Where is Mark Zuckerberg? Tech mogul stays mum on data breach scandal

For the first time since inception in 2004, Facebook lost about 5 lakh users on a daily basis during Oct-Dec 2021. That saw the shares of its parent company, Meta, plunge 20 percent on the exchanges, wiping off $200 bn in market capitalisation.

Nature has its very own information storage technology: DNA. For millions of years, the double helix has been the primary code for all living things. But could DNA also become the ultimate storage solution for our digital information? We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth.

Switzerland's second-largest bank stands accused of handling funds for dictators, drug traffickers and torturers after a whistleblower leak led to a year-long investigation by a consortium of journalists. And the United States and Britain have raised the stakes for potential sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. Finally, Italy's famed glassblowers are cracking under red-hot energy prices.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday⁣.⁣

Chukwukma Muanya, Deputy Editor, Daily (Health) engages Hossein Hassani, Ph.D. Founder, YolaCare Project on YolaCare data analytics and Nigeria's healthcare. YolaCare Project is an initiative that wants to address children's healthcare through the Child Growth Application that relies on artificial intelligence and machine learning that will allow parents and medical personnel an effective platform to manage children's health.

Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, has been designated as an "extremist" organization by a Russian court. But Meta's WhatsApp is excluded from the ban.

The European Union agreed on new regulations that require social media companies and online marketplaces to remove illegal content. Advertisement targeting minors will also be banned.

One of Germany's biggest trade unions has called strikes at seven branches of online retailer Amazon. Germany is Amazon's second-biggest market behind the United States, where the company is headquartered.

Sandberg helped transform the company into an over $100-billion-a-year powerhouse. She will continue to serve on the board of directors.

VPN software encrypts all the data on your computer. No hacker or government will be able to decipher this encrypted traffic. Your personal information and internet traffic are safe with the use of a VPN.

Since the introduction of "marriage for all" in Germany, some 65,000 marriages have taken place between people of the same sex. The figures showed a rush to tie the knot once it became possible late in 2017.

Digital sovereignty is a key idea in the internet age — the idea that parties must have sovereignty over their own digital data. This can be applied on an individual basis or toward nations — the bottom line is that digital sovereignty involves consideration of how data and digital assets are treated.