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☆ A year into war, Ukraine's Zelenskiy defies Putin against the odds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/4] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sings the national anthem during his visit in Kherson, Ukraine November 14, 2022. Nor does Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched his "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 and appears to be preparing for a long war. They underestimated his leadership qualities," said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kyiv-based analyst who said Putin misjudged Zelenskiy. "(Putin) prepared a special operation not a full-fledged war ... because he thought Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian army were weak and that they would not be able to put up lengthy resistance. Anton Grushetsky, deputy director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, put public trust in Zelenskiy at 70% to 80%.

[1/4] A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building under construction in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2017. "This is a problem that is not going to change easily," said Momoko Nojo, a prominent campaigner for gender equality in Japan. The BOJ ranked 142nd of 185 central banks on gender equality, according to a report last year by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. About 11% of central banks surveyed had a female governor, a record high, while 37% had female deputy governors. That target is far below the European Central Bank, where women hold 30% of management roles.

☆ 'Identity capital' is the key to getting your dream job and making friends in your 20s, according to Gen Z and millennials on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Young professionals on TikTok are advocating for building "identity capital" to get ahead at work and in life. Identity capital has a lot more to do with connections and relationships and community." "I think of identity capital as anything you do that adds value to who you are," Jay told Insider. "The personal resources acquired developmentally become important," Côté wrote in one 2012 paper, with those personal resources being the experiences that make up identity capital; he calls identity capital the "black box of agency" where there is none. "I don't think identity capital is only valued to the extent that it's seen as profitable," she said.

☆ Sex workers are feeling the financial pain of an economic downturn — and adding emotional support for clients to their job descriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

From stripping to webcam modeling, sex workers are feeling the pain of a precarious economy. It's taking an emotional — in addition to financial — toll, since sex workers are often expected to lend their clients a compassionate ear. "Unfortunately, as sex workers, we do take the brunt of people's own stress of whatever is going on in our own lives," he added. Legal arenas of sex work are also showing signs of struggle as customers pull back from one of the world's oldest industries. Sex work saw a particular diaspora during the pandemic recession, Jungleib said, which saw a huge influx of people interested in online sex work.

☆ LeBron rewrites playbook on athlete activism on way to the top
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

He said other players would approach him during his years in the league to discuss his activism - quietly. James became a leading voice in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The four-times MVP took aim at Republican then-President Donald Trump in 2018, saying Trump had emboldened racists in the United States. In response to his criticism of Trump, Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham told him to "shut up and dribble". "He kind of maintained as broad of a consensus appeal, not only because of his activism, but also because of the way he's kind of done marketing and business and commercialization," said Hartmann.

☆ Ukraine withdraws 19 mln Russian, Soviet-era books from libraries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Yevheniya Kravchuk, deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament's committee on humanitarian and information policy, said that of the 19 million books, 11 million were in Russian. It was not immediately clear what happened to the withdrawn books. After Russia moved to annex Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Kyiv increasingly restricted the use of Russian books. "In general, the ratio of books in Russian and Ukrainian languages in our libraries is just very regretful," Kravchuk said. She added that about 44% of books in Ukraine's libraries are in Russian, the rest in Ukrainian or languages of the European Union countries.

☆ Meet the DINKWADs: The TikTok legion making everyone jealous with their double incomes, no kids, and a dog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

There's a new American Dream: Becoming a DINKWAD — double income, no kids, with a dog. It stands for double income, no kids, with a dog. You can also be a DINK — double income, no kids — or a SINK, meaning single income, no kids. And then I heard the phrase DINKWAD, which is double income, no kids, with a dog. There's an increasing acceptability of not having children; there's a decreasing stigma around not having children," Pamela Aronson, a professor of sociology and an affiliate of women's and gender studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, told Insider.

Ukraine's long-running struggle with graft has taken on added significance as Kyiv battles for survival while also pursuing a bid to join the European Union. But tackling graft has become more urgent since the European Union offered Kyiv candidate member status last June, months after Russia's invasion. The Ukrainian public, exhausted by 11 months of war, was also clearly a key intended audience for the sackings and resignations. But the same poll, which included nearly a thousand respondents across government-controlled Ukraine, found that 84% trusted Zelenskiy - up from 27% a year earlier. Additional reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Mike Collett-WhiteOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Monterey Park, the first suburban Chinatown, remains a beacon for Asians, residents say after the mass shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

When 11 people were killed in his hometown of Monterey Park on Saturday, Raymond Cheung struggled to find the words to tell his mom. After his parents immigrated from China in the 1960s, and then to the West Coast, Monterey Park was the obvious choice. “We didn’t have to worry about that in Monterey Park. Courtesy Raymond CheungA history of resilienceThe residents of Monterey Park have never been strangers to hatred and vitriol. “The folks who live in Monterey Park are super resilient.

☆ As South Korean government proposes flexible overtime rules, some fear workers may suffer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It would supersede a 2018 law that limited the work week to 52 hours - 40 hours of regular work plus 12 hours of overtime. For counting periods of a month or longer, up to 29 hours a week of overtime would be allowed, for a total of 69 work hours in one week. In a statement, the Korean Women's Associations United said "only regulations like the 52-hour workweek and pressure from labour unions can protect workers from long working hours". Extending working hours, even temporarily, affects women more than men, said Lee Min-Ah, Professor of Sociology at Chung-Ang University. Other workers say the new plan ignores a lot of the cultural and social nuances of work in South Korea.

☆ Stores say shoplifting is a national crisis. The numbers don’t back it up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Videos of brazen shoplifting incidents, like this one posted to social media in 2021, have turned retail theft into a national issue. The metric incorporates inventory losses caused by external theft, including organized retail crime, employee theft, human errors, vendor fraud, damaged or mismarked items and other losses. Whatever the numbers say, though, retailers maintain that organized retail crime has gotten worse. Organized retail crime typically refers to large-scale retail theft and fraud by groups of professional shoplifters who conspire to steal and resell stolen merchandise. The NRF estimates that organized retail crime costs companies an average of just 7 cents for every $100 in sales.

☆ Salary Transparency Is Coming — so I Decided to Tell Everyone What I Make
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +37 min

But there's a glaring catch to my support for pay transparency: I haven't actually practiced it in my own life. To find out why, I decided to commemorate the dawning age of salary transparency by telling pretty much everyone in my life what I earn. Norway responded to pay transparency with yet another level of transparency, and that brought down the level of snooping.. Thanks to its nationwide experiment, Norway has been fertile ground for scholars trying to measure the consequences of extreme pay transparency. But I do believe that as more states implement pay-disclosure laws — and as Gen Z increasingly comes to dominate the workforce — salary transparency is going to become the new norm.

☆ I'm a teacher who works at Starbucks for no salary just to cover my medical expenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Alicia Gonzalez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She had considered joining the Air Force, but returned to school instead to become a teacher. At Starbucks, her medical plan costs more than she makes, but she said it's worth it. I commuted for almost a year, then was finally able to transfer to the Starbucks three minutes from my house. My paychecks are $0.00My Starbucks income doesn't cover the full monthly cost of their premium insurance plan — but it's worth it. Starbucks won't make employees pay the remainder of a monthly premium even if their paycheck doesn't cover it.

☆ China set for historic demographic turn, accelerated by COVID traumas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Farah Master | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Ang Ran and her 2-year-old son Tang Ziang look out from their home in Beijing, China November 8, 2022. A glimpse of the scars caused by the pandemic to China's already bleak demographic outlook may come to light when it reports its official 2022 population data on Jan. 17. "In less than 80 years China’s population size could be reduced by 45%. The United Nations predicts China’s population will start to decline this year when India overtakes it as the world's most populous country. U.N. experts see China's population shrinking by 109 million by 2050, more than triple the decline of their previous forecast in 2019.

The U.S. teen birth rate hit a record low in 2019, the NCHS report shows, with fewer than 1.7 births per 100 teen girls ages 15 to 19. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. declined from 2015 to 2020, additional NCHS data shows, reaching a low of fewer than 6 births per 100 women ages 15 to 44. Guzzo said birth rates never fully recovered after the Great Recession, likely due to factors such as student loan debt, high housing prices and a shortage of full-time jobs. Fertility rates vary by region, though: States in the central U.S. have higher rates than in other parts of the country. "It could be that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will act against the continued decline in birth rate," he said.

☆ The 12 most useless college majors, according to career experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Rena Goldman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Other majors, like philosophy and anthropology, require a graduate degree and a specific role. PhilosophyPhilosophy is another niche degree that isn't much use outside the field if you don't pair it with a graduate degree. "I've run into hiring managers, colleagues, and friends who really struggle to communicate the value of that degree," Doe added. You might also need a graduate degree for some of those roles, such as professor, librarian, or lawyer. MarketingThere are plenty of career options in marketing, but Doe said the field was rapidly changing.

☆ Why Michelle Yeoh's 'shut up' at the Golden Globes was profound for Asian women
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Yeoh's moment was refreshing for Jeon, a self-proclaimed assertive Asian American woman. And for Asian women, who contend with historical pressures from within the community and beyond to make themselves small, Yeoh’s quip had a deeper meaning. She simultaneously represented other Asian women who are more compelled to speak their minds. Jeon, for example, said that she has often been reminded by loved ones to tone down her personality in spaces within the Asian American community. While many women are taught to downplay their strengths, particularly in front of men, Yeoh flexed her might in those five words.

HONG KONG — On the first day of unimpeded travel between mainland China and Hong Kong, Olivia Gai was one of the first in line. On Tuesday, the Chinese embassies in South Korea and Japan said they would stop issuing short-term visas for travelers to China. The South Korean Foreign Ministry says its restrictions on travelers from China are based on science. According to some estimates, China’s Covid death toll could reach 1 million or more in the coming months. Nonetheless, more countries have begun requiring negative Covid tests for travelers from China, and at least one country, Morocco, has banned arrivals entirely.

☆ French pension reform bill won't face backlash in parliament, but will among the population, professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFrench pension reform bill won't face backlash in parliament, but will among the population, professor saysÉtienne Ollion, sociology professor at Ecole polytechnique, explains why pushing the French pension reform bill is a political gamble for President Macron's approval rate.

☆ Violence hits Mexican cartel stronghold after arrest of El Chapo's son
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Ovidio Guzman Lopez during his arrest in Culiacan, Mexico, on Oct. 17, 2019. An escaped Mexican cartel kingpin known as “El Neto” meanwhile died after a shootout early on Thursday, four days after he fled prison in a violent mass break-out, authorities said. Police arrive on the scene after a store was looted in Culiacan, Mexico, on Jan. 5, 2023. Martin Urista / APAt Culiacan’s airport, a Mexican military flight was able to spirit Guzmán away to Mexico City. Asked if the attempt to capture Guzmán was worth another day of tension and uncertainty in Culiacan, Téllez said, “If they caught him, it was worth it.”

In recent years, U.S. tech majors have stepped up hiring and made diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) a priority. But as the industry grapples with over-hiring since mid-2020, rising interest rates and changes in business and consumer behavior, tech companies have announced deep cuts, risking their diversity efforts. The rare shakeup in big tech companies risks further disrupting diversity pledges that have already grown stagnant as companies de-emphasize DEI efforts. Equal Employment Opportunity data for 2008-2016, found that about 7% of tech firms are actively trying to diversify their workforce. This will disrupt diversity efforts even further, said Benjamin Juarez, a recruiting consultant and co-founder of Latinos in Tech.

☆ Princeton University student who went missing on campus died by suicide, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Princeton University student who went missing on campus and was found dead in October died by suicide, local prosecutors announced Wednesday. The cause of death of Misrach Ewunetie, 20, was “bupropion, escitalopram and hydroxyzine toxicity,” the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday, unveiling the autopsy results. Princeton University said in a statement Wednesday: "Our hearts go to Misrach’s family and friends, and to the wider campus community that has been shaken by this tragedy." Her brother, Universe Ewunetie, previously told NBC News their family is originally from Ethiopia and his sister grew up in Euclid, Ohio. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

Several Latinos whose lives and work left a profound imprint on American institutions — from arts and entertainment to legal and civil rights — passed away in 2022. Cavazos began his education in a two-room schoolhouse on the King Ranch in Texas, where his father was a foreman. President Reagan named Cavazos Secretary of Education in 1988, making him the first Hispanic ever to serve in the U.S. Together, “Luis” and Maria” showed young audiences that Latinos were people who worked, fell in love and were part of their community. Her goals were to give Latinos a presence in the dance world, and to instill pride in Hispanic culture.

What credit scores don't captureLenders have always needed a way to determine a borrower's creditworthiness, and credit scores were a faster, easier way to do so. "If you look at credit scores from the perspective of other social actors, like policymakers or consumer advocates, why someone does or does not repay might start to have more bearing on how you make sense of credit scores," says Kiviat. The credit scoring system can also reflect and even worsen existing racial and wealth inequality. However, the credit scoring and reporting systems can function imperfectly, leaving many of the most marginalized without credit scores or with poor credit scores. Furthermore, policymakers have been considering how to make it easier for people to access their credit scores and resolve mistakes on their credit reports.

☆ Ukraine's parallel war on corruption to unlock door to West
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The activity reflects a parallel war Kyiv is waging against high-level graft, according to Reuters interviews with half a dozen Ukrainian anti-corruption monitors and officials. It had been repeatedly opened and closed for two years due to procedural errors and shortcomings, SAPO prosecutors said at the time of the hold-ups. New anti-corruption cases include a probe launched in October into a former tax chief suspected of taking more than $20 million in kickbacks. SAPO prosecutors, for instance, earn at least $2,500 per month, or six times more than the Ukrainian monthly average. Kateryna Butko, a civic activist serving on the SAPO selection committee, acknowledged that Ukraine's fight against graft is often plodding.

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