DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CNN —The number of first responders who have died from 9/11-related illnesses now almost equals the number of firefighters who died during the terror attacks themselves. A total of 341 New York City Fire Department firefighters, paramedics and civilian support staff who died from post-911 illnesses are now memorialized at the FDNY World Trade Center Memorial Wall, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association. The memorial commemorates both first responders who died during the attacks and those who died from related illnesses in the years since. That count almost equals the 343 New York firefighters who died during the 2001 attacks. More than 71,000 people are currently enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry, a long-term study seeking to understand the physical and mental health effects of the terror attacks.

Persons: ”, Laura Kavanagh, Joseph Brosi, Jim Brosi, “, ” Joseph Brosi, Joe, Brosi Organizations: CNN, New York, New York City Fire Department, FDNY, Trade Center, Uniformed Firefighters Association, World Trade, World Trade Center Health, World Trade Center, Zero Locations: New York City

☆ Foreign reactions and offers of aid in response to Morocco earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/6] A general view of damage in the historic city of Marrakech, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9. ****OFFERS OF FOREIGN AID AND SUPPORTALGERIAAlgeria, which broke off ties with Morocco two years ago, said it would open its air space for humanitarian and medical flights to Morocco. TURKEYThe Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara was ready to provide all kinds of support "to heal the wounds of the earthquake in Morocco". Valerie Pecresse, president of the Paris region, said on X it was offering 500,000 euros ($535,000)in aid for Morocco. -------------**** ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN NATIONALSFRANCEThe French Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Morocco and the ministry in Paris have opened crisis centres "to respond to demands for information or help from our compatriots."

Persons: Abdelhak, Algeria's, Olaf Scholz, Antony Blinken, Valerie Pecresse, Benoit Payan, Jose Manuel Albares, Antonio Nogales, Eli Cohen, “, Israel's Magen David Adom, Magen David Adom, Kais Saied, Nawaf Al, Ahmad Al, Jaber, Marcel Ciolacu, NARENDRA MODI, VLADIMIR PUTIN, MOHAMMED VI, KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, ANNALENA, EMMANUEL MACRON, FELIPE, Tomasz Janowski, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Turkish Foreign Ministry, UNITED STATES Secretary, French Foreign Ministry, Morocco, Cote d'Azur, Orange, Spain's, Moroccan, ISRAEL, Crescent, Ministry of Health, Israel Defense Forces, INDIAN, IMF, Bank, MINISTRY, Facebook, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, Morocco, ALGERIA Algeria, Moroccan, TURKEY, Ankara, AFAD, Turkish, Turkey, GERMANY, New Delhi, Germany, United States, FRANCE, France, Paris, Marseille, Marseille's, Occitanie, Corsica, Provence, Alpes, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, SPAIN, TUNISIA, Tunisian, KUWAIT, Jaber Al, Sabah, ROMANIA, TAIWAN, Algeria, Kingdom of Morocco, EMIRATES, German, Rabat

☆ Museum Curators Evaluate A.I. Threat by Giving It the Reins
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Zachary Small | More About Zachary Small | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Marshall Price was joking when he told employees at Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art that artificial intelligence could organize their next exhibition. As its chief curator, he was short-staffed and facing a surprise gap in his fall programming schedule; the comment was supposed to cut the tension of a difficult meeting. But members of his curatorial staff, who organize the museum’s exhibitions, embraced the challenge to see if A.I. Professions of all kinds — military pilots, comedians, firefighters, advertisers — are confronting how artificial intelligence will change longstanding responsibilities, as well as assumptions they have about the technology. “We naïvely thought it would be as easy as plugging in a couple prompts,” Price recalled, explaining why curators at the North Carolina university have spent the past six months teaching ChatGPT how to do their jobs.

Persons: Marshall Price, ” Price Organizations: Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art, North Locations: North Carolina

☆ Nearly all world's population exposed to global warming over June-Sept - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Nearly all of the world's population experienced higher temperatures from June to August as a result of human-induced climate change, according to a peer-reviewed research report published late on Thursday. A study by Climate Central, a U.S.-based research group, looked at temperatures in 180 countries and 22 territories and found that 98% of the world's population were exposed to higher temperatures made at least twice more likely by carbon dioxide pollution. "Virtually no one on Earth escaped the influence of global warming during the past three months," said Andrew Pershing, Climate Central's vice president for science. The heatwaves in North America and southern Europe would have been impossible without climate change, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. They have been made infinitely more likely because they would not have occurred without climate change."

