DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Why Israel-Hezbollah tensions risk boiling over now
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is officially considered a “resistance” group tasked with confronting Israel, which Beirut classifies as an enemy state. Since then, the two sides have traded fire sporadically, but tensions boiled over in 2006 when Israel went to war in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in that conflict, mostly civilians, as well as 49 Israeli civilians and 121 soldiers. The military capability of the Lebanese group has grown since 2006, when it relied largely on inaccurate Soviet-era Katyusha rockets. Hezbollah has fired 35 kilometers into Israel, while Israel has targeted areas of Lebanon more than 120 kilometers north.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, Rina Castelnuovo, Hassan Nasrallah, Heiko Wimmen, ”, Ramot Naftali, Peter Lerner, ” Amal Saad, ” Saad, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Ronni, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Cohen, ” Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s, Al, ” Qassem, Jack Guez, Itamar Ben Gvir, Yair Lapid, ” Lapid, Matthew Miller, Biden, “, ” Shaked, Iran – Organizations: CNN, Hezbollah, Lebanese, Crisis, Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces, Cardiff University, Truman Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, Holocaust, Reuters, Crisis Group, Getty, Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, National, State Department Locations: CNN — Israel, Lebanese Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Beirut, Palestinian, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Brussels, Israeli, Cross, Jerusalem, Kiryat Shmona, Lebanese, Al Jazeera, AFP, United States, Iran

☆ Taiwan celebrities Mayday, Jolin Tsai in crossfire of political battle as tensions with China rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On Douban, a popular site for reviewing movies, books and music, users compiled a list of nearly 100 Taiwanese celebrities, detailing whether each of them had shared the post. On Saturday, CCTV publicly endorsed Taiwanese celebrities who shared its post, sharing the screenshots of 36 such reposts – fueling a further backlash against those who hadn’t. On Monday, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council weighed in, accusing the Chinese Communist Party of requiring Taiwanese artists to express a political stance. The remarks and retweets by Taiwanese artists of the CCTV unification post came against the backdrop of China’s largest show of force around the island in more than a year. “This is not the first time, and probably not the last, that Taiwanese artists are forced to make a political stand in China,” said the leader.

Persons: Mayday’s, Ashin, ”, –, Xi Jinping, Jolin Tsai, Edgar Su, China’s, Beijing’s, ’, Tsai, “, Lin Chen, ” Lin, Lai Ching, Ichiro Ohara, Lai, Zhu Fenglian, ” Zhu, Lin Organizations: CNN, Party, China, Democratic Progressive Party, Cardiff University, Facebook, Mainland Affairs Council, Chinese Communist Party, Communist, Yomiuri Shimbun, Taiwan Affairs Office, “ Locations: Beijing, Taiwan, China, Taipei, Taiwanese, “, Nanchang ”, Singapore, Weibo, ” Beijing

☆ Kate, Princess of Wales conspiracies peddled by Russian disinformation group, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The motive of such campaigns, Innes said, is to “destabilize” Russia’s Western antagonists and “undermine trust” in their institutions. The pattern of behavior was one his team recognized from a group of Russian actors his team had studied before. It is a commercial firm contracted to run disinformation campaigns, Innes said. Aaron Chown/Press Association/APMeta said it disrupted the group, but its disinformation campaigns have since grown more sophisticated. The timing of the Kate conspiracies was also propitious for the Kremlin – coming just as Putin secured a fifth term in power in a stage-managed election devoid of credible opposition.

Persons: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Kate, “, ” Martin Innes, ” Innes, Emmanuel Macron, Innes, Princess, Wales, ”, Instagram –, Doppelganger, Aaron Chown, King Charles III, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, ” Anna George, Timothy Snyder, Vladimir Putin’s, Henry Nicholls, Prince William, ’ ”, Putin Organizations: CNN, Cardiff University, –, Soviet, Meta, Facebook, Press Association, AP Meta, US Treasury, British Embassy, Reuters Institute for, Journalism, Oxford University, Oxford Internet Institute, Yale, Russian Foreign, ” Police, London Clinic, Getty, CNN’s Royal, Kremlin Locations: Wales, Ukraine, ”, Russia, Soviet Union, London, Moscow, Cardiff, Russian, United States, Europe, British, Kensington, Britain, AFP, Windsor

☆ Russian Group Spread Disinformation About Princess of Wales, Experts Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mark Landler | Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The whirl of conspiracy theories that enveloped Catherine, Princess of Wales, before she disclosed her cancer diagnosis last week probably didn’t need help from a foreign state. But researchers in Britain said Wednesday that a notorious Russian disinformation operation helped stir the pot. As in those cases, Professor Innes said, the influence campaign appeared calculated to inflame divisions, deepen a sense of chaos in society, and erode trust in institutions — in this case, the British royal family and the news media. “The story was already being framed in conspiracy terms, so you can appeal to those people. And people who support the royal family get angry.”

Persons: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Martin Innes, Volodymyr Zelensky, Innes, ” Organizations: Cardiff University, Ukraine Locations: Britain, Wales, —

☆ 4,000-year-old tube of ancient red lipstick discovered in Iran, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A small stone vial discovered in southeastern Iran contained a red cosmetic that was likely used as a lip coloring nearly 4,000 years ago, according to archaeologists. More than 80% of the analyzed sample was made up of minerals that produce a deep red color — primarily hematite. The substance found in the stone vial was made from different minerals — including hematite, shown in red. Whether the vial from Iran was the earliest lipstick, “all comes down to what this new discovery was actually used for,” she said. The rest is slowly emerging from new excavations.”It’s not clear who would have worn the lipstick — or in what context.

Persons: It’s, Massimo Vidale, ”, —, Joann Fletcher, Fletcher, Laurence Totelin, Totelin, ” Totelin, kohl, ” Vidale, Vidale, “ Organizations: CNN, University of Padua’s Department of Cultural Heritage, University of York’s, Cardiff University, Archaeological Museum, Jiroft Locations: Iran, Italy, Egypt, Jiroft

☆ Some X users are convinced Elon Musk rigged the results of a MrBeast ad experiment where he earned $250,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He tested how much ad revenue one video generated, and after three days, he said it earned $250,000. AdvertisementSome X users are convinced that Elon Musk rigged the results of MrBeast's ad revenue experiment to inflate his earnings to $250,000. "I'm curious how much ad revenue a video on X would make so I'm reuploading this to test it. Will share ad rev next week ❤️ pic.twitter.com/amSSmddFht — MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 15, 2024Donaldson, though pleased with the result, said it was "a bit of a facade." Musk seemed to respond to the claims he rigged the results in an X post on January 20.

Persons: MrBeast, Elon, —, Elon Musk, Jimmy Donaldson, X's, Donaldson, ❤️, Musk, Evan, Kat Lo, Jack Appleby, Rebecca Mardon, Mardon, Chris Kubbernus, Kubbco, TikTok, Kubbernus Organizations: Service, YouTube, Apple, Walmart, Twitter, Mashable, Cardiff University

☆ Skeletons unearthed in ‘incredibly rare’ 5,000-year-old Scottish tomb
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The ruins of an “incredibly rare” 5,000-year-old tomb have been uncovered on one of the Scottish Orkney Islands, National Museums Scotland said in a statement on Tuesday. “In the Neolithic, it would have been an incredibly impressive 15 meter diameter, enormous mound, very substantial stonework, very impressive architecture. Those cells are real feats of engineering,” Hugo Anderson-Whymark, one of the excavation’s co-directors and senior curator of prehistory (Neolithic) at National Museums Scotland, told CNN. National Museums ScotlandOnly 12 other similar tombs are known to exist in Orkney, referred to as Maes Howe-type passage graves. There’s nothing on the surface to suggest this tomb ever existed there but it would have once been an incredible monument.

Persons: ” Hugo Anderson, Whymark, Vicki Cummings, Maes Howe, James Walls Cursiter, ” Anderson, “, they’ve, ” Organizations: CNN, National Museums Scotland, Cardiff University, Museums Scotland Locations: Scottish Orkney Islands, Holm , East Mainland, Orkney, Britain

☆ I was told I couldn't direct planes because I was a woman. I ended up a mission planner for the world's most powerful space telescope, the James Webb, instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Kari Bosley is the lead mission planner for the James Webb Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Thirteen years ago, I landed a job in the grants department at Space Telescope Science Institute. They support the daily activities of NASA's different space missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and James Webb Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful space telescope ever built, and has led to numerous scientific discoveries and firsts since it was launched to space. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured the Ring Nebula in unprecedented detail with its mid-infrared instrument.

Persons: Kari Bosley, James Webb, wasn't, Amelia Earhart, Nancy Grace, Getty, NASA’s James Webb, Webb, Barlow, Cox, It's Organizations: Telescope Science, Service, Telescope Science Institute, NASA, Challenger, Space Telescope Science Institute, Hubble, James Webb Space Telescope, Space, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, ESA, CSA, UCL, Wesson, Cardiff University, Communications, JPL, Caltech Locations: Wall, Silicon, California

☆ Polish central bank stuns with 75 bps rate cut, zloty plunges
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Anna Koper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WARSAW, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Poland's central bank cut its main interest rate by 75 basis points to 6.00% on Wednesday, in a shock decision ahead of October elections that sent the zloty currency tumbling against the euro. The National Bank of Poland (NBP) said it took the decision because it expects inflation to return to target faster than originally expected. It said that the adjustment to interest rates would be "conducive to meeting the NBP inflation target in the medium term". NBP Governor Adam Glapinski had previously signalled that a rate cut could come in September if inflation fell to single digits. "We have already said that it is too early for a rate cut, and certainly such an aggressive rate cut, when the prospects (of a slowdown) in inflation are still distant," said Piotr Bielski, director of the economic analysis department of Santander Bank Polska.

Persons: Adam Glapinski, Piotr Bielski, J.P, Morgan, Wojciech Paczos, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Anna Koper, Pawel Florkiewicz, Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak, Karol Badohal, Marc Jones, Justyna Pawlak, Nick Macfie, Sharon Singleton, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Reuters, National Bank of Poland, Santander Bank Polska, Cardiff University, Justice, Thomson Locations: WARSAW, NBP, Poland, Pawel

☆ A new image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope blows past Hubble again, revealing an iconic supernova in unprecedented detail
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed stunning new details of a famous supernova remnant. Supernova 1987A was first discovered in 1987, as its name suggests. Webb's portrait of the Supernova 1987A remnant. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Supernova 1987A remnant within the Large Magellanic Cloud, as captured by Hubble. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe parts of the supernova remnant as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2023.

Persons: NASA's James Webb, Webb, James Webb, Mikako Matsuura, Richard Arendt, Claes Fransson, Josefin Larsson, Hubble, Chandra, Robert P, Kirshner, Max Mutchler, Roberto Avila, couldn't, Matsuura, Arendt, NASA’s, J, Larsson Organizations: Service, Hubble, NASA, ESA, CSA, Cardiff University, Stockholm University, Astronomers, AUI, NSF, Moore Foundation, James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Royal Institute of Technology Locations: Wall, Silicon, Stockholm, Baltimore County

☆ Colorful Ring Nebula shines in new Webb images
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed colorful new portraits of the iconic Ring Nebula. Webb previously captured a different perspective on the Ring Nebula, as well as the similar-looking Southern Ring Nebula. A longtime favorite of astronomers, the Ring Nebula has been studied for years due to its observability and the insight it can provide into the lifetime of stars. Messier and astronomer Darquier de Pellepoix discovered the Ring Nebula in 1779. As the dying star was throwing off its atmosphere, the companion star shaped the outflow and sculpted it.”

Persons: James Webb, Webb, Charles Messier, Messier, Darquier de Pellepoix, ”, Roger Wesson, Wesson, ” Wesson Organizations: CNN, Cardiff University, NASA, Hubble, ESA, Webb, CSA Locations: MIRI

☆ Benjamin Katz — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Benjamin Katz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Benjamin KatzBen Katz is a reporter writing about the global aviation and aerospace industry in The Wall Street Journal’s corporate bureau in London. His stories often focus on how the industry navigates the ups and downs of major geopolitical, economic and global health events. Ben joined the Journal from Bloomberg News, where he first started writing about the aviation industry along with British business and politics. With Journal colleagues, he received an Honorable Mention at the 2020 Sabew awards for coverage of the pandemic’s impact on airlines. He previously won a Peter Lisagor Chicago Headline Club award and was a finalist for the Harold Wincott Award for Young Financial Journalist of the Year in 2017.

Persons: Benjamin Katz Ben Katz, Ben, Peter Lisagor, Harold Wincott Organizations: Airbus, Boeing, Journal, Bloomberg News, Cardiff University, Peter Lisagor Chicago Headline, Young Financial Locations: London, Cape Town , South Africa

☆ NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals a secret star Hubble missed, maybe solving the mystery of a dying star's multi-layered nebula
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Ring Nebula, an oblong-donut-shaped planetary nebula in the constellation Lyra, is a dying star expelling its outer layers one by one, 2,200 light-years away. Check out the newly visible texture of the nebula's outer layers, and the spikes of light shooting out into space. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Planetary nebulae were once thought to be simple, round objects with a single dying star at the center. Webb's infrared photo shows telltale arcs outside the main ringThe Webb image reveals faint concentric arcs beyond the nebula's outer ring. If confirmed, this companion star would be about the same distance from the dying star as Earth is from Pluto.

Persons: James Webb, Roger Wesson, Robert O’Dell, Webb, Barlow, Cox, Wesson, couldn't Organizations: Service, Hubble, Cardiff University, NASA, ESA, Vanderbilt University, CSA, UCL, Wesson Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ There is a ‘gravity hole’ in the Indian Ocean, and scientists now think they know why
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —There is a “gravity hole” in the Indian Ocean — a spot where Earth’s gravitational pull is weaker, its mass is lower than normal, and the sea level dips by over 328 feet (100 meters). The “gravity hole” in the Indian Ocean — officially called the Indian Ocean geoid low — is the lowest point in that geoid and its biggest gravitational anomaly, forming a circular depression that starts just off India’s southern tip and covers about 1.2 million square miles (3 million square kilometers). In six of the scenarios, a geoid low similar to the one in the Indian Ocean formed. The future of the geoid lowThe geoid low formed around 20 million years ago, according to the team’s calculation. Past research only simulated the descent of cold material across the mantle, rather than including hot rising mantle plumes as well.

Persons: ”, Attreyee Ghosh, Ghosh, Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, hasn’t, ” Ghosh, ” Huw Davies, ” Davies, Alessandro Forte, Forte Organizations: CNN, Indian Institute of Science, Research, Earth Sciences, of Earth, Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, University of Florida Locations: Bengaluru, India, Dutch, Asia, Gainesville, Réunion, Africa, Eurasia

☆ Mattel accused by health expert of 'stealth marketing' to children by placing free Barbie dolls in schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some health experts are angry over a project the firm funded in schools, per The BMJ. One criticized the decision to give dolls to UK schools as "stealth marketing." But some experts in the health sector are concerned about how far Barbie maker Mattel's marketing really goes. Several experts told the British Medical Journal they took issue with the company's decision to supply 700 UK schools with Barbie dolls as part of Mattel's "Barbie School of Friendship" program. But critics are questioning whether potential negative effects, such as gender stereotyping in Barbie dolls and Mattel's heavy use of branding, were considered.

Persons: Barbie movie's, Barbie, Ken, van Schalkwyk, Philippa Perry Organizations: Mattel, Service, British Medical, Cardiff University, BMJ, Cardiff Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Life in ocean's 'twilight zone' threatened by climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The ocean’s mesopelagic zone, also called the “twilight zone,” is located between 656 feet and 3,280 feet (200 meters to 1,000 meters) below the surface. The twilight zone also a crucial habitat for marine life that dives in search of prey, like sharks, or lanternfish that hide in the twilight zone during the day and swim to the surface waters to feed at night. Small crustaceans known as Megacalanus princeps live in the ocean's twilight zone at a depth of 1,000 meters in the Northeast Atlantic. Natural Visions/Alamy Stock PhotoNew research warns that the climate crisis could reduce life in the twilight zone between 20% and 40% by the end of the century. “What we really need to protect the (twilight zone) is to stop, or at least slow down, the high rate of change that we are subjecting our planet’s climate to.”

☆ A college student got a top grade for an essay written with the help of ChatGPT, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A college student said he was given the highest grade on an essay written with the help of ChatGPT. The student told BBC News he adapted and tweaked the content generated by the chatbot. The student, who averages a 2.1 grade, said he submitted one 2,500-word essay written with the help of ChatGPT, and another without any help from the bot. However, for the AI-assisted essay he was given a first – the highest grade he'd been ever awarded, per the report. Schools and colleges have been scrambling to deal with the fallout from the viral AI chatbot since it launched in late November.

☆ A Simple Trick Helped Me Cut Back on Screen Time, Break My Phone Addiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

To try and break my habit, I decided to slow down my phone experience with a new app called One Sec. Plus, studies have shown that things like app limits that merely measure your screen time won't break compulsive habits. Sandy Gould, a senior computer-science lecturer at Cardiff University, has researched ways to curb our compulsive phone tendencies. Frederik Riedel, the German-based developer of the app, told me that creating better boundaries was the motivation behind the development of the app. I can attest to that figure: One Sec has nearly halved my compulsive Twitter use.

☆ For widows on Facebook, updating relationship status is complicated
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But on Facebook (FB), these changes come with additional complications due to the limited number of relationship status options available and the impact that changes to this status can have on whether a marriage is represented on the deceased’s Facebook (FB) memorial pages. “The relationship status is such a source of deep pain when a widow chooses to proceed with a new relationship,” she wrote in the letter. A separate Change.org petition started in September 2021 received nearly 20,000 signatures asking Facebook to retain the “widowed from” status permanently and allow users to create a new relationship status if they want. Facebook also allows users to change their relationship status to “widowed” and specify a partner’s name if a partner’s account has been memorialized. Sandberg lists Bernthal as her spouse on Facebook; Goldberg’s account is a memorial page, where it lists six former places of employment.

Search resuls for: "Cardiff University"

19 mentions found