(2020-01-30). Will dad splash the cash for the wedding?! Bill Gates' daughter gets engaged to Egyptian showjumping star. rt.com 
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. |
(2020-01-30). Athens & Ankara issue scathing condemnations after neo-Nazi Greek MEP tears up Turkish flag. rt.com 
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…
(2020-01-30). UN halts refugee center operations in Tripoli, Libya over safety fears. rt.com 
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…
(2020-01-30). Facial Recognition Technology and AI Are Tainted With Racial Bias. truthout.org 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…
(2020-01-30). Palestinian Leaders Taking Steps to Topple Trump's 'Peace Plan'. telesurenglish.net 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: | 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…
(2020-01-30). The Rooney Rule isn't working; diversity in coach/executive hirings must improve. peoplesworld.org 
MIAMI (AP) — Stopping short of saying the Rooney Rule is not working, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell noted Wednesday the league needs change to its minority hiring policy. Though the league requires teams to interview minority candidates, only two African-Americans have been hired for 19 open head coaching spots over the past three years. The …
(2020-01-30). "Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology. democracynow.org 
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…
(2020-01-30). Sports rorts just tip of normalised corruption iceberg. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-01-29). Paraguay Declares Health Emergency in Asuncion Due to Dengue. telesurenglish.net 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: | 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…
(2020-01-29). Turkey Demands US Deliver F-35 Fighter Jets or Money Back. telesurenglish.net Turkish President RELATED: | 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…
(2020-01-29). Headlines for January 29, 2020. democracynow.org McConnell Tries to Secure Votes to Block Impeachment Witnesses, "Our Rights Are Not for Sale": Palestinians Reject Trump's Middle East Plan, Trump Praises Pompeo for Shouting and Cursing at NPR Reporter, WaPo Reinstates Reporter Suspended for Tweeting About Kobe Rape Case, Death Toll from Coronavirus Virus Hits 132, with 6,000 Infected, Over 100,000 Syrian Civilians Flee Regime Offensive in Idlib, Floods Kill 30, Displace 16,000 in Madagascar, Mississippi to Shut Down Unit of Parchman Prison After Deaths of 9 Prisoners, Maryland Cop Charged with Murder for Killing Handcuffed Man in Police Car…
(2020-01-29). In impeachment crisis, Trump continues fascistic appeals, Democrats promote warmonger John Bolton. wsws.org 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.
(2020-01-29). South Sudan's President Blames UN Over Abyei Massacre. telesurenglish.net 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: | 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.
(2020-01-28). Headlines for January 28, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Lawyers Says He Did No Wrong as Calls Mount for Bolton and Other Witnesses to Testify | , Trump to Unveil Middle East "Peace Plan" as Netanyahu Indicted over Corruption, SCOTUS Allows Trump's "Public Charge" Rule Targeting Low-Income Immigrants to Take Effect, State Dept. Bars NPR Reporter from Upcoming Pompeo Trip, Washington Post Suspends Reporter for Tweet About Kobe Bryant Rape Allegation, Mixed Accounts After U.S. Military Plane Crashes in Afghanistan, Torrential Rains and Landslides Kill At Least 46 People in Brazil, Nigerian Journalist Maxwell Nashan Killed, 2nd Accuser Testifies in Weinstein Trial a…
(2020-01-28). FROM THE FIELD: Sourcing clean water in Ghana. news.un.org 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).
(2020-01-28). West Darfur tensions could see 30,000 flee across Sudanese border to Chad: UN refugee agency. news.un.org 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.
(2020-01-27). Libya: UN report urges accountability for deadly attack against migrant centre. news.un.org 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.
(2020-01-27). Headlines for January 27, 2020. democracynow.org Impeachment Trial Resumes as Leaked Bolton Manuscript Bolsters Democrats' Case, Coronavirus Death Toll Reaches 81 in China as Disease Spreads Around the World, Pentagon: 34 U.S. Troops Have Brain Injuries After Iranian Attack on Iraqi Airbase, Deadly Crackdown on Iraqi Protests Continue as 100,000s March Against U.S. Military Presence, Turkey Earthquake Kills 38; At Least 1,600 Hospitalized, Ugandan Activist Vanessa Nakate Slams Racist Media After Being Cropped from Photo with White Activists, Trump Attends Anti-Abortion "March for Life" as Admin Continues Assault on Reproductive Rights, High-Ranking Pharma Exec…
(2020-01-23). "The New Colossus": In New Play, Tim Robbins Tackles Immigration & Xenophobia. democracynow.org 
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 — Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela — from entering the United States. Politico reports that the expanded ban could implement immigration restrictions on seven more countries: Belarus, Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania, according to two sources. We speak with acclaimed actor, director and activist Tim Robbins, whose recent work has focused on immigration to the United S…