A Chilean man believed to be the world’s oldest person has died in hospital at the age of 121. Celino Villanueva Jaramillo, whom the Guardian met and interviewed last year, died on Wednesday in the southern Chilean town of San José de Mariquina.

The centenarian, born on 25 July 1896 but who had not been recognised by Guinness due to the lack of official verification of his date of birth, had fallen out of bed a week previously and broken three ribs, one of which pierced a lung. After an emergency operation and being placed in intensive care, doctors were originally optimistic he would survive. But in the last couple of days his damaged lung became critical, and on Tuesday a priest was called to deliver the last rites.

“We’re very sad,” said Ivonne Morales, who together with her mother Marta Ramírez had adopted Celino when he was 99 years old and destitute. “He was an integral part of our family, the man of the house.” Although feted by politicians, including Chile’s billionaire president, Sebastian Piñera, as the country’s oldest recognised citizen, Villanueva never received any specialist care, or the family that had adopted him any institutional support or the provision of geriatric home-helps. A hospital stay in July 2017 also proved to be traumatic and debilitating for the centenarian, who ended up strapped to his bed and heavily medicated for two weeks to stop him demanding to be allowed to use the bathroom.(theguardian)…[+]

Despite the political theatre of Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional interrogations last week, Facebook’s business model isn’t at any real risk from regulators in the US. In Europe, however, the looming General Data Protection Regulation will give people better privacy protections and force companies including Facebook to make sweeping changes to the way they collect data and consent from users – with huge fines for those who don’t comply. “It’s changing the balance of power from the giant digital marketing companies to focus on the needs of individuals and democratic society,” said Jeffrey Chester, founder of the Center for Digital Democracy. “That’s an incredible breakthrough.” Here’s a simple guide to the new rules.

It is a regulation that requires companies to protect the personal data and privacy of residents of EU countries. It replaces an outdated data protection directive from 1995 and restricts the way businesses collect, store and export people’s personal data.

“Consumers have been abused,” said David Carroll, an associate professor at Parsons School of Design in New York. “Marketers have succeeded in making people feel powerless and resigned to getting the short end of the bargain. GDPR gives consumers the chance to renegotiate that very unfair deal.”(theguardian)…[+]

Two black men arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks said they were just waiting for a business meeting – and a week later still wonder how that could have escalated into a police encounter that left them fearing for their lives. Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson spoke to the Associated Press in their first interview since video of their 12 April arrests went viral. Robinson said he thought about his loved ones and how the afternoon had taken such a turn as he was taken to jail. Nelson wondered if he would make it home alive. “Anytime I’m encountered by cops, I can honestly say it’s a thought that runs through my mind,” Nelson said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

The arrests, recorded on a white customer’s cellphone video, galvanized people around the country who saw the exchange as an example of racism. The men have met with the CEO of Starbucks and are pushing for meaningful change so what happened to them does not happen to anyone else.

Police this week released a recording of the call from the Starbucks employee that led to the arrest. In it, a woman is heard saying the men refused to “make a purchase or leave”. Starbucks has promised to shut all 8,000 company-owned stores across the US on 29 May to train employees about unconscious bias.

Nelson initially brushed it off when the Starbucks manager told him he couldn’t use the restroom because he wasn’t a paying customer.  He thought nothing of it when he and Robinson, his business partner, were approached at their table and were asked if they needed help. The 23-year-old entrepreneurs declined, explaining they were just waiting for a business meeting.  A few minutes later, they hardly noticed when the police walked into the coffee shop until officers started walking in their direction.(theguardian)…[+]