Dutch pensioners pick up the social media habit, usage soars in five years

DutchNews, December 30, 2017

Photo: Depositphotos.com 

Some 64% of pensioners under the age of 75 say they use social media platforms such as Whatsapp, up from just 24% five years ago, national statistics office CBS said at the weekend. 

Social media is also becoming more popular among older pensioners. Some 35% of the over-75s also use websites such as Facebook and Twitter, compared with just one in 20 in 2012, the CBS said. 

This means some 85% of the over-12s in the Netherlands are now active on social media, the statistics agency said. 

The over-65s are most likely to use the internet to find information about goods and services, followed by researching health issues and reading the news.

Turning e-waste into art at Ghana's toxic dump

Yahoo – AFP, Stacey KNOTT, 27 December 2017

A young man carries an old refrigerator at Agbogbloshie dumpsite in Accra

Joseph Awuah-Darko sits on a stool at one of the world's largest electronic waste dumps, watching polystyrene and insulation cables burn on the blackened ground.

"It's survival and dystopia," says the 21-year-old British-born Ghanaian, surveying the stretch of wasteland around him as dense plumes of acrid smoke rise into the air.

Awuah-Darko and his university friends have ambitious plans for the sprawling Agbogbloshie dumping ground in Ghana's capital, Accra.

In January this year, he co-founded the non-profit Agbogblo.Shine Initiative, which encourages people working at the dump to turn waste into high-end furniture.

The dump workers typically risk exposure to harmful fumes by burning obsolete and unwanted appliances such as mobile phones, computers, televisions and plastics that are brought to Ghana from around the world.

After burning, they salvage and resell copper and other metals from these leftovers of modern consumer culture.

The dump and scrapyard sit next to the heavily polluted Odaw River in the slum-like area, home to an estimated 40,000 people.

The United Nations has said that salvaging materials for recycling provides income for more than 64 million people in the developing world.

Ghana is said to have the largest informal recycling industry in Africa and imports some 40,000 tonnes of this e-waste annually.

Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko and his university friends have ambitious 

plans for the sprawling Agbogbloshie dumping ground, encouraging people working

at the dump to turn waste into high-end furniture

'We are suffering here'

When Awuah-Darko first saw the piles of circuit boards, wires and plastics at Agbogbloshie he decided he wanted to use his artistic talent as a force for change.

So he set up the Agbogblo.Shine project with Cynthia Muhonja, a fellow student from Ashesi University, about an hour's drive from Accra.

They repurpose the electronic scraps, "upcycling" them into furniture, and offer training for the young men who work at the dump to create the pieces.

The students straddle two worlds -- a privileged life on the lush campus of a private university in a forested area, and the harsh reality of life for some of Ghana's poorest people.

Mohamed Abdul Rahim, who is in charge of about 20 young men, has been working at Agbogbloshie since 2008.

The 25-year-old from the north of Ghana works 12-hour days, six days a week. On average the workers make only about 20 cedi each ($4.50, 3.75 euros) a day.

He knows the work is bad for his health but doesn't see any other option. However he is optimistic that Awuah-Darko's initiative will help.

Agbogbloshie dumpsite in Accra sits next to the heavily polluted Odaw River 

in a slum-like area that is home to an estimated 40,000 people

"We are suffering here because the heat is there, the smoke, too, it disturbs us. If we see good work we will go join it and leave this," he says.

The toxic fumes hurt his lungs, while his hips and waist ache from carrying heavy objects to burn. The money he earns supports his mother, wife and three children.

The ground he works on is black, muddy and littered with plastic bags, cables, bottles and broken shoes alongside smashed television sets and computer monitors.

Workers use plastics and polystyrene as fuel to melt down components to extract the copper.

Grandfather clock

Awuah-Darko recognises that the people of Agbogbloshie "are basically in pursuit of what we all want, which is a better life".

"Unfortunately, the side effects or the by-product of this is the detriment of their health," he said.

He hopes that his initiative will not only improve their lives but also the planet, as waste from the site is given another life.

When Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko first saw the piles of circuit boards, 

wires and plastics at Agbogbloshie he decided he wanted to use his artistic talent 

as a force for change

Awuah-Darko's first upcycled work is a grandfather clock, made from a galvanised car axle, aluminium and part of a discarded wall clock.

Two high-end hotels in Accra are currently vying to buy the unusual timepiece, he said, and with such interest he has plans to create more and expand operations.

Awuah-Darko sees a future where around 100 people from Agbogbloshie can leave their harmful work to build furniture.

He also wants to exhibit the creations at major galleries around the world and sell them at auction houses.

That would be a world away for someone like Mohammed Sofo, a thin 26-year-old with small tattoos on his face.

But Sofo wants to live in a world where he does not have to burn waste to survive.

"Some people think we are bad because they think we are mad persons," he said.

"If we get money no one will look at us like that. Some day will come when no one will be working here."

The EU's top court rules that Uber is an ordinary transportation company instead of an app and should be regulated as such

The EU's top court rules that Uber is an ordinary transportation company instead of an app and should be regulated as such pic.twitter.com/YswoejzwNz

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 20, 2017

Amazon workers in Italy strike over pay and conditions

Yahoo – AFP,  December 20, 2017

Workers at Amazon's Castel San Giovanni facility in the north of Italy have been
 demanding better wages and a restructuring of work conditions for weeks
(AFP Photo/LEON NEAL)

Rome (AFP) - Workers at Amazon's distribution centre in Italy went on strike for about two hours Wednesday to demand better pay and conditions, the second time workers have walked off the job in less than a month.

The workers at Amazon's Castel San Giovanni facility in the north of the country have been demanding better wages and a restructuring of work conditions for weeks.

Some 500 workers previously observed a one-day strike on November 24, to coincide with the US online retailer's 'Black Friday' sales bonanza, as did some 2,000 workers at six sites in Germany.

"Employees on the day's first shift (between 0500 and 1300 GMT) stopped work during the last two hours," a company spokeswoman said.

"A general meeting is under way and we do not know what action the movement will give," she said, adding that deliveries were not affected by the walkout.

The Amazon facility employs about 400 full-time workers but can add several thousand more during peak times.

The company said in a statement it was committed to "continuous dialogue and positive cooperation" with all employees.

Related Article:

Strike hits Amazon logistics centers in Germany

Rotterdam launches app to tackle sexual harassment in public

DutchNews, December 18, 2017

Photo: Ifeelstock via Depositphotos.com

Rotterdam has launched an app allowing victims of sexual harassment to report incidents anonymously. 

The app is designed for incidents that do not require an emergency response, but includes an option to dial 112 if the situation escalates. 

Rotterdam has included anti-harassment clauses in its latest APV regulations, which will apply from January 1. After April 1 wardens will be able to issue fines of up to €4,100 to anyone caught behaving in an intimidating manner in public. 

‘Eighty-four per cent of women experience sexual harassment,’ said Joost Eerdmans, Rotterdam’s alderman responsible for security. ‘That doesn’t mean staring or cat-calling, but serious intimidation that makes women feel so uncomfortable that they avoid certain locations.’ 

Undercover agents will patrol areas where harassment is frequently reported to try to catch abusers in the act, Eerdmans told NOS. ‘All people have to do is give their location and a comment if they wish. That will be communicated to our enforcement team and if there are more incidents in the same place, we will take action.’

US moves to roll back 'net neutrality' rules

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, December 14, 2017

Activists outside the Federal Communications Commission ahead of a vote on
"net neutrality" regulations (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) - US regulators voted Thursday to roll back so-called "net neutrality" rules which required internet providers to treat all traffic equally, in the latest twist to an acrimonious debate over online freedom.

The Federal Communications Commission, in a three-to-two vote, adopted a proposal by Republican appointed chairman Ajit Pai, who said his plan would scrap "heavy-handed" rules adopted in 2015 which he argued discouraged investment and innovation.

The vote capped a heated partisan debate and is just the latest in a battle over more than a decade on rules governing internet service providers in the courts and the FCC.

Democratic member Mignon Clyburn, one of the two dissenters, charged that the agency was "handing the keys to the internet" to "a handful of multibillion dollar corporations."

Immediately following the vote, officials from two states and others vowed to challenge the FCC action in court.

Net neutrality activists have staged a series of protests in cities around the US and online, amid fears that dominant broadband providers could change how the internet works.

"Chairman Pai has given internet service providers an explicit license to block, slow, or levy tolls on content," said Ferras Vinh of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a digital rights group.

Vinh said internet providers "will now have even greater power to shape the online experiences of internet users, at the expense of consumers and small companies."

Net neutrality backers have argued that clear rules are needed to prevent internet service providers from blocking or throttling services or websites for competitive reasons.

Critics of the 2015 rule counter that it was based on utility-style regulation designed for 1930s telephone companies, not a dynamic internet market.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai, center, speaks during a hearing ahead of a vote by 

the telecom regulator on "net neutrality" rules (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Not a water pipe

Pai said ahead of the vote that his plan would restore "light-touch" rules which allowed the internet to flourish, and promote investments to enable new and emerging services.

"The digital world bears no resemblance to a water pipe or electric line or sewer," Pai said in a session briefly halted over an undisclosed security threat.

"Entrepreneurs and innovators guided the internet far better than the heavy hand of government."

Pai said removing neutrality rules is key to investment to develop newer "next generation" services such as telemedicine or autonomous driving.

"When there's less investment, that means fewer next-generation networks are built," he said. "And that means more Americans are left on the wrong side of the digital divide."

But dissenting FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said: "Net neutrality is internet freedom. I support that freedom," she said.

"This decision puts the Federal Communications Commission on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the American public."

Appointed by President Donald Trump, Pai was a fierce critic of the neutrality rules adopted under former president Barack Obama in 2015 and earlier this month unveiled his plan named the "Restoring Internet Freedom" order.

A person records proceedings during a hearing at the Federal Communications 

Commission meeting on "net neutrality" rules (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Many Republican lawmakers backed Pai, although a few had urged the FCC to delay the vote to allow Congress time to consider legislation.

More court challenges

Within minutes of the vote, the attorneys general of New York State and Washington State vowed to challenge the FCC in court.

"The FCC just gave Big Telecom an early Christmas present, by giving internet service providers yet another way to put corporate profits over consumers," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

Others planned legal challenges including the consumer activist group Free Press.

"We'll have plenty to say in court about the legal mistakes littered throughout this decision," said Free Press spokesman Matt Wood.

Democratic Senator Ed Markey said he would ask lawmakers for a regulatory review to overturn what he called the FCC's "misguided and partisan decision" in order to "keep the internet in the hands of the people."

Pai and internet firms have maintained that internet users will see no difference once the new rules are implemented.

Commission member Michael O'Rielly dismissed "fear-mongering" by neutrality backers.

"The internet has functioned without net neutrality rules far longer than with them," he said.

What is net neutrality and why is it important? https://t.co/PZ8hmqvaqE pic.twitter.com/1E7uf8ha1t

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 16, 2017

In tax shift, Facebook to declare ad revenues locally

Yahoo – AFP, December 13, 2017

The social networking giant said the move was in response to pressure from
governments and policy makers for greater visibility into sales made in
their countries (AFP Photo/LOIC VENANCE)

New York (AFP) - Facebook, in a bow to transparency, has announced it plans to declare certain ad revenues in the country where they are made and not in Ireland, where it has a greater tax advantage.

The social networking giant said the move was in response to pressure from governments and policy makers for greater visibility into sales made in their countries.

"In simple terms, this means that advertising revenue supported by our local teams will no longer be recorded by our international headquarters in Dublin, but will instead be recorded by our local company in that country," Dave Wehner, Facebook's chief financial officer, said in a statement released Tuesday.

