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☆ U.S. grabs 2-0 lead in Davis Cup at Uzbekistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

February 4 - The United States moved to the brink of advancing out of its Davis Cup qualifying series by winning both singles matches against host Uzbekistan on Friday in Tashkent. Mackenzie McDonald beat Sergey Fomin 6-4, 6-1 before Tommy Paul, fresh off reaching the Australian Open semifinals, defeated Khumoyun Sultanov 6-1, 7-6 (6). In other Friday action, Germany and Switzerland split their first two singles matches in Trier, Germany. Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler rallied past Oscar Otte 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 before Germany's Alexander Zverev downed Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-1. Serbia holds a 2-0 lead on host Norway in Oslo, and host Sweden is up 2-0 on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Stockholm.

☆ Confessions of 20-somethings who live at home and splash out on cars, designer handbags, and nightclubs instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Dan Latu | Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

They're also spending the money they would have spent on rent on pricey goods and travel. Courtesy of Julia MachajProfession: EngineerIf she weren't living with her parents she'd live in: Stamford, Connecticut, where the rent starts at $1,875, according to Rent.com. Courtesy of Jonathan BranchProfession: AccountantIf he wasn't living with his parents he'd live in: Arlington, Virginia, where rent starts at $1,999, according to Rent.com. He's spent money on: $700 Sony camera and $800 lensesJonathan Branch recently turned 30, but spent his twenties living at home in Fairfax, Virginia. Courtesy of Gabby BeckfordProfession: Travel influencerIf she weren't living with her parents she'd live in: Seattle, Washington, where rent starts at $1,560, according to Rent.com.

☆ France leads push for EU to boost nuclear-produced hydrogen
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ministers from France, Poland, the Czech Republic and six other EU countries wrote to the European Commission this week urging it to open up EU renewable energy targets to include hydrogen produced from nuclear energy. EU countries and lawmakers have been preparing for negotiations next week on the law, which will guide the pace of Europe's renewable energy expansion this decade. Hydrogen can also be produced from electricity, so the EU wants to set sectoral targets for hydrogen made from renewable electricity. The nine countries' letter, seen by Reuters, said the EU should include nuclear energy - which is low-carbon, but not renewable. At least nine EU countries oppose the idea, among them Germany, Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg, officials said.

☆ Some Neanderthals couldn't smell their own stink, suggests a new study recreating early humans' noses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, one group of a related species — Neanderthals — developed a mutation that could have spared them the smell of their own body odors. It's a popular idea that humans have a bad sense of smell, as compared with dogs, for instance. Will Oliver/PA Images/Getty"We have to really understand ourselves within our own context," rather than comparing humans to dogs or monkeys, as previous research on smell receptors has done, Hoover said. To Hoover's surprise, the Neanderthals, Denisovan, and humans all appeared to have the same repertoire of smells. More research like it, with more samples of ancient genomes, could reveal a clearer picture of Neanderthal and Denisovan life.

[1/6] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend an EU summit, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 2, 2023. The United States and its Western allies stepped up pledges to deliver more weapons to Ukraine in January. Authorities were investigating senior military officials in two separate cases of suspected corruption, officials said on Thursday. EASTERN BATTLEGROUNDThe EU-Ukraine summit coincides with an intensification of Russian pressure on Ukrainian forces in eastern battlegrounds but also in the northeast and south. The refrain from Ukraine officials and military analysts is that the Russians are exploiting the main resource they have - superiority in manpower.

☆ Factbox: How long will it take Ukraine to join EU?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While the EU backs Ukraine and supports democratic and economic reforms there, Kyiv's hopes to quickly join the 27-nation EU are set to be dashed. Ukraine applied to join shortly after the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion and last June received a formal candidate status from the EU, which cast it as a bold geo-political move. Ukraine will have to transpose its national law to extensive EU legal standards from climate to labour to health, among others. Beyond that, the EU highlights reforms necessary to ensure that courts are free from political meddling and the rights of minorities respected in Ukraine. With some 44 million people, Ukraine would be the fifth-biggest EU country after Germany, France, Italy and Spain, giving it large influence on the bloc's decisions.

☆ Kyiv berates Croatian president for saying Crimea won't return to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Ukraine's foreign ministry criticised Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Tuesday for saying Crimea would never return to Ukrainian control, describing his comment as "unacceptable." Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and Kyiv has said it will not abandon efforts to regain control of the region. "We consider as unacceptable the statements of the president of Croatia, who effectively cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook. In the same statement, Nikolenko thanked the Croatian government and people for backing Ukraine's since Russia's invasion in February last year. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has openly voiced support for Ukraine.

☆ President of NATO member state says Crimea will 'never again' be part of Ukraine, argues against sending more weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Croatia's president said that Russian-annexed Crimea will never rejoin Ukraine, breaking from NATO. "It is clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine," Zoran Milanovic said, according to Reuters. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in December that giving Ukraine better weaponry would help to end the war. In recent months Ukraine has pushed Russian forces back in the east, thwarting its efforts to conquer vast tracts of the country. Croatia's president has repeatedly criticized Western help for Ukraine, Reuters noted.

You can get many thousands of dollars in value from Aeroplan points even if you never step foot on an Air Canada plane. Earn Aeroplan points with credit cards and points transfersThe Aeroplan® Credit Card is the only US credit card that earns Aeroplan points directly. So if you transferred 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you'd end up with 20,000 Aeroplan points, plus a 5,000-point bonus for a total of 25,000 Aeroplan points. Earn Aeroplan points flying Air CanadaThe next easiest way to rack up Aeroplan points is by actually flying Air Canada, but the earning formula is going to change later this year. As far as we know, it will look like this:Basic fares: Earn 2x points per (Canadian) dollarStandard fares: Earn 3x points per (Canadian) dollarFlex/Comfort fares: Earn 3x points per (Canadian) dollarLatitude fares: Earn 3x points per (Canadian) dollarPremium economy fares: Earn 3x points per (Canadian) dollarBusiness fares: Earn 3x points per (Canadian) dollarEssentially, everything but basic economy fares will earn 3x per dollar.

☆ How US Navy SEALs train new special-operations units to make the seas into 'our playground'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US Navy SEALs travel around the world to train with other countries' special-operations forces. In 2022, SEALs in Europe trained with Croatia's ZSS, a relatively new special-operations unit. Through these training deployments, US Navy SEALs help new special-operations units to become proficient in new missions and skill sets. When it comes to progression of training, SEALs use the same "crawl, walk, run" approach they employ in their own training. These relationships with foreign special-operations units give US special operators access to almost any region of the world.

☆ I spent a night on a superyacht and now I know why the super-rich love them so much
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I spent a night on a superyacht in Croatia that can accommodate up to 30 people. The super-rich love superyachts and the yachting industry is booming – I now know why. Miha Menegalija of charter broker Goolets says owning a superyacht is one way to showcase your wealth. GooletsBefore boarding the Ohana, I had never been on a boat, let alone on a superyacht. It may not come as a great surprise, but I certainly could get used to spending plenty of time on a superyacht.

☆ I've worked remotely from 15 different countries. Here's what I've learned and what I'd never do again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In addition to Italy, over the last five years, Cook has worked in Kenya, Thailand, and 12 other countries. At the time, startups were the only type of company I found that were open to fully remote work. When I started doing this in 2018, remote working like this wasn't as common as it is now. Now, since more people have access to this life because of remote work, a number of companies have cropped up for this exact kind of thing. Cook serving another participant in the Italy program during dinner.

☆ Petr Pavel: who is the ex-army chief leading Czech presidential election race?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Polls make the bearded retired general, 61, the favourite to win a run-off vote on Friday and Saturday against billionaire ex-prime minister Andrej Babis, 68. "We got into several tense situations and he always managed them with deliberation and calm," retired Czech general Ales Opata, who served in Croatia and after with Pavel, told Reuters. He lead the Czech general staff from 2012, during Czech involvement in operations in Afghanistan, and in 2015 became NATO's military committee chair, an advisory position of the alliance's secretary-general. Jiri Sedivy, chief executive of the European Defence Agency and former Czech ambassador to NATO, said Pavel was a decision-maker who could take responsibility. After Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, Pavel represented NATO in a 2017 meeting with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

Bought from McLaren by private equity firm Greybull Capital in 2021, McLaren Applied has adapted an efficient inverter developed for F1 racing for EVs. Fry says McLaren Applied is working with around 20 carmakers and suppliers, and the inverter will appear in high-volume luxury EV models starting January 2025. NO TIME TO LOSESome suppliers like Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Actnano have had long relationships with EV pioneer Tesla (TSLA.O). Coakley said CelLink was working with U.S. and European carmakers, and with a European battery maker on battery wiring. But it has now also developed battery packs, electric powertrains, e-axles and is working with around 20 customers, including carmakers and an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft maker.

☆ Thiem confirms rib injury, racing to be fit for Davis Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Dominic Thiem has confirmed he suffered a rib injury during the Australian Open, but will look to recover for Davis Cup qualifiers which begin next month. Thiem, a former U.S. Open champion, has struggled with injuries in recent years and fallen to number 98 in the world as a result. Especially in Melbourne, I wanted to perform at my best, but I tore a small muscle fibre in my rib," Thiem said on Instagram. "The results show that it's not too bad, and playing at the Davis Cup should be possible. Austria play their Davis Cup qualifier against Croatia on Feb. 4-5.

☆ Europe had second-warmest year on record in 2022, EU scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Stephane MaheBRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Europe experienced its second-warmest year on record in 2022, European Union scientists said on Tuesday, as climate change unleashed record-breaking weather extremes that slashed crop yields, dried up rivers and led to thousands of deaths. The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said 2022 was also the world's fifth-warmest year, by a small margin. The last eight years were the world's eight hottest on record, C3S said. Britain experienced its hottest year on record in 2022, its national weather service said on Wednesday. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service shares its findings on the global climate for 2022 The annual global average temperature in 2022 was 0.3 degrees Celsius above the reference period of 1991-2020.

But the headline number masked a more malignant trend, with all key components of core inflation accelerating. "Rising core inflation means that not much will sway the European Central Bank from the hawkish path it set out late last year," ING economist Bert Colijn said. The recession was expected to push up unemployment, naturally dampening price pressures. But employment, already at a record high, is actually going up, not down. "The delayed passthrough of high production costs and a still-strong labour market will sustain core inflation," Riccardo Marcelli Fabiani at Oxford Economics said.

☆ I work in party hostels all around the world. I clean gross rooms and host all-night pub crawls in exchange for a free place to live — here's what it's like.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Jenny Powers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Taylor Futch works at party hostels and does everything from leading pub crawls to manning the desk. I worked at 4 hostels in 2022After Brazil, I worked at one of Europe's famous party hostels, Rising Cock Party Hostel in Lagos, Portugal, for two months and had an incredible experience. My job is to get to know the guests and host a series of nightly events like beer pong and pub trivia. You're bound to find some interesting things while cleaning inside a party hostel. My birthday fell on a Thursday, which is when my hostel has its weekly party, so I wound up DJing.

☆ Airline passengers missed their flight after being locked in an airport corridor for half an hour: 'It felt like we were being held hostage'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Several Ryanair passengers missed their flight on Monday after they were locked in a corridor. A Ryanair spokesperson said "human error" had led "regrettably" led to the incident. A spokesperson for Ryanair told Insider that a "human error" had led to the passengers being unable to "exit the pre-boarding area doors" and "regrettably" missing the flight. "People were banging on the walls calling for help," Raval told MyLondon. "Ryanair provided affected passengers with overnight accommodation and moved them onto the next available flight," it added.

☆ Berrettini inspires Italy to big victory in United Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a rematch of their U.S. Open quarter-final and Gstaad final, where world number three Ruud prevailed last year, it was Berrettini who took control of the match on the back of his powerful serve to seal a 6-4 6-4 Group E win. I knew I had to serve my best," Berrettini, who fired 10 aces and won 88% of points on his first-serve, said. The fourth semi-finalist will be a runner-up with the best record from their three matches in the $15 million event. World number 10 Hubert Hurkacz earlier beat Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka 7-6(5) 6-4 to send Poland on their way. Maria Sakkari earned Greece a spot in the Perth final from Group A with a 6-1 7-5 win over Belgium's Elise Mertens.

☆ European shares start 2023 on upbeat note on encouraging factory data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Bansari Mayur Kamdar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pan-regional STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 0.8%, supported by consumer discretionary stocks. "With 10-year bund yields above 2.50%, relaxed year-end trading and the probable drop in HICP inflation are raising hopes for an upbeat start into the year," Commerzbank Research analysts said in a note, referring to the euro zone consumer prices inflation data due later this week. Rate-sensitive technology stocks (.SX8P), among the worst-performing shares last year, rose 1.5% on the day, despite more hawkish signals from the European Central Bank. Bond yields of Europe's largest economy, Germany, dropped from their highest levels in more than a decade as investors braced for inflation data this week. The German DAX (.GDAXI) gained 1.0%, while other European exchanges also started the year on a positive note.

☆ European shares rise in first trading session of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European shares rose in the first trading session of 2023 on Monday, after a rough year marred with fears of a recession as central banks hiked rates globally and the Russia-Ukraine war. The pan-regional STOXX 600 rose 0.5% by 0810 GMT, supported by rate-sensitive technology stocks. Germany's finance minister expects inflation in Europe's biggest economy to drop to 7% this year and to continue falling in 2024 and beyond, but expects high energy prices to be the new normal. London and Dublin stock exchanges will be closed for New Year's day, while other European exchanges started the year on a positive note. Croatia rang in the new year with two historic changes, as the European Union's youngest member joined both the EU's border-free Schengen zone and the euro common currency.

☆ Historic new year for Croatia as it joins euro, Schengen area
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A police member stands guard while the border opens as Croatia enters the EU's control-free Schengen area, in Bregana, Croatia, January 1, 2023. "Today Croatia joins the Schengen Area and the eurozone, two immense achievements for the youngest member state of the European Union and both reached on the very same day. Plenkovic and von der Leyen later toured the capital Zagreb where they bought coffee in a cafe using euros, which replaced Croatia's kuna currency. After a server brought their coffees to an outdoor table, Plenkovic paid with a handful of euro notes, while von der Leyen, seated next to him, applauded. It becomes the 27th country to join the Schengen area, and the 20th to adopt the euro currency.

☆ ECB must stop quick wage growth from fuelling inflation, Lagarde says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Euro zone wages are growing quicker than earlier thought and the European Central Bank must prevent this from adding to already high inflation, ECB President Christine Lagarde told a Croatian newspaper. "We know wages are increasing, probably at a faster pace than expected," Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list quoted Lagarde as saying on Saturday. "We must not allow inflationary expectations to become de-anchored or wages to have an inflationary effect." Lagarde provided no new policy hint in the interview but said the bank must "take the necessary measures" to lower inflation to 2% from its current rate of near 10%. "We need to be careful that the domestic causes that we are seeing, which are mainly related to fiscal measures and wage dynamics, do not lead to inflation becoming entrenched," Lagarde said.

☆ I quit my six-figure tech job because I couldn't work abroad. Now I make half the money at a startup but get to travel wherever I want.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Sergio Najera quit a six-figure engineering job because the company didn't allow international travel. Courtesy of Sergio NajeraFast forward a couple of months and I'm planning a bigger trip: a month and a half in Peru. I decided to take the startup job because it would give me the flexibility to work from wherever I wanted to and I really prioritized that. From making friends to making sure you can work productively, traveling full-time comes with challengesEverything I need to work remotely. I just want to be happier — that's really what it boils down to.

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