Big business and politics are mass-mining everyday data — from Facebook ‘likes’ to online subscriptions – for profit and power, according to a Netflix documentary released on Wednesday.

“The Great Hack” says personal data has surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable asset, and warns viewers that companies and governments are hacking into way more than computers.

“There are people out there who are trying to figure out how you think. If you don’t understand how you think, they will think for you,” said directors Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim. “It’s not just our computers that have been hacked, it’s our minds,” they said in a statement.

The two-hour documentary — showing on the Netflix streaming video platform — examines the state of privacy in the United States and Europe, where people spend much of their time online, volunteering countless nuggets of exploitable information.

It centers on the Cambridge Analytica affair, which saw an international consultancy target undecided voters in the Brexit referendum and 2016 U.S. election, partly using Facebook data.

Facebook Inc agreed on Wednesday to pay a $100 million fine to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled investors about the misuse of its users’ data related to Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

“Social media companies harvest millions of people’s personal data and sell it to the highest bidder. Personal data is being used on a mass scale to manipulate and influence people,” said Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, a British civil liberties group.

“Data-driven manipulation of populations is not only the reserve of shady start-ups, disturbingly, it is becoming the modus operandi in modern politics.”

Directors Amer and Noujaim first came to prominence for their Academy Award nominated film “The Square,” which looked at social media as a catalyst for the 2011 Egyptian uprisings.

“We ultimately made a film about whether we have free will. It’s about democracy and it’s about complicity,” they said of their latest documentary. “These are arguably the most important questions of our time.”

Czech President Milos Zeman will decide in August on whether to accept the Social Democrats’ preferred pick for culture minister, a personnel move at the heart of a dispute rattling the ruling coalition.

The Social Democrats, a party Zeman once led before a falling out, are the junior member to Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO party in a center-left minority government that gets parliamentary backing from the Communist party.

They requested in May that Zeman remove Antonin Stanek, whom they accuse of being ineffective, and replace him with their preferred candidate, Michal Smarda.

But Zeman has defended Stanek, angering the Social Democrats and creating a standoff that led to Social Democrat threats of resignations as the president has yet to finalize the change.

Babis met Zeman on Wednesday and said the president confirmed he would remove Stanek by the end of July as the Social Democrats requested.

“He will decide on the [Social Democrats’] nomination for the post of culture minister around the middle of August,” Babis said on Twitter.

Under the Czech constitution, the president is obliged to fire ministers if requested to do so by the prime minister, but Zeman is known for acting independently of the government. In this dispute he has said there is no deadline for taking action.

The Social Democrat leadership confirmed last week Smarda remained their choice for culture minister, calling on Babis to ensure the nomination is respected. The party stopped short of deciding to leave the coalition already although resignations by its ministers remain an option.

Babis has fought to maintain his one-year-old government The Social Democrats’ exit would cost him a parliamentary majority, leaving him few options. Babis has said early elections could hurt the country.

With the Czech economy and public finances mostly on firm footing, markets have been unfazed by the latest government dispute, similar to disputes in ruling coalitions that have marked the country’s politics for over a decade.

Malawi protesters have rejected a call by former President Bakili Muluzi to suspend street action to allow for talks to end further election-related clashes. Protesters have been calling for the Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson to resign over alleged fraud since President Peter Mutharika’s May re-election. 

Muluzi, who was Malawi’s president from 1994 to 2004, urged protesters late Tuesday to halt months of demonstrations so he could mediate with government authorities over May’s contested presidential election. He invited the main protesters’ group, the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, to his home in Blantyre to discuss the issue.

“Please, I want to plead,” he said. “Would you not give me, say, seven days, so that I have time to travel to Lilongwe, meet these people about the issue you are raising? But if you take a hard line, [chuckles] you know, I don’t think it will help anybody.”

But protesters rejected the offer and maintained their call for twice-a-week street action to force Electoral Commission chairperson, Jane Ansah, to resign.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition Chairperson Timothy Mtambo led the talks.

“We respect our former head of state,” he said. “But as we have spoken time without a number we do not believe in manipulative dialogue. We have strongly advised that demonstrations in itself, it’s not a problem it’s a constitutional right. However, the problem is that Jane Ansah is refusing to resign.”  

The protesters accuse Ansah of fraud in declaring Mutharika the winner of the May election with 39 percent of the vote.

Runners-up Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima are challenging the election results in court, alleging ballot-stuffing and the use of Tipp-Ex correction fluid to change votes.

The MEC maintains the election was free and fair.

But ongoing protests set the stage for further clashes with security. On Sunday, the headquarters of the main opposition Malawi Congress Party in Blantyre, which is seeking annulment of the elections, were burned to the ground.

A dangerous direction

Muluzi told reporters he fears the violence is moving the country in a dangerous direction.

“We must also accept that these demonstrations have caused a lot of economic hardships, you know that,” he said. “The shops get closed, the bank’s not open, there are so many things. I am again appealing to you; could the demonstration on Thursday be postponed?”

Political analyst Vincent Kondowe says with continued protests and no dialogue, Malawi will head toward anarchy. He says Mutharika, Chakwera, and Chilima need to reach a compromise.

“Even if the court came in today and said, ‘well, the elections were conducted in a proper manner’, the political disagreements will continue. So, for me the best way is for the leaders to agree to have a re-run because even Peter Mutharika himself agrees that the elections were messed up. He has been speaking this in different political rallies that he has conducted.”

But Malawi authorities have dismissed re-running the election. 

Meanwhile, protesters plan to hold demonstrations and vigils Thursday in all of the major cities, which city authorities are heatedly rejecting. 

Fifty years ago, the first humans landed on the moon.  Many engineers and scientists have been thinking about what the next 50 years might bring in space travel.  That’s what NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is all about.  It provides funds to foster ideas that could revolutionize future space missions.  One NASA funded idea is a space habitat that solves the problems that occur with long term space travel.  VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Agriculturist Lauren Goodwin wants children to develop a passion for ethical agriculture. As Ghana’s capital Accra expands, green spaces diminish, and fast food starts to become a norm, Goodwin is teaching kids where their food comes from – and how to grow it themselves.  Stacey Knott reports for VOA, from Accra.

As Ghana’s capital Accra expands, green spaces have diminished and fast food is starting to become a norm; however, agriculturist Lauren Goodwin wants to ensure that children understand where their food comes from – and how to grow it themselves. 

Tucked away in one of Accra’s few green spaces, children are spending their school holiday learning about ethical agriculture and healthy living. 

Ghana, like many nations across the world, is seeing a rise in fast food consumption and the associated health risks. Fried local street food and fast food restaurants are common sights throughout the capital.

Goodwin, founder of the Under the Mango Tree Camp, says she sees people, especially in cities, becoming disconnected from their food source. 

“I know that children need to be a part of this. This can’t be a conversation that we just keep for adults, it can’t be, you know. We are growing and we have our young people that are coming up; it’s so important they are exposed to this thing. They need to know how food grows,” Goodwin said.

This month, the children have been learning about all aspects of ethical agriculture, from composting to creating natural pesticides. The camp is held at a park where the children like Björn Brinkmann have been able to plant herbs and vegetables.

“I have been planting, germinating, sowing, harvesting and also sometimes we taste the herbs and sometimes we brought some of the vegetables home,” Brinkmann said.

Goodwin, who emigrated from the United States to Ghana, worries about the health impact poor diets have on black communities. 

Educating children about the power of plants will also empower their families – and eventually the wider community, she says.  

Parents say the camp is both informative and fun for their children. They come home from the day camp eager to share their new knowledge, says one mother, Aziza Atta.

“I think physically it’s great, socially it’s great. In terms of their understanding of nature and how things work, and how things have a source and cycle, and you need to plant something and it grows, then you harvest it and this is how you do it. You don’t just go to the supermarket and buy things; it’s that thinking process,” Atta said.

Goodwin hopes the seeds the camp plants today will inspire the youngsters to lead the movement for healthy food and ethical agriculture in Ghana.

In the face of two weeks of massive protests calling for his resignation, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello says he has to listen to the people, but made no indication Tuesday he planned to step down.

“When one side speaks legitimately, the other has the responsibility to listen carefully,” Rossello said in a statement.  “The people are speaking and I have to listen.  These have been moments of complete reflection and of taking decisions based on the concerns of the people of Puerto Rico and of their best interests.”

As thousands of protesters again gathered in the streets for demonstrations, Rossello said his future statements will focus on the actions his government carries out.

A number of officials have resigned in connection with a texting scandal that was revealed earlier this month, the latest being Rossello’s chief of staff Ricardo Llerandi who announced his resignation on Tuesday citing threats against his family.

Meanwhile a judge has issued search warrants for the phones of Rossello and 11 of his political allies.

The public fury erupted when the island’s Center for Investigative Journalism published nearly 900 pages of online group chats between Rossello and several top aides and associates that included profane messages laced with contempt for victims of 2017’s Hurricane Maria, as well as misogynistic and homophobic slurs against Rossello’s political opponents.  

The publication of the chats unleashed long-simmering anger among Puerto Ricans who were worn down by years of public corruption and mismanagement that left the U.S. territory under the control of a congressionally-mandated oversight board to guide it out of a multi-billion-dollar debt crisis.  

Rossello stepped down as leader of the New Progressive Party during a televised address Sunday and said he would not seek re-election in 2020. 

U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Rossello Monday for his “totally grossly incompetent leadership” of Puerto Rico. Trump clashed with Rossello and other Puerto Rican officials over the administration’s response to Hurricane Maria, which killed 3,000 people and left the island without power for months.

Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande each received 10 nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) on Tuesday, leading the race in the youth-orientated awards show, which this year includes two new categories, best K-pop and video for good.

Singer-songwriter Billie Eilish scored nine nominations, including video of the year, best pop, best new artist and artist of the year, a category the 17-year-old will compete for against Grande, rapper Cardi B, pop rocker siblings Jonas Brothers as well as singers Halsey and Shawn Mendes.

Grande’s breakup anthem “thank u, next” and Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down,” in which she criticises social media trolls and those who attack LGBTQ people, will contend for prizes including song of the year, best pop and the video of the year.

That major category also includes Eilish’s “Bad Guy”, Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker,” “Old Town Road (Remix)” by rapper Lil Nas X featuring country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and “a lot” by rapper 21 Savage featuring J. Cole.

The 29-year-old Swift, whose acceptance speech at the 2009 awards was famously interrupted by rapper Kanye West, also received nominations for “ME!” her upbeat duet with Brendon Urie, the lead singer of Panic! at the Disco.

“Boy With Luv” a collaboration between boy band BTS, who have won legions of Korean pop music fans outside of Asia, and Halsey is among the nominees in the best K-Pop category. The song also received nods for best collaboration, best art direction and best choreography.

The new video for good category features songs that have raised awareness or given out a wider message. Animated, star-studded or depicting real footage, they include videos for Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down,” Halsey’s female-empowering “Nightmare,” Lil Dicky’s environmentally themed “Earth” and John Legend’s “Preach” about social injustices.

Other nominees include The Killers’ “Land Of The Free,” a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and a remake of Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train,” whose 1993 video featured missing children, by Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey and Gallant.

Other music stars with several nominations include Lil Nas X with eight nods, Halsey who received six, Shawn Mendes who earned five and last year’s video of the year and artist of the year winner Camila Cabello, who got four.

The VMAs, which are voted for by fans and known for their unpredictable stunts, will be broadcast live on Aug. 26 from Newark, New Jersey.

Spain’s Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez failed on Tuesday in a first attempt to get parliament’s backing to form a government, leaving him two days to try and strike a deal with the far-left Unidas Podemos ahead of a second vote.

Sanchez, who won the most seats in an election in April but fell short of a majority, has faced three months of difficult coalition talks with Podemos, whose votes he needs to be confirmed as prime minister.

He has led the government as a caretaker in the interim, but could be forced to hold new elections if he cannot win confirmation.

