the Aug. 26 disaster. A large 2015 Nepal earthquake may have weakened the rock years before the collapse, their a

WASHINGTON, September 17, 2026 (AP) The U.S. House on Wednesday passed a broad package of sanctions targeting Russian officials and key pillars of its economy as lawmakers look to deprive President Vladimir Putin of the financial resources needed to wage the war against Ukraine. The bill is named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who spent more than a year negotiating it. The measure was approved in a 262-159 vote and now heads to President Donald Trump to be signed into law

WASHINGTON. September 17, 2026 (AP) The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the first time since 2023 in an effort to quell stubbornly high inflation, and the central bank signaled another rate hike could occur later this year. The quarter-point increase lifts the Feds key rate to about 3.9% and, over time, could result in higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. In a set of quarterly projections, the Fed also signaled its rate-setting comm

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Gold prices snapped a three-session losing streak on Wednesday, rising Rs 1,200 to Rs 1.55 lakh per 10 grams in the national capital as bargain buying by traders and easing crude oil prices boosted sentiment towards bullion. The yellow metal of 99.9 per cent purity appreciated by Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,55,600 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes) from Tuesdays closing level of Rs 1,54,400 per 10 grams, according to local traders. Silver also bounced back after holding steady fo

Oxford, Sep 16 (The Conversation) Most of us are used to hearing about the risks of not getting enough iron. Yet having too much iron in the body can also cause serious health problems. Iron overload occurs when it gradually accumulates in the body. Excess iron can be stored in organs such as the liver, heart and pancreas. This can scar the liver, weaken the heart so it cannot pump blood properly, and damage the bodys ability to control blood sugar, leading to diabetes. Could changing what you e

TOKYO, September 16, 2026 (AP) The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan surpassed a record 100,000 this year, the latest government figures show, underscoring the countrys rapidly aging and declining population. The Health and Welfare Ministry statistics released Tuesday show Japan now has 107,677 centenarians, up 7,914 from the previous year and exceeding the 100,000 mark for the first time. Nearly 88% of them are women. Kyoto resident Fuyo Kishimoto was recently recognized as the oldes

BOSTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) A federal judge on Monday blocked U.S. President Donald Trumps administration from implementing a new rule that would limit how long foreign students and journalists can remain in the U.S. without applying for extensions. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston in favor of a coalition of unions and higher education advocacy groups a day before the Department of Homeland Securitys rule was set to take effect. Saylor said DHS adopted the policy based on exceptiona

Mumbai, Sep 15 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 30 paise to 95.84 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on elevated Brent crude oil prices and heightened Middle East tensions. With Brent crude touching USD 106 per barrel, increased dollar demand from oil importers raised concerns over Indias external balance and inflation, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.84 against the US dollar, registering a loss of 30 paise from its previous close. On

New Delhi, Sept 15 (PTI) Meta has agreed to report child safety-related matters to appropriate law enforcement agencies, government sources said on Tuesday, asserting that online safety of children is a fundamental principle for any social media platform operating in India and absolutely non-negotiable. The government will take action against platforms that fail to take proactive steps to ensure childrens safety online, the sources said, underlining its tough stance on platforms responsibility t

NEW DELHI/BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) Every day since a torrent of mud and rocks destroyed a Nepal-China border crossing high up in the Himalayas last month, Arushi Guptas parents have called and messaged their missing daughter hoping she somehow survived. The last photo she sent on the day of the flood was the facade of the Gyirong Port immigration post. But the calls and messages from her parents, who are among many families in Nepal and abroad awaiting news of loved ones, have gone unanswered

September 14, 2026 (Conversation) September is traditionally the time of year when many young people go to university or college, often leaving parents and carers facing an empty nest. But an empty nest doesnt just mean a quiet home. Sometimes for the older generation there are also difficult questions about the next phase of their life. The term empty nest was popularised by US author and activist Dorothy Canfield Fisher in her 1914 book Mothers and Children. It described the emotional challeng

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his Chhatron Ki Goonj initiative is an opportunity for those students who are tormented by the education system to bring about a change in it. Im coming to Indore on 19 September to meet students, to hear you, to talk to you. If you or your loved ones are tormented by the education system and want these conditions to change, you know Chhatron Ki Goonj is your collective voice, an opportunity to start the change, Gandhi said in

