DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ U.S. Postal Service Proposes Raising Stamp Prices Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States Postal Service on Tuesday proposed an overall increase of nearly 8 percent on the price of postage, the latest in a series of stamp hikes over the past three years. The new prices would take effect in July, pending approval from an independent regulatory commission. Among other changes, a Forever stamp would cost 73 cents instead of 68 cents, and the price of a domestic postcard would rise to 56 cents from 53 cents. The Postal Service has faced financial issues for years because it is required to fund retiree health care benefits for its employees in advance. It’s also facing headwinds, like other postal services globally, as fewer people send mail.

Persons: It’s Organizations: United States Postal Service, Postal Service

It was so strong it set off tsunami warnings in Japan, China and the Philippines. But then, even in a fault-riddled place with long and hard experience with earthquakes, the jolt of aftershock after aftershock was startling, continuing every few minutes throughout the day. The magnitude-7.4 quake killed nine and injured at least 1,011 others, stretching an expert quake response system that has served as a model in other places. In Hualien County, close to the epicenter, 71 people were trapped in two mining areas as of Wednesday night and dozens of others were stranded, according to officials. Around 14,000 households were without water, and 1,000 households were without power.

Persons: aftershock Locations: Taiwan, Japan, China, Philippines, Hualien County

☆ A Look at Taiwan’s Strongest Earthquakes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan on Wednesday was the strongest in 25 years, the island’s Central Weather Administration said. Here’s a look back at some of the major earthquakes in modern Taiwanese history:

Organizations: Weather Administration Locations: Taiwan

☆ Japan’s New Royal Instagram Page Forgoes Flash for Formality
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Kiuko Notoya | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Anyone expecting the Japanese royal family’s new Instagram account to generate memes or showcase a new side of the world’s oldest continuous monarchy should lower their expectations. Just some royals politely posing for pictures in their usual, formal way. The new Instagram page for Japan’s Imperial Household Agency — its first on any social media platform — posted its first image early Monday morning. By Tuesday evening, it had uploaded 19 more and collected nearly half a million followers. The page mostly shows Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and sometimes their daughter, Princess Aiko, standing up, sitting down or bowing at formal events over the past three months.

Persons: Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Princess Aiko Organizations: Imperial Household Agency —, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Locations: Tokyo, Kenya, Brunei

☆ Baltimore to Open Temporary Shipping Route Around Key Bridge Wreckage
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Officials in Baltimore were preparing on Monday to open a temporary alternate channel around wreckage from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge for “commercially essential vessels.”The bridge, a critical link to the Port of Baltimore, collapsed on March 26 after it was hit by a giant cargo ship. Wreckage has been blocking a vital shipping lane into the port ever since. The temporary channel was announced late Sunday by the state and federal agencies leading the response to the disaster. “This will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore,” Capt. “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore.”

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Capt, David O’Connell, ” Organizations: Port, Coast Locations: Baltimore, Port of Baltimore, Coast Guard’s Maryland

Shin Joon Hwan, an ecologist, walked along a road lined with cherry trees on the verge of blooming last week, examining the fine hairs around their dark red buds. The flowers in Gyeongju, South Korea, an ancient capital, belong to a common Japanese variety called the Yoshino, or Tokyo cherry. Mr. Shin’s advocacy group wants to replace those trees with a kind that it insists is native to South Korea, called the king cherry. “These are Japanese trees that are growing here, in the land of our ancestors,” said Mr. Shin, 67, a former director of South Korea’s national arboretum.

