Tokyo area condo prices hit half-year record, but signs of slowdown emerge

A knife-wielding intruder is confronted. A car is lifted to free a trapped victim. A pedestrian is pulled from the path of an oncoming vehicle. The scenes described are not from a Hollywood blockbuster, but a promotional clip for a new “guardian” robot created by the Chinese technology firm Unitree Robotics. The footage for the H2-X model, released on Wednesday, underscores a wider shift in strategy by the Hangzhou-based firm, as it focuses on finding practical, real-world uses for its athletic...

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has marked one year in office still riding relatively high in public opinion polls – a heady position that few political analysts anticipated despite geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation. A poll by the conservative-leaning Yomiuri newspaper published on Monday indicated that Takaichi’s cabinet retains the support of 57 per cent of the Japanese public, down two percentage points from the previous survey on September 18 and significantly lower than...

Government agencies and companies around the world shut down websites on Wednesday after two critical flaws came to light involving PHP, a programming language that is the basis for a large share of the internet. PHP sits underneath popular web design platforms, so the weaknesses potentially affect a vast range of websites, from online stores and news outlets to government services. Wiz, one of the security firms that found the issues, estimated that PHP runs about 70 per cent of the world’s...

Last month, the US published the fine print of a US$686 million upgrade deal for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets. The deal is for data link systems, new encryption gear and a refit that keeps the jets flying until 2040. The notice says Pakistan can protect the technology to “substantially the same degree” as the US government. The Pakistan Air Force is also the only declared interested buyer of China’s J-35 stealth fighter, a generational leap in technology. The Chinese jet first flew at the Zhuhai...

The 10-foot-long dusky shark, nicknamed “Bukangi,” was successfully guided back to the open ocean after a third rescue attempt.

Meta Platforms was ordered to pay a groundbreaking US$25 billion civil penalty to the state of New Mexico in a consumer deception case spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The fine issued by state court Judge Francis Mathew is among the largest verdicts issued in US legal history. The award comes after a jury in Santa Fe determined that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection over 43 million times based on widely viewed deceptive statements made by the company and its top...

Leaders of India’s governing coalition are trying to frame the demonstrations as a power grab by traditional political parties rather than a grass-roots youth movement.

General Motors is seeking help from artificial intelligence to keep up with Chinese companies that introduce vehicles very quickly.

As air quality plummeted in India’s largest city, the government said it would act to curtail the haze that blankets the capital every winter.

China’s exports are surging, driven by AI-related technologies. National security-driven export bans could change that.

Draft rules on the export of artificial intelligence technology show how China is trying to balance national security risks with its desire to outpace the United States.

Insights from Matt Kinsella.