Social media giants have been told by the Health Secretary to purge their sites of self-harm and suicide material, or face legislation. Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has this weekend written to social media bosses warning them that action is “urgently” needed to ensure they do not breach the policies of internet providers. In the letter, Mr Hancock expresses his growing concern over harmful content online, and states it is “appalling” how easy it is to access content that “leads to self harm and promotes suicide”. The letter, sent to corporate leaders at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest,…
Author: Loknath Das
MURRAY — Attract diverse teachers to Kentucky: That’s what Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis hopes a new loan forgiveness program will do. It’s called the Kentucky Academy and Equity and Teaching. The program will allow certain students to apply for state money that they will not have to pay back if they teach in Kentucky. Bailey Ramage is an education student at Murray State University. She plans on working in early education after she graduates, but she worries about paying back her student loans. “Taking out loans is hard, and having to pay them back while starting out to be…
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured formal commitments from 16 celebrities to ensure they will now say clearly if they have been paid or received any gifts or loans of products which they endorse. The influential celebrities, with large online followings, who have acted in response to the CMA’s concerns, include singers Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora, models Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, former Coronation Street and Our Girl actress Michelle Keegan and TV reality stars Millie Mackintosh and Megan McKenna. Online endorsements from celebrities and influencers can help brands boost sales, as millions of fans follow their…
Harry Brewis, who goes by Hbomberguy, playing Donkey Kong 64. His Twitch stream raised money for Mermaids and was endorsed by Chelsea Manning and Cher. Photograph: Twitch One of the defining features of politics in the 21st century has been the way online cultural phenomena can cross over into the “real” world. Unfortunately, perhaps because the internet seems to bring out the worst in people, those phenomena have largely been, well, awful. The defining example is Gamergate: the 2014 campaign of online misogynist harassment that acted as a breeding ground for many of the figures who would go on to…
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is i known to finish a game that too in style. The man on Friday won his first Man of the Series in ODIs since 2011 after helping India achieve their first-ever bilateral series win against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. With many people showering praises for the 37-year-old wicketkeeper, India’s former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar also had a few words for Dhoni. He said that Dhoni is being able to achieve success because his mind is still at its prime even though he has lost a bit of physical ability and confidence. The World Cup-winning skipper hit an unbeaten 87…
Mounted police patrol in Bulawayo on January 16, 2019, as shops and offices remain closed for business in the central business district following violent protests in the country triggered by a sharp, sudden rise in fuel prices. HARARE – Zimbabwe’s public workers have rejected a second offer to raise their salaries and demanded to be paid in dollars, days after at least three people died in violent anti-government protests. Hundreds of Zimbabweans were detained on public order charges on Friday, as the United Nations urged an end to a security crackdown and an internet blackout. Zimbabweans, who have seen their…
HARARE – With Zimbabwe’s internet shutdown still partly in place, the information minister says that the government has crafted a new law to curb abuse of the internet. Zimbabweans were left without internet for nearly 30 hours this week and the authorities have kept a block on social networking sites in an apparent bid to curb support for anti-government strikes. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa says a new cyber bill has been approved by cabinet and will soon be tabled in parliament for adoption. Mutsvangwa said the proposed new law will ensure that the internet isn’t used to violate national security. Her remarks, broadcast…
Snap Inc. Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone is resigning after eight months in the job, another sign of volatility at the social-media company that sent shares tumbling in extended trading. His sudden departure, following several years of frequent executive turnover, adds to uncertainty surrounding the young company’s future, as it struggles to expand the user base for its Snapchat mobile photo-sharing app. Snap shares, which have fallen more than 50 % in the past year, dropped 7 % after the close of regular trading in New York following the announcement. Stone, who came to Snap from Amazon.com Inc., was seen as an…
George is a zebrafish. Along with Tom and 98 other mates, George swims freely in a laboratory tank at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU), in Lisbon, Portugal. A camera records from above a video of all the animals’ comings and goings. Is it possible to distinguish individual fish from the video images at every moment? Yes, says Gonzalo de Polavieja, principal investigator of the Collective Behavior Lab, who, with his team, has developed a program called idtracker.ai that can do the job quickly and with extreme accuracy. Their results were published in the journal Nature Methods. “The ultimate goal…
Kolkata, January 14: In an appalling case of inhumanity, 16 puppies on Sunday were beaten to death in premises of state-run city hospital in Kolkata. The incident has triggered shock and outrage among the people and has prompted authorities of NRS Medical College and Hospital to launch a probe. The incident came to light when animal carcasses were found in a deserted spot, where, waste from the gynaecological department is dumped, reported Hindustan Times. Telangana: 100 Stray Dogs Poisoned in Hyderabad, Case Registered. In the video clip which is going viral on the internet, shows two women thrashing the puppies within the hospital…