Will dad splash the cash for the wedding?! Bill Gates' daughter gets engaged to Egyptian showjumping star
rt.com | 2020-01-30
The daughter of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Jennifer, has got engaged to Egyptian equestrian star Nayel Nassar, who made a surprise proposal during the couple's skiing vacation. | The eldest daughter of billionaire businessman Gates and his wife Melinda, revealed she will soon tie the knot with her fiancé by posting a picture on Instagram showing her emotional reaction to the offer of marriage. | READ MORE: Democrats turn on Bill Gates after billionaire hints he's not a fan of Warren's wealth tax…
rt.com/sport/479594-bill-gates-daughter-engaged/

Athens & Ankara issue scathing condemnations after neo-Nazi Greek MEP tears up Turkish flag
rt.com | 2020-01-30
A Greek neo-Nazi lawmaker who tore up a Turkish flag during a debate in the European Parliament has faced condemnation from both Athens and Ankara, in a rare show of solidarity between the two bitter rivals. | While Greece and Turkey squabble over maritime and security agreements with Libya, the decades-old rivals were able to find common ground in their mutual disapproval of independent MEP Yannis Lagos. The far-right firebrand, who leads an offshoot of the infamous neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, tore up a paper Turkish flag and blamed Ankara for Europe's migrant crisis while addressing the European Parliament o…
rt.com/news/479591-turkish-flag-ripped-greek-mep/

UN halts refugee center operations in Tripoli, Libya over safety fears
rt.com | 2020-01-30
The United Nations said on Thursday it was suspending its operations at a refugee reception center in Tripoli over safety fears as the conflict in the country worsens. The UNHCR's Chief of Mission in Libya, Jean-Paul Cavalieri said the decision had been taken after the organization learned that military and police training exercises were taking place just outside the facility, AFP reported. | "We fear that the entire area could become a military target, further endangering the lives of refugees, asylum seekers and other civilians," he said. The UN-recognized government in Tripoli has been under attack since Ap…
rt.com/newsline/479609-un-refugee-center-tripoli/

The Rooney Rule isn't working; diversity in coach/executive hirings must improve
Barry Wilner | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-30
MIAMI (AP)

Facial Recognition Technology and AI Are Tainted With Racial Bias
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-30
A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-Americ…
truthout.org/video/facial-recognition-technology-and-ai-are-tainted-with-racial-bias/

Palestinian Leaders Taking Steps to Topple Trump's 'Peace Plan'
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-30
The Palestinian Authority has prepared a series of plans to topple the announced U.S. Middle East peace plan, also known as the Deal of the Century, a senior Palestinian official said Wednesday. | RELATED: | Thousands of Palestinians Protest Against Trump's Deal | Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told reporters in Ramallah that one of the first steps "is to hold a meeting for the Arab League's foreign ministers in Cairo on Saturday." | Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Palestinian-Leaders-Taking-Steps-to-Topple-Trumps-Peace-Plan-20200130-0002.html

"Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-30
A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-American and Asian faces incorrectly 10 to 100 times more than white faces. The film "Coded Bias" begins with Joy B…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/30/coded_bias_shalini_kantayya_joy_buolamwini

Sports rorts just tip of normalised corruption iceberg
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-01-30
corruption Jim McIlroyIssue 1251 Australia sportsgate scandalJanuary 30, 2020The sports rorts scandal engulfing National Party deputy leader Bridget McKenzie has shone a light on the deeply corrupt nature of the federal Coalition government. While McKenzie may end up…
greenleft.org.au/content/sports-rorts-just-tip-normalised-corruption-iceberg

Turkey Demands US Deliver F-35 Fighter Jets or Money Back
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-29
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday demanded the United States deliver the F-35 fighters paid several months ago or get the money back. | RELATED: | No Military Solution to Libya's Conflict: Turkey's Erdogan | Speaking to a group of journalists aboard the presidential plane, upon his return from Senegal, the Turkish president stressed that 'either they deliver the fighters or return the money to us, and if not, we buy them e…
telesurenglish.net/news/Turkey-Demands-US-Deliver-F-35-Fighter-Jets-or-Money-Back-20200129-0012.html

In impeachment crisis, Trump continues fascistic appeals, Democrats promote warmonger John Bolton
wsws.org | 2020-01-29
An architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bolton has advocated wars for regime change in Iran, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, Cuba, Yemen and North Korea.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/29/impe-j29.html

South Sudan's President Blames UN Over Abyei Massacre
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-29
President Salva Kiir of South Sudan criticized the United Nations for last week's massacre in the contested region of Abyei on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, where 32 people died. | RELATED: | Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to Achieve Blue Nile Dam Deal This Month | The head of state addressed the issue in the middle of increasing anger at the failure of the peacekeeping force, known as UNISFA, to protect the ethnic Dinka village of Kolom in northern Abyei, last January 22nd.
telesurenglish.net/news/south-sudan-president-blames-un-over-abyei-massacre-20200129-0022.html

Paraguay Declares Health Emergency in Asuncion Due to Dengue
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-29
During the session held on Wednesday, local authorities have decided for 90 days to declare an environmental and health emergency in Asunción, capital of Paraguay, according to Humberto Blasco, president of the Municipal Board, via Twitter. | RELATED: | Brazil: Ministry Prefers 'Abstinence' Instead of Sex Education | According to Blasco, the purpose is to deal with the dengue epidemic in the Paraguayan city, after a strong rebound of the disease, transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosqu…
telesurenglish.net/news/paraguay-declares-health-emergency-in-asuncion-due-to-dengue-20200129-0016.html

FROM THE FIELD: Sourcing clean water in Ghana
news.un.org | 2020-01-28
Communities in northern Ghana are benefiting from the rehabilitation of water sources which is expected to boost livelihoods and build resilience against climate change, thanks to a project supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1056072

West Darfur tensions could see 30,000 flee across Sudanese border to Chad: UN refugee agency
news.un.org | 2020-01-28
The number of people fleeing to Chad to escape ongoing tensions in Sudan's West Darfur state, could reach 30,000 in the coming weeks, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1056182

Libya: UN report urges accountability for deadly attack against migrant centre
news.un.org | 2020-01-27
Warring parties in Libya, as well as foreign governments supporting them, are being urged to investigate deadly airstrikes last July which killed at least 53 migrants and refugees at a detention centre in the northwest of the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1056052

"The New Colossus": In New Play, Tim Robbins Tackles Immigration & Xenophobia
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-23
President Trump said Wednesday that he would expand his highly controversial travel ban, which already bars citizens from seven countries, most of which have Muslim-majority populations