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☆ The world's biggest publisher is suing a Florida school district for banning books by writers including Toni Morrison and Khaled Hosseini
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Penguin Random House is suing a Florida school district and board after it banned certain books. Penguin Random House has joined forces with an authors' group to sue a Florida school district after it banned a number of books. Books removed or restricted by Escambia include "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. All have had books removed from libraries or had student access restricted by the district, PEN America said in a press release. "The book removals and restrictions enacted by the School District and School Board are denying students access to books they would like to read, or chilling such access."

☆ Moldovan region headed for clash with pro-European government
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHISINAU, May 16 (Reuters) - The assembly in a pro-Russian region of Moldova on Tuesday endorsed the election of a local leader intent on improving ties with Moscow, a move that set up a clash with the country's pro-European government. The southern Moldovan region of Gagauzia elected a new "bashkan", or leader, last weekend in a race featuring only pro-Russian candidates. But Moldova's prime minister and other officials have suggested central authorities will try to annul the results on grounds of widespread irregularities. "The police and prosecutors have made public irregularities noted in the course of the vote," he told Moldova's Pro TV. As the Gagauzia assembly unanimously approved the election outcome, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the building shouting "Down with Dictatorship, down with Maia Sandu!"

☆ Pegula upset with Madrid organisers after finalists denied speeches
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - World number three Jessica Pegula has criticised Madrid Open organisers after the American and her fellow women's doubles finalists were not allowed to make speeches at the trophy ceremony. Pegula and Coco Gauff lost the women's doubles final 6-1 6-4 to Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia on Sunday and none of the players were given the chance to address the audience. The men's doubles finalists were allowed to do so following their match a day earlier. I had a feeling something was going to happen," Pegula told reporters on Tuesday ahead of the Italian Open. "I have a lot of finals, so it's not about that," she told reporters.

☆ Madrid Open causes controversy: 'Sexist' ball girl outfits, silencing the women's finalists and small birthday cakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —One of the most prestigious tennis tournaments outside of the four grand slams, the Madrid Open attracts the biggest names in the sport. However, this year’s edition has drawn as much attention for off-court controversy as it has for the action on the clay surface. Following the backlash, the skirts were swapped for long shorts in Sunday’s final, but the crop tops remained. “In the end, it is a form of sexist violence that is so widespread because people don’t even notice it.”The ball girl outfits were changed slightly for the final. Julian Finney/Getty ImagesThe Madrid Open and IMG – the tournament is part of the sports management company’s roster of tennis events – weren’t immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN Sport.

☆ Mirra Andreeva celebrates her 16th birthday and another astonishing victory at the Madrid Open
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —It has been quite the weekend for Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva. On Saturday she celebrated her 16th birthday and also continued her remarkable progress at the Madrid Open. Andreeva, ranked world No. The Russian was runner-up at this year’s junior Australian Open and now has 16 professional wins to her name. “I didn’t expect to be here and playing Sabalenka in the round of 16,” Andreeva told the Tennis Channel, according to the WTA.

☆ Russian Andreeva, 15, stuns Fernandez in Madrid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Russian 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 event by stunning 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 6-4 in the opening round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday. Andreeva, ranked 194th in the world, saved five of the six break points she faced against world number 49 Fernandez of Canada. She will face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round later on Thursday at the claycourt tournament. Andreeva said she had needed time to recover from her defeat in the Australian Open girls' final earlier this year, where she lost the match after winning the first set. "My coach said to me after maybe five years you will not even remember that you played the Australian Open final or against who.

☆ Opinion | Is There Still Free Will in Addiction?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Maia Szalavitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When I was arrested and charged with possession with intent to sell cocaine in 1986, I was addicted to both coke and heroin. I knew that doing this further jeopardized my life prospects and my relationships with everyone I cared about. Was my brain hijacked by drugs — or was I willfully choosing to risk it all for a few hours of selfish pleasure? What makes people continue taking drugs like street fentanyl, which put them at daily risk of death? These questions are at the heart of drug policy and the way we view and treat addiction.

☆ Rybakina retires with lower back injury in Stuttgart
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina suffered an injury setback ahead of the French Open after she retired with a lower back issue in her last 16 match against Beatriz Haddad Maia at the Stuttgart Open on Thursday. After play resumed, Haddad Maia won another game before Rybakina decided to retire trailing 6-1 3-1. Last week, Rybakina helped Kazakhstan advance to the Billie Jean King Cup finals for the second time after defeating Poland 3-1 in their qualifier. The French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, will be held from May 28 to June 11. Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Best Book Judy Blume Ever Got as a Gift? ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover.’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I’m about to start Rebecca Makkai’s “I Have Some Questions for You.” I just finished “Still Pictures,” by Janet Malcolm. Yesterday afternoon I read a graphic memoir, “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe, the most banned book in the country right now. Books I’ve finished but still in the pile: “Ms. A train is good but how often am I on a train these days? So maybe the best place for reading is sitting on my balcony overlooking the ocean (I know, right?).

☆ U.S. finishes Billie Jean King Cup qualifying unbeaten
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Each best-of-five series consists of two singles matches on the first day, then the reverse singles matches followed by a doubles match on the second day. The doubles match pitting Juvan and Zidansek against Irina Bara and Monica Niculescu was suspended at 3-3 in the first set. Jule Niemeier posted a three-set win over Beatriz Haddad Maia, and then Anna-Lena Friedsam lost only one game in defeating Laura Pigossi. Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina handed Poland's Magda Linette her second loss in two days to clinch the 3-1 series win in Astana, Kazakhstan. After Fernandez's three-set win over Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgium's Greet Minnen again knotted the match with a three-set win over Katherine Sebov.

☆ Moldova outdoor assembly to confirm pro-European orientation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries wedged between Ukraine and Romania, has been buffeted by Russia's war in Ukraine which President Maia Sandu has repeatedly denounced. Moldova and its population of 2.5 million, Sandu said, stood at a crossroads, with collective action needed for its future. Big decisions are taken by people during Great National Assemblies," she said. ... We are Europeans and at the Great National Assembly on 21st May, we will show that this is the path we have chosen." Moldova, like Ukraine, has formally sought to become a member of the European Union, a process which normally takes several years.

☆ Two more die as Israel-Palestinian unrest simmers, political faultlines widen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Mohamad Torokman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Relatives react during the funeral of a Palestinian who was killed during an Israeli raid, near Jericho in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, April 10, 2023. In a sign of Israel's fracturing political faultlines, thousands of Israelis marched towards Evyatar, an evacuated outpost in the West Bank, in support of the expansion of settlements. "I had just left my house when I saw military forces and people throwing stones," said Fayez Balhan, the teen's father. Israeli forces are still trying to track the assailant down. Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in a 1967 war.

☆ Thousands of Israelis march to illegal West Bank outpost as tensions mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Israelis push for outpost recognition as tensions mount in occupied West BankNetanyahu's Likud party sinks in recent pollsIsraeli-British citizen succumbs to wounds after West Bank shooting attackPalestinian teen killed by Israeli forces in West Bank raidJERUSALEM, April 10 (Reuters) - Thousands of Israelis, including government ministers, marched towards the evacuated outpost of Evyatar in the occupied West Bank on Monday to support settlement expansion, as tensions mounted between Israelis and Palestinians. [1/5] Israeli settlers hold a protest march from Tapuach Junction to the Israeli settler outpost of Evyatar, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Nir Elias 1 2 3 4 5"Tragic news that Leah Dee has also died following the abhorrent attacks in the West Bank," UK foreign minister James Cleverly on Twitter. In February, Israel granted retroactive recognition to eight illegal West Bank outposts, also condemned by international organizations. Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in a 1967 war.

☆ Israeli sisters killed in shooting attack laid to rest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KFAR ETZION, West Bank, April 9 (Reuters) - The family of two Israeli sisters who were killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank shared tearful eulogies on Sunday with a room full of weeping mourners, while their mother who was wounded remained in a coma. Hours after the sisters were killed, an Italian tourist was killed in a ramming attack in Tel Aviv. The attacks added to heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions following Israeli police raids in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque last week. Since the beginning of the year, at least 18 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in attacks in Israel, around Jerusalem and in the West Bank. In the same period, Israeli forces have killed more than 80 Palestinians, most of them fighters in militant groups but some of them civilians.

Humanity will prevail," Zelenskiy said, leading a ceremony at which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Bucha. Zelenskiy described Bucha as a "symbol of the atrocities" of Russian occupying forces. Fighting rages on in the east and south of Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian forces have dug in and held out for now in the city of Bakhmut and are expected to launch a counteroffensive soon. This is part of Russia's planned strategy to destroy Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation," he said.

☆ I rushed from bank to bank with my infant daughter when SVB collapsed to figure out how my startup could make payroll on time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse sent Dispatch Goods cofounder Lindsey Hoell on a race to find alternatives. Her team and investors navigated the logistical chaos of making sure the company made payroll. Dispatch Goods, a Silicon Valley Bank customer, provides reusable packaging to meal and grocery delivery companies. But by the time I got back from opening that account, the Silicon Valley Bank site was just completely bogged down with other people trying to do the same thing. We got up Friday morning and drove down to Silicon Valley Bank's Menlo Park location.

☆ Child psychologist: The 6 most 'extraordinary' types of kids—and how parents can raise them to be successful
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Dr. Shefali Tsabary | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Parenting tip: Be grounded, firm and calm. Parenting tip: Hyperactive Explorers need to be honored and not shamed for their passionate spirit. Parenting tip: Honor and teach them how to protect their boundaries. Parenting tip: Society may try to tell them they should be the opposite, that they should be more extroverted. Parenting tip: These kids need to feel respected for their determination.

☆ No risk of war in Moldova while Ukraine holds out - President Sandu
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHISINAU, March 17 (Reuters) - President Maia Sandu said on Friday she saw no danger of war in Moldova while Russia is fighting in Ukraine, despite what she said were Russian efforts to destabilise her country. "There is no danger of war coming to Moldova while Ukraine is fighting," Sandu told parliament. "I want to reassure our citizens that Moldova is not now in any danger of war. Sandu repeated accusations, denied by Moscow, that Russia wants to destabilise Moldova. "As long as I am president, Moldova will hold out," said Sandu, who became president in 2020.

☆ Moldova no longer needs Russian gas, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Gazprom PAO FollowCHISINAU, March 15 (Reuters) - Ex-Soviet Moldova is no longer receiving Russian gas or enduring the "blackmail" imposed by gas giant Gazprom over its difficulties in paying for supplies, the country's energy minister said. But when the (rest of Moldova) was getting gas, the Russian company resorted to supply cuts, to blackmail." A contingent of 1,500 Russian "peacekeepers" remain in the separatist region 30 years after a brief war pitting it against newly independent Moldova. Transdniestria channels funds from gas bills paid by domestic and industrial users to a "gas account" used to cover some of its substantial budget deficits. The sum of Transdniestria's unpaid bills for Russian gas is estimated by Moldovan officials at several billion dollars.

☆ Police limit anti-government protest in Moldova
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Moldovan law enforcement officers stand guard during an anti-government protest against the recent countrywide increase of power rates and prices, which is organised by opposition political movements including the Russia-friendly party Shor, in Chisinau, Moldova, March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Vladislav CuliomzaCHISINAU, March 12 (Reuters) - Police in Moldova kept several thousand demonstrators away from government buildings on Sunday after officials warned of possible organised disorder at the protest, the latest of a series denouncing pro-European President Maia Sandu. Moldova accused Russia last month of plotting to overthrow Sandu, while the United States pledged to support her government against destabilisation. Andrei Spinu, head of Sandu's administration, denounced Sunday's rally as "not a protest. This was yet another attempt by Russia to destabilise the situation in Moldova."

[1/5] An employee works at the Chisinau-1 gas distribution plant of Moldovatransgaz energy company in Chisinau, Moldova March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Vladislav CuliomzaCHISINAU, March 10 (Reuters) - A coup attempt, bomb hoaxes, internet hacks, fake conscription call-ups, mass protests: Moldova says it's had them all in the past year. Moldova hosts the breakaway statelet of Transnistria - a sliver of land running along its eastern border with Ukraine that's controlled by pro-Russian separatists and garrisoned by Russian troops. FAKE CONSCRIPTION NOTICESMounting tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine have raised the temperature in Moldova. RUSSIAN TROOPS IN TRANSNISTRIAAn estimated 1,500 Russian troops are stationed in Transnistria, most of them recruited locally from Transnistrians with Russian passports.

☆ Greek president cuts short Moldova trip after train collision
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHISINAU, March 1 (Reuters) - Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said on Wednesday she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece following a train collision in which officials said at least 36 people were killed. "Unfortunately, I have to interrupt my visit in order to be close to my people, to support those who need it," she told a joint news conference in the Moldovan capital Chisinau with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Even at this moment, a life-saving operation is going on to help those who are on this death train." Her planned two-visit to Moldova began on Wednesday morning with a meeting with Sandu, and she had been due to hold meetings with parliamentary and government leaders. Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kremlin says it is concerned by situation in breakaway Moldovan region
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flags of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria and Russia flutter in central Tiraspol, in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria May 5, 2022. REUTERS/Vladislav Bachev/File PhotoMOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it was worried about the state of affairs in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, where it said Ukraine and other European countries were stirring up the situation. Moldova's pro-European president, Maia Sandu, this month accused Moscow of plotting a coup, something Russia denied. "Naturally, the situation in Transdniestria is the subject of our closest attention and a reason for our concern," Peskov told reporters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed Moscow's assertion that Ukraine wants to take over the region, while Moldova sad there was no truth to the allegations.

☆ Russia warns West over threatening its troops in Moldovan region
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russia told the West on Friday that it would view as an attack on itself any actions that threatened Russian peacekeepers in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, one day after Moscow accused Ukraine of deploying troops near the region's border. The warning comes amid increased concerns in Moldova, a small ex-Soviet republic bordering Ukraine, of a possible Russian threat to its own independence. On Thursday, Russia accused Kyiv of planning to invade Transdniestria, which borders Ukraine. "We warn the United States, NATO member states and their Ukrainian wards against taking yet another reckless step," Russia's foreign ministry said on Friday. If possible threats to the security of the country are identified, the ministry will immediately inform the public," the Moldovan ministry said.

☆ Moldova dismisses Russian report of Ukraine plot over Transdniestria
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHISINAU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Moldova dismissed an accusation by Russia's defence ministry on Thursday that Ukraine planned to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria after staging a false flag operation, and called for calm. The Russian news agency RIA said Ukraine, which borders Moldova, planned to stage an attack by purportedly Russian forces from Transdniestria as a pretext for the invasion. The Moldovan government issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying state authorities "do not confirm" the Russian defence ministry's allegations. "Our institutions cooperate with foreign partners and in the case of threats to the country, the public will be promptly informed." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week it was "obvious" that Ukraine would not be Russia's last stop after invading Ukraine, and that the Kremlin was thinking about ways to "strangle" Moldova.

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