Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 22 May 2019

1. Tories reject May’s ‘last throw of the dice’

Theresa May has further alienated Europhobes in her party with her offer to give the Commons a vote on whether to hold a second Brexit referendum if MPs back her exit deal. The plan, which was quickly rejected by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was called an irresponsible “last throw of the dice” by leaver Tories, says The Times.

2. Major US brands urge Trump to end trade war

Nike and Adidas have urged US President Donald Trump to end the trade war he started with China. The two firms are among 173 footwear companies that have signed an open letter to the president warning that 25% import tariffs will be “catastrophic” for US consumers, particularly the working class, as well as posing a threat to the future of some businesses.

3. UN rapporteur on poverty slams UK austerity

The UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty has said that the “idealogical” cuts to UK public services by the coalition and Tory governments in the name of austerity have had “tragic consequences”. Professor Philip Alston, who is visiting the UK, added that the country’s social safety net had been “deliberately removed”.

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4. UK expats fear postal votes will not count

Britons living in France fear they may not get the chance to vote in Thursday’s EU election, because their postal voting forms have arrived late or not at all. The BBC reports that some local councils used a postal service called Adare, instead of Royal Mail, to send them ballot papers - and that postmarks on the envelopes that have arrived indicate they were sent to France via the Netherlands.

5. Assad niece forfeits £25,000 of Syrian regime cash

The niece of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has agreed to forfeit £25,000 held in a London bank account that is believed to be Syrian regime cash brought into the UK. The cash was paid into the Barclays account of Aniseh Chawkat, 22, who is a student in the English capital, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard. The National Crime Agency says the transactions effectively amount to a breach of international sanctions imposed on Chawkat’s mother and President Assad.

6. Uber driver ‘was war criminal in Somalia’

A US jury has ruled that a former Uber driver living in Virginia committed torture during the Somali Civil War. Yusuf Abdi Ali was a commander in dictator Mohamed Barre’s army in the late 1980s, and was this week found responsible of shooting and torturing Somali citizen Farhan Tani Warfaa during the conflict. Warfaa, who testified in the the court in Alexandria, was awarded $500,000 (£395,000) in damages.

7. Siri and Alexa ‘enforce sexist stereotypes’

Artificial intelligent-powered digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri are entrenching sexist stereotypes, according to the UN. The services, which usually synthesise a female voice, suggest women are “docile helpers, available at the touch of a button or with a blunt voice command”, says Unesco in a new report.

8. First female Omani novelist wins Booker

The Man Booker International Prize has been won by the first female Omani novelist to be translated into English. Jokha Alharthi’s novel, Celestial Bodies, was originally written in Arabic and tells the stories of three Omani sisters, one of whom has emigrated to Canada from their small village.

9. Natalie Portman denies dating ‘creepy’ Moby

Actor Natalie Portman has denied claims by Moby that they dated when she was 20, describing the musician as “creepy”. Moby describes their alleged relationship in his new memoir, Then It Fell Apart, but Portman says she just “hung out a handful of times” with the singer, who is 16 years her senior.

10. Briefing: is facial recognition technology safe?

The first major legal challenge to the use of automated facial recognition (AFR) surveillance by British police begins this week.

Supporters claim facial recognition technology “will boost the safety of citizens and could help police catch criminals and potential terrorists”, reports The Daily Telegraph. But critics have labelled it “Orwellian” and say police have not been “transparent” about how they will use the data.

Is facial recognition technology safe?