Ryan Reynolds: video games and the making of Free Guy

Chris Fox looks at the best of the week’s technology news stories including: US tech company Yahoo ends its presence in mainland China Facebook says it will end the use of facial recognition on the social network to identify and tag people in photos Game streaming site Twitch adds a new category for animal livestreams…

A massive Covid financial relief plan will mean many Americans getting cheques for $1,400 (£1,008). Donna Kelly-Yu told BBC World News of the relief she felt, knowing the money was coming. Donna was laid off from her job as an order taker and cashier at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas last March. She said the…

A pharmacist whose brother died after having the AstraZeneca vaccine has told the BBC she still feels strongly that people should continue have their jabs. Alison Astles’ brother Neil, 59, died of a blood clot on the brain on Sunday, after having the vaccination on 17 March. She said he was “extraordinarily unlucky” and that…

On 4 August 2020, Lebanon’s capital was rocked by a catastrophic blast as hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port, killing at least 200 people and injuring thousands. An investigation is underway but has not yet been made public. The country’s ambassador to the UK, Rami Mortada, told BBC World News that…

The environmental impact of plastic is resulting in the creation of new ways to reduce its impact through the use of deposit schemes and the development of alternative packaging materials. BBC Click’s Lara Lewington finds out more. See more at Click’s website and @BBCClick

The previous game, Rainbow Six Siege, will continue to receive updates as the competitive team combat game in the series, Ubisoft said. It also announced it would be adding cross-play for players on different platforms – such as PC and Google Stadia, and Xbox and PlayStation – but not between PC and console.