OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc have agreed to help boost the security of Canada’s October election by removing fake accounts and cracking down on bots, a top government official said yesterday. Last month the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau complained that the world’s major social media companies were not doing enough to help combat potential foreign meddling in the vote and said Ottawa might have to regulate them.

Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould told legislators that the two companies had made commitments in a voluntary declaration on electoral integrity. “The Wild West online era cannot continue – inaction is not an option. Disinformation must not stand,” said Gould, repeating the threat to crack down on the firms if necessary. Government officials say they fear bad actors – some linked to Russia – will try to interfere in the vote.

“The malicious, multi-faceted and ever-evolving tactics constitute a serious strategic threat,” said Gould. Microsoft and Facebook had also agreed to intensify efforts to combat disinformation, promote safeguards to address cyber security incidents and explain their rules about accepting political advertising, Gould said.(Reuters)…[+]

Girls from across Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) showcased their own original technological solutions to gender-based violence and climate change at the T&T segment of the Caribbean.Girls.Hack competition last Friday, 24 May 2019. In doing so, the young girls competed for the opportunity to present their tech-based innovative ideas to policy makers during the upcoming subregional preparatory meeting of the XIV Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) subregional headquarters for the Caribbean partnered with the Government of T&T and the non-governmental organisations, SheLeadsIT and Restore a Sense of I Can (RSC) Tech Clubs, for the day-long event, which was held at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in San Fernando. Through a number of participatory online training sessions and activities, the initiative aimed at engaging young girls in interactive, fun and problem-solving experiences using technology, whilst empowering them to pursue studies and careers in ICT. It was also an occasion for them to learn about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Regional Gender Agenda and the importance of these frameworks for promoting girls’ access to ICT related fields…[+]

Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz faces being removed from office in a no-confidence vote on Monday afternoon. His previous coalition ally, the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), said it would support the motion being brought by the opposition Social Democrats.

The FPÖ had become embroiled in a political scandal caused by a secret video, which ended the coalition. If Mr Kurz is forced out, a new chancellor would lead a caretaker government ahead of elections. They are expected in September. Mr Kurz, head of the conservative Austrian People’s Party, could become the first chancellor in post-war Austrian history to be removed from office in this way. At 32, he is the world’s youngest state leader.

There will be two no-confidence votes, one against the government and the other against Mr Kurz individually. The motions have been submitted by the opposition Social Democrats, with the debate due to begin at 13:00 (11:00 GMT). But they only have 52 seats in the 183-seat lower chamber. Unfortunately for Mr Kurz, the FPÖ has signalled it will back the motion, and it has 51 seats. A majority is all that is needed in the votes.(BBC)…[+]

BRUSSELS – Parties committed to strengthening the European Union held on to two-thirds of seats in the EU parliament, official projections from the bloc’s elections showed yesterday, though far-right and nationalist opponents saw strong gains. France’s Emmanuel Macron, who has staked his presidency on persuading Europeans that the EU is the answer to the challenges of an uncertain, globalising world economy, took a personal hit when his centrist movement was edged into second place by Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration, anti-Brussels National Rally.

But Macron’s Renais-sance, built on the ruins of centre-left and centre-right parties, added to gains for liberals at the EU level as turnout bounced sharply across the bloc. Along with a surge for the Greens, that meant four groups occupying the pro-EU middle ground lost under 20 seats, securing 505 seats out of 751, according to a projection by the European Parliament.

That may complicate some policymaking, as a two-party “grand coalition” of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists (S&D) no longer has a majority. The liberals, with over 100 seats and Greens, with nearly 70, want a big say. But it also dents the hopes of Le Pen, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and others who have been seeking to disrupt attempts to forge closer EU integration. Salvini called the elections a mandate for a shake-up in Brussels.(Reuters)…[+]

Sad­dened by the en­slave­ment of Venezue­lan mi­grants who are on­ly seek­ing to fill emp­ty stom­achs in T&T, re­cent­ly-in­stalled mod­er­a­tor of the Pres­by­ter­ian Church, Rev Joy Ab­dul-Mo­han, says her flock will use their re­sources to al­le­vi­ate the mi­grants’ hunger. She said it was wor­ri­some to think that po­lice of­fi­cers were in­volved in hu­man traf­fick­ing of refugees to have them prac­tice mod­ern day slav­ery.

“Refugees and mi­grants are hu­man be­ings cre­at­ed in the im­age and like­ness of God like all of us. They are fam­i­lies with hopes and dreams for their chil­dren. The church must make a dif­fer­ence in the lives of those who are mar­gin­alised, alien­at­ed, op­pressed and ex­ploit­ed,” Ab­dul-Mo­han said.

“The ques­tion must be asked: If we see refugees as fam­i­lies seek­ing a bet­ter life as many ‘Trin­bag­on­ian’ fam­i­lies who mi­grat­ed to North Amer­i­ca and Eu­rope, how might that change the ways we re­ceive them in our coun­try? Notwith­stand­ing the crim­i­nal el­e­ments and the need to put prop­er struc­tures in place to deal with the is­sue at hand.” Ab­dul-Mo­han made the com­ment as she was be­ing recog­nised by the Rapid-fire Kidz Foun­da­tion for be­ing el­e­vat­ed to her new po­si­tion at Can­ton Palace, San Fer­nan­do, on Sat­ur­day.(Trinidad Guardian)…[+]

The German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner has urged Jews to avoid wearing skullcaps in public. Felix Klein warned Jews against donning the kippa in parts of the country following a rise in anti-Semitism. He said his opinion on the matter had “changed compared with what it used to be”. Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin said the recommendation amounted to “an admittance that, again, Jews are not safe on German soil”. A sharp increase in the number of anti-Semitic offences was recorded by the German government last year.

Official figures showed 1,646 hate crimes against Jews were committed in 2018 – an increase of 10% on the previous year. Physical attacks against Jews in Germany also rose in the same period, with 62 violent incidents recorded, up from 37 in 2017. Speaking to the Handelsblatt newspaper, Justice Minister Katarina Barley said the increase in anti-Semitic crimes was “shameful for our country”.(BBC)…[+]

LONDON – The contest to replace Theresa May as British prime minister hotted up yesterday with seven candidates now throwing their hat into the ring, saying they would succeed where she failed by taking a deeply-divided Britain out of the European Union. May announced on Friday she was quitting over her failure to deliver Brexit, raising the prospect of a new leader who could seek a more divisive split with the EU and lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election.

British health minister Matt Hancock, ex-Brexit minister Dominic Raab and former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom on Saturday joined an increasingly crowded field to replace May. Former foreign minister Boris Johnson, current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, International Develop-ment Secretary Rory Stewart and former work and pensions minister Esther McVey had already announced they would stand.

About a dozen contenders in total are thought to be considering a tilt at the leadership with newspapers reporting that environment minister Michael Gove was expected to announce his candidacy on Sunday. May failed three times to get a divorce deal she agreed with the EU through parliament because of deep, long-term divisions in the Conservative Party over Europe. It meant the original Brexit date of March 29 has been extended until Oct. 31 to see if any compromise could be reached.(Reuters)…[+]

The US Em­bassy in Port-of-Spain has ad­vised that ef­fec­tive June 1, doc­u­ments sub­mit­ted in sup­port of a Non-Im­mi­grant Visa (NIV) in­ter­view waiv­er ap­pli­ca­tion will not be re­turned, oth­er than the ap­pli­cant’s valid and ex­pired pass­ports. For ap­pli­cants who sub­mit­ted sup­port­ing doc­u­ments be­fore June 1, of­fi­cials said these will be re­turned as per the cur­rent prac­tice.

In a re­lease on its web­site, of­fi­cials ex­plained this was meant to sim­pli­fy the process for both the Em­bassy and the ap­pli­cants, en­abling them to process ap­pli­ca­tions faster and re­turn pass­ports and visas quick­ly. When ap­ply­ing for a visa on­line, the sys­tem tells you based on in­for­ma­tion en­tered, whether you qual­i­fy for the in­ter­view waiv­er and what doc­u­ments to sub­mit in your pack­age.(Trinidad Guardian)…[+]

US President Donald Trump has ordered US intelligence agencies to co-operate with an investigation into whether he was spied on during the 2016 election. The probe, headed by Attorney General William Barr, is examining the origins of the Russia investigation.

It has long been requested by Mr Trump, who often labels the inquiry into Russian interference a “witch hunt”. On Thursday he announced a directive that gave Mr Barr sweeping new powers, including to declassify documents. Mr Barr is already subject to intense scrutiny and criticism by Democrats – who have accused him of acting on the president’s behalf and not in the national interest.(BBC)…[+]

NEW DELHI/AYODHYA, – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a dramatic election victory yesterday, putting his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security. His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defence.

Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 302 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament. That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. Votes will be fully counted by Friday morning.

Modi was showered with rose petals by some of the thousands of cheering supporters who waited for hours in a thunderstorm for his arrival at party headquarters on Thursday evening. “Whatever happened in these elections is in the past, we have to look ahead. We have to take everyone forward, including our staunchest opponents,” he said in a televised address.(Reuters)…[+]