DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Taro Akebono, a Hawaii-born sumo wrestler who became the sport’s first foreign grand champion and helped to fuel a resurgence in the sport’s popularity in the 1990s, has died in Tokyo. When he became Japan’s 64th yokozuna, or grand champion sumo wrestler, in 1993, he was the first foreign-born wrestler to achieve the sport’s highest title in its 300-year modern history. He went on to win a total of 11 grand championships, and his success set the stage for an era during which foreign-born wrestlers dominated the top levels of Japan’s national sport. Akebono, who was 6-foot-8 and 466 pounds when he was first named yokozuna at 23, towered over his Japanese opponents. Painfully shy outside the dohyo, as the sumo ring is known, he was known for using his height and reach to keep opponents at a distance.

Persons: Taro Akebono Organizations: United States Locations: Hawaii, Tokyo, Japan

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel’s Military Strikes Al-Shifa Hospital in ‘High-Precision’ Operation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Israeli military said it was conducting a “high-precision” operation at Al-Shifa Hospital early on Monday morning, claiming that senior Hamas officials had regrouped in the hospital, which is Gaza’s largest. The Israeli military said on its Telegram account that during the operation, Hamas fighters opened fire at soldiers from within the hospital, and soldiers returned fire. Al-Shifa Hospital has been a flashpoint of the war. “We know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped inside Al-Shifa Hospital and are using it to command attacks against Israel,” Mr. Hagari said. After Israel’s high-profile raid of the Al-Shifa hospital, it took reporters to see a shaft at the complex leading to a tunnel network.

Persons: Daniel Hagari, “, Israel, ” Mr, Hagari Organizations: Shifa, Hamas, Health Ministry, Al Locations: Al, Gaza, Israel

A volcano erupted with little notice in southern Iceland on Saturday night, the latest in a string of eruptions in the area, threatening local infrastructure and leading the authorities to declare a state of emergency. Lava fountains burst out of the ground, and a nearly two-mile-long fissure opened up on the Reykjanes Peninsula around 8:30 p.m., the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. The meteorological office said that it had received indications of a possible eruption only about 40 minutes before it happened. The Blue Lagoon and Grindavik were evacuated shortly after the eruption, according to RUV, the national broadcaster. About 700 visitors were staying at the Blue Lagoon.

Persons: Grindavik Organizations: Icelandic Meteorological Locations: Iceland, Grindavik

☆ Australia Wanted to Catch Chinese Spies. Is This Really Whom It Had in Mind?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The police officers asked the man what he meant when he said that involving an Australian government minister in a charity event could benefit “us Chinese.” Was he talking about mainland China and the Chinese Communist Party, or the local Australian Chinese community? Depending on the answer, he faced up to 10 years in prison. “You are understanding the Chinese is China. We always say, ‘I’m Chinese,’ that not mean, ‘I’m mainland China,’” said the man, Di Sanh “Sunny” Duong, who was brought in for questioning. Blockbuster prosecutions revealing sophisticated tactics seemed to be just around the corner.

Persons: ”, ’ ”, Di, Duong, “ Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Blockbuster Locations: China, Mainland China, United States

☆ Was He Secretly Working for China? This Is What He Told Us.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

So why would he not get into trouble with the authorities? He believed that it would be embarrassing for Australia to accuse of him of spying because he had been an active member of a major political party. Less than two years later, in 2020, he became the first person to be charged under Australia’s broad foreign interference laws. He was among the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Chinese who fled that country in the 1970s. He settled in Australia and grew a business making tombstones, secured a middle-class life and got enmeshed in local Chinese community groups.

Persons: ”, Di, Duong Locations: Australia, China, Beijing, Vietnam

☆ Space One Rocket Explodes Seconds After Launch in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The first rocket launched by the Japanese start-up Space One exploded seconds after takeoff on Wednesday, denting its ambition to become the country’s first private company to put a satellite into orbit. The Kairos solid-fuel rocket launched just after 11 a.m. local time and burst into flames less than ten seconds later, livestreams of the launch showed. The explosion left behind a large plume of smoke and set off a fire in a nearby forest that firefighters were battling to extinguish. The 60-foot-long rocket weighs 23 tons and was launched from Space Port Kii in Wakayama Prefecture on Japan’s main island, according to the company’s website. Space One did not respond to requests for comment early Wednesday afternoon.

Locations: Space Port, Wakayama Prefecture

Latam, a Chilean airline, provided no specifics about the technical problem that it said had caused the disturbance. One passenger, who said she was a former flight attendant, told The New Zealand Herald that there had been a “quick little drop” during the flight, Latam Airlines Flight 800. Aircraft tracking information from Flight Aware showed a gap of roughly an hour for which no data was available. The plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, was met at Auckland International Airport by 14 emergency vehicles, including seven ambulances, according to the city’s ambulance service, Hato Hone St. John. Ambulance crews treated about 50 people at the scene, including the person in serious condition; the others were in “moderate to minor condition,” the service said.

Organizations: Latam, New Zealand Herald, Aircraft, Boeing, Auckland International Airport, Hato Hone St, John . Ambulance Locations: Auckland, New, Chilean, Hato Hone

☆ Indonesia Investigates How Two Pilots Dozed Off During a Flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Muktita Suhartono | Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Indonesia’s aviation authority said it would review how the country’s airlines operate night flights after both pilots on a Batik Air flight carrying 153 passengers fell asleep, causing the plane to briefly veer off course. The plane took off from Kendari at about 8 a.m., and after reaching cruising altitude, the captain took a nap while the co-pilot manned the flight, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee. After about an hour, the co-pilot accidentally fell asleep, and several frantic calls from the air traffic control center and other aircraft went unanswered. About 28 minutes later, the pilot woke up, realized the plane had veered off course and woke up the co-pilot. They course-corrected, and the plane landed safely in Jakarta.

Persons: — Organizations: National Transportation Safety Locations: Kendari, Jakarta

Mark Dodson, who voiced strange puppet creatures in “Star Wars,” including Salacious B. Crumb, the cackling monkey-lizard pet of Jabba the Hutt, and “Gremlins” films, died on Saturday. No cause of death was given. Mr. Dodson’s career began in 1983 on “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” when he voiced Salacious B. Crumb, the court jester of Jabba the Hutt that was known for its maniacal laugh. In a 2020 interview, Mr. Dodson explained how he had gotten the role by accident. He was auditioning for Adm. Ackbar, a leader during the Clone Wars, but was so nervous that he asked for a break to compose himself, and was overheard using a deranged voice that the casting director thought was perfect for Crumb.

Persons: Mark Dodson, Crumb, the Hutt, Peter DeLorme, Dodson’s, Salacious, Jabba, Hutt, Dodson, Adm, Ackbar Organizations: Evansville Horror Con, “ Locations: Indiana

☆ Four Eye Ointments Pulled Because of Infection Risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Four eye ointments sold in stores including Walmart and CVS are being recalled because of a potential risk of eye infections or related harm, after U.S. investigators raised concerns about the potential lack of sterility. The voluntary recall involves four over-the-counter products manufactured by Brassica Pharma, according to an announcement by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Two are from Equate, a Walmart brand; one is a CVS Health brand; and another is an AACE Pharmaceuticals brand. Brassica Pharma is a drug development and manufacturing company based in the Indian state of Maharashtra that supplies products to the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa, according to the company’s website. Brassica Pharma’s factory is in the city of Tarapur, about three hours north of Mumbai.

