DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

[1/2] Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, looks up at the crowd during the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, May 14, 2023. Move Forward has shaken the political landscape, long dominated by military-backed parties or the opposition Pheu Thai party driven by the billionaire Shinawatra family. Move Forward's charismatic prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat was jubilant. A chunk of Move Forward's support has come from young voters, including 3.3 million eligible to vote for the first time. "I feel like my vote has improved the country," she said, dressed in orange, Move Forward's colour, at party headquarters.

☆ Factbox: Preliminary results of Thailand's election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, meets with the media members on the day of the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, May 14, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaBANGKOK, May 14 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition parties Move Forward and Pheu Thai won the most seats in Sunday's election, paving the way for a challenge to the military-backed government, which has been in power for nearly a decade. Parliamentary seats are distributed based on 400 open constituency seats and 100 'party-list' seats - or seats won by parties based on their share of national votes. Below are preliminary results of Sunday's ballot, according to the Election Commission of Thailand, with 97% of the vote counted. The tabulation of party-list seats is based on a Reuters tally of voting data made available by the election commission.

☆ Preserving Hula, the Heartbeat of Hawaii
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Miya Lee | Brendan George Ko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

HILO, Hawaii — The airy Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium in Hilo, Hawaii, was silent except for bird song and the low, steady chanting of Mapuana de Silva as she sprinkled a mixture of turmeric and saltwater along the perimeter of a square stage. Ms. de Silva, a kumu hula (master hula teacher), was conducting a ceremony called pikai, before her students began their 50-minute hula practice. “We’re known as traditionalists,” Ms. de Silva, 74, said, whose dancers practiced in shirts with the word “boring” on them. Her students performed a seated hula kahiko (ancient hula). Later that night, they would compete against 23 other hula schools in the 60th Merrie Monarch Festival.

The case for investing in India — a nation of 1.4 billion — is clear, and only bolstered by recent geopolitical shifts. As Western leaders look to boost economic cooperation with countries that share similar values, India, the world’s largest democracy, stands to gain. Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty ImagesIndia’s so-called “demographic dividend,” the potential economic growth arising from a large working-age population, represents a major opportunity. A recent Air India order for more than 200 Boeing planes could support more than 1 million American jobs. One consistent with our democratic values, and another not.”‘Economic miracle?’Beyond geopolitics, