While technological revolution is changing much of the world, there are still areas that have seen only very small benefits, or none at all. There, people still live without electricity, clean water and basic healthcare. At a competition recently held in Washington, innovators presented affordable new devices, specially designed to help improve the lives of the world’s poorest. VOA’s George Putic reports.
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Computers around the world were locked up and users’ files held for ransom in a cyberattack Tuesday that paralyzed some hospitals, government offices and major multinational corporations.
Here’s a look at how malware and ransomware work and what people can do if they fall victim to attacks.
What is malware and ransomware?
Malware is a general term that refers to software that’s harmful to your computer, says John Villasenor, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Ransomware is a type of malware that essentially takes over a computer and prevents users from accessing data on it until a ransom is paid, he says.
How does your computer become infected with ransomware?
In most cases, the software infects computers through links or attachments in malicious messages known as phishing emails.
“The age-old advice is to never click on a link in an email,” said Jerome Segura, a senior malware intelligence researcher at Malwarebytes, a company based in San Jose, California, that has released anti-ransomware software. “The idea is to try to trick the victim into running a malicious piece of code.”
The software usually is hidden within links or attachments in emails. Once the user clicks on the link or opens the document, their computer is infected and the software takes over.
But some of the major ransomware attacks recently, including last month’s WannaCry and the one spreading Tuesday, borrowed leaked National Security Agency code that permits software to spread quickly within an organization’s network.
How ransomware works
“Ransomware, like the name suggests, is when your files are held for ransom,” said Peter Reiher, a UCLA professor who specializes in computer science and cybersecurity. “It finds all of your files and encrypts them and then leaves you a message. If you want to decrypt them, you have to pay.”
The ransomware encrypts data on the computer using an encryption key that only the attacker knows. If the ransom isn’t paid, the data is often lost forever.
When the ransomware takes over a computer, the attackers are pretty explicit in their demands, Segura says. In most cases, they change the wallpaper of the computer and give specific instructions telling the user how to pay to recover their files.
Most attackers demand $300 to $500 to remove the malicious ransomware; the price can double if the amount isn’t paid within 24 hours. The demand in Tuesday’s attack was $300 per computer, according to security researchers.
Law enforcement officials have discouraged people from paying these ransoms.
How to avoid these attacks
The first step is being cautious, experts say. Users should also look for malicious email messages that often masquerade as emails from companies or people you regularly interact with online. It’s important to avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in those messages, since they could unleash malware, Villasenor says.
But Villasenor says there is “no perfect solution” to the problem.
Users should regularly back up their data and ensure that security updates are installed on your computer as soon as they are released. Up-to-date backups make it possible to restore files without paying a ransom.
WannaCry and Tuesday’s attack exploited vulnerabilities in some versions of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has released software patches for the security holes, although not everyone has installed those updates.
Even so, the new malware appears to have a backup spreading mechanism, so that even if some computers were patched, they can still be hit if one or more machines in a network weren’t patched.
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A new exhibition will examine the overlapping worlds of two figures bound together by history on different sides of the Atlantic — King George III and President George Washington.
Britain’s Royal Archives and the U.S. Library of Congress said on Wednesday that a new “Two Georges” exhibit, to be first shown in Washington in 2021, would tap into the libraries’ rich sources of historic knowledge to find parallels and contrasts between the two men.
A venue in Britain has yet to be decided.
“Linked and then ultimately separated by empire, the two Georges offer a distinctive perspective on this vital historical period,” the institutions said in a statement.
The first president of the United States and one of its founding fathers lived from 1732 to 1799. Washington is believed to have earned the respect of George III, his rival, who lived from 1738 to 1820 and was defeated in the American War of Independence.
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The Force was with George Lucas on Tuesday as the Los Angeles City Council moved with lightsaber speed to clear the way for a $1.5 billion Museum of Narrative Art the Star Wars creator plans to build down the road from his alma mater.
After hearing from Lucas himself, the council voted 14-0 to approve an environmental impact report and other requirements for the museum’s construction adjacent to the University of Southern California.
“For a very brief time I actually grew up here,” said Lucas, who earned a degree in film from USC. “That’s where I learned movies. That’s where I learned my craft. Basically where I started my career was in school here.”
Lucas said his museum won’t just focus on movies, however, but on the entire history of narrative storytelling, from the days of cave painting to digital film.
“I realized that the whole concept of narrative art has been forgotten,” he told the council.
With Tuesday’s approval, plans are to break ground in Exposition Park, south of downtown, as early as this year and open the museum to the public in 2021. The city says the project will cost taxpayers nothing because Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, are footing the bill.
“It is the largest private gift in our city, in our state or in our nation’s history,” said Councilman Curren D. Price Jr., whose district takes in the park.
It will feature all forms of narrative storytelling, said the museum’s president, Don Bacigalupi. He said its exhibits will include story boards, costumes, props and various other elements that went into making Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz and other classic films.
And, yes, there will be plenty of cool Star Wars stuff there, too.
“Everything from Luke Skywalker’s first lightsaber to Darth Vader’s costume and helmet,” said Bacigalupi.
The Lucas-Steven Spielberg Indiana Jones films also will be represented.
Interactive programs
Numerous interactive programs for children, film students, academics and others will be offered.
Lucas said he hopes the museum will serve as inspiration to people of all ages, but especially to children, encouraging them to create a better world.
Popular art, he said, is the glue that holds people together, that teaches them that while we may have differences, we have similar aspirations.
In addition to USC, the Museum of Narrative Art will be within close proximity to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the California Science Center and the California African American Museum.
Although Lucas’ affection for USC is clear — he and his foundation have given the school tens of millions of dollars over the years — it was once assumed he’d put his museum in his hometown of San Francisco. Or if not there, then his wife’s hometown of Chicago.
But when it came time to clear away all the bureaucratic hurdles, it was Los Angeles that prevailed.
“I wanted to put it in my hometown. They said no. Mellody wanted to put it in her hometown. They said no. We were both basically heartbroken,” Lucas said.
“And then we said, ‘All right, let’s clear the boards and find a place that really wants it.’ ”
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In a frank and heartfelt speech, U2 bassist Adam Clayton thanked his bandmates of four decades for their support during his treatment and recovery for alcohol abuse years ago, and then joined them for a rollicking rendition of a few hits.
“We have a pact with each other,” said Clayton, 57, who was receiving an award from MusiCares, the charity arm of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. “In our band, no one will be a casualty. We all come home, or none of us come home. No one will be left behind. Thank you for honoring that promise, and letting me be in your band.”
He ended by quoting lyrics that Bono, U2’s frontman, had written when the band was starting out: “If you walk away, walk away, I will follow.” At that, his bandmates came out to join him, performing “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” “Vertigo” and, fittingly, “I Will Follow.”
The evening at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square also featured performances by rapper Michael Franti, Jack Garratt, reggae singer Chronixx, Macy Gray, and the Lumineers, who are currently appearing with U2 on their “Joshua Tree” tour.
‘I had to leave it behind’
Clayton was introduced by British record producer Chris Blackwell as someone who “lived through addiction and came out the other side, and has been courageous enough to admit it.”
Taking the stage, the bassist quipped: “I’m not used to achieving anything on my own.”
Turning serious, he said: “I’m an alcoholic, addict, but in some ways that devastating disease is what drove me towards this wonderful life I now have. It’s just that I couldn’t take my friend alcohol. At some point I had to leave it behind and claim my full potential.”
He said part of the reason he had a hard time quitting drinking was that “I didn’t think you could be in a band and not drink. It is so much a part of our culture.”
It was Eric Clapton, he said, who finally told him he needed help.
“He didn’t sugarcoat it. He told me that I needed to change my life and that I wouldn’t regret it,” Clayton said. He credited another friend, the Who’s Pete Townshend, for visiting him in rehab, where he “put steel on my back.”
As for his bandmates, Clayton said, “I was lucky because I had three friends who could see what was going on and who loved me enough to take up the slack of my failing. Bono, the Edge, and Larry [Mullen] truly supported me before and after I entered recovery, and I am unreservedly grateful for their friendship, understanding and support.”
Access to treatment
Clayton received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his support of the MusiCares MAP Fund, which offers musicians access to addiction recovery treatment.
Arriving at the theater earlier, he told reporters the fund was especially important given the current epidemic of opioid addiction. “MusiCares … really provides funding for a lot of people to look into those things and find help,” he said.
He added that his bandmates had been supporting him for 40 years.
“You know, I guess they loved me before I knew how to love myself,” he said. “So it’s really important that they share this with me.”
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Tech enthusiasts may be drawn to HoloLens, the head-mounted holographic computer from Microsoft, but company executives say businesses also should consider how it can help improve their bottom line.
The wearable device allows users to interact with holograms using their gaze and simple hand gestures. Virtual interfaces are superimposed onto the immediate environment, combining the real world with a digital one. It’s a form of mixed reality that Microsoft executives say offers more than just entertainment value — it can be put to work in business scenarios.
“We’re seeing mixed reality broadly as a new kind of dimension, literally, of how we’re going to interact with information,” said Greg Sullivan, director of communications for the Windows and devices group at Microsoft.
