By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/3/2024 7:32 AM
The Netherlands' digital watchdog said on Tuesday it issued a $33.7 million fine against U.S.-based Clearview AI for illegally gathering facial recognition data there. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/3/2024 7:06 AM
Pope Francis arrived in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Tuesday to embark on a historic 11-day visit to the Asia-Pacific aimed at promoting understanding between Catholicism and Islam in the region. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/3/2024 4:38 AM
Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh gave a warm welcome Tuesday to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who is in the Asian nation's capital for negotiations at expanding their nations' partnership. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/3/2024 1:37 AM
Two U.S. soldiers in civilian clothing were attacked by members of an anti-American youth group in a Turkish port city, officials of both governments confirmed. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/3/2024 12:15 AM
Britain on Monday announced it was suspending the export of some military equipment to Israel as London increases its public criticism of an ally and its methods of war that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 10:43 PM
A salvage operation for an immobilized and burning oil tanker in the Red Sea where Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial and military vessels is about to commence. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 8:53 PM
U.S. Central Command forces and Syrian Democratic Forces captured an ISIS leader who helped fighters escape from Raqqah detention facility in Syria, the U.S. military said Monday. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 7:37 PM
The United States has seized an aircraft owned by Venezuela's hard-line President Nicolas Maduro and which allegedly was purchased and smuggled out of the country in violation of U.S. law, the Justice Department said. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 5:08 PM
The National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical disturbances in the Atlantic though none has a strong chance of formation in the next seven days. ... Read full Story
The plane used by Nicolas Maduro was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the custody of federal officials in Florida, the U.S. Justice Department said. ... Read full Story
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the decision to suspend the licenses did not amount to a blanket ban or an arms embargo against Israel. ... Read full Story
The World Meteorological Organization said many African nations are spending up to nine per cent of their budgets for climate adaptation policies. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 1:43 PM
Thousands of mourners on Monday gathered in Israel to say their goodbyes to Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had been held hostage by terror group Hamas and whose body was discovered in Gaza last week. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 12:37 PM
An Israeli labor court ordered striking employees back to work by Monday afternoon after determining union-organized strikes throughout the country were political and, thus, not supported by the country's labor laws. ... Read full Story
U.S. President Joe Biden added to the pressure by saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't doing enough to reach a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 11:52 AM
The United States and South Korea conducted major amphibious assault drills Monday, storming a beach in the southeastern city of Pohang in an exercise meant to counter growing North Korean threats. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 4:34 AM
Germans in the two states of Thuringia and Saxony voted in regional elections on the weekend, with exit polls showing Monday that a far-right political party has secured its first election victory since World War II. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/2/2024 2:32 AM
A merchant vessel transiting the Red Sea where the Houthi Rebels of Yemen have been attacking ships was struck by two unknown projectiles early Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. ... Read full Story
“The eagerness to vilify ‘the other side’—usually on social media—complicates the less reactionary work that defines our mission.” — Jerry Brewer, The Washington Post, 11 June 2024
Did you know?
It seems reasonable to assume that the words vilify and villain come from the same source; after all, to vilify someone is—in some ways—to make them out to be a villain. Such is not the case, however. Although the origin stories of both vilify and villain involve Latin, their roots are quite different. Vilify came to English (via Middle English and Late Latin) from the Latin adjective vilis, meaning “cheap” or “vile.” Someone who has been vilified, accordingly, has had their reputation tarnished or cheapened in such a way that they’re viewed as morally reprehensible. Villain on the other hand, comes from the Medieval Latin word villanus, meaning “villager,” and ultimately from the Latin noun villa, meaning “house.” The Middle English descendent of villanus developed the meaning of “a person of uncouth mind and manners” due to the vilifying influence of the aristocracy of the time, and the connotations worsened from there until villain came to refer to (among other things), a deliberate scoundrel.