After a few tense days where the two parties seemed at turns within reach of a deal or on the point of breaking off talks entirely, Podemos ended up abstaining on Tuesday, rather than voting against Sanchez. Officials in both parties described that as a gesture of good will to allow negotiations to continue.

“We will keep working so that there is a coalition government. Time is running out,” Podemos lawmaker Ione Belarra said after the vote. “Our last gesture was to abstain in order to make the negotiations easier.”

Sanchez was not expected to win Tuesday’s vote, but he lost it by a wide margin, with 124 votes to 170, and 52 abstentions.

Only one lawmaker outside his Socialist party voted for him.

To win Tuesday’s vote, Sanchez would have required an absolute majority of 176 votes in the 350-seat parliament. A second round on Thursday will operate under different rules, requiring only a simple majority excluding abstentions.

Still, he faces an uphill struggle to convert abstentions and some ‘no’ votes into votes in his favor.

All will depend on whether the Socialists and Podemos set aside their differences to strike a deal for a coalition government and also get support from smaller, regional parties.

Socialist spokesperson Adriana Lastra said: “It is the moment to form a government of the left. We have the basis for an understanding.”

Considering how difficult talks have been over the past three months, and tense exchanges between Sanchez and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias in a parliament debate late on Monday, it remains to be seen how stable and united such a government would be.

If Sanchez is not confirmed as prime minister on Thursday, further votes could be held in September. If that failed too, a repeat election would be held on November 10.

Still, the mood appeared to be calmer on Tuesday.

Sources in Podemos and the Socialist party said that the main question was what role Podemos ministers would have.

Rejecting Podemos’ accusations that its ministers would only have a “decorative” role with no power, chief Socialist negotiator Carmen Calvo said Irene Montero, a senior Podemos lawmaker, had been offered the deputy premiership.

Unlike the other Podemos lawmakers, Montero voted ‘no’ on Tuesday. But Podemos officials said this was because Montero, who is pregnant, voted early in the morning from home, before the party changed its mind and decided to abstain.

Kenya’s parliament voted on Tuesday to nationalize the country’s main airline Kenya Airways to save it from mounting debts.

The loss-making airline, which is 48.9% government-owned and 7.8% held by Air France-KLM, has been struggling to return to profitability and growth.

A failed expansion drive and a slump in air travel forced it to restructure $2 billion of debt in 2017. The airline later proposed taking over the running of Nairobi’s main airport to boost its revenue.

Parliament’s transport committee, however, rejected that plan, recommending instead the nationalization of the airline in a report debated by the national assembly on June 18.

In a voice vote taken on Tuesday afternoon, the majority of lawmakers in the chamber voted to accept the report.

Kenya Airways Chairman Michael Joseph told Reuters the vote was “great news.”

“Nationalization is what is necessary to compete on a level playing field. It is not what we want, but what we need,” he said, referring to competitors such as Ethiopian Airlines which are state-run and profitable.

Air France-KLM could not immediately be reached for comment.

The government will now draw up an implementation plan, with clear time lines, said Esther Koimett, the principal secretary at the ministry of transport.

“Parliament is our boss … we will obviously take the recommendations of parliament,” she told Reuters.

Kenya is seeking to emulate countries like Ethiopia which run air transport assets from airports to fueling operations under a single company, using funds from the more profitable parts to support others, such as national airlines.

“The government is keen to take a consolidated view of aviation assets of the country in order to make sure they work in a coherent and efficient way to support the (Nairobi aviation) hub,” Koimett said.

The committee’s report proposes that Kenya set up an aviation holding company with four subsidiaries, one of which would run Kenya Airways. Another arm of the holding company would operate Nairobi’s main international airport.

The committee’s report also recommended the holding company be given tax concessions for a period to be determined and that it be exempted from paying excise duty on all goods, including jet fuel.

Koimett dismissed concerns that nationalization could lead to further mismanagement. Kenya’s state-owned enterprises sector is riddled with corporate corpses and near failures caused by theft and poor management over the decades.

“Implementation is really the key thing … Ultimately all these things have to do really with ensuring that we get the right people in the right places,” she said.

($1 = 103.7000 Kenyan shillings)