The recent attack by the computer virus WannaCry infected more than 230,000 computers in more than 150 countries. It is not clear who is behind it, but the attack was hardly unexpected. Months earlier, award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney released his documentary “Zero Days,” in which he warned of massive cyberattacks and their devastating impact on our way of life. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.
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Month: June 2017
A new study is providing reassuring news for breast cancer survivors who want to have children. Faith Lapidus reports.
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China’s open policy toward technology firms is rapidly transforming its society into a Western-style consumer environment, ever hungry for new gadgets. As a casual visitor at this year’s Shanghai Consumer Electronics Show could easily see, robots created the highest interest. VOA’s George Putic reports.
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Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand sought to distance itself from a Chinese manufacturer that has come under scrutiny after activists investigating labor conditions there were detained, saying the company last made its products three months ago.
In a statement released Wednesday, the brand’s president, Abigail Klem, said Ivanka Trump shoes, which are made by licensing partner Mark Fisher, have not been produced since March at the Huajian Group factory where alleged labor abuses occurred. She added “our licensee works with many footwear production factories and all factories are required to operate within strict social compliance regulations.”
But it is unclear whether that was really the end of the relationship.
Undercover workers
China Labor Watch, a New York nonprofit, began scrutinizing Ivanka Trump supply chains more than a year ago, according to Li Qiang, the group’s executive director. Three China Labor Watch investigators went into Huajian Group factories undercover posing as workers in March, April and May of this year and found Ivanka Trump merchandise inside, Li said.
He said the investigators also found evidence of planned production, namely an April production schedule indicating pending orders for nearly 1,000 pairs of Ivanka Trump shoes due by the end of last month.
Now all three men are in jail, accused of using illegal recording devices to disrupt Huajian’s business. The U.S. State Department and Amnesty International have spoken out against the arrests. So far, Ivanka Trump and her brand have not.
Two days off a month?
China Labor Watch laid out its initial allegations in an April letter to Ivanka Trump. It said workers regularly put in more than 15 hours a day, with just two days off a month. It said most were paid by the piece, taking home just $363 a month for 300 hours of work, and that managers verbally abuse workers.
“China Labor Watch expects you, as an assistant to the president and an advocate for women’s rights, to urge your brand’s supplier factories to improve their conditions,” Li wrote in the letter. “Your words and deeds can make a difference in these factory workers’ lives.”
The Huajian Group says the undercover activists were out to steal trade secrets and denies the allegations of poor working conditions.
Global companies take a hit
Some argue that the arrest of independent monitors threatens to hamper the ability of global companies to adequately monitor their Chinese suppliers. China has rebuffed the State Department’s request to release the activists, saying the men will be dealt with under China’s own sovereign laws.
China has swept up hundreds of human rights lawyers and labor activists in recent years and has scrutinized groups with foreign ties, like China Labor Watch, much more closely.
Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman, said this week that the U.S. is concerned by “the pattern of arrests and detentions.” Labor activists, she added, are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese law.
Days before the first supertanker carrying 140,000 tons of Chinese-bound crude oil arrived in Myanmar’s Kyauk Pyu port, local officials confiscated Nyein Aye’s fishing nets.
The 36-year-old fisherman was among hundreds banned from fishing a stretch of water near the entry point for a pipeline that pumps oil 770 kilometers (480 miles) across Myanmar to southwest China and forms a crucial part of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” project to deepen its economic links with Asia and beyond.
“How can we make a living if we’re not allowed to catch fish?” said Nyein Aye, who bought a bigger boat just four months ago but now says his income has dropped by two-thirds because of a decreased catch resulting from restrictions on when and where he can fish. Last month he joined more than 100 people in a protest demanding compensation from pipeline operator Petrochina.
The pipeline is part of the nearly $10 billion Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, a scheme at the heart of fast-warming Myanmar-China relations. Its success is crucial for the Southeast Asian nation’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Embattled Suu Kyi needs a big economic win to stem criticism that her first year in office has seen little progress on reform. China’s support is also key to stabilizing their shared border, where a spike in fighting with ethnic armed groups threatens the peace process Suu Kyi says is her top priority.
China’s state-run CITIC Group, the main developer of the Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, says it will create 100,000 jobs in the northwestern state of Rakhine, one of Myanmar’s poorest regions.
Local suspicion
But many local people say the project is being rushed through without consultation or regard for their way of life.
Suspicion of China runs deep in Myanmar, and public hostility due to environmental and other concerns has delayed or derailed Chinese mega-projects in the country in the past.
China says the Kyauk Pyu development is based on “win-win” cooperation between the two countries.
Since Beijing signaled earlier this year that it might abandon the huge Myitsone Dam hydroelectric project in Myanmar, it has pushed for concessions on other strategic undertakings — including the Bay of Bengal port at Kyauk Pyu, which gives it an alternative route for energy imports from the Middle East.
Internal planning documents reviewed by Reuters and more than two dozen interviews with officials show work on contracts and land acquisition began before the completion of studies on the impact on local people and the environment, which legal experts said could breach development laws.
The Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone will cover more than 4,200 acres (17 square kilometers). It includes the $7.3 billion deep sea port and a $2.3 billion industrial park, with plans to attract industries such as textiles and oil refining.
A Reuters tally based on internal planning documents and census data suggests 20,000 villagers, most of whom now depend on agriculture and fishing, are at risk of being relocated to make way for the project.
“There will be a huge project in the zone and many buildings will be built, so people who live in the area will be relocated,” said Than Htut Oo, administrator of Kyauk Pyu, who also sits on the management committee of the economic zone.
He said the government has not publicly announced the plan, because it didn’t want to “create panic” while it was still negotiating with the Chinese developer.
Twin signings
In April, Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw signed two agreements on the pipeline and the Kyauk Pyu port with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as Beijing pushed to revive a project that had stalled since its inception in 2009.
The agreements call for environmental and social assessments to be carried out as soon as possible.
While the studies are expected to take up to 15 months and have not yet started, CITIC has asked Myanmar to finalize contract terms by the end of this year so that the construction can start in 2018, said Soe Win, who leads the Myanmar management committee of the zone.
Such a schedule has alarmed experts who fear the project is being rushed.
“The environmental and social preparations for a project of these dimensions take years to complete and not months,” said Vicky Bowman, head of the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business and a former British ambassador to the country.
CITIC said in an email to Reuters it would engage “a world-renowned consulting firm” to carry out assessments.
Although large-scale land demarcation for the project has not yet started, 26 families have been displaced from farmland because of acquisitions that took place in 2014 for the construction of two dams, according to land documents and the landowners.
Experts say this violates Myanmar’s environmental laws.
“Carrying out land acquisition before completing environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans is incompatible with national law,” said Sean Bain, Myanmar-based legal consultant for the International Commission of Jurists, a human rights watchdog group.
School, development funds
CITIC says it will build a vocational school to provide training for skills needed by companies in the economic zone. It has given $1.5 million to local villages to develop businesses.
Reuters spoke to several villagers who had borrowed small sums from the village funds set up with this money.
“The CITIC money was very useful for us because most people in the village need money,” said fisherman Thar Sai Aung, who borrowed $66 to buy new nets.
Chinese investors say they also plan to spend $1 million during the first five years of the development, and $500,000 per year thereafter to improve local living standards.
But villagers in Kyauk Pyu say they fear the project would not contribute to the development of the area because the operating companies employ mostly Chinese workers.
From more than 3,000 people living on the Maday island, the entry point for the oil pipeline, only 47 have landed a job with the Petrochina, while the number of Chinese workers stood at more than double that number, data from labor authorities showed.
Petrochina did not respond to requests for comment. In a recent report it said Myanmar citizens made up 72 percent of its workforce in the country overall and it would continue to hire locally.
“I don’t think there’s hope for me to get a job at the zone,” said fisherman Nyein Aye. He had been turned down 12 times for job applications with the pipeline operator. “Chinese companies said they would develop our village and improve our livelihoods, but it turned out we are suffering every day.”
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Shining their flashlights into the darkest corners of Singapore, a small group of ant hunters searches for an elusive winged insect.
With luck, they will find a queen ant to lay eggs and start a colony under the watchful eye of a collector.
“You can search for a few hours without finding anything at all. So, it’s really luck,” Leland Tan, 14, said after he hit the jackpot, and found two queen ants in one night.
Singapore, a tropical city-state home to more than 40 ant species, has a small but growing community of ant collectors.
Ants Singapore, a Facebook group that has grown to 380 members since last December, aims to connect “ant lovers and even those who are interested in keeping ants.”
Followers share tips on catching and breeding ants, do-it-yourself ant farms and links to videos such as the giant killer ants in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
While most ants in Singapore are harmless, the insects are often regarded as a nuisance. That is something Chris Chan is hoping to change.
“I want people to look at ants differently,” said Chan, a 29-year-old Uber driver and member of Ants Singapore.
“Now, a lot of people still think that ants are pests, but with enough education, I can educate them that keeping ants can be safe,” he told Reuters Television.
Chan lives across the border in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru with his girlfriend, her family and up to 30 ant colonies living in 10 formicariums, or ant farms.
Helen Teh, the mother of Chan’s girlfriend, said she was curious why the couple needed so much sand and wood in their home.
“He said, ‘Oh Auntie, I’m keeping ants,'” Teh said, recalling her initial surprise.
“Later, when I knew it is something that he loves … I said, ‘It’s no harm done,'” she said.
Chan has turned to social media to promote his hobby.
He has started a YouTube channel for new collectors and answers questions about ant care on the group’s Facebook page.
Chan also organizes ant-hunting trips to teach people how to find and catch the tiny insects that he says can hold his attention for hours.
“Some people can stare at an aquarium for hours. Same, just like my ants,” Chan said.
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A small U.S. biotech has successfully regenerated skin and stimulated hair growth in pigs with burns and abrasions, paving the way for a scientific breakthrough that could lead to the regeneration of fully functional human skin.
Salt Lake City-based PolarityTE Inc’s patented approach to tissue engineering is designed to use a patient’s own healthy tissue to re-grow human skin for the treatment of burns and wounds.
Despite recent advances in reconstructive surgery, plastic surgeons cannot give burn victims what they require the most — their skin.
Current approaches to treat serious burns are “severely limited” in their effectiveness and in some cases, are rather expensive, PolarityTE’s founder and CEO Denver Lough said in an interview.
Epicel, a skin graft widely used in burn units that is sold by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Vericel Corp, does not result in fully thick and functional skin — which is PolarityTE’s objective.
PolarityTE conducted its pre-clinical study on wounded pigs at an animal facility in Utah. The use of therapy resulted in scar-less healing, growth of hair follicles, complete wound coverage and the progressive regeneration of all skin layers, the company said.
As pig skin is more complex and robust than human skin, successful swine data is typically seen as a precursor to effectiveness in human trials.
PolarityTE expects to begin a human trial later this year and the cell therapy could hit the market 12 to 18 months thereafter, said Lough, who served as senior plastic surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital before creating PolarityTE last year.
“If clinically successful, the PolarityTE platform could deliver the first scientific breakthrough in wound healing and reconstructive surgery in nearly half a century,” Lough said.
The technology also has the potential to develop fully-functional tissues, including bone, muscle, cartilage and the liver, PolarityTE said.
The company said it would “be opportunistic with financing,” to fund upcoming trials but declined to provide details.
PolarityTE is backed by pharma industry veteran Phil Frost, currently the chief executive of OPKO Health Inc, and a small number of other industry executives.
Shares of the company rose as much as 16.5 percent to $20.98 on the Nasdaq, but pared most gains to trade up 1.6 percent in the midday session on Thursday.
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Big automakers are rushing to launch self-driving cars as early as 2021, but the industry’s major players are moving slowly when it comes to widespread deployment of a less expensive crash prevention technology that regulators say could prevent thousands of deaths and injuries every year.
Nissan said on Thursday it would make automatic braking systems standard on an estimated 1 million 2018 model cars and light trucks sold in the United States, compact sport utility vehicles, the Altima sedan, Murano and Pathfinder SUVs, Leaf electric car, Maxima sedan and Sentra small car.
Nissan sold about 1.6 million vehicles in the United States last year.
Rival Toyota has said it will make automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all its U.S. models by the end of this year.
No rush
Overall, however, most automakers are not rushing to make automatic brake systems part of the base cost of mainstream vehicles sold in the competitive U.S. market. The industry has come under pressure from regulators, lawmakers and safety advocates to adopt the technology, which can slow or stop a vehicle even if the driver fails to act.
So far, only about 17 percent of models tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety offered standard collision-avoiding braking. Many of the models with standard collision-avoiding brake systems are luxury vehicles made by European or Japanese manufacturers.
The systems require more sensors and software than conventional brakes, and automakers said they need time to engineer the systems into vehicles as part of more comprehensive makeovers.
Last year, 20 automakers reached a voluntary agreement with U.S. auto safety regulators to make collision-avoiding braking systems standard equipment by 2022.
Safety advocates have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin a regulatory process to require the technologies, but the agency has said the voluntary agreement will result in faster deployment than a formal rule-making process. NHTSA says the technology could eliminate one-fifth of crashes.
Mark Rosekind, who then was NHTSA’s administrator, told Reuters last year that with 5 million crashes occurring per year, a “20 percent reduction means 1 million less. Those are big numbers.”
Investment possibilities
But customers would most likely experience the benefits of the technology infrequently. The technology to enable a car to drive itself is far more costly, but industry executives foresee autonomous vehicles driving revenue-generating transportation services that could be attractive to investors.
General Motors offers automatic braking as optional equipment on about two-thirds of its models. The company did not say Thursday how many vehicles have the technology as standard equipment. GM has not made public its plans to make the technology standard across its lineup.
“Any time you have a voluntary agreement you have a spectrum of implementation,” Jeff Boyer, GM’s vice president for safety, told Reuters this week. Asked when GM would roll out standard automatic braking, Boyer said, “Let’s just say we honor the voluntary commitment.”
Ford “has a plan to standardize over time,” the company said in a statement Thursday. Currently, automatic braking systems are optional on several 2017 Ford and Lincoln models, and will be offered on certain 2018 models, including the best-selling F-150 pickup truck.
Fiat Chrysler offers automatic braking as optional equipment in seven model lines, using cameras and radar to detect hazards ahead. The company has said it will meet the 2022 target for making the systems standard.
More expected
As 2018 models roll out during the second half of this year, more vehicles will offer automatic braking, said Dean McConnell, an executive with Continental AG’s North American business.
Continental’s automatic braking technology systems will be on certain Nissan models.
“We see it accelerating,” he said. “It varies. There are some [automakers] that are being aggressive” and others that are waiting.
Nissan did not disclose how much prices for vehicles would rise to offset the cost of standard automatic emergency braking.
Currently, Nissan, like most carmakers, offers automatic braking as part of a bundle of optional safety and technology features.
A 2017 Nissan Sentra compact sedan has a starting price of $17,875. To buy the car equipped with automatic braking requires spending another $6,820 for a Sentra SR with a premium technology package.
German auto technology suppliers Continental and Robert Bosch GmbH will supply the systems, Nissan said.
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An Indian business has launched the country’s first solar satellite television service, bringing clean-energy-powered entertainment to households and businesses through a pay-as-you-go payment scheme.
Simpa Networks, which began operations in 2011, is one of thousands of enterprises in India tapping into the renewable-energy market in a country where one-fifth of the 1.3 billion population has no access to electricity.
With the majority of those without power from poor communities in the countryside, the company focuses on selling solar-powered products such as LED lights, phone-charging points and fans on financing to rural homes and shops in northern India.
“We see a tremendous opportunity in rural areas where demand for energy is growing even faster than supply,” Simpa Networks CEO Piyush Mathur said in a statement.
“Rooftop solar has a role to play in both off-grid and on-grid areas,” Mathur said. “In many cases it’s the fastest and least expensive way to get power into the homes and businesses in rural areas.”
“Simpa Magic TV” provides over 100 satellite channels with content that includes comedy, news, movies and music, and it costs 25,000 rupees ($390) — the same as a nonsolar equivalent.
Solar panel, TV, battery, controller
The system, which includes an 80-watt solar panel, 20-inch energy-efficient LED television, battery and solar charge controller, is available on a repayment plan of up to 36 months. Interest applies, but the company declined to provide approximate rates.