He said the changes in tax reporting would be made by mid-2019 in countries where Facebook has an office supporting advertisers.

Rules for corporate taxes, as conceived for traditional economic activity, are based on the principle of "permanent establishment".

To be taxed, a company must have a physical presence in a country, but digital enterprises can offer their services over the Internet from a country of their choice, like Ireland, which offers Facebook tax advantages.

Facebook's taxes on ad revenues in 2015 were minimal in France and Germany, but amounted to nearly 7.9 billion euros in Ireland, where there are fewer Facebook accounts.

Children should be outside two hours a day to protect their eyes

DutchNews, December 13, 2017

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Dutch children have an increased risk of becoming short-sighted because they spend more time on computer screens and less time playing outdoors, ophthalmic professor Caroline Klaver says in Wednesday’s NRC. 

Half of the people in Europe in their 20s wear glasses or have contact lenses, Klaver says. And people who have glasses of -6 or more at a young age have a one in three risk of developing serious sight problems or even going blind, she told the paper. 

Myopia develops when the eyeball grows too long, relative to the focusing power of the cornea and lens of the eye. 

Klaver says short-sightedness is the biggest cause of blindness and that spending long times indoors reading or behind a screen increases the risk. 

‘We have to ensure that far fewer children develop short-sightedness by making sure they are outside for two hours a day,’ she said. ‘That exposes them to a substance [dopamine] which brakes the growth.’ Schools in particular should ensure children have an hour outdoors. 

Research by the Erasmus medical centre in Rotterdam shows that 2.4% of six-year-olds are short sighted. They were also more likely to have a shortage of vitamin D, to be overweight and not to play outside. 

Web shops are looking for better educated staff than traditional retailers

DutchNews, December 12, 2017

Staff vacancies at Dutch web shops generally require better levels of education than at traditional high street retailers, according to research by state jobs agency UWV involving five of the Netherlands’ biggest online shops. 

Two-thirds of the vacancies on offer at the web shops were for people with high-end trade or college qualifications, compared with one-third of the jobs available at ordinary retailers.

In particular web retailers are trying to recruit administrative staff and IT specialists such as data analysts and developers, the UWV said. 

In addition, web shops find it hard to recruit sufficient low-skilled logistics staff, the UWV said. This is partly down to the sector’s poor image with heavy physical work and irregular hours. 

The UWV said the number of people working for online retailers has risen from  38,000 to 62,000 over the past four years.

Bitcoin tops $18,000 in debut on major bourse

Yahoo – AFP, Luc OLINGA, December 11, 2017

Bitcoin surged after its debut on a major global exchange (AFP Photo/Justin TALLIS)

New York (AFP) - Bitcoin surged past $18,000 after making its debut on a major global exchange but was trading lower on Monday, highlighting the volatility of the controversial digital currency that has some investors excited but others nervous.

Trading on a futures contract began at 6:00 pm (2300 GMT) on the Chicago board options exchange (Cboe) at a price of $15,000.

Heavy traffic made the Cboe website inaccessible in the first 20 minutes, but it said that "trading runs on very separate systems and was totally unaffected by the website issues."

Around 1000 GMT on Monday, bitcoin was trading at $17,600 per unit for the futures contract expiring on January 17 after reaching a high of $18,850, according to Cboe's website, meaning it exceeded the highest value reached on alternative non-regulated internet platforms.

Futures expiring on February 14 and March 14 were higher, trading at $19,140 and $19,100 respectively at the same time on Monday.

A futures contract is a financial product that allows investors to bet on whether the currency's price will rise or fall.

Bob Fitzsimmons, a futures manager at Wedbush Securities, described the opening as "quiet and steady," as Cboe data showed around a thousand trades were made in the first two hours.

The Cboe debut is expected to be followed a week later by a rival listing on Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

It marks the first opportunity for professional traders to invest in bitcoin on a traditional platform, even as some steer away because of a lack of regulations surrounding the currency.

