Apr 16, 2021
Indianapolis FedEx gunman was former employee
A gunman opens fire at a FedEx facility near the city airport before taking his own life, police say.
Apr 16, 2021
Jimmy Lai: The Hong Kong billionaire's last interview as a free man
Jimmy Lai is the billionaire owner of Hong Kong’s last opposition newspaper, Apple Daily, and an outspoken critic of Beijing. On Friday he was jailed for 12 months.
Apr 16, 2021
Indianapolis mass shooting: 'Emotions are very high' after shooting at FedEx...
A police spokesperson said "emotions are very high" following the late night shooting.
Apr 15, 2021
Facebook urged to scrap Instagram for children plans
A group of public health advocates from around the world wants Facebook to scrap its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children. "Kids are already online, and want to connect with their family and friends, have fun, and learn. We want to help them do that in a safe and age-appropriate way, and find practical solutions to the ongoing industry problem of kids lying about their age to access apps," the social media giant told the BBC. "We're working on new age verification methods to...
Apr 13, 2021
Ville de Bitche: Facebook mistakenly removes French town's page
Facebook has been criticised for temporarily removing the official page of the small French town of Bitche. Bitche's mayor said the Facebook page of the town was removed on 19 March for violating site rules. "On 19 March, Facebook informed us that our page, Ville de Bitche, was no longer online, on the basis that it was 'in violation of conditions applying to Facebook pages'," the town's mayor, Benoît Kieffer, said in a statement. After the page was removed, the town hall had to create a new...
Apr 12, 2021
Alibaba accepts record China fine and vows to change
Alibaba Group's executive vice chairman Joe Tsai indicated that regulators have taken an interest in platforms like Alibaba as they grow in importance. The company added that it was not aware of any further anti-monopoly investigations by Chinese regulators, though it signalled that Alibaba and its competitors would remain under review in China over mergers and acquisitions. The penalty is the latest in a chain of events targeting the company that kicked off last October, after its co-founder...
Apr 10, 2021
Alibaba: Chinese regulator slaps huge fine on tech giant
The world's biggest online retailer - China's Alibaba - has been hit with a record fine equivalent to $2.75bn. Regulators in China said the internet giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. Analysts say the fine shows China intends to move against internet platforms that it thinks are too big. While not well known outside China, inside the country Alibaba is an ever-present behemoth, the BBC's Robin Brant reports from Shanghai. The company is China's Amazon meets eBay,...
Apr 10, 2021
Amazon defeats historic Alabama union effort
Amazon has defeated activists hoping to establish the company's first unionised warehouse in the US. Workers at the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse voted 1,798 to 738 against the effort, labour officials said. That represents a majority of votes cast, though some ballots have been challenged and have yet to be counted. It accused Amazon of interfering with the right of employees to vote in a "Free and fair election", including by lying to staff about the implications of the vote in mandatory...
Apr 9, 2021
'Satan Shoes' to be recalled as Nike agrees to settle lawsuit
No further details were made public about the settlement, which includes the Jesus Shoes produced by MSCHF in 2019 also using the Air Max 97 as a base. "MSCHF altered these shoes without Nike's authorisation. Nike had nothing to do with the Satan Shoes or the Jesus Shoes," Nike said in a statement. Nike sued MSCHF last week claiming the "Satan Shoes [were] likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association" between MSCHF's products and the company. MSCHF. David...
Apr 9, 2021
Amazon holds early lead in historic union election
Hundreds of the votes were challenged by Amazon and union representatives, but an incomplete count of uncontested ballots conducted by labour officials on Thursday showed that at least 1,100 workers voted against the union effort, compared to less than 500 votes in favour of unionising. If successful, the union drive would mean Amazon, the second largest employer in the US, would have to negotiate a contract with union officials on issues such as work rules and pay. Union membership has...
Apr 8, 2021
Milk Tea Alliance: Twitter creates emoji for pro-democracy activists
AFP. Twitter has launched a new emoji for the "Milk Tea Alliance" - a movement uniting Asian pro-democracy activists. "We have seen more than 11 million tweets featuring the #MilkTeaAlliance hashtag over the past year," Twitter said in a post on the platform. The announcement is a big moment for the movement, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a leading Thai activist, told the BBC. "It's very good that Twitter has recognised what we have fought for for many years," he said. A post on Hong Kong...
