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UPI
6 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Amazon to close China-based AI research lab
In 2015, 2015, Amazon was trying to attract consumers in China. Now the Shanghai-based Amazon Web Services announced job layoffs last week as the e-commerce conglomerate shutters its artificial intelligence and development wing in China. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- Amazon will shut down its AI research lab in a cost-cutting move as tensions flare with China and as other global companies seek to leave the nation because of Chinese influence. The Shanghai-based Amazon Web Services announced job layoffs last week while as the conglomerate shutters its artificial intelligence and development wing. The closures were first reported by The Financial Times. It was due to "strategic adjustments amid U.S.-China tensions," an applied scientist at the lab, Wang Minjie, wrote on WeChat early this week as Amazon disbanded the team. It was not immediately clear how many people or jobs were affected. The Shanghai facility was established in 2018 to focus on areas such as machine learning and processing natural language. In a statement, company spokesman Brad Glasser said Amazon "made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams" in its AWS division. Meanwhile, a growing number of American corporate giants, like Microsoft and IBM, have opted to either downsize or end operations in China as geopolitical tensions rise exasperated by U.S. President Donald Trump's fluctuating tariff policies. It came the same day McKinsey & Company, a large U.S. defense contractor, also revealed it was pulling back its own AI base in China as companies look to other nations such as India. About 300 India-based Chinese workers at FoxConn, Apple's main iPhone producer, were ordered to return home earlier this month by Chinese authorities as Apple looks elsewhere, too, for its business operations. Amazon has been actively retreating from China in recent years, going so far in 2019 to shut down the e-commerce giant's Chinese marketplace.
UPI
16-07-2025
- UPI
New software makes it easy for Chinese police to extract phone data
A real estate agent runs out of her office while talking on her cellphone in Beijing in 2011. Mobile security firm Lookout has discovered malware used by Chinese police to extract data from cellphones. "It's a big concern," said one security analyst. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo July 16 (UPI) -- Mobile security company Lookout has found a new system that police departments in China use to extract data from confiscated phones. The software is called Massistant, created by Chinese company Xiamen Meiya Pico, and it specializes in extracting different types of data, including private communications, multimedia files, geographical tracking records, voice recordings and contact databases. It can even extract messages on Signal. "It's a big concern," said Kristina Balaam, the researcher for Lookout who performed the malware analysis. "I think anybody who's traveling in the region needs to be aware that the device that they bring into the country could very well be confiscated and anything that's on it could be collected." She found several posts on local Chinese forums in which people said they found the malware installed on their devices after interacting with the police. "It seems to be pretty broadly used, especially from what I've seen in the rumblings on these Chinese forums," Balaam said. The malware must get installed on an unlocked device and works with a hardware tower connected to a desktop computer, according to a description and pictures of the system on Xiamen Meiya Pico's website. Chinese law on cell phone confiscation has expanded. Since 2024, Chinese security staff can examine electronic devices without a warrant or active criminal case. This is especially the case with border crossings. "If somebody is moving through a border checkpoint and their device is confiscated, they have to grant access to it," Balaam said. Massistant leaves traces of its installation on the seized devices, so users can potentially detect and remove it by finding it on their devices or using Android Debug Bridge to remove the software. But Balaam warned that by the time Massistant is installed, it's already too late and authorities have access to the user's data. She said that Massistant is just one of many spyware/malware created by Chinese surveillance tech companies, something she called "a big ecosystem."
UPI
15-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
Pew: World's view of China, Xi improves slightly
Crowds watch Chinese performers take part in a traditional Qing Dynasty ceremony, in which emperors prayed for good harvests and fortune, during a week-long series of events to mark the Chinese new year on the grounds of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing in 2012. According to a new Pew survey, China is the world's undisputed top economic power to many of the survey's respondents. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo July 15 (UPI) -- A new Pew survey is suggesting that global viewpoints on China may be trending in a slightly more positive direction for the communist nation. The Pew Research Center poll of 25 surveyed countries released Tuesday indicated that a large segment of the global population views China as the world's undisputed top economic power. Pew officials say the results contrast from 2023, the last time the question was posed. It noted that shares of people with a favorite view on China jumped in the last year in 15 of the 25 countries part of the Pew survey. The new results from spring's survey outlined how a median 41% of polled adults spread out in the 25 countries believe the Chinese economy is the world's greatest, while nearly the same number of 39% say it's the United States with the greatest economy. Pew noted that it's the first time since 2020 that opinions on Chinese influence turned in a more positive light following historic, or near historic, lows in recorded data dating nearly 20 years. Notably, the survey said that confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to do the right thing in diplomatic affairs also went up in many of the countries surveyed. But despite the shift, Xi and overall view of China "remain broadly negative," according to Pew Research. It says a 36% median of surveyed adults had a favorable Chinese view, while 54% had an unfavorable view. The survey added that 25% of people had confidence in the Chinese leader versus 68% who had little or no faith in Xi. The research center pointed out that while Xi's numbers did improve, it spurred an opposite reaction on outlooks on the United States and President Donald Trump. "Today, international views of the two superpowers and (Trump and Xi) are closer than they have been at any point since 2020," the survey results read in part. In 12 countries spanning regions and income levels, China is viewed as the top global economic powerhouse. Results showed that it was the most common opinion in most of surveyed Europe by majorities in Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, and by roughly half of adults in France, Hungary and Poland. By contrast, survey respondents in nine countries say the United States is the better economy. Including polled Americans in Pew's survey, a majority of respondents in Israel, Japan and South Korea agree on U.S. economic might with split feelings in Brazil, Kenya, the Netherlands and Britain. Pew's survey results arrived the same day it was revealed that China ended up bucking second quarter's economic expectations in the face of the U.S. president's global tariffs despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
UPI
14-07-2025
- UPI
Dragon Bravo fire destroys historic Grand Canyon Lodge
Grand Canyon Lodge, a landmark hotel, has been destroyed by wildfires,according to officials on Sunday. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo July 14 (UPI) -- The Grand Canyon Lodge, a landmark hotel in Arizona, was destroyed by a wildfire tearing through the region, officials said. The National Park Service confirmed that the Grand Canyon Lodge and "numerous historic cabins in the developed area" were destroyed by the Dragon Bravo Fire. "I am incredibly saddened by the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge," Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement. The hotel, listed as a National Historic Landmark, opened in 1937 and was the only in-park lodging option on the North Rim. It was built on the foundation of the original Grand Canyon Lodge, which was also destroyed by a fire in 1932. The Dragon Bravo Fire, had "exhibited extreme and volatile fire behavior," as it scorched over 5,000 acres, according to the National Park Service website. The Dragon Bravo Fire is one of the two wildfires that scorched over 45,000 acres near the Grand Canyon. No injuries or deaths have been reported, and all staff and residents have been evacuated, according to the NPS. The North Rim will be closed to all visitor access for the rest of 2025, and all inner canyon corridor trails, campgrounds, and associated areas, which include North Kaibab Trail, South Kaibab Trail, Phantom Ranch, and Bridge Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens, are closed until further notice.
UPI
03-07-2025
- UPI
Japanese islands shaken by earthquake after more than 1,000 tremors
Japanese islands shaken by earthquake after over 1,000 tremors. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo July 3 (UPI) -- An island chain in southwest Japan was shaken by an earthquake on Thursday after over 1,000 tremors throughout two weeks. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the Tokara island chain at about 4:13 p.m. with a magnitude as high as 7 recorded on Akuseki Island. All 76 people on Akuseki Island were confirmed safe, no tsunami warning was issued and there were no reports of injury or property damage. The residents have found shelter at a school after an evacuation order was issued, and the village is considering evacuating from the island. The island chain has experienced heightened seismic activity since June 21 as local media described the wave of quakes as unusual. "It's very scary to even fall asleep," one resident said. "It feels like it's always shaking." "You can hear a strange roar from the ocean before the quakes hit, especially at night. It's eerie," Chizuko Arikawa from Akusekijima island told The Asahi Shimbun. Some residents have been sleep-deprived and tired as they asked media to "be considerate and not make excessive inquiries or interviews," according to a notice on the village website The country is on the edge of its seat with this series of tremors by rumors that a deadly earthquake could be coming soon. Japan is prone to be one of the most seismically active nations, with about 1,500 earthquakes each year.
