Tampa, United States | AFP | Life expectancy in the United States dropped yet again as drug overdose deaths continued to climb — taking more than 70,000 lives in 2017 — and suicides rose, a US government report said Thursday. The drug overdose rate rose 9.6 percent compared to 2016, …
Read More »Google extends telecom service Fi to iPhones
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google said Wednesday it was expanding its “virtual” telecommunication service that was limited to select Android-powered smartphones to a wider range of devices, including iPhones. Freshly renamed “Google Fi” service aims to take on traditional carriers by letting people pay based on how …
Read More »In the #MeToo era, theologians publish ‘Women’s Bible’
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Tired of seeing their holy texts used to justify the subjugation of women, a group of feminist theologians from across the Protestant-Catholic divide have joined forces to draft “A Women’s Bible”. As the #MeToo movement continues to expose sexual abuse across cultures and industries, some …
Read More »US couple win $1.8 million after finding discarded lottery ticket
Washington, United States | AFP | A couple from Louisiana have more than a million reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving after discovering a long lost jackpot-winning lottery ticket with only two weeks left to claim it. Harold and Tina Ehrenberg found the $1.8 million winning ticket, which won the …
Read More »Facebook access hit by unspecified problems
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook said Tuesday users were having trouble accessing the social network and its other applications such as Instagram, but did not explain the cause of the outages. It was the second instance in the past two weeks in which technical issues appeared to affect …
Read More »Facebook shuts more accounts aimed at political meddling
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down more accounts aimed at influencing the US midterm election and that it is exploring a possible link to Russia. “As we’ve continued to investigate, we detected and removed some additional Facebook and Instagram accounts,” head of …
Read More »After conquering the world, smartphone faces uncertain future
Washington, United States | AFP | What is next for the smartphone, which has become the hottest-selling consumer device around the world in just over a decade? Even as top makers like Apple and Samsung unveil new handsets with new features and improved performance, smartphone sales have flattened with most …
Read More »Smartphones raising a mentally fragile generation
San Diego, United States | AFP | San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge sees smartphones and social media as raising an unhappy, compliant “iGen.” QUESTION: What is the iGen? ANSWER: The iGen is the generation born in 1995 and later, and they’re the first generation to spend their …
Read More »Fighting wars and disease, smartphones on the frontlines
Paris, France | AFP | At the sharp end of conflict in Syria, in a schoolchild’s bag in Kenya, whether fighting deadly diseases or studying forestry, the smartphone has become ubiquitous in just over a decade. This year, the number of users is expected to pass three billion, and AFP …
Read More »Samsung folding screen lets smartphone open into tablet
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Samsung on Wednesday showed off a folding screen that lets a smartphone open into a tablet, heralding it as the future for portable devices. Senior vice president of mobile product marketing Justin Denison pulled a prototype foldable smartphone from a suit jacket inner …
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