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Councils across the country have come under fire for using Public Spaces Protection Orders to restrict 'wholesome' nature activities by claiming to limit anti-social behaviour.

A woman has been ambushed and mauled to death by a brown bear as she picked berries, with rescuers only finding her boots and chewed-up bucket at the scene.

Subscribing to an online service is often as easy as a click of a button. Is it illegal if it takes a maze of clicks to cancel? That issue is at the heart of a civil trial beginning this week that will scrutinize the tactics Amazon uses to entice consumers to sign up for its signature Prime service -- and to steer them away from leaving. WSJ: The Federal Trade Commission alleges the online giant has duped nearly 40 million customers, in violation of consumer-protection laws. It is seeking civil penalties, refunds to consumers and a court order prohibiting Amazon from using subscription practices that could confuse or deceive customers. The case, which will unfold in a Seattle courtroom, is a top test of the agency's enforcement campaign against allegedly deceptive digital subscription practices. Amazon's Prime membership, the largest paid subscription program in the world with at least 200 million users, has helped the company become an integral part of consumers' shopping habits. The FTC, which sued Amazon in 2023, alleges the company tricked people into signing up for the service without their knowledge or consent, including by obscuring details about billing and the terms of free trials. It says Amazon created a labyrinth to make it hard to cancel, which the company dubbed "Iliad," a reference to Homer's epic about the long, arduous Trojan War. The FTC says Amazon required customers to navigate four webpages and chose from 15 options to cancel a Prime membership. The company streamlined the process in April 2023, ahead of the filing of the criminal complaint. The FTC won an initial pretrial victory last week when a federal judge ruled that Amazon did violate consumer-protection laws by taking Prime members' billing information before disclosing the terms of the membership. But he said jurors still would have to consider whether the customers gave their consent to enroll and whether Amazon provided a simple cancellation mechanism.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A new Ifop poll showed how Emmanuel Macron's approval ratings have slumped to a record low of 17 per cent following fresh political chaos in Paris.

Jon Bon Jovi has finally broken his silence on Millie Bobby Brown and his son Jake adopting their first child together.

Essex Police have issued an update in the investigation

Essex households have just one week left to check they are not overpaying for gas and electricity as part of the Essex Energy Switch.

Essex households have just one week left to check they are not overpaying for gas and electricity as part of the Essex Energy Switch.

Scientists observing sharks off the coast of New Caledonia were in for a surprise, after spotting the world's first shark threesome.

Locals have lots of questions about the new system

The firm behind the plans claims the work has made 'significant progress'

The group targeted at least 11 properties across Surrey and London in a thieving spree from November 3 to December 11 last year and even thieved unopened Christmas gifts.

Alexander Loxton, 36, insists that he suffered severe damage to his ankle during an 'aggressive' stop and search by officers when he visited Kennington police station in September 2016.

Princess Charlene of Monaco stunned in a beautiful off-white dress as she attended a charity golf tournament in Monte Carlo, where she proved her swing has no less substance than her style.

Major U.S. corporations are mandating more office time but seeing minimal compliance changes. Companies now require 12% more in-office days than in early 2024, according to Work Forward data tracking 9,000 employers. Yet Americans continue working from home approximately 25% of the time, unchanged from 2023, Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom's monthly survey of 10,000 Americans shows. The New York Times ordered opinion and newsroom staff to four days weekly starting November. Microsoft mandates three days beginning February for Pacific Northwest employees. Paramount and NBCUniversal gave staff ultimatums: commit to five and four days respectively or take buyouts. Amazon faced desk and parking shortages after its full-time mandate, temporarily backpedaling in Houston and New York. Nearly half of senior managers would accept pay cuts to work remotely, a BambooHR survey of 1,500 salaried employees found.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ratings agency points out there's a risk of relying on a small number of buyers

Ratings agency Moody's has pointed to the dangers inherent in Oracle's $300 billion agreement with OpenAI - one of the deals contributing to a staggering $455 billion pipeline of obligations for Big Red's cloud infrastructure.…

It has not yet reopened to the public

The quake struck about a mile east of Berkeley at 2.56am at a depth of 7.8 kilometres. It was felt in Walnut Creek, Martinez, Alameda and across the Bay in San Francisco.

Myleene Klass celebrated a major milestone over the weekend as her daughter Ava left for university.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he has 'fond memories' of US President Donald Trump and is open to future talks with the United States - if he can keep his nukes.