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[1/5] A view shows an apartment building damaged during a massive Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 30, 2023. One person died and four were injured when debris from a destroyed Russian projectile hit a high-rise apartment building sparking a fire, Ukrainian officials said. Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited the defence ministry as saying more than one air base had been hit. Moscow said it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" its neighbour and protect Russian speakers. Russia said on Monday the grain deal would no longer be operational unless a U.N. agreement with Moscow to overcome obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports was fulfilled.

☆ Delay in security treaty with Australia as PNG consults 'domestic processes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lillian Suwanrumpha/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea said a proposed security treaty with neighbour Australia would be delayed as it consults "domestic processes", a week after signing a defence agreement with the United States that sparked student protests. Papua New Guinea (PNG), a few kilometres (miles) to Australia's north, is being courted by China and the United States amid rising tensions between the two major powers. PNG Prime Minister James Marape met with Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles on Monday on the sidelines of the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul and discussed the "proposed bilateral security treaty", Marape's office said in a statement on Tuesday. Marape had "conveyed his apologies to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the delay in formalising this proposed Treaty with Australia", it added. Marles has said Australia wants to strike an "ambitious" security treaty that will see navy, airforce and army personnel from each nation working alongside each other more often.

[1/2] Danielle Smith of the United Conservative Party (UCP) gestures during her party's provincial election night party after a projected win in Calgary, Alberta, Canada May 29, 2023. Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP), defeated left-leaning New Democratic Party leader Rachel Notley on Monday, and immediately targeted Trudeau, threatening the country's ambitious climate goals. Some analysts have said deep emissions cuts are not possible without reducing oil production, which Smith fiercely opposes. "As premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans." "One of the challenges is there is a political class in Alberta that has decided that anything to do with climate change is going to be bad for them or for Alberta," Trudeau told Reuters in a January interview.

May 29 (Reuters) - United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Danielle Smith's election victory in Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta on Monday is likely to herald further friction with Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, particularly over climate change. The populist premier's win signals a further rightward shift in the traditionally conservative province, and comes despite a series of controversies and gaffes from Smith, 52, since she first became premier in October. In her victory speech, Smith was quick to take aim at Trudeau and what she described as the federal government's "harmful policies". "As premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans. In early 2022 she announced plans to run for leadership of the United Conservative Party, which was born in 2017 from a merger of the Progressives Conservatives and Wildrose Party.

☆ Foreign investors withdrew $36 bln after selling businesses in Russia - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Foreign investors who left Russia after selling their businesses there between March 2022 and March 2023 withdrew about $36 billion from the country, the state RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing analysis of data from the Central Bank. Scores of the world's biggest companies have left or scaled back their operations in Russia in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Last week, the central bank played down the impact of foreign company exits, saying that around 200 sale deals had been completed in the March 2022-23 period, with just 20% involving large asset sales, those in excess of $100 million. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a special military operation, while Kyiv and its West allies call it an unprovoked aggression to grab land. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In what was Russia's 15th air assault on the city in May and second overnight attack in a row and of similar intensity, there were no major damages or casualties in Kyiv, officials said. The attack follows the largest drone barrage launched on Kyiv the previous night, which killed one person and injured several. In Sunday's attack, 36 drones were downed over Kyiv. In its Monday attack Russia used a combination of Iranian-made Shahed drones and cruise missiles, the city's military administration said. While Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia, a series of strikes inside the country have targeted military, energy and transport infrastructure, with Moscow blaming Kyiv for the attacks.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Moscow unleashes strings of large air raids on Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AIR ATTACKS* Russia launched air attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Monday using drones and cruise missiles. Ukrainian officials said defence forces shot down more than 40 targets. * Russia unleashed what Ukrainian officials said was the largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of the war on Sunday, killing one and injuring several people. Ukrainian forces have repelled 19 enemy attacks in those regions in the previous 24 hours. * President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered stronger border security to ensure "fast" Russian military and civilian movement into Ukrainian regions now under Moscow control.

