One of the UK&#39;s largest buy-to-let landlords gave instructions to agents handling his properties not to rent to &quot;coloured people&quot; because the smell of curry &quot;sticks to the carpet&quot;, reports <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/landlord-bans-coloured-people-curry-smell-racism-fergus-wilson-kent-a7653851.html#gallery" target="_blank">The Independent.</a>

The landlord is Fergus Wilson--his Kent properties alone are thought to number 1,000 across the Ashford and Maidstone area. He is estimated to own properties valued at&nbsp;&pound;250 million, and has been included in The Sunday Times rich list.

His instructions about who he wanted and didn&#39;t want as renters&nbsp;were leaked to the media: He told agents not to rent to battered wives, single parents, low income and zero hours workers, or plumbers.&nbsp;

Mr Wilson took to the pages of The Sun to defend this, saying: &quot;To be honest, we&#39;re getting overloaded with coloured people. It is a problem with certain types of coloured people--those who consume curry--it sticks to the carpet.

&quot;You have to get some chemical thing that takes the smell out. In extreme cases you have to replace the carpet.&quot;

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<h5>Wilson took to the pages of The Sun saying: &#39;To be honest, we&#39;re getting overloaded with coloured people. It is a problem with certain types of coloured people -- those who consume curry -- it sticks to the carpet</h5>
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Wilson has also sent an email to agents at Evolution Properties: &quot;No coloured people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy.&quot;

Wilson evicted 200 tenants in 2014 for being on housing benefit, The Independent report claims. Mr Wilson has confirmed he issued this order.

He received sharp backlash on social media, with dozens calling Wilson &quot;vile&quot; and &quot;disgusting&quot;.&nbsp;

A spokesman from the anti-racism charity group HOPE&nbsp;spoke to The Independent, characterising&nbsp;the directive as an &quot;unacceptable throwback&quot; to the 1960s, and commented on the dynamic between a landlord&#39;s personal biases and the public role they fulfill as landlords:

&quot;You simply cannot treat people like this and deny them a place to live due to their skin colour.

&quot;This is the unacceptable face of the housing crisis. There is something broken in the system when such a powerful figure can get away with such an appalling policy.&quot; 
&nbsp;

Rental law in UK

While banning any group of people from renting property isn&#39;t currently a criminal offence, racial discrimination by landlords contradicts civil law, meaning that a tenant could successfully take Mr Wilson to court, claims the campaign group Generation Rent.

The groups&#39;s interim director said: &quot;The law needs to change. It shouldn&#39;t be up to individual renters to have to proactively fight the worst landlords operating in the market.

&quot;Robust landlord licensing that applied to all private lets would mean that the worst landlords could simply be denied a license if found to discriminate--whether that be on grounds of race, gender, or other life circumstances.&quot;

Earlier this year, Wilson has defended the basis on which he decides who can rent his properties.

&quot;We have said nothing against lesbians and homosexuals or coloureds.&nbsp;

&quot;As long as they pay the rent. We are in business to make money so we make a selection based on a sensible business plan.&nbsp;

&quot;If a person came in wearing pink socks and defaulted on rent, and it became a regular probem, then we would stop renting to people who wear pink socks.&quot;

(WION)

Fergus Wilson is estimated to own properties valued at??250 million, he has been included in The Sunday Times rich list

One of the UK's largest buy-to-let landlords gave instructions to agents handling his properties not to rent to "coloured people" because the smell of curry "sticks to the carpet", reports The Independent. The landlord is Fergus Wilson--his Kent properties alone are thought to number 1,000 across the Ashford and Maidstone area. He is estimated to own properties valued at £250 million, and has been included in The Sunday Times rich list. His instructions about who he wanted and didn't want as renters were leaked to the media: He told agents not to rent to battered wives, single parents, low income and zero hours workers, or plumbers. Mr Wilson took to the pages of The Sun to defend this, saying: "To be honest, we're getting overloaded with coloured people. It is a problem with certain types of coloured people--those who consume curry--it sticks to the carpet. "You have to get some chemical thing that takes the smell out. In extreme cases you have to replace the carpet." Wilson took to the pages of The Sun saying: 'To be honest, we're getting overloaded with coloured people. It is a problem with certain types of coloured people -- those who consume curry -- it sticks to the carpet × Wilson has also sent an email to agents at Evolution Properties: "No coloured people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy." Wilson evicted 200 tenants in 2014 for being on housing benefit, The Independent report claims. Mr Wilson has confirmed he issued this order. He received sharp backlash on social media, with dozens calling Wilson "vile" and "disgusting". A spokesman from the anti-racism charity group HOPE spoke to The Independent, characterising the directive as an "unacceptable throwback" to the 1960s, and commented on the dynamic between a landlord's personal biases and the public role they fulfill as landlords: "You simply cannot treat people like this and deny them a place to live due to their skin colour. "This is the unacceptable face of the housing crisis. There is something broken in the system when such a powerful figure can get away with such an appalling policy." Rental law in UK While banning any group of people from renting property isn't currently a criminal offence, racial discrimination by landlords contradicts civil law, meaning that a tenant could successfully take Mr Wilson to court, claims the campaign group Generation Rent. The groups's interim director said: "The law needs to change. It shouldn't be up to individual renters to have to proactively fight the worst landlords operating in the market. "Robust landlord licensing that applied to all private lets would mean that the worst landlords could simply be denied a license if found to discriminate--whether that be on grounds of race, gender, or other life circumstances." Earlier this year, Wilson has defended the basis on which he decides who can rent his properties. "We have said nothing against lesbians and homosexuals or coloureds. "As long as they pay the rent. We are in business to make money so we make a selection based on a sensible business plan. "If a person came in wearing pink socks and defaulted on rent, and it became a regular probem, then we would stop renting to people who wear pink socks." (WION)

Among UK's biggest landlords, he tells agents: Don't rent to 'coloured' people, curry smell 'sticks to the carpet'

Defense attorneys urged a South Carolina jury on Wednesday (November 30) to look beyond a shocking video of a white police officer shooting a fleeing black motorist to death last year and consider all the evidence presented at the former policeman&#39;s murder trial.

Lawyers were making their closing arguments to jurors who will decide whether Michael Slager, 35, committed a crime when he killed 50-year-old Walter Scott in North Charleston.

Slager testified on Tuesday that he was afraid when he shot Scott, who state prosecutors said fled a traffic stop because he was behind on child-support payments and feared he might be arrested.

Attorney Andy Savage told the jury of 11 white people and one black person to consider not just the video, captured by a bystander and viewed by millions of Americans, but all the evidence presented since testimony began earlier this month.

Warning: Video contains graphic violence and language.&nbsp;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XKQqgVlk0NQ" width="560"></iframe>

&quot;Setting the false narrative aside, let&#39;s look at the truth,&quot; he told jurors in a Charleston courtroom.

Earlier on Wednesday, the jury visited the empty lot in North Charleston where the shooting occurred, taking in a final bit of evidence in a case that intensified national debate about racial bias in law enforcement. The April 4, 2015, incident began when Slager stopped Scott&#39;s car for a broken brake light, and Scott fled. Slager chased the man, first firing a Taser stun gun at him and then drawing his firearm after a tussle.

Savage said Slager shot him &quot;in fear of his life&quot;, noting that the officer did not know at the time that Scott was unarmed.

He said the video transformed Slager into a national symbol for a wave of controversial police killings of black men in cities including New York, Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri. Slager was fired, arrested and charged with murder.

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson told jurors that they had to find Slager acted with malice to convict him of murder.

&quot;It can be meanness. It can be ill will. It can be just a plain and reckless indifference to human life - like eight shots in the back,&quot; she said.

Prosecutors contend Slager did not appear to be in danger when he hit Scott with five of those shots. The jury could also weigh a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for Slager, who faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of murder.&nbsp;

(Agencies)

11 white and 1 black jurors were told to take all evidence into account, not just the video of the killing seen by millions of Americans

Defense attorneys urged a South Carolina jury on Wednesday (November 30) to look beyond a shocking video of a white police officer shooting a fleeing black motorist to death last year and consider all the evidence presented at the former policeman's murder trial. Lawyers were making their closing arguments to jurors who will decide whether Michael Slager, 35, committed a crime when he killed 50-year-old Walter Scott in North Charleston. Slager testified on Tuesday that he was afraid when he shot Scott, who state prosecutors said fled a traffic stop because he was behind on child-support payments and feared he might be arrested. Attorney Andy Savage told the jury of 11 white people and one black person to consider not just the video, captured by a bystander and viewed by millions of Americans, but all the evidence presented since testimony began earlier this month. Warning: Video contains graphic violence and language. "Setting the false narrative aside, let's look at the truth," he told jurors in a Charleston courtroom. Earlier on Wednesday, the jury visited the empty lot in North Charleston where the shooting occurred, taking in a final bit of evidence in a case that intensified national debate about racial bias in law enforcement. The April 4, 2015, incident began when Slager stopped Scott's car for a broken brake light, and Scott fled. Slager chased the man, first firing a Taser stun gun at him and then drawing his firearm after a tussle. Savage said Slager shot him "in fear of his life", noting that the officer did not know at the time that Scott was unarmed. He said the video transformed Slager into a national symbol for a wave of controversial police killings of black men in cities including New York, Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri. Slager was fired, arrested and charged with murder. Solicitor Scarlett Wilson told jurors that they had to find Slager acted with malice to convict him of murder. "It can be meanness. It can be ill will. It can be just a plain and reckless indifference to human life - like eight shots in the back," she said. Prosecutors contend Slager did not appear to be in danger when he hit Scott with five of those shots. The jury could also weigh a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for Slager, who faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of murder. (Agencies)

Closing arguments presented in trial for ex-cop who killed unarmed black man, Walter Scott

Two white South African farmers briefly appeared in court on Wednesday on assault charges after an online video emerged showing them pushing a black man into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive.

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both 28, were remanded in custody after their lawyer decided not to apply for bail.

Magistrate Jongilizwe Dumehleli said the pair should return for another court hearing on January 25.

The men face charges of kidnapping and assaulting 27-year-old Victor Mlotshwa over an incident that occurred in August at a farm near the town of Middelburg in the eastern province of Mpumalanga.

They were arrested on Monday after the video, apparently shot on a mobile phone by one of the two white men involved, went viral last week.&nbsp;

The 20-second clip shows one of the assailants shoving a black man, clearly in distress, into the wooden coffin and trying to force down the lid.

&quot;Come, come. We want to throw the petrol on,&quot; said one of the men, speaking Afrikaans, according to the News24 website.

They are also accused of threatening to put a snake in the coffin.

Mlotshwa told ENCA television he was walking to the town of Middelburg and decided to use a short cut when the two men spotted him.

&quot;I was in a hurry I had to use some path, a footpath, that was the shortest to go to Middelburg,&quot; he said.

&quot;They accused me of trespassing. Then they beat me up and I had to run away,&quot; he said, adding he tried to flee but they caught him.

&quot;They tied me with cable tie and took me to the nearest farm. They beat me up and forced me into the coffin.&quot;

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) opposition party and the ruling African National Congress held separate rallies outside the court to protest at the alleged assault and racism in South Africa.

Racial controversies have erupted regularly on social media in recent years in South Africa, which is still beset by deep-rooted inequality 22 years after the end of white-minority apartheid rule.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The video showing the two men assaulting a black man and threatening to burn him alive has highlighted the regular racial attacks in S Afric

Two white South African farmers briefly appeared in court on Wednesday on assault charges after an online video emerged showing them pushing a black man into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive. Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both 28, were remanded in custody after their lawyer decided not to apply for bail. Magistrate Jongilizwe Dumehleli said the pair should return for another court hearing on January 25. The men face charges of kidnapping and assaulting 27-year-old Victor Mlotshwa over an incident that occurred in August at a farm near the town of Middelburg in the eastern province of Mpumalanga. They were arrested on Monday after the video, apparently shot on a mobile phone by one of the two white men involved, went viral last week. The 20-second clip shows one of the assailants shoving a black man, clearly in distress, into the wooden coffin and trying to force down the lid. "Come, come. We want to throw the petrol on," said one of the men, speaking Afrikaans, according to the News24 website. They are also accused of threatening to put a snake in the coffin. Mlotshwa told ENCA television he was walking to the town of Middelburg and decided to use a short cut when the two men spotted him. "I was in a hurry I had to use some path, a footpath, that was the shortest to go to Middelburg," he said. "They accused me of trespassing. Then they beat me up and I had to run away," he said, adding he tried to flee but they caught him. "They tied me with cable tie and took me to the nearest farm. They beat me up and forced me into the coffin." The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) opposition party and the ruling African National Congress held separate rallies outside the court to protest at the alleged assault and racism in South Africa. Racial controversies have erupted regularly on social media in recent years in South Africa, which is still beset by deep-rooted inequality 22 years after the end of white-minority apartheid rule. (AFP)

South African farmers in court for shoving black man into coffin

In Canada, the woman who hopes&nbsp;to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the&nbsp;Conservative Party&nbsp;and one day become prime minister is a&nbsp;brazen&nbsp;Trump sympathiser.&nbsp;

The day after it was&nbsp;announced&nbsp;that America will soon be led&nbsp;by a racist and&nbsp;xenophobic sexual predator, Kellie Leitch rushed to show solidarity.

Leitch&#39;s former press secretary, Andrew McGrath, posted&nbsp;an encouraging response on Twitter, as well as the full text of&nbsp;Leitch&#39;s praise for&nbsp;p*ssy grabber Donald Trump.

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Got this from my old boss. I&#39;m so disappointed in you, <a href="https://twitter.com/KellieLeitch">@KellieLeitch</a>. You were Status of Women Minister - shame on you. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cpcldr?src=hash">#cpcldr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cdnpoli?src=hash">#cdnpoli</a> <a href="https://t.co/hYYMYgzvH8">pic.twitter.com/hYYMYgzvH8</a>
&mdash; Andrew McGrath (@a_mcgrath1) <a href="https://twitter.com/a_mcgrath1/status/796326335253716992">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Culturally barbaric&nbsp;hotline

During the 2015 federal election, Leitch was the mastermind of&nbsp;proposal&nbsp;to establish a &quot;culturally barbaric hotline&quot;, where people could call in to report practices they found culturally &quot;barbaric&quot;. If they suspected a child or woman could fall victim to a forced marriage, polygamy, or female genital mutilation, the hotline was there supposedly for them.&nbsp;It was pointed out that a phone number already exists for when something wrong needs to be reported&nbsp;-- the police.

The culturally&nbsp;barbaric hotline&nbsp;was pushed&nbsp;as the Conservatives were not just peddling anti-Niqab rhetoric, but as the main force driving their federal election&nbsp;campaign. Keep in mind, a niqab is a piece of clothing almost nobody wears in Canada, and even the conservatives only wanted it banned&nbsp;in limited instances, like a citizenship ceremony.

Turning&nbsp;an&nbsp;issue that affects almost literally nobody in Canada into the largest issue of a Canadian&nbsp;election makes no sense,&nbsp;unless the real goal is not to regulate&nbsp;clothing&nbsp;but to&nbsp;woo&nbsp;Canadian Islamophobes. Only since discrimination isn&#39;t nice,&nbsp;conservatives like Leitch&nbsp;try to appear like they are&nbsp;upholding&nbsp;Canadian values in the very act of&nbsp;destroying them.&nbsp;It&#39;s a pernicious trick.

While the Conservatives were preoccupied with nonexistent Muslim problems,&nbsp;Canada voted for Liberal&nbsp;Justin Trudeau.&nbsp;

 
&quot;Canadian Values&quot;

But only months ago, the Collingwood Ontario Member of Parliament resufaced with a&nbsp;proposal&nbsp;to screen&nbsp;immigrants for so-called &quot;Canadian values&quot;.&nbsp;

Canada&nbsp;enshrines freedom of conscience in its constitution, and leaves it to the law to say what people can and can&#39;t do. The notion of screening immigrants for&nbsp;values&nbsp;is profoundly anti-Canadian. Practically it&#39;s unimplementable, and holding people accountable for their thoughts&nbsp;instead of actions rings of totalitarianism.&nbsp;

Plus, Canadian Conservatives opposed gay marriage until 2015. Conservatives like Leitch don&#39;t get to pretend she embodies Canadian values on Wednesday after begrudgingly accepting&nbsp;them Tuesday.

&quot;Culturally barbaric hotlines&quot; and &quot;Canadian Values&quot; are&nbsp;nothing but racist dog whistles, and it&#39;s toxic.&nbsp;A Conservative colleague of Leitch, Deepak Obhrai,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hilltimes.com/2016/11/10/obhrai-received-emails-telling-leave-canada-leitch-released-immigration-plan/87344">opposed her Canadian Values&nbsp;scheme</a>.&nbsp;In return&nbsp;he received emails from Canadians with various iterations on&nbsp;the theme,&nbsp;&quot;go back to your country&quot;. Obhrai&nbsp;has lived in Canada since 1977. He is in his country, thank you.

Anybody&nbsp;who expresses even the slightest sympathy for Donald Trump must be&nbsp;automatically disqualified&nbsp;from pronouncing on &quot;Canadian values&quot;.&nbsp;

(WION)

Kellie Leitch said Trump brought 'an exciting message that needs to be delivered in Canada as well'. No, it needs to be extinguished

In Canada, the woman who hopes to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative Party and one day become prime minister is a brazen Trump sympathiser. The day after it was announced that America will soon be led by a racist and xenophobic sexual predator, Kellie Leitch rushed to show solidarity. Leitch's former press secretary, Andrew McGrath, posted an encouraging response on Twitter, as well as the full text of Leitch's praise for p*ssy grabber Donald Trump. Got this from my old boss. I'm so disappointed in you, @KellieLeitch. You were Status of Women Minister - shame on you. #cpcldr #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/hYYMYgzvH8 — Andrew McGrath (@a_mcgrath1) November 9, 2016 × Culturally barbaric hotline During the 2015 federal election, Leitch was the mastermind of proposal to establish a "culturally barbaric hotline", where people could call in to report practices they found culturally "barbaric". If they suspected a child or woman could fall victim to a forced marriage, polygamy, or female genital mutilation, the hotline was there supposedly for them. It was pointed out that a phone number already exists for when something wrong needs to be reported -- the police. The culturally barbaric hotline was pushed as the Conservatives were not just peddling anti-Niqab rhetoric, but as the main force driving their federal election campaign. Keep in mind, a niqab is a piece of clothing almost nobody wears in Canada, and even the conservatives only wanted it banned in limited instances, like a citizenship ceremony. Turning an issue that affects almost literally nobody in Canada into the largest issue of a Canadian election makes no sense, unless the real goal is not to regulate clothing but to woo Canadian Islamophobes. Only since discrimination isn't nice, conservatives like Leitch try to appear like they are upholding Canadian values in the very act of destroying them. It's a pernicious trick. While the Conservatives were preoccupied with nonexistent Muslim problems, Canada voted for Liberal Justin Trudeau. "Canadian Values" But only months ago, the Collingwood Ontario Member of Parliament resufaced with a proposal to screen immigrants for so-called "Canadian values". Canada enshrines freedom of conscience in its constitution, and leaves it to the law to say what people can and can't do. The notion of screening immigrants for values is profoundly anti-Canadian. Practically it's unimplementable, and holding people accountable for their thoughts instead of actions rings of totalitarianism. Plus, Canadian Conservatives opposed gay marriage until 2015. Conservatives like Leitch don't get to pretend she embodies Canadian values on Wednesday after begrudgingly accepting them Tuesday. "Culturally barbaric hotlines" and "Canadian Values" are nothing but racist dog whistles, and it's toxic. A Conservative colleague of Leitch, Deepak Obhrai, opposed her Canadian Values scheme. In return he received emails from Canadians with various iterations on the theme, "go back to your country". Obhrai has lived in Canada since 1977. He is in his country, thank you. Anybody who expresses even the slightest sympathy for Donald Trump must be automatically disqualified from pronouncing on "Canadian values". (WION)

Anti-Canadian Canadian politician hails Trump victory

The leaders of Muslim and gay rights groups in Chicago, one of America&#39;s biggest cities, on Monday joined forces to slam Donald Trump in the wake of the Orlando massacre, saying now was not a time for divisions. 
 
On June 12, 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded in the shooting at a gay nightclub in the central Florida city. The shooter Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim American of Afghan descent, was killed in a shootout with police. 
 
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has since renewed calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and controversially suggested on Sunday that profiling of Muslims was not off the table. 
 
In Chicago, which has both a large Muslim population and a vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, leaders said Trump&#39;s comment were divisive and unproductive. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re scared, because it starts rhetorically, and then more people accept it if you don&#39;t nip it in the bud,&quot; Ahmed Rehab, the leader of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told AFP. 
 
&quot;If common sense doesn&#39;t step in right now, people are capable of mass hysteria, and he is fanning those flames,&quot; he said, speaking of Trump. 
 
Rehab said there was fear in Chicago&#39;s Muslim community, one of the largest in the United States, that they could potentially become targets of hate crimes. 
 
In the past week, there have been two threats emailed and phoned into area mosques, he said. 
 
&quot;There is never a time to divide Americans, and of course that is especially true at a time of deep national pain,&quot; James Bennett of Lambda Legal, an LGBT group, told a press conference. 
 
Rehab told reporters that his group and Lambda Legal planned to meet every two weeks with the goal of making &quot;clear statements on a mutual agenda of equal civil rights of all people regardless of their background.&quot; 
 
Bennett chimed in: &quot;I would encourage people to watch Chicago&#39;s example.&quot; 
 
Sending a message 
 
Illinois is home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims and 370,000 LGBT people, most of them located in the greater Chicago area, which has a population of about 5.2 million people. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re trying to send a message that this is not the time to try to pit communities against each other,&quot; said Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, a gay rights group. 
 
&quot;Any public official or media personality who says such things that would not only suggest divides, but suggest putting in place actual divides, is deeply concerning,&quot; Johnson told AFP. 
 
On Sunday, Trump said profiling of Muslims, and racial profiling more generally, was &quot;not the worst thing to do.&quot; 
 
&quot;I hate the concept of profiling. But we have to use common sense. We&#39;re not using common sense,&quot; Trump said. 
 
African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and other minorities in the United States have complained bitterly for decades about the practice in which police use a person&#39;s race, religion, national origin or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting them of committing a crime. 
 
&quot;He questions Muslims&#39; assimilation into America. I question his assimilation into our American values,&quot; Rehab said.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

'There is never a time to divide Americans and that is especially true at a time of deep national pain,' they said

The leaders of Muslim and gay rights groups in Chicago, one of America's biggest cities, on Monday joined forces to slam Donald Trump in the wake of the Orlando massacre, saying now was not a time for divisions. On June 12, 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded in the shooting at a gay nightclub in the central Florida city. The shooter Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim American of Afghan descent, was killed in a shootout with police. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has since renewed calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and controversially suggested on Sunday that profiling of Muslims was not off the table. In Chicago, which has both a large Muslim population and a vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, leaders said Trump's comment were divisive and unproductive. "We're scared, because it starts rhetorically, and then more people accept it if you don't nip it in the bud," Ahmed Rehab, the leader of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told AFP. "If common sense doesn't step in right now, people are capable of mass hysteria, and he is fanning those flames," he said, speaking of Trump. Rehab said there was fear in Chicago's Muslim community, one of the largest in the United States, that they could potentially become targets of hate crimes. In the past week, there have been two threats emailed and phoned into area mosques, he said. "There is never a time to divide Americans, and of course that is especially true at a time of deep national pain," James Bennett of Lambda Legal, an LGBT group, told a press conference. Rehab told reporters that his group and Lambda Legal planned to meet every two weeks with the goal of making "clear statements on a mutual agenda of equal civil rights of all people regardless of their background." Bennett chimed in: "I would encourage people to watch Chicago's example." Sending a message Illinois is home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims and 370,000 LGBT people, most of them located in the greater Chicago area, which has a population of about 5.2 million people. "We're trying to send a message that this is not the time to try to pit communities against each other," said Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, a gay rights group. "Any public official or media personality who says such things that would not only suggest divides, but suggest putting in place actual divides, is deeply concerning," Johnson told AFP. On Sunday, Trump said profiling of Muslims, and racial profiling more generally, was "not the worst thing to do." "I hate the concept of profiling. But we have to use common sense. We're not using common sense," Trump said. African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and other minorities in the United States have complained bitterly for decades about the practice in which police use a person's race, religion, national origin or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting them of committing a crime. "He questions Muslims' assimilation into America. I question his assimilation into our American values," Rehab said. (AFP)

In Chicago, Muslim and gay rights leaders take on Trump

After humans, robots too seemed to have joined the bandwagon of bias and racism.&nbsp; 
 
In the first international beauty contest judged by an &ldquo;all-robot jury&rdquo;, Beauty.AI,only one of the 44 winners was dark-skinned, the Guardian reported today. &nbsp; 
 
The creators were startled by the results that pointed that apparently, robots did not like people with dark skin.&nbsp; 
 
About 6,000 people from across 100 countries had submitted their photos on YouTube hoping that artificial intelligence supported by complex algorithms to identify attractiveness, unlike humans, would not be governed by prejudices.&nbsp; 
 
Beauty.Ai, created by a&nbsp;group called &ldquo;Youth Laboratories and supported by Microsoft, was based out of an algorithm that did include enough minorities to establish standards of attractiveness, Alex Zhavoronkov,&nbsp;Beauty.AI&rsquo;s chief science officer, was quoted as saying in the report.&nbsp; 
 
Although the group did not build the algorithm to treat light skin as a sign of beauty, the input data effectively led the robot judges to reach that conclusion, the report says.&nbsp; 
 
Computer science experts and social justice advocates have expressed concerns on the growing use of prejudiced artificial intelligence systems that can have &ldquo;devastating consequences&rdquo; on the people of colour. 
 
The incident has sparked a renewed debate on how algorithms are reflecting human biases, often yielding unintended and offensive results.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)

In the first international contest judged by an all-robot jury, only one out of the 44 winners was dark-skinned

After humans, robots too seemed to have joined the bandwagon of bias and racism. In the first international beauty contest judged by an “all-robot jury”, Beauty.AI,only one of the 44 winners was dark-skinned, the Guardian reported today. The creators were startled by the results that pointed that apparently, robots did not like people with dark skin. About 6,000 people from across 100 countries had submitted their photos on YouTube hoping that artificial intelligence supported by complex algorithms to identify attractiveness, unlike humans, would not be governed by prejudices. Beauty.Ai, created by a group called “Youth Laboratories and supported by Microsoft, was based out of an algorithm that did include enough minorities to establish standards of attractiveness, Alex Zhavoronkov, Beauty.AI’s chief science officer, was quoted as saying in the report. Although the group did not build the algorithm to treat light skin as a sign of beauty, the input data effectively led the robot judges to reach that conclusion, the report says. Computer science experts and social justice advocates have expressed concerns on the growing use of prejudiced artificial intelligence systems that can have “devastating consequences” on the people of colour. The incident has sparked a renewed debate on how algorithms are reflecting human biases, often yielding unintended and offensive results. (WION)

Robots don't like dark skin?

British police said today there had been almost 6,200 hate crimes reported in the last month following the vote to leave the European Union in a referendum where immigration had been a key issue. In the four weeks from June 16, police forces across the country said 6,193 offences had been reported, with the most common crimes being harassment, assault and other violence such as verbal abuse or spitting. 
 
Britons voted on June 23 to exit the EU following bitter and deeply divisive campaigning in which the control of immigration was one of the main arguments of those who supported leaving the bloc. 
 
Since the result was declared, Muslims and Eastern Europeans say they have been particularly targeted. The latest figures showed there were 3001 offences in the first two weeks of July, down six per cent compared to the previous fortnight, but still 20 per cent higher than the same period last year.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Following increases in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall,&quot; said Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs&#39; Council spokesman on hate crimes. &quot;Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high.&quot; 
 
Critics of the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign say its focus on immigration helped stoke xenophobia and racism, an accusation its leaders reject. A week before the vote, opposition Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong supporter of remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England. 
 
(Reuters)

Since the result was declared, Muslims and Eastern Europeans say they have been particularly targeted

British police said today there had been almost 6,200 hate crimes reported in the last month following the vote to leave the European Union in a referendum where immigration had been a key issue. In the four weeks from June 16, police forces across the country said 6,193 offences had been reported, with the most common crimes being harassment, assault and other violence such as verbal abuse or spitting. Britons voted on June 23 to exit the EU following bitter and deeply divisive campaigning in which the control of immigration was one of the main arguments of those who supported leaving the bloc. Since the result was declared, Muslims and Eastern Europeans say they have been particularly targeted. The latest figures showed there were 3001 offences in the first two weeks of July, down six per cent compared to the previous fortnight, but still 20 per cent higher than the same period last year. "Following increases in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall," said Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman on hate crimes. "Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high." Critics of the "Leave" campaign say its focus on immigration helped stoke xenophobia and racism, an accusation its leaders reject. A week before the vote, opposition Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong supporter of remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England. (Reuters)

UK police report almost 6,200 hate crimes in month after Brexit vote

The pattern has become familiar: a black person dies at the hands of police, with video footage of the incident hitting social media and fueling accusations of bias and misconduct. 
 
Over the past week, 32-year-old Philando Castile was fatally shot by police in Minnesota as civil rights investigators probed an incident a day earlier in Louisiana in which 37-year-old Alton Sterling was slain by officers. 
 
They are among a dozen black people killed by police in the United States in the past few years whose deaths were the subject of viral videos that brought forth angry allegations of police brutality. 
 
While the extent of police wrongdoing remains unclear, criminal justice specialists say widespread use of social media and smartphone videos have shone light on these cases, paving the way for changes in policing. 
 
&quot;What constitutes police brutality or misconduct is a matter of interpretation, and until now that was left up to the police departments and the top brass,&quot; Christopher Schneider, a sociology professor at Canada&#39;s Brandon University and author of the 2016 book &quot;Policing and Social Media.&quot; 
 
&quot;Now these videos are circulating online immediately after an incident and what constitutes brutality is now left to all of us.&quot; 
 
The use of &quot;citizen journalist&quot; videos in these kinds of cases is now new, dating back to the 1991 beating of taxi driver Rodney King, which sparked riots in Los Angeles. 
 
But it has become far more prevalent with the ability to post smartphone videos instantly on social media such as Facebook or Twitter. 
 
&quot;Whereas citizen journalists often drove media coverage of the so-called Arab Spring, for example, they&#39;re now performing a similar service in the national discussion of race and policing in the US,&quot; said David Uberti, a fellow with the Columbia Journalism Review. 
 
&quot;Social networks like Twitter have helped amplify such individual voices, with content shared nationwide in hours, if not minutes.&quot; 
 
Changing policing 
Schneider, who has studied police departments in the US and Canada, said the latest high-profile cases are likely to lead to a &quot;historic change in policing.&quot; 
 
That is because minorities and communities that have been marginalized have been given a voice by social media, forcing police departments to rethink their entire strategy, he said. 
 
&quot;One of the biggest challenges to police agencies is that they need to regain control of public perceptions,&quot; Schneider told AFP. 
 
&quot;We need to believe that the police are the good guys.&quot; 
 
Schneider says wider use of body cameras and police recording devices should be a priority and may help authorities &quot;regain the narrative&quot; and control of data quality in cases where misconduct is alleged. 
 
A study led by Arizona State University criminologist Michael White found a sharp decline in citizen complaints of excessive force following deployments of body-worn cameras. 
 
Yet many argue that cameras and videos are not a perfect solution to police problems. Civil liberties advocates warn about privacy issues. 
 
David Klinger, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said videos show a limited amount of information and can&#39;t accurately reveal when an officer feels threatened. 
 
&quot;A video is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional perspective from one perspective,&quot; Klinger told AFP. 
 
Klinger said his research shows a disconnect between what police officers see and hear and what is on a video. This so-called &quot;perceptional anomaly&quot; is seen in 95 per cent of police officers, he said. 
 
&quot;Human perception is very different from what a video captures,&quot; he said. 
 
Wade Henderson, who heads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told a congressional hearing last year that body-worn cameras on police may not be a panacea. 
 
&quot;Cameras point away from the people who operate them. Body-worn cameras will be trained on members of the community, not the officers themselves,&quot; Henderson said. 
 
&quot;And heavily policed communities of color, where there are more police, will be more heavily recorded.&quot; 
 
Antonio Ginatta, who heads the US advocacy program at Human Rights Watch, said citizen videos nonetheless may hold authorities accountable. 
 
&quot;The power of videos showing police violence first-hand is unquestionable,&quot; Ginatta said in a blog post. 
 
Ginatta said that these incidents are &quot;not a new phenomenon (but) are now being witnessed by the world.&quot; 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

What constitutes police brutality is a matter of interpretation that until now was left up to the police. Now with videos of a police killing circulating online, what constitutes brutality is now left to all of us

The pattern has become familiar: a black person dies at the hands of police, with video footage of the incident hitting social media and fueling accusations of bias and misconduct. Over the past week, 32-year-old Philando Castile was fatally shot by police in Minnesota as civil rights investigators probed an incident a day earlier in Louisiana in which 37-year-old Alton Sterling was slain by officers. They are among a dozen black people killed by police in the United States in the past few years whose deaths were the subject of viral videos that brought forth angry allegations of police brutality. While the extent of police wrongdoing remains unclear, criminal justice specialists say widespread use of social media and smartphone videos have shone light on these cases, paving the way for changes in policing. "What constitutes police brutality or misconduct is a matter of interpretation, and until now that was left up to the police departments and the top brass," Christopher Schneider, a sociology professor at Canada's Brandon University and author of the 2016 book "Policing and Social Media." "Now these videos are circulating online immediately after an incident and what constitutes brutality is now left to all of us." The use of "citizen journalist" videos in these kinds of cases is now new, dating back to the 1991 beating of taxi driver Rodney King, which sparked riots in Los Angeles. But it has become far more prevalent with the ability to post smartphone videos instantly on social media such as Facebook or Twitter. "Whereas citizen journalists often drove media coverage of the so-called Arab Spring, for example, they're now performing a similar service in the national discussion of race and policing in the US," said David Uberti, a fellow with the Columbia Journalism Review. "Social networks like Twitter have helped amplify such individual voices, with content shared nationwide in hours, if not minutes." Changing policing Schneider, who has studied police departments in the US and Canada, said the latest high-profile cases are likely to lead to a "historic change in policing." That is because minorities and communities that have been marginalized have been given a voice by social media, forcing police departments to rethink their entire strategy, he said. "One of the biggest challenges to police agencies is that they need to regain control of public perceptions," Schneider told AFP. "We need to believe that the police are the good guys." Schneider says wider use of body cameras and police recording devices should be a priority and may help authorities "regain the narrative" and control of data quality in cases where misconduct is alleged. A study led by Arizona State University criminologist Michael White found a sharp decline in citizen complaints of excessive force following deployments of body-worn cameras. Yet many argue that cameras and videos are not a perfect solution to police problems. Civil liberties advocates warn about privacy issues. David Klinger, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said videos show a limited amount of information and can't accurately reveal when an officer feels threatened. "A video is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional perspective from one perspective," Klinger told AFP. Klinger said his research shows a disconnect between what police officers see and hear and what is on a video. This so-called "perceptional anomaly" is seen in 95 per cent of police officers, he said. "Human perception is very different from what a video captures," he said. Wade Henderson, who heads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told a congressional hearing last year that body-worn cameras on police may not be a panacea. "Cameras point away from the people who operate them. Body-worn cameras will be trained on members of the community, not the officers themselves," Henderson said. "And heavily policed communities of color, where there are more police, will be more heavily recorded." Antonio Ginatta, who heads the US advocacy program at Human Rights Watch, said citizen videos nonetheless may hold authorities accountable. "The power of videos showing police violence first-hand is unquestionable," Ginatta said in a blog post. Ginatta said that these incidents are "not a new phenomenon (but) are now being witnessed by the world." (AFP)

Video, social media could lead to changes in policing

Congolese student Arnold Mutumbo Muama refuses to be cowed by a spate of racist violence towards Africans in India&#39;s capital New Delhi, defiant after a friend was beaten up by security guards at his apartment block. 
 
&quot;The guard called him a &#39;monster&#39; in Hindi before taking him to the basement and beating him,&quot; recalled Muama, 29, who chairs a Congolese welfare association. 
 
Racism against Africans in India was thrown into the spotlight following the brutal stoning to death in May of Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver in a dispute over an auto-rickshaw, a motorised three-wheeler. 
 
Following the attack, African ambassadors in New Delhi threatened to recommend to their governments that they don&#39;t send students to the capital &quot;as their security is not guaranteed&quot;. 
 
Around 30,000 Africans live in New Delhi, according to police, and they have told AFP of numerous humiliations they face, from insults in the street to housing discrimination and even violent attacks. 
 
This week, television footage showed police officers in the southern city of Bangalore forcefully restraining a Nigerian woman following an altercation at a market.&nbsp;She was tied up with ropes before being injected with sedatives. 
 
Despite these incidents, IT student Muama believes it is &quot;out of the question to live in fear&quot;. 
 
&quot;You have to be aware of your rights,&quot; he said. 
 
&#39;They eat dogs&#39;&nbsp; 
 
In Khirki Extension, a bustling set of interlacing streets in the south of the Indian capital long home to a sizeable Nigerian community, prejudices remain on display. 
 
&quot;The way they eat, drink, live... Everything is different,&quot; said Inderjeet Singh, a real estate agent who has been in the neighbourhood for 15 years.&nbsp;&quot;People say they eat street dogs, families fear they cut their children into pieces and eat them,&quot; the 53-year-old said. 
 
The number of Nigerians living in the district has dwindled since January 2014, when it was the scene of a crackdown by a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly Somnath Bharti. 
 
Bharti, accompanied by supporters of his anti-corruption party and night vision cameras, took to the streets to denounce an alleged prostitution and drug trafficking network run by Nigerians and Ugandans. 
 
Bharti attempted to force the police to search several apartments, and reportedly ordered four Africans to take urine tests to detect any traces of drugs. 
 
In an attempt to now tackle racist views, India&#39;s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has promised an awareness campaign in neighbourhoods with large numbers of African inhabitants. 
 
&quot;We are trying to break the communication gap between the locals and our African friends,&quot; RP Upadhyay, a senior Delhi Police official in charge of the campaign told AFP. 
 
&quot;We are requesting everyone that whenever anything happens, report it to the police.&quot; 
 
&#39;Good friendships&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The death of the Congolese student comes as India is seeking to charm African nations, seeking to rival China, which has long staked its interest on the continent. 
 
Following an India-Africa summit last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited four African countries in early July. 
 
Nigerian, Cameroonian and Congolese residents in New Delhi interviewed by AFP say that while they encounter difficulties in daily life, many Indians are open and tolerant towards them. 
 
Congolese student Loic Ipanga, 24, believes the &quot;racist reactions&quot; he experiences are often due to ignorance of Africa. 
 
&quot;It is very shocking that every time an Indian sees you, he asks you if you are Nigerian, thinking that because of my skin colour I must be Nigerian,&quot; he says.&nbsp;&quot;This is sometimes a disturbing issue.&quot; 
 
Yet he says he has &quot;very good friendships with Indians, who are willing to get up in the middle of the night to help you&quot;. 
 
&quot;We must act like adults -- mature and wise. You cannot lay a hand on anyone,&quot; he said. 
 
(AFP)

30,000 Africans who live in Delhi face numerous humiliations, from insults in the street to housing discrimination and violent attacks

Congolese student Arnold Mutumbo Muama refuses to be cowed by a spate of racist violence towards Africans in India's capital New Delhi, defiant after a friend was beaten up by security guards at his apartment block. "The guard called him a 'monster' in Hindi before taking him to the basement and beating him," recalled Muama, 29, who chairs a Congolese welfare association. Racism against Africans in India was thrown into the spotlight following the brutal stoning to death in May of Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver in a dispute over an auto-rickshaw, a motorised three-wheeler. Following the attack, African ambassadors in New Delhi threatened to recommend to their governments that they don't send students to the capital "as their security is not guaranteed". Around 30,000 Africans live in New Delhi, according to police, and they have told AFP of numerous humiliations they face, from insults in the street to housing discrimination and even violent attacks. This week, television footage showed police officers in the southern city of Bangalore forcefully restraining a Nigerian woman following an altercation at a market. She was tied up with ropes before being injected with sedatives. Despite these incidents, IT student Muama believes it is "out of the question to live in fear". "You have to be aware of your rights," he said. 'They eat dogs' In Khirki Extension, a bustling set of interlacing streets in the south of the Indian capital long home to a sizeable Nigerian community, prejudices remain on display. "The way they eat, drink, live... Everything is different," said Inderjeet Singh, a real estate agent who has been in the neighbourhood for 15 years. "People say they eat street dogs, families fear they cut their children into pieces and eat them," the 53-year-old said. The number of Nigerians living in the district has dwindled since January 2014, when it was the scene of a crackdown by a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly Somnath Bharti. Bharti, accompanied by supporters of his anti-corruption party and night vision cameras, took to the streets to denounce an alleged prostitution and drug trafficking network run by Nigerians and Ugandans. Bharti attempted to force the police to search several apartments, and reportedly ordered four Africans to take urine tests to detect any traces of drugs. In an attempt to now tackle racist views, India's foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has promised an awareness campaign in neighbourhoods with large numbers of African inhabitants. "We are trying to break the communication gap between the locals and our African friends," RP Upadhyay, a senior Delhi Police official in charge of the campaign told AFP. "We are requesting everyone that whenever anything happens, report it to the police." 'Good friendships' The death of the Congolese student comes as India is seeking to charm African nations, seeking to rival China, which has long staked its interest on the continent. Following an India-Africa summit last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited four African countries in early July. Nigerian, Cameroonian and Congolese residents in New Delhi interviewed by AFP say that while they encounter difficulties in daily life, many Indians are open and tolerant towards them. Congolese student Loic Ipanga, 24, believes the "racist reactions" he experiences are often due to ignorance of Africa. "It is very shocking that every time an Indian sees you, he asks you if you are Nigerian, thinking that because of my skin colour I must be Nigerian," he says. "This is sometimes a disturbing issue." Yet he says he has "very good friendships with Indians, who are willing to get up in the middle of the night to help you". "We must act like adults -- mature and wise. You cannot lay a hand on anyone," he said. (AFP)

Facing racist abuse, Africans in India refuse to give in to fear

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