DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate "fake news" and impersonate state-controlled media. The regulator said it had wiped 107,000 accounts of counterfeit news units and news anchors and 835,000 pieces of fake news information since April 6. The cleanup comes as China and countries across the globe grapple with an onslaught of fake news coverage online, with many implementing laws to punish culprits. News dissemination on Chinese social media, however, is already heavily controlled, with platforms like the Twitter-like Weibo favouring topic hashtags produced by state media, while censoring hashtags on issues or incidents considered sensitive by Beijing, even if they go viral. China recently arrested a man in Gansu province for allegedly using ChatGPT to generate a fake story about a train crash.

☆ Chinese cities broil in heat, brace for more record temperatures
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Recently, Yunnan province was gripped with temperatures of more than 40 Celsius, which is especially burdensome for power grids as millions of homes begin to switch on air conditioners. read moreOver the past couple days, Shandong province and Beijing issued heat warnings. Populous cities such as Jinan, Tianjin and Zhengzhou are expected to see temperatures soar to as high as 37 degrees Celsius. The China Meteorological Administration has warned regions to prepare for more extreme heat this year. The World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) latest assessment also predicts the strong likelihood of the El Niño weather phenomenon returning later this year.

☆ ‘Ted Lasso,’ Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Colin’s Moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Christopher Orr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Speaking of Jack, it appears that particular subplot has already run its highly unnecessary course. But even I’m a little taken aback at how casually the show has discarded a once semi-central story line. Keeley and Jack had one fight, Jack slammed the door like Nora in “A Doll’s House” and now (unlike Nora) she has relocated to Argentina. (Has anyone else noticed that Richmond seems to alternate between long winning and losing streaks without ever being, you know, average?) Later, Isaac refuses Colin’s invitation to get a beer with a curt, angry “No.” Next, before the game with Brighton & Hove Albion — I’m with Ted; sounds like a law firm — Isaac leaves Colin’s attempted fist-bump un-bumped.

☆ EU envoy to China hails Xi's call with Ukraine president as positive step
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, May 9 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was a very positive step, the European Union ambassador to China said on Tuesday, while urging greater efforts to achieve peace. Xi's hour-long call with Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fulfilled one of Kyiv's long-standing goals, which it had publicly sought for months. "We would like China to go further and help more to reach a just peace, which involves withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine," Jorge Toledo Albinana told a press conference in the Chinese capital. State media had reported that during their call, Xi told Zelenskiy China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace. Borrell reportedly wrote in an opinion piece in the Journal du Dimanche that European navies should patrol the Strait.

☆ China says imperative to stabilise Sino-US relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Monday it is imperative to stabilise Sino-U.S. relations after a series of "erroneous words and deeds" threw ties back into a deep freeze. In response, Beijing severed formal communications channels with the United States including one between their militaries. "A series of erroneous words and deeds by the United States since then have undermined the hard-won positive momentum of Sino-U.S. relations," Qin told Burns, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. "The top priority is to stabilise Sino-U.S. relations, avoid a downward spiral and prevent any accidents between China and the United States," Qin said. Last month, China staged war games around Taiwan after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

☆ ‘Ted Lasso,’ Season 3, Episode 8 Recap: Ends and Beginnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Christopher Orr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But the tug that Henry exerts on his father’s heart, while scarcely new, is ever more evident — in particular during the goodbyes that close the episode, when Ted can scarcely let go of Henry’s backpack. NateWhen we first run across Nate this episode, he is in bed in the morning. Upon waking, she quickly determines that, charmingly, Nate had already gotten up, showered, shaved, brushed his teeth and gotten back into bed. We’ve gone straight from romantic tension to romantic fulfillment without witnessing the romantic journey at all, at least so far. Which is perhaps part of the reason Nate’s most moving relationship is still his complicated one with Ted.

☆ Has Boston Seen the Last of Patrice Bergeron?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( David Waldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Patrice Bergeron’s final hug on the ice on Sunday was reserved for Brad Marchand, his longtime linemate and friend. If it was Bergeron’s final moment in a Boston Bruins uniform, so ends a magnificent 19-year career that places him in the pantheon of great Boston athletes. But somewhere on that glittering list stands Bergeron, one of the greatest two-way centers in hockey history. “He is one of the best to ever play the game,” Marchand said in March, when the Bruins appeared invincible. It’s hard for anyone to drag their feet when your best player and oldest guy is out there setting the example.”

CNN —The strength of tornadoes is rated on the Enhanced Fujita, or EF, Scale. The scale runs from 0 to 5 and rates tornadoes after they’ve hit by assessing damage to determine wind speed. The scale is named after Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita, an engineer and meteorologist who developed the original version of it in 1971. EF4: 166- to 200-mph wind gustsEasily destroying homes, tossing cars and downing large trees, these tornadoes can be devastating. Cheney Orr/ReutersEF5: 200+-mph wind gustsThese monsters cause complete devastation, flattening nearly everything in their path.