☆ Turkey's Erdogan urges voters to turn out, rival sees 'last exit'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Ezgi Erkoyun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a rally, ahead of the May 28 presidential runoff vote, in Istanbul, Turkey May 27, 2023. The two candidates are aiming to attract some 8 million voters who did not go to the polls in the first round. Erdogan got a boost earlier this week when Sinan Ogan - a nationalist politician who came third with 5.2% - endorsed him. Kilicdaroglu, who is chair of Turkey's biggest opposition party, the CHP, meanwhile secured the endorsement of the anti-immigrant Victory Party for the runoff. Polls will open at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and close at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) for more than 60 million voters.

☆ Turkey election 2023: What's at stake in the runoff?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The election takes place three months after earthquakes in southeast Turkey killed more than 50,000 people. WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR TURKEY ... [1/2] People walk next to posters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, ahead of the May 28 presidential runoff vote, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 25, 2023. Seeking a runoff boost from nationalist voters, Kilicdaroglu has in the last two weeks sharpened his anti-immigrant tone and promised to repatriate migrants. Pollsters later pointed to an unexpected surge in nationalist support at the ballot box to explain the result.

☆ Australia gets U.S. backing for critical minerals industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, May 22 (Reuters) - Australia has won the support of the United States for development of its critical minerals industry after the two countries reached an agreement to coordinate polices and investment to support the industry's growth. Australia supplies around half of the world's lithium as well as other minerals like rare earths used in batteries for electric cars and defence, and is also setting itself up as a major hydrogen producer. The agreement paves the way for Australian suppliers of these minerals, and renewable energy, to be treated as domestic suppliers under the U.S. Defence Production Act, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday. "This is about creating an enormous opportunity for Australia and I can't underline how significant this is," Albanese told press at the Quad Leaders Summit in Hiroshima. The compact will establish climate, clean energy and a shared energy industrial base as a central pillar of the Australia-United States Alliance, they said.

☆ The up-and-coming stock pickers you should have on your radar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rising stars of equity research. When it comes to equity research, these analysts are a "strong buy." For a third consecutive year, Insider reporters canvassed their sources to identify the rising stars of equity research. Click here to meet our 17 rising stars of equity research. These are 10 of the cheapest places to nab a beach house in the US.

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's raged about drag queens for months, is defending her boyfriend over an old video of him donning drag in Dallas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Greene defended her boyfriend, RSBN's Brian Glenn, after an old video of him in drag resurfaced. It does feel kind of good," Glenn said in the video. Greene, who has a strong anti-drag stance, laughed it off, saying: "The left is so stupid." Twitter account Patriot Takes posted the video on Sunday, which showed Glenn dressed like an old Caucasian woman — complete with a fluffy blonde wig, white gloves, and a pink cardigan. —Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 22, 2023Glenn did indeed re-post the video, tweeting on Sunday: "The things I did for morning show television!!

☆ A blogger who started off posting photos of LA's high-design homes on Instagram became a real-estate agent who turned his 99,000 followers into $200 million in sales last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He started a design-focused Instagram account, Take Sunset, that has almost 100,000 followers. Now he runs a team of agents named after the account that closed $200 million in deals in 2022. The couple still live in the house Kallick helped them purchase. He said the Instagram account still generates multiple leads — sometimes even from celebrities. Prospective buyers might reach out thinking they only want to see midcentury homes.

☆ Unbowed, Proud Boys are planning now for their biggest Pride Month disruptions ever, extremism watchdogs warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But this year, the Proud Boys are redoubling their anti-LGBTQ+ efforts, and are laser focused on Pride month. "It's a dangerous thing, because the Proud Boys are all about violence, and so are the Patriot Front, she said. A banner shared to a Proud Boys Telegram channel by someone calling himself a member of the Middle Tennessee Proud Boys chapter. A banner posted on several Proud Boys Telegram channels by an individual identifying themselves as a member of the Proud Boys Michiana (Michigan/Indiana) chapter. The Proud Boys' planned propaganda promoting anti-LGBTQ+ "Proud Day" celebrations timed for Juneteenth, an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the US.

