Ex-Google exec Ross LaJeunesse savages firm on human rights
Rossformaine.com Ross LaJeunesse was head of global international relations for Google A former Google executive has raised concerns about the tech giant’s human rights policies as it eyes expansion in China and elsewhere. Ross LaJeunesse, the firm’s former head of global international relations, said he was “sidelined” after he pushed the company to take a […]
Londonderry girl gamers recognised for challenging stereotypes
St Marys College Orlaith and Erin impressed Digital Schoolhouse judges with their take on what its like to be an all-girls team “It is 18 or 19-year old men we are playing against – and then I bring in my little girls.” An all-girls team of gamers from a Londonderry secondary school are using their […]
Canada’s 2023 wildfires emitted more carbon than most countries
BC Wildfire Service/Reuters Canada’s 2023 wildfires, the worst on record, burned an area roughly the size of Florida Canada’s record wildfires last year produced more carbon emissions than the burning of fossil fuels in all but three major countries, according to a study released in the journal Nature. Only China, the US and India produced […]
Brexit threatens £80bn UK investment
Getty Images Jaguar Land Rover has warned that a “bad” Brexit deal would threaten £80bn worth of investment plans for the UK and may force it to close factories. The UK’s biggest carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said its “heart and soul is in the UK”. But without frictionless trade JLR said its UK […]
Scottish MP Ian Murray to stand
PA Media Ian Murray said Labour should remain a pro-UK, pro-Europe party Scotland’s only remaining Labour MP is to run for the position of deputy leader of the party. Ian Murray, the MP for Edinburgh South, said the architects of the party’s ”catastrophic failure” in 2019 could not be allowed to lead the response. The […]
Alibaba accepts record China fine and vows to change
Getty Images Chinese tech giant Alibaba said on Monday that it accepted a record penalty imposed by the country’s anti-monopoly regulator. Regulators slapped a $2.8bn fine after a probe determined that it had abused its market position for years. The fine amounts to about 4% of the company’s 2019 domestic revenue. Alibaba Group’s executive vice […]
Girls Aloud split was ‘silly’
Virgin/EMI Nadine has recorded a new album with Girls Aloud’s “mad scientist” Brian Higgins “My favourite smell is bleach,” says Nadine Coyle. “If I walk into the house and there’s things being bleached, it just makes me feel at home, euphoric almost.” She pauses and laughs. “I can’t believe we’re having a whole discussion about […]
Telegram boss Pavel Durov banned from leaving France in criminal probe
Telegram boss and founder Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app, Paris prosecutors say. Mr Durov, 39, has not been remanded in custody, but placed under judicial supervision, and has to pay a €5m (£4.2m; $5.6m) deposit. The Russian-born billionaire, […]
British author Samantha Harvey wins with Orbital
British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize award with her novel Orbital, the first book set in space to win the prize. Orbital contemplates the world from a different viewpoint as it follows a team of astronauts in the International Space Station. It’s the biggest-selling book on the shortlist in the UK, […]
Cherry tomatoes could cost 10% more ‘within a week of Brexit’
Tomato prices may go up in the event of a no-deal Brexit The cost of cherry tomatoes could increase by more than 10% if there is a no deal Brexit, say growers in southern Spain. Earlier this week, I visited a vast site near Alicante, where 60 million kilograms of cherry tomatoes are grown, picked […]