In Italy, Facebook will have fact checkers ‘hunting’ for fake news for the first time

MILAN — When Facebook announced its plans last week to have users rate the trustworthiness of news sources, it didn't go over particularly well. Many people criticized the social network for taking too little responsibility, demanding that it do more to combat misinformation than outsource the question to the public. But in Italy, as parliamentary […]

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2018/02/02/facebook-goes-on-the-offensive-against-fake-news-for-italys-election/

Fidel Castro’s eldest son, a bookish nuclear scientist, commits suicide

MIAMI – They called him “Fidelito” – little Fidel – partly because he was the spitting image of his father, Fidel Castro, the late Cuban revolutionary. But that’s where the similarities ended. Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, the late Cuban leader’s eldest son, took his own life after a struggle with depression, Cuba’s state media reported on Thursday.  […]

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/fidel-castros-eldest-son-a-bookish-nuclear-scientist-commits-suicide/

A truck driver inexplicably plowed over a 2,000-year-old site in Peru, damaging the designs

A truck driver in Peru damaged the 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines, after officials said he ignored warning signs and drove over a portion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Nazca Lines are large designs that were scratched into the ground’s surface between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500 on a coastal plain south of Lima. UNESCO calls the […]

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/a-truck-driver-inexplicably-plowed-over-a-2000-year-old-historical-site-in-peru-damaging-the-designs/

How a 1,000-pound WWII bomb was pulled out of the ground without exploding

Wars come and wars go, but the bombs remain. Police and explosive ordnance disposal technicians removed a 1,000-pound bomb that failed to explode during World War II but that successfully brought traffic to a standstill Wednesday in a bustling Hong Kong neighborhood. It was the second bomb discovered in the area just this week. Untold […]

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/how-a-1000-pound-wwii-bomb-was-pulled-out-of-the-ground-without-exploding/

Canada’s national anthem is now gender neutral

It was a simple tweak — just two words. But with that, Canada just voted to turn its national anthem “Oh Canada” gender neutral, delighting liberal lawmakers and infuriating conservatives. The offending line — “in all thy sons command” — was switched to “in all of us command.” Mauril’s bill to make O Canada gender neutral […]

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/canadas-national-anthem-is-now-gender-neutral/