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By enabling them to ask a question when they’re confused, an algorithm helps robots get better at fetching objects, an important task for future robot assistants. (via WSJ)

Mr. Trump signed the first ban with great fanfare, in front of reporters, at the Pentagon. “We don’t want them here,” Mr. Trump said of Islamist terrorists. “We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people.” Video […]

But worry spans left and right, even if they disagree on exactly how much to blame Mr. Trump, who is seen here as growing more confusing by the day. What to make of a president who, on the same day, denounced the anti-Semitic attacks but also suggested — in remarks widely covered here — that they might have been carried out by his own enemies? Continue reading […]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Bahrain’s Parliament approved a constitutional change on Sunday that will allow military courts to try civilians, the kingdom’s latest move in a mounting crackdown on dissent. Activists warned that the amendment would in effect place the island under an undeclared state of martial law. Loyalists to Bahrain’s monarchy called the change necessary to combat terrorism, and pointed to sporadic low-level unrest since […]

(Image: Apis Cors) San Francisco-based 3D printing startup Apis Cors envisions a future where houses can be printed in just 24 hours. As far-fetched as it may seem, the startup recently demonstrated that it’s possible — and costs significantly less than studio apartment in San Francisco. For a little over $10,000, Apis Cor in partnership with Russian developer PIK was able print out a 38sqm house at […]

While some provisions in the new order have been relaxed, Mr. Trump and immigration hard-liners in the administration are expected to assert that the new version is no less strict because it retains a temporary ban on refugees. Continue reading the main story The senior administration official said Iraq had been removed from the travel ban after Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson had discussions with the […]

“If you really care, you show up,” he said. “And I really care.” Still, during his daylong tour in Israel, Mr. Cuomo seemed to delicately embrace the idea of being an American statesman commenting on broader national themes. He called anti-Semitism a “social cancer” on underlying American ideals and spoke about its economic and social roots as evidenced in the November election. Continue reading the main story […]

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Image: Nick Heath/TechRepublic One of the most useful things about the smartphone is how many different technologies and tools it has consolidated into a single device that fits in your pocket. It replaced the point-and-shoot camera, calculator, alarm clock, watch, MP3 player, radio, ebook reader, GPS, flashlight, compass, address book, photo album, airline ticket, and more. But even as our smartphones grow in size and barely fit […]

The robots are coming. Automation, both in the form of mechanised robots (human or drone-shaped) as well as artificially intelligent software programs, are predicted to get rid of a huge number of jobs over the next five years. A report by Citibank in partnership with the University of Oxford predicted that 47 percent of US jobs are at risk of automation, 35 percent in the UK, and […]

Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 6, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Abu Dhabi Art exhibition But […]

Photo A medical marijuana farm near the northern Israeli city of Safed. Credit Dan Balilty/Associated Press JERUSALEM — Israel, which has been at the forefront of research into medical marijuana and the drug’s commercialization, took a major step on Sunday toward officially decriminalizing its recreational use. At a time when many American states and European countries are loosening marijuana laws, the Israeli cabinet approved a plan that […]

Award-winning ­British artist and designer Zoe Bradley is not your average couturier. She ­rarely meets her clients for ­fittings of their gowns, her pieces are commonly only worn once, and some have been “thrown away” after use. This is because Bradley works exclusively in paper. Such is her pedigree that her clients for one-off commissions have included the likes of enigmatic Icelandic pop singer Björk and late […]

Photo American armored forces patrol on Friday near Manbij in northern Syria. Credit Delil Souleiman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — The United States has increased its forces near the northern Syrian town of Manbij as concerns have grown that fighting could erupt among the complex array of militias and Syrian and Turkish troops who are operating on the crowded battlefield near there. Photographs of American troops […]

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan on Saturday executed 10 prisoners with ties to Islamist extremism who had carried out five shootings and a bombing since 2003, a government spokesman said. Among those killed in the attacks were a British tourist, an outspoken Jordanian critic of Islamist extremism and members of the Jordanian security forces. The executions on Saturday were the first since Jordan began a crackdown on Islamist […]

Singapore will set up a new cybersecurity command centre to combat increasing threats and ensure there are adequate skillsets in cyberdefence. Running 24 by 7, the new facility would encompass four key groups and comprise top-ranking military and armed officers, according to the country’s defence minister Ng Eng Hen. The new Defence Cyber Organisation (DCO) would be manned by some 2,600 soldiers operating within divisions overseeing cybersecurity […]

In Jerusalem — where the governor will spend most if not all of his time outside the airport — he will meet with the mayor, Nir Barkat, and a group of business leaders. Continue reading the main story The impromptu nature of Mr. Cuomo’s trip is not accidental. With a rash of anti-Semitic threats and racist vandalism occurring in New York and nationwide, the governor said he […]

Earlier this week, Japanese TV audiences glimpsed a potentially revolutionary contraption from the Matsue College of Technology that rapidly separates closed shijimi clamshells into those with a live mollusc inside and those without. Cut to footage of a human sorter, expertly performing the same function at a rate of just 90 kgs of shijimi per day and whose job this machine seems destined to replace. In other […]

Photo Syrians in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Damascus, last week. Credit Abd Doumany/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The top United Nations diplomat working to resolve the civil war in Syria reported some progress Friday after nearly 10 days of talks, saying both sides finally had agreed on what he described as a “clear agenda” for further negotiations. The diplomat, […]

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has been convulsed by civil strife for more than two years. In the west, Houthi rebels ousted the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the United States’ main counterterrorism partner in the country, and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition of mostly Sunni Arab countries that back Mr. Hadi. Continue reading the main story In the […]

Ismail, a 20-year-old Emirati, has rarely ever stepped into a bank branch. “You won’t believe I haven’t visited my branch for over a year. All my transactions are done online,” he says, as he clicks an app on his phone to make a payment. “I just paid my bill and that’s how it works for me. All the services are at my fingertips and I save immense […]

Image: Cobalt This week Cobalt came out of stealth mode and introduced a mobile security robot. Just like a real security guard, the robot’s main job is to patrol a building to watch for any unusual activity and report anything suspicious to the appropriate authorities. “A fleet of Cobalt robots is comparable to an extremely competent guard with superhuman capabilities and omnipresent situational awareness across an entire […]

Banksy, who rarely comments on his work and keeps his real identity a secret, has made trips to the West Bank for years and has previously, under cover of night, painted the barrier itself. On a recent trip, he painted a mural on the barrier, just steps from his current project, showing a girl being pulled aloft by balloons. Continue reading the main story Last year, four […]

As NPR pointed out in 2015, “every new automatic device that enters our lives, from automatic doors to escalators, has had to face this awkward moment where people are skeptical and maybe scared.” When the first public railway opened in England in 1825, for example, people thought the human body wasn’t made to withstand travel at speeds of 30 miles per hour for long periods […]

ABU DHABI // A robot arm developed to help stroke patients regain movement may be sent to war zones to protect the lives of bomb disposal crews. Students from UAE University designed the 3D-printed device to help rehabilitation after motion loss and are looking at a wider range of uses. “The idea started with a rehabilitation robot for people who had a stroke and lost their motion,” […]

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