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Andrew Pershing, Friederike Otto, David Stanway, Ali Withers, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Firefighters, REUTERS, Rights, Climate Central, Climate, Grantham Institute, Thomson Locations: Sesklo, Greece, Rights SINGAPORE, North America, Europe, U.S, Singapore, Copenhagen

☆ Severe flooding in Greece leaves at least 6 dead and 6 missing, villages cut off
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An aerial view taken on September 7, 2023 shows a destroyed bridge in a flooded area in the city of Karditsa, central Greece. - | Afp | Getty ImagesWidespread flooding in central Greece left at least six people dead, six missing and dozens trapped, with severe rainstorms turning streams into raging torrents, bursting dams, washing away roads and bridges, and hurling cars into the sea. An aerial view taken on September 7, 2023 shows the flooded village of Farkadona near the city of Karditsa, central Greece. While much of central Greece was inundated, the fire department said a new forest fire had broken out Thursday afternoon in the northeastern region of Evros. An aerial view taken on September 7, 2023 shows the flooded village of Farkadona near the city of Karditsa, central Greece.

Persons: rainstorms, Ozan Kose, Vassilis, Pavlos Marinakis, Marinakis, Will Vassilopoulos, Vasilis Vathrakogiannis Organizations: Afp, Getty, Turkish Gendarmerie, Fire, European Locations: Karditsa, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Igneada, Kirklareli, Athens, Farkadona, Evros, Soufli

☆ Drone strikes on Ukraine's Izmail damage port, grain silo - governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian firefighters work at a site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on September 6, 2023. State Emergency Service Of Ukraine /Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSept 7 (Reuters) - Russian drone strikes have damaged port infrastructure, a grain silo and administrative buildings in the Izmail district of Ukraine's Odesa region, its governor, Oleh Kiper, said on Thursday. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's grain export infrastructure amid talks on resumption of a Black Sea grain deal to allow unhindered exports of grain from Ukrainian ports. Most were aimed at the Odesa region but some also targeted the northern area of Sumy, it added. Russia quit the grain deal in July, a year after it was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey, saying its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and insufficient Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.

Persons: Oleh Kiper, Kiper, Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill Organizations: Emergency, Ukraine, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Odesa region, Handout, Izmail, Ukraine's Odesa, Russia, Sumy, Turkey

CNN —At least 17 people have been killed, including a child, after a Russian missile struck a market in a town in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, officials said, one of the worst attacks in months. “Russian troops are terrorists who will not be forgiven and will not be left in peace,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. “There will be a just retribution for everything.”Russian missile attacks regularly hit civilian areas but tolls this high are unusual. But footage of the attack shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed civilians walking along the market street before the missile struck on Wednesday afternoon. In a brief exchange with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken noted the “good progress” Ukraine has made in its counteroffensive.

Persons: Denys Shmyhal, Kostiantynivka, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Utter, Antony Blinken, Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken, “, Rustem Umerov, Umerov Organizations: CNN, Dnipro, Ukrainian, Firefighters, Reuters, Ukrainian Defense Forces Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Uman, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Kostiantynivka, Denmark

☆ Record Rains Flood Greece Just as Wildfires Let Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Niki Kitsantonis | More About Niki Kitsantonis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One man died and a second was missing in central Greece on Tuesday, after torrential rain unleashed major floods that submerged streets and wreaked widespread damage, just as firefighters were containing enormous wildfires in the country. As television showed semi-submerged cars stuck on flooded streets and vehicles being swept into the sea or onto muddy beaches, the police banned traffic in three regions. The ban came a day after warnings by local authorities and Greece’s fire service for people to avoid unnecessary travel during the onset of the wet front, Storm Daniel. Greece’s fire service said a 51-year-old Albanian national died after a wall collapsed on him; state news media identified him as a cattle breeder who was trying to reach his animals. Video from Volos showed partly submerged cars in streets and people being ferried through floodwaters by rescuers in plastic boats.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, ”, “ Locations: Greece, Volos, Athens, Pelion, Magnesia

☆ Police search for three missing people in deadly Spain floods, trains resume
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

David Fernandez, 52, shows damage on the homes of his parents and their neighbours following heavy rain, in El Alamo, Spain. REUTERS/Susana Vera Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Police and rescue services searched on Tuesday for three people missing after devastating floods hit central Spain as trains to the south resumed after thousands of passengers were left stranded. The heaviest damage was in the provinces of Toledo and Madrid in the country's centre. Railway infrastructure manager Adif said high-speed rail traffic between Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia had resumed on Monday morning after overnight repairs to damage caused by the storm. The train connection between Madrid and Toledo, 70 kilometres (45 miles) south, remained closed.

