Tokyo stocks end lower as ‘Trump rally’ fizzles

  Tokyo / AFP Tokyo stocks ended lower on Tuesday as markets took a breather following a string of recent gains that propelled the benchmark index to its highest level in 11 months. Japanese shares advanced last week as the yen tumbled against the dollar on expectations that US interest rates will rise under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. “Japanese stocks ...

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VR offers television producers ‘Hollywood in a box’

  Los Angeles / AFP On a soundstage no bigger than a large bedroom a cameraman takes up various angles to film a helicopter that isn’t there, landing in a field that isn’t there either. Until recently, virtual reality was the preserve of the gaming crowd but producers say the technology is on the cusp of a boom which could ...

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Intel to provide computing power for Delphi autonomous cars

  DETROIT / AP Auto parts and electronics maker Delphi Corp. has signed a deal with Intel to buy high-powered computer processors for Delphi’s future autonomous-vehicle systems. Delphi says Intel’s added computing capacity will be needed as autonomous-car systems gather and store more and more information while expanding their ability to deal with situations on real roads. In August, Delphi ...

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Shout in other languages through new Japan megaphone

  Bloomberg Japan’s obsession with keeping order and tech prowess has reached its natural conclusion with an intelligent megaphone that can issue commands in Chinese, English and Korean. Panasonic Corp. recently unveiled the device—essentially a smartphone paired with a handheld loudspeaker—betting that police, event organizers and transport staff seeking to control crowds will be eager to get their hands on ...

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BMW hides technology under the hood in Tepid 5-Series redesign

  Bloomberg BMW AG’s new 5-Series sedan can drive itself at speeds as fast as 210 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, turn up the radio with the wave of a hand and warn other cars of fog. But you might not know it has all that gadgetry by looking at it. While BMW has packed one of its biggest profit ...

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Heaven and hull for kayaking monk

  Nagano / AFP Rising silently before dawn to slip on his monastic robes and begin the solemn duties of a Buddhist monk, Kazuki Yazawa is not your average Olympic athlete. Bowing his shaved head in prayer five times a day as part at the ancient Zenkoji Daikanjin Temple, Yazawa is so committed to his faith very few people would ...

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Art of carving ships’ figureheads

Harriersand / DPA Claus Hartmann works with enormous logs of up to 4 metres in length. First he traces out his design on the wood and then he takes a chainsaw and begins to cut out the head and shoulders of a figurehead for a ship. After a week of work in his garden on the river island of Harriersand ...

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Mubadala, HNA Group ink pact to expand collaboration

  ABU DHABI / WAM Mubadala Development Company and the HNA Group, a global Fortune 500 company specialising in tourism, logistics and financial services, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand investment collaboration between the two sides. Following a series of senior leadership meetings in Abu Dhabi, the companies agreed to explore co-development and co-investment opportunities across a range ...

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Cubans throng Revolution Square to pay homage to Castro

  WEST PALM BEACH / AP Throngs of Cubans began streaming to Havana’s iconic Revolution Square to pay tribute to Fidel Castro on Monday, kicking off an emotional, week-long farewell to the divisive Cold War titan. Mourners, many of whom had lined up before dawn, began filling the square as soon as it opened with a salvo of 21 cannon ...

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Kazakh protesters get 5-yr jail after land unrest

  Astana / AFP A court in Kazakhstan on Monday convicted two men of sowing unrest around a controversial land reform and sentenced each to five years in jail. Max Bokaev and Talgat Ayan were both arrested in April as protests against proposed land code amendments rippled across the vast Central Asian country, threatening the 27-year rule of strongman President Nursultan ...

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