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Robotic aid for people with quadriplegia

  BERLIN / AP Scientists have developed a mind-controlled robotic hand that allows people with certain types of spinal injuries to perform everyday tasks such as using a fork or drinking from a cup. The low-cost device was tested in Spain on six people with quadriplegia affecting their ability to grasp or manipulate objects. By wearing a cap that measures ...

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Fiat Chrysler to reveal new full electric-vehicle at CES

  Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will reveal a fully electric vehicle based on the Chrysler Pacifica minivan at CES in Las Vegas next month as the carmaker moves to get in step with the industry’s shift toward electric vehicles. The Italian-American carmaker will show the model at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show and the world’s largest ...

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Decoding secrets of ancient rock art

  Fez, Morocco / AFP An Iranian archaeologist has spent years in an almost single-handed quest across the country’s hills and desert plains to uncover ancient rock art that could be among the oldest in the world. Now he hopes that renewed ties with the West after years of international isolation could help decipher its mysteries. Despite its rough beauty, ...

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Acolytes of Pina Bausch keep her dance in motion

  Berlin / AFP The dance company that legendary German choreographer Pina Bausch, who died in 2009, built into one of the world’s most acclaimed is doing its utmost to foster her moving legacy. Beloved of fellow artists and seen as a visionary by her peers in the dance world, Bausch mixed dance and theatre to produce a tumult of ...

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The Pentagon versus the welfare state

  Any reporter who’s written about the federal budget knows that there’s a surefire solution to every problem. It’s called “fraud, waste and abuse.” You want to end budget deficits? Just eliminate all the “fraud, waste and abuse” in the $4 trillion budget. The same is true for cutting taxes or raising spending. Attacking fraud and waste is virtuous and ...

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A better theory to explain financial bubbles

  What causes asset bubbles? This question is the great white whale of finance theory. We know that asset prices are given to spectacular rises and falls over short periods of time. Answering this question is hugely important, not just for people’s pensions and retirement, but for the whole economy, since crashes in asset prices can leave growth in the ...

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South Korea’s susceptibility to scandal

  The impeachment of South Korean leader Park Geun-hye should herald the end of a painful and drawn-out political scandal. As they move forward, Koreans should be thinking about how to avoid another one. With Friday’s 234-to-56 vote in the National Assembly, Park’s powers as president have been suspended. For weeks, she tried to fend off public anger over influence-peddling ...

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Park’s removal spawns political uncertainty

  Tens of thousands celebrated the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. The motion to impeach was adopted by 234 votes to 56, easily securing the required two-thirds majority in the 300-seat chamber. It triggered wild celebrations among hundreds of anti-Park activists gathered outside the National Assembly. The protesters called the impeachment a new beginning in South Korean politics. ...

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In 2017, watch Merkel pivot to the right

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been designated the new leader of the Western world on the strength of her values. Now, watch her lift that mantle for a deft feint to the right. This week Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union re-elected her as its leader by an impressive 89.5 percent. That’s higher than the 88.6 percent Shavkat Mirziyoyev received in ...

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Unicredit’s Mustier must be ruthless

  Unicredit Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Mustier is scheduled to present his five-month review of the bank’s strategy. To salvage a bank that’s seen its market value drop to just 13 billion euros ($14 billion) from almost 40 billion euros in the space of just eighteen months, Mustier needs to become best-in-class — and that means aggressively shrinking his bank ...

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