DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' review roundup: See it on the biggest screen possible, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"The Way of Water" follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who are now the parents of four Na'vi children. Read more: "Avatar: The Way of Water" could be headed for a $175 million opening weekend Critics are adamant that audiences should watch "The Way of Water" on the biggest screen possible, lauding the film for its you-won't-believe-this-is-computer-generated visuals and bombastic sound design. Here's what critics thought of "Avatar: The Way of Water" before its Friday release. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy: Disney Co.Ma did note that "The Way of Water" is "jaw-droppingly beautiful," likening it to watching a David Attenborough documentary rather than a CGI feature. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy Disney Co.Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden next week will announce U.S. support for the African Union's admission to the G20 group of the world's largest economies as a permanent member, a White House official said on Friday. Biden will make the announcement during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington next week, White House adviser Judd Devermont said, when Biden will meet presidents of African countries. Devermont said the move, first reported by the Washington Post, comes after requests from African Union Chair and Senegalese President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is the only G20 member from Africa. But Biden has struck a different tone from former President Donald Trump, who disparaged some African nations and barred travel from six of them.

☆ Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler are sweet on ‘Baking It’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Rudolph told CNN that while she and Poehler aren’t frequent bakers, she trusts her former “Saturday Night Live” costar to “make something great if given the task.”“Thank you, I trust the same of you,” Poehler said in response. According to Rudolph and Poehler, the grannies are loving their new-found fame, even though they aren’t big on stars. “One of our favorite parts is we have like a celebrity special on NBC and then the rest of the season on Peacock,” Poehler told CNN. Poehler said salt, which caused Rudolph to quip, “I feel like you are little bit of a spicy salt, like a salt with herbs. You aren’t ordinary salt.”For the record, Rudolph fancies herself a spice like cinnamon, which “warms the belly.”Insert “sweater weather” joke here.

☆ 33-year-old jewelry designer ditched Amazon and Walmart, now brings in $4.8 mil/year: Big companies 'make such stupid mistakes'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Zachary Green Megan Sauer | Zachary Green | In Zachary-Green-News | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Automic Gold's growing popularity is backed by an unconventional strategy: ditching those major platforms and selling only on its own website. Al Sandimirova officially founded Automic Gold, an size- and LGBTQ-inclusive jewelry company in 2016. In 2021, its first full year exclusively selling jewelry from its online storefront, it brought in $4.8 million. "Regular companies assume it's harder to target the LGBT community," Sandimirova says. Searching for outletsSandimirova named Automic Gold — spelled to include "AU," the chemical abbreviation for gold, and pronounced like "atomic" — with "autonomy," independence and freedom in mind.

☆ Ethiopia's Tigray forces say they have withdrawn 65% of fighters from frontlines
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - More than half of Tigrayan forces have withdrawn from the frontlines, the forces' top commander said, a month after a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the two-year conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. "We have accomplished 65% disengagement of our army," Tadesse Wereda, commander-in-chief of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said in a video posted on the forces' official Facebook page late on Saturday. War erupted in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region in November 2020, pitting the Tigrayan forces against federal troops and their allies that included fighters from the Amhara region that borders Tigray and Eritrean soldiers. Tadesse said TPLF was still maintaining fighters in some locations "where there is a presence of anti-peace forces". "Our forces are still on the ground in those places due to the problems they (anti-peace forces) are creating for our people.

☆ Swissport baggage handlers are under 'urgent investigation' after viral TikTok shows them slamming and throwing passenger luggage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Friday video of baggage handlers roughly moving luggage went viral on TikTok. Workers in the video can be seen slamming, throwing, and kicking passengers' bags. In a video shared to TikTok Friday, three handlers can be seen slamming and throwing passengers' bags onto a conveyor belt while laughing. "The behavior in this video is clearly not acceptable, and our contracted ground handler is conducting an urgent investigation," a Qantas spokesperson told the Guardian. He added: "Disrespectful behavior to our customer luggage and personal effects will not be tolerated and will result in serious disciplinary action."