Apr 8, 2021
Zach Avery: Hollywood actor arrested over $690m scam scheme
Mr Horwitz, whose stage name is Zach Avery, allegedly raised funds from investors for film licensing deals with Netflix and HBO that did not exist. Distribution deals had been struck with Netflix and HBO, Mr Horwitz allegedly told investors. Mr Horwitz allegedly showed investors fabricated agreements and emails regarding the purported deals with HBO and Netflix. At some points, Mr Horwitz was able to pay some investors, using funds raised from other investors to do so. The criminal complaint...
Apr 4, 2021
Amazon apologises for wrongly denying drivers need to urinate in bottles
Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Wisconsin, referenced Amazon making "Workers urinate in water bottles" in a tweet. Mr Pocan had criticised Amazon for opposing efforts by workers to unionise a major facility in Alabama. "Paying workers $15/hr doesn't make you a 'progressive workplace' when you union-bust & make workers urinate in water bottles," he wrote last week. Shortly afterwards, Amazon's official account responded: "You don't really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were...
Apr 3, 2021
Bridgerton fans mourn as Regé-Jean Page's exit confirmed for second season
So news that Regé-Jean Page will not return for season two of hit TV period drama Bridgerton has left fans aghast. British-Zimbabwean actor Page played a leading role as Simon, the Duke of Hastings - an eligible but rebellious young bachelor in an alternative telling of Regency era London's debutante balls. "It's been an absolute pleasure and a privilege," said Page. Page told Variety magazine that he had always expected to only appear in one series - and in fact that was part of the role's...
Apr 2, 2021
Nike wins lawsuit over 'Satan Shoes' with human blood
MSCHF. Nike has won its lawsuit against Brooklyn art collective MSCHF over their controversial 'Satan Shoes' that contain a drop of real human blood in the soles. Nike claimed trademark infringement, asking a federal court in New York to stop MSCHF from selling the shoes and prevent them from using its famous Swoosh. MSCHF "Dropped" the black and red shoes on Monday, coinciding with the launch of Lil Nas X's latest song Montero, which debuted on YouTube last Friday. MSCHF. "There is already...
Apr 2, 2021
Dinosaur-killing asteroid strike gave rise to Amazon rainforest
Researchers used fossil pollen and leaves from Colombia to investigate how the impact changed South American tropical forests. While the forests recovered over the next six million years, angiosperms, or flowering plants, came to dominate the forests. During the late Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs were still alive, the trees that made up the forests were widely-spaced. So how did the impact transform the sparse, conifer-rich tropical forests of the dinosaur age into the rainforests of...
Apr 2, 2021
Uber ordered to pay $1.1m to blind woman refused rides
Lisa Irving said on some occasions, drivers were verbally abusive, or harassed her about transporting her guide dog, Bernie, in the car. An independent arbitrator ruled Uber's drivers had illegally discriminated against her due to her condition. Mrs Irving, from San Francisco, said she had worried about her safety after being stranded multiple times late at night due to being rejected by drivers. The behaviour from drivers continued despite her complaining to Uber, she said. "Drivers using...
Apr 1, 2021
Facebook bans 'voice of Trump' from platform
EPA. Facebook has removed a video of former US President Donald Trump from the page of his daughter-in-law Lara Trump. The social media giant banned Mr Trump from its platform in January following riots by his supporters on the Capitol building in Washington. Lara Trump, a new Fox News contributor, posted a video of herself interviewing Mr Trump on a range of issues. "In line with the block we placed on Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, further content posted in the voice of...
Apr 1, 2021
Hong Kong: Media mogul Jimmy Lai found guilty over 2019 mass protests
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and six former lawmakers have been found guilty of unauthorised assembly, in the latest blow to the city's pro-democracy movement. The defence team said that freedom of assembly is protected under Hong Kong's constitution, and that authorities had approved a demonstration which then grew into the unauthorised march. The prosecution argued that freedom of assembly - while granted in the constitution - was not absolute in Hong Kong. Billionaire media mogul Jimmy...
Apr 1, 2021
Amazon v the union: The vote the online giant fears
Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, have voted in a historic poll to decide whether they want to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Most agree conditions in its warehouses can be hard - the job is very demanding and lots of workers complain of back pain or other physical niggles as a result of working long hours, often standing in the same position. "Paying workers $15 an hour doesn't make you a 'progressive workplace' when you union-bust and make workers...
Mar 31, 2021
Terrace House: Japanese man fined $80 after Netflix star's suicide
Reports say the man posted messages on her social media account saying she had an "Awful personality", and asking "When will you die?". The reality show, Terrace House, was cancelled after her death in May. Terrace House, co-produced by Japan's FujiTV and distributed by Netflix, was popular amongst global audiences before its cancellation. The unscripted reality show follows six young people who live together in one house in Japan but generally go about their daily lives. Reports quoting...
