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China has pulled far ahead in the race to build humanoid robots, issuing five times as many related patents as the United States over the past five years, Morgan Stanley said in its latest Robot Almanac.In “Robot Almanac, Volume 3: Humanoids & Industrial Robots”, released on Tuesday as part of a six-volume series, Morgan Stanley said China recorded 7,705 humanoid patents over the past five years, compared with 1,561 in the US. Japan ranked next with 1,102, followed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with 1,100.WIPO is a specialised United Nations agency based in Geneva that works to promote…

A recently leaked Pentagon report has projected heavy US losses should it intervene in a Taiwan conflict, highlighting Washington’s growing anxiety over Beijing’s rapidly improving capabilities, according to defence experts.In a classified assessment known as the Overmatch brief, the Pentagon has catalogued the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to destroy American fighter planes, large ships and satellites and identified the US military’s supply chain choke points, according to a December 8 opinion article by The New York Times.The brief is a comprehensive review of US military power prepared by the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment and delivered most recently to top…

The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Saturday, a move that comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. This would mark the second time in recent weeks that the United States has seized a tanker near Venezuela and comes amid a large U.S. military build-up in the region. Noem confirmed the Coast Guard seized a tanker that was last docked in Venezuela. Rubio says not concerned about escalation with Russia over…

Stocks finished higher Friday, lifted by the volatile artificial intelligence trade, leading the market to the upside for the week. The S & P 500 eked out a 0.1% weekly gain, while the Nasdaq gained 0.5%. While logging three positive weeks in the past four, the indexes were still modestly lower for the seasonally strong month of December. It was anxiety over AI funding issues on Oracle ‘s data center projects and broader concerns about the levels of AI-related spending that kept investors guessing lately. .SPX .IXIC 5D mountain S & P 500 and Nasdaq 5-session performance After sharp losses…

It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the fifth part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine how Trump’s strained relationship with farmers in America’s rural heartland may impact the 2026 midterm elections.As a bruising 2025 draws to a close for America’s Democratic Party, the caucus is spotlighting mounting challenges facing farmers in the country’s rural heartland.In a series of mini-documentaries released late this year, the lush green rows of the Midwest are replaced by a stark, dust-blown reality of flecked rust and idle machinery. The ad films eschew political…

Khurram Schehzad, advisor to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, briefed a delegation of international fintech investors from the Middle East on Pakistan’s economic stabilisation and fiscal reforms, Finance Division said on Saturday. The advisor highlighted “Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic stability, reform momentum, and expanding digital investment landscape”, it added. The delegation was led by Dr John Sfakianakis, Chairman, Fintech Solutions Holding, a globally recognised economist and investment strategist, and Kirill Smolin, Chief Executive Officer, Fintech Solutions Holding, an expert in digital technologies and fintech. Finance ministry says Rs6.57tr paid to KP amid debate over federal dues continues The visit was facilitated by…

The air defence system – inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome and America’s proposed Golden Dome – was unveiled in October. Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said T-Dome would guard against “hostile threats” and aimed to intercept aircraft, drones and missiles before they could strike the island.Lai did not offer many technical details, but Defence Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung later suggested the system would focus on integrating the detection and fire-control systems of existing air defence missiles with new technologies like AI, “rather than buying huge quantities of new missiles”.The proposed system was the subject of an analysis in the December…

Two of China’s aircraft carriers, including its biggest and best, have docked at the same naval base near the Yellow Sea, raising suggestions that another dual-carrier exercise is on the horizon.In one of the images purportedly taken on Thursday, the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, docked on the other side of the pier with the Fujian.On Friday, maritime safety authorities in Dalian – about 320km (200 miles) from Qingdao – said a military activity would be held in the Bohai Strait and northern Yellow Sea for one week from 4pm on Sunday.Ships would be prohibited from entering the area, the…

China has objected to India’s efforts to celebrate a 17th-century Dalai Lama well known for his love of poetry, seeing it as an attempt to challenge Beijing’s territorial claims in the region and its control over Tibetan Buddhism, according to experts.India hosted an international symposium on the 6th Dalai Lama in Tawang, his birthplace, from December 3 to 6. Pema Khandu, the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated the event, which was attended by local officials and scholars of Tibetan and Buddhist studies from around the world.Tawang is the core settlement at the eastern end of the disputed territory between…

Powerful, targeted jamming caused a temporary blackout of satellite navigation systems, including GPS and BeiDou, in a major Chinese city on Wednesday, an industry association said on Friday.The disruption affected users in Nanjing, a city of nearly 10 million people and capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, between 4pm and 10pm on Wednesday. Car navigation, food delivery, ride-hailing, and drone control apps relying on satellite positioning experienced a “systemic anomaly” during the period.Users reported severe position drifting and total loss of road data, affecting daily life and the economy. The disruption paralysed location-dependent services, causing ride-hailing orders to plummet…