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DHS faces whistleblower claims; new fire at Beirut's port; second blaze rips through Moria camp

The World

September 10, 2020

An official from the US Department of Homeland Security, Brian Murphy, said in a whistleblower complaint that senior officials pressured him to suppress facts in intelligence reports. Barely a month after a massive blast tore through Beirut’s port, a large fire has engulfed the area once again. And little remains of Greece's overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos after a second fire overnight destroyed almost everything that had survived the initial blaze.

Top of The World

Court rules Shamima Begum can return to Britain for appeal; Russian hackers accused of trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine research; Privacy Shield ruled invalid

The World

July 16, 2020

A British appeal court ruled today that Shamima Begum, who in 2015 went to Syria to join ISIS, can return to the United Kingdom to challenge the government's removal of her British citizenship. And, officials from the US, Britain and Canada said today that Russian hackers are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine research. Also, Europe's highest court has ruled that the so-called Privacy Shield trans-Atlantic data transfer deal is invalid.

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Twitter purges state-backed disinformation accounts; US sanctions ICC staff, Syria

The World

June 12, 2020

Twitter has purged more than 32,000 accounts linked to state-backed disinformation operations. The Trump administration has authorized sanctions and visa restrictions on International Criminal Court personnel, in an attempt to undermine investigations into possible US war crimes. In Lebanon, there are increased calls for the government to resign after the currency plunged 25% in two days.

Coronavirus Conversations

Discussion: Stopping the spread of misinformation amid the coronavirus crisis

The World

May 26, 2020

Updated

05/26/2020 - 12:45pm

Amplified by social media, misinformation can undermine critical public health efforts and fuel conspiracy theories — particularly dangerous amid the coronavirus crisis. As part of our weekly series taking your questions to the experts, The World's Elana Gordon moderated a conversation with K. “Vish” Viswanath, professor of health communication at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who addressed the pitfalls of COVID-19 misinformation, as well as ways to find trustworthy information about the pandemic.

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