Persons: David Fernandez, Susana Vera, Teresa Ribera, Ribera, Adif, David Latona, Emma Pinedo, Inti Landauro, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Sunday, Renfe, Thomson Locations: El Alamo, Spain, Rights MADRID, Toledo, Madrid, Aldea del Fresno, Toledo province, Andalusia

☆ Silicon Valley billionaires want to build a new city in rural California, but locals are skeptical of the project: 'Their secrecy has caused a lot of problems'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Janie Har | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Silicon Valley billionaires revealed plans to build a new city after buying $800 million in land. The land was quietly purchased in Solano County, a rural area near San Francisco and Sacramento. Most of the land purchased is in the southeastern portion of the county, with parcels stretching from Fairfield to Rio Vista. Billionaires want to build a new city in rural California, but they're encountering wavering support from locals and lawmakers. Solano County homes are among the most affordable in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a median sales price of $600,000 last month.

Persons: Jan Sramek, Goldman Sachs, Flannery, Laurene Powell Jobs, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, Marc Andreeseen, Lauren Powell Jobs, Michael Moritz, Paul Chinn, Countess, Michael Kovac, Sramek, Mike Thompson, Terry Chea, Princess Washington, Thompson, they're, he's, John Garamendi, Hoffman, Andreessen, Ron Kott, Kott Organizations: Service, FRANCISCO, Flannery Associates, Silicon, LinkedIn, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Getty, Fair, Solano, US Air Force, FBI, of Treasury, AP, San Francisco Bay Area, Travis Air Force Base, US Locations: Solano County, San Francisco, Sacramento, Wall, Silicon, Northern California, Solano, Silicon Valley, California, Fairfield, Rio Vista, U.S, United Kingdom, Ireland, walkable, Terry Chea California, California's, San Francisco Bay, Princess, Suisun City, Travis

☆ Subway, train lines, roads closed in Madrid, central Spain after heavy rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Susana Vera Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A few subway lines in Madrid and high-speed train connections with southern cities were closed on Monday morning and two men were missing after torrential rain hit central Spain. Several roads in the Madrid region were closed as half a dozen bridges were torn down by water overflowing the riverbanks. The sudden torrential rain that hit the country transformed streets into rivers in Madrid, Castile, Catalonia and Valencia regions. Several subway lines were closed in the centre of Madrid on Monday morning. Some high-speed connections between Madrid and Andalusia region, in southern Spain, resumed later on Monday, but trains were operating at lower-than-normal speeds.

Persons: Susana Vera, Javier Chivite, Chivite, Rain, Inti Landauro, Alex Richardson Organizations: Spain's State Meteorological Agency, REUTERS, Rights, National Weather Agency, Thomson Locations: Spain's, Madrid, Spain, Rights MADRID, Aldea del Fresno, Castile, Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia

☆ The Ukraine War has accelerated research into lithium-ion battery alternatives, including ones made of sand
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The war in Ukraine has spurred more research into clean energy, including lithium-ion alternatives. Polar Night Energy says batteries made of sand could be as effective without the same risks. It has also spurred research into safer alternatives to the lithium-ion batteries used in the ever-expanding electric vehicle market. One of the key resulting innovations has been new alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, the development of which is tied to human rights abuses and environmental harm. Beyond the human rights abuses prevalent in the cobalt industry, lithium-ion batteries also present environmental hazards.

Persons: Olga Khakova, Khakova Organizations: Energy, Service, Research, The Washington Post, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council, Washington Post, Amnesty, Democratic, CNN Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Europe, Russia, Finnish, Democratic Republic of, Congo

☆ Goat breeder says he's finished after deadly Evros wildfire kills livestock
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Alexandros Avramidis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We're finished, we're finished," said Raptis, 56, as he walked past his pen, most of its tin roofing knocked down by the fire. The charred body of a goat lay on the scorched ground of what was left of the enclosure. One of the 19 animals who survived bleated as Raptis grabbed its face to reveal the burns on its ear. Last year, when another fire in Evros burnt half of the stable, Raptis managed to save all his livestock. But the latest blaze, which came very close to the stable a few days ago, burnt it to the ground on Saturday.

