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Facebook users briefly reported widespread issues with the social media site Thursday afternoon, according to Down Detector, a website that crowdsources telecommunication and social media outages.Down Detector reported that it received more than 6,300 reports of problems on Facebook at about 2 p.m. Thursday. Half of those issues were reported as a "total blackout."After a short outage, it appears service was fully restored to the site.It's unclear what was causing the issues on the platform. 504

Europe is proposing a ban on single-use plastic items such as cutlery, straws?and cotton buds in a bid to clean up the oceans.The European Commission wants to ban 10 items that make up 70% of all litter in EU waters and on beaches. The list also includes plastic plates and drink stirrers.The draft rules were unveiled Monday but need the approval of all EU member states and the European Parliament. It could take three or four years for the rules to come into force.The legislation is not just about banning plastic products. It also wants to make plastic producers bear the cost of waste management and cleanup efforts, and it proposes that EU states must collect 90% of single-use plastic bottles by 2025 through new recycling programs.The European Commission estimates that these rules, once fully implemented in 2030, could cost businesses over €3 billion (.5 billion) per year. But they could also save consumers about €6.5 billion (.6 billion) per year, create 30,000 jobs, and avoid €22 billion (.6 billion) in environmental damage and cleanup costs.The Rethink Plastic Alliance -- an association of environmental organizations -- called the proposals "a leap forward in tackling plastic pollution" but criticized some perceived shortcomings.The proposals do not set targets for EU countries to reduce the use of plastic cups and food containers, it said."This could result in countries claiming they are taking the necessary steps as long as any reduction is achieved, regardless of how small," the alliance said in a statement.The proposal also faced criticism from the plastics industry.Plastics Europe, which represents manufacturers, said it supported the "overarching objective" of the proposal but said there must be more resources dedicated to "waste management" to ensure better collection of used plastic."Plastic product bans are not the solution," it said in a statement, and noted that "alternative products may not be more sustainable."On a global basis, only 14% of plastic is collected for recycling. The reuse rate is terrible compared to other materials -- 58% of paper and up to 90% of iron and steel gets recycled.Research shows there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the world's oceans by 2050, which has spurred policy makers, individuals and companies into action.Last month a group of more than 40 companies including Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble pledged to slash the?amount of plasticthey use and throw away in the United Kingdom.Starbucks also announced in March it was launching a  million grant challenge to solicit designs for a cup that's easier to recycle. 2689

Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist and fundraiser for President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, is suing Qatar, saying they planted news stories in national newspapers that smeared him.Broidy alleges the Middle Eastern nation targeted him because of his ties to its rival, United Arab Emirates, and his criticism of Qatar. He says operatives from the country hacked his emails, fabricated some of their details and leaked them to major news outlets, resulting in negative news stories over the last month about international connections he had and ties to Russian companies.The complaint -- and those news stories central to Broidy's allegations -- touch on a possible thread of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, which is looking into foreign influence around some top Trump officials.The embassy of Qatar said the lawsuit is an attempt to divert attention from media reports and is without merit."Mr. Broidy's lawsuit is a transparent attempt to divert attention from US media reports about his activities," a statement from Jassim Al-Thani, Media Attache for the State of Qatar in Washington DC, said."His lawsuit is without merit or fact. It is Mr. Broidy, not Qatar, who orchestrated nefarious activities designed to influence Congress and American foreign policy. It does not matter how many venues Mr. Broidy publishes his false accusations in, they will not become truth," the statement said.  1427

ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) ¡ª Six people were arrested Thursday one day after a fatal stabbing at an Escondido park.Police say they arrested six juveniles, ranging in age from 14 to 17 years old, for homicide in connection with the death of 37-year-old Mauricio Renteria, of Escondido.Police say a group of roughly 20 people were involved in a fight at Grove Park shortly before 8:30 Wednesday night. Officers responded to find Renteria with multiple stab wounds and head trauma on the ground. He was pronounced dead at Palomar Hospital.Police said all six people have been booked into juvenile hall for charges of homicide with a criminal street gang enhancement.Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact Escondido police at 760-839-4722 or 760-743-8477. 779

ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) - Rare succulents grown along California's coastlines are under attack from poachers. Last week three South Korean nationals were charged with attempting to illegally export to Asia more than 0,000 in live Dudleya succulent plants. Federal authorities say the men pulled the plants out of the ground at remote state parks in Northern California and then brought them to a Vista nursery operated by one of the men. "What your seeing now, which is really detrimental, is that people are actually making so much money off of this stuff in some cases, that they're going out to habitat and just wholesale taking everything, just wreaking havoc," said Tony Gurnoe, Director of Horticulture at San Diego Botanic Garden.Part of the mission at San Diego Botanic Garden is to conserve rare and endangered plants and their ecosystems to preserve biodiversity."The natural world is under a lot of stress right now," says Ari Novy, President & CEO of San Diego Botanic Garden. Novy says the rare California succulents are a coveted treasure in several Asian countries. "Unfortunately in Asia there are a lot of really wonderful plant collectors, but there's a small minority that will go to any length to get plants they don't have, including imperiling plants in the wild and violating the law," said Novy. Two of the defendants have since fled the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If convicted on all counts, the defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison.The stolen succulents are now being reestablished in their habitat by California Plant Rescue. 1609

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