The new tool could end your ability to walk down the street anonymously. Photo / 123RF
The new tool could end your ability to walk down the street anonymously. Photo / 123RF
Welcome to the weekend. For those of you lucky enough to live in the Auckland region that means an extra-long one.
The country is in for some beautiful summer days this weekend so find a nice spot in the shade and check out some of the best pieces of content from our international syndicators.
The secretive company that might end privacy as we know it
Until recently, Hoan Ton-That's greatest hits included an obscure iPhone game and an app that let people put Donald Trump's distinctive yellow hair on their own photos.
Then Ton-That — an Australian techie and onetime model — did something momentous: He invented a tool that could end your ability to walk down the street anonymously and provided it to hundreds of law enforcement agencies, ranging from local cops in Florida to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Hoan Ton-That showing the results of a search for a photo of himself. Photo / Amr Alfiky, The New York Times
The truth behind the gut health craze
We are, it appears, in the middle of a faecal fixation, with people downloading bowel movement journals and even packing off their own poo specimens for personalised readings. Plus, there has been an, um, explosion in the gut-health market, with millions supplementing their diets with expensive probiotics and fashionable ferments such as kombucha, kefir, kvass and skyr.
It's the latest wellness buzz, but how strong is the science behind gut health?
The wellness world has gone potty for gut health. Photo / 123RF
Impeachment schedule explained: Why the trial could last weeks
The impeachment trial of Donald Trump could be over in two weeks, or it could stretch on much longer, depending on how much time is used by each side and how much additional evidence — if any — senators vote to review.
The US flag flies above the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Washington. Photo / T.J. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times
A luxury dish is banned, and a rural county reels
Last October, when the New York City Council passed a ban on foie gras as inhumane, Mayor Bill de Blasio called foie gras "a luxury item that the vast majority of us would never be able to afford."
But two hours northwest of the city, in one of New York's poorest counties, foie gras plays a much different role. There, it is not a luxury splurge but a domino in a fragile local economy. Almost all of the foie gras produced in the United States comes from two duck farms in Sullivan County, where about 400 workers, mostly immigrants from Mexico and Central America, rely on it for their livelihood.
Marcus Henley, vice president of Hudson Valley Foie Gras. Photo / Desiree Rios, The New York Times
These Syrian women rarely left the house. Then the men disappeared
The women of eastern Aleppo were rarely visible before the war, but now they shape the bitter peace. In the poor, conservative districts of Syria's ancient commercial capital, many women seldom used to leave the house, and only with their husbands if they did; the men not only won the bread, but also went out to buy it.
Then came the civil war.
Eight years and counting of bloodshed has ruptured Syria beyond recognition.
Hayat Kashkash, left, at Manoukian's garment workshop. Her husband had once forbidden her to work. Photo / Meridith Kohut, The New York Times
Saudi crown prince implicated in hacking of Amazon boss' phone
Forensic experts hired by Jeff Bezos have concluded with "medium to high confidence" that a WhatsApp account used by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was directly involved in a 2018 hack of the Amazon founder's phone.
The relationship between Jeff Bezos (left) and Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) soured after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi (centre). Photos / AP and Getty Images
Why these Australia fires are like nothing we've seen before
In late October, lightning struck brittle earth on Gospers Mountain in New South Wales. The remains of trees bone dry from consecutive winters with little to no rain were ignited, and the fire quickly spread.
Three months later, it is still burning.
More than 16 million acres have gone up in flames. And it has happened in populated areas, unlike most of the world's other blazes of this scale.
A man tried to protect his property in Lake Conjola, New South Wales, on New Year's Eve. Photo / Matthew Abbott, The New York Times
Yappy valley: Inside the lavish world of Silicon Valley dogs
San Francisco is ground zero of the future, home of tech giants from Airbnb and Pinterest to Uber. It is also a place where canines outnumber children.
The city's canines are pampered to within an inch of their lives by techies who are, generally, young, have money to burn and are having kids later — if at all.
Wealthy techies in San Francisco are spending thousands of dollars spoiling their pets. Photo / 123RF
Caneel Bay: Why a Caribbean paradise remains in ruins
Long considered the crown jewel of St. John, a small emerald island found among the US Virgin Islands and cut with curved bays and set against the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, more than 15,000 people annually visited Caneel Bay.
Two weeks in September 2017 changed that. Hurricanes Irma and Maria — both Category 5 storms — flogged St. John, ripping apart structures and flooding what remained.
Even as other accommodations in the region have reopened, Caneel Bay remains in tatters.
Caneel Bay, established by a member of the Rockefeller family, was one of the first eco-resorts in the United States. Photo / Anne Bequette, The New York Times
This is the guy who's taking away the likes
On a recent afternoon, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, assembled members of his staff to discuss the secret details of a critical project: the elimination of public "likes."
Likes are the social media currency undergirding an entire influencer economy, inspiring a million Kardashian wannabes and giving many of us regular people daily endorphin hits. But lately, Mosseri has been concerned about the unanticipated consequences of Instagram as approval arbiter.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, at the social media platform's offices in Manhattan. Photo / Ricky Rhodes, The New York Times
How Boeing's responsibility in a deadly crash 'got buried'
After a Boeing 737 crashed near Amsterdam more than a decade ago, Dutch investigators focused blame on the pilots for failing to react properly when an automated system malfunctioned and caused the plane to plummet into a field, killing nine people.
The crash, in February 2009, involved a predecessor to Boeing's 737 Max, the plane that was grounded last year after accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people and hurled the company into the worst crisis in its history.