Customers make an initial payment to have the system installed then use a pay-as-you-go model for the electricity. The payments contribute to total cost and, once fully paid, the customer owns the system and the electricity is free.
The service, which was launched Wednesday, has about 350 customers so far in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Simpa uses its “SmartPanel” technology, which enables remote monitoring and control of the rooftop solar panel. Customers prepay for the energy; the SmartPanel delivers power until the prepaid credits expire, and the customer must then recharge.
The company said the payment plan is effective because such technology would be unaffordable for most rural families. With no credit history, most are considered “unbankable” and would not be able to access loans easily, it said.
Given solar television service is new and few know how to use and maintain it, the company said, Simpa has trained rural solar technicians who are responsible for installation, service and monthly collection of payments.
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Poaching and wildlife trafficking have left some of Africa’s most iconic species endangered. The loss of the animals has cost African countries critical tourism revenue. But what if those national parks could get a second chance? The nonprofit African Parks has been trying to give just that. Lameck Masina reports for VOA from Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi which just welcomed some new inhabitants – four cheetahs relocated there by African Parks from South Africa.
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Indonesia, the world’s biggest archipelago has called for the United Nations to establish illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, known under its acronym of IUUF, as a transnational crime. The proposal has the support of the president of the U.N. General Assembly but there’s still a long way to go before member countries adopt it. Patsy Widakuswara reports from the U.N. headquarters in New York.
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Poaching and wildlife trafficking have endangered some of Africa’s most iconic species and the loss of the animals has cost African countries critical tourism revenue.
But at least one national park is getting a second chance. Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi has just welcomed some new inhabitants – four cheetahs relocated there from South Africa courtesy of the nonprofit African Parks group.
Park rangers lured the first cheetah out into its new home with a fresh carcass. It’s the first cheetah Malawi has had in the wild in two decades.
The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world, but even that couldn’t protect the species in Malawi. Poachers killed off the cheetahs’ prey and ultimately the cheetahs themselves.
“They were last seen in Malawi about 20 years ago,” said Craig Reid of the Liwonde National Park. “Specifically in Liwonde area, they have been absent for over a 100 years. So, as part of the rehabilitation of the park, we feel it is very important to bring back the cheetah to Malawi and Liwonde specifically.”
A total of four cheetahs – two males and two females – were airlifted to Liwonde from South Africa in May.
Before being released into the park, the cheetahs spent their first three weeks in an enclosure to allow them to become acclimated to their new surroundings.
Liwonde National Park has a population of 12,000 large mammals. These include bush buck, water buffalo and antelope.
The cheetah is the first large predator to be reintroduced to the park.
“We have a very healthy animal base and now that the protection measures are in place as we have got a very good law enforcement in the park,” Reid said. “The numbers of animals are increasing very rapidly and, as a result to that, there are more than enough animals to provide for some carnivorous animals such as the cheetah”.
Officials are holding meetings with communities surrounding the park.
“Those people are likely to face danger,” said David Nongoma of African Parks. “And our message to the community is to say that…they refrain from entering the park and stop doing what they used to be doing because these animals are definitely very dangerous. They can kill a human being.”
Park officials say they also plan to reintroduce leopards and lions to restore the park’s lost glory.
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The U.S. job market is getting stronger, according to Labor Department data published Thursday.
The number of Americans signing up for unemployment assistance fell by 10,000, to a nationwide total of 245,000. Experts say readings below 300,000 indicate a healthy job market, where layoffs are scarce and employers are trying to hang on to workers.
Layoffs have been below this key level now for 118 weeks, the longest such stretch since the early 1970s.
The U.S. unemployment rate is reported separately and stands at a low 4.3 percent. The economy had a net gain of 138,000 jobs in one month. The rate of hiring has slowed recently, as employers say they are having trouble finding people with the right skills.
Next week, leaders of the U.S. central bank will consider the job market and other aspects of the world’s largest economy as they debate how soon and by how much to raise interest rates. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to boost the benchmark interest rate by one-quarter of one percent.
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Someday, your immune system may be pressed into service to fight heart disease. Researchers have discovered that a simple sugar can stimulate immune system “clean up” cells to reduce disease-causing plaque in arteries.
