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SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook-parent Meta has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a 10-year-old lawsuit accusing it of tracking users online even after they logged off the social network, court records show. The agreement was filed Monday in a California court and if approved by a judge would put to rest one of the series of suits alleging the social media giant invaded users’ privacy. “Reaching a settlement in this case, […]
by Allison Jackson, with Alice Philipson in Hong Kong MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Dominic Lumabi sits on the computer in his Manila bedroom pitting his puffer fish-like cartoon NFT characters against others. But this is not just a game — he is earning cryptocurrency to support his family during the pandemic. The source of his income is Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based play-to-earn game that exploded in popularity in developing nations such as the Philippines as […]
THE HAUGE, Netherlands (AFP) – The Dutch port city of Rotterdam said Wednesday it would temporarily dismantle an historic bridge to allow a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to pass. Bezos’s gigantic, 430-million-euro ($485 million) yacht is too big for the iconic Koningshaven Bridge, which dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during World War II. The shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam, has […]
by Poornima WEERASEKARA Agence France-Presse BAODING, China (AFP) – Beaten, forced off their land, cheated out of money, and even falsely imprisoned — farmers in China say they are paying a heavy price as authorities rush to deliver on ambitious pledges to ramp up national green energy output. China has vowed the upcoming Winter Olympics 2022 will be the first Games to be run entirely on wind and solar energy, and have built scores of […]
by Neil SANDS Agence France-Presse WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – A two-tonne rubber whale can take on a life of its own in the frigid shallows of a windswept New Zealand beach, particularly when a bedraggled group of would-be rescuers is trying to wrestle it into a harness. “Keep the blowhole clear… you’re too close to the tail, one swipe can do a serious injury to yourself and the whale,” an instructor yells as the […]
by Anne-Sophie THILL Agence France-Presse LAURIERVILLE, Canada (AFP) – Pancake lovers, fear not. Strong demand for maple syrup after a poor Canadian harvest has created supply-side woes, but Quebec province is tapping its strategic reserves to keep the world awash in the sweet, sticky stuff. Experts are warning the shortages could be further compounded by climate change, which is already being blamed for last spring’s shorter and warmer sugaring season. To avoid shortages, the Quebec […]
by Aymen Jamli and Amal Belalloufi Agence France-Presse MGHIRA, Tunisia (AFP) – “When I see plastic, I see money,” says Tarek Masmoudi, owner of one of the few recycling companies in Tunisia, where a waste crisis is threatening widespread social unrest. Recycling is almost non-existent in the North African country, which produces 2.6 million tonnes of waste each year. Some 85 percent of that ends up in landfills, while much of the rest winds up […]
by Kaouthar Oudrhiri Agence France-Presse MEKNES, Morocco (AFP) – Recycling in Morocco may be in its infancy, but the North African kingdom is making steady progress, helped by a Swiss firm that specialises in processing organic waste. “Nothing’s thrown away here: everything is transformed,” says Mohamed El Kabous proudly, crumbling a fistful of compost produced by Elephant Vert (EV — Green Elephant) in the central city of Meknes. Established in 2012 as EV’s largest such […]
by Raphaelle LOGEROT Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – Alban Nikolai Herbst’s Berlin apartment is covered in dust, his precious record collection included, thanks to a coal-powered stove he still uses to heat his home like thousands across the city. Germany’s new government is set to extinguish the at-home heat source from a bygone era as part of its ambitious climate plans, as it looks to cut harmful emissions linked to climate change. But Herbst […]
by Alexander MARTINEZ Agence France-Presse CAMPECHE, Mexico (AFP) – A proposed Mayan tourist train in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula has divided residents in one of the country’s poorest regions, known for its indigenous uprisings. “The train will no longer come through here,” rejoiced Guadalupe Caceres, 64, at news that the original route was being modified and would no longer pass through her home. “We’ve lost, goodbye modernity,” responded locksmith Ruben Angulo, 49, who was hoping to […]
by Anne CHAON Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – Shrouded by acrid smoke, a young Afghan crouches sorting waste he has pulled from the trash bins of Istanbul, anxious that Turkey will soon strip him of even this subsistence. “I start at eight in the morning and finish at eight at night,” said Issam Raffur, who has spent four of his 20 years in Turkey. “It is very hard and poorly paid, but I have […]
by Jan HENNOP Agence France-Presse GARRELSWEER, Netherlands (AFP) – Teacher Daan Schoolland was asleep with his partner when the earthquake struck the northern Dutch hamlet of Garrelsweer in the middle of the night. “It was like a wave, we could feel it coming towards us,” the burly father-of-three recalled. “When I woke up, the whole room was still shaking and my kids were crying in terror.” The 3.2-magnitude earthquake in November was the largest for […]
