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☆ Jeddah, sleep and a French plane: How Zelenskiy got to Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The Ukrainians asked that President Zelenskiy be transported by the French army," a French presidential official said, adding that the decision had been made on Wednesday. "It was an opportunity for him to explain his position with countries he doesn't usually talk to," a second French official said. Speaking ahead of a bilateral meeting with Macron in Hiroshima, Zelenskiy thanked France and said he had received "positive signals" from Arab states without elaborating. A French government Falcon jet had taken Zelenskiy from Brussels to Poland in February after a European heads of state summit, the French officials said. "A plane in the colours of the French Republic has arrived in Hiroshima," Macron tweeted after meeting Zelenskiy.

☆ Fact Check-New York City Subway poster of Jordan Neely and Daniel Penny is a digital creation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) did not authorize a poster showing Daniel Penny placing Jordan Neely in a chokehold, with text that reads “This could be you. Quit f***ing around on the New York Subway.” Some social media posts appear to think the digitally created ad, which bears an MTA logo, is a real sign. The purported poster circulated widely on Twitter (here) and Facebook (here), and (here). The HIV-prevention advertisement was created by healthcare providers in New York City. The poster with Jordan Neely and Daniel Penny is not authentic and was created by editing an HIV prevention campaign advertisement.

☆ Fact Check-No proof Ukraine’s defence ministry tweeted Zelenskiy was ‘naked clown’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A fake screenshot of a Ukrainian Ministry of Defence tweet that criticises Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is being shared online. However, an advanced Twitter search produced no evidence that such a tweet exists on the verified account of Ukraine’s defence ministry (bit.ly/42EgDFv). Media outlets would likely cover the country’s defence ministry posting such strong wording about a prospective president. Reuters also found no evidence of the tweet existing within archived versions of the ministry’s verified Twitter profile (here). Search engines and social media searches produce no proof that Ukraine’s ministry of defence posted the tweet on its verified Twitter account.

☆ Powerful storm snaps communications network in Myanmar's Rakhine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Strong winds and heavy rainfall is seen at ThekayPyin Rohingya camp, as Cyclone Mocha approaches, in Sittwe, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 14, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Some 400,000 people were evacuated in Myanmar and Bangladesh ahead of Cyclone Mocha making landfall, as authorities and aid agencies scrambled to avoid heavy casualties. "All communication is still down and people are in trouble because all the roofs are gone," said Khine Thu Kha, a spokesman for the Arakan Army, which control swathes of Rakhine state. Benjamin Small, a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme, said it was hard to understand the scale of destruction because of ruptured communications in Rakhine. "The storm itself is a trigger for more problems as heavy rains continue and landslides and flooding tend to follow."

☆ Powerful cyclone barrels towards Myanmar, Bangladesh; 400,000 evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But many more could suffer as the storm moves inland from the Bay of Bengal, the United Nations Satellite Centre has warned. "People at risk are in the process of being transferred to safe shelters and we are also arranging relief packages," said Farah Kabir of ActionAid Bangladesh. Most refugees live in makeshift dwellings in the densely packed camps after having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. "We have arranged for meals in co-operation with local residents but if this becomes long-term, there will be more problems." About 6 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.2 million are displaced in Rakhine and the northwest, OCHA says.

Dashcam footage circulating online appears to show the moment an alleged gunman exits his car and opens fire on a crowd of people outside a Texas mall. Screengrab: StoryfulThe gunman authorities said was responsible for the deaths of eight in Allen, Texas, was terminated by the Army for mental-health reasons three months after he enlisted in 2008, and recent social-media postings officials are examining show links to white-supremacist views. Mauricio Garcia, 33 years old, was shot dead by a police officer after opening fire at Allen Premium Outlets, authorities said. He used an AR-15-style rifle in the attack and multiple other firearms were found at the scene, according to the officials.

☆ Jack Dorsey encouraged the student who tracks Elon Musk's jet to keep posting on Bluesky after his Twitter ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jack Dorsey encouraged the college student who tracks Elon Musk's private jet to keep on posting. Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey has doubled down on his explicit and implicit criticism of Elon Musk, encouraging the college student who tracks Elon Musk's private jet to keep posting on rival apps Bluesky and Nostr. Dorsey, who has given money to both platforms and sits on Bluesky's board, got into a brief exchange on Bluesky with college student Jack Sweeney Saturday about the jet-tracking account. the college student asked Dorsey. Sweeney created the original @ElonJet account in 2020, using public flight data to monitor the whereabouts the of billionaire's private jet.

☆ No harmful chemical levels in air after Shell Texas chemical plant fire, company says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] An olefins unit burns in fire at Shell Deer Park, Texas chemical plant in this screengrab obtained from social media on May 5, 2023, in Deer Park, Texas, U.S. Johnny Walea via TMX/via REUTERSMay 6 (Reuters) - Air monitoring around an extinguished fire at the Shell Plc's (SHEL.L) chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas, showed no harmful levels of chemicals in the air, the company said on Saturday, added that there was no threat to the surrounding community. The fire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. CDT (2000 GMT) on Friday after in an olefins unit at the plant in the Houston suburb. Five people were taken for evaluation of possible injuries due to exposure to burned chemicals, the county sheriff said on Friday. The company on Saturday said in a series of tweets that the fire was extinguished and air monitoring has detected no harmful levels of chemicals. Operations at the refinery continued despite the fire in the chemical plant, sources familiar with the refinery's operations said.

