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MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Mexico still have "differences" of opinion regarding Mexico's recovery of a coveted air safety rating, Mexico's president said on Thursday. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded Mexico to the Category 2 air safety rating more than two years ago, citing safety concerns. The U.S. wants to make clear any decision to restore Mexico's safety rating would be based on technical merits, not politics, the sources added. A joint statement from the U.S. and Mexican transportation agencies released by USDOT late Thursday did not address Mexico's air safety rating but said both governments are committed to the successful development of AIFA "in ways that will bolster the U.S.-Mexico air transportation relationship." Mexican Transportation Minister Jorge Nuno said the audit was Mexico's "last" in a statement Wednesday, implying a positive resolution.

Persons: Pete Buttigieg, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Felipe Angeles, Lopez Obrador, USDOT, Jorge Nuno, Lopez Obrador's, Kylie Madry, David Shepardson, Rosalba O'Brien, Gerry Doyle Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, U.S . Transportation, Transportation, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, WASHINGTON, U.S, Mexico, United States, Mexican, Mexico City, Benito Juarez, AIFA, Washington

It’s easy to fall for Split, Croatia’s largest seaside city, which sprouted from a palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian 17 centuries ago. Still, travelers to Split soon discover that the unofficial capital of Dalmatia, as the country’s southern coast is known, is no museum piece trapped under glass. Equal parts chic Adriatic beach town, active archeological site and proud, gritty port city, Split is fueled by long seafood lunches, ancient traditions and wine-filled evenings. “We’re great hosts,” said Ivica Puljak, the physicist-turned-mayor of Split, in an interview. “But our priority is that Split remains a living center for our citizens.”

Persons: Diocletian, “, ”, Ivica Puljak Locations: Split, Dalmatia

☆ Hong Kong journalist wins appeal at top court over Yuen Long documentary
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, June 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy won an appeal at the city's top court on Monday against her conviction linked to checking vehicle registration records for a documentary about an attack at a train station on pro-democracy protesters in 2019. Bystanders and journalists were also beaten by the assailants during their attack on the protesters. Choy, whose documentary was focused on the police handling of the mob attack, had pleaded not guilty. Chan also argued that the prosecution failed to mention press freedom, which is protected under the city’s mini constitution. ($1 = 7.8388 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting By Justin Fung and Jessie Pang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree & Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bao Choy, convicting, Choy, Derek Chan, Chan, Convicting Chan, Ivy Chui, Justin Fung, Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: RTHK, HK, Appeal, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Long

The FAA downgraded Mexico's aviation safety rating to Category 2 in 2021, citing safety deficiencies and blocking Mexican carriers from adding new U.S. flights. Since Mexico lost the rating, the FAA has conducted a series of audits on the local civil aviation authority and its compliance with international safety standards. Mexican newspaper El Financiero had earlier reported that Mexico had already recovered the safety rating, citing government sources, but a short time later backtracked on the initial report. In the two years since the FAA dropped Mexico to Category 2, the country has revamped its aviation standards, replacing officials and most recently overhauling its civil aviation law. Asked to comment on Mexico's air safety rating, an FAA spokesperson would only say the agency continues "to provide assistance to Mexico's civil aviation authority."

Persons: El Financiero, Andres Conesa, Kylie Madry, Adriana Barrera, Carolina Pulice, Ana Isabel Martinez, Brendan O'Boyle, David Alire Garcia, Diane Craft Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, El, U.S, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, United States

☆ Journalists to complete book on saving Amazon rainforest by murdered British writer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - One year after British reporter Dom Phillips was murdered in Brazil while working on a book about saving the Amazon rain forest, a group of journalists aims to complete the project, his family and former colleagues said on Thursday. They will use notes and transcriptions of interviews conducted by Dom Phillips and conduct their own research trips to the Amazon region to complete the missing chapters. Other journalists who also have experience covering issues related to the Amazon will fact-check and proofread the draft chapters, Watts said. "Dom was killed for this book," he said. "The least we can do is finish the task to which he had devoted the latter part of his life.