☆ Fifth body found in burnt out NZ hostel, man appears in court on arson charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - A 48-year-old homeless man appeared in New Zealand court on Friday on two charges of arson as police found a fifth body in the burnt out remains of a hostel in the capital Wellington. “Until we have fully examined all parts of the building we remain reluctant to confirm the specific number of deceased,” Bennett said at press conference on Friday. A 48-year-old man, who has his name suppressed until at least his next court appearance, appeared in Wellington District Court briefly on Friday afternoon. He appeared agitated in the docks, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt over his head and dancing and making hand gestures to the media. “The scene examination will continue over the weekend and we hope to recover the fifth person as quickly as we can,” Bennett said.

☆ Japan's G7 refugee balancing act: door open for Ukrainians, but not many others
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Elaine Lies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The generosity towards Ukrainian evacuees, however, will highlight the stark contrast against Japan's track record with asylum seekers, experts and advocates say, with hopes for broader refugee policy reform still distant. Ukrainians have entered Japan under a framework set up specifically for them and are referred to as evacuees rather than refugees. "We want the world to know how bad Japan's refugee recognition system is," said Keiko Tanaka, head of Osaka-based refugee assistance group Rafiq, noting the group would hold a press conference on Sunday when the G7 summit wraps up. Private charity Nippon Foundation gave her 1 million yen ($7,400)- an annual grant it extends exclusively to Ukrainian evacuees. Advocates are guardedly hopeful the Ukrainian presence could change Japan's overall refugee policy, but Temple University Japan's political science professor James Brown thought it unlikely.

☆ Syria's Assad shakes hands, kisses cheeks with onetime foes at Arab League summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Every handshake would count, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had plenty of them at Friday's Arab League Summit - along with hugs and kisses - from his onetime foes in the region. As Assad lined up for the League's family photograph, he shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. One after the other, Arab leaders welcomed Syria's return to the Arab league and during his own address, Assad repeatedly said that Syria belonged to the Arab world. Syria's state news agency had reported that the Emir and Assad shook hands and spoke briefly on the sidelines before the summit began - but there was no statement on Qatari media. An Arab official told Reuters that the Emir did not hold any bilateral meetings and left the summit before Assad spoke.

☆ From joy to dismay, Syrians split over Assad's Arab League return
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAMASCUS/ATMEH, Syria, May 19 (Reuters) - As some Syrians welcomed President Bashar al-Assad's return to the Arab League on Friday, others expressed dismay that Arab states had welcomed back a leader they blame for death and destruction during 12 years of brutal civil war. he said, speaking at a camp for displaced Syrians in the northwestern town of Atmeh near the Turkish border. In Damascus, university student Wael Hmeideh said he hoped Syria's return to the Arab League would be good for the country. "We hope the return of Syria to the Arab league, or the return of Arabs to Syria, plays a role to solve the crisis and conflict in the country, and end the Syrian war," he said. "Let him release our prisoners and return us to our homes before they think of returning (Assad to the Arab League) and reconcile with him," he said.

☆ Factbox: Then and now: How Arab states changed course on Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

May 19 (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's attendance at an Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday is the result of big policy shifts by Arab states that once backed his opponents in Syria's civil war. The support was a point of rivalry with another Gulf Arab state, Qatar, which backed Islamist groups espousing ideologies viewed with suspicion by Riyadh. It also worked with the United States in a programme to support rebels deemed moderate by Washington. As some Arab states changed course on Assad, notably the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia showed no sign of bringing him in from the cold. Like other Arab states, Saudi Arabia is also expecting Assad to curb the trade in narcotics smuggled out of Syria.