Persons: ointments Organizations: Walmart, CVS, U.S, Brassica Pharma, Food and Drug Administration, Pharmaceuticals, Pharma Locations: Indian, Maharashtra, United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Tarapur, Mumbai

☆ An Olympic Equestrian Rode a Horse in a ‘Mankini.’ Australia Loves Him.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the Australian equestrian and three-time Olympic medalist Shane Rose mounted his horse for a costumed competition wearing only a G-string bikini, or “mankini,” he thought it was all in good — albeit somewhat uncomfortable — fun. Mr. Rose, 50, wasn’t expecting to receive a call from Australia’s governing equestrian body notifying him that he was under investigation and temporarily barred from competing. But he did, and for a few days after the competition on Feb. 11, he feared that the episode might derail his preparations for the Paris Olympics. On Monday, the body, Equestrian Australia, said it had cleared Mr. Rose of wrongdoing at the event. A few supporters even wore mankinis of their own in solidarity.

Persons: Shane Rose, ”, Rose, wasn’t Organizations: Paris Locations: Australia

☆ Grover Is Now a Reporter. Journalists Aren’t Optimistic.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Grover, the furry blue Muppet from “Sesame Street,” is known for working lots of jobs over the years, including astronaut and dentist. Now he is apparently a journalist. “As a news reporter, I always do my research before I break a story,” he wrote Monday on X. “I am confident to report that you are so special and amazing!”

Persons: Grover, ”, “

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that the military would soon enter Rafah, which is bracketed by a closed Egyptian border. Images and videos on social media, which could not immediately be verified, showed injured people and damage to buildings in Rafah. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu promised to offer Palestinians “safe passage” to northern areas of Gaza before the planned ground invasion, though he offered no details. On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu spurned an offer from Hamas to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel withdrawing from Gaza, abiding by a long-term cease-fire and freeing Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Asked during an interview broadcast on Sunday how many of the remaining hostages were still alive, Mr. Netanyahu said, “Enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we’re doing.”

Persons: ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, Daniel Hagari, Wafa, Ziad Obeid, Netanyahu, Israel, Mohammed Abed Organizations: Hamas, Local, Palestinian Authority, ”, Kuwait Hospital, United Nations, ., Agence France Locations: Gazan, Rafah, Israel, Kuwait, United States, Britain, Gaza, Egypt

☆ Imran Khan’s ‘Victory Speech’ From Jail Shows A.I.’s Peril and Promise
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has spent the duration of the country’s electoral campaign in jail, disqualified from running in what experts have described as one of the least credible general elections in the country’s 76-year history. But from behind bars, he has been rallying his supporters in recent months with speeches that use artificial intelligence to replicate his voice, part of a tech-savvy strategy his party deployed to circumvent a crackdown by the military. And on Saturday, as official counts showed candidates aligned with his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., winning the most seats in a surprise result that threw the country’s political system into chaos, it was Mr. Khan’s A.I. voice that declared victory.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan’s Locations: Pakistan

☆ Mojo Nixon, Who Mixed Roots and Punk Rock, Dies at 66
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mojo Nixon, the rabble-rousing psychobilly musician and radio host who shot to fame with his satirical 1987 hit “Elvis Is Everywhere,” died on Wednesday aboard a country music cruise that he was co-hosting. His death was confirmed by Matt Eskey, the director of a 2020 documentary film about Mr. Nixon. He said that Mr. Nixon had a “cardiac event” while he was asleep as the Outlaw Country Cruise was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A statement posted by the film’s official Facebook page said that Mr. Nixon had died “after a blazing show, a raging night, closing the bar, taking no prisoners.”Mr. Nixon was best known for his celebrity spoofs, like “Don Henley Must Die” and “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child,” and for satirical tirades like “I Hate Banks” and “Destroy All Lawyers.” “All of it was performed in maximum overdrive on a bed of rockabilly, blues, and R&B, which earned Nixon some friends in the roots rock community but had enough punk attitude — in its own bizarre way — to make him a college radio staple during his heyday,” the All Music Guide wrote.

Persons: Mojo Nixon, ”, Matt Eskey, Nixon, Mr, “ Don Henley, Debbie Gibson, Banks Locations: San Juan , Puerto Rico

Nearly half of all flash flood deaths are vehicle-related, experts say, which is why you should never drive into a flooded street. Here’s what to do in advance — and in the moment — to get through a flash flood safely. A “flash flood warning” means a flash flood is imminent or already occurring, and you should immediately move to higher ground if you’re outside or in a basement apartment. The most dire alert is a “flash flood emergency,” which indicates that not only is flooding occurring, but it’s posing a severe threat to human life. “People need to realize that most people who lose their footing in a flash flood don’t get out,” she said.

Persons: there’s, ”, Bonnie Schneider, Schneider, it’s, Hurricane Ida, You’ll, Ready.gov, David Markenson, ‘ It’s, Sabine Marx, I’m, Julie Munger, Munger, “, Dr, Markenson, you’re, don’t, they’re, Ms, Lynn Burttschell, Burttschell, Eugene Resnick, ’, ” Susan Shain Organizations: National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cross Training Services, Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Sierra Rescue, FEMA, Wimberley, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York Times Locations: United States, New York City, New York, Madison, Wis

☆ News Outlet Blames Photoshop for Making Australian Lawmaker’s Photo More Revealing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A lawmaker in the Australian state of Victoria sat down to watch the nightly news on Monday, expecting to see herself featured as a prominent opponent of duck hunting. But the member of Parliament, Georgie Purcell, noticed that in one photo used on 9News, the tattoos on her midriff were missing. “I saw the image come up on the screen and I thought, ‘That’s really odd,’ because my stomach is heavily tattooed,” Ms. Purcell said on Wednesday.

Persons: Georgie Purcell, “, ‘, Ms, Purcell Locations: Australian, Victoria

☆ Amazon Filmed ‘Expats’ in Hong Kong, but People There Can’t Watch It
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Tiffany May | Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That series from Amazon Prime, “Expats,” which stars Ms. Kidman, aired its first two episodes last week in what it described as a worldwide release. For Hong Kong viewers, they appeared as “currently unavailable.”The reasons are unknown. Amazon Studios declined to comment. A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said it had facilitated the filming of some street scenes in “Expats” but would not comment on the “operational arrangement of individual businesses.”The show is being released after several years of transformation in the city, a Chinese territory. Hong Kong was largely closed off to the world during three years of pandemic restrictions, and speech and dissent have become severely restricted after a mass protest movement was squashed in 2019.

Persons: Nicole Kidman, “, Kidman, Hong Kong Organizations: Amazon Prime, Hong Kong, Amazon Studios, Hong Locations: Hong Kong, Hong

☆ 2 Navy SEALs Declared Dead After Mission to Stop Iranian Weapons
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. military said on Sunday that it had declared two Navy SEALs dead after they went missing 10 days ago during an operation at sea to intercept weapons from Iran headed to Houthi fighters. They are among the first known U.S. fatalities in Washington’s campaign against the Houthis, who have launched dozens of attacks on ships in the Red Sea since November, roiling the global shipping industry. The episode involving the SEALs occurred in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Somalia on Jan. 11. During that nighttime commando mission, according to the U.S. military, American troops boarded a small boat, called a dhow, and seized weapons including Iranian made ballistic-missile and cruise-missile components bound for Yemen. The mission led to the first seizure by U.S. forces of Iran-supplied weapons since the Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea, the U.S. military said in a statement last week.

Organizations: U.S, Navy, ., Pentagon, U.S . Central Command Locations: Iran, Red, United States, Yemen, Somalia, U.S, Gazans, Israel

☆ Fire Season in Australia Has Started, Early and Ominous
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The warmest winter on record, followed by an unusually warm and dry spring. Hundreds of fires along Australia’s east coast, including one that razed 53 homes in Queensland. It’s not yet summer, but Australia’s fire season is well underway, in the latest example of how climate change is altering the rhythms of life across the Earth. Stoked by the El Niño weather pattern, it is the first dry and hot year since the Black Summer of 2019-2020. “We’re still at the very beginning of the fire reason, and already we’ve had hundreds of fires since early October,” Western Australia’s emergency services minister, Stephen Dawson, said on Friday.

Persons: We’re, we’ve, Stephen Dawson Locations: Queensland, Perth, El

☆ Woman Detained for Questioning in Suspected Mushroom Poisoning Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three of the four guests who attended a family lunch in a quiet Australian country town died shortly afterward, with symptoms the police said were consistent with mushroom poisoning. On Thursday, three months after the lunch in question, police took her into custody for further questioning. Erin Patterson, 49, hosted the lunch on July 29, at her home in Leongatha in the state of Victoria. Mr. Patterson, Ms. Patterson and Ms. Wilkinson all died within a week of the lunch. Mr. Wilkinson eventually recovered and was released from the hospital in late September.

Persons: Erin Patterson, Gail, Don Patterson, Gail Patterson’s, Heather Wilkinson, Ian Wilkinson, Patterson, Ms, Wilkinson Locations: Leongatha, Victoria

U.S. intelligence agencies released no new imagery or other new evidence to make their case. A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said The Times and intelligence agencies had different interpretations of the video. On Tuesday, U.S. intelligence officials reaffirmed their assessment that Israel was not responsible for the explosion. The evaluation reflected a higher degree of certainty by U.S. intelligence officials that Israel was not responsible for the blast. If the United States gets additional information that would point in a different direction, the official said, intelligence agencies will release it.

Persons: Al Jazeera, Al, Israel, Biden, ’, Rishi Sunak, ” Mr, Sunak Organizations: Ahli Arab Hospital, New York Times, National Intelligence, Times, Hamas, Health Ministry, Palestinian, United States Locations: Al, Ahli, Gaza, U.S, Palestinian, Al Jazeera, Israel, Jihad, Israeli, United, “, Gaza City

☆ After Bruising Vote, Indigenous Australians Say ‘Reconciliation Is Dead’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The result of the referendum was decisive, and at the same time, divisive. It bruised Indigenous Australians who for decades had hoped that a conciliatory approach would help right the wrongs of the country’s colonial history. So, the nation’s leader made a plea. “This moment of disagreement does not define us. And it will not divide us,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, visibly emotional, said this month, after voters in every state and territory except one rejected the constitutional referendum.

Persons: Anthony Albanese Organizations: ”

☆ Studios and Writers Reached a Deal. Here’s What Happens Next.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Writers Guild of America reached a tentative deal with top entertainment companies on a new contract, ending one of Hollywood’s longest labor disputes and moving the industry closer to restarting. The Writers Guild was able to secure concessions on most of their demands from the studios, including increases in royalty payments for streaming content and guarantees that artificial intelligence will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation. After 146 days on strike, the deal was reached after five consecutive days of negotiations. The use of A.I., one of the main drivers for writers to call a strike, was the last sticking point. Over the weekend, the studios proposed a few paragraphs to be inserted into the new contract that addressed a guild concern about A.I.

Persons: there’s Organizations: Guild of America, Hollywood, Guild

☆ Culling, Curfews and Caps: Australia ‘Declares War’ on Its Cat Problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Invasive species are the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss in Australia, a new United Nations report found this week. And feral cats are the most invasive in the country’s landscape, killing an estimated two billion animals per year, according to Australia’s environment minister, Tanya Plibersek. This isn’t exactly new — the Australian government also declared war on feral cats back in 2015 — but the recent proposal contains some new elements. Should local governments have more opportunity to restrict the ownership of cats in their area?’” Ms. Plibersek told local news media yesterday.

Persons: Tanya Plibersek, Plibersek Organizations: United Locations: Australia, United Nations, —

Search resuls for: "Yan Zhuang"

25 mentions found