TOKYO: Japanese scientists have used human cells to develop an equivalent to living skin that can be attached to robotic surfaces to flash a realistic — if creepy — smile. The University of Tokyo researchers published their findings this week along with a video of the gooey-looking pink material being stretched into an unsettling grin. They used a “skin-forming cell-laden gel” to create a “robot covered with living skin”, their study in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science said. The biohybrid robot specialists hope the technology will one day play a role in the invention of androids with human-like appearances and abilities. “We also hope…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
NAIROBI: A climbdown by Kenya’s president over plans to raise taxes brought no end to nationwide protests on Thursday, with at least two people reported killed in clashes near the capital Nairobi and others shot by police elsewhere. A day after President William Ruto abandoned a tax hike bill, demonstrators in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and other cities called for him to step down, although crowds were smaller than earlier in the week. Police fired teargas at dozens of protesters in Nairobi and blocked off roads to the presidential palace. In the town of Homa Bay in western Kenya, police said officers had shot at…
WASHINGTON: A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, US space agencies said. There were no immediate details on what caused the break-up of the RESURS-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which was declared dead in 2022. US Space Command, tracking the debris swarm, said there was no immediate threat to other satellites. The event took place at around 1600 GMT on Wednesday, Space Command said. It occurred…
DUBAI: Two hardline candidates dropped out of Iran’s presidential election on Thursday, a day ahead of the landmark vote, and called for unity among forces supporting the country’s Islamic revolution, state media reported. Iranian’s tightly controlled election on Friday follows Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash last month, with the outcome expected to influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the top decision-maker in the clerically-ruled state. Tehran’s mayor Alireza Zakani and head of the Martyrs’ Foundation Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi exited the race, state media said. They were expected to win just 1.7 per cent and 2pc of votes, respectively, according to a…
GAZA STRIP: Palestinians fled eastern Gaza City on Thursday under heavy bombardment as the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for the area it had previously declared clear of Hamas fighters. The flare-up in the northern Gaza Strip’s Shujaiya district, which witnesses and medics said caused numerous casualties, comes as fears grow of a wider regional conflagration involving Israel and Hezbollah, a Hamas ally. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, on a visit to Washington to discuss the Gaza conflict and ways to avoid broader conflict in the Middle East, warned Hezbollah that fighting on a massive scale would send Lebanon…
President Joe Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance while his Republican rival Donald Trump battered him with a series of often false attacks at their debate on Thursday, as the two oldest presidential candidates ever exchanged personal insults ahead of the November election. The two men traded barbs on abortion, immigration, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, their handling of the economy and even their golf games as they each sought to shake up what opinion polls show has been a virtually tied race for months. Biden’s allies tried to put a brave face on, and two White House officials said Biden…
Iranians voted on Friday in a presidential election where a lone reformist aimed for a breakthrough against a divided conservative camp. Around 61 million Iranians were eligible to vote in the election called after the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. The Guardian Council, which vets candidates, allowed the reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, to run against a conservative field dominated by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. No major reformist or moderate candidates were approved for Iran’s last presidential election three years ago. Also left in contention is cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi after two ultraconservatives,…
Bolivian President Luis Arce on Thursday denied conspiring with his former army chief, who was arrested after deploying troops and tanks to the heart of the capital La Paz, where they tried to break down a door of the presidential palace. Fourteen civilians who opposed the coup were wounded by gunfire, according to the authorities. Some had to be hospitalized and operated on, Luis Arce told the press. Authorities paraded handcuffed detainees in front of the media on Thursday, announcing 17 arrests including ex-army chief Juan Jose Zuniga, and riot police kept close watch over government buildings a day after…
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Maritime Affairs has turned down a suggestion put forward by members of the Senate Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs for administrative merger of two key ports to reduce unnecessary administrative expenses and streamline their affairs. The committee meeting, held here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Vawda, discussed development and expansion of the maritime sector. Some members of the committee suggested a feasibility study related to the merger of Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim Authority (PQA). Members stressed that apparently, it would be a costly affair to operate the two institutions as…
ISLAMABAD: In the first five months of this year, as many as 254 automobiles and 1,675 motorbikes were either snatched or stolen from the federal capital, with Suzuki Mehran and Honda 125 being the most stolen four- and two-wheelers in the federal territory. Police record shows that Suzuki, including 71 Mehran, was atop the list of stolen cars with 104 vehicles, followed by Toyota with 76, and 22 Honda cars. Besides these three companies, luxury vehicles, such as Mercedes, were also stolen by the criminals. Police officials told Dawn that vehicles which were highly sought after in the black market were mostly…