Marcophages are the garbage men of the body. These immune system cells mop up cellular toxins and debris that are produced through cells’ normal functioning.
But scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis wondered, what if macrophages could be pressed into service to eliminate or degrade the accumulation of plaque as well? The fatty substance collects inside blood vessels and is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.
Cardiology researcher Babak Razani has pondered that possibility. “If you, you could imagine this, that you could somehow manipulate it to rev it up, to stimulate its function, then you could make a macrophage into a super-macrophage, one that’s really stimulated to degrade.”
In a two-part study published in the journal Nature Communications, Razani and colleagues described how they manipulated and activated a genetic molecule called TFEB that goes into the nucleus of macrophages, supercharging their housekeeping skills inside cells.
Researchers then showed that a simple sugar, called trehalose, stimulated macrophages in the same way. In experiments with mice prone to atherosclerotic plaques, injection of the sugar molecule decreased plaque size by 30 percent.
“So that’s what we found here,” Razani reports, “that this simple, natural compound, that is very safe, could be very atherogenic as therapy for cardiovascular disease.”
In their unaltered state, macrophages try to fix damaged arteries by cleaning up cellular waste, including misshapen proteins, excess fat and dysfunction cellular structures called organelles.
But Razani says they eventually become overwhelmed by the task in people with atherosclerotic plaques, contributing to the debris problem that leads to inflammation and more disease.
Razani said supercharging macrophages with trehalose, so they resist damage and are able to continue their housekeeping function, offers a potential treatment for plaques, in addition to cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Because it’s a natural substance found in yeast, mushrooms and crustaceans, Razani said trehalose is completely safe.
Investigations found the sugar is broken down and doesn’t work when swallowed. Trehalose reduced the size of arterial plaques only when injected into mice. Other sugars did not have any effect.
So the challenge for researchers now is to find a way to turn trehalose into a form that is effective in humans to fight heart disease and possibly other health conditions like fatty liver disease and diabetes.
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NASA has unveiled a concept of a Mars rover vehicle that is set to be launched to the Red Planet in 2020.
The flashy Mars 2020 rover, which some say resembles a vehicle from the Batman movie series, was unveiled at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of its “Summer of Mars” event.
The rover runs on an electric motor that gets its power from solar panels feeding a 700-volt battery.
The rover can separate in the middle with the front focused on scouting and navigation. The rear section is a laboratory that can conduct a wide variety of research, including drilling to try to find evidence of past life on Mars as well as to ascertain whether Mars has water and oxygen that could one day be exploited by human astronauts. It could return core samples to Earth.
While this rover will not actually go to Mars, NASA says some of the components may make it onto the rover that is actually sent to the Martian surface.
Parker Brothers Concepts of Port Canaveral, Florida, built the 8.5 meter long rover incorporating input from NASA subject matter experts. It was commissioned without using taxpayer money, according to NASA.
After being exhibited in Florida, the concept rover will be displayed “at several locations” from July to August.
The “Summer of Mars” aims to provide an overview of NASA’s studies of the planet.
“It’s an all-encompassing effort to review the history of our efforts to explore Mars and look ahead to what is being planned,” said Rebecca Shireman, assistant manager of public relations for the Kennedy visitor complex. “We hope this will encourage young people to want to learn more about being a part of the effort to go to Mars.”
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More than 50 companies are showcasing a new generation of robots at this week’s Shanghai CES electronics show, built to serve as companions at home, attendants at shopping malls or just provide entertainment.
Chinese companies including Shenzhen-based startup Aelos Robotic Inc. are displaying robots with heightened dexterity and skills.
Beijing’s Canny Unisrobo Technology Co. Ltd. is a pioneer in the field, with its Canbot, produced in cooperation with Microsoft, having entered mass production almost a decade ago.
Costs of $130 to $483
Sales manager Zhang Jianting said Thursday that annual sales are about 150,000 units, with the home companion robots selling for $130 to $483 depending on size.
However, Zhang said the robot market is growing ever more crowded, with many more players entering this year alone.
“The robot market in China is increasingly diverse,” Zhang said. “However, there are still some rough edges in R&D and comprehensive abilities. Every company is at initial stage. We are still learning and making progress in terms of technology, R&D, and market.”
Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are also major features of the show, which features 400 exhibitors from 23 regions showing their innovations from June 7 to 9.
Innovation
For John T. Kelly, the senior director of CES Asia, the participation of more Chinese companies at global electronics shows illustrates how China is shifting from a manufacturing economy to one based on innovation.
“Chinese companies continue to grow more and more in importance. They are creating partnerships with Western partners to really further their technology. So we are seeing development of technology advancing rapidly,” Kelly said.
Among those leading the charge for artificial Intelligence, or AI, is Rokid Corp., maker of the Pebble home companion device that can help seniors perform household chores, provide entertainment and help children learn new skills.
“AI makes our life simpler. AI is replacing human beings in more fields. It saves humans’ labor, so we can do more creative work,” said Li Yuanpeng, the company’s product manager.
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A jury that heard seven hours of testimony from a woman who says Bill Cosby drugged and assaulted her may soon hear from Cosby himself — even if he doesn’t take the stand.
Prosecutors are expected to show jurors an earlier deposition in which Cosby said that he routinely gave women pills and alcohol before sexual encounters and gave at least one of them quaaludes, a now-banned sedative.
The suburban Philadelphia jury on Wednesday heard trial accuser Andrea Constand offer her most direct denial yet that any of their earlier meetings were romantic.
Wasn’t ‘romantic’
“It wasn’t a romantic time, no,” Constand, 44, of Toronto, said of an earlier fireside dinner with Cosby, a trustee at Temple University, where she directed the women’s basketball team.
The jury also heard Cosby’s voice on a 2006 telephone call, offering Constand money for graduate school after her mother called to confront him about the encounter at his home a year earlier.
“She could go to school,” he said. “If she wanted to do that, then I would be willing to … pay for the schooling.”
Cosby, now 79, acknowledges in the deposition from Constand’s related lawsuit that he gave her three blue pills before fondling her breast and penetrating her with his fingers. The only question for the jury is how to interpret the encounter. Prosecutors say she was too impaired to give consent.
The defense lawyer sought to show that Constand changed her mind about the date of the alleged assault. But Constand perhaps blunted the attack by saying she got confused and initially thought the episode happened in March 2004.
“I was mistaken,” she said, unflustered.
Gianna Constand, who followed her daughter to the stand, sounded alarmed at the thought Andrea had been drugged, and angry that they still don’t know what type of pills Cosby gave her. Andrea Constand said the pills left her paralyzed and unable to stop Cosby from penetrating her with his finger and putting her hand on his genitals. She said she was still woozy when she woke up six hours later.
Cross-examination
The defense spent hours on cross-examination trying to suggest the sexual encounter with Cosby was consensual, based on Constand’s previous visits to his home and continued contact afterward.
Cosby arrived at a courthouse Thursday accompanied by fellow actors and comedians Joe Torry and Lewis Dix. On Wednesday, actress Sheila Frazier and her hairstylist husband, John Atchison, arrived with Cosby. Earlier in the week, Cosby was supported by Keshia Knight-Pulliam, who played the youngest daughter, Rudy, on The Cosby Show.
Constand’s case is expected to get to the jury sometime next week. Prosecutors, before then, plan to call an expert in the behavior of sexual assault victims to explain why some remain in contact with their abusers and wait before lodging a complaint.
The defense may call a memory expert to cast doubt on the accuracy of testimony about long-ago events. Cosby was arrested in 2015 after his deposition became public and prosecutors reopened an earlier 2005 investigation that ended with Cosby not being charged.
“She has said the same thing from Day One. She’s always said he drugged her. She’s always said she didn’t consent. She’s always said it was digital penetration,” Constand lawyer Dolores Troiani told The Associated Press when Constand finished her testimony Wednesday afternoon.
Some 60 women have come forward to say Cosby sexually violated them, but the statute of limitations for prosecution had run out in nearly every case. Constand’s case is the only one in which Cosby has been charged. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.
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New, lighter, cheaper, sustainable and recyclable building materials are entering the market every day as developers try to lower costs and shrink their carbon footprint. But how safe are those materials? Are they resistant to fire? VOA’s George Putic visited a new U.S. government facility that can provide scientific answers to such questions.
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