☆ US banks rethink social media as a threat, not a marketing tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, blamed social media as an "unprecedented" factor in the lender's demise. The former CEO of First Republic Bank, Michael Roffler, also blamed social media for its collapse two months later. Bank executives and directors have ordered their companies to add social media into risk-management programs, according to regional bank executives who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. "NIP IT IN THE BUD"Banks are also contacting customers who complain on social media to address their issues quickly. The Financial Stability Board, an international body, is also investigating the role of social media in recent market turmoil, a source said.

☆ After a ‘Kill Shot’ to the Eye, a Wrestler Restarts His Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jeré Longman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After being stabilized in late September 2018, Rich was flown to Philadelphia, where he entered a rehab facility for nearly two months. During the pandemic, when Rich could not attend rehab indoors, Gina improvised at home. She and her husband also lugged foam mats to parks around Philadelphia so that Rich could continue to work with his physical therapist. “She’s really gone to war for me, which I’m so grateful for,” Rich Perry said. The family has grown more hopeful over the last eight months or so, Gina Perry said.

While there have been improvements in diversity within writers' rooms in recent years, writers of color, women of color, disabled writers and LGBTQ+ writers in Hollywood still lag in opportunities. Demands for more compensation and larger writers' rooms may be newer concerns for what Hines refers to as the "upper echelon of writers," but this has been an unresolved struggle for underrepresented writers for years. "When it comes to the issues of writers of color, there's a constant feeling of being left out of the negotiation," Hines said. Many WGA members also believe the specific strike demands, including adding larger writers' rooms, offer a better chance for writers on the sidelines to join in. "That would be absolutely huge for all kinds of underrepresented writers, and disabled writers as well, because we are wildly underrepresented," said Jamey Perry, vice chair of the WGA's Disabled Writers Committee and "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" writer.

☆ 'He'll do anything to come for you': Bang Bang, the tattoo artist to stars like Rihanna and Justin Bieber, is a controlling, vindictive boss, ex-employees say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Melkorka Licea | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Yet some former Bang Bang employees said that McCurdy's meticulously curated image as a thoughtful progressive in a rough-and-tumble industry wasn't much more than good PR. At Bang Bang, "they just woke-wash everything," one former employee said. This kind of behavior extended to other Bang Bang employees. Ganser, the Bang Bang manager, also sent Wang a text comparing her behavior to her father's, who was in prison. Photo by Gotham/GC ImagesNearly a decade after opening the first Bang Bang shop, McCurdy still sees himself as a trailblazer.

☆ After years of war, Assad returns to Arab fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

* Aug. 2011 - U.S. President Barack Obama says Assad has lost legitimacy to rule and should surrender power. * Nov. 2011 - The Arab League suspends Syria and urges its army to stop killing civilians. * Sept. 2015 - Russia joins the war on Assad's side, deploying war planes that bomb rebel-held areas - a turning point in the conflict. * March 2022 - Assad visits the United Arab Emirates and meets its leaders, his first trip to an Arab state since 2011. Assad says he will only meet Erdogan when Turkey is ready to withdraw forces from Syria.

☆ In Mexico, new non-binary passport can now sidestep male or female box
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( David Alire Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new non-binary passport was unveiled at an event hosted by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, but it came under immediate criticism by some non-binary activists as confusing gender with sex. Under the new passport policy, non-binary Mexicans who do not identify as either a man or a woman, which are gender categories, can now respond with an "X" on paperwork that asks applicants to choose between male or female, which are biological sex categories. Mexican passports did not previously ask applicants to select gender, only sex. Ebrard, who is seeking the presidential nomination of the leftist Morena party for next year's election, touted the policy as "a quantum leap" for Mexico. But non-binary Mexican activist Alex Orue argued that Ebrard mostly flubbed the attempt at progressive inclusion by blurring the difference between gender and sex.

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