September 14, 2026 (Conversation) Russian mathematician Yurii Nesterov was recently awarded the Gauss Prize for outstanding mathematical contributions for his groundbreaking work on optimisation. The award cited his work on gradient descent methods and in particular, the efficiency gains [they] provide to AI technologies. Everyone using large language model (LLM) chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for any purpose depends on Nesterovs methods. They may speak like humans and be personi

September 14, 2026 (Conversation) Over the weekend, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including his own, to slow down their work. Sam Altman and Elon Musk, heads of rivals OpenAI and xAI respectively, agreed. The move reflects concern across the AI industry and more broadly about the dangers of new, rapidly improving systems. Recent high-profile incidents such as OpenAI AI agents hacking another company and hijacking a public website have s

DUBLIN, September 14, 2026 (AP) President Donald Trump on Sunday played down the need for his administration to check the development of artificial intelligence, saying he worried about ceding Americas edge over China in a global competition and that winning would help address the risks from the advancing technology. While acknowledging the need for some regulation, Trump provided no specifics about potential rules and attributed warnings about the technology moving too quickly and with little

LOS ANGELES, September 14, 2026 (AP) New warnings from within the artificial intelligence industry have revived a long-running debate over whether advanced AI could escape human control and ultimately threaten humanitys survival, and whether the companies developing the technology are doing enough to prevent such a scenario. The CEO of Anthropic, the San Francisco company behind Claude, said he thought the industry needed to reduce the speed of its work, cautioning Saturday that a swarm of AI a

September 14, 2026 (Conversation) Youre likely familiar with the idea of a circadian rhythm your bodys 24-hour cycle that governs sleep and wakefulness. It turns out that resting heart rate also follows mysterious, long rhythms that run independently of the outside world. Resting heart rate is measured by how many beats per minute your heart makes while youre calm and inactive. This measure is linked to stress, fatigue and fitness. Our new study, published in EBioMedicine, looked at years of sm

Mumbai, Sep 13 (PTI) A collective of prominent scientists, academicians, and activists has urged the government to halt the E20 fuel rollout, scrap the National Testing Agency, and enact a nationwide anti-black magic law, calling for public policies to be guided by scientific evidence. Issuing a joint appeal during the India March for Science in Mumbai on Saturday, the signatories raised strong objections over the promotion of pseudoscience, evidence-denying public policies, and shrinking public

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) Period pain is often dismissed as a normal part of menstruation, but severe or persistent pain could be a sign of endometriosis, a chronic condition that can affect fertility and significantly impact a womans quality of life, according to doctors. Experts said growing evidence suggests that genetic and epigenetic factors may influence a womans susceptibility to the condition, highlighting the need for greater awareness and earlier diagnosis. Symptoms of period pain are of

NEW YORK, September 13, 2026(AP) The CEO of Anthropic said Saturday the artificial-intelligence industry should slow its fast-moving development to give safety measures time to catch up. Without such a slowdown, Dario Amodei warned that within six to 12 months AI could be capable of leading a swarm of agents that could take over the entire internet. The warning comes as worries about AI grow inside and outside the industry and reports continue to emerge about increasingly powerful systems that

LONDON, September 8, 2026 (AP) Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in response to an expansion program that is imperiling efforts to establish a Palestinian state, the U.K. government said Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is due to give details in the House of Commons later, after saying last week that he would reset U.K. relations with Israel. Its a significant toughening of Britains stance towards Israel, whose conduct towards the Palestinians

Mumbai, Sep 8 (PTI) Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday, registering their second day of decline, as rising crude oil prices and the US-Iran hostilities kept risk appetite subdued. Selling in blue-chip stocks ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also dragged the markets lower. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 555.23 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 75,577.58. During the day, it tanked 579.46 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 75,553.35. The 50-share NSE