Mar 30, 2021
Nike sues over 'Satan Shoes' with human blood
MSCHF. Nike is suing rapper Lil Nas X and art collective MSCHF over a controversial pair of "Satan Shoes" that contain a drop of real human blood in the soles. The $1,018 trainers, which feature an inverted cross, a pentagram and the words "Luke 10:18", were made using modified Nike Air Max 97s. MSCHF released 666 pairs of the shoes on Monday on its app and says they sold out in less than a minute. The sports shoe giant says in a filing with the US District Court for the Eastern District of...
Mar 30, 2021
Child tweets gibberish from US nuclear-agency account
A young child inadvertently sparked confusion over the weekend by posting an unintelligible tweet to the official account of US Strategic Command. Some social-media users feared the account may have been hacked. It has since been revealed a young member of the account's social-media manager's family was responsible for posting the tweet, ";l;;gmlxzssaw", which was then deleted within minutes. "The command's Twitter manager... momentarily left the command's Twitter account open and...
Mar 29, 2021
The Netflix show putting the spotlight on menopause
According to the Indian Menopause Society, the country has 150 million women living with menopause. "Women spend nearly one-third of their lives with menopause, but there's little awareness about it," says Dr Anita Shah, gynaecologist and secretary of IMS. Dr Shah, who has been practicing in the western city of Surat for more than three decades, says less than half the women over 40 years who come to her with symptoms of menopause are aware of what's happening with their bodies and why....
Mar 29, 2021
Facebook undersea cable to boost South East Asia internet
The cables will be the first to directly connect North America to the main parts of Indonesia, Facebook added. "We are working with partners and regulators to meet all of the concerns that people have, and we look forward to that cable being a valuable, productive trans-Pacific cable," he added. The PLCN - funded by Facebook and Alphabet, Google's parent company - was originally intended to link the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. These plans were withdrawn last year...
Mar 27, 2021
Facebook freezes Maduro's page over Covid claim
Facebook has frozen Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's page after he claimed without evidence that a herbal remedy could cure Covid-19. US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro have also faced action over Covid posts. "A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC:"We removed a video posted to President Nicolas Maduro's page for violating our policies against misinformation about Covid-19 that is likely to put people at risk for harm. Last year, Facebook deleted a video from Brazil's...
Mar 26, 2021
Xinjiang cotton: Western clothes brands vanish as backlash grows
China is accused of committing serious human rights violations against the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang. "We have always bought and used cotton produced in China, including Xinjiang cotton, and in the future we will continue to do so," it said. Japanese sportswear label Asics also pledged support for Xinjiang cotton, while Japanese retailer Muji - which at one point had marketed a "Xinjiang cotton" line of products- told the Global Times it was still selling such items in China....
Mar 25, 2021
Twitter: Buyer defends paying $2.9m for 'Mona Lisa' of tweets
The buyer of Twitter's first ever tweet by its founder Jack Dorsey for $2.9m sees it as a wise investment. "It's a piece of human history in the form of a digital asset. Who knows what will be the price of the first tweet of human history 50 years from now," Malaysia-based Sina Estavi said. Jack Dorsey's tweet, which said "Just setting up my twttr," was first published on 21 March 2006 and was auctioned off by Mr Dorsey for Give Directly's Africa Response charity. "To be able to capture the...
Mar 25, 2021
Nike, H&M face China fury over Xinjiang cotton 'concerns'
Fashion giant H&M is facing a boycott in China over its refusal to use Xinjiang cotton amid allegations of forced labour of the Uighur minority. "Spreading rumours to boycott Xinjiang cotton, while also wanting to make money in China? Wishful thinking!" it said on microblogging platform Weibo on Wednesday morning, as it shared screenshots of the retailer's statement from last year. A Weibo post by Chinese state media CGTN shared a video showing the "Reality" of cotton-picking in Xinjiang,...
Mar 25, 2021
Winston Churchill, Kermit and Janet Jackson recordings preserved for posterity
The US Library of Congress is more picky: admitting just 25 recordings to its Recording Registry every year. Nas' iconic debut, Illmatic, was also added to the registry, as was Labelle's Lady Marmalade and Louis Armstrong's 1938 recording of When the Saints Go Marching In. Churchill is included for his speech at the White House on Christmas Eve 1941, less than three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor dragged America into the Second World War. The Library of Congress recognised how the pop...