By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/5/2024 4:35 AM
North Korea floated hundreds of balloons across the border with South Korea on Thursday, Seoul's military said, continuing its latest campaign for the second day in a row. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 10:25 PM
Two prominent animal rights organizations are calling on Norwegian authorities to launch a criminal investigation into the recent death of a celebrated beluga whale, which they say was fatally shot. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 6:53 PM
Weeks after competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei is in critical condition after she was allegedly set on fire by her former boyfriend, according to police. ... Read full Story
Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who captured the hearts of Norwegians, was found dead Saturday. Activists say the whale, believed have been part of a Russian spy operation, was shot. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 2:45 PM
The U.S. State Department Tuesday condemned the arrest warrant issued for Venezuelan political opposition leader and apparent presidential election winner Edmundo González Urrutia. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 1:41 PM
The British competition watchdog on Wednesday cleared Microsoft's hiring of several key members of Inflection AI, including its co-founder, saying it does not rise to a "relevant merger situation," under law. ... Read full Story
The announcement expected from Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to signal the depth of U.S. concerns and signal legal actions against those suspected of being involved. ... Read full Story
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro announced the premature holiday over five weeks after a highly contested presidential election in the country. ... Read full Story
Starting Oct. 1, just in time for spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand will nearly triple a tax it levies on international visitors. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 10:43 AM
UNICEF reported Wednesday that 189,000 children have been vaccinated against polio in a successful first phase of the campaign underway in war-torn Gaza. The goal is to vaccinate 640,000 children. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 10:29 AM
Pope Francis said on Wednesday in Indonesia that extremism, intolerance, and violence are often driven by a "distortion of religion" while calling for a "climate of mutual respect." ... Read full Story
After a rail shutdown, inflation and drought, farmers are worried they'll end up paying the price for the fallout over Canada's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 9:46 AM
The final report into Britain's Grenfell fire found the loss of all 72 people who were killed was "avoidable" and residents of the high-rise London apartment block were "badly failed." ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 9:18 AM
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said Wednesday its Airbus A350 fleet grounded Tuesday will fully resume operations by Saturday, Sept. 7. Fifteen jets had engine fuel line issues. ... Read full Story
The years-long public inquiry into the 2017 blaze, that killed 72 people, concluded that there was no 'single cause' of the tragedy. ... Read full Story
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated last week that a reshuffle was imminent, with the war poised to enter a critical stage. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 7:31 AM
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba submitted his resignation on Wednesday as a part of Kyiv's biggest shakeup leadership shakeups since the start of Russia's invasion of the country. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 7:27 AM
Britain pushed back against criticism of a decision to ban some arms sales to Israel over fears they could be used in Gaza to breach international humanitarian law, insisting the United Kingdom stood fully behind Israel. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 9/4/2024 6:00 AM
The world's first map to show the live migration of antelopes, guanacos, zebras and other land-hoofed ungulates currently facing threat by humans and climate change, can be viewed online starting Wednesday. ... 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.