Companies like German elevator maker Thyssenkrupp have begun experimenting with HoloLens. In a promotional video, an elevator repairman dons a HoloLens headset to begin a work order. The computer assesses the repair situation and displays holographic guidance, along with the ability to conference in an associate located remotely.
The associate can interact within the repair technician’s virtual workspace, “She can sit in her office in Germany and scale her expertise literally around the world … see what they’re seeing, guide them and even ink on their display,” Sullivan said.
WATCH: High-tech HoloLens in Action
Cirque de Soleil
Data visualization is another potential use for HoloLens.
“You can walk around the 3-dimensional representation of that data and it gives you powerful new insights, because as humans, we live in a 3-D world and we understand things better … if we interact with them in three dimensions,” Sullivan said.
That can be useful for creative industries. At Microsoft’s recent “Build” conference for software developers, set designers from Cirque de Soleil demonstrated how holographic versions of their theater sets allowed them to plan ahead. Team members wearing HoloLens could walk around and interact with true-to-scale holograms of their set designs, even inserting virtual avatars of real-life performers.
Architecture and engineering
Other industries that utilize 3-D modeling, like architecture and engineering, potentially can benefit from holographic computing, too. Trimble, a company specializing in GPS technologies, developed an application for HoloLens that allows architects and contractors to manipulate 3-D holographic designs and models in real-life environments, such as construction sites.
“You can have multiple people sharing an experience in mixed reality, look at a digital version of the project … and then make those changes in real time and all see them, and then go ahead and move right into production much, much quicker,” said Sullivan. “The efficiencies that are gained are really profound.”
Chris Silva, research director at Gartner, agrees. “3-D models in health care, extremely complex design documents … they’re a natural fit for something like HoloLens, where stepping into the data really can help get the job done better,” Silva said.
Big investment
But like many new technologies, HoloLens’ price tag initially may deter widespread adoption. The device retails for $3,000 for a developer edition and $5,000 for a business edition that comes bundled with enterprise applications.
“The biggest risk is making an investment in this technology and not having a plan for how it gets used,” Silva said. “These are devices that are two, maybe even three, times the cost of the average laptop, and much more expensive than a mobile device. They’re new, and therefore the organizations aren’t always sure how they’re going to use them.”
Silva recommends that companies take a pilot approach to the technology by introducing it to a single group, picking one process to improve upon and analyzing the subsequent results.
Microsoft’s long-time presence on office desktops means HoloLens eventually could transform everyday workspaces.
“When we look at the average worker model, where this type of technology starts literally replacing people’s monitors on their desks, somebody like Microsoft is well positioned to capture that,” Silva said. “They can plug HoloLens into the way they’re doing business today.”
Overall, Silva is excited for future developments in the mixed reality space.
“This is definitely the next frontier of mobile devices … this could be the next thing that replaces the desktop PC, the iPad, the smartphone in your pocket.”
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Facebook announced Tuesday that it now has more than 2 billion users.
Facebook, which was a social website available only to Harvard University students when it was launched in 2004, has recently been criticized for giving extremist groups an easy way to disseminate content over the internet.
CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg addressed the “Facebook community” after Tuesday’s announcement and defended the social media website, saying that he was proud of the role his company was playing in connecting people around the world.
Facebook’s user base is bigger than the population of any single country, and of six of the seven continents. It represents more than a quarter of the world’s 7.5 billion people.
The company uses its huge size advantage to lure advertisers, offering them targeted marketing capabilities based on its data about users. The number of advertisers topped 5 million in April, the company said.
Facebook’s growth has increasingly come from outside the United States, Canada and Europe. Three years ago, those regions accounted for 38 percent of users; in the first quarter of this year, the figure was about 30 percent.
To increase penetration rates in developing nations, Facebook has introduced stripped-down versions of its apps that use less data, and it has been developing solar-powered drones to extend internet connectivity around the planet.
This report contains information from Reuters and AP.
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Professional football players are still not getting properly checked for concussions, despite a pledge by the sport’s governing body. That was obvious from a review of footage from the games in FIFA’s 2014 World Cup, the international men’s football championship held every four years.
The review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that out of 81 head collisions there were only 12 assessments that fit the minimum requirements.
Co-author Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, told VOA, “There were only two collisions [where] I could be happy and confident that a proper assessment was actually done.”
According to the 2012 Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport, of which FIFA was a signatory, players showing any sign of concussion should immediately be withdrawn from play and assessed by a health care professional on the sideline. But players in the World Cup only received that full assessment 15 percent of the time.
More than half of the time, an assessment was done on the field or by a referee or another player. And 26 percent of the time, they received no assessment at all, despite showing as many as three signs of concussion. Those symptoms include being slow to get up, disorientation, obvious disequilibrium, unconsciousness, seizure-like movements, and head clutching.
The impact of concussions can accumulate over years and may lead to trouble with memory, attention, depression, anxiety, and early onset dementia. In rare cases, repeated blows to the head over a short period of time, even mild ones, can lead to death.
A concussion ignored
There was obviously something wrong with Christoph Kramer during the final game of the World Cup. The German player was struck on the side of his head by a shoulder and thrown to the ground. Following a brief assessment on the pitch, he was returned to play, despite showing at least three signs of concussion. After 13 minutes of strange, confused behavior, he was removed from the game.
A referee later told the Gazzetta dello Sport, “Shortly after the blow, Kramer came to me asking: ‘Ref, is this the final?’” The referee told teammates, but Kramer continued to play.
“Had he been injured to his knee and couldn’t walk there would be no doubt that he would have been taken off,” Cusimano said, “so why are we treating people with brain injuries any different than people who have, say, a leg injury?”
In response, FIFA soon created a policy to allow referees to stop play for as long as three minutes, so that players can receive an on-pitch assessment by health care personnel. But it is only at the discretion of the referee. This is not enough for Cusimano. He points out it was an on-pitch assessment that failed to catch Kramer’s apparent concussion, and it takes at least seven minutes to properly diagnose the condition. So he wants to see mandatory assessments on the sidelines, just as the 2012 Consensus advises.
‘Whole world is watching’
FIFA declined a request to speak with VOA, but shared a written statement highlighting their recent rule change, and their participation in the most recent International Consensus Conference on Concussion.
“Protecting the health of football players is and will remain a top priority in developing the game,” it said.
Researchers decided to analyze the World Cup because of the size of the audience. Over a billion people tuned in. That means that the World Cup provides an opportunity to set an example for how to handle concussions. They hope that better policy at the premier sporting event might not just protect those playing in the World Cup, but those playing in little leagues too.
“The whole world is watching,” said Dr. Cusimano. “FIFA has all the ability to do this properly.”
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Bill Cosby said on Tuesday he has no plans to hold town hall events to discuss sexual assault, days after his spokesman suggested the comedian planned a series of public talks to educate men about how to avoid false accusations.
Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, first put forward the idea for the town hall talks in an interview with a Birmingham, Alabama, TV station last week, five days after Cosby’s sex assault trial ended in a hung jury.
The proposal drew immediate criticism from a lawyer representing some of the dozens of women who have leveled sex assault accusations at the 79-year-old entertainer, whose long career was built on a family-friendly style of comedy.
“The current propaganda that I am going to conduct a sexual assault tour is false,” Cosby said in a statement released by Wyatt on Tuesday. “Any further information about public plans will be given at the appropriate time.”
Wyatt said in the Wednesday TV interview and a Thursday e-mailed statement that Cosby, once known as “America’s dad” for his starring role in the 1980s TV hit “The Cosby Show,” planned to give free public appearances to address the dangers that young men face.
Wyatt did not respond to inquiries about the change in plans.
After a Los Angeles court hearing related to a civil lawsuit by a woman who has accused the comedian of sexual assault, Cosby attorney Angela Agrusa told reporters there was a “lot of miscommunication” about planned public appearances.
Cosby, she said, wants to perform again but is unlikely to do so until all criminal charges are resolved, adding, “He doesn’t take lightly the charges against him.”
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania plan to retry Cosby on charges that he sexually assaulted Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004.
Some 60 women have accused him of sex assault in a string of alleged incidents dating back to the 1960s. The Pennsylvania case is the only criminal prosecution to result.
Ten women are pursuing either sexual abuse or defamation lawsuits against Cosby.
Two cases are headed for back-to-back trials in California next summer. A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday set July 30, 2018, as the trial date for a lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, who says Cosby gave her alcohol and then sexually abused her at the Playboy mansion around 1974 when she was 15.
Another lawsuit, filed by former model Chloe Goins, is scheduled for trial in June 2018.
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Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has set up an investment fund to help development of new cloak-and-dagger know-how and is offering grants of up to 2 million shekels (about $570,000) per project to bring in new ideas.
A government statement on Tuesday said Mossad was seeking technologies in various fields, including robotics, miniaturization and encryption, as well as new automated methods of gleaning information from documents and new ways of carrying out operations more stealthily.
A statement by the new fund, called Libertad, said it would be willing to give grants of up to 2 million shekels per project in exchange for nonexclusive rights to the technology. Developers would retain the sales rights to their product, it said.