Persons: Dom Phillips, Phillips, Bruno Pereira, Pereira, Jon Lee Anderson, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Watts, Andrew Fishman, Watts, Dom, William Schomberg, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Manilla Press, Bonnier Books, Guardian, Washington Post, New, Intercept, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Brazil's, Peru

☆ Why job searches suck right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Adrienne Matei | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Finding a job right now isn't only tough, it's deeply weird. Individually, ghost-job postings can erode both trust in the job market and the morale of job seekers who are applying to hundreds of positions and never hearing back. On a macro level, ghost-job postings contribute to a skewed sense of how many opportunities are really out there for US job seekers right now. Job platforms — including LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Monster — also use language-processing AI tools to filter applicants. Suddenly, knowing how to work with AI tools and resources is an important edge for job seekers to have.

☆ Your Job Search Sucks Right Now Due to AI Hiring, Ghost Job Listings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Adrienne Matei | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Finding a job right now isn't only tough, it's deeply weird. On a macro level, ghost-job postings contribute to a skewed sense of how many opportunities are really out there for US job seekers right now. Job platforms — including LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Monster — also use language-processing AI tools to filter applicants. And now, generative AI tools like ChatGPT are contributing to job loss. Suddenly, knowing how to work with AI tools and resources is an important edge for job seekers to have.

☆ Daniel Penny Gives First Interview Addressing Subway Killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Hurubie Meko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Penny, 24, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Mr. Neely, 30, on an F train on May 1. Witnesses said Mr. Neely had been shouting at passengers that he was hungry, thirsty and “ready to die,” according to the police. There has been no indication that Mr. Neely physically attacked anyone. In a video recorded on the train by a freelance journalist, Mr. Penny is seen on the floor with his arms around Mr. Neely’s neck for several minutes as two other riders help pin Mr. Neely down. The medical examiner’s office ruled Mr. Neely’s death a homicide two days later, and said that the cause of death was compression of his neck.

☆ Brazil police accuse agency bosses of misconduct in Amazon murder case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police recommended misconduct charges be filed on Friday against two ex-officials of Indigenous agency Funai in the case of a journalist and a native expert murdered last June in the Amazon rainforest. The police said the two former officials failed to act on information ahead of the murders of British reporter Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Reuters was not immediately able to locate the two former Funai officials, or their lawyers, to request comment. The valley is a remote jungle area on the Peruvian border with Brazil that is home to the world's largest number of isolated Indigenous communities, as well as cocaine-smuggling gangs and illegal hunting and fishing rackets. Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Opinion: The dubious MLK Jr. quote about Malcolm X
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Opinion Peniel E. Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, long a contentious backdrop to the history of civil rights and anti-racist activism in America, is under new scrutiny after the bombshell news that a quote denigrating Malcolm X, published in Playboy and attributed to King, is apparently fraudulent. This new information adds to the ongoing rethinking of the relationship between King and Malcolm X. Of course, this is not to suggest that we stop teaching “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” since all memoir and autobiography is an act of literary creation. The complexity of his relationship to Malcolm X is handled judiciously. Balancing the bitter and beautiful parts of the relationship between King and Malcolm X helps us come to terms with past and contemporary historical traumas.

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a son of former Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the Treasury Department said. El Chapo, who was leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has denied the presence of fentanyl labs in the country, alleging it comes from China. Guzman Lopez's cousin, Saul Paez Lopez, was also sanctioned for his alleged role in coordinating drug shipments. Washington also sanctioned Mario Esteban Ogazon Sedano, saying he purchased precursor chemicals from Ludim Zamudio Lerma to operate drug labs.

