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☆ Activists dressed as birds and trees rally for nature at COP15 in Montreal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People take part in a march during the opening of COP15, the two-week U.N. Biodiversity summit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Christinne MuschiMONTREAL, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people on Saturday braved sub-zero temperatures to march the streets of Montreal, the host city of this year's U.N. biodiversity summit, demanding a strong new deal to protect nature worldwide. Wearing costumes to look like birds, trees and caribou, activists said the COP15 summit could fail to meet the urgency of the issue, with about 1 million plant, insect and other animal species now threatened with extinction. Arkilaus Kladit, a member of the Knasaimos-Tehit tribe, traveled to Montreal from West Papua, Indonesia. Countries' ministers join the negotiations next week in Montreal with the hope of adopting a deal to guide conservation through 2030 and beyond.

☆ Factbox: UK sets out financial sector reforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday set out plans to overhaul the financial sector including a review of rules to make bankers accountable for their decisions and easing capital requirements on smaller lenders. Here are some of the measures announced:- Reforming the Ring-FencingRegime for Banks- Issuing new remit letters for the PRA and FCA with clear, targeted recommendations on growth and international competitiveness- Reforming securitisation regulation- Launching a Call for Evidence on reforming the Short Selling Regulation- Welcoming the PRA consultation on removing rules for the capital deduction of certain non-performing exposures held by banks- Overhauling the UK’s regulation of prospectuses- Committing to establish the independent Investment Research Review- Committing to having a regime for a UK consolidated tape in place by 2024- Consulting on reform to the VAT treatment of fund management- Consulting in Q1 2023 on bringing Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings providers into the regulatory perimeter- Consulting on a UK retail central bank digital currency alongside the Bank of England in the coming weeks- Publishing a response to the consultation on expanding the Investment Manager Exemption to include cryptoassets- Laying regulations in early 2023 to remove well-designed performance fees from the pensions regulatory charge capReporting by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Holi-Drag Storytime' for children canceled because of right-wing protesters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

More than 50 demonstrators, including members of the Proud Boys, gathered near the church Saturday morning and shouted, chanted and held up signs. Saturday morning, speaking on the event's stage, framed by holiday decor that included a Christmas tree in the rainbow colors of the pride flag, Red Oak Community School manager Cheryl Ryan made an emotional video address explaining why "Holi-Drag Storytime" was canceled. Ryan blamed local leaders, including law enforcement, for letting members of the Proud Boys and other right-wing demonstrators gather while the audience for "Holi-Drag Storytime" ultimately could not. The National Center for Transgender Equality said Saturday's cancelation is another example of right-wing incursions, including violence, on LGBTQ+ rights. The first “Holi-Drag Storytime” was took place successfully in Dec. 8, 2021, on the grounds of Columbus' Vanderelli Room art gallery.

☆ Blended travel lets people switch from work to leisure with ease. Here's how hospitality and travel companies are accommodating this experience.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Crowne Plaza Hotels | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For business travelers, this means combining work with leisure or blended travel. Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts reimagined its hotel spaces, amenities, and service culture to help travelers flex between work and leisure. "Many other hospitality brands put the blend into bleisure, but at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, we know the future is about flexibility." Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts"It's vital to provide these transitional moments for the new breed of connected traveler," Taggart said. Book your blended travel experience at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

☆ Trump doesn't have 'absolute immunity' over efforts to overturn 2020 election, judge says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A federal judge on Monday rejected former President Donald Trump’s argument that he has “absolute immunity” in response to a lawsuit alleging he committed civil rights violations in his attempts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results. "For these reasons, the court concludes that former President Trump is not immune from monetary damages in this suit." NBC News has reached out to attorneys for Trump and the Republican National Committee for comment. “The court is also cognizant that the individual plaintiffs are Black voters who are particularly targeted by former President Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud,” he continued. The case was filed before the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, while the then-president was challenging election results in numerous states.

