The trillion dollar Tech Industry gathers in las vegas In Search Of The gadgets that will get it growing again. Plus polarising opinion we find out whats behind the scramble for lithium and whether the boom is heading for bust. Welcome to World Business report. Im Sally Bundock also in the Programme Alibaba cracks down on counterfeiters. Details in a moment. But first. We start in las vegas where thousands of Technology Executives are gathering for the annual Consumer Electronics show which opens today. Its the most important event of the year for the Tech Industry a chance for companies to show off the gadgets we will, they hope, soon be buying. Its a huge business and also an increasingly tough one. According to the Consumer Technology association which organises the las vegas show we will buy Gadgets Worth close to a trillion dollars this year. The problem is the industry as a whole is not growing. If its accurate that figure would be down around 2 on 2016. And it would be the the fourth year in a row of falling revenue. Smartphones are by far the worlds most popular Gadget Accounting for half of all tech revenue but sales are expected to peak this year. So what are the growth areas . Well it could be the year of Wearable Technology revenues from wearable devices are expected to soar almost a third this year although stilljust a fraction of the overall market and one of the biggest themes to watch Artificial Intelligence more and more gadgets are being given the ability to learn. As rory cellanjones reports. Ina in a Penthouse Suite at a Ritzy Las Vegas hotel, smart home exhibits are on show. There is a smart speakerphone children were each Toy Isa Speakerphone children were each toy is a playlist. A voice activated door lock and upstairs, there is even nora described as a smart snoring solution. It detects me snoring solution. It detects me snoring and moves just enough to stop me without making waking me up. The big theme this year is turning the advances in Artificial Intelligence into products. There are robots. This one is a Shop Assistant and this one is designed assistant and this one is designed Asa Assistant and this one is designed as a companion for children or elderly people. Ai seems to get everywhere, even into this toothbrush which learns how you brush your teeth. Artificial intelligence is not just brush your teeth. Artificial intelligence is notjust gathering data that is able to use the data. Then you learn where your weaknesses are, where your strengths are and the purpose is to become better at taking care of your oral health. This Walking Stick is also smarter thanit this Walking Stick is also smarter than it looks. An inbuilt mobile Phone Sim Card can means you can help if you can have an accident. Phone sim card can means you can help if you can have an accidentm can detect the fault of its user and when it detects it, it will alert the family or the neighbour. They can come and help these people. This one helps anyone to try out make up this mirror. Out on the las vegas strip, danny manu, an entrepreneur from manchester, has just strip, danny manu, an entrepreneur from manchester, hasjust flown in. His interest in translation headphones are not quite ready. They will eventually be tiny earbuds that he is still looking forward to ces. It is really important to us because we will be able to showcase what we are working on to the whole world to show them it is something we started yea rs show them it is something we started years ago. A small start up with dedication and passion. The odds are against danny, A I Man Bands taking on giants like apple and google but like plenty of people here, he is betting that he has a product that can change the world. Our tech page on our website is dominated by this event. Rory and others are there. Follow them on twitter. Staying with technology and one of the vital commodities used in everything from smartphones to electric cars is becoming increasingly hot property. Lithium has long been used in batteries for small gadgets but Lithium Ion Batteries are now also the dominant technology for Electric Vehicles and theres a scramble on to secure supplies. On monday an Australian Mining firm sold a deposit of the metal in mali west africa to a chinese buyer for almost 2000 times what it paid for it less than a year ago. So is this the start of a new Commodity Boom or a Bubble Heading for a bust . Colin hamilton is head of Commodities Research group. This makes it sound like it is all getting out of control. Please put it into perspective. We have seen prices more than double over the course of last year. It is as new Energy Vehicles and particularly Electric Vehicles have taken. We have seen a strong growth rate and we are getting close to i billion units of sales. That is stilljust 1. 196 units of sales. That is stilljust 1. 1 of the Global Auto Sales but it is expected to grow further. Looking at 30 . With that, the chinese in particular, are looking to secure supply because they dont have enough lithium at home. There is also pressure on them to secure supplies. It is because of policy in china, the government is pushing for the use of Electric Vehicles . Killam china is the Largest Electric vehicle market. China is the Largest Electric vehicle market. They have been using cheap batteries thus far but now they are pushing towards Higher Technology batteries. They need a higher lithium content per battery. They need to secure the display supply. 80 of the lithium comes from chile, argentina and australia. You can eat extracted low cost in argentina. In australia it is from rock so it is more technologically difficult to process but it is also much nearer to china and more accessible. In terms of those countries, chile, argentina, they will be exporting it to china . China wants to buy the raw material. They will let them process it into batteries. China wants to control as much as the technological value chain as they can. The process wont change. Yes, you will be selling lithium to china. Very interesting. Thank you for coming in and sharing your expertise will stop we will keep an eye on this year. To asia now and Ecommerce Giant Alibaba is moving to address us concerns about Counterfeit Goods. Sharanjit leyl is in Singapore Alibaba were aliba ba were sanctioned alibaba were sanctioned in the states . Alibaba were sanctioned in the states . They are suing these two vendor is for selling Counterfeit Goods essentially for the first time. This is after years of accusations by us authorities that it and its Online Retail platform soled high levels of a fake goods and of course as you mentioned, it is coming shortly after the firms blacklisted by an Industry Watchdog in america. It is looking to curb the sale of Counterfeit Goods. They have set suit these two unnamed vendor is for selling Fake Swarovski watchers and the law slot lawsuit claims just watchers and the law slot Lawsuit Claimsjust under watchers and the law slot lawsuit claims just under 200,000 in damages. They were found out during a test, by, Purchase Programme weather watch as they bought were confirmed by swarovski to be fake. More than one onjune 25 counterfeit watches were confiscated. In other news Rex Tillerson the former exxon boss chosen by donald trump for us Secretary Of State will receive 180m to cut financial ties with the firm if he gets the job. The pay out is aimed at addressing concerns he could favour the oil giant, or his own interests while in office. The 64 year old texan worked for exxon mobil for a0 years, including in the us, yemen and russia. His nomination has come under intense scrutiny over his perceived close ties with russian president Vladimir Putin the price of petrol and diesel in the uk has risen to its highest sincejuly 2015, according to the motoring Services Company rac. The wholesale price of both fuels has risen significantly, following the Production Cuts announced by 0pec. Crude oil prices have doubled over the past year from under 28 dollars a barrel a year ago to 55 dollars this month. The fall in the value of sterling since the brexit vote has also increased uk fuel prices, as oil is priced in dollars. The three Financial Markets have said that have days progression in an 80s. Asia. Said that have days progression in an 80s. Asia. Lets see how the Financial Markets are progressing. Immigrants should be expected to learn english before coming to britain or attend language classes when they arrive thats the call from a group of mps. The all Party Parliamentary group on social integration is also calling on the government to consider giving the uks nations and regions the power to control the number of visas issued. Danny shaw has the details. 0ver over the past decade, the scale of immigration to britain has been unprecedented. It is sparking debate about whether the numbers should be reduced and if so, how. But this report from mps and peers says there should be more focus on what happens after immigration arrives. It says many immigrant communities and people already settles here lead parallel lives and it calls on the government to address what it says is our lack of integration. The report makes a number of recommendations. It says all immigrants should learn english before coming to the uk or in rolling classes when they are here. It calls for courses to teach immigrants about British Culture and the report says that government should give immigrants guidance on the costs and benefits of uk citizenship and consider cutting the fees for naturalisation. Allowed to the the lack of integration can lead to them not having the same opportunities and can increase stress in communities locally. All things that make living in england and britain great are denied people. You cannot enjoy what this country has to offer if you dont speak the language. Another idea in the report is for Immigration Policy to be devolved to britains nations and regions. They would be able to allocate these is according to local need. The report said that might instil confidence among numbers of the public that the Immigration System works to their area. The home 0ffice system works to their area. The home office says it is not planning to introduce local Visa Arrangement but the Department Says it has made funding available for more english lessons. Danny shaw, be the news. Bbc news. These are our top stories. President obama has made a personal intervention to try to safeguard the cornerstone of his legacy. The Incoming Trump administration has promised to repeal 0bamacare, the president s radical reform of american healthcare. German police have detained a tunisian man in connection with the attack on a berlin Christmas Market which left 12 people dead. A us federaljury has found six men from the gang known as the Chicago Hobos guilty of nine murders, robberies, kidnappings and shootings. Paris poe is one of the members, in what was the biggest gang trial in the citys recent history. A court in South Carolina has begun a hearing to decide whether the self confessed white supremacist, dylann roof, should receive the death penalty. He shot dead nine black churchgoers in charleston in 2015. Well, lets begin our news review from israel. The independent calls elor azaria, in the middle, the poster boy for israels far right. The soldier has been convicted of manslaughter for killing a wounded palestinian. The case has divided opinion in israel, Prime Minister netanyahu now saying he supports pardoning mr azaria. The arab news leads with american politics, and the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. President obama wants to transfer out more detainees before he leaves office, however President Elect trump has tweeted there should be no further releases. The gulf news has data suggesting indias Demonetisation Policy is leading to a slowdown in the countrys economic growth. The paper says it could cause a political backlash. The Daily Telegraph has concerns that uk households are borrowing too much money during financial uncertainty. Figures show Consumer Debt is at the highest level since 2008. A study in canada has found that living near a busy road increases the risk of developing dementia. Scientists say those living within 50 metres of a major traffic hub are most affected. Thats in the times. And he may not be the fastest, but he is easily one of the oldest