Persons: Farmer Kleanthis Raptis, Alexandros Avramidis, Kleanthis Raptis, We're, we're, Raptis, Ioannis Artopoios, Angeliki Koutantou, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Aircraft, Thomson Locations: Evros, Greece, Provatonas

Ukraine’s South Military Command said that at least two civilians were injured and that port infrastructure on the Danube River had been hit in the attack, which lasted more than three hours and involved more than two dozen drones. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 22 out of 25 attack drones and the State Emergency Service posted photos of firefighters in the Odesa region trying to extinguish a blaze. The officials did not specify where exactly the strikes landed but local Ukrainian media reported explosions in the port city of Reni on the Danube, just across the water from Romania. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, condemned the overnight attack. In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, he accused Russian forces of targeting port infrastructure “in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world.”

Persons: Andriy Yermak, ” Organizations: Military Command, Ukraine’s Air Force, State Emergency Service Locations: Odesa, Ukraine, Moscow, Reni, Romania, Russian

☆ How Better Tech Could Save Lives in a World of Bigger, Faster, More Devastating Fires
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Christopher Mims | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How Better Tech Could Save Lives in a World of Bigger, Faster, More Devastating Fires We can already detect fires from space, soon after they start. Here’s why we don’t yet have a nationwide system for alerting us when they do—but could someday. A firefighting helicopter made a water drop while firefighters worked to combat the fire that devastated Lahaina, Hawaii, last month. patrick t. fallon/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Persons: patrick Organizations: fallon, Agence France Locations: Lahaina, Hawaii

No one was in the dark about what was happening at 80 Albert Street. “I was really angry,” said Mpho Phalatse, who would go on to serve for just over a year as Johannesburg’s mayor. The building, she said, was “quite frankly, not habitable.”Neighbors were constantly complaining about the crime spilling out of it and the slumlords who had hijacked it. It was a city-owned building that had been essentially abandoned. A 2019 report by city inspectors showed scorched outlets and melted wires in the building’s rooms, clear fire hazards, all adding up to a steady drumbeat of increasingly worrisome signs.

Persons: ”, Mpho Phalatse Organizations: Albert Locations: Johannesburg

A G20 logo is pictured in front of the main venue of the summit in New Delhi, India, August 24, 2023. The heads of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and World Health Organisation will also be present. DEFENCE IN THE SKIESThe city will be guarded by nearly 130,000 security personnel, including the 80,000-strong Delhi Police, officials said. Modi inaugurated a $300 million venue in the capital in July to host the summit meeting - a conch shell-shaped building that can seat more than 3,000. The government has also leased 20 bullet-proof limousines at a cost of 180 million Indian rupees ($2.18 million) for ferrying leaders.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Dependra Pathak, Pathak, Ranvir Singh, Biden, Modi, Rupam Jain, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, NEW, India, British, Foreign, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, World Health, Delhi Police, Border Security Force, Indian Air Force, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Delhi, NEW DELHI, U.S, Saudi, Beijing, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Ukraine, Pragati, Gurugram, New, Arunachal Pradesh, Srinagar, Kashmir

☆ Greece rescues 25 migrants from deadly Evros wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Alexandros Avramidis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis Acquire Licensing RightsEVROS, Greece,/ATHENS Sept 1 (Reuters) - Greece on Friday rescued a group of 25 migrants trapped in a wildfire which has been burning in the northeastern region of Evros for almost two weeks, authorities said. The wildfire in Evros, Europe's deadliest this summer, burned for a 14th day after killing at least 20 people, destroying homes and livelihoods and scorching lush forests. Evros is a popular crossing into the European Union for thousands of migrants and refugees every year. Aircraft and hundreds of firefighters battled the blaze in the Dadia Forest amid fast-changing winds on Friday. Switzerland said on Friday it will dispatch three army helicopters and personnel to help firefighting in Evros.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Ioannis Artopoios, Copernicus, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Lefteris Papadimas, Angeliki Koutantou, Andy Sullivan Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Aircraft, Reuters, Copernicus Emergency Management Service, New York City's, Wildlife Fund, Thomson Locations: Evros, Greece, ATHENS, Turkey, Dadia, Giannouli, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, New York, Soufli, Switzerland

☆ 13 brands, from Coca-Cola to REI, that are pouring money into movies and TV to reach consumers with Hollywood-style storytelling
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mattel's Barbie is just one of many big brands getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Brands are also getting more systematic about tracking the projects' outcome so they can justify the cost. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. Showtime/PepsiPepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: Barbie, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, It's, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mottola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, Showtime, Pepsi PepsiCo, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ Scores killed as fire guts run-down Johannesburg apartment block
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[2/20]=Rescuers and firefighters stand next to the bodies of victims at the scene of a deadly blaze, in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 31. More than 70 people were killed overnight when fire raged through a five-storey Johannesburg apartment block. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Organizations: SOUTH Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Siphiwe, JOHANNESBURG

☆ More than 60 dead as fire engulfs building in South Africa's Johannesburg
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

South African firefighters and South African Police Service officers work at the sceen of a fire in Johannesburg on August 31, 2023At least 63 people were killed and 43 injured on Thursday in a fire in the central business district of South Africa's biggest city of Johannesburg, the municipal government said. Search and rescue efforts were going on, the city administration said on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services can confirm that the number of fatalities has gone up to 63," it said. Firefighters and emergency vehicles were at the scene, while bodies lay covered in emergency blankets on a street near the site of the early morning blaze, Reuters photographs showed. Media said the fire engulfed a five-storey building that had been abandoned at one stage but where people had been living.