☆ Judge proposes Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes serve her 11-year sentence in a 'minimum-security' Texas prison camp
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A district judge proposed for Holmes to be sent to a prison camp at Bryan, Texas, court records show. Holmes was sentenced to 135 months in prison on November 18. District Judge Edward Davila recommended for Holmes to be designated to the Federal Prison Camp at Bryan, Texas, according to a November 21 filing. The Federal Prison Camp in Bryan is a minimum-security prison that houses female inmates. Holmes was sentenced to 135 months, or 11 years and 3 months, in prison on November 18.

☆ We now know what Budweiser will do with the beer it can’t sell at the World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —Qatar’s last-minute decision to ban alcohol at World Cup stadiums has left Budweiser with loads of beer left on its hands. pic.twitter.com/Vv2YFxIZa1 — Budweiser (@Budweiser) November 19, 2022Last week — just a few days before the World Cup was set to begin — Qatar announced that the eight stadiums couldn’t sell alcoholic Budweiser, leaving fans with only one option for beer: non-alcoholic Bud Zero. “As partners of FIFA for over three decades, we look forward to our activations of FIFA World Cup campaigns around the world to celebrate football with our consumers,” an AB-InBev spokesperson said in a previous statement. So, the decision threw a wrench into the company’s World Cup marketing plans, as the decision dramatically reduces its presence for thousands of fans at the World Cup. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will take place through December 18.

"It was dangerous," one fan carrying a child aged nearly four, who had exited the holding area, told Reuters. While there was chaos in the holding area, the scene inside the park seemed pleasant, with Brazilian fans Andrea Nascimento and Raphael de Jesus appreciating the atmosphere. "This is my third World Cup after 2014 and 2018, and so far everything has been very well organised." Fans gathered below the TV studios, craning their necks to try to get a view of the action on the big screens through the windows. A group of fans sat inside a Majlis, an air-conditioned sitting room, with their eyes glued to a television screen.

☆ Budweiser World Cup campaign curbed, not crashed, by Qatar beer ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Budweiser has been a World Cup sponsor since the 1986 tournament in Mexico. STRICT CONTROLSBut Qatar 2022 was always going to be different, as the first World Cup held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public. He added that FIFA and Budweiser had been partners for decades and looked forward to being partners in the future. Doukeris though has said that the far greater impact in terms of beer sales is from fans across the globe, many with a AB InBev beer in hand - from a Jupiler in Belgium to a Brahma in Brazil. Indeed, the brewer has launched its biggest ever World Cup campaign in over 70 markets, more than double the number of participating countries, compared with just over 50 for the 2018 edition.

In a last minute U-turn, two days before the tournament's opening match, international soccer governing body FIFA said on Friday that alcoholic beer would not be sold at Qatar's World Cup stadiums. Now fans can only consume beer at the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha. "Not having alcohol is not good because the World Cup it's a party of the world," said Brazilian fan Julio Cesar, wearing a felt hat in his country's colours. The 2022 World Cup is the first edition of the tournament held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public. For the fans unfazed by Qatar's dire human rights record, the absence of beer at World Cup venues has proven a major disappointment.

☆ Qatar Bans Beer Sales at World Cup Stadiums
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Joshua Robinson | Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DOHA, Qatar—After more than a decade of speculation surrounding how the Qatar World Cup would handle thirsty soccer fans, organizers abruptly said Friday that beer would no longer be available within the perimeter of the stadiums here. The decision, which came just two days before the tournament’s opening match, upended existing plans between FIFA, the host nation, and Budweiser to make beer available in certain areas before and after games in a country where sales of alcohol are highly restricted.

☆ No alcohol sales permitted at Qatar's World Cup stadium sites
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The announcement comes two days before Sunday's kickoff of the World Cup, the first to be held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public. For years, Qatar's tournament organisers have said that alcohol would be widely accessible to fans at the tournament. Budweiser has been a World Cup sponsor since 1985, the year before the event was held in Mexico. "Tournament organisers appreciate AB InBev’s understanding and continuous support to our joint commitment to cater for everyone during the FIFA World Cup," the statement said. Questions have swirled around the role alcohol would play at this year's World Cup since Qatar won hosting rights in 2010.

☆ What is Bud Zero, the only beer Budweiser can sell at the World Cup?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —In a surprise reversal, Qatar announced a ban of alcoholic beer at the eight stadiums hosting the World Cup. One serving of Bud Zero has 0 grams of sugar and 50 calories. “As partners of FIFA for over three decades, we look forward to our activations of FIFA World Cup campaigns around the world to celebrate football with our consumers,” an Anheuser-Busch InBev spokesperson said in a statement. Just a few days ago, reports showed World Cup workers moving beer tents into less visible areas of stadiums. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 kicks off Sunday and lasts until December 18.

☆ No alcohol sales permitted at Qatar's World Cup stadium sites - FIFA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DOHA Nov 18 (Reuters) - In a reversal, alcoholic beer will not be sold at Qatar's World Cup stadiums, world soccer governing body FIFA said in a statement on Friday. The announcement comes two days before Sunday's kickoff of the World Cup, the first to be held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public. "Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters," a FIFA spokesperson said in the statement. "Tournament organisers appreciate AB InBev’s understanding and continuous support to our joint commitment to cater for everyone during the FIFA World Cup," the statement said. Questions have swirled around the role alcohol would play at this year's World Cup since Qatar won hosting rights in 2010.

Doha, Qatar CNN —Just two days before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar, soccer’s world governing body FIFA confirmed that no alcohol will be sold at the eight stadiums which will host the tournament’s 64 matches. “Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeter,” said the FIFA statement. “There is no impact to the sale of Bud Zero which will remain available at all Qatar’s World Cup stadiums,” added the FIFA statement. “The tournament organisers appreciate AB InBev’s understanding and continuous support to our joint commitment to cater for everyone during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” continued the FIFA statement. The 2022 Qatar World Cup runs from November 20 until December 18.

☆ Attabotics raises $71 million as startups vie with Amazon over robotic warehouse of the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Attabotics' all-in-one automated fulfillment system is condensed into a single vertical structure, using robotic shuttles to pick goods and then deliver to workers. Attabotics, a 3-D robotics supply chain company, has raised $71.7 million in new funding to continue its push into automatizing warehouses. The raise comes amid the push to further optimize shipping fulfillment and warehouse technology as e-commerce continues to grow. Amazon has steadily added to its fleet of warehouse robots since it acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, which has now become Amazon Robotics, the company's in-house incubator of robotic fulfillment systems. In June, Amazon unveiled its first fully autonomous robot that can operate alongside warehouse workers, in addition to other systems that can sort and move packages.

☆ Beer to cost nearly $14 per half-litre inside Qatar's main World Cup fan zone - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The beer maker will also serve beer within the ticketed perimeter surrounding each stadium, where the beer price is "to be confirmed," said the source, who declined to be named. "We recognise there is an issue with price," Qatar 2022 Chief Executive Nasser Al Khater said in 2019. At the FIFA Club World Cup held in Qatar that year a half-litre of beer cost around $6.50. Qatar's World Cup organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, would not confirm the price of beer served inside the fan zone when contacted on Tuesday. "Pouring times and number of pouring destinations remains the same across all eight World Cup stadiums," the spokesperson said in a statement.

☆ Fed's Brainard: Crypto finance needs strong regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market shows the need for it to be firmly regulated the same way traditional finance is, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said on Monday. "It's really concerning to see that retail investors are really getting hurt by these losses," Brainard said in an interview with Bloomberg in Washington, repeating her long-held view that crypto finance needs strong regulation. While the crypto industry has touted digital assets as fundamentally different from traditional finance, Brainard has argued the sector has proven to be susceptible to the same risks and should be subject to the same rules. "It reinforces I think this need to make sure that crypto finance, because it is no different than traditional finance in the risks that it exposes, needs to be under the regulatory perimeter." {nL4N32A0P7}"There need to be strong regulatory guardrails," Brainard said, noting that could include bringing some crypto finance into compliance with existing rules and in some cases expanding regulation.

K9s for Warriors, an organization that has rescued over 1,500 dogs from shelters and trained them as service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, matched Romero with Puppy — an Australian shepherd — in June. His wife, Brenda, who is a nurse practitioner in psychiatry, encouraged him to apply for a service dog. So far, O’Haire said, research based on participants from K9s for Warriors is showing that veterans with service dogs are struggling significantly less. And for those who are employed, there’s five times less absenteeism from work due to health.”But getting a service dog for veterans with PTSD is still a challenge. “The waitlist for service dogs on average tends to be two years.

☆ Dozens killed in Somalia after explosions rock capital city
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

One ambulance responding to the first attack was destroyed by the second blast, director Abdulkadir Adan added in a tweet. People observe a destroyed building and vehicles at the scene of two explosions in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday Oct. 29, 2022. Farah Abdi Warsameh / AP“I was 100 meters away when the second blast occurred,” witness Abdirazak Hassan said. An Associated Press journalist at the scene said the second blast occurred in front of a busy restaurant during lunchtime. The attack occurred at Zobe junction, which was the scene of a huge al-Shabab truck bombing in 2017 that killed more than 500 people.

☆ An embarrassing defeat 73 years ago is a preview of the problems China would face in an attack on Taiwan today
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Chinese Communist troops who stormed Kinmen island in October 1949 expected a quick victory. The planChinese Communist troops take prisoners at bayonet point after heavy fighting in Shanghai on May 21, 1949. Kinmen Island, 59 square miles in size and home to some 40,000 people, was essential to this plan. A model of a soldier in a bunker near the Hujingtou Battle Museum in Little Kinmen, Taiwan in April 2018. By day's end, the PLA troops who had retreated to the beaches had also surrendered.

☆ Factbox: What is known about the drone attack on Crimea?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russia said 16 air and maritime drones attacked civilian and Black Sea Fleet vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in Crimea at 0420 Kyiv time on Saturday. Unverified footage on social media showed what appeared to be maritime drones speeding across the water towards a Russian battleship while bullets were fired at the drone. Ukraine has neither denied nor confirmed that it carried out the drone attack on Sevastopol and has instead suggested that Russia carried out the attack on itself so that it could suspend participation in the grain deal. Russia says it has recovered the wreckage of some of the maritime drones. The defence ministry said one of the maritime drones appeared to have started from within the security zone of the grain corridor itself.

☆ Fact Check-Alexander Gleason’s map of the world does not prove the earth is flat
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

One Instagram user (here) shared a TikTok video which tries to challenge the fact that that Gleason’s map is a projection of the earth as a globe. Gleason argued that the earth is flat in his 1890 book “Is the Bible from Heaven? ALL 2D MAPS DISTORT EARTHAs Gleason’s map is centered on the north pole, the edges indicate the south pole. “A projection of a person on a page is also flat (see Jeff Brown’s ‘Flat Stanley’ character), but people aren’t flat,” Bennett said. Gleason’s map is a depiction of the earth as a globe in a north-polar azimuthal equidistant projection and is not proof that the earth is flat.

☆ Koreas exchange warning shots along sea border amid tensions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, South Korea — The rival Koreas exchanged warning shots along their disputed western sea boundary on Monday, their militaries said, amid heightened animosities over North Korea’s recent barrage of weapons tests. It said the North Korean shells didn’t land in South Korean waters but South Korea is increasing its military readiness. Most of North Korea’s 26 million people have no official access to foreign TV and radio programs. North Korea said its artillery firing drills were staged as countermeasures against similar South Korean artillery drills at border areas. South Korea’s annual field exercises are set to end this Friday.

☆ They were on the run from the Taliban, abandoned by their US allies — until a Wall Street banker decided to smuggle them out of Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Nina Burleigh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

His daughter worked for the US-backed government in Kabul, prosecuting the Taliban and their followers for acts of violence against women. The war in Afghanistan effectively began on 9/11, with the attacks on Wall Street and the Pentagon. Last summer, when the Taliban overran Kabul, Calbos was in Greece visiting his father. "I see kind of a mirror image to mine in his history and his family," Calbos says. With the clock ticking on the family's temporary visas, Calbos scrambled to arrange a flight out of Pakistan.

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