Persons: Shin Joon Hwan, ”, Shin Locations: Gyeongju, South Korea, Tokyo

PinnedA cargo ship struck a bridge that crosses outer Baltimore Harbor early Tuesday, triggering a collapse, the authorities said. The Coast Guard received a report of an impact at 1:27 a.m. Eastern time at the Francis Scott Key Bridge, said Matthew West, a petty officer first class for the Coast Guard in Baltimore. “I-695 Key Bridge collapse due to ship strike,” the agency said on the social media site X. Officer West of the Coast Guard said that a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, the Dali, had hit the bridge. The bridge — named after Francis Scott Key, the author of the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner” — opened in 1977.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Matthew West, Niki Fennoy, Brandon M, Scott, “, Dali, Grace Ocean, Scott’s, —, Derrick Bryson Taylor Organizations: Coast Guard, Baltimore Police, Fire Department, Maryland Transportation, Grace, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Port Administration, American Locations: Baltimore, ”, Singapore, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Maryland

☆ Moscow Concert Hall Shooting Russia Begins Day of Mourning for Victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The terrorist attack outside Moscow a few days later was a blow to his aura as a leader for whom national security is paramount. Just days later came a searing counterpoint: His vaunted security apparatus failed to prevent Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years. Inside Russia, the election — and its predetermined outcome — underscored Mr. Putin’s dominance over the nation’s politics. The area is closed as part of increased security measures after the terrorist attack on Friday. Before Friday, the most recent mass-casualty terrorist attack in the capital region was a suicide bombing at an airport in Moscow in 2011 that killed 37 people.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, “, ” Aleksandr Kynev, ” Mr, Mr, ”, Nanna Heitmann, Aleksei A, ” Ruslan Leviev, Olga Skabeyeva, Margarita Simonyan, Russia’s, Aleksandr Dugin, Dugin, Dugin’s, Andriy Yusov, Putin’s, Shamil Zhumatov, Kynev, Vladimir Putin’s, Constant Méheut Organizations: Kremlin, Islamic State, Passengers, The New York Times, Terrorism, Islamic, ., Reuters Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Beslan, United States

☆ Hong Kong’s New Security Legislation Took Decades to Pass. Here’s What to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong passed national security legislation on Tuesday, giving officials in the Chinese territory more power to curb dissent, 21 years after mass protests forced the government to backtrack on a plan to introduce such laws. The security legislation is another significant erosion of freedoms in a former British colony once known for its freewheeling politics and relative autonomy from China. It also highlights how weak Hong Kong’s once-boisterous civil society and political opposition have become over the past four years. Here’s how Hong Kong got here and what’s in the law. But it also called for the eventual passage of national security laws to replace colonial ones the British were leaving behind.

Persons: Hong Kong’s Locations: Hong Kong, British, China

Taylor Swift has descended on Southeast Asia, or one small part of it at least: All of her six sold-out shows are in Singapore, the region’s wealthiest nation. The shows — and the undisclosed price that Singapore paid to host them — have also generated diplomatic tension with two of its neighbors, Thailand and the Philippines. Last month, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin of Thailand said publicly that Singapore had paid Ms. Swift up to $3 million per show on the condition that she play nowhere else in Southeast Asia. A lawmaker in the Philippines later said that was not “what good neighbors do.”

Persons: Taylor Swift, Swift’s, Srettha, Swift, ” Organizations: Singapore Locations: Southeast Asia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines

☆ Cargo Ship Struck by Houthis Sinks in Red Sea, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

She is scheduled to meet with Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, in Washington on Monday. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to meet with Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, in Washington on Monday, according to a White House official and a spokesman for Mr. Gantz. Mr. Gantz, who visited Washington last year, is also scheduled to meet separately with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, his office said in a statement, as well as with members of Congress and pro-Israeli lobbyists. It was unclear whether Mr. Gantz’s visit had the full backing of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Gantz’s office said he had updated the prime minister on his visit so as to coordinate talking points.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Benny Gantz, Gantz, Harris, Biden, Israel, Jake Sullivan, Gantz’s, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Monday, White, White House, United, Reuters, Palestinian, Mr Locations: Washington, Gaza, Israel, court, United States, Rafah

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel’s Military Presents Civilian Evacuation Plan for Gaza’s Combat Areas
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

A man set himself on fire on Sunday afternoon outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. A U.S. Air Force spokeswoman, Ann Stefanek, confirmed on Sunday night that the man was an active-duty airman. The man was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition. No embassy staff members were injured, and all were accounted for, according to Tal Naim, a spokeswoman for the embassy. The New York Times could not confirm who was behind the account that posted the video, but the video featured a man walking toward the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

Persons: Ann Stefanek, Vito Maggiolo, Tal Naim, “, ”, dousing, Sean Hickman Organizations: Embassy, Metropolitan Police Department, U.S . Air Force, U.S, Secret Service, New York Times, Air Force, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Israel, International Locations: Washington, U.S, Gaza, Texas, Israel, Atlanta

☆ Peter Anthony Morgan, Grammy-Winning Reggae Singer, Dies at 46
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Peter Anthony Morgan, the lead singer of the reggae band Morgan Heritage, a Grammy Award-winning group that was formed by children of the singer Denroy Morgan and came to be known for its varied influences and tight vocal harmonies, died on Sunday. Mr. Morgan’s family confirmed his death in a statement on the band’s social media platforms. Mr. Morgan, known as “Peetah,” started Morgan Heritage with seven of his siblings in the 1994. For some early albums, including “Protect Us Jah” (1997) and “Don’t Haffi Dread” (1999), Morgan Heritage worked with Bobby Digital, one of Jamaica’s most influential producers. Before a show at New York City’s Irving Plaza in 1999, a New York Times music critic wrote that the band “holds on to the 1970s reggae traditions of harmony singing and thoughtful messages.”

Persons: Peter Anthony Morgan, Morgan, Denroy Morgan, Morgan’s, ”, Morgan Heritage, Bobby Digital Organizations: Morgan Heritage, Associated Press, Irving Plaza, New York Times Locations: New

☆ SpaceX Is Now Incorporated in Texas, Elon Musk Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The private rocket company SpaceX has switched where it is incorporated to Texas from Delaware, its founder, Elon Musk, said on Wednesday, weeks after a Delaware judge voided his pay package at Tesla, another company he owns. A spokeswoman for Ms. Nelson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Musk, a billionaire who lives in Texas and also runs the carmaker Tesla, has had issues with Delaware. Last month, a judge there voided the pay package that had helped to make him the world’s wealthiest person. The judge ultimately ruled that Mr. Musk had effectively overseen his own compensation plan, valued at more than $50 billion last month, with the help of compliant board members.

Persons: Elon Musk, Jane Nelson, Musk Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla Locations: Texas, Delaware

☆ Confiscated Motorbikes Pile Up as Vietnam Goes After Drunken Driving
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Mike Ives | Chau Doan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Motorbikes — the preferred mode of transport in Vietnam — are piling up in impound lots in Ho Chi Minh City as it becomes more cost effective for some owners to abandon them than to pay the fines to get them back. The city, Vietnam’s financial center, has gotten more aggressive in targeting drunken driving in recent years by raising fines and confiscating vehicles. Those fines are now often higher than the value of the vehicles, which many drivers are not reclaiming, officials say. Now the police are wondering what to do with them.

Locations: Vietnam, Chi Minh

☆ Winter Storm New York and New England Brace for Powerful Nor’easter
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Mike Ives | Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

The wintry mess left both parties racing to rewrite last-minute campaign plans and sophisticated models to understand how the storm might affect turnout. But many Republican voters still prefer to vote on Election Day, and their party is accustomed to closing a gap. The party has won nearly every major election on Long Island since 2021, partly on the strength of its turnout operation. Peter T. King, a former Republican congressman, conceded that the snow could cost his party a couple of percentage points. Still, he predicted that the recently revived Nassau County Republican machine was up to the task.

