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☆ Ecuador assembly begins impeachment hearing against President Lasso
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

QUITO, May 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador's National Assembly on Tuesday began an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, who could be removed from his post, though the process increases the likelihood he will dissolve the legislature to avoid a final vote. The opposition, including members of the party of ex-President Rafael Correa - himself accused of corruption - has been invigorated following the re-election of Virgilio Saquicela as president of the National Assembly on Sunday. "The Ecuadorean people want Guillermo Lasso (...) to go home," said opposition lawmaker Viviana Veloz while presenting a motion to vote on the censure and dismissal of the president. CONAIE, Ecuador's largest indigenous organization, backed the measure to remove Lasso in a statement, saying that "with Guillermo Lasso Ecuador doesn't have a future, only fear and uncertainty." The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process last Tuesday with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present.

☆ AC Milan faces Inter in Champions League semifinal second leg
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli says his side believes it can overturn a two-goal deficit against Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinal second leg on Tuesday. Inter Milan won the first leg 2-0. The second leg between AC Milan and Inter Milan will kick off at 3 p.m. The winner will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the final, with that semifinal fixture tied 1-1 after the first leg. The return leg will take place on May 17.

☆ MLB roundup: Cardinals blitz Brewers 18-1
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Jack Flaherty (3-4) fanned a season-high 10 while blanking the Brewers on three hits in seven innings as the Cardinals won for the seventh time in eight games. Freddy Peralta (4-3) allowed six runs on six hits and five walks in 5 1/3 innings for the Brewers, whose three-game winning streak ended. Adam Frazier and Anthony Santander each hit a two-run homer and Cedric Mullins added a solo shot for the Orioles. Raleigh, who went 3-for-5, hit two-run shots in the fifth and sixth innings, logging his second multi-homer game of the season. Eugenio Suarez also blasted a two-run homer as part of Seattle's 15-hit attack.

☆ Roblox Criticized by Children’s Advertising Watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Roblox said it had 66.1 million daily active users in the first quarter, 43% of whom were under the age of 13. Photo: Rafael Henrique/Zuma PressAn advertising industry watchdog said videogame company Roblox violated the group’s guidelines for marketing to children younger than 13. The Children’s Advertising Review Unit , a division of self-regulatory business organization BBB National Programs, said Friday it found that Roblox hadn’t adequately disclosed to young users that certain content within games was advertising.

☆ MLB roundup: Mets post 8-run inning, whip Nats in Max Scherzer's return
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

For seven innings, the game was a pitchers' duel between Cleveland rookie Tanner Bibee and the Angels' Patrick Sandoval. Zach Elfin (5-1) got the win after allowing four runs on seven hits in his six innings, striking out nine and walking one. Royals starter Jordan Lyles (0-7) was tagged for seven runs in 2 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three walks. The loss overshadowed another strong outing by Giants starter Logan Webb, who allowed one run on three hits over seven innings. Boston's Corey Kluber (2-5) surrendered four runs on seven hits in five innings.

☆ End of Title 42 immigration policy has brought fewer migrants than expected, but overcrowding concerns remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

David Peinado Romero/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Migrants carry a baby in a suitcase across the Rio Grande on May 10. Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Migrants wait to get paid after washing cars at a gas station in Brownsville on May 10. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Migrants surrender to US Border Patrol agents after crossing the border in Yuma on May 10. Paul Ratje/Reuters Migrants wait to be processed by US Border Patrol agents in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on April 26. Hudak warned in the filing that without measures to conditionally release some migrants, Border Patrol could have over 45,000 migrants in custody by the end of the month.

☆ Ecuador lawmakers re-elect National Assembly president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 14 (Reuters) - Independent lawmaker Virgilio Saquicela was re-elected president of Ecuador's National Assembly on Sunday, supported by politicians who want an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso to advance to a vote for his possible removal. Saquicela, who took over as president of the National Assembly in May last year, has become a principal figure in the process against Lasso, who is accused of embezzlement in an oil transportation contract. The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process on Tuesday in a session convened by Saquicela with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present. A majority of 96 lawmakers of the 136 present voted to re-elect Saquicela. He was supported by allies of former President Rafael Correa, who is convicted of corruption, as well as other opposition and independent parties.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine's Zelenskiy meets the pope
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Ukrainian leader, on a visit to Rome, also met Italy's leaders, who promised full military and financial backing for Ukraine and reiterated support for its EU membership bid. * South Africa's presidential security advisor said on Saturday the country was "actively non-aligned" in Russia's war against Ukraine, after U.S. allegations that it had supplied weapons to Moscow led to a diplomatic crisis this week. * A draft communique from a meeting of Group of Seven finance chiefs reiterated the group's condemnation of Russia's "illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression" against Ukraine. INSIDE RUSSIA* The head of Russia's federal crime agency suggested on Saturday that key sectors of the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. * Police in the Russian city of St. Petersburg said on Friday they have created an anti-drone unit to detect unmanned aerial vehicles following a purported drone attack on the Kremlin this month.

☆ Russia to evacuate more Zaporizhzhia nuclear workers - Ukraine's Energoatom
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, May 10 (Reuters) - Russian forces are planning to evacuate more than 3,000 workers from the town that serves the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, resulting in a "catastrophic lack" of personnel, Ukraine's state-owned Energoatom company said on Wednesday. Last week, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear power watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said the situation around the Russian-held nuclear station had become "potentially dangerous" after Moscow-installed officials began evacuating people from nearby areas. "The Russian occupiers are proving their inability to ensure the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as there is now a catastrophic lack of qualified personnel," it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging service. And this will exacerbate the already extremely urgent issue of having a sufficient number of personnel to ensure the safety of operation of the NPP (nuclear power plant) even in the current shutdown state." Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant days after President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

☆ Chris Strachwitz, Who Dug Up the Roots of American Music, Dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Alex Traub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Strachwitz (pronounced STRACK-wits) specialized in music passed down over generations — cotton-field music, orange-orchard music, mountain music, bayou music, barroom music, porch music. The songs came not only from before the era of the music industry but even from before the existence of mass culture itself. Mr. Strachwitz was the founder of Arhoolie Records (the name comes from a term for field hollers). In addition to recruiting his own artists, he did his own field recordings, music editing, production, liner notes, advertising and sales. In the company’s early years, he affixed the labels to the records and mailed them himself.

☆ How El Chapo’s sons built a fentanyl empire poisoning America
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Headed by Iván, El Chapo’s oldest son, the siblings have emerged as key figures in the Sinaloa Cartel, U.S. and Mexican anti-narcotics officials said. But he was killed in 2008 in Culiacán in a hail of bullets amid infighting between warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency in April placed Iván on the list of its 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, joining Jesús Alfredo and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a Sinaloa Cartel legend and El Chapo’s alleged former business partner. They also kidnapped eight soldiers and surrounded military housing where wives and children of Mexican soldiers lived, Mexican officials said. Despite that blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, fentanyl keeps flowing north.

☆ MLB roundup: Cards' Willson Contreras stars in return to Chicago
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] May 8, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (40) celebrates team's win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Colorado starter Kyle Freeland (3-4) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings, with four strikeouts and three walks. Cease went five-plus innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out six. Miami's Braxton Garrett (1-2) was charged with four runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. San Francisco starter Anthony DeSclafani (3-2) got through seven innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits.

☆ Operations suspended at Ukraine nuclear plant in case of 'provocations' - TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 8 (Reuters) - Operations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are being suspended in case of "provocations" by Ukrainian forces, the TASS state news agency said on Monday, citing the Moscow-installed governor of the Russia-controlled part of the surrounding region. Russia captured the plant in the early days of its invasion of Ukraine last year. The nuclear reactors have been suspended," TASS quoted Yevgeny Balitsky as saying. Some 3,000 people have been evacuated from villages close to the front line, TASS quoted Balitsky as saying on Monday, including around 1,000 minors. In March the IAEA warned the plant was running on diesel generators to keep vital cooling systems going, after damage to power lines.

☆ The New Surge at the Border
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The surge of migrants gathering at the U.S.-Mexico border underscores a point that Democratic Party politicians often try to play down: U.S. border policy has a big effect on how many people try to enter the country illegally. Title 42 expires on Thursday, as part of the end of the official Covid health emergency. In recent weeks, word has spread in Latin America that entering the U.S. is about to become easier. Smugglers have told potential migrants that the coming period will be a good time to attempt a border crossing, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico said last week. “It’s a real crisis,” Father Rafael Garcia of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown El Paso told The Times.

☆ Zaporizhzhia: Evacuations from Russian-occupied Ukrainian region raise concerns of nuclear power plant safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Helen Regan Julia Kesaieva Mariya Knight Katharina Krebs Kostan Nechyporenko Stephanie Halasz | Helen Regan | Julia Kesaieva | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But the evacuation of a town close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has raised concerns about the facility’s stability. The plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, is held by Russian forces but mostly operated by a Ukrainian workforce. The plant is also significant because Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear power. On the groundOn Sunday, Ukraine’s Operation Command South spokeswoman said Russian forces were trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defense system. Bakhmut has been the site of a months-long assault by Russian forces that has driven thousands from their homes and left the area devastated.

☆ Situation around Europe's largest nuclear power plant is 'potentially dangerous,' watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Members of the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. The situation in the area near Europe's largest nuclear power plant is "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Saturday. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that he was "extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risk," facing the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeast Ukraine. "I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the northern Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered the worst on record.

☆ MLB roundup: Red Sox drop Phils for 8th straight win
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Boston's Rob Refsnyder ripped a two-run double, Christian Arroyo had a two-run single and Reese McGuire added an RBI single for the Red Sox, who have scored 59 runs during their eight-game winning streak. After Willie Calhoun popped out with two runners on, Bader put the Yankees ahead with a two-run single to right field. He worked a perfect ninth inning, striking out two, to earn his first save. Alejandro Kirk added an RBI double and Daulton Varsho an RBI single for the Blue Jays, who entered the series with a five-game losing streak. Jack Suwinski homered and Connor Joe had an RBI single for the Pirates, who lost their sixth in a row.

☆ Alcaraz set to reclaim number one spot in Rome after Madrid triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, May 7 (Reuters) - Carlos Alcaraz is raring to get to Italy next week to compete in the Rome Masters for the first time in his career and reclaim the world number one spot from Novak Djokovic. To maintain the points won at an event a player must at least match the tally from the previous year. Alcaraz skipped the Rome Masters last year due to an ankle injury so has no points to defend while Djokovic won in Rome last year and thus cannot improve his overall points total. "I am an ambitious guy and I'm going full for the win in Rome," Alcaraz told a news conference on Sunday. I just have won my 10th title, my fourth Masters 1000, back-to-back titles here in Madrid and very close to reclaiming the number one world spot.

☆ 'Mad panic' evacuation as IAEA warns of a nuclear accident at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant occupied by Russian forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fears mount of increased fighting around the contested Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that is occupied by Russian troops was becoming critical. "The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," Grossi said in a statement. Grossi said evacuations were underway in the nearby town of Enerhodar, built for workers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Reuters reported. He said there is a "possibility" of an "outbreak of full-scale hostilities" near the nuclear plant, saying, "We have been worrying about this nuclear power plant for more than a year.

☆ Ecuador committee fails to pass report saying no cause for Lasso impeachment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The report, which says there is no cause for Lasso's trial or removal, was shot down by five of the committee's nine members. Despite the outcome of the committee vote, the report will now pass to the plenary of the 137-member assembly, which will decide whether to possibly remove Lasso. Other opposition parties are divided on whether to back Lasso's removal, while his allies have said they have enough votes to block the motion. Lasso's lawyer has said the opposition failed to establish what alleged loss of funds took place in relation to the contract. Under Ecuador's constitution, Lasso could call early presidential and legislative elections rather than face a removal vote.

☆ IAEA head warns of dangers around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 6 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N.'s nuclear power watchdog warned on Saturday that the situation around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear station had become "increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous" and called for measures to ensure its safe operation. "The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," Grossi said on the agency's website. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of his neighbour in February 2022. Russia last September proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, including Zaporizhzhia region. A widely expected Ukrainian spring counter-offensive against Russian forces viewed as likely to take in the Zaporizhzhia region, around 80% of which is held by Moscow.

☆ IAEA warns of dangers around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as evacuations under way
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 6 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N.'s nuclear power watchdog warned on Saturday that the situation around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear station has become "potentially dangerous" as Moscow-installed officials began evacuating people from nearby areas. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), called for measures to ensure the safe operation of Europe's largest nuclear plant as evacuations were under way in the nearby town of Enerhodar. "The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," Grossi said on the agency's website. A widely expected Ukrainian spring counter-offensive against Russian forces is viewed as likely to take in the Zaporizhzhia region, around 80% of which is held by Moscow. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of his neighbour in February 2022.

☆ MLB roundup: Red Sox beat Phillies for 7th straight win
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Sale (3-2) allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk. He allowed seven hits and no walks while striking out five. Hunter Greene (0-2) allowed five runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-9 Ober, making his third start of the season, lasted seven innings, allowing just singles to Jose Ramirez and Oscar Gonzalez and a double by Josh Naylor. In six innings, he allowed seven runs (five earned), on eight hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

☆ Napoli’s Serie A title win: From Maradona and financial bankruptcy to Scudetto
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Diego Maradona battles dribbles against Ruud Gullit of AC Milan in the Serie A in 1988. With Maradona’s arrival came a level of success Napoli had previously never seen, culminating in a 1987 title victory; the club’s first ever Scudetto. When Napoli won its first Serie A title in 1987, the Gentleman Ultra website notes: “In the city, mock funerals were held for Juventus. The dark yearsA year after the 1990 title success, the Napoli team began to unwind with players departing, leading to a drop in performances. Napoli fans celebrate the team's Serie A title victory on the streets of Naples.

☆ Ecuador committee report does not recommend Lasso removal, lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 5 (Reuters) - The oversight committee of Ecuador's National Assembly will debate a draft report that concludes President Guillermo Lasso did not participate in embezzlement and recommends against his impeachment, a lawmaker said on Friday. Oversight committee president Fernando Villavicencio said the draft report is based on an analysis of all the evidence presented in hearings by the committee. "We have prepared and concluded the report which recommends that there is not cause to try or remove President Guillermo Lasso," Villavicencio told TV station Teleamazonas. Regardless of the committee's decision, the report will then pass to the plenary of the 137-member assembly, which will decide whether to hold hearings and possibly remove Lasso. Under Ecuador's constitution, Lasso could call early presidential and legislative elections rather than face a removal vote.

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