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Drink it or bin it: That phrase should have become history this summer at all U.K. airports. But it's set to persist for at least another year after the British government said it will grant extensions to several large U.K. airports unable to meet the June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology. The airports include London's two biggest, Heathrow and Gatwick.

The new scanners use computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, to produce clearer images. They are being rolled out globally, including in the U.S. and across Europe, and will allow passengers to go through security with 2 liters (70 ounces) of liquid in their hand luggage—rather than the current paltry 100 milliliters (3.5 ounces).

They will also mean laptops and tablets won't need to be removed from bags—saving even more time.

The restrictions were introduced around the world in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to blow up planes flying from London to the U.S. with homemade liquid bombs. They were not expected to be in place for 18 years and have been cited as one of, if not, the biggest cause of delays at airport security checks.

A deadline for the new technology to be in place at U.K. airports had originally been set for December 2022 but that was delayed to this summer as a result of the huge disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The new deadline comes after airports reported that they were struggling to install the scanners ahead of the busy summer holiday period, largely due to supply chain delays and construction difficulties caused by the weight of the machines.

The Department for Transport said the extensions would be granted on a case-by-case basis and that it was exploring how financial penalties could be imposed for further non-compliance.

It did not provide a breakdown of the situation for each airport, citing security concerns, but said that by the start of June about half of passengers flying from U.K. airports will be processed by the new scanners. London City Airport, a popular short-haul airport, has already successfully introduced the new scanners, as has Teesside Airport in the northeast of England.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. surfing the internet through its Chrome web browser.

The massive housecleaning comes as part of a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the search giant of illegal surveillance.

The details of the deal emerged in a court filing, more than three months after Google and the attorneys handling the class-action case disclosed they had resolved a June 2020 lawsuit targeting Chrome's privacy controls.

Among other allegations, the lawsuit accused Google of tracking Chrome users' internet activity even when they had switched the browser to the "Incognito" setting that is supposed to shield them from being shadowed by the Mountain View, California, company. 

Google vigorously fought the lawsuit until U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected a request to dismiss the case last August, setting up a potential trial. The settlement was negotiated during the next months, culminating in disclosure of the terms, which Rogers still must approve during a hearing scheduled for July 30 in Oakland, California, federal court.

The settlement requires Google to expunge billions of personal records stored in its data centers and make more prominent privacy disclosures about Chrome's Incognito option when it is activated. It also imposes other controls designed to limit Google's collection of personal information.

"We are pleased to settle this lawsuit, which we always believed was meritless," Google said. The company asserted it is only being required to "delete old personal technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization."

In court papers, the attorneys representing Chrome users painted a much different picture, depicting the settlement as a major victory for personal privacy in an age of ever-increasing digital surveillance.

The lawyers valued the settlement at $4.75 billion to $7.8 billion, relying on calculations based primarily on the potential ad sales that the personal information collected through Chrome could have generated in the past and future without the new restrictions.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The first World Water Library was launched in Switzerland in March, aiming to become a campaigning force for the conservation of water. The library funded by the Swiss Development Agency wants to become a focal point for solutions to water supplies dwindling because of climate change and other factors.

Campaigners hope this 17th-century castle on an idyllic spot on the river Rhine will inspire a generation of youth to think about water as our most precious resource.

The library aims to become a repository for the best evidence-based information to be made free for all. It will host events to raise awareness about the need to conserve water and it’ll aim to find solutions for people who live where there is none.

“The World Water Library Initiative from Graubünden Water is a signal of urgency and a sign of hope because we are facing several crises, but water crisis is one of the bigger ones I think will only continue to increase. We are overutilizing water resources, we are polluting the resources and we have on top of that, climate change that exacerbates water stress in many places,” says Dr. Daniel Maselli, the Senior Water Policy Advisor for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), a branch of government that provides aid for projects in developing countries.

“So to better understand the critical role of water is very important for society. We actually are water, our bodies consist of water. So we need to take care of that vital resource and if there’s not an initiative like this World Water Library, then who will care really?” he adds.

The library is in the headquarters of the Graubünden Water Association which actively promotes the importance of water with educational programs and workshops.

Maselli says the size of environmental problems can be overwhelming, but the Water Library wants to help young people understand that even small individual actions combined can make a difference.

The library will have samples of water from all over the world, as well as books, maps, and digital information available to both experts and the public.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

California-based 99 Cents Only Stores said on April 5 it will close all 371 of its outlets, ending the chain’s 42-year run of selling an assortment of bargain-basement merchandise.

The company has stores across California, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas that will begin selling off their merchandise, as well as fixtures, furnishings, and equipment.

