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☆ Panama ex-President Martinelli chosen as RM candidate for elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PANAMA CITY, June 4 (Reuters) - Panama's former President Ricardo Martinelli was on Sunday chosen as the presidential candidate for his party Realizando Metas (RM) in next year's elections. Martinelli - along with his sons - is also charged in Panama for his alleged involvement in laundering millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. "The only way to get me out of the presidential race is by impeachment ... they're going to have to kill me," Martinelli said. The Untied States has barred Martinelli from entering the North American country, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing him of accepting bribes. Reporting by Elida Moreno Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ricardo Martinelli, Realizando, Martinelli, Antony Blinken, Elida Moreno, Oliver Griffin, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: PANAMA CITY, U.S, Thomson Locations: PANAMA, Panama, American

☆ What It’s Like to Be a Queer Teenager in America Today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

teenagers, high school is a much more accepting place than even a decade ago. Their experiences highlight a “paradoxical finding,” as researchers have described it: Even as social inclusion for young L.G.B.T.Q. To better understand, we took a national poll and talked to two dozen high school students in five states. It’s a different world from when his older sister, Brianna Henderson, attended just seven years ago, when there were very few openly gay students. His home state has passed laws related to restroom use and sports participation for young transgender people.

Persons: ”, Reese Whisnant, They’re, Stephen T, Russell, It’s, Brianna Henderson, Reese Whisnant Barrett Emke, Henderson, Reese, shouldn’t, Gen, Jareth Leiker, Jareth, Ricardo Nagaoka, “, ” Jerry Strohecker, it’s, ” Adrian Soriano, Kansas Barrett Emke, “ Will, Grace ”, Jason Collins, Caitlyn Jenner, Kardashian, Matthew Rivas, Younger, nonbinary, “ You’re, Jeff Jones, “ It’s, I’m, ’ ”, Athena Stiles, Athena Stiles Barrett Emke, I’ve, Shaggy Sargent, Willow Menashe, Eleanor Woosley, Mr, Rivas, Koehl, GLSEN, ” Logan Hortenstine, ” Jayden, Florida Ricardo Nagaoka, ” Isaac Siegel, Wilson, Shelley L, Craig, “ They’re Organizations: Topeka, Republican, University of Texas, Austin, ”, The New York Times, Gallup, United States, Supreme, North, University of Illinois, New York Times, Social Survey, Topeka High, ” Pew Research Center, Centers for Disease Control, Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, University of Toronto Locations: Topeka High, Kansas, Florida , Kansas, Iowa, Oregon, United, Portland ,, ” Jerry Strohecker , Oregon, Cape Coral, Fla, Shaggy Sargent , Iowa, Willow Menashe , Oregon, Southern, West, United States, Europe, ” Logan Hortenstine , Kansas, ” Jayden D’Onofrio, Florida, Portland, Wilson , Oregon, Canada, Beeville , Texas, ”

☆ Brazil poultry lobby sees little risk of nationwide export ban over bird flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ana Mano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Slideshow ( 4 images )Ricardo Santin, head of a group representing firms like JBS and BRF, told Reuters the agreements with trade partners should limit any export restrictions to smaller geographic regions. Still, the details of a 2004 bilateral sanitary protocol with China, Brazil’s top chicken buyer last year, could spell some pain for exporters. WOAH outlines best practices for “zoning” and compartmentalizing HPAI infection to specific areas at risk in order to ease nation-wide restrictions, allowing countries to continue to sell and export of poultry. The U.S., which competes with Brazil in poultry export markets, had HPAI outbreaks but continued to ship products. Still, total poultry meat exports rose 3% by volume and 14% by value, as revised trade agreements limited trade restrictions compared with a previous record U.S. bird flu outbreak in 2015.

Persons: Ricardo Santin, Santin, HPAI, WOAH Organizations: SAO PAULO, Reuters, World Organization for Animal Health Locations: China, Beijing, Brasilia, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, U.S

☆ Brazil's top court sentences ex-President Collor to prison for corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Then-Senator Fernando Collor de Mello, also a former Brazilian president, during a vote session on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File PhotoBRASILIA, May 31 (Reuters) - Brazil's supreme court voted on Wednesday to sentence former President Fernando Collor de Mello to 8 years and 10 months in prison on corruption and money laundering charges. The Brazilian prosecutor's office accused Collor, 73, of having received around 30 million reais ($6 million) in bribes from a subsidiary of state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA). The top court convicted the former senator in mid-May, but justices had still to decide on his sentence, which he can appeal. A rakish, dynastic heir with a penchant for expensive sports cars, Collor was one of Brazil's original free-marketeers whoopposed Brazil's entrenched protectionism and sought to privatize state-run firms in his curtailed presidency.

Persons: Fernando Collor de Mello, Dilma Rousseff, Ueslei Marcelino, Collor, Brazil's, Ricardo Brito, Carolina Pulice, Anthony Boadle, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Brazilian, Petrobras, PETR4, Thomson Locations: Brazilian, Brasilia, Brazil, BRASILIA, Alagoas

☆ Brazil's Lula cuts losses after setbacks on environment and Indigenous front
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Maria Carolina Marcello | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Wednesday, the minority Lula government faces another key vote in the chamber that will reduce the powers of the ministries of the environment and of Indigenous affairs. Lula called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the dilemma, and called the speaker of the lower house, Arthur Lira, whom he plans to meet as well, to ensure the measure passes. INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL SETBACKThe law passed on Tuesday would set a cut-off date for recognizing Indigenous land claims, establishing that they had to be occupied before Brazil's current Constitution was enacted in 1988. Brazil's 1 million Indigenous peoples are guaranteed by the Constitution the right to live on ancestral lands. After the bill passed, the minister of Indigenous peoples, Sonia Guajajara, said that the deputies who backed it would be "responsible for approving a bill that explicitly attacks the lives of Indigenous peoples in Brazil."

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Arthur Lira, Jair Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro, Sonia Guajajara, Lisandra Paraguassu, Ricardo Brito, Maria Carolina Marcello, Anthony Boadle, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Lawmakers, Liberal Party, Thomson Locations: BRASILIA, Congress, Sao Paulo, Brazil's, Brazil, Brasilia

☆ Vinícius Jr.: Spanish soccer's inaction over racist abuse of Real Madrid star could prove costly for LaLiga
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Except, this week, nobody is talking about the ‘beautiful game’ after the shameful racist abuse of Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. sent LaLiga into crisis management mode. Instead, it must pass investigations into incidents of racist abuse onto local prosecutors, who deal with them as legal cases. 10 when nine previous incidents of racist abuse seemingly were not enough to spark meaningful action? Vinícius Jr. points to a fan in the stand who allegedly racially abused him during Real Madrid's match at Valencia. Fort says CEOs called Sepp Blatter to ask him to step down as FIFA president.

☆ At least 10 people killed, nine injured in shootout in northern Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 20 (Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed and nine injured in a shootout at a car show in northern Mexico's Baja California on Saturday, the municipal government reported. The attack occurred during an all-terrain car racing show in the San Vicente area of the city of Ensenada. Municipal and state police, the Marines, the Fire Department and Mexican Red Cross, among other agencies arrived at the scene. Mayor Armando Ayala Robles said state Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez commissioned a special group to investigate the shooting. Reporting by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ White daisies bloom in Uruguay's streets, in memory of dictatorship missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Lucinda Elliott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MONTEVIDEO, May 20 (Reuters) - In Uruguay's cities and towns, paintings of white daisies, each with a missing petal, have appeared on walls and at windows in recent weeks, in memory of the people who went missing during the country's military dictatorship that began 50 years ago. The Mothers and Family Members of Disappeared and Detained Uruguayans organization says that 197 nationals were forcibly disappeared. Only six bodies of those who disappeared in Uruguay have been recovered so far. Silent demonstrations have been taking place each year on May 20 since 1996, with protesters carrying pictures of the missing and demanding justice. The topic of the dictatorship remains controversial in Uruguay, with some reluctant to revisit this sensitive period of the country's fairly recent history.

The longtime political allies - both subject to U.S. sanctions - are seeking to cement economic ties by facilitating trade and investment. "(The deals) constitute a milestone in the history of our bilateral and business ties," said Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba's foreign trade minister, in a speech closing the forum on Friday. Russia also provided funds, know-how and technology to restart a steel mill in Cuba to supply construction materials on the island, according to Cuba state-run media reports. More than 150 Russian businesspeople attended the forum in Havana, according to Cuban officials. SUGAR DEALRussia this week also promised to help revive Cuba's once-vaunted sugar industry, which has nearly collapsed in recent years as its production has plunged to historic lows.

☆ Chile's SQM to start lithium talks with state miner Codelco in coming weeks, says CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows the brine pools of SQM lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, January 10, 2013. REUTERS/Ivan AlvaradoMEXICO CITY, May 18 (Reuters) - Chile's lithium miner SQM is set to start talks about lithium projects with state miner Codelco in the coming weeks, the firm's Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Ramos told analysts in a quarterly earnings call on Thursday. It did not specify quarterly prices in its latest report. "We are positive about volumes for the second quarter and semester," Ramos said when asked about the company's outlook, citing a ramp up of activity in China. "The second quarter is showing a more stable pattern," he said.

☆ Buffett-backed Nubank has AI investments as 'great priority', CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Nubank CEO David Velez talks on stage during the opening of the Web Summit technology conference, in Rio de Janeiro Brazil May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesSAO PAULO, May 18 (Reuters) - Investments in artificial intelligence are a "great priority" for Brazilian digital lender Nubank , Chief Executive David Velez said on Thursday, adding that the firm expects to demonstrate it soon as it pushes for expansion. "Five years from now you'll be talking to Nubank in your self-driving car, you'll be talking to Nubank in your home," Velez told reporters. Nubank debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in late 2021 raising nearly $2.6 billion. She added Nubank also sees growth opportunity in Mexico as "much bigger" than in Brazil at the moment.

☆ Brazil's Bolsonaro denies tampering of his vaccination records
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, May 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian ex-President Jair Bolsonaro rejected on Tuesday accusations of tampering with his COVID-19 vaccination records, a document reviewed by Reuters showed, as local authorities investigate the former far-right leader and some of his allies. In three-hour testimony to the Brazil's federal police, Bolsonaro said was he unaware of false information being included on his vaccination card. Supreme Court documents have shown federal police found evidence of tampering with Bolsonaro's vaccine records in his last weeks as president in late December, before he flew to the United States, where most foreign visitors must be vaccinated. According to transcripts of the former president's testimony, Bolsonaro denied having knowledge of or ordering false information to be inserted into this vaccination records. According to Bolsonaro, Cid may have committed fraud without his knowledge.

Boris Titov, head of the Russian delegation of the Cuban-Russian Business Committee, told a forum of Russian entrepreneurs in Havana that Cuba had decisively opened the door to Russian investment. "They are giving us preferential treatment," Titov told the packed forum in Havana´s Hotel Nacional. "In Soviet times there was a direct port and maritime link," Titov told the forum. Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba´s minister of foreign commerce told reporters on the sidelines of the forum that the economic ties between Russia and Cuba would only grow stronger. Bilateral trade between Cuba and Russia reached $450 million in 2022, three times that of 2021, according to Sergei Baldin, Russia´s trade representative in Cuba.

☆ Brazil Supreme Court justice orders investigation into Google, Telegram execs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, May 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court on Friday ordered an investigation into executives at social messaging service Telegram and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google who are in charge of a campaign criticizing a proposed internet regulation bill. They later removed the posts following orders from the Supreme Court. In his request, Lira said tech companies have used "all sorts of tricks in a sordid campaign of disinformation, manipulation and intimidation, taking advantage of their hegemonic position in the market." Google declined to comment on the matter, while Telegram did not respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check- Image does not show ‘last Neanderthal giant’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fabricated image of a giant man towering above a crowd of people is being shared alongside false claims that it shows the “last Neanderthal giant”, but the image was likely generated using artificial intelligence, experts said. A Facebook post sharing the image states: “This is the last know human Giant Neanderthal!” and adds that Neanderthals “died out” thousands of years ago, so “no Neanderthal's DNA is found in modern times” (here). Contrary to the online claims, Neanderthal DNA has been extracted from these skeletal remains and analysed extensively. The earliest version of the image of a purported “Neanderthal giant” that Reuters could find appears on the official subreddit for Midjourney, an AI-based system that generates images based on text prompts entered by users (bit.ly/423OozQ). The image does not show the last Neanderthal giant, it is likely AI-generated.

☆ EFL signs record broadcasting deal with Sky Sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

EFL clubs unanimously voted to accept the deal, which will see over 1,000 matches being broadcast or streamed from the 2024-25 to 2028-29 seasons. The EFL, which organises the professional leagues below the top flight Premier League, said the arrangement would be made up of guaranteed payments of 895 million pounds and 40 million pounds in marketing benefits. "This is the biggest deal in football, in terms of the number of matches being broadcast," Sky Sports Managing Director Jonathan Licht said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the EFL and its 72 member clubs to give fans the most entertaining viewing experience." The deal is worth only a fraction of the value of the Premier League's, however.

[1/2] Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro leaves his home following a search operation, in Brasilia, Brazil, May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, May 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian police on Wednesday raided former President Jair Bolsonaro's home and seized his cell phone as part of an investigation into his COVID-19 vaccination records. The investigation may answer questions about how Bolsonaro, a strident coronavirus skeptic who vowed never to get a COVID vaccine, was registered as vaccinated in health records made public in February. Bolsonaro confirmed the raid on his home in Brasilia to journalists and reiterated that he had never taken a COVID vaccine. Police said they were investigating "false data" allegedly added to a national COVID-19 database between November 2021 and December 2022, when Bolsonaro was president.

Companies would also have to pay content providers and copyrights on material posted on their sites. The Brazilian proposal is shaping up to be one of the world's strongest legislations on social media, comparable to the European Union's Digital Services Act enacted last year. They also say it will endanger free posting services for users while allowing censorship as practiced in authoritarian societies. Brazil's Justice Minister Flavio Dino has asked the consumer protection authority to investigate whether the companies engaged in "abusive practices" in campaigning against the bill. The bill was fast tracked in the lower house after a series of fatal attacks in schools which social media allegedly encouraged, and new articles added to the bill have not been debated in Congressional committees before going to the vote.

Catalonia, Spain CNN —Standing in his field of stunted, withered maize, Santi Caudevilla is very worried. It’s becoming increasingly hard to make ends meet as crops shrivel through lack of water – or cannot be planted at all. “This is the worst period that we have had for the last 100 years,” Samuel Reyes, director of the Catalan Water Agency, told CNN. Allison Nussbaum/NASA Allison Nussbaum/NASA These two images show shrinking water reservoirs in the Catalonia region of Spain. In April, Spain requested emergency funding from the European Union to help farmers cope with the impacts of the drought.

SummarySummary Companies Silver, platinum, palladium set for monthly gainDollar eyes monthly fallApril 28 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Friday as the dollar firmed in the run up to U.S. inflation data, but economic jitters kept safe-haven bullion on course for a second consecutive monthly rise. Spot gold edged 0.2% lower to $1,983.01 per ounce by 0915 GMT, but was up 0.8% for the month. But "a sudden deterioration in the bank sector crisis could trigger a rush to safe-havens likely to see gold prices soar above previous records," Evangelista added. A weaker dollar makes bullion more affordable for overseas buyers. Silver fell 0.5% to $24.82, platinum shed 1% to $1,066.57, while palladium was flat at $1,495.13 -- all headed for monthly gain.

☆ Bolivia takes control of Banco Fassil, executives arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, April 26 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government took control of one of the country's largest banks, Banco Fassil, a senior government financial official said on Wednesday, and police arrested several executives for alleged mismanagement. "Mismanagement, unhealthy practices have caused a crisis," the executive director of Bolivia's Financial System Supervision Authority (ASFI), Reynaldo Yujra, told reporters in the city of Santa Cruz. Dozens of police were stationed at Banco Fassil's 185 branches across Bolivia on Wednesday, authorities said. Banco Fassil President Ricardo Mertens, General Manager Jorge Arturo Chávez and another executive, Hernan Suarez, were arrested late Tuesday, while a fourth, Hermes Saucedo, turned himself in early Wednesday morning, according to the Santa Cruz attorney general's office. "The financial system in general is in good health.

Exxon has held eight exploration and production contracts in Colombia, including the fracking pilot. All either have been or are being ended, suspended or liquidated, Colombia's National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) told Reuters. The proposed bill would ban development of non-conventional energy projects including fracking. "We will continue to have constructive dialogue with the Colombian government on a comprehensive assessment of our unconventional investments," Exxon spokesperson Michelle Gray told Reuters. Exxon said it continuously evaluates and prioritize investments, including those in Colombia.

Solis, 64, lives on the banks of Mexico's Villa Victoria reservoir, which supplies water to the bustling capital hours away but does not reach her own faucets. Villa Victoria is part of the Cutzamala System, the source of water for about six million people in Mexico City and the surrounding state of Mexico. Climate change, chaotic urban growth and inefficient infrastructure have strained Mexico's water supplies, pushing the Cutzamala System's stores to their lowest level in 27 years. Mexico City is also tapping alternative sources of water outside the Cutzamala System, including by replacing wells in the Zumpango area in the state of Mexico. But for people like Israel, who lives just a few minutes' drive from the Cutzamala System's water treatment plant and asked not to use his last name, the constitution's promise is increasingly distant.

[1/3] Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as security forces operate, outside Brazil’s National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, April 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's Congress on Wednesday prepared to open an inquiry into the Jan. 8 storming of key government buildings in the capital by violent demonstrators who denied the electoral victory of the recently inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The right-wing opposition has pushed for an inquiry as a way to blame his new government for security failures in Brasilia that day. Once the congressional inquiry is formally opened, there will be a fierce battle over the committee's composition. Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Ricardo Brito Editing by Brad Haynes and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chile, US miner Albemarle hold talks on lithium nationalization plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Lithium evaporation ponds are seen at Albemarle Lithium production facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, U.S. October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaSANTIAGO, April 25 (Reuters) - Chile's state development office Corfo said on Tuesday it met with U.S.-based miner Albemarle (ALB.N) to discuss the South American country's plan to nationalize the lithium industry. Chile's leftist President Gabriel Boric last week announced that control of the country's vast lithium operations would over time be transferred from Albemarle and SQM (SQMA.SN) to a separate state-owned company. Chile has the world's largest lithium reserves. He added that Albemarle, the world's largest producer of lithium, wants to grow in Chile and in the Atacama salt flat with new technologies.

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