Facebook data beach: Zuckerberg to meet European Parliament next week

Social media networking site Facebook confirms meeting with European parliament to discuss the growing online data-privacy concerns.

As reported by the New York Times, the meeting is scheduled to take place sometime next week where Facebook founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg will discuss the issue of the data breach by data analytics company Cambridge Analytica.

It is touted be a closed-door meeting to be attended by leaders of the various political groups.

Leaders of the European Parliament's various blocs and the head of the body's civil liberties committee which is holding hearings on the ongoing Facebook data breach case will be the part of the meeting.

Further, Zuckerberg is scheduled to have lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a range of issues.

Palm oil producers fear looming EU environment law will hurt millions

Millions of people running small-time oil palm plantations will suffer if the European Parliament goes ahead with “unfair” measures that could curb palm oil use, the world’s two largest palm oil producers said on Wednesday.

In April, the European Parliament backed a call for greater vetting of palm and other vegetable oils used in biofuels to prevent the European Union’s renewable transport targets for post-2020 leading to deforestation.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the resolution by the European Parliament singles out palm oil, even as the production of other vegetable oils has “shown to contribute to the deforestation”.

They said restricting market access for palm oil would also work against the United Nations’ goal of eradicating poverty and raising income levels.

“Any discriminatory measures arising from the Resolution will not only be seen as unfair practices to trade but will also affect the livelihood of millions of palm smallholders in Indonesia and Malaysia,” the two leaders said in a joint statement.
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Merkel challenger Martin Schulz remains confident of unseating chancellor

Angela Merkel's main challenger in the country's upcoming general election said on Sunday he remains confident he can unseat the chancellor despite her wide lead in the polls.

Martin Schulz, who was president of the European Parliament until January, said on Germany's ZDF television's "Berlin Direkt" program that there are still six weeks of campaigning to go before the September 24 vote.

"I think that I still have a good chance to lead the next government," he said.

Still, with Germany enjoying record-low unemployment, a balanced budget and a strong economy, the 61-year-old Schulz faces an uphill battle to defeat Merkel and was challenged in the 15-minute interview to say why people should vote for his party over her Christian Democrats.

"Germany is doing well... But the statement that Germany is doing well doesn't mean that all Germans are doing well," he said. "We must be much better in many areas."

Schulz also noted that his Social Democrats are currently Merkel's junior coalition partner in government, and that credit for successes should not be hers alone. He said he'd be happy to form another so-called grand coalition after the election, but "under my leadership."

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