☆ A couple accused of spending $10.5M sent in error by Crypto.com on houses, a car, furniture and gifts face trial for theft
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A couple is facing trial for theft after allegedly spending millions of dollars sent by Crypto.com. Prosecutors say Thevamanogari Manivel and Jatinder Singh went on a spending spree with the funds. The couple claimed they didn't know the money had been sent in error, the Daily Mail reported. During that time, prosecutors say that Manivel and her partner Jatinder Singh went on a spending spree with the cash. Singh had been a keen crypto trader, according to the Daily Mail, and had nearly $50,000 in his Crypto.com wallet.

☆ Heavy turnout in Georgia runoff election as early voting wraps up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Andy Sullivan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Voters attend to cast their ballots in the runoff election for the Senate position, between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican candidate Herschel Walker, at the Metropolitan Library, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File PhotoDec 2 (Reuters) - Election officials on Friday reported heavy turnout in Georgia on the last day of early voting ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff election that will determine whether Democrats can add to their razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate. As of Friday morning, at least 1,473,00 voters had cast early ballots in person or via mail, according to Raffensperger's office. Voters will be able to cast ballots in person on Tuesday and return mail ballots through that day as well. Warnock narrowly edged Walker in the Nov. 8 election by 49.44% to 48.49%, even as Republican candidates won other statewide races.

☆ Asia's factory activity shrinks as China lockdown impact widens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Amid the pandemic curbs, China's factory activity shrank in November, a private survey showed on Thursday. The figure followed downbeat data in an official survey on Wednesday that showed manufacturing activity had hit a seven-month low in November. South Korea's factory activity shrank for a fifth straight month in November but the downturn moderated slightly, possibly suggesting the worst was over for businesses. Lockdowns in China have hit production at a factory there that is the biggest producer of Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones. Vietnam's PMI fell to 47.4 in November from 50.6 in October, while that for Indonesia slid to 50.3 from 51.8, the private surveys showed.

☆ The SEC is suing real-estate mogul Kent Swig's shady crypto partner for perpetuating a 'pump-and-dump' scheme with a different gold-backed crypto currency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Alex Nicoll | Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Now the SEC is suing the CEO of Swig's company for an earlier, separate gold-backed crypto scam. According to the SEC, Braverman was said to be the chief operating officer of one of two companies the regulator targeted in the complaint. When Swig's company announced Digau, cryptocurrencies were on a sugar high, with bitcoin trading above $60,000. Neither Swig nor Dignity Gold would reveal to Business Insider any of the specific site locations where the company plans to mine. To extract the gold, Swig partnered with a mining company called Apache Mill Tailings.

☆ Cameron Smith lifted aloft in pub as he celebrates home victory by watching TV replay
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Jump into the crowd, watch back the replay, have a triumphant drink; there are many ways for an athlete to celebrate a big win. If you’re Cameron Smith, you can do all three at the same time. Cam Smith celebrating his #AUSPGA win in a pub with the replay on the TV is tremendous areas! “I think two cans of beer can fit in there,” Smith told reporters at St. Andrews. Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images“I can’t believe she did it,” Smith told reporters.

☆ Biden's Inflation Reduction Act makes green hydrogen profitable at scale, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe United States' Inflation Reduction Act represents a "turning point" when it comes to the economics of technologies such as renewables and hydrogen, according to Goldman Sachs . "The exception — and I think this is where there could be green shoot[s] — is the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S.," he added. "It finally makes technologies like green hydrogen, local green battery production [and] carbon capture, profitable in large scale," he added. If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source such as wind or solar then some call it "green" or "renewable" hydrogen. The vast majority of hydrogen generation is still based on fossil fuels, but there is a huge amount of interest in the role green hydrogen could play going forward.

☆ Ferrari pauses new Purosangue orders amid strong demand - media
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Ferrari (RACE.MI) has temporarily stopped taking orders for its Purosangue SUV as high demand has sent waiting lists for some customers to around two years, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrica Galliera told the drive.com.au website. Ferrari unveiled in September the petrol-powered 12-cylinder Purosangue, which the Italian sports car maker prefers to describe as a four-door, four-seater. "It's no secret that we stopped taking orders. We had such an interest without delivering one single car," Galliera was quoted as saying by the Australian website. The company prioritises existing customers when taking orders for new models.

