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☆ Senior U.S. envoy to travel to Honduras as it considers China ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TEGUCIGALPA, March 16 (Reuters) - A high-ranking envoy of President Joe Biden will travel to Panama and Honduras this month, the U.S. Department of State said on Thursday, days after Taiwan ally Honduras said it would establish formal diplomatic ties with China. "China has been suppressing Taiwan's diplomacy, so it will invest funds related to specific countries in order to block Taiwan's diplomatic development," he said. "Therefore, we very much hope that Honduras can recognize the true nature of China and hope they maintain diplomatic relations and not be deceived." While the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier. China says Taiwan is one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a view the democratically elected government in Taipei strongly rejects.

☆ Taiwan warns Honduras against 'poison' of taking aid from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The flags of Taiwan and Honduras flutter in the wind outside the Taiwan Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 15, 2023. Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had asked her foreign minister to open official relations with China. "We remind the Honduran government that it should not quench its thirst with poison, even if fully parched by debt obligations," the Taiwan ministry said. Reina said Honduras had asked Taiwan to double its annual aid to $100 million but never received an answer. Taiwan denied that, saying comments from the Honduran foreign minister did not reflect facts of their communications.

☆ Honduras ditching Taiwan raises larger geopolitical concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The national flags of Honduras and Taiwan are seen at the Republic of China Square in Tegucigalpa on March 15, 2023. Stringer | AFP | Getty ImagesHonduras' decision to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China is yet another sign of growing Chinese influence in Latin America. But some of the few remaining in Latin America, like Paraguay and Guatemala, promised Wednesday to keep their support for Taiwan. "It is a complex decision, we understand, but Honduras' foreign policy should seek to benefit the people. In that sense, Tuesday's announcement also exemplifies the American government is "losing its grasp on" Latin America, said David Castrillon-Kerrigan, research-professor on China-related issues at Colombia's Externado University.

TEGUCIGALPA, March 15 (Reuters) - Honduras' decision to seek official relations with China and cut them with Taiwan on Tuesday was about "pragmatism, not ideology," driven by rising debt and investment needs, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said on Wednesday. China does not allow countries to hold diplomatic ties with both itself and Taiwan as it claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, which Taiwan disputes. Speaking on local television, Reina said Honduras was "up to its neck" in financial issues and debt - including the $600 million it owes Taiwan - and this had partly motivated Honduras' decision to open relations with China. Honduras' decision puts pressure on Taiwan ahead of a visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the U.S. and Central America. Honduras intends to keep trade ties with Taiwan, however, Reina added during his television appearance.

☆ Proud Boy argues that Tucker Carlson's misleading January 6 footage should be reason to dismiss his seditious-conspiracy case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tucker Carlson's January 6 footage has been brought up in a January 6 seditious conspiracy trial. Lawyers representing a Proud Boys member asked a federal judge to dismiss his case. He and the co-defendants — Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl — have pleaded not guilty. The lawyers cited the Washington Post's reporting that Albert Watkins, Chansley's lawyer, never saw that footage during his client's case. It's not the first time the Proud Boys members have asked for their case to be dismissed.

☆ HP forecasts strong quarter as cost cuts, easing supply chain pressures help
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - PC maker HP Inc (HPQ.N) on Tuesday forecast second-quarter adjusted profit above estimates and re-affirmed its full-year earnings target, expecting to benefit from cost cuts and higher shipments as supply chain pressures ease. HP forecast second-quarter adjusted per share earnings between 73 cents and 83 cents, above analysts' average estimate of 76 cents. It also maintained its full-year adjusted profit target of $3.20 to $3.60 per share. The strong profit forecast overshadowed a nearly 19% drop in first-quarter revenue to $13.8 billion that also missed analysts' average estimate of $14.12 billion, according to Refinitiv data. PC shipments are expected to be down 6.8% this year, compared with a 16% decline last year, according to projections by market research firm Gartner.

☆ US home prices could tumble nearly 20% and Fed economists warn further rate hikes risk an even worse housing correction: 'The bubble hypothesis merits attention'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dallas Fed economists warned of a 19.5% housing market correction in a Tuesday research report. "[I]f the observed price-to-rent ratio grows at an explosive rate relative to its fundamental-based ratio estimated with long-term interest rate and rent growth data, the bubble hypothesis merits attention," they said. For the US housing market to return to its fundamentals, they estimated that a 19.5% correction would be necessary. There were signs that the US price-to-rent ratio began to fall in third quarter as prices cooled faster than rents, they added. For now, a modest housing correction remains the baseline scenario, but the authors warned that more hawkish monetary policy could trigger a steeper correction.

☆ Santander boss Botin expected to extol Europe, payout to sway investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Shares in Santander, the euro zone's second-biggest bank by market value, have fallen 47% since Sept. 10, 2014, while the European Stoxx 600 banks index (.SX7P) is down around 18%. "The bank will have a tailwind ... because half of the money comes from Europe. PAY-OUT FOCUSSome analysts expect a higher shareholder payout to be main plank of Santander's investor update in London. But lower valuations than European rivals and a better outlook for retail banks could help drive a share price rebound. Santander trades at a price to book value of 0.65%, compared to an average 0.73% from European peers.

☆ Ex-Proud Boy Testifies Group Sought ‘All-Out Revolution’ in Capitol Riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jeremy Bertino, second from left, testified that the Proud Boys grew increasingly desperate as former President Donald Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election results failed. WASHINGTON—Members of the far-right Proud Boys were preparing for “all-out revolution” days before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and eyeing the potential for supporters of then-President Donald Trump to violently oppose the peaceful transfer of power, a former leader of the group testified Wednesday. Jeremy Bertino, 43 years old, took the stand as a star witness for the Justice Department in its trial against former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members of the group who were charged last year with seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. All five have pleaded not guilty to that and all other charges.

☆ Sergio Ramos retires from Spain duty with parting shot at coach
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Spain's most capped player Sergio Ramos announced his international retirement on Thursday after being told by new coach Luis de la Fuente that he was not part of his plans. "The time has come, the time to say goodbye to our beloved and exciting national team," Ramos, who captained Spain 52 times, said in a statement. The Spanish FA (RFEF) confirmed to Reuters that the conversation between coach De la Fuente and Ramos took place on Thursday, but provided no further details. Ramos was dropped by former Spain coach Luis Enrique and had not made an appearance since coming on as a late substitute in a 3-1 win over Kosovo in a World Cup qualifier two years ago. "Unfortunately, it will not happen to me because football is not always fair and football is never only about football."

☆ Mexican airline Volaris hopeful Mexico recovers Category 1 safety rating in next six months
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris is "optimistic" the country will recover the coveted Category 1 safety rating, which allows airlines to open new routes to the United States, in the next six months, the airline's chief executive said on Wednesday. Mexico was downgraded in May 2021 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which argued that the country fell short of regulation airlines in accordance with international safety standards. Since then, the FAA has made a number of visits to Mexico, even establishing an office in the country in December. Mexico has proposed reforming its aviation laws, although the most significant proposals remain stuck in Congress. One such proposal would allow "cabotage," a rare practice allowing foreign carriers to open domestic routes in the country.

Bertino, of Belmont, North Carolina, pleaded guilty last fall to seditious conspiracy charges. The jury on Wednesday was shown messages in which Bertino encouraged Proud Boys at the Capitol to keep pressing and “form a sphere” to advance further on the grounds. In private messages with Tarrio, Bertino expressed elation at the riot, which forced lawmakers to flee and temporarily halted the certification of the election results in the U.S. Congress. The Proud Boys case marks the third seditious conspiracy trial to arise from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In two previous trials, several members of the far-right Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, were convicted on seditious conspiracy charges.

☆ Proud Boys defendants plan to subpoena Trump to force him to testify in their January 6 riot trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lawyers representing the Proud Boys plan to subpoena Trump to testify in the January 6 trial. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members have been charged with seditious conspiracy. "We're calling on Donald Trump to take the stand," a defense attorney said. Proud Boys' lawyers are seeking the federal government's help to serve the subpoena, according to Politico. Prosecutors have said that Proud Boys' members responded to Trump's calls to his supporters to come "protest" on January 6 when Congress met to certify the results.

☆ Chilean wildfires destroy hundreds of homes, endanger world's smallest deer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ivan Alvarado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We call on everyone who can to take care of the forests which are currently on fire, and also of our animals, specimens of vital importance," said Valentina Aravena, the manager at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Chillan. Late on Wednesday, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said the government would declare a curfew in some provinces starting on Thursday. In the rehabilitation center in Chillan, the capital of the Ñuble region, veterinarians treated burns on animals native to the woodlands, such as monito del monte, a small nocturnal marsupial, and pudus, the world's smallest deer. [1/7] A Pudu, the world's smallest deer, rescued from a wildfire, receives care from vets at a wildlife rehabilitation center of Concepcion University, as wildfires continue in the central-southern zone of Chile, in Chillan, Chile, February 8, 2023. A day earlier, a Chilean minister warned that high temperatures forecast for this week could further complicate the situation.

☆ Ex-Proud Boy says group 'celebrated' violence ahead of U.S. Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

“I can’t say it was ever overtly encouraged, but it was never discouraged, and when it happened it was celebrated,” Greene said of the Proud Boys' use of violence. Prosecutors allege that Pezzola was among the first rioters to breach the Capitol building after shattering a window with a stolen police shield. Lawyers for the defendants have argued that there was no plan to storm the Capitol and Proud Boys leadership directed members at previous rallies to only respond to left-wing counter protesters in self-defense. Greene acknowledged that he did not know many of the defendants and was not directed to use force by members of the Proud Boys leadership ahead of the riot at the Capitol. He described a “rising anger” in the crowd as Proud Boy leaders led the group in chants outside the Capitol.

☆ The Proud Boys' initiation manual has a detailed 'No Wanks' policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Proud Boys "initiation ceremony manual" details the far-right group's policy on masturbation. "A Proud Boy may not ejaculate alone more often than once every thirty days," states the group's "initiation ceremony manual," the document reads. An excerpt from a Proud Boys defense motion filed January 23, 2023 in US District Court in Washington, DC. InsiderThe Anti-Defamation League considers the Proud Boys a violent, right-wing extremist group whose members commonly engage in misogynistic, Islamaphobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration rhetoric. As detailed by journalist Andy Campbell in his book, "We Are Proud Boys," members of the group are expected to adhere to the policy if they wish to advance to the second of its four tiers of membership.

☆ In Mexico, a reporter published a story. The next day he was dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Sarah Kinosian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

A day earlier, Lopez–who ran two online news sites in the southern Oaxaca state–had published a story on Facebook accusing local politician Arminda Espinosa Cartas of corruption related to her re-election efforts. As he lay dead, a nearby patrol car responded to an emergency call, intercepted the pickup and arrested the two men. "In silence zones people don't get access to basic information to conduct their lives," said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ's Mexico representative. The infrastructure was a part of the Interoceanic Corridor–one of Lopez Obrador's flagship development projects in southern Mexico. "You would think the biggest enemy would be armed groups and organized crime," said journalist Patricia Mayorga, who fled Mexico after investigating corruption.

☆ In Mexico, a reporter published a story. The next day he was shot dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Sarah Kinosian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

One man got out, walked inside and shot the 42-year-old journalist dead. As he lay dead, a nearby patrol car responded to an emergency call, intercepted the pickup and arrested the two men. "In silence zones people don't get access to basic information to conduct their lives," said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ's Mexico representative. One of those killed was Gustavo Sanchez, a journalist shot at close range in June 2021 by two motorcycle-riding hitmen. "You would think the biggest enemy would be armed groups and organized crime," said journalist Patricia Mayorga, who fled Mexico after investigating corruption.

REUTERS/Jacob GarciaCIUDAD JUAREZ/MEXICO CITY, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Migrants on Mexico's northern border on Wednesday began entering the United States using a mobile app designed to facilitate the process of applying for asylum, although several quickly reported difficulties in using the system. Castellanos, who spoke as he was lining up to enter Laredo, Texas, from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, recommended migrants avoid taking risks to cross and to use the app instead. To receive a U.S. appointment, migrants first must go to a border entry point in Mexico determined by the app. Some migrants told Reuters the app only had appointments far from where they currently are. Reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City, additional reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta's chief product officer says the metaverse will one day be as 'important as the smartphone'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta's chief product officer said the metaverse will one day become as important as the smartphone. Speaking at a Davos panel on Wednesday, Chris Cox discussed Meta's vision for the metaverse. Cox said Meta believes that "one day that computing platform will be as important as the smartphone has become in our lifetimes." It is the "only thing Mark wants to talk about," one director level employee told Insider in April. "It's basically fomenting disorganization and anxiety," an employee told Insider at the time.

☆ Davos 2023: Thirty years on, author Neal Stephenson discusses his metaverse vision with Meta
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. A DECADE TO PAY OFFMeta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said he expected his metaverse investments to take around a decade to pay off. By that time, Cox says people will be able to take a walk with friends and family in virtual worlds as readily as they now make video or voice calls. "A more open metaverse is better," HP Chief Executive Enrique Lores said on the panel. "If someone controls the full metaverse the ability for others to add value is much smaller."

The closing arguments on Wednesday marked the end of the second major seditious conspiracy trial stemming from the attack. The Oath Keeper members are accused of conspiring to block Congress from certifying Biden's election victory. Seditious conspiracy is a rarely prosecuted Civil War-era statute that carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted. In November, a jury convicted Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and a Florida chapter leader of seditious conspiracy, but acquitted three other Oath Keeper defendants of the charge. All five Oath Keepers in that case, however, were convicted of obstructing Congress from certifying the electoral votes - a charge that can also carry up to 20 years.

☆ HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores on the economy: It's important to focus on areas we can control
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores on the economy: It's important to focus on areas we can controlEnrique Lores, HP Inc. CEO, joins 'Closing Bell' from Davos to discuss the market for computers and his thoughts on the economy.

☆ Proud Boys Jan. 6 Trial Opens for Leader, Four Others
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department on Thursday outlined its sedition case against Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four members of the group, telling jurors during a long-awaited opening statement that the five men “took aim at the heart of our democracy” by leading the Capitol riot Jan. 6, 2021. “In the days after the election, these men began calling for action—calling for war,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough during his opening remarks. “Led by Tarrio, they agreed—by any means necessary, including force—to stop Congress from certifying the election.”

Prosecutors began delivering opening arguments Thursday in the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members of the far-right extremist group involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. After the election, Tarrio posted on social media that the presidency was being stolen and vowed that his group won't "go quietly," prosecutors said. Tarrio, prosecutors say, was aware of discussions around a plan to storm the Capitol and was involved in discussions about occupying buildings, including in the Capitol complex. The group helped rile up the crowd on the day of the rally and successfully led rioters to break past police barricades and into the Capitol, prosecutors said. A protester, who claims to be a member of the Proud Boys, confronts police officers outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.

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