MEXICO CITY, May 8 (Reuters) - The Mexican government on Monday set out fresh details of a plan to attract businesses to a corridor straddling a narrow isthmus of southern Mexico, part of a larger push to pump investment into the relatively poor region. The plan, called the Inter-Oceanic Corridor, will include 10 new industrial parks along the stretch connecting the Pacific port of Salina Cruz in Oaxaca state with the Gulf coast hub of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state, officials said. Officials also hinted at plans to construct four wind plants across the area, home to major installations of state-run oil company Pemex. Another reason to push manufacturing to the south is that the north - which benefits from its proximity with the United States - is facing a drought, officials say. Reporting by Kylie Madry; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by David Alire GarciaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

journalist Austin Tice, reacts after a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon December 4, 2018. Austin Tice, a former U.S. Marine and a freelance journalist, was kidnapped in August 2012 while reporting in Damascus on the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. President Joe Biden last year said Washington knows "with certainty" that Tice has at times been held by the Syrian government. "We’re extensively engaged with regard to Austin – engaged with Syria, engaged with third countries – seeking to find a way to get him home. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that the Biden administration has renewed direct talks with Syria over Tice's case and those of other Americans, citing Middle East officials familiar with the efforts.

☆ Biden Praises ‘Absolute Courage’ of U.S. Journalist Detained in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It is also the first time that a Western journalist in Russia has been charged with espionage since the end of the Cold War. “Evan and Austin should be released immediately along with every other American held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Mr. Biden said. Debra and Marc Tice, the parents of Mr. Tice, wrote an opinion article, published in The Washington Post last August, in which they urged Mr. Biden to step up diplomatic efforts to free him. Mr. Biden also called for the release of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia on what the United States says are fabricated charges of espionage, and addressed Brittney Griner, a W.N.B.A. star who was freed in a prisoner swap in December after being detained for nearly 10 months in Russia.

☆ An ex-Apple designer showed off a futuristic AI device that projects phone calls onto your hand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new device by Humane can project phone calls onto the palm of a hand. In a video of the event that Ali shared with Insider, Chaudhri's talk appeared to be interrupted by the insistent chime of a call. But instead of reaching for a device in his pocket, Chaudhri simply turned over his hand to gaze at his palm. A representative for TED indicated that the video that Ali shared was likely captured from a livestream. "Humane will be releasing further details on how the device works in the coming months," a company spokesperson told Insider.

MG Motor's hybrid eHS model is set to hit Mexico's streets on Friday, alongside two combustion-engine models, the company said. However, hybrid models could be a step forward until there is more EV investment, analysts have said. "For your day-to-day, you'll have the benefits of an electric vehicle," Daniel Nava, vice president of MG Motor in Mexico, told Reuters ahead of the announcement. Nava said the price in Mexico reflects that the model is a plug-in hybrid, which is more costly than other hybrid models, and is comparable to competitors' prices. Nava said MG Motor had been in touch with officials in Nuevo Leon as well as other states as it considered building a plant in the country.

☆ A Ukrainian drone commander said Russian troops would sit around and get shot at the start of the war, but have learned from their mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian troops often made themselves easy targets at the war's start, a Ukrainian soldier said. But Petro told Weichert he noticed Russian forces — tanks in particular — moving more often as the war continued. They learn from their problems and mistakes," said the corporal, whose primary role is to spot Russian artillery or tanks. Their combat formations and targeting systems meant Russian troops were often vulnerable to friendly fire, the think tank added. Petro's unit spotted an anti-tank gun, but the responding Ukrainian artillery unit only fired one shot when six are usually needed to dispatch a target, Weichert wrote.

MEXICO CITY, April 13 (Reuters) - The airport operating business in Mexico is thriving as traffic surges due to multinational companies bringing overseas operations closer to home and growth at Mexican airlines, according to the head of GAP, which operates 12 airports in the country. Manufacturing hubs such as Guadalajara have seen record traffic growth due to the relocation trend, called nearshoring, CEO Raul Revuelta told Reuters in an interview late Wednesday. "But it's also Mexican airlines, VivaAerobus, Volaris, Aeromexico, expanding their fleets, which allows them to open new routes and move more passengers." The downgrade has prevented Mexican airlines from opening new routes to the United States, limiting expansion plans. The passage of a proposed aviation reform by Mexico's Congress will be an important step, he added.