"It gives it legitimacy. It recognizes that it's an asset you can trade," said Nick Colas, of Data Trek research.

Among those cheering the launch are the Winklevoss twins, who have been called the first bitcoin billionaires. Critics include financial commentator Jim Cramer, who warns that prices could tumble once the new trading venues open the door to "short sellers," who bet on downward moves in assets.

The two launches were made possible after a key US regulator, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), gave the green light to the exchanges on December 1, while warning "of the potentially high level of volatility and risk in trading these contracts."

Anticipation of the first mainstream listings for the digital currency has been a catalyst for a sharp price increase in recent weeks. Bitcoin opened 2017 at around $1,000, surged past $10,000 for the first time last month and soared as high as $16,777 on Thursday before retreating somewhat.

Plenty of key figures in and around markets are taking a cautious approach to 

bitcoin, which has no central bank backing it, and no legal exchange rate (AFP

Photo/PHILIPPE LOPEZ)

Going mainstream

The actual opening of the Cboe market, an electronic trading venue, was a low-key affair, lacking the pomp of an initial public offering, which is often marked by the new entrant ringing the bell of the New York Stock Exchange.

The embrace by mainstream exchanges of bitcoin futures marks a sea change from the days when the digital currency was associated with drug dealing and other illicit activities.

The Cboe said it has taken precautions to address wild fluctuations: trading will be suspended for two minutes if bitcoin prices go up or down 10 percent, for instance.

"We are committed to continue to work closely with the CFTC to monitor trading and foster the growth of a transparent, liquid and fair bitcoin futures market," the Cboe said.

Still, plenty of key figures in and around markets are taking a cautious approach to bitcoin, which has no central bank backing it, and no legal exchange rate.

The Futures Industry Association, which includes some of the world's biggest derivatives brokerages, criticized the CFTC's move in a letter to the regulator, saying contracts are being rushed through without properly weighing the risks.

"A more thorough and considered process would have allowed for a robust public discussion among clearing member firms, exchanges and clearing houses," the association said.

Several leading financial heavyweights are still studying bitcoin and not serving as financial intermediaries. This group includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale, said people close to the matter.

Of the larger banks, only Goldman Sachs and ABN Amro are serving as intermediaries for the trades. That means most of the terrain will be dominated by smaller entities that are typically requiring larger than usual margin requirements -- funds set aside as collateral in case of losses.

The Cboe, for its part, sought to reassure investors.

"We are committed to continue to work closely with the CFTC to monitor trading and foster the growth of a transparent, liquid and fair bitcoin futures market," it said in a statement.

Wedbush Securities has lifted its margin requirements and is only permitting trades from clients on a "selected" basis, said Fitzsimmons.

"We are commissioning only the select clients who have experience in bitcoins," he said.

"Our risk systems are ready and we have made sure we have our customers and firm protected by increased margins and increased scrutiny."

Wifi connections in Dutch inner cities get worse, it’s a connection jungle

DutchNews, December 5, 2017

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Almost 40% of wifi connections in Dutch inner cities are poor because so many networks are competing with each other, according to a new report by the government’s telecoms agency. 

Two years ago, 27% of connections could be described as poor, the agency is quoted as saying by the NRC. 

Most domestic wifi services use the overcrowded 2.4 GHz bandwidth, which also hosts bluetooth appliances such as doorbells. In addition, the spectrum is becoming increasingly busy due to the popularity of live streaming. 

The agency measured the quality of wifi connections in some 200 places. ‘In places where reception was bad, it is now worse,’ said spokesman Paul Wijninga in the NRC. 

The problem is particularly acute in older houses – newer homes are better insulated against interference but the use of concrete also means they need to use more amplifiers to strengthen the signal away from the router. 

The agency recommends people affected by poor reception to the less congested 5 GHz networks.

Related Article:

Dutch internet providers told to make speed estimates more realistic