Organizations: South African Police Service, Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, Firefighters, Media Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa's, City

☆ Climate change turns US utilities grimly exciting
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

A hotter and stormier world is making life unpleasantly exciting for shareholders, as Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE.N) shows. Yet while European firms have buried power lines underground to avoid damage from storm and fires, American utilities have generally balked. The firm said a second fire began in the same area several hours later, after the utility had turned off local power lines. Separately, Hawaiian Electric Industries, the parent company of Hawaiian Electric, said on Aug. 24 it had suspended its dividend. The company said HEI had withdrawn $170 million and Hawaiian Electric had withdrawn $200 million from their existing revolving unsecured credit facilities to strengthen their balance sheets.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Josh Green, Jaime Green ,, Lady of, Kevin Lamarque, HEI, Fitch, Lawrence, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Hawaii, REUTERS, Reuters, Hawaiian Electric Industries, United, Utilities, Hurricanes, Lawrence Berkeley National, Edison International, Consolidated Edison, Dow, Maui, Hawaiian Electric, Electric, Thomson Locations: Lady of Hawaii, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, United States, Americas, Europe, Alaska, California, New York, Arkansas , Louisiana, Texas

☆ Disney's firefighters backed DeSantis as he feuded with the company. Now his new board ignored their pleas and stripped away their park benefits.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Brent D. Griffiths | John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Disney World's firefighters were once in support of DeSantis' plan to assume control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. A number of firefighters confronted DeSantis' board last week at a meeting about this. But now firefighters are having second thoughts after the new oversight board moved to strip them of special Disney perks they've had for decades. Last week, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the rebranded Reedy Creek board, revoked all of the firefighters' free passes to the Disney parks and resorts. I'm totally fine with that," DeSantis told CNBC, encouraging Disney to drop the suit.

Persons: DeSantis, Ron DeSantis, Tim Stromsnes, they've, Pete Simon, Idalia Organizations: Disney, Service, Florida Gov, Improvement, Firefighters, Orlando Sentinel, Central, Miami Times Online, Times, Times Online, CNBC Locations: Reedy, Wall, Silicon, Central Florida

☆ Quito says security operations within prisons may have led to car bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Firefighters work on the remains of a car, that according to authorities was loaded with two gas tanks and later exploded when suspects set it on fire, seemingly targeting Ecuador's prison agency SNAI, in Quito, Ecuador August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro Acquire Licensing RightsQUITO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Two car explosions targeted at Ecuadorean prisons agency SNAI may have been set off in response to government security operations at prisons this week, President Guillermo Lasso and a top security official said on Thursday. "There are violent actions like that of the two cars burned in Quito last night, clearly that's a reaction to an action. The action of imposing order in the prisons, the reaction to intimidate," Lasso said at a housing event in Los Rios province. Bravo also said the Quito explosions could be related to prisoner transfers.

Persons: SNAI, Karen Toro, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, Fernando Villavicencio, Juan Zapata, Zapata, Wagner Bravo, Bravo, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, David Holmes, Cynthia Osterman, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Interior, Security, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, Rights QUITO, Los Rios, Cuenca

☆ Greece to launch drones, temperature sensors to better fight wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Cows stand in front of a burned hill as a wildfire burns at Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis Acquire Licensing RightsATHENS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Greece's prime minister said on Thursday it would launch drones and install forest temperature sensors to improve preventive firefighting after criticism from climate activists over a devastating wildfire burning for almost two weeks. He said authorities had initiated steps to acquire more than 100 drones to monitor wildfires in real time. Mitsotakis said tens of millions of euros were spent in wildfire prevention this year but that was still not enough. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said at least 30% of Greece's protected Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest had been lost.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis, it's, Angeliki, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Greece's, Emergency Management Service, New York City's, Wildlife Fund, Thomson Locations: Evros, Greece, New York, Soufli

Search resuls for: "Firefighters"

25 mentions found