Oslo, Norway | What exactly do we agree to when we download a smartphone app? To prove the "absurdity" of lengthy terms and conditions, some Norwegians are reading those of 33 apps, from Tinder to iTunes, in a live two-day readathon.
The user terms and conditions of the 33 applications typically found on a Norwegian smartphone amount to 260,000 words, or 900 pages, according to Norway's consumer protection agency, making them a lengthier read than the New Testament.
In order to demonstrate the texts' complexity, the agency has asked consumers to read out the terms and conditions live on its site: http://www.forbrukerradet.no/vilkar-og-personvern-minutt-for-minutt/.
"The aim is to demonstrate that the user terms for internet services, apps or other, are very bad," head of the agency's digital services section, Finn Myrstad, told AFP.
"They're too long and unintelligible."
Users were reading the conditions for Twitter, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, Skype, Instagram and Angry Birds among others.
By midday at Wednesday, they had been reading for 27 hours, and were expected to continue for a few more hours.
"Imagine if all the users in the world who have a smartphone were to spend more than 30 hours (reading). That's more than four days of work just to read the user terms and conditions on a smartphone," Myrstad said.
Among the conditions posing the greatest concern were those granting "perpetual" or "irrevocable" licenses to the other party, he said.
"This means, in practice, that the content of your app, whether it's your photos or your chats, will forever belong to the company. That's totally unacceptable and violates European and Norwegian law," Myrstad said.
The Norwegian consumer protection agency is a world leader in confidentiality issues. It recently criticised the French online dating service Happn and popular jogging app Runkeeper for collecting and transmitting users' data even when the apps are inactive or uninstalled.
Miami, United States | The Red Planet is emerging from an Ice Age, according to radar images of Mars's polar regions that are shedding new light on our neighbor's climate cycle, researchers said.
The ice began its retreat about 370,000 years ago, said the study in the journal Science, led by Isaac Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
The findings are based on data collected by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been circling Mars for 10 years.
The research confirms previous models that found the glacial period ended about 400,000 years ago.
It also deepens scientists' understanding of the climate shifts that happen on Mars, and how they differ from Earth.
"On Earth, ice ages take hold when the polar regions and high latitudes become cooler than average for thousands of years, causing glaciers to grow toward the mid-latitudes," NASA said in a statement.
"In contrast, the Martian variety occurs when -- as a result of the planet's increased tilt -- its poles become warmer than lower latitudes."
The result is the retreat of Martian polar caps and the buildup of water vapor toward the equator, forming ice on the ground and glaciers at mid-latitudes.
Now that the most recent Ice Age has ended, ice is building up on the poles again.
Smith and colleagues found a maximum ice thickness of 1,050 feet (320 meters) across the polar cap, matching previous models' predictions in 2003 and 2007.
"This suggests that we have indeed identified the record of the most recent Martian glacial period and the regrowth of the polar ice since then," said Smith.
"Using these measurements, we can improve our understanding of how much water is moving between the poles and other latitudes, helping to improve our understanding of the Martian climate."
He added that studying ice on Mars is important to the future of human exploration because "water will be a critical resource for a Martian outpost."
The US space agency has said it plans to send humans to Mars in the future, perhaps by the 2030s.
Vienna, Austria | Austria's government submitted a law to seize the house where Hitler was born, in a bid to stop the building becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.
The large corner house in the quaint northern town of Braunau am Inn near the German border where the Nazi dictator was born in 1889 has been owned by the family of a local woman for more than a century.
In 1972 the government signed a lease with the owner and turned it into a centre for people with disabilities, but the arrangement came to an abrupt end five years ago when she refused to grant permission for renovation works.
The government said on April 9 it decided to seize the property, with the building -- which cannot be demolished because it is in the town's historic centre and therefore under heritage protection -- empty since 2011.
"Representatives of the interior ministry have been trying for several years to buy the property, but these attempts failed... Now the only option is to transfer ownership to the Austrian Republic through expropriation," the interior ministry said on Friday.
The owner, who is shy of talking to the media, will receive "adequate compensation," it said in a statement.
The issue has sparked heated debate among Braunau's 17,000 residents. Some want it to become a refugee centre, others a museum dedicated to Austria's liberation and others demolition.
Outside there is a stone memorial that reads: "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism, Millions of Dead Warn."
Hiroshima, Japan | Here is a timeline of the development of nuclear weapons, as US President Barack Obama pays a historic visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only two cities to suffer an atomic bombing, by US planes in August 1945.
- June 1942: The United States launches the top-secret "Manhattan Project" to build an atomic bomb before the Nazis do. More than $2 billion is spent to achieve that goal.
- July 1945: The early morning "Trinity" test takes place in New Mexico, marking the dawn of the nuclear age.
- August 1945: On August 6, a US bomber drops an atomic bomb built with uranium on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people and wounding tens of thousands.
Three days later, a second atomic bomb with plutonium fuel smashes Nagasaki, killing 70,000 people. On the 15th, Japan surrenders.
- August 1949: Four years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki are destroyed, the Soviet Union successfully tests its own atomic bomb in Kazakhstan. Britain becomes the world's third nuclear power with an A-bomb test in Australia in October 1952.
- November 1952: The US tests its first hydrogen, or thermonuclear bomb (H-bomb), in the Pacific. It is almost 700 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. The Soviet Union tests its first H-bomb in 1953, followed by the British in 1957.
France then tests an A-bomb in February 1960, as does China in October 1964. Both countries follow suit a few years later with H-bomb tests.
- February 1967: The Tlatelolco treaty declares Latin America a nuclear-free zone. It is followed by other treaties that cover the Pacific, South-East Asia, and Africa.
- July 1968: Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which takes effect in March 1970.
- May 1998: India and Pakistan become nuclear powers.
- October 2006: North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT in 2003, detonates an atomic device, and follows with three more tests since then. North Korea is also developing ballistic missile technology.
In December 2006, Israeli authorities let it be known they possess nuclear weapons, and the country is also developing long-range missiles.
- April 2010: Russia and the US sign a second Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) agreement to replace one signed in 1991. It calls for a significant reduction in the nuclear weapons arsenals of both countries. Britain is also reducing its stocks, while France and Israel are believed to be maintaining a stable level. According to the Federation of American Scientists, China, India, North Korea and Pakistan are building their inventories of warheads.
- July 2015: An agreement between Iran and major powers is signed with the aim of ensuring that Iran's nuclear programme remains limited to civilian purposes. In exchange, international sanctions against Iran are lifted.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the number of nuclear warheads has decreased, but the nine known nuclear powers continue to develop more sophisticated nuclear weapons.
In early 2015, SIPRI estimated the total number of nuclear warheads worldwide at 15,850 of which 4,300 are considered operational. In 2010 the numbers were estimated at 22,600 and 7,650 respectively.
Russia and the United States account for most of the reduction, but they still hold about 7,500 for the former and 7,260 for the latter, or 90 percent of the total.
Lisse, Netherlands | Millions of bulbs have blossomed in a riot of colour from Delft blues to reds and porcelain whites, drawing huge crowds to an annual Dutch springtime rite at the renowned Keukenhof gardens.
The world's largest bulb garden, which boasts some seven million flowers, has depicted in flowers this year's theme of the Netherlands Golden Age.
Lasting from 1584-1702, this was a time of unparallelled prosperity for the small nation during which everything from "trade, art and science" flourished, said guide Patricia Jelgehuis.
Thousands of tulips -- the country's most iconic flower -- sway gently among grape hyacinths and crocuses of every shade and hue to create the garden's colourful living tableaux.
The highlight this year is a bulb mosaic of the Golden Age, depicting a traditional Delft blue-and-white tile showing Dutch trade across the seas and Amsterdam's grand, towering canalside homes.
Other exhibits at the gardens in the western town of Lisse highlight copies of the works of famous Dutch Masters, like Rembrandt and Vermeer.
And in case the humble tulip is not enough for the 800,000 people expected to visit before the park closes again on May 16, this year's show also includes a pairing of exotic orchids with high-end fashion.
Visitors can admire dresses, shoes and hats in a bold entwining of material and flowers. There's even a creamy white wedding dress by Dutch haute couture designer Ronald Kolk, proudly displaying a cascade of orchids as part of the voluminous skirt.
Adding to the decadent display are hats by Philip Treacy, milliner to such clients as the British royal family and stars like Madonna.
It's the 67th annual springtime display at the Keukenhof gardens, created in 1857 and modelled on English gardens of the period, containing some 20 floral displays.
The bulbs are planted by hand every year by about 40 dedicated gardeners, and are set out in three layers so there is always something in bloom even if the other flowers have not yet fully opened.
"We work to ensure that the park is as beautiful as possible for visitors but that it is also in bloom for as long as possible," gardener Luud ter Laak told AFP.
"That's why we plant the bulbs in three layers. First the tulips that bloom later, then the earlier tulips and then the crocuses."
The bulb trade in the Netherlands began in the 17th century after they were discovered in central Asia. So precious were bulbs once in the country that they were literally worth their weight in gold.
Madrid, Spain | Spanish judicial authorities revealed Friday that the "ghost airport" of Ciudad Real, a symbol of the country's financial excess in the boom years, had been sold off for 56 million euros ($62 million).
Spain's construction and property sectors boomed until the downturn hit seven years ago and one victim was the airport, initially touted as an alternative international airport to Madrid's Barajas.
Located around 240km (150 miles) south of the capital, however, the idea never took off.
Ciudad Real cost around a billion euros and opened in 2008 with putative capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year.
But a wholesale lack of flights saw it go bankrupt in 2010 and close in 2012.
A bankruptcy auction last year attracted scant interest and finally the facility has been sold off for 56.2 million euros to an enterprise the regional court at Castilla La Mancha named as CR International.
A spokesman for the court told AFP further details on the deal would be available soon.
The sale of an airport which had tried to market itself as "Madrid South" would "allow the creation of many jobs and also investment" according to judge Carmelo Ordonez.
A trade tribunal rejected a 10,000 euro proposal to buy the airport last year from Tzaneen International, a Chinese investment fund.
Castellon airport in the east of Spain looked set to be another huge white elephant. It opened in 2011 but only finally attracted flights with lowcost carrier Ryanair last year.
Castellon features a statue of former provincial government head Carlos Fabra outside after he lobbied for its construction. Fabra 16 months ago began a four-year jail term for tax fraud.
Despite its airport construction woes Spain is enjoying a tourist renaissance as it returns to economic growth after seven lean years.
Last year the country attracted 68.1 million visitors to take third place globally behind France and the United States.
Sydney, Australia | A small, picturesque Australian village has been listed for sale, attracting interest from China and Singapore, with its new buyer set to own dozens of homes, a lake full of fish and 35 Highland cattle.
Property agents said they hoped the 145-hectare (358.3-acre) Tarraleah village in the heart of Tasmania state would fetch up to Aus$13 million (US$10 million).
"I've never sold a town before," property agent John Blacklow, who has been selling hotels for more than three decades, told AFP.
Since the village was placed on the market late last week, it has attracted prospective buyers -- individuals as well as companies -- from Australia and also China, Hong Kong and Singapore, Blacklow said.
The village in the Central Highlands was originally built in the 1920s and '30s to support 2,000 hydroelectric workers, but as the dams and power stations servicing southern Tasmania became automated, staff were no longer required.
Property developer Julian Homer eventually bought the entire village, which had become run down, restoring the art-deco buildings to turn it into a tourism-focused site.
"He's finally finished his programme of renovation, which has taken him 13 years, so the whole of the town -- all the 33 buildings and infrastructure -- have been done up to a very high-class standard," Blacklow said.
"Now it's ready for an operator to actually take over and continue the operations as a tourism village for accommodation, mainly."
Tarraleah, which agents said brings in an annual revenue of Aus$2.1 million, currently has no permanent residents, only tourism-related staff.
Visitors can fish at a lake with trout and salmon, go bushwalking, play golf, have a drink at a bar and stay in cottages -- while enjoying the company of ducks, geese and native animals such as kangaroos, wallabies and Tasmanian devils.
Former resident Ingrid Mitchell, who lived in the village in the 1960s when her father worked at the station, said she was "very sad" to hear Tarraleah was for sale and wanted it to remain in local hands.
"It was a thriving community, we had a normal butcher, shopping centre, the school was always busy, the post office, the swimming pool," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"We used to have a Christmas party at the hall every year -- great times."
The sale of residential property and farmland to foreigners, including Australia's largest trading partner China, is a sensitive issue, with Canberra knocking back some sales on national interest grounds.