☆ ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3, Episode 7 Recap: Restaurant Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Christopher Orr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

At the end of the episode, Sam takes his father to see the fractured restaurant, only to find his teammates hard at work repairing it. Now, I confess I’d spent much of the episode trying to remember why Sam had named the restaurant Ola’s; I was planning to recheck Episode 3 and even last season for clues. Keeley and JackPresumably having Aurora-Borealised to their hearts’ content last episode, Keeley and Jack mostly limit themselves to coffee this time around, even if those coffees involve signed Jane Austen first editions and jewelry-filled pastry. In between, Keeley — who’d confided to Jack her love of daisies — returns to an office overflowing with them. (Also, is it just me or is it a tad stalker-y for Jack to secretly pay for Keeley and Rebecca’s dinner?)

Giant screen options include pioneer IMAX and various premium large formats (PLF) created by theater chains. For Missouri-based B&B Theatres, about half of a multiplex's grosses now come from premium formats, compared with 30% before the pandemic, said Chief Content, Programming and Development Officer Brock Bagby. B&B operates 531 screens in 14 states and offers large format screens with heated recliners, 270-degree Screen X screens, immersive audio and MX4D seats timed to rumble with the action. "Post-COVID, our premium screens are selling better than ever," Bagby said. As a sign of its importance, Universal's Orr and other studio distribution executives said they consult Gelfond about IMAX screen availability before setting movie release dates.

☆ China's foreign minister: Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, April 21 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Friday that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to China, and that it is right and proper for China to uphold its sovereignty. Qin made the remarks at the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, where he discussed a wide range of topics from debt, the global economy, and Taiwan. "Recently there has been absurd rhetoric accusing China of upending the status quo, disrupting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Qin said. "It is not the Chinese mainland, but the Taiwan independence separatist forces and a handful of countries attempting to disrupt the status quo," Qin said. Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim the government in Taipei strongly rejects, and routinely denounces high-level meetings between Taiwanese and foreign leaders and officials.

“Based on the completed staff investigation, the Ethics Subcommittee finds that Representative Campbell violated the Policy” against workplace discrimination and harassment, the memorandum from the workplace discrimination and harassment subcommittee states. Reps. Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson leave the Tennessee State Capitol after a vote at the Tennessee House of Representatives to expel the three Democratic members for their roles in a gun control demonstration. Cheney Orr/ReutersReps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, both young, Black Democrats who represent Districts 52 and 86 respectively, were ousted from the GOP-dominated chamber. Jones and Pearson returned to the Tennessee House after they were reappointed through unanimous votes by local officials in their respective districts. The subcommittee said in its memo that it “is committed to protecting members, employees, and visitors by providing an environment free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.

☆ ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3, Episode 6 Recap: Dutch Treat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Christopher Orr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Ted, on the other hand, is understandably conflicted. Ted, having had his fill of foreignness, heads to the Yankee Doodle Burger Barn restaurant, which advertises American food in American portions. (For those who didn’t make the connection, the barbecue sauce the waitress brings him is from Arthur Bryant’s, Ted’s favorite joint in Kansas City.) Coincidentally, an old Jordan-era Bulls game is on the television, featuring the triangle offense implemented by the coach Phil Jackson. The first is the revelation that Beard’s drugs were duds: Ted wasn’t high at all!

CNN —Two Alabama teens have been arrested and face murder charges in the deadly rampage at a weekend Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, state police said Wednesday. “I just want justice for my baby and all the other kids that were involved,” Allen told CNN on Monday. From left to right, Zaniriah Dowdell, Latonya Allen, Alexis Dowdell and Phil Dowdell pose for this undated family photo. You’re strong,” she told Phil. A makeshift memorial sits Wednesday at the scene of the deadly mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama.

☆ China orders probe after fire kills 21 in Beijing hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 19 (Reuters) - China has ordered an investigation into a fire that killed 21 people at a Beijing hospital, one of the deadliest in the capital in recent years, but many social media posts on the incident were deleted as people questioned a delay in announcing the news. Local media had reported an investigation was in progress. Social media posts about the fire circulating on WeChat for several hours were either censored or deleted, according to checks by Reuters. One post still available criticised the hospital for boasting about its fire preparedness in a February article on its official WeChat account. The cause of the fire is being investigated, according to state and local media reports, and there were no further details on injured.

☆ What intersectionality actually means and why it matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Leah Asmelash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s what you should know about intersectionality – what exactly it means, and why it matters. Co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the phrase intersectionality in 1989. As part of that larger movement, terms like intersectionality and intersectional feminism became much more prevalent in left-leaning circles. People practice Judaism differently, and thus different sects may face different problems. In that group alone, there may be LGBTQ+ men, men from lower economic backgrounds or men with disabilities.

☆ Deadly shooting at Alabama 'Sweet 16' birthday party
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A man speaks on the phone while standing at the edge of the crime scene a day after a shooting at a teenager's birthday party in a dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama, April 16. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

☆ China launches weather satellite, flights avoid no-fly zone to north of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ann WangBEIJING/TAIPEI, April 16 (Reuters) - China launched a weather satellite on Sunday as civilian flights altered their routes to avoid a Chinese-imposed no-fly zone to the north of Taiwan which Beijing put in place because of the possibility of falling rocket debris. The no-fly announcement rattled regional nerves as it followed shortly after China staged new war games around Taiwan, which Beijing views as sovereign Chinese territory. Flights to and from Taiwan and China, Taiwan and South Korea and Taiwan and Japan were amongst those detouring around the zone on Sunday morning, according to routes tracked on Flightradar24. The zone is in an area over the East China Sea slightly northeast of Taiwan that routinely sees heavy civilian flight traffic. China has denounced what it has called hype around China's space activities and an attempt to escalate confrontation across the Taiwan Strait.

☆ Four killed, multiple injuries in Alabama shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Law enforcement officers walk through the crime scene, a day after a shooting at a teenager's birthday party in a dance studio, in Dadeville, Alabama, U.S., April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney OrrApril 16 (Reuters) - Four people were killed and multiple others injured in a shooting on Saturday night that was tied to a birthday party in the small town of Dadeville, Alabama, the state law enforcement agency said at a news conference on Sunday morning. The state agency declined to answer questions or provide further detail during the news conference. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a Twitter post on Sunday morning that she was staying "closely updated" by law enforcement as details emerged. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter.

☆ 'Era has passed' as Beijing subway drops mandatory COVID mask rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"It's as if an era has passed," a user said on China's popular social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, as social media was abuzz with news of the rules being eased. Staff at a Beijing subway station tore down signs reminding people to wear masks, Beijing Daily reported. Some people on social media voiced concerns over the relaxation of mask rules, saying the virus remains a threat. "Let's hope there will not be a second wave of infections," a user on China's Twitter-like social media Weibo site said. Chinese cities have been scrapping mask mandates for several weeks, including Hong Kong, which ended mask requirements on March 1.

☆ Top photos of the week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Representative Justin Jones joins in prayer for the victims of the Covenant School shooting ahead the vote for his reinstatement, days after the Republican majority Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Democratic members,...moreRepresentative Justin Jones joins in prayer for the victims of the Covenant School shooting ahead the vote for his reinstatement, days after the Republican majority Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Democratic members, representatives Justin Pearson and him, for their roles in a gun control demonstration on the statehouse floor, in the Historic Metro Courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney OrrClose

☆ China willing to work with Germany on economy, trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - China is willing to work with Germany on the economic and trade fronts, and the two countries are partners, not adversaries, its foreign minister, Qin Gang, said on Friday. Qin, addressing a joint news conference with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, said artificially putting the brakes on normal economic and trade cooperation would be counter-productive. Remarking on the situation with Taiwan, Qin said if countries want to respect the One-China principle, then the proper move is to resolutely oppose Taiwan independence. On the issue of Ukraine, Qin said China was willing to continue to work for peace and hoped that all parties involved in the crisis would remain objective and calm and work together. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing byOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China denies imposing no-fly zone north of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - China denied on Friday that it had imposed a no-fly zone in the seas north of Taiwan for Sunday, even though Taipei said it was told by Beijing that China would impose one. "I have noticed that there were previous reports pointing out that the no-fly zone was set up by the Chinese side, which is inaccurate. China's civil aviation authority will forewarn and issue notices in advance for any space activities, Wang said. The area covers busy flight routes between Taiwan and China and Taiwan and South Korea, among others. "Relevant parties in the mainland have issued advance notices and announcements of space activities affecting the airspace," said China's Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement on Friday.

☆ What the Texas Abortion Pill Ruling Means for Abortion Access
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

What Led to Tennessee’s Expulsion of Two Democrats for ‘Disorderly Behavior’ Tennessee’s Republican-led House of Representatives on Thursday expelled Democratic lawmakers Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for speaking out of turn on the House floor. WSJ’s Mariah Timms explains what led to the expulsions and what could happen next. Photo: Cheney Orr/Reuters

☆ China's President Xi stresses need to deepen military training, preparation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping inspected his country's Southern Theatre Command navy on Tuesday and stressed the need to deepen military training and preparation, state media reported. Xi also said there was a need to improve the ability to respond to complex situations in a timely and appropriate manner, state media added. Xi also said that China will resolutrely defend its territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interets, and strive to maintain stability in neighboring areas, state media said. Recently, China has quarrelled with the United States, claiming several times that a U.S. destroyer has operated in its territorial waters around the South China Sea. The United States and Philippines are also currently holding their largest joint military drills over shared concerns about China's assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.

Search resuls for: "ORR"

25 mentions found