Persons: Stephanie Keith, Dave Sanders, The New York Times Stephanie Keith, The New York Times Tom Suozzi, Mazi Pilip, George Santos, ” Steve Israel, ”, Biden, Santos, Tom Suozzi, Suozzi, Mazi, “, ” Jay Jacobs, Peter T, King, committeemen, Suozzi’s, haven’t, Mr, Jacobs, Delia DeRiggi, Bruce Blakeman, Blakeman, Ellen Yan Organizations: The New York Times, The New York Times Credit, Democrat, Republican, Queens and, Republicans, Democratic, Mr, Democratic Party, Nassau County Republican, Legislature Locations: Nassau, New York, Queens and Long, New York City, Long, Nassau County, North Shore, Whitton

In the aftermath of that storm, safety experts offered advice on how people can stay safe if they are stuck in their vehicles. First, do not leave your car, experts said. If you run out of water, drink melted snow, Dr. Mitchell said. Drive slowly to avoid skidding, and note that it takes longer to decelerate in icy road conditions, according to AAA. Drivers should inspect tires monthly and before long trips, according to guidance issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Persons: Ken Zafren, ”, Gordon Giesbrecht, Steve Mitchell, Grant Lipman, Mitchell, Lipman Organizations: Woodrow, Stanford University, Alaska Native Medical Center, University of Manitoba, Credit, . Virginia Department of Transportation, Associated Press, American Kennel Club, National Weather Service, AAA, National, Traffic Safety Administration Locations: Alexandria, Va, Virginia, Alaska, Anchorage , Alaska, Seattle, Fredericksburg

☆ Israel Says It Rescued 2 Hostages From Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Israeli security forces said early Monday that they had rescued two hostages who were being held in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, in one of the few examples of a successful hostage rescue in Gaza since the start of the war. Mr. Marman and Mr. Har were among more than 240 people captured during the surprise Oct. 7 raid on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups, which later prompted Israel to retaliate with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion in Gaza. Israel has been discussing plans to send troops into Rafah, even as aid groups, the United Nations and the United States have warned that the people sheltering there have nowhere to go. About 100 of the hostages taken in October were released during a weeklong cease-fire last year. Hostages’ families have been pressing Israel to prioritize negotiations for their release.

Persons: Fernando Simon Marman, Louis Har, Shin Bet, Israel, Marman, Har, Nir Yitzhak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu Organizations: United Nations, New York Times, ABC News Locations: Gazan, Rafah, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Egypt, Israel, United States

☆ Melinda Wilson, Who Helped Brian Wilson Battle Mental Illness, Dies at 77
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson, who rescued her husband, the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, from psychological ruin, died on Tuesday. Mr. Wilson confirmed her death on Instagram, saying that they had been married for 28 years and had five children together. Jean Sievers, a representative for the family, said that Ms. Wilson had died suddenly at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. The couple’s relationship was portrayed in the 2014 biopic “Love & Mercy.” The film shows Ms. Wilson (Elizabeth Banks) meeting Mr. Wilson, played by both John Cusack and Paul Dano, in a Cadillac showroom in Los Angeles in the 1980s. After the film was released, Ms. Banks said in an interview with ABC News that she had met Ms. Wilson while preparing for the role.

Persons: Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson, Brian Wilson, Wilson, Jean Sievers, “, ”, Elizabeth Banks, John Cusack, Paul Dano, Banks Organizations: Beach Boys, ABC News Locations: Beverly Hills, Calif, Los Angeles

☆ Kissinger’s Legacy Still Ripples Through Vietnam and Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Kissinger, who died on Wednesday, shared the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the peace accords that ended American involvement in the Vietnam War. The fighting between North Vietnam and U.S.-backed South Vietnam did not end until the North’s victory in 1975. Mr. Kissinger defended his wartime decisions for years afterward. Within Vietnam, Mr. Kissinger’s role in the war was contentious well before the fighting ended. When President Barack Obama visited in Hanoi in 2016, he said the United States would rescind a decades-old ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam.

