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by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – A US consumer protection agency said Monday it has opened an investigation into Facebook’s privacy practices, another blow to the social network, which is struggling to deal with a growing crisis on misuse of private data. The Federal Trade Commission confirmed news reports from last week that it had opened an inquiry over the harvesting of data on tens of millions of Facebook users by the […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s struggling smartphone maker HTC posted its worst-ever quarterly loss on Monday, but said it expects a boost from the $1.1 billion deal with Google sealed earlier this year. The deal, completed in January, saw Google buy part of HTC’s smartphone business as the US giant looks to take greater control of its hardware business. HTC has suffered consecutive losses due to stiff competition in the smartphone sector from Apple, […]
by Elaine Yu Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — From murals made famous by Instagram to painting battles, Hong Kong’s once largely underground street art scene has exploded in recent years and is now blossoming across the city’s walls and alleyways. The commercial high end of the art world is at the fore in March, with gallerists, collectors, and celebrities descending on Hong Kong for the annual Art Basel fair. But English mural […]
The world’s polar ice caps are shrinking little by little. The Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the planet…with Greenland’s glaciers receding particularly quickly. This process is speeding up all by itself. Melting snow exposes ice underneath, which then absorbs the sun’s rays and increases thawing. At the opposite end of the earth, 90% of the ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula are starting to disintegrate. Ice melt is also […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Young orangutan Utu clings to one of his rescuers as he is freed from the tiny wooden cage that has been home for five years. The tiny primate, covered in fuzzy auburn hair, is one of three Bornean orangutans saved in Indonesia over the past two weeks. Environmentalists and local officials rescued Utu and another youngster, Joy, from tiny 1.5 by one meter (five by three feet) cages where they were […]
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt, known worldwide for its ancient pyramids, is the Arab world’s most populous country and has been under military control for decades. It is ruled by ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is assured of a second term in elections next week. Here is some background about the country. Army’s grip on power After a period of British rule, Egypt gained independence in 1922 under King Fuad I. In 1952, charismatic army […]
PERTH, Australia (AFP) — At least 135 short-finned pilot whales died Friday after a mass beaching in Australia as rescuers worked to herd those still alive back out to sea. The stranding of 150 whales at Hamelin Bay, some 315 kilometres (195 miles) south of Perth, was spotted by a commercial fisherman at daybreak, with fears the carcasses will attract sharks. Western Australia state’s Parks and Wildlife Service said its staff were on site and […]
by Pascale Juilliard and Fiachra Gibbons Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — It is a hip-looking cafe like any other in central Paris, thronged with lunchtime dinners. Except that Joyeux has a little something extra — many of its cooks and waiters have one more chromosome. The coffee shop is the latest in a chain of lunch joints springing up across France staffed by people with Down syndrome, autism and other cognitive disabilities. “Joyeux” […]
by Patrick Galey Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — British scientists on Wednesday unveiled a next-generation wearable brain scanner that can be donned like a helmet and allows patients to move freely while being scanned, potentially revolutionizing neural care for children and the elderly. Researchers hailed the “transformative” imaging set-up, which for the first time gave them access to brain activity while patients make natural movements, including nodding, stretching and even playing ping pong. […]
by Marlowe Hood Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A world addled by climate change has seen a four-fold increase in major flooding events since 1980, and a doubling of significant storms, droughts and heat waves, Europe’s national science academies jointly reported Wednesday. In Europe, where precise data reaches back decades, the number of severe floods has jumped five fold since 1995, according to the report, which updates a 2013 assessment. “There has been, […]