Mumbai, Sep 8 (PTI) The cost of home-cooked meals rose moderately in August, a report said on Tuesday. The cost of a vegetarian meal increased 1 per cent year-on-year and month-on-month to Rs 29.5 per thali, the monthly report by the research arm of domestic rating agency Crisil said. In the case of a non-vegetarian meal, a 10 per cent jump in broiler prices pushed up the cost of a thali by 5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 57.5, the report by Crisil Intelligence said. However, the price was 1 per c

September 8, 2026 (Conversation) Universities are increasingly introducing artificial intelligence (AI) teaching tools into classrooms. The latest case to make headlines is Macquarie Universitys Virtual Peer an AI-chatbot introduced in two psychology units. In the online delivery of these units, some material previously taught through Zoom tutorials is now delivered by the AI chatbot and other online activities. This comes as hundreds of University of Sydney staff walked off the job last week,

MUMBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) likely intervened in the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, two bankers and a trader at an FX broker told Reuters, as a renewed rise in oil prices put pressure on the rupee. The Indian currency was at 94.68 per dollar, down 0.2% on the day. State-run banks were seen offering dollars around the 94.70 level, most likely on behalf of the RBI, one of the bankers said. The RBI has intervened persistently over the last two weeks to support the

London, Sep 8 (PTI) The iconic Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after the staff staged a walkout over female employees being moved away for the visit of a Hindu religious group, authorities said. The incident took place on Saturday during a visit by around 100 people linked to BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), Euronews reported on Monday. Diane Davoine, a union representative, told French TV that female workers had been moved away from their workstations as the delega

September 8, 2026 (Conversation) The work break room can be a place of rest, gossip, fun, or recovery. But it can also be a cause of complaint when yesterdays fish dinner becomes a smelly microwaved lunch. One of us (Nathan) learnt that the hard way when reheating a Korean mackerel and kimchi stew a potent mix of fermented, fishy and garlic smells were all released into a small space. The look on a colleagues face will not easily be forgotten. For most people microwaving fish at work is a big n

September 8, 2026 (Conversation) Since the launch of generative artificial intelligence (AI), many university students have claimed their teachers have falsely accused them of using AI to cheat. While allegations of cheating and plagiarism should be taken seriously, sometimes such accusations have rested on unreliable AI-detection programs. Unis have always had processes in place to investigate alleged student misconduct. But the impact of these experiences on students wellbeing has been mostly

September 8, 2026 (Conversation) US regulators are grappling with a controversial new frontier in online shopping: companies using our personal data to work out how much each of us is willing to pay. The Federal Trade Commission is currently consulting on an enforcement policy for personalised pricing, amid concern increasingly sophisticated algorithms could allow businesses to tailor prices and discounts to individual customers. Closer to home, Consumer NZ recently warned about the vast amounts

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) Gold futures fell for the seventh consecutive session on Wednesday, falling Rs 1,559 to Rs 1.5 lakh per 10 grams as renewed military exchanges between the US and Iran pushed oil rates higher and heightened concerns over inflation and interest rates. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the yellow metal futures for October delivery declined by Rs 1,559, or 1.03 per cent, to Rs 1,50,170 per 10 grams from Tuesdays closing level of Rs 1,51,729 per 10 grams. The December cont

MUMBAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) Maharashtra has suspended the licenses of four Dominos outlets after reporting grease residue in pizza-making machines and insect infestations, the latest move in an intensifying crackdown by food regulators. The license of one Pizza Hut store was also suspended as many products used were found to lack expiry dates, according to a note from the states Food and Drug Administration about this weeks operation that was shared with Reuters late on Thursday. Jubilant FoodWork

New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed concern over the circulation of clips of court proceedings on social media without adequate context, referring to his oral remarks in the Supreme Court on May 15 where he likened certain individuals holding fraudulent degrees to cockroaches who become social media or RTI activists to attack the system. The CJI said his oral remarks were misquoted and misused with malicious intent to mislead the youth of the country, speaking in

August 13, 2026 (Conversation) When Mark Hughes, the former Manchester United and Wales manager, lost his 38-year-old son, an inquest found the cause was sudden adult death syndrome, or Sads. He had appeared healthy. There was no obvious disease. For a family, that combination is almost impossible to make sense of. How can someone die from a heart condition when even a post-mortem might find nothing wrong with their heart? The answer starts with something easy to forget: the heart isnt just a pu