Persons: Henry A, Kissinger, Mr, Lyndon, Richard M, Le Duc Tho, Duong Quoc, Hun Sen, ”, “, Pen, Sok, Hun Sen’s, Barack Obama, Biden’s, Chau Doan, Sun Narin, Lee Wee Organizations: Communist, Johnson Library, Museum, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, U.S, Cambodian People’s Party, Vietnam’s Communist Party Locations: Cambodia, Vietnam, U.S, China, Southeast Asia, North Vietnam, Saigon, United States, America, Austin , Texas, Vietnamese, Hanoi, “, Khmer, Khmer Rouge, ” Vietnam, Washington, United, Russia

☆ Rob Reiner Teases Details of ‘Spinal Tap’ Sequel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The director Rob Reiner has said that an upcoming sequel to his 1984 documentary parody “This Is Spinal Tap” is scheduled to begin shooting in late February and will feature Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks, among other stars. “Spinal Tap” satirized a bungled tour by a fictitious British heavy-metal band of that name, as well as the process of documenting it. Plans for “Spinal Tap II” were first announced last year. Over the years, the three have played real-life concerts as their Spinal Tap characters. Reiner announced new details about the “Spinal Tap” sequel during an episode of a podcast hosted by the comedian Richard Herring that was released on Monday.

Persons: Rob Reiner, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Garth Brooks, “, ”, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer —, Reiner, Richard Herring Organizations: Variety Locations: British, Hollywood

New Zealand’s new right-wing government has said it will repeal a law that would have gradually banned all cigarette sales in the country over the course of several decades. It would have gradually introduced changes in retail cigarette sales and licensing over several years until tobacco could eventually no longer be legally sold in New Zealand. By Jan. 1, 2027, the law would have made it illegal to sell tobacco products like cigarettes, to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, according to the government. The law would then have gradually raised the smoking age, year by year, until it covered the entire population. But last week, the new government said in published agreements between the three coalition partners that it would repeal the law, without explaining why.

Persons: Jacinda Ardern Locations: New Zealand

When the North Korean men’s soccer team took the field for two 2026 World Cup qualifying matches this month, close observers noticed an important roster change. Han Kwang-song, a high-profile striker, was back, more than three years after vanishing from public view for reasons beyond his control: United Nations-imposed sanctions on North Korean nationals over Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Mr. Han’s story is a rare case of North Korea sanctions reverberating through professional soccer. It also shows how enforcement of U.N. sanctions against individuals varies by country. The government in Italy did not deport Mr. Han, now 25, while he was playing professional soccer there.

Persons: Han Kwang, Han Organizations: United Nations, North Locations: Korean, North Korea, Italy, Qatar, Qatari

☆ Navy Plane Misses Runway in Hawaii and Ends Up in Water With 9 Aboard
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The plane’s crew members are assigned to a squadron based in Whidbey Island, Wash., according to a separate statement by Lt. Mohammad N. Issa, a spokesman for the Navy’s Third Fleet. He also said that emergecy workers had enacted a temporary floating barrier to help protect the environment. No other details were immediately available. The P-8A Poseidon is about 130 feet long and 42 feet wide, according to the Navy. It carries a crew of nine and is mainly used for surveillance missions.

Persons: Mohammad N, Issa Organizations: Navy Locations: Whidbey Island

☆ Amtrak Train Derails in Michigan After Striking Vehicle on Tracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An Amtrak passenger train carrying more than 200 passengers derailed in Michigan on Thursday night after striking a vehicle on the tracks; there were no immediate reports of injuries, the national railroad company said. Amtrak said the accident happened about 10 p.m. near New Buffalo, Mich., a township near Lake Michigan, about an hour east of Chicago. The train, with six crew members and an estimated 218 passengers aboard, had been traveling west to Chicago from Pontiac, Mich., and remained upright after the derailment, the company said. A police dispatcher for Berrien County, where New Buffalo is located, declined to comment. Experts say derailments usually happen when a train takes a turn too fast — one reason that automatic-braking technology has been installed on many passenger railroads across the United States in recent years.

Organizations: Amtrak Locations: Michigan, New Buffalo, Mich, Lake Michigan, Chicago, Pontiac, Berrien County, United States

Search resuls for: "Mike Ives"

25 mentions found