Williams told Insider she never said she wanted to be put first on their joint taxes. "The sad part of women being the breadwinner is that they're not necessarily freed from a lot of these gender dynamics and considerations," N'Jie Konte told Insider. Laws told Insider it was the only year she and her husband ever filed joint taxes. Laws' husband was listed first on their deed and real estate documents. They put it under his account," Patterson told Insider.

April 5(Reuters) - French catering and food services group Sodexo (EXHO.PA) plans to spin off and list its Benefits & Rewards Services (BRS) business during 2024, it said on Wednesday, as it focuses on divisions that serve faster-growing markets. The BRS business reported a core profit of 162 million euros ($177 million) in the first half of 2023, up 46.4% from a year ago excluding currency impacts. Core profit for the group was 704 million euros, beating analysts' average forecast of 679 million euros, according to a company-compiled consensus. Price increases will remain above 5% in the second part of 2023, Sodexo said. It also raised its full-year forecast for its BRS business, targeting organic revenue growth of close to 20% and an underlying operating profit margin of close to 32%.

☆ I toured Singapore's flight attendant training facility and I was surprised to see how physically demanding the 4-month program can be
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"We had to greet every single instructor like we were students, and would be reprimanded whenever we said 'yeah' instead of 'yes,'" the 30-year-old now freelance journalist said. The trainees sometimes used old cabin mock-ups that had out-of-date seats. Taylor Rains/Insider

☆ Why do people buy crackpot conspiracy theories?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

When it comes to the spread of cockamamie conspiracy theories, Twitter was a maximum viable product long before Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the keys. The more you think you're right all the time, a new study suggests, the more likely you are to buy conspiracy theories, regardless of the evidence. It'd be better, or at least more reassuring, if conspiracy theories were fueled by dumb yahoos rather than self-centered monsters. Still, most scientists thought conspiracy theories weren't worth their time, the province of weirdos connecting JFK's death to lizard aliens. Pennycook's findings also suggest an explanation for why conspiracy theories have become so widely accepted.

☆ Plastics Export: How I Keep My Family, Baby Safe From Toxic Microplastics.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Adrienne Matei | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Hardman does research on microplastics — tiny pieces of plastic debris that are broken down from larger plastic items. Microplastics are often too small to pick up or even notice, but they are everywhere: in the air, dust, and rain. Laura HardmanPlastic is a relatively new pollutant, so there's still a lot we don't know about it. In the lab, my team of researchers and I focus on the sources, effects, and fate of plastics in the ocean. The simple answer is we don't know what plastics might be doing to us, but I've started to get really concerned.

☆ George Santos partied in drag over a 3-year period, new videos appear to show, despite his suggestion it was a one-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

George Santos initially denied dressing in drag before admitting that he did it for fun at a festival. Videos and photos, spanning 2005 to 2008, appear to show Santos as his drag persona Kitara Ravache. Santos initially denied the allegation of being a drag queen, writing on Twitter: "The most recent obsession from the media claiming that I am a drag Queen or 'performed' as a drag Queen is categorically false." Rochard told the news agency that in 2005 Santos was a "poor" drag queen who usually dressed in a simple black dress. Videos and photos, spanning from 2005 to 2008, indicate that Santos may have been dressing in drag at events for several years, despite his denial that he was ever a drag queen.

☆ Drag artist says George Santos was a left-wing Lula supporter in Brazil before going to the US and turning into 'this crazy thing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Virginia Alves | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A drag artist who knew him in the mid-2000s told Insider Santos supported Brazil's left-wing president then. Rochard said Santos supported Lula and then "goes to the US and turns into this crazy thing there. They were all Lulistas and Anthony was too because he hung out with us," Rochard told Insider, using the name Rochard says Santos used in Brazil, "Anthony." Brazilian drag artist Eula Rochard holds a newspaper from 2008 that she says shows GOP Rep. George Santos in drag attire. Rochard met Santos when he was about 17 years old and said she used to catch Santos in "little white lies."

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