Sunday, December 15, 2019



ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS--- AFP




Thousands take part in a demonstration of the "Sardine Movement", formed to oppose Italy's far-right League party, in Rome.
The youth-driven "Sardine Movement" has become a symbol of protest against Salvini, leader of the League party. ✊
u.afp.com/JyRs







Tensions between the French government and unions opposed to pension reforms mount as a crippling transport strike enters its 11th day.
Read story: http://u.afp.com/JyzA



Superman's very first cape and Bilbo Baggins' pipe are each forecast to raise $100,000-$200,000 at a blockbuster auction of rare Hollywood memorabilia.
Also going under the hammer at Julien's Auctions will be the "most important collection" of Star Trek memorabilia ever auctioned, organizers say, including a jacket worn by Captain Kirk in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."
Read story: http://u.afp.com/JyEk









Obsessed Star Wars fans have started camping outside Hollywood's Chinese Theatre, more than a week before the film opens.
Full story: http://u.afp.com/Jy78


Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir was sentenced to two years detention in a correctional center for corruption in the first of several cases against the ousted autocrat.
The deposed leader admitted to having received a total of $90 million from Saudi leaders and the trial centered on the $25 million received from Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Read more: http://u.afp.com/JyDZ




With Evo Morales gone, the coca farmers of Los Yungas, a region in Bolivia, are urging the new government to support them against lowering the price of of their "holy leaf" crop.
Read more: http://u.afp.com/JyDS




Algeria's unpopular presidential election was meant to reset the country's politics after months of crisis -- but it exposed a rigid system determined to perpetuate itself, analysts say.

"You get the impression of two parallel Algerias: a ruling class which congratulates itself on organising elections and a populace that holds protests," said Maghreb expert and historian Karima Direche.
Read more: http://u.afp.com/JyRV






Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon in November surged by 104 percent compared to the same month in 2018, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, which provides official data on deforestation.
The 217 square miles deforested that month represent the highest number for any November since 2015.
Read more: http://u.afp.com/JyRK




Make 2020 a year of action.
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg urged young people during a "Fridays for Future" rally in Italy to seize the next decade to fight climate change, and chastised world leaders for acting "as if there is no tomorrow"
Read more: http://u.afp.com/JyL4



Protests in India against a new citizenship law that opponents say is anti-Muslim spread to other regions on Friday, a day after two people were shot dead by police in the northeast of the country -- the epicenter of days of demonstrations.
Read more: http://u.afp.com/JyuF







Supporters of Algeria's newly-elected president Abdelmadjid Tebboune celebrate his election victory at his campaign HQ in the capital Algiers.
Tebboune won the widely unpopular poll without the need for a second-round runoff, the electoral commission said.
Read more: http://u.afp.com/Jy2d



AI 'completes' symphony.

A few notes scribbled in his notebook are all that German composer Ludwig van Beethoven left of his Tenth Symphony before his death in 1827.
Now, a team of musicologists and programmers is racing to complete a version of the piece using artificial intelligence, ahead of the 250th anniversary of his birth next year.
Full story: http://u.afp.com/Jy8m



Five years ago this week, Washington and Havana surprised the world when they agreed to reopen diplomatic ties severed in 1961, but relations have since slid downhill as if on a fresh layer of Cold War ice.
Read story: http://u.afp.com/Jyzx



THAT AWKWARD MOMENT 
OBAMA DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ITS NOT ALL ABOUT HIM 
AND THE POLITE THING IS TO JOIN HANDS IN SOLIDARITY

This is a fat innkeeper worm (Urechis unicinctus).
Thousands of marine worms like this - dubbed "penis fish" for their shape and color - appeared this week on a California beach after a strong winter storm exposed them.
The worms covered Drakes Beach, 50 miles north of San Francisco. 

Read more about these mysterious creatures here 👉 http://u.afp.com/JyRx



After at least three years in darkness, the face of Argentina's Eva Peron is again lit, this time projected onto the side of the Social Development ministry, just days into President Alberto Fernández's first term.

https://www.facebook.com/AFPnewsenglish/videos/2510545919269244/

A hairdresser in Belgrade declares war on lice, opening up a salon that specialises in removing the insects the old-fashioned way, with combs rather than chemicals



After more than six months of protests in Hong Kong, some local residents are not in the mood to celebrate Christmas.
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                                                                         ---30---
RED BETWEEN THE LINES WORLD REVOLUTION 2019
Among many key events of 2019, was an explosion of demonstrations across the world as people demanded an overhaul of entrenched political systems and action on climate change.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS---UPI

Image may contain: text
MORE DEATHS THAN BY VAPING
More than 4,000 new cases of influenza were confirmed across the country this week as flu season shifts into high gear. The CDC estimates that so far this season there have been at least 2.6 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths from flu.
More than 4,000 new cases of influenza were confirmed across the country this week as flu season shifts into high gear.

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A top Defense Department official sexually harassed three women on his staff and resigned from his position amid an investigation into the allegations against him, according to the department's internal watchdog.


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Boeing's CST-100 Starliner space capsule is ready for its maiden voyage Dec. 20, NASA said Thursday.

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The Senate gave bipartisan support to Stephen Hahn on Thursday, confirming him as President Donald Trump's pick to head the Food and Drug Administration.

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Prosecutors in New York have filed a motion seeking to revoke the bail of Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born associate of Rudy Guiliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer.

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The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump's 50th appellate court judge, reaching the milestone in just three years.


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The U.S. Justice Department said in a federal indictment Thursday a dozen former professional football players conspired to defraud the National Football League's health reimbursement program out of nearly $4 million.

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Southwest Airlines announced Thursday it's reached a settlement with Boeing that includes compensation for losses due to the global grounding of all 737 Max airliners.


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A federal judge in California has ruled against the Trump administration's efforts to divert some $3.6 billion in funding for military construction projects to build permanent barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

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The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to pass the annual defense spending bill, authorizing the creation of Space Force and passing a provision that provides all federal workers with 12 weeks paid parental leave.
The House of Representatives voted to pass the annual defense spending bill, authorizing the creation of Space Force and passing a provision that provides all federal workers with 12 weeks paid parental leave.

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Many celebrated the news that House Democrats and the Trump administration agreed on the USMCA -- but this is not good news for all farming sectors. Fresh produce growers say they cannot compete with the cheap and abundant supplies of Mexican fruits and vegetables.
American farmers are split in their support for the new United States Mexico Canada trade deal.

New trade deal good for some U.S. farmers, but produce growers wary

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The discovery of an ancient cave painting on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has pushed the origins of figurative cave painting back further than ever before.



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