“The Mossad wants to encourage innovation and creation of groundbreaking technology … the technology developed will be implemented by us, in cooperation between the parties,” Libertad said in a document.
It advised potential applicants to “closely observe” areas of interest on its website and said that calls for proposals would be posted publicly.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a short video clip on Twitter showing possible futuristic technology and wrote: “Mossad will continue to be sophisticated, daring and groundbreaking in its paramount task of ensuring Israel’s security.”
Mossad’s undertaking is not new. In 1999, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency established IQT, a nonprofit investment fund aimed at accelerating the development and delivery of new technologies to U.S. government intelligence bodies.
Libertad’s document said “anyone” could apply, suggesting that the offer was open, too, to foreign companies, though it did not give details. It added that an approved program could be made only with an incorporated company.
Israel has over 450 cybersecurity firms. In 2016, 78 startups raised more than $660 million from investors, according to the Israel Venture Capital Research Center.
Its advanced defense industry, led by Elbit, Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel Military Industries and Rafael, accounts for about 14 percent of the country’s exports.
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Researchers are aiming to bring artificial intelligence and big-data technology to small-scale, developing world farms. The goal is to take on one of the 21st century’s biggest challenges: feeding the world without wrecking the planet.
For Microsoft researcher Ranveer Chandra, it’s a return to his roots.
Chandra grew up spending four months a year on his family’s farm in India.
“There was no water. No electricity. No toilets,” he said. Bulls dragged plows through the fields, as they have for centuries.
In much of the developing world, farming remains a low-tech, low-yield enterprise, but demands on developing-world agriculture are increasing. The population in less developed countries is growing faster than average.
As the global population soars to near 10 billion by 2050, farmers will need to produce more food without cutting down more forests or polluting the land and water with excessive fertilizers and pesticides.
Precision agriculture
That means squeezing more crops out of every square meter of existing farmland. To do that, Chandra said, farmers need more information about every square meter, so they can give it just what it needs.
“Like, apply water only where it’s needed. Apply fertilizer only where it’s needed. Apply pesticide only where it’s needed,” he said.
Modern, high-tech tools are already bringing a new level of precision to large-scale agriculture. Farm equipment can plant different densities of seeds and apply different amounts of fertilizer in different parts of a field. Water monitors can give farmers real-time data on how much moisture plants are receiving.
But these tools are far too expensive for small-scale, developing-world farmers. Chandra wants to use tech to bring costs down.
Artificial intelligence
Chandra developed a system that connects cheap soil sensors to a network through unused television channels.
These “white space” frequencies can provide broadband internet connection over long distances. Some hospitals and schools in remote locations in Africa are already online via white-space connectivity, Chandra said.
Each soil sensor provides a snapshot of conditions in a patch of the farm. To connect the patches to the big picture, Chandra takes aerial photos from a drone – or, for a low-cost option, a balloon-mounted smartphone.
Then, artificial intelligence compares the aerial photos to the sensor data and fills in the gaps, drawing detailed maps of where the soil is too acidic, or needs more water, for example.
Artificial intelligence also can help keep track of livestock, monitoring webcams to identify sick cattle that aren’t moving around, for instance.
Fertile business
Chandra hopes to bring the cost of a basic system under $100. Different business models are under consideration, he added. For example, farmers could share a system, or a local farm service provider could rent it to them.
Microsoft is just one tech company that sees agriculture as fertile ground for the tech revolution. Google invested in a startup that aggregates farmers’ data on how different crop varieties perform from farm to farm and year to year, so farmers can make better decisions on what varieties are best for them. Amazon announced plans to buy the Whole Foods grocery chain and has invested in food retail in other countries as well.
Telecoms, startups and traditional farming firms also are vying for a stake in the high-tech farm business, according to Ohio State University precision-agriculture expert John Fulton.
“Everyone’s trying to figure out how they play in agriculture,” he said. “We’re really at an early stage of this digital agriculture revolution.”
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Each spring and summer, a Vermont bog yields a rare spectacle — hundreds of wild orchids in bloom, drawing visitors from around the country.
The bulbous pink and white showy lady’s slippers (Cypripedium reginae) are on full display among the ferns, bushes and chirping birds at Eshqua Bog in Hartland.
This particular orchid, considered rare in Vermont and a number of other states and different from the more common pink lady’s slipper, thrives in Eshqua, because of the wet, sunny conditions, with soils containing peat and lime.
Mary English drove about an hour from Landgrove, Vermont, to see the orchids on Thursday. When she arrived, she had the bog to herself.