☆ Fact Check-Vancouver speed gates not part of ‘15-minute city’ proposals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yellow speed-reduction gateways in Vancouver are not part of the city’s “15-minute city” proposals. Although the city is implementing its version of the 15-minute city concept (here), the spokesperson said, the “15-minute City Ready” stickers were not applied to the concrete blocks by the City of Vancouver. Local reports about the yellow traffic calming tools (here, here and here) do not include any reference to 15-minute city proposals. Vancouver’s yellow gateways are a local government program for speed reduction and not part of the city’s 15-minute city proposals. Stickers referencing the 15-minute city concept were not applied or authorized by Vancouver officials.

☆ US Navy video shows a dozen Iranian fast-attack boats swarming an oil tanker in its latest maritime seizure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A dozen Iranian attack boats seized an oil tanker crossing through Middle Eastern waters on Wednesday. The US Navy shared a video of the incident, which showed the boats swarm the vessel. The 1,100-foot-long Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi departed Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and was on its way to the port city of Fujairah, when the incident unfolded at around 6:20 a.m. local time. On April 27, Iranian navy vessels intercepted the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet as it was crossing international waters in the Gulf of Oman, a body of water that separates Oman from Iran. Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi in the Strait of Hormuz.

She was arrested at the same place in Montgomery County that suspected gunman Francisco Oropesa was arrested Tuesday night, case records show. Law enforcement also tracked Oropesa’s wife to the home, which is associated with one of the suspect’s family members, a law enforcement source told CNN. Courtesy Eva GutierrezAuthorities now have 90 days to indict Oropesa, a law enforcement source involved said. Due to his status as a Mexican national, the Mexican consulate will be formally notified of his circumstances on Wednesday, the law enforcement source said. Officials’ efforts may have been stymied by a lack of trust in law enforcement.

☆ Elon Musk may have shared his alternative account on Twitter where he appears to tweet as his 2-year-old son: 'I will finally turn 3'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk may have shared on Monday his alternative account on Twitter. Elon Musk may have shared his alternative account on Twitter where he appeared to tweet as his two-year-old son. Elon Musk's Twitter profile, showing his alternative account. Screengrab of Elon Musk's Twitter profile. Musk didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider about his alternative account.

Hundreds have died so far and a nation reliant on food aid has been tipped into what the United Nations calls a humanitarian catastrophe. Washington has said that private American citizens in Sudan should have no expectation of a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation from the country. UN WORKS TO EXTRACT STAFFOther countries and the United Nations are also looking at how they can evacuate citizens and employees. The U.N. has about 4,000 staff in Sudan, of which 800 are international staff. Switzerland said on Friday it was examining ways to evacuate nationals from Sudan, and Sweden said it will evacuate embassy staff and families as soon as possible.

This year, those who can are making a frantic escape from Khartoum, driven out by war. Both sides in the conflict agreed to a ceasefire but it was not immediately clear when it would begin. Ahmed Mubarak, 27, said he felt "extreme anxiety" after the violence erupted on April 15 and before he decided to leave Khartoum on Thursday, taking with him only the clothes he was wearing. Makram Waleed, a 25-year-old doctor, was hoping to leave Khartoum with his family but was worried about the dangers to his three younger sisters. And if we leave, will we be able to go back to our house and our lives in Khartoum?

☆ Macron comments leave senior Taiwanese official 'puzzled'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, April 12 (Reuters) - Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron on Taiwan are puzzling, a senior Taiwanese politician said, wondering whether France's founding ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity are now out of fashion. He also called for the European Union to reduce its dependence on the United States and to become a "third pole" in world affairs alongside Washington and Beijing. Taiwan parliament speaker You Si-kun, writing on Facebook late Tuesday above a screengrab of a report about Macron's comments on Taiwan, questioned the French commitment to freedom. "Are 'liberté, égalité, fraternité' out of fashion?," he wrote, referring to the official French motto of "liberty, equality, fraternity". "The actions of President Macron, a leading international democracy, leave me puzzled."

☆ Building collapses in Marseille, at least six injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Smoke envelopes the area as police officers work at the scene of a fire following a gas explosion in Marseille, France, April 9, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Naima Haoulia/via REUTERSPARIS, April 9 (Reuters) - French rescue services were searching for victims and trying to put out a fire after an explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the centre of Marseille in the early hours of Sunday, with six injured identified so far. "I would like us to prepare for a difficult situation - we could have victims today," Payan said, adding that five of the six injured are in hospital in a "relatively urgent" situation. Firefighters were continuing to tackle the blaze and 80 people have been evacuated, according to the rescue services. "The fire makes it harder to find the victims," Commander Laurent of the rescue services in Marseille told BFMTV.

☆ A widow is accusing an AI chatbot of being the reason why her husband killed himself
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A widow in Belgium said her husband recently died by suicide after being encouraged by a chatbot. Chat logs seen by Belgian newspaper La Libre showed Chai Research's AI bot encouraging the man to end his life. The "Eliza" chatbot still tells people how to kill themselves, per Insider's tests of the chatbot on April 4. But the "Eliza" chatbot then started encouraging Pierre to end his life, per chat logs his widow shared with La Libre. When reached for comment regarding La Libre's reporting, Chai Research provided Insider with a statement that acknowledged Pierre's death.

☆ TikTok is quietly rolling out affiliate commissions for US creators in its shopping program
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dan Whateley | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

TikTok is in the early stages of testing an affiliate program for US creators via its Shop product. TikTok is beginning to pay US creators a commission for promoting products on its app through its new TikTok Shop program, a company spokesperson confirmed to Insider. Meta-owned Instagram, for instance, has scaled back some of its shopping efforts including its own native affiliate program for creators and live shopping. TikTok is offering various incentives to promote TikTok Shop in the US. TikTok is fully or partially subsidizing these discounts as it seeks to promote its TikTok Shop program, two sellers in the marketplace told Insider.

☆ Why Instagram's 'Creator Marketplace' has left many influencers twiddling their thumbs instead of scoring brand deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

"I was so excited when the creator marketplace was rolled out," content creator Melanie Demi told Insider. "Over the last couple of months, I feel like the creator marketplace has died down a little bit," Demi said. "Even on the TikTok creator marketplace, it's the same," said Joseph Arujo, who has access to the feature on both platforms. On TikTok's marketplace, creators can add their starting rates for brand deals or negotiate terms. TikTok's creator marketplace, for example, brought on "alpha partners" in 2021 such as Influential, Whalar, and Captiv8.

☆ Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern over toxic Ohio derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB. The Justice Department said Friday it filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern , aiming to hold the railway company accountable for alleged Clean Water Act violations that allegedly occurred due to an Ohio train derailment in early February. In February, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed near the Pennsylvania border in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a fire, collisions and local evacuations. Since the derailment, Norfolk Southern has been in hot water with state and federal officials concerning the environmental implications of the derailment. On Thursday, three senators introduced a new rail safety bill in a bid address long-standing concerns that became more acute in light of the Norfolk Southern derailment.

☆ Orlando Bloom, UNICEF ambassador and actor, visits children's centre in Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

@zelenskiy_official/via REUTERSKYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - Orlando Bloom, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations children's organization UNICEF and a star of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Lord of the Rings" movies visited a children's centre in Kyiv on Sunday. It was his first trip to Ukraine since 2016, the British actor said. He also met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "I would have never expected the war to have escalated throughout the country since I was there," Bloom said on Instagram. "He knows what this aggression has brought, how full-scale the world's efforts must be to stop it, to restore Ukraine after the war," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address after meeting Bloom.

☆ An accused Russian spy boasted that infiltrating the US was easy. He's now in prison after getting caught with files that blew his cover.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Secret messages from court documents give a look into the wild life of an accused Russian spy. The DOJ accuses Sergey Cherkasov of operating undercover in the US, and got a cache of his messages. A screengrab of a message sent by Sergey Cherkasov, whom them US accuses of being a Russian spy. A screengrab of a message sent by Sergey Cherkasov, whom them US accuses of being a Russian spy. The DOJ accuses Cherkasov of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, using false documents, and lying to officials.

☆ An ex-Instagram staffer is teaching brands and creators how to grow an audience on the app. Here are 4 of her top strategies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jackie Candelaria, a former Instagram staffer, is now advising creators and brands. Candelaria is now building a business as an Instagram consultant for brands and creators who want to leverage the app to grow their own businesses and audience. "I don't think that's sustainable. Good reels tell storiesA good reel has to tell a story, Candelaria said. "I think it's just allowing the system kind of recorrect itself and show good content."

☆ The US is flying drones farther from Russia to be less 'provocative' after a Russian jet harassed and smashed into one, making it crash: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Russian fighter jet clipped a US military drone operating above the Black Sea last week. US officials say drones are flying farther south and away from Russia, according to a report. US officials, however, told CNN that the drones are now flying farther south over the Black Sea and moving away from Russia and occupied Crimea. A Russian Su-27 fighter jet approaches a US military MQ-9 Reaper drone operating above the Black Sea on March 14, 2023. "We are the adults in the room when it comes to international military forces," the former defense official continued.

The YouTube subscriber count has quickly become an outdated relic. YouTube shorts has lowered the barrier to entry, making it easier to gain subscribers. "Especially in the world of short-form content, where your viewers are one swipe away from moving onto someone else." Nearly every social platform, from YouTube to Facebook to TikTok, is still working to crack the code for monetizing short-form video well with advertising. Short-form video ad spending worldwide for 2022 to 2028, via Insider Intelligence.

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