Japan Today: A cafe will open in Tokyo’s Akasaka district in November featuring robot waiters remotely controlled from home by people with severe physical disabilities. The cafe, which will open on weekdays from Nov 26 to Dec 7, will deploy OriHime-D robots controlled by disabled people with conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of…
ChannelNewsAsia: From clowns and youths to caregivers, the folks of Arnsberg – where 1 in 5 residents is over 65 – show what social inclusiveness can do in the face of a worrying trend. The first in a CNA Insider series on how an ageing Germany is leading the way in long-term care. At 98…
ScinceDaily: Society has encouraged people to be more physically active, yet we are actually becoming less active. This new study offers a possible explanation: Our brains may be innately attracted to sedentary behavior. Electroencephalograms showed that test subjects had to summon extra brain resources when trying to avoid physical inactivity. The researchers asked volunteers to…
MEMO: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has asked the Cypriot government to reject the proposal of operating a water passage connecting it with the Gaza Strip, Quds Press reported yesterday. An informed source told Quds Press that the Chief of PA Intelligence Services Majed Faraj met with his Cypriot counterpart to discuss the issue, adding that…
Quartz India: India may have lifted at least 170 million people out of poverty since 1990, but new research suggests overall upward mobility has barely changed since the 1950s. Instead, Indian men born to fathers in the bottom of the socioeconomic distribution are just as likely to stay in the bottom today as they were…
Hossen Sohel: Oppo-sition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih declared victory early yesterday in the Maldives’ contentious presidential election, which was widely seen as a referendum on the island nation’s young democracy, reports AP.The win was unexpected, and Solih’s supporters flooded the streets, hugging one another, waving the Maldivian flag, cheering and honking horns in celebration. The…
Kabir Humayun: BNP has called for a demonstration rally in the city for Thursday. Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, party’s senior Joint Secretary General, announced the programme from a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office yesterday, reports The Daily Star. “We will hold the rally at Suhrawardy Udyan or at Paltan, near our office, on Thursday….
The Guardian: People who spurn alcohol tend to be miserable social misfits, researchers have suggested. Teetotallers had higher levels of depression and anxiety than moderate drinkers and were likely to lack social skills, according to a study of 40,000 Norwegians by British and Norwegian scientists published in the journal Addiction. The happiest people were those who…
BDnews24: The 31-year-old Mathews was renamed as Sri Lanka’s limited-overs ski pper in January, six months after the all-rounder relinquished the captaincy for both red and white-ball formats following a home series defeat to Zimbabwe. Mathews, however, was unable to revive the team’s fortunes in his latest stint, which came to an unceremonious end after…
BBC: Singer Rihanna has said she “couldn’t be more proud” after being given a new ambassadorial role by the government of Barbados. The artist, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was named “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary” for her home country on Thursday. The role involves promoting education, tourism and investment. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley…