NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A Rolex watch worn by a British prisoner during the real-life “Great Escape” from the Nazi Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war camp sold for $189,000 on Thursday in New York. The final sum for the timepiece, sold to an anonymous buyer, was less than the $200,000 and $400,000 expected by Christie’s. The watch was worn by Gerald Imeson on the night of March 24, 1944, when a group of Allied […]
Lifestyle
Elon Musk: tech visionary turns social media king
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Sometimes it feels like it’s Elon Musk’s world and we just live in it. The endlessly innovative, endlessly eccentric billionaire has struck a deal to buy Twitter — giving him control of the social media network on which the world debates, mobilizes and bickers. It is just the latest conquest for Musk, who has revolutionized the car industry, sent his own rocket to space, built the world’s biggest […]
End of an era as Netflix faces stagnation challenges
by Thomas URBAIN Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Having lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade, Netflix faces the new challenge of stagnation from a position of strength. A drop of just 200,000 users — less than 0.1 percent of its total customer base — was enough to send Wall Street panicking, with shares plunging more than 30 percent on Wednesday. The loss of subscribers and […]
‘We thought Taliban had changed’: Afghan girls banned from school
by Aysha Safi Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Days after the Taliban staged a cruel U-turn on allowing Afghan girls back to school, Adeeba Haidari feels as if she is in prison. The 13-year-old was one of thousands of jubilant girls who flocked back to secondary schools reopening across the country on Wednesday, for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August. But just hours into classes, the education ministry […]
Russia limits access to Google News
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s media regulator has restricted access to the Google News service, accusing it of providing access to “false” information about Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday. The decision was taken at the request of the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office, according to a statement by the country’s media regulator Roskomnadzor cited by the agencies. The online news service “provided access to numerous publications and materials that contain false […]
Netflix tests charging a fee to share accounts
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Netflix on Wednesday said it is testing charging a fee to subscribers who share their accounts with people who don’t live in their homes. The US-based steaming service has long taken a relaxed approach to users sharing passwords with family or friends, but recently saw stock dive on quarterly results that showed cooling subscriber growth. Competition in the streaming television market meanwhile has been ramping up, particularly from Disney+, […]
Ford accelerates electric car push in Europe
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – US carmaker Ford on Monday said it would offer seven new electric vehicle models in Europe by 2024 and expand operations in Germany, Romania and Turkey. Ford last month created a new business dedicated to electric cars, and said it aims to sell more than 600,000 of these vehicles annually in Europe alone by 2026, as part of a larger goal of selling two million electric cars worldwide by […]
UN slams Facebook decision on violent messages
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN voiced alarm Friday at Facebook’s decision to temporarily ease its policy on violent speech after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, warning it could spark “hate speech” against Russians. The policy decision from Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta on Thursday said the platforms would now allow statements like “death to Russian invaders” but not credible threats against civilians. “This is clearly a very, very complex issue, but it does […]
Decaying Congo tin mining town finds new hope in lithium
by Annie THOMAS and Lucien KAHOZI Agence France-Presse MANONO, DR Congo (AFP) – Near the rusting carcass of a smelter, barefoot men and women scratch at the ground in the quest for cassiterite — the tin oxide ore that generations ago gave the town of Manono a brief taste of the good life. The diggers carry the sandy earth to the Lukushi River where women wash the grit in metal bowls, hoping to find some […]
Mexico’s nature defenders put lives on line
by Jennifer Gonzalez Covarrubias Agence France-Presse OCAMPO, Mexico (AFP) – In the fir forests of Mexico, one of the world’s most dangerous countries for environmentalists, the legacy of butterfly defender Homero Gomez lives on two years after his suspected murder. Despite the dangers of standing up to illegal loggers, fellow conservationists continue Gomez’s work guarding the El Rosario monarch butterfly sanctuary in Mexico’s central highlands. The agricultural engineer dedicated much of his life to protecting […]
Bananas to fish scales: fashion’s hunt for eco-materials
by Eric RANDOLPH Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Sneakers made from banana or pineapple leaves, dresses from nettles or fish scales — the search for sustainable materials has taken the fashion industry to some wild places. Experts warn these new textiles are not a quick fix for fashion’s enormous problems with over-consumption and waste, but may be a necessary step in developing cleaner technologies. “You could possibly eat the final product,” said Hannes Schoenegger, […]
Facebook co-workers now ‘Metamates’ as image evolves
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg laid out revamped company values Tuesday, urging workers to be “Metamates” who treat one another with respect and look to the future. Zuckerberg shared his note to employees on his Facebook page, the revamped credo coming on the heels of the internet giant being renamed Meta in October. “As we build the next chapter of our company as Meta, we just updated the values […]