DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Pegatron India fire traced to workers' failure to turn off switch -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Praveen Paramasivam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

People are seen outside the main gate of the Pegatron facility following a fire incident at the facility near Chennai, India, September 26, 2023. A senior Tamil Nadu government source, and another industry source briefed on the matter, detailed how Sunday's events unfolded. One smartphone industry source with direct knowledge said the charging racks at the Pegatron plant are typically switched off after three Saturday shifts end early on Sundays. The fire damaged some machines, said the government source and another source with direct knowledge, who spoke on condition of anonymity. About 8,000 people work on the assembly line at the Pegatron facility, which sprawls across 39,000 sq.

Persons: Praveen, Pegatron, Praveen Paramasivam, Munsif, Faith Hung, Ben Blanchard, Aditya Kalra, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Sunday, Reuters, Apple, Tamil, Firemen, Thomson Locations: Chennai, India, Tamil Nadu, Taiwan, Chengalpattu, Bengaluru, Taipei

CHENNAI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Pegatron temporarily halted iPhone assembly at its facility in south India on Monday after a fire on Sunday night, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Pegatron accounts for 10% of Apple's iPhone production in India, according to research firm Counterpoint. Apple has bet big on India since it began iPhone assembly in the country in 2017 via Wistron (3231.TW) and later Foxconn (2317.TW), as the Indian government pushed for local manufacturing. Pegatron, which started iPhone assembly in India in September last year, is also in talks to open a second Indian contract facility for Apple near the existing one in Tamil Nadu. In February, a fire at a south Indian facility of Foxlink for iPhone charging cables forced it to halt production.

Persons: TW, Pegatron, Ben Blanchard, Praveen, Munsif Vengattil, Aditi Shah, Sarah Wu, Toby Chopra, Susan Fenton, Mark Potter Organizations: Apple, Pegatron, Reuters, Local, Thomson Locations: CHENNAI, India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Wistron, Indian

☆ On Sale Now: My Stylish Patio Table That Survived Sun, Sleet and a Fallen Tree Branch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Leslie Yazel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

By Leslie YazelHow hard could it be to find a stylish patio dining table that could withstand the weather and look great for years? So let me save you some time: Go straight to the Loll Designs Alfresco Dining Table, which is on sale now. We had an epic ice storm that resulted in a branch the size of a Mini Cooper crashing onto our Loll table. Loll Designs furniture was a bit more than I wanted to spend. The price feels worth-it considering it’s so durable that I’ll never have the hassle or expense of buying another patio dining table ever again.

Persons: Leslie Yazel, I’ve, Cooper Locations: New, Duluth, Minn

☆ Europe’s summer of extremes triggers health warnings, nuclear output fears and shipping disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Europe's protracted battle with extreme weather conditions comes shortly after official data showed July was the hottest month in history. To be sure, the climate emergency — which is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels — is making extreme weather and its impacts more frequent and more intense. People stand at an overflooded petrol station in Gjovik on August 11, 2023 after extreme weather with heavy rain hit south-east Norway. This gives us the long-term context for the increasing occurrence and severity of such extreme weather and extreme events." On the same day, France issued an extreme heat warning for four regional departments in the southern regions of Rhone, Drome, Ardeche and Haute-Loire.

Persons: Angelos Tzortzinis, Alvaro Silva, Heiko Junge, Silva, Christophe Archambault, Nero, sweltering, Fabrice Coffrini Organizations: Sikorsky, Afp, Getty, EDF, Turkish, Meteorological Organization, Firefighters, Reuters Locations: Acharnes, Athens, Europe, Greece, French, Italy, Norway, Gjovik, Alexandroupolis, France, Rhone, Drome, Ardeche, Haute, Loire, Bordeaux, Sardinia, Dardanelles, Switzerland

☆ Wildfire forces evacuations near Salem, Oregon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Liberty Fire, which prompted immediate evacuations, burns near Jory Hill Road and Liberty Road South in Salem, Oregon, U.S. August 23, 2023. The Oregon State Fire Marshall was helping fight the fire by mobilizing fixed-wing tankers, an air attack platform and a helicopter, it said on X. The fire had burned at least 10 acres (4 hectares), the Statesman Journal reported, citing the state fire marhsal. Salem is a city 180,000 people about 50 miles (80 km) south of Portland in the northwestern U.S. state of Oregon. The fire was south of the city limits, near the interface between densely populated areas and green space.

Persons: Abigail Dollins, Oregon State Fire Marshall, Daniel Trotta, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Liberty, USA, Network, REUTERS Acquire, Marion County Sheriff, Oregon State Fire, Statesman Journal, Thomson Locations: Jory, Salem , Oregon, U.S, Oregon, Salem, Marion County, Portland

Wildfires ravaged northern Greece for a fifth consecutive day on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of settlements on the outskirts of the capital, Athens. The authorities said they were battling scores of blazes around the country after weeks of searing heat turned many areas into tinderboxes. “It is the worst summer for fires since records began,” said Vassilis Kikilias, the civil protection minister. Mr. Kikilias said rescue forces were giving “110 percent” in their efforts to douse multiple blazes around the country, noting that 355 new fires had broken out in the past five days — 209 of them in the last 24 hours.

Persons: ”, Vassilis Kikilias, Kikilias Locations: Greece, Athens, tinderboxes

France, which widened its heatwave red alert in the south of the country, said it would scale back production at a nuclear power plant as high temperatures curbed cooling water supply. The strait, linking the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, is a major shipping route for commodities such as oil and grains. It said some areas of southern France would experience temperatures of 42 degree Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit). The authorities widened a heatwave red alert for the south of the country, while officials urged some mountain climbers to postpone their activities and told grape pickers to work in the morning to avoid the extreme heat. Italy issued heatwave red alerts about "emergency conditions" that the health ministry says could endanger the healthy as well as the frail in 17 of its 27 main cities for Wednesday and Thursday, including Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice.

Persons: Firefighters, Vassilis Kikilias, herder, Saint Alban, Karolina Tagaris, Alexandros Avramidis, Ezgi, Zhifan Liu, Forrest Crellin, Nacho Doce, Violeta Santos Moura, Crispian Balmer, Charlie Devereux, Edmund Blair Organizations: Migration Ministry, Residents, Civil, European Union, EDF, Saint, Fundacion Madrina, Firefighters, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Athens, Turkey, Dardanelles, France, Italy, ATHENS, ISTANBUL, Europe, Greece, Menidi, Amygdaleza, Fyli, Alexandroupolis, Evros, East, Asia, Turkey's, Canakkale, Meteo, Spain, Tenerife, Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice

☆ Fire tourists, drone fliers told to stay clear of British Columbia blazes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People walk on a marina as smoke from wildfires hangs low in the Lake Okanagan city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Acquire Licensing RightsAug 19 (Reuters) - Wildfire tourists and drone operators who could be impeding the work of firefighters are being told by British Columbia officials that they are unwelcome while fast moving and unpredictable forest fires rage in the Canadian province. More than 35,000 people were under evacuation order by Saturday following British Columbia Premier David Eby's declaration of a state of emergency late on Friday, giving authorities more powers to tackle fire-related risks. Some 3,400 workers are involved in firefighting in British Columbia in western Canada. "Leaving Yellowknife, you're driving into the smoke," the 33-year old said of his 20-hour journey home to Calgary in Alberta province.

Persons: Chris Helgren, British Columbia Premier David Eby's, Bruce Ralston, Eby, Ralston, Ma, that's, Brent Saulnier, I've, Denny Thomas, George Sargent, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, British Columbia, British Columbia Premier, Emergency Management, Climate Readiness, Thomson Locations: Lake Okanagan, Kelowna , British Columbia, Canada, British, Canadian, British Columbia, Canada's Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Calgary, Alberta, Toronto

☆ Bud Light Boycott Can’t Douse Anheuser-Busch InBev
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Aaron Back | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bud-light-boycott-cant-douse-anheuser-busch-inbev-6acf099a

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: anheuser, busch, inbev, 6acf099a

That risk has been put under the spotlight by the burning car carrier drifting off the Dutch coast. While all logistics companies deal with the risk of EV lithium-ion batteries burning with twice the energy of a normal fire, the maritime industry hasn't kept up with the developing technology and how it creates greater risk, maritime officials and insurers said. There were 209 ship fires reported during 2022, the highest number in a decade and 17% more than in 2021, according to a report from insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) (ALVG.DE). The European Maritime Safety Agency said in a March report the main cargo types identified as responsible for "a large share of cargo fire accidents included ... lithium-ion batteries." Firemen typically put out EV battery fires on roadsides by clearing the area around the burning vehicle and flooding the underside with water, something difficult to do on a RoRo, Dillon said.

