- 60 killed in Colombia guerilla violence
- 'Invincible' Gauff revels in Melbourne heat to reach quarters
- Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts more than 1,000 times this month
- Sumo to stage event in Paris as part of global push
- Deadly strikes on Gaza after Israel says ceasefire delayed
- Badosa 'loves Coco' but is gunning for 'revenge' in Melbourne quarters
- Sabalenka, Gauff on Melbourne collision course as Alcaraz moves on
- Alcaraz into Australian Open quarters after Draper retires
- Sabalenka uses fighting spirit to banish Australian Open blues
- Sabalenka, Gauff on Melbourne collision course after reaching quarters
- Swiss rider Ruegg wins opening UCI World Tour event in Australia
- Mitchell scores 36 as Cavs bounce back, Celtics downed
- Sabalenka a happy snapper at Australian Open
- Gauff turns up heat on Bencic to reach Australian Open quarters
- Commanders stun Lions in NFL thriller, Chiefs advance
- Protesters storm S. Korea court after president's detention extended
- TikTok notifies US users of shutdown as Trump seeks last-ditch solution
- Ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war to begin at 0630 GMT
- Wuhan keen to shake off pandemic label five years on
- Sabalenka imperious as Djokovic, Alcaraz on Melbourne collision course
- 'Generational problem': Youth still struggling in pandemic's shadow
- Vaccine misinformation: a lasting side effect from Covid
- Sabalenka blows away Andreeva to reach Melbourne quarter-finals
- Hope, fear at Paris rally for Gaza hostages
- Separated by LA wildfires, a happy reunion for some pets, owners
- France's Moutet 'collapsed in shower' before Australian Open match
- In US, teleworkers don't want to turn back
- Covid's origins reviewed: Lab leak or natural spillover?
- Trump arrives in Washington ahead of Monday's inauguration
- Steady Straka takes four-shot lead in PGA Tour's American Express
- Kelce, Mahomes double-act leads Chiefs past Texans in NFL playoffs
- Barcelona's Balde complains of racist abuse in Getafe draw
- Frustrated Barca fail to capitalise on Atletico La Liga slip
- More Kenyan police land in Haiti to bolster security mission
- McGlynn leads youthful USA to friendly win over Venezuela
- Barcelona stumble to frustrating Getafe draw in title setback
- Lukaku fires Napoli six points clear at Atalanta, Juve sink Milan
- Milder winds help LA firefighters as Trump vows to visit
- S. Korean court extends impeached president's detention, angering supporters
- Wirtz has Leverkusen on Bayern's heels to keep repeat title 'dream' alive
- Arsenal must take blame for Villa fightback: Arteta
- Nunez late show extends Liverpool's lead, Arsenal held by Aston Villa
- Russian attacks kill six across Ukraine, Kyiv says
- Northampton, Leinster claim Champions Cup pool top spots
- Arsenal's title bid rocked by Villa fightback
- Superb Wirtz keeps Leverkusen on pace with leaders Bayern
- Detention extended for S. Korea's impeached president
- Thousands attend funeral of Liberian ex-warlord Prince Johnson
- Barcola strikes as PSG fight back to beat Lens
- Juventus into Serie A Champions League spots with victory over AC Milan
Google pushes new plan to overhaul web-tracking cookies
Google on Tuesday announced a new plan to stop using small files known as cookies to track people's web browsing habits, after its previous proposals were roundly criticised.
US tech giants are under huge pressure to overhaul the way they collect data -- Google was fined 150 million euros ($169 million) by France earlier this month over its cookie policies.
Privacy campaigners have pushed hard against the use of cookies, which transmit users' information often to dozens of companies each time they visit a website.
But the files form the backbone of the online advertising industry that has proved hugely profitable for Google and their customers.
The company said on Tuesday it would trial a new system called "Topics", which it said would protect privacy while continuing to allow targeted advertising.
Chrome users will still be tracked and the websites they visit and advertising partners will be given three topics -- broad themes supposed to correspond to their interests -- based on the user's browsing history.
However, the firm said the process of generating topics would take place entirely on the user's device -- even Google itself will not have access.
Advertisers will only be able to retain the topics for three weeks, and Chrome users will have the option of opting out entirely.
"Topics" replaces an earlier idea floated by Google called "Federated Learning of Cohorts", which caused consternation among advertisers and the media industry.
Critics said the FLoC system would allow Google to hoard user data for itself and cut third parties out of the loop.
"Topics was informed by our learning and widespread community feedback from our earlier FLoC trials, and replaces our FLoC proposal," said senior Google official Vinay Goel.
Internet companies have faced stricter rules since the EU passed a massive data privacy law in 2018 obliging firms to seek direct consent of users before installing cookies on their computers.
Privacy campaigners have filed hundreds of complaints against companies including Google and Facebook arguing that they make it much easier to opt in than to opt out.
N.Mitchell--AT