☆ Haiti still needs foreign strike force to confront gangs, official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ralph Tedy ErolWASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The international community should send a strike force to Haiti to confront gangs even though police have ended a blockade of a fuel terminal that caused a humanitarian crisis, Haiti's ambassador to the United States said on Monday. The U.N. Security Council in October discussed sending troops to confront gangs, but those proposals have received little attention since police took back control of the Varreux terminal in November. "If you don't have an international presence to help confront the armed gangs, the situation will become even more dire," he warned. Such a force should support the police, and troops should be provided by what he called a "coalition of the willing for Haiti," Edmond said. Barbecue on Nov 6 said workers could return to the terminal, and fuel distribution has slowly resumed since then.

☆ A plus-size model says Qatar Airways didn't let her board a flight because she was too fat for an economy seat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A plus-size Qatar Airways passenger said she was denied boarding because she was "fat." Juliana Nehme said she was told to buy a first-class ticket as she wouldn't fit in an economy seat. Qatar said Nehme became "extremely rude and aggressive" after failing to produce correct documents. She said Qatar told her to pay about $3,000 to upgrade to first class and refused to refund her the $947 she spent on her economy flight. Nehme was put on a later flight from Lebanon, the Qatar spokesperson said.

☆ Crypto Firm FTX Landed in the Bahamas With a Bang, and Now the Bahamas Is Picking Up the Pieces
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Matt Grossman | Angel Au-Yeung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NASSAU, Bahamas—Last year, an FTX executive walked into a bank office here and put $4.5 million of the company’s money behind an ambitious plan to buy an oceanside parcel of land and turn it into the crypto giant’s new headquarters. The executive, Ryan Salame , closed the deal in short order, people familiar with the matter said, just part of the company’s whirlwind real-estate shopping spree in and around Nassau. In April, the Bahamas prime minister appeared with FTX executives at a ceremonial groundbreaking on the new land. But construction never really got under way. FTX collapsed this month, its real-estate holdings now subsumed in bankruptcy.

☆ Japan Nov factory activity shrinks at quickest pace in 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Cynthia Kim | Jihoon Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Japan's manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in two years in November as demand worsened due to strong inflationary pressures, a business survey showed on Thursday. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped to a seasonally adjusted 49.4 in November from a final reading of 50.7 in the previous month. Output contracted at the quickest pace in 26 months, falling for the fifth consecutive month, the survey results showed. Activity in the services sector stagnated even as new business inflows grew for a third straight month, the data showed. The au Jibun Bank Flash Services PMI Index came in at a seasonally adjusted 50.0 in November, down from the previous month's 53.2 final, the survey showed.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Canada has sanctioned former Haitian President Michel Martelly and two former prime ministers for financing gangs, Canadian authorities said on Sunday, the latest in a series of measures targeting alleged backers of Haitian criminal groups. In September, Haitian gangs created a humanitarian crisis by blocking a fuel terminal for nearly six weeks, halting most economic activity and triggering U.N. discussion of a possible foreign strike force to open the terminal. Canada and the United States have sanctioned political leaders who allegedly finance the gangs, which according to policy makers are backed by Haitian elites. Radio-Canada journalist Louis Blouin wrote on Twitter that the sanctions targeted Martelly, as well as former Haitian Prime Ministers Laurent Lamothe and Jean Henry Ceant. Ceant served as prime minister from 2018 to 2019.

NASSAU, Bahamas— Sam Bankman -Fried’s $32 billion crypto-trading empire collapsed in an incandescent bankruptcy last week, prompting irate customers, crypto acolytes and Silicon Valley bigwigs to ask how something that seemed so promising could have imploded so fast. The emerging picture suggests FTX wasn’t simply felled by a rival, or undone by a bad trade or the relentless fall this year in the value of cryptocurrencies. Instead, it had long been a chaotic mess. No one could say exactly what belonged to whom. Prosecutors are now investigating its collapse.

☆ Dominican Republic steps up Haitian deportations, raising tensions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Dominican Republic is stepping up deportations of Haitians and is creating a police unit focused on foreigners, fueling tensions between the two Caribbean nations whose relations have for decades been marred by migration disputes. "Prime Minister Ariel Henry is very concerned about the mass deportations that are taking place in the Dominican Republic," said Jean-Junior Joseph, a spokesperson for the prime minister's office, in a statement on Wednesday. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Nov. 10 called on the Dominican Republic to halt deportations of Haitians, citing violence and systematic human rights violations in their home country. Abinader in comments broadcast by Dominican media described Turk's comments as "unacceptable and irresponsible," saying that the Dominican Republic did not have resources to help more Haitians and adding that authorities would boost deportations. Jean Bonheur Delva, head of the National Migration Office, told local media on Tuesday the figure was around 50,000 in the last three months.

☆ Haiti cholera outbreak worsens, COVID-19 cases rise in Americas - PAHO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ricardo ArduengoSAO PAULO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The cholera situation in Haiti continues to worsen while COVID-19 cases rose over the past week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. Haitian health authorities have confirmed over 700 cases of cholera and 144 cholera-related deaths since early October, and are investigating more than 7,000 suspected cases, PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne said. The Americas are facing a “triple threat” of respiratory diseases, as COVID-19, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) burden the region and its health systems, PAHO said. There was a 17% rise in COVID-19 cases, and deaths increased in South America and Central America over the past week, Etienne said. Although the Americas are still the region most impacted by monkeypox, PAHO said cases have fallen in most of the severely affected countries.

☆ This Former BlackRock Executive Says ESG Investment Model Is Broken
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Angel Au-Yeung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Encouraging renewable-energy alternatives to coal-fired power plants is a goal of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investment. Terrence Keeley had been at BlackRock Inc. for about a decade when he reached a contrarian conclusion: ESG doesn’t work. Mr. Keeley spent much of his time at the asset manager overseeing a group that nurtured relationships with central banks, finance ministries, family offices and sovereign-wealth funds. Under pressure from politicians and activists, some of these investors were looking to distance themselves from companies that fall short on environmental, social and governance factors. BlackRock obliged, helping clients funnel money toward companies whose values they share.

The truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine. Representatives of Ethiopia's military and government and forces from Tigray are in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to discuss how to begin implementing the ceasefire, with the talks set to last three or four days. Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigray authorities, said the talks were to figure out implementation of the agreement. In a statement on Monday, the AU said it expected the outcomes of the talks to "include modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access and the restoration of services in the Tigray region". The ceasefire agreement says Ethiopia's army will safeguard the country against "foreign incursion" but analysts are worried about whether Eritrea - the TPLF's sworn enemy - will listen.

☆ Haiti gang leader says fuel distribution can resume as blockade ends
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Haitian gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier said on Sunday that fuel trucks can approach the Varreux terminal without fear for their safety, days after police broke up a blockade that had halted fuel distribution for nearly two months. "Once again, the drivers and employees of the Varreux terminal can come down without fear," Cherizier said in a video circulating online. Haiti's police on Friday said they had retaken control of the terminal after confronting the gangs in the area. The fuel shortages halted most economic activity and forced hospitals and businesses to scale back operations sharply or shut their doors, just as the country suffered an outbreak of cholera. Reporting by Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince and Brian Ellsworth in Caracas; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Haitians hope for fuel supplies after police break up gang blockade at terminal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Haitians on Saturday hoped for a quick return of fuel supplies after police broke up a gang blockade that for two months had left the economy without gasoline or diesel and triggered a humanitarian crisis. Haiti's National Police said in a statement late on Friday that it took back control of the Varreux fuel terminal, where the G9 gang coalition had dug trenches and set up barricades to prevent fuel distribution. "We don't know exactly when fuel deliveries will begin," said one source with knowledge of the situation. The gasoline and diesel shortages had halted almost all economic activity, including in transportation and hospitals, and forced many local business owners to shut operations. Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in Sao Paulo and Harold Isaac in Port-au-PrinceOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Âu"

25 mentions found