Persons: hasn't, EVs, Shoei, Nathan Habers, Douglas Dillon, John Frazee, Marsh, Dillon, Frazee, KVNR's Habers, Joe Biden's, Lisa Baertlein, Anthony Deutsch, Victoria Waldersee, Ben Klayman, Diane Craft Organizations: Allianz, ANGELES, Dutch coastguard, RTL, Allianz Global Corporate, Specialty, Maritime Safety Agency, Royal Association of Netherlands, Tri, Maritime Safety Association, Auto, Firemen, EV, International Maritime Organization, Reuters, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Dutch, EVs, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, China, Europe, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Berlin

☆ Three dead as Sicily counts losses from 'devastating' fires
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Another woman in her late 80s died in the Palermo province after an ambulance was unable to reach her home due to fires in the area. In an overnight message on Facebook, Sicilian President Renato Schifani said "scorching heat and unprecedented devastating fires" had turned Tuesday into "one of the most difficult days in decades". Fires were still burning on the hills around Palermo on Wednesday, with Canadair planes back in operation to try to douse the flames. Large areas of the Mediterranean have been sweltering under an intense summer heatwave on Tuesday, causing deadly blazes across the region. "I hope that tourist flows in the areas affected by the fires will not suffer losses," Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, a Sicilian, told the La Stampa newspaper.

Persons: Renato Schifani, Nello Musumeci, Alvise, Keith Weir Organizations: Facebook, Canadair, La Stampa, Thomson Locations: Sicily, Palermo, Sicilian, Calabria, Catania, Rome, Bari, Puglia

☆ A Battle With Fire on 2 Continents, in Photos
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The crackling flames have left charred forests, drawing in thousands of firefighters to stop their hungry march. The hundreds of wildfires that raged in recent days across southern Europe and northern Africa forced the evacuations of thousands of people. In Greece, blazes have ravaged the forest areas of the mainland and islands, including Corfu, Evia and Rhodes. On Tuesday, two pilots working to douse the flames on the island of Evia were killed in a plane crash, the country’s prime minister said. In Algeria, more than 30 people have died, including 10 soldiers in the northern city of Bejaia on the Mediterranean, officials said.

Persons: Rhodes Locations: Europe, Africa, Greece, Corfu, Evia, Algeria, Bejaia

☆ Wildfire Forces Thousands to Evacuate in Canary Islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Spanish firefighters on Monday were battling a wildfire that has raged for three days on the wooded slopes of La Palma in the Canary Islands, temporarily forcing the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents. The fire, which the Spanish authorities say has burned some 10,000 acres, could be a preview of weather-related crises to come this summer in Europe. The southern part of the continent is in the midst of a heat wave that is drying up fields, increasing the risks of wildfires. “The weather has been helping us,” Sergio Rodríguez, the president of the local government council in La Palma, said in a news conference on Monday. More than 500 firefighters were trying to bring the blaze under control, aided by several water-carrying helicopters making regular rounds over the flames in an attempt to douse them.

Persons: ” Sergio Rodríguez Organizations: La Palma Locations: La, Canary, Europe, La Palma

☆ Swiss police evacuate villages due to wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 17 (Reuters) - Swiss police ordered the evacuation of several mountain villages late on Monday as a forest fire spread, while it was not immediately clear how many people were affected. It later added that three other villages were to be evacuated and warned of rockfalls. Air Zermatt, which operates four of the helicopters, said efforts to extinguish the fire would continue through the night. Valais police posted pictures showing a helicopter dangling a water cannon above a forest fire in the afternoon. loadingThe area is affected by the same Mediterranean heatwave affecting southern Europe, with temperatures set to exceed 30 Celsius in parts of the Valais canton this week, forecasts show.