“I just wandered through by myself. It was very special. It’s like being in a South American country,” she said.
A boardwalk allows visitors of all ages and abilities access to the bog and an up-close look at the plants.
“Gosh, aren’t they beautiful?” said Heather Crawley, of Maryville, Tennessee, as she studiously photographed the orchids with a special lens on Thursday. “To think it’s natural, too.”
Visitors can also walk a half-mile trail.
The area is technically a fen because it’s less acidic than a bog and fed by groundwater containing nutrients like calcium and magnesium from the area bedrock, according to the Nature Conservancy, which owns and manages the preserve along with the New England Wild Flower Society. The sanctuary includes an 8-acre (3.2-hectare) wetland and 33 surrounding acres (13.4 hectares).
Other orchids also bloom, like yellow lady’s slipper in late May and early June and the white bog orchid around now.
The lime-rich groundwater also helps to yield pitcher plants, insectivorous sundew and other plants.
But the orchids are typically the main show for visitors.
“The orchids love it at Eshqua, and people love to see the orchids,” said Rose Paul, of the Nature Conservancy.
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The latest farm tools on the job in Pakistan are cell phones and satellites. A new program is using satellite data to estimate how much water a field needs, and then texting this information to farmers.
The hope is to prevent overwatering. A 2013 report from the Asian Development Bank called Pakistan “one of the most water-stressed countries in the world,” with a 30-day storage capacity, well below the recommended capacity of 1,000 days. The per capita water resources are on par with those of Syria, where drought has helped to fuel a civil war.
The water crisis is being driven by several factors: climate change, an expanding population, local mismanagement and a greater demand on farmers. It threatens to destabilize relations between Pakistan and India, who share the Indus River.
Turning off the spigot
Overwatering is costly for farmers trying to make ends meet. While Pakistan continues to suffer from chronic fuel shortages, farmers must use diesel motors to pump groundwater onto their fields. The lower the water table, the more fuel it takes to pump it to the surface.
And overwatering also reduces crop yields. But many older farmers learned their trade at a time when the water ran freely, and the risks of under-watering are so great that farmers still err on the side of too much irrigation. The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) found that rice farmers were using more than three times as much water as they needed to.
The PCRWR reached out to the Sustainability, Satellites, Water, and Environment research group (SASWE) at the University of Washington, hoping to use science to inform irrigation choices.
Pakistan’s program started last spring with a 700-farmer pilot. As of January, 10,000 farmers were receiving messages like this one: “Dear farmer friend, we would like to inform you that the irrigation need for your banana crop was 2 inches during the past week.”
The messages come from a fully-automated system that does everything from downloading publicly available satellite data and distributing the text messages to using models to compute how much each farmer needs to irrigate.
A nationwide effort
PCRWR plans to scale up the program for use across the nation, and expects millions of farmers to participate. But first they are reviewing the system. They want to know how easy it is for farmers to use, and how many actually follow the irrigation advisories. And they want to know how accurate it is and how effective it is at saving farmers money.
They are collecting feedback from farmers over the phone.
“I haven’t seen any report yet,” Faisal Hossain of SASWE told VOA, but “we got a story last month from one of the farmers who was telling us how he was able to get, I think, for every acre 700 kilograms more of wheat than his neighbor.” The farmer credited the irrigation advisories.
There are challenges to expansion. They may need to do more work to persuade farmers to trust the technology. As more farmers use it on smaller farms in areas with more varied terrain, the satellite data resolution may not be precise enough for accurate measurements. And small farmers may not be comfortable relying on cell phone technology.
But for the most part, cell phones already are fairly ubiquitous in Pakistan. Last year, the Punjab government reported that it would be giving out 5 million smartphones to farmers.
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A hand-drawn map that shows Walt Disney’s original ideas for Disneyland has sold at auction for $708,000.
The founder of Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles says a private collector cast the winning bid Sunday. Mike Van Eaton says it is the most expensive Disneyland map ever sold.
Walt Disney commissioned an illustrator to create the map in 1953 to drum up interest and investments in his new amusement-park concept. Many of the ideas shown on the map became realities when Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955.
Utah resident and Disney collector Ron Clark owned the map for more than 40 years and dreamed of it being returned to Disneyland.
The name of the American collector who bought the map Sunday was not revealed.
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Twenty years to the day after the first book in the Harry Potter series was published, fans gathered online and in the real world to express their enduring love for J.K. Rowling’s magical creation.
Since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came out in 1997, with a first print run of just 500 copies, the series of seven novels has sold 450 million copies worldwide in 79 languages and spawned a blockbuster movie franchise.
The book appeared in the United States a year later as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
On Monday, some fans took the day off work to celebrate the anniversary, heading to significant locations such as King’s Cross train station in London, which in the stories is one of the gateways into the world of witches and wizards.
The real-life station features a mock-up of Platform 9-3/4, the departure point for trains to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The mock-up is a bustling spot where tourists and fans queue to pose for photos wearing Potter-themed scarves or costumes.
“Harry Potter, I think, still means so much to so many people even though it’s 20 years now,” said Clara Carson, whose job at the nearby souvenir shop involves taking photos of the fans and holding up the scarves to achieve a windswept effect.
“I’m a fan myself, so it’s really nice to come in and be with people that are all into the same things that you’re into,” she said. “Whether they’re kids or my age or even adults, they’re always just so excited.”
Childhood friends Charlotte Keyworth and Joanne Wylie, both 26, had come down to London from northern and eastern England for the occasion.
They were part of the first generation of Potter fans, having read the first volume as young girls and then endured the agonizing wait for each new episode as they were published over a period of 10 years.
“We’ve grown up with it, with Harry Potter,” said Keyworth, who was sporting a Hogwarts T-shirt. “We’re planning on going to the studio tour this afternoon and celebrating in our own little way,” she said, referring to the studios where the Potter movies were shot.
Wylie, who has a permanent tattoo on her forearm of the Deathly Hallows symbol, an important element in the story, said the Potter stories still bring her joy and comfort.
“It was always something that just sort of boosted your spirits and made you realize you could get past the dark points,” she said.
Her sentiments were widely echoed on social media, with legions of fans posting their favorite quotes or video clips, or just thanking Rowling for the happy memories.
“After all these years… Always!” wrote Twitter user Anu — a reference to a moving moment in the story when it is revealed that Harry’s nemesis Severus Snape had always loved Harry’s dead mother, Lily.
Rowling, who has 10.8 million followers on Twitter, also took to the medium to mark the anniversary.
“20 years ago today a world that I had lived in alone was suddenly open to others. It’s been wonderful. Thank you,” she wrote.
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Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft say they are forming a working group to remove terrorist content from their platforms.
The global technology companies announced Monday they are creating the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism which will help them share technical solutions to remove terrorist and extremist postings.
The companies are facing growing pressure from governments around the world to quickly remove hateful content. They have previously begun working together to create fingerprints for videos or pictures with extremist information that can be shared across social media platforms.
The tech firms say the new forum will also help them to commission research to fight terrorist speech as well as to work with counter-terrorism experts.
The forum will “formalize and structure existing and future areas of collaboration between our companies and foster cooperation with smaller tech companies, civil society groups and academics, governments and supra-national bodies such as the EU and the U.N.,” the companies said in a statement. “The scope of our work will evolve over time as we will need to be responsive to the ever-evolving terrorist and extremist tactics.”
Last week, European heads of state called on tech companies to develop new technology to automatically detect and remove extremist content. Germany has proposed a new law that would fine social media firms up to $56 million if they do not quickly remove extremist postings.
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After leaving the enchanting landscape of New Mexico, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer headed north into the state of Colorado, where he found more natural and manmade wonders.
Cliff Dwellings ‘on steroids’
His first stop was Mesa Verde National Park in the southwestern part of the state, which protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings built of sandstone and mud mortar. It is home to the largest, best-known and best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America.
Having visited the “impressive” Gila Cliff dwellings in New Mexico, Mikah said the ones at Mesa Verde were on a whole new level.
“They are 10 times bigger,” he said. “There are just so many ruins to look at, and hike to and from, and tour, that it’s basically a cliff dwelling site on steroids!”
Accompanied by a ranger, who was a family friend, he walked among the ancient structures, marveling at their beauty and architecture.
Ancient culture
Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, is not only a beautiful national park site, but historically significant as well. For seven centuries, starting around 1,500 years ago, the area was home to the Ancestral Pueblo people.
Their culture spanned the present-day “Four Corners” region of the United States – which is where four states – Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah – meet. Today, that notable spot is a popular tourist destination, where visitors can literally place a limb in every state.
Back at the park, visitors can visit cliff dwellings of different sizes.
Balcony house — a 13th century marvel
Tucked under a sandstone overhang, Mesa Verde’s Balcony House offers an ambitious tour. Accompanied by park rangers, visitors have to climb a 10-meter (32-foot) high ladder and squeeze through a tunnel to reach some of the main areas.
But their efforts are rewarded with close-up views of the massive structures — including 40 rooms and two ancient Kivas, circular structures that were typically used for religious and social gatherings.
