Australia
The Australian government’s consumer watchdog agency accused Google of willfully obscuring settings on Android phones that would let consumers stop their location data from being collected. Court documents allege that from 2017 to 2018, Google made it seem like turning off the setting “Location History” would prevent location data from being collected, when in reality, a second setting, “Web & App Activity,” also had to be disabled in order to stop location data collection. Courts also allege that Google failed to inform Android users that their data was collected to help Google generate advertisements for third parties. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission plans to take Google to court for these apparent attempts to misinform Android customers. (NPR)
Lebanon
Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s Prime Minister, resigned after anti-government protests throughout the country. Uncertainty is spreading through the recently stable country, as its people may have to create a brand new government. These protests were sparked in response to tax proposals that included a tax on calls made using the app WhatsApp, and grew over two weeks into protests against the country’s whole political system. Government institutions and banks closed amid the protests. Hariri announced his resignation before, in 2017, before un-resigning, so it remains to be seen whether he commits to stepping down this time. (NPR)
Syria
Founder and leader of terrorist group ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed by United States military forces in a special operation. President Trump said that al-Baghdadi activated a suicide vest after being cornered by U.S. forces and that al-Baghdadi’s remains had been positively identified. Trump thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and the Syrian Kurds for supporting the mission. (NPR)
Nepal
Nepal’s Nirmal Purja became the first mountaineer to summit the world’s 14 highest peaks in six months and six days, beating the previous record time by more than seven years. “I am overwhelmed and incredibly proud,” Purja said of his achievement in a statement. “It has been a grueling but humbling six months, and I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief and positivity.” According to NPR, “Mingma David Sherpa, who accompanied Purja on nine of the climbs, also became the youngest person to summit all 14 of these peaks.” (NPR)
Hong Kong
Joshua Wong, pro-democracy advocate in Hong Kong, was barred from running in a local district council’s elections. A city official said that Wong’s calls for Hong Kong’s self-determination were incompatible with an oath of allegiance to the city and its constitution. Wong clarified that he and the Demosistō movement he belongs to “do not promote and support independence as an option of self-determination.” Wong and other activists have been barred from running in elections before, but Wong is the only person to be barred in this election cycle. Tensions are running high after recent protests in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam blames protestors like Wong for Hong Kong’s recent financial recession. (NPR)