Interim CEO Mike Simoncic said in a statement that the retailer has struggled for years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in consumer demand, inflation, and rising levels of product “shrink”—a measure that encompasses losses from employee theft, shoplifting, damage, administrative errors, and more.

“This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” said Simoncic, who will be stepping down. “Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment.”

The shuttering of 99 Cents Only Stores comes after fellow discount retailer Dollar Tree said it was closing 1,000 stores.

99 Cents Only Stores was founded in 1982 by Dave Gold, who opened its first store in Los Angeles at the age of 50, according to his 2013 obituary in the Los Angeles Times. Gold, who had been working at a liquor store owned by his father, found that marking down surplus items to 99 cents caused them to sell out “in no time,” fueling his desire to launch a new spin on the dollar store.

“I realized it was a magic number,” he told the Times. “I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a store where everything was good quality and everything was 99 cents?”

Brushing off doubting friends and family members, Gold forged ahead. His idea caught on quickly, even in middle-class and upscale neighborhoods, allowing the company to go public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996. It was later sold for roughly $1.6 billion in 2011.

While the chain initially sold most items priced at 99 cents, in recent decades, that became untenable, although the company kept its trademarked name.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Fencing offers a ray of hope to young people living in Nairobi’s poorest neighborhoods. This is not just a hobby for them: it's a force for good in their lives. Fencing has helped carve a path away from crime, drugs, and other social pressures.

"I used to be a gangster," says Mburu Wanyoike, who is now a coach for Kenya's National Fencing team. "I was in crime, and crime makes you feel isolated. It actually puts you in a place where you are isolated, making you feel depressed, having stress. And I chose fencing as a way for me to escape out of the hood and escape that lifestyle."

His journey from delinquency to fencing coach and senior athlete in Kenya's national team has been transformative. However, challenges persist, particularly regarding the affordability of fencing equipment.

"Sometimes it is tough when it comes to competing with well-equipped international countries that are well organized, so what we do is just to move on with enthusiasm and obsession. The fact that we don't have the equipment, the limited ones we have, we use them. We don't complain that we do not have equipment," says Wanyoike.

Tsavora Fencing Mtaani, an initiative under Tsavora Fencing, offers mentorship and training in fencing to the youth of these impoverished neighborhoods, shielding them from the dangers of their environment.

With 45 members, most of whom are students, the team serves as a beacon of hope in the community. Participants are required to become disciplined and put on integrity.

Steve Okalo, Secretary General of the Kenya Fencing Federation, acknowledges the uphill battle the sport faces in gaining popularity but remains optimistic about its future.

"Fencing is not a popular sport like football or athletics, but we are trying our best to see how it is going because when we started, I started with about four people and now I'm seeing that I have good fencers," Okalo remarks.

As Tsavora Fencing continues to thrive, fueled by the determination of its members and the support of the community, it stands as a testament to the transformative power of sport in even the most challenging environments.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Conservationists are marking 25 years of crocodile breeding and recovery in Cambodia, with a record release of a critically endangered species.

Once believed extinct, Siamese crocodiles were rediscovered in Cambodia in the early 2000s. Conservationists at Fauna & Flora International have worked to save them by breeding them in protected conditions and then releasing them into remote areas of forest to bolster wild populations.

International demand for crocodile skins and the boom of the crocodile farming industry has been blamed for pushing the species to extinction in Cambodia.

“Twenty-five years ago now, Fauna & Flora rediscovered a population of Siamese Crocodiles in Cambodia,” says Pablo Sinovas, country director of Fauna & Flora International in Cambodia.

“The species was thought to be extinct in the wild up until that point. And so, following that discovery, we have been working with the government and with local communities to help bring the species back from the brink of extinction. We are doing that by protecting the habitat, by monitoring populations, and importantly by breeding the species in captivity and taking it back into remote areas in the wild where they are also protected by those local community patrols.”

Following the groundbreaking discovery, Fauna & Flora launched the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Programme with the goal of safeguarding the recovery of the species.

“Siamese crocodiles are one of the rarest reptiles in the world,” Sinovas says.

“To help with its recovery, we are releasing them in very remote sites in the Cardamom Mountains, a jungle area where the species can be safe. And we are doing this because it is an important species for the ecosystem. As a top predator, it contributes to maintaining ecosystem health. Also in Cambodia, this is a very important species culturally. It is considered to be sacred by Indigenous people in that landscape. And so, the recovery of the species is essential from an ecological, as well as cultural, perspective.”

To mark 25 years since the rediscovery of Siamese crocodiles, Fauna & Flora released 50 crocodiles into the Cardamom Mountains last month.

They say this is the largest crocodile release on record.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.