In a National Park video about Mesa Verde, ranger Andrew Reagan says visitors to the sites can’t quite believe the existence of the dwellings.
“They come to this park and they first see the cliff dwellings and they think ‘that’s an impossible place to live.’ But as soon as you climb that ladder and you’re inside the North Plaza, it all makes sense. They look around at the beautiful walls and the balconies that still have their plasters on them and they think, ‘I could do this…this is a really comfortable space.’”
Also, as Mikah points out, because the dwellings are on the edge of a cliff, visitors get unprecedented views of the surrounding country. “You can go to the peak and have amazing 360-degree views of Shiprock [Mountain] in New Mexico and the Colorado valley and mountains and white capped mountains to your east.”
Long House
The second largest cliff dwelling in the park is Long House, and getting to it is another adventurous journey. A two-hour ranger-guided tour includes hiking for 3.6 kilometers (2.25 miles) and climbing two ladders.
During the tour, park rangers point out the nearby stream which provided fresh water for the people who lived here, and discuss their agricultural practices in the dry desert.
Cliff Palace
Another site, Cliff Palace, is the largest cliff dwelling, not only in Mesa Verde park but in all of North America. With 150 rooms and 21 kivas, people say it looks more like a city.
After visitors walk down a sandstone trail and climb up a 3-meter (10-foot) long ladder, they’re greeted with stunning examples of ancient architecture.
“And you get to look at each individually crafted block of sandstone that was crafted 800 years ago and realize how much time and energy the Pueblo Society invested in these sites,” according to ranger Reagan.
Mesa Verde was abandoned by 1300, and no one knows why. Some say it was due to a series of prolonged droughts, or possibly by over-farming, which hurt food production.
But the site remains an attractive destination for visitors seeking beauty and ancient history. “They built these sites so grand that they were drawing people in from all over, 800 years ago,” Reagan said.
And 800 years later, the UNESCO World Heritage Site continues to draw visitors from all over, like Mikah Meyer.
He invites you to learn more about his travels across America by visiting him on his website, Facebook and Instagram.
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After leaving the enchanting landscape of New Mexico, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer headed north into the state of Colorado, where he found more natural and manmade wonders. His first stop was Mesa Verde National Park in the southwestern part of the state, home to the largest and best-known cliff dwellings in North America. He shared highlights of his experiences with VOA’s Julie Taboh.
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This week, people took to the streets in nations around the world to celebrate gay pride, and to protest threats to LGBT rights.
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A SpaceX rocket carried 10 communications satellites into orbit from California on Sunday, two days after the company successfully launched a satellite from Florida.
The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off through low-lying fog at 1:25 p.m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles. It carried a second batch of new satellites for Iridium Communications, which is replacing its orbiting fleet with a next-generation constellation of satellites.
About 7 minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s first-stage booster returned to earth and landed on a floating platform on a ship in the Pacific Ocean, while the rocket’s second stage continued to carry the satellites toward orbit.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 on Friday launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and boosted a communications satellite for Bulgaria into orbit. Its first stage was recovered after landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who founded Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX, believes reusing rocket components will bring down the cost of space launches.
Iridium plans to put in place 75 new satellites for its mobile voice and data communications system by mid-2018, requiring six more launches, all by SpaceX.
The $3 billion effort by the McLean, Virginia, company involves complex procedures to replace 66 operational satellites in use for many years. Some of the new satellites will be so-called on-orbit spares, or older satellites that remain in orbit on standby for use if the newer ones malfunction.
Swapping out and deorbiting some old satellites has already begun, Iridium CEO Matt Desch said in a pre-launch call with reporters.
Several old satellites have been moved into lower orbits to use up their remaining fuel and configure the solar panels for maximum drag so they will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up.
The first re-entry was believed to have occurred on June 11, Desch said.
“It’s hard to celebrate something like that, but these satellites have put in almost 20 years of service, and making sure we’ve cleaned up after ourselves as we deploy our new constellation is a priority,” he said.
The new satellites also carry payloads for joint-venture Aerion’s space-based, real-time tracking and surveillance of aircraft around the globe, which has implications for efficiency, economy and safety — especially in remote airspace over the oceans.
“This will truly be a revolutionary aspect of air-traffic control,” said Aireon CEO Don Thomas.
The technology, which requires aircraft to be equipped with certain equipment, is undergoing testing involving eight of the initial batch of Iridium NEXT satellites.
The Iridium NEXT program also will bring an end to so-called “Iridium flares,” which space enthusiasts have observed for years. The new satellites will not create visible flashes of reflected sunlight as they passed overhead.
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