Persons: Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Josie Kao Organizations: Swiss, Twitter, rockfalls, Air Zermatt, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Valais, Ried, Morel, Brig, Air, Europe

☆ Two dead, output impacted after fire engulfs Mexican oil platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ana Isabel Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Boats spray water onto an offshore oil platform that caught fire at the Pemex's Cantarell Field, in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico July 7, 2023. In posts on Twitter, Pemex said it had accounted for all other workers and said oil production had taken a major hit from the blaze. Later on Friday, the company said oil production had been "impacted in a substantial way" due to the fire. A Pemex statement Friday morning indicated that 321 of 328 people working on the sprawling platform had been successfully evacuated. The vast majority of Mexican oil production comes from nearby shallow water fields clustered around the Bay of Campeche in the southern Gulf, where Pemex has suffered a number of industrial accidents in recent years.

Persons: Pemex, Octavio Romero, Cantarell, Ana Isabel Martinez, Stefanie Eschenbacher, Kylie Madry, Manuel Carrillo, Brendan O'Boyle, Isabel Woodford, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bay, Campeche, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Handout, MEXICO

☆ Summer cooking hack: Ways to grill with campfires or firepits
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Casey Barber | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Start with a few key itemsAs with an indoor kitchen, you’ll need a few crucial tools to make your outdoor cooking expeditions a success. Metal cutlery are staples of outdoor cooking. Simple to prepare in advance, foil packets are among the easiest meals for a campfire cooking newbie to whip up. For skillet cooking, you can experiment with some of your usual one-pan meals transferred to the outdoors. One note: High-sided stainless steel firepits, such as Solo Stoves, aren’t the best option for cooking in coals.

Persons: they’re, I’ve, Helmut Feil, •, ”, Dani Meyer, you’re, Harlan Schwartz, ” Meyer, Meyer, Casey Barber Organizations: CNN

☆ Fireworks for All, One Day Only, in Australia’s Last Frontier
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As fireworks lit up the three-mile stretch of coastline in the capital of Australia’s remote Northern Territory, a swath of grass along the beach went up in flames. A few revelers used tree branches to beat down the blaze; one man poured water on the fire with one hand, clutching a beer in another. But most, having judged that the fire probably would not spread, were content to carry on setting off fireworks and waiting for firefighters to arrive to douse the conflagration, which they did after about 15 minutes. About three feet from the fire, close enough to feel its heat, a couple lit sparklers and danced with their two young children. Welcome to Territory Day in the Northern Territory, the one time and place in mainland Australia where anyone can set off fireworks, no permits needed and no questions asked.

Locations: Northern Territory, Australia

☆ As Canada's wildfires intensify, recruiting firefighters is tougher
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

That's roughly 2,500 firefighters short of what is needed, said Mike Flannigan, a professor at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia and wildfire specialist. "It's hard work, it's hot work, it's smoky work, and there are real issues with health impacts longer-term," Flannigan said. Applications were down in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, and Alberta had to do several rounds of recruitment to fill its ranks, officials said. As more wildfires threaten communities, provincial agencies are also increasingly leaning on structural firefighters to help protect homes. Since 2009, Canada has been spending more on fighting and suppressing wildfires than on maintaining its firefighting personnel and program.

Persons: Mike Flannigan, Flannigan, Scott Tingley, Rob Schweitzer, Ken McMullen, David Ljunggren, Ismail Shakil, Denny Thomas, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Reuters, Thompson Rivers University, Nova, Wildfire, BC Wildfire Service, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, Emergency Preparedness, Thomson Locations: BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada, Yukon, British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Canada's, Manitoba, Lithuania, Quebec, Ottawa

☆ Lube That’s Too Chic for the Sock Drawer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Gina Cherelus | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Portia Brown, a sex coach in Brooklyn, lube is nonnegotiable. “I don’t think I’ve had sex in the last five years without reaching for a lubricant,” she said. Inside her night stand drawer is an array of personal lubricants: some silicone-based, some oil-based, some infused with CBD. One thing most of them have in common, however, is the chic packaging and bottles they come in, imbuing a sex aid with the allure of a beauty product. Indeed, there is now a “lube aesthetic.”

Persons: Portia Brown, I’ve, Ms, Brown, “, ” Locations: Brooklyn, lube

☆ ‘The Fires Here Are Unstoppable’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Norimitsu Onishi | Renaud Philippe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

An out-of-control fire was advancing rapidly toward a logging road on Tuesday afternoon, tearing through Canada’s immense — and highly flammable — boreal forest with a force and intensity bewildering to a team of French firefighters. Surrounded by thick smoke, a handful of them headed into the forest to search for water. A veteran knelt down and used his right finger to sketch a plan on the gravel road, pressing to attack the fire head-on. The fire, he said, was of an immensity unimaginable in France. Trying to douse this tiny patch would be “pointless.”

Locations: France

☆ U.S. Bancorp CEO says economy heading for "moderate" recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Bancorp's (USB.N) Andy Cecere forecast a "moderate" recession that would be short and "not very deep in terms of severity," CEO of the lender said at a conference on Tuesday. He also said one more interest rate hike was expected from the Federal Reserve in the summer. The relentless monetary policy tightening has raised the odds of a recession as consumers cut down on discretionary spending, which is hurting loan demand. U.S. Bancorp is seeing a drop in loan demand in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, Cecere said. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andy Cecere, Cecere, Niket, Shinjini Organizations: Federal Reserve, U.S . Bancorp, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

REUTERS/Carlos OsorioOTTAWA, June 10 (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Quebec says rain and outside help could help win the fight against more than 100 forest fires producing plumes of smoke that have left cities on the Atlantic seaboard gasping for breath. "Some rain is forecast ... in the next few days there is a risk the situation will stay critical. But the arrival of French firefighters is really going to help," forestry minister Maite Blanchette Vezina told reporters on Friday. By late Friday there were 422 fires across Canada, 125 of them in Quebec. Please use caution so that we can try our best to avoid a catastrophic fire season," British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters on Friday.

Persons: smokey, Carlos Osorio, Maite Blanchette Vezina, Gerald Cheng, Columbia Premier David Eby, Vezina, Francois Bonnardel, David Ljunggren, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Carlos Osorio OTTAWA, Authorities, Columbia Premier, Thomson Locations: Ontario, Quebec, Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Canadian, France, Germany, Spain, Federal, Pacific, British Columbia, Ottawa

[1/3] Firefighters try to douse a bus that caught fire during clashes with the supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 12, 2023. The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It is an endorsement of the military, which said on Monday that the rioters and their handlers had been identified, and would be tried under army laws. "The meeting endorsed to bring the miscreants, the planners who incited for violence and their facilitators to dock by trying them under constitutional provisions of concerned laws, including Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act," said a statement issued by Sharif's office. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an independent civil rights group, said it strongly opposes the use of those two laws to try civilians.

☆ Traders raise the chances for a Fed rate cut following April inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Still, it was enough for traders to raise the chances of a September rate cut to near 80%, according to the CME Group's Fed Watch tracker of prices in the fed funds futures market. In fact, the October fed funds contract implied a policy rate of 4.84%, or nearly a full quarter point below the current effective rate of 5.08%. Among Wall Street analysts and economists, though, the case for a rate cut remains shaky. "I do not see in my baseline forecast any reason to cut interest rates this year." The central bank raised its fed funds rate last week by a quarter point, to 5.0-5.25%, its 10th increase since March, 2022.

☆ Uber’s Rides, Delivery Lift First-Quarter Results
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Preetika Rana | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Uber’s sales expansion in the quarter was in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesContinued demand for Uber Technologies ’ ride-share and delivery services boosted its revenue and adjusted earnings in the first quarter, despite concerns that high inflation and a potential recession could douse spending. The San Francisco-based company said Tuesday that revenue for the three months through March rose 29% from a year earlier to $8.82 billion. It also increased the number of consumers and trips, and the value of transactions, on its platform. The sales expansion was in line with Wall Street’s expectations.

Search resuls for: "douse"

25 mentions found