Ai, a “genius” chimpanzee who could recognise more than 100 Chinese characters and the English alphabet, has died aged 49, Japanese researchers said.

Ai, which means love in Japanese, took part in studies on perception, learning and memory that advanced our understanding of primate intelligence, the Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior at Kyoto University said in a statement.

She died on Friday from multiple organ failure and ailments related to old age, the school said.

Aside from mastering Chinese characters and the alphabet, Ai could also identify the Arabic numerals from zero to nine and 11 colours, primatologist Tetsuro Matsuzawa said in 2014.

In one study, Ai was presented with a computer screen displaying the Chinese character for pink, along with a pink square and an alternative purple square. The chimpanzee correctly chose the pink square, Matsuzawa said.

When shown an apple, Ai picked out a rectangle, a circle and a dot on the computer screen to draw a “virtual apple”, he said.

Her high ability made her the subject of a number of scholarly papers and media programmes, including studies published in the journal Nature, and earned her the nickname “genius” in popular media.

The chimpanzee from west Africa arrived at the university in 1977, and in 2000, gave birth to a son Ayumu, whose abilities drew attention to studies of parent-child knowledge transfer, Japan’s Kyodo News said.

Ai’s studies helped to establish “an experimental framework for understanding the chimpanzee mind, providing a crucial foundation for considering the evolution of the human mind,” the Center said.

“Ai was highly curious and actively participated in these studies, revealing various aspects of the chimpanzee mind for the first time.”

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has declared himself the “Acting President of Venezuela” days after a US military operation that led to the capture of the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.

The US president shared what appeared to be an edited Wikipedia-style image on his social media platform, Truth Social, portraying himself as “acting president” alongside his official portrait and title.

The post also named US Vice President JD Vance as the “Vice President of Venezuela.”

However, Venezuela’s actual Wikipedia page does not list Trump as acting president, and no international body has recognised or endorsed the claim.

The post followed the US capture and removal of sitting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was flown to New York along with his wife to face federal drug trafficking charges. The operation came after months of US pressure, sanctions, and military activity targeting the oil-rich nation.

Addressing a press conference following the attack, Trump announced: “This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American might and competence in American history.” He further said that Washington would run the oil-rich country until a transition takes place.

During the court hearing on Jan 5, Maduro pleaded not guilty in New York federal court to four criminal counts that include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.

He told the federal judge that he had been “kidnapped” from Venezuela and said: “I’m innocent, I’m not guilty.”

Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres raised concerns about instability in Venezuela and the legality of Trump’s strike, the most dramatic US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. US Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter on Saturday, shattered his security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room.

• Trump considers range of options, including military action against Iran.
• Iran warns it will strike US military and shipping targets if attacked.
• Trump to meet senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss Iran options.

The situation in Iran is “under total control” after violence linked to protests spiked over the weekend, the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday via English translation.

“We are ready for war but also for dialogue,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday in a briefing to foreign ambassadors in Tehran via English translation.

He added that Trump’s warning against Tehran of action should protests turn bloody had motivated “terrorists” to target protesters and security forces in order to invite foreign intervention.

FM Araqchi’s response came after Trump said that he was considering potential military action against Iran, amid mounting mass anti-government protests in the country.

“They’re starting to, it looks like,” Trump said, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed.

“We’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination,” he said.

He also said that Iran’s leadership had called seeking “to negotiate” after his threats of military action.

“The leaders of Iran called” yesterday, Trump said, adding that “a meeting is being set up… They want to negotiate.”

However, Trump added that “we may have to act before a meeting.”

Meanwhile, China said on Monday it hopes the Iranian government and people would be able to overcome the current difficulties the country faces and maintain stability, referring to deadly protests taking place in the oil-rich Middle Eastern nation.

China opposes the use of force or the threat of it in international relations matters, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said when responding to a media question about US President Donald Trump’s threat to intervene with military on behalf of the protesters.

“We have always opposed interference in other countries’ internal affairs and consistently advocated that the sovereignty and security of all nations should be fully protected by international law,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing.

Trump to meet senior advisers

Trump was to meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters on Sunday.

The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.

Earlier, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against “a miscalculation.”

“Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian president calls for ‘national resistance march’

The Iranian government declared three days of national mourning for “martyrs” including members of the security forces killed in two weeks of protests, state television reported on Sunday.

The government described the fight against what it has termed “riots” as an “Iranian national resistance battle against America and the Zionist regime”, using the clerical leadership’s term for Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise.

President Masoud Pezeshkian urged people to take part in a “national resistance march” of nationwide rallies on Monday to denounce the violence, which the government said was committed by “urban terrorist criminals”, state television reported.

Protests have swelled in recent days despite an internet blackout that has lasted more than 72 hours, according to monitor Netblocks. Activists have warned that the shutdown is limiting the flow of information and that the actual toll risks being far higher.

Meanwhile, unrest in Iran has killed more than 500 people, a rights group said on Sunday.

According to its latest figures, from activists inside and outside Iran, the US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest.