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☆ Factbox: Saudi transfers this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 22 (Reuters) - Saudi clubs have spent over 750 million euros ($813.45 million)in the close season signing players with the new Saudi Pro League season having kicked off on Aug. 11. Following are the main clubs' recent large purchases:Al-Ittihad (manager: Nuno Espirito Santo since 2022)N'Golo Kante from Chelsea. (40 million pounds)Al-Ahli (manager: Matthias Jaissle since 2023)Edouard Mendy from Chelsea. (40 million euros)Otavio from Porto. (40 million euros)Malcom from Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Persons: Nuno Espirito, N'Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Matthias Jaissle, Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, Mahrez, Allan Saint, Franck Kessie, Roger Ibanez, Merih Demiral, Luis Castro, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles, Seko, Sadio Mane, Jorge Jesus, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic, Savic, Malcom, Yassine Bounou, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Steven Gerrard, Moussa Dembele, Jack Hendry, Jordan Henderson, Tommy Lund, Ken Ferris, Ed Osmond, Toby Davis Organizations: Saudi Pro League, Nuno Espirito Santo, Manchester City, AS Roma, Atalanta, Inter Milan, Manchester United, RC Lens, Bayern Munich, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Paris St Germain, Fulham, Olympique Lyonnais, Club Brugge, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Ittihad, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Celtic, Liverpool, Al, Ahli, Manchester, Newcastle, Barcelona, Porto, Hilal, Lazio, Paris, Sevilla, Gdynia

☆ Tropical storm warning for Texas with storm expected Tuesday morning
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Jennifer Gray | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The storm’s center is expected to move inland over south Texas by midday Tuesday, hurricane center said. A tropical storm warning is in effect for portions of South Texas south of Port O’Connor and a tropical storm watch has been issued from Port O’Connor northward to Sargent. If it becomes a tropical storm, it could be named Harold, depending on whether another area in the Atlantic Ocean closer to Africa develops into a tropical storm first. Atlantic hurricane season exploding to lifeThis storm is the latest sign of the Atlantic hurricane season exploding into action. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the southern side of Hispaniola, while tropical storm watches cover the northern side.

Persons: Harold, Michael Lowry, Lowry, Storm Franklin, ”, Gert, Emily, Phil Klotzbach Organizations: CNN, National Hurricane Center, Corpus Christi, Atlantic, of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University Locations: South Texas, Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Mexico, Port O’Connor, Port, Sargent, Africa, Port Mansfield , Texas, Gulf, Corpus Christi, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Central Texas, Hispaniola, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Caicos, Caribbean

☆ Tropical Storm Franklin to bring heavy rains, US NHC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Franklin is expected to cause heavy rains over parts of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. The storm was located about 250 miles (305 km) south-south-east of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 km per hour), the Miami-based forecaster said. "The heavy rainfall may produce areas of flash and urban flooding as well as river rises and mudslides. With Franklin forecast to strengthen further during the next 48 hours, a Tropical Storm Warning has also been issued for the southern coast of Hispaniola, which includes the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Reporting by Deep Vakil and Ananya Bajpai in Bengaluru, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Storm Franklin, Ed Osmond Organizations: U.S, National Hurricane Center, Franklin, Thomson Locations: Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Miami, Haiti, Bengaluru

☆ Patricia Kowsmann — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Patricia KowsmannPatricia Kowsmann is a Europe finance reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She covers all things touching money, including banks, financial scandals, economic sanctions and crypto. She was a finalist in the 2014 Sabew Awards and the British Press Awards for uncovering a financial scandal at Portuguese lender Banco Espírito Santo, which ended up collapsing. She previously covered the eurozone crisis from Portugal, banks in London and the financial and real-estate sectors in Singapore. She started her career at the Journal covering corporate filings in Washington.

Persons: Patricia Kowsmann Patricia Kowsmann Organizations: Wall Street, Society for, Overseas Press Club of America, British, Banco Espírito Santo Locations: Europe, Brazil, Portugal, London, Singapore, Washington

☆ Saudi league set to kick off after raiding Europe's top clubs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Shady Amir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Soccer Football - Opening of 2023-2024 Saudi Pro League - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - August 7, 2023 General view of the trophy at the opening of the Saudi Pro League Saudi Pro League Media Office/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - When the new Saudi Pro League season kicks off on Friday it will herald a new dawn for football in the Gulf kingdom which has spent close to half a billion dollars luring top players and coaches from traditional European powerhouses. Al-Ahli, in particular, are one of the few clubs that have benefited from the Saudi Public Investment Fund's (PIF) project to invest in and privatise clubs, which also include reigning champions Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr. Saudi clubs spent nearly 450 million euros in the close season signing players, most from elite teams in Europe as the PIF created a blueprint for what football fans can expect in transfer windows to come. The league turned heads when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr last season soon after the World Cup in a deal which made him the highest-paid athlete on the planet. The Portugal forward's move paved the way for more household names to sign up for a Saudi league that has increased its size from 16 teams to 18.

Persons: Hazm, Al, Riyad Mahrez, Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nassr, Ronaldo's, Nuno Espirito, Karim Benzema, N'Golo, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles, Mane, Luis Castro, Hilal, Jorge Jesus, Ruben Neves, Serbia's Sergei Milinkovic, Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Malcom, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Ettifaq, Gerrard, Henderson's, Shady Amir, Rohith Nair, Ken Ferris Organizations: Soccer, Saudi Pro League, Saudi Pro League Saudi Pro League Media, REUTERS, Saudi Public Investment, Al, Champions, Saudi, Nuno Espirito Santo, Croatia, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Barcelona, Liverpool, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Al, Ahli, Ittihad, Hilal, Saudi, Europe, Portugal, Ballon, Senegal, Portuguese, Riyadh, England

☆ Altice’s beaten-up debt is only a bet for the bold
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraLONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Altice’s debt is a bet for the bold. Patrick Drahi’s telecoms group is sitting on a $60 billion debt burden, and faces rising borrowing costs and a corruption investigation. Drahi will therefore need to sell assets to cut debt, which starts to come due in 2025. Both Altice France and Altice International are trying to sell their data centre businesses, which could raise some 700 million euros, bankers say. Yet Altice France alone has some $19 billion of debt coming due by 2029.

Persons: Patrick Drahi, Violeta Santos Moura, Patrick Drahi’s, Drahi –, Armando Pereira, Altice, Drahi, “, ”, Pereira, Xavier Niel’s, Manuel Magalhaes e Silva, Altice International’s, Alexandre Fonseca, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: French, REUTERS, Violeta Santos Moura LONDON, Reuters, Altice USA, Altice, Bouygues Telecom, Banco Espírito Santo, Public, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Moroccan, Europe, United States, Portugal, Israel, Dominican Republic, Orange, Altice France, Banco Espírito, Portuguese, New York, London

☆ Dominican Republic signs preliminary pact to explore building refinery in Guyana
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Kiana Wilburg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Guyana President Irfaan Ali meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2022. Any project would be at least 51% owned by the Dominican Republic government, according to the terms of the preliminary agreement, which was seen by Reuters. The pact was signed by Guyana President Irfaan Ali and Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader during Ali's trip to Santo Domingo. "(The) Dominican Republic is also interested in exploring for oil, food production and petrochemicals," in Guyana, Ali added without providing details. The potential alliance with the Dominican Republic is for a second refinery project in Guyana.

Persons: Irfaan Ali, Antony Blinken, Sarah Silbiger, Luis Abinader, Ali, Kiana Wilburg, Matthew Lewis, Grant McCool Organizations: U.S, State Department, REUTERS, Companies Exxon Mobil Corp, GEORGETOWN, Dominican Republic, Reuters, Guyana, Guyanese, Authorities, Exxon Mobil, Thomson Locations: Guyana, Washington , U.S, Dominican Republic, Dominican, Santo Domingo, Guyanese, Georgetown

☆ Unprecedented ocean heat is changing the way sharks eat, breathe and behave
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“An increase in metabolic rates means that sharks are using more energy to just be alive and swim,” Di Santo told CNN. Some fish species are not able to find new, suitable habitats, which causes a decline in their population. “It is important to consider that sharks are very much tuned in the behavior of their prey,” Di Santo said. “These small-scale movements can be just as crucial for their survival as poleward relocations,” Di Santo said. Zidowitz said progress on conservation to protect shark species is “too slow to keep pace” with the numerous threats they face, yet she remains hopeful.

Persons: Heike, Michele Spatari, Valentina Di Santo, biomechanist, Di, ” Di Santo, Di Santo, ”, Joseph Prezioso, Zidowitz, ” Zidowitz Organizations: CNN — Sharks, International Union for Conservation of, World Wildlife, CNN, ”, Cape, Getty, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration Locations: Germany, Umkomaas, Durban, South Africa, AFP, Cape Cod , Massachusetts

☆ A passenger was tasered and removed from a flight after his 'disorderly' behavior caused a plane to divert to a Portuguese island
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Jet2 passenger was reportedly tasered by police and removed from the plane for "unruly" behavior. He prompted the plane to land unscheduled on a Portuguese island 330 miles from its destination. A passenger on a flight to a Spanish holiday destination has been arrested and detained by Portuguese police for "disobedience" after being accused of "disorderly" behavior on a flight, The Scottish Daily Express reported. A Jet2 spokesperson told the MailOnline that the plane was diverted to "offload a disruptive passenger," which "subsequently delayed" a later flight from Tenerife to Edinburgh. Earlier this month, a "drunk" British Jet2 passenger had to be restrained by plane staff after threatening to open the aircraft door, the MailOnline reported, causing an emergency landing in Bulgaria.

Persons: Diário de Organizations: Morning, Scottish Daily Express, Porto, Madeira Regional Command, Public Security Police Locations: Spanish, Edinburgh, Scotland, Porto Santo, Madeira, Tenerife, Bulgaria

His death, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said early on Saturday that 270 people had been arrested on Friday night, bringing the total to more than 1,100 since unrest ignited. In Lyon, France's third-largest city, the gendarmes police force deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter to quell the unrest. Darmanin asked local authorities across France to halt bus and tram traffic from 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) and said 45,000 officers were being deployed, 5,000 more than on Thursday. In Paris, police cleared protesters from the iconic central Place de la Concorde square on Friday night after an impromptu demonstration.

Persons: Nahel, Juan Medina, Macron, Emmanuel Macron, Gerald Darmanin, France's, Benoit Payan, Darmanin, we're, Snapchat, Mohamed Jakoubi, Enzo Santo Domingo, Ravina Shamdasani, Laurent, Franck Lienard, didn't, Lienard, Jacques Chirac, Dominique Vidalon, Marc Leras, Jean, Stephane Brosse, Pascal Rossignol, Elizabeth Pineau, Layli Foroudi, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alison Williams, Sandra Maler, Dan Wallis, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Government, Marseille, TF1, French soccer, Stade de France, de, Meta, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Nanterre, Paris, France, PARIS, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille, Spanish, Bilbao, Brussels, Aubervilliers, U.S, Geneva, Amsterdam

☆ Madrid joins race for high-spending tourists with bet on five-star hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A swimming pool is seen at the top of Hyatt's Thompson Madrid Hotel, overlooking central Madrid, Spain, June 13, 2023. RISING ROOM RATESThe arrival of luxury hotels has marked a new peak in room rates. "We're seeking to capture the highest-spending international tourists," said Madrid's tourism director, Luis Martin. Employment in Madrid's tourism sector has grown by 15% since 2019, compared with 5.4% nationally. "The Spanish tourism sector has always tried to compete with other destinations on low prices," he said.

Persons: Hyatt's, Violeta Santos Moura, Santo Mauro, Richard Brekelmans, ”, Carlos Erburu, Thompson, Antonio Catalan, Alejandro Pitashny, Luis Martin, Jose Maria Martinez, Corina Pons, Belen Carreño, Charlie Devereux, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Madrid Hotel, REUTERS, Violeta Santos Moura MADRID, Hotels, Puerta del Sol, Dior, Marriott, Santo, Santo Mauro Palace, Westin, Ritz, Universal Music, Southern, Madrid, Colliers, Hyatt Hotels Corp, Reuters, Robuchon, Michelin, Airlines, Air, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Europe, Paris, London, Milan, Puerta del, Southern Europe, Barcelona, United States, Rome, Argentine, Iberia, America, Air China, China, Spanish

☆ Canada, Dominican Republic reach agreement over Haitian crisis response
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, June 21 (Reuters) - Canada and the Dominican Republic have agreed that Canada will coordinate assistance for Haiti by boosting staff at its embassies in Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, the countries said in a joint statement on Wednesday. "Canada and the Dominican Republic have solid bilateral relations and are long standing partners including on regional security matters," the joint statement said. Both countries agree that the Haiti crisis requires enhanced international cooperation, humanitarian, and security assistance, the statement said. "We will enhance coordination in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Canada and other locations as required including through increased presence at the Canadian embassies in Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo," the countries said in the statement. The Dominican Republic has strained relations with Haiti, with which it shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Persons: Santo Domingo, Melanie Joly, Roberto Alvarez, Ariel Henry, Steve Scherer, Ismail Shakil, Chris Reese, Sandra Maler Organizations: OTTAWA, Canada's, Dominican, Haitian, United, Thomson Locations: Canada, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Port, Dominican, Hispaniola, Santo, United States, Ottawa

☆ Ecuador authorities confiscate pigs, fighting cocks from prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Members of Ecuador's security forces confiscate pigs in a high security jail, in Santo Domingo, Ecuador in this image released June 16, 2023 and obtained from social media. Fuerzas Armadas del Ecuador via Twitter/via REUTERSJune 16 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean security forces have confiscated pigs, fighting cocks and more than two dozen bladed weapons, among other items, from a high-security wing of Bellavista prison in the city of Santo Domingo, the country's military said on Friday. Police and operatives of the SNAI prison authority were shown wheeling out two pigs from the prison in images shared by Ecuador's military in a message posted on Twitter. The authorities also removed 12 fighting cocks, 26 bladed weapons, 16 electrical items, and other objects, they tweeted, without saying how the animals ended up there. Ecuador's prisons are plagued by poor conditions and violence, the latter leading to the deaths of hundreds of inmates.

Persons: Oliver Griffin, Richard Chang Organizations: Twitter, REUTERS, . Police, Thomson Locations: Santo Domingo, Ecuador, del Ecuador

☆ Dominican Republic, Canada disagree over Haitian police aid office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Harold Isaac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 16 (Reuters) - As Haiti's police struggle to contain powerful armed gangs, a disagreement between the Dominican Republic and Canada spilled out into the public on Friday, further complicating an international plan to boost Haiti's outgunned police force. A day after Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced plans to set up a Canadian office to coordinate support for Haiti's national police this summer in the neighboring Dominican Republic, her Dominican counterpart denied any deal authorizing an office on Dominican territory. In a post on social media, Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez said no deal been struck, adding that the Dominican government has not even discussed such a plan. The statement did not say whether the location would be in the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. On Thursday, Joly announced plans to coordinate a police support operation from a base in the Dominican Republic and thanked Alvarez for providing it, according to a transcript from a Canadian government official.

Persons: Melanie Joly, Roberto Alvarez, Santo Domingo, Joly, Alvarez, Ariel Henry, Harold Isaac, Sarah Morland, Sandra Maler, William Mallard Organizations: PORT, Canada's, Dominican, Reuters, Haitian, Canadian, United, Thomson Locations: Dominican Republic, Canada, Dominican, Haiti, Hispaniola, Haitian, Santo, United States

☆ Françoise Gilot, artist whose career transcended relationship with Picasso, has died at 101
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Benjamin Sutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Françoise Gilot, a tireless artist who defied simple categorization — and efforts to define her merely as a footnote in the story of her former lover Pablo Picasso — died Tuesday in New York. The early years of her career coincided with World War II and the Nazi occupation of Paris. In 1970, Gilot married her second husband, Jonas Salk, a virologist who developed one of the first polio vaccines. "Paloma à la Guitare" by Francoise Gilot (1965) was part of Sotheby's (Women) Artists Sale in 2021 in London, England. In 2012, Gagosian staged the first exhibition of Gilot’s work alongside Picasso’s, “Picasso and Françoise Gilot: Paris–Vallauris 1943–1953,” which focused on works made during their relationship.

Persons: Françoise, Pablo Picasso —, Aurelia Engel, Gilot, Engel, Madeleine Decre’s, Picasso, Carlton Lake, ”, Picasso’s, Pablo Picasso, Francoise Gillot, Roger Viollet, ” Gilot, —, Claude, Paloma Picasso —, Luc Simon, Paris ’ Galerie Louise Leiris, York’s David Findley, Simon, Engel’s, Jonas Salk, Salk, Paloma, Francoise Gilot, John Phillips, Gerald Joyce, Jonas Salk —, Jonas, Gagosian, “ Picasso, John Richardson, Richardson, John Bright, “, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, WHYY’s Terry Gross Organizations: The Art, CNN, The New York Times, Paris ’ Galerie, United, Galleria Santo, Galerie Coard, Salk, Salk Institute, Acatos Publishing, New York, Penske Media, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, ville de, New Orleans Museum of Art, National Museum of Women, Arts, of Arts, National Merit, Legion Locations: New York, Paris, Neuilly, Seine, Nazi, Europe, United States, Venice, Dantesca, Turin, Pierre, ”, San Diego , California, Sotheby's, London, England, California, Antibes, ville de Paris, Washington , DC, France

☆ Karim Benzema signs for Saudi team Al-Ittihad after leaving Real Madrid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —French striker Karim Benzema has signed with Saudi Arabian team Al-Ittihad on an initial three-year deal, the club announced on Tuesday. Al-Ittihad won the Saudi Pro League (SPL) this season under the stewardship of one-time Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo and offered Benzema a deal reportedly worth more than $100 million. It now feels the time is right for a new challenge and project.”Reuniting with RonaldoBenzema also expressed joy at joining a league which already contains his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. Karim is a global football icon, he’s box office and very much at the top of his powers.”Benzema joined Real Madrid from Lyon in 2009, aged 21. He won 25 trophies with the club, making 648 appearances and scoring 354 goals – the second most in its history.

Persons: Karim Benzema, Benzema, Nuno Espirito, ” Benzema, “, Ronaldo Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, “ Cristiano Ronaldo, ”, Anmar Bin Abdullah Alhailael, Ballon, Karim Organizations: CNN, Saudi Arabian, Real Madrid, Sunday, Ittihad, Saudi Pro League, Tottenham Hotspur, Nuno Espirito Santo, ”, SPL, Saudi, Ittihad Club Locations: Ittihad, Al, Asia, Spain, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Real, Lyon

☆ Rep. George Santos says he'd rather forfeit his $500,000 bond and go to jail than out the people who guaranteed the money: court docs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Jennifer Cunningham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. George Santos has asked a judge to keep the names of the people who guaranteed his half-million-dollar bond a secret. And if the judge mandates that his guarantors be identified, Santos said he'd forfeit his bond and remain jailed until his trial, according to court documents obtained by Insider. "A few hours later on Friday, June 2, 2023, I received a call wherein a male voice just shouted what sounded like, 'Who paid Santo's bond?' Last month, Judge Shields held a clandestine hearing with the bond guarantors, court filings show, and their names have not been revealed to the public. The judge has not yet ruled on whether or not to make the suretors' names public.

Persons: George Santos, Santos, he'd, —, Anne Shields, Joseph Murray, Murray, Judge Shields, Prosecutors Organizations: Service, United States House Locations: Santos

☆ Dominican Republic: Child hanging from migration enforcement truck sparks outrage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Cnne'S Jessica Hasbun | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Shocking footage of a young child hanging from the arms of a detained woman through the barred door of a truck in the Dominican Republic has generated outrage in the country. Social media videos of the incident, which occurred Saturday in the municipality of Santo Domingo, showed the child dangling off the back of a moving immigration control truck used by local authorities to transport detainees. The child only appears to be kept from falling by a woman inside the vehicle, whose arms stretch through the bars of the door. An immigration agent sitting on the back platform of the truck, next to the child, seems to be speaking as he extends a hand and rests it on the child’s shoulder. The woman, a Haitian national, was released after the agents became aware of the situation, it also said.

Persons: Venancio Alcántara Organizations: CNN Locations: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Haitian

☆ Quito: Ecuador’s underrated capital city was the first to become a UNESCO site
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sandra Macgregor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —It’s hard not to feel a little sorry for the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. Singular churchesInside the Spanish colonial church of San Francisco in the city center of Quito. The museum even puts on a variety of shows, including a karaoke night of traditional Ecuadorian song. It’s especially busy at lunchtime when it fills to capacity with locals looking to indulge in affordable traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. Guided toursMetropolitan Touring’s “Live Quito Like a Local” walking tour is great for visitors with only a day or two to explore Quito.

Mr. Stanbro, however, was accused of assault and after he left the hospital was put in solitary confinement. At Clinton Correctional Facility, near the Canadian border, guards kicked and punched a handcuffed man, breaking his rib. In all three cases, the staff members filed false reports to cover up the assaults, court records show, and faced no discipline. The Marshall Project obtained disciplinary data on more than 290 cases in which the corrections department tried to fire guards or supervisors accused of abusing prisoners. In nearly three-quarters of those cases, the agency also accused the officers of covering up misconduct, often by acting in concert.

An officer who broke his baton hitting a prisoner 35 times, even after the man was handcuffed, was not fired. In dozens of documented cases involving severe injuries of prisoners, including three deaths, the agency did not even try to discipline officers, state records show. The records probably reflect only a fraction of the violence guards have inflicted in New York’s corrections system, experts said. These records do not detail prisoner attacks on officers, which the department and the guards’ union said have increased in recent years. A key reason the prison system finds it so hard to get rid of guards is the contract the state signed in 1972 with the union.

☆ Brazil investigates four more suspect cases of avian flu in wild birds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ana Mano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil is investigating another four new potential cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in wild birds, according to authorities from the state of Espirito Santo, where Brazil's first ever cases were confirmed this week. Detection among wild birds does not spark bans under WOAH guidelines. Espirito Santo is Brazil's third biggest egg producing state and Brazil is the world's biggest chicken exporter. The birds whose samples are now being processed were captured in the municipalities of Nova Venecia, Itapemirim, Linhares and Vitoria, Espirito Santo authorities said. Ipram is where the weakened shore birds were taken before Brazil announced its first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza on Monday.

☆ Brazil boosts bird flu defense to protect world's top chicken industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ana Mano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Per protocol, local veterinarians in Espirito Santo took samples from the birds on site and sent them to the reference lab in Campinas, Brazil. "The entire industry is mobilized to monitor the situation identified in Espirito Santo," national meat lobby ABPA said in a statement. In other countries, avian flu outbreaks in wild birds have frequently been followed by transmission to commercial flocks. Bird flu outbreaks have contributed to higher prices of poultry and eggs, normally an affordable source of protein. Since early 2022, wild birds have spread the highly infectious virus farther and wider around the world than ever before.

Companies Brf Sa FollowMay 15 (Reuters) - Brazil, the world's top chicken exporter, has for the first time confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) cases but only in wild birds, the Agriculture Ministry said on Monday. The avian influenza virus can kill entire flocks of birds and cause losses for the farming sector. Epidemiological surveillance services will be intensified to detect potential cases in wild and commercial animals in the area close to where the cases were confirmed, a government source said. The agriculture ministry said that because the cases were detected in wild animals, Brazil's status "as a country free of HPAI" was not affected. The main importers of Brazil's chicken products in April included China, Japan, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

☆ How an Architect Gave La Scala a 21st-Century Update
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Sam Lubell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past two decades, La Scala, completed by the architect Giuseppe Piermarini in 1778, has experienced its most profound changes since after World War II, when it suffered severe damage from Allied bombing raids. Mr. Botta’s first phase of work at La Scala was carried out from 2002 to 2004, and the second, begun in 2019, has just wrapped up. What is the scope of your work at La Scala? But to effectively make it work today, it needed to be much more flexible and capable than what existed in the 1700s. We’ve created a series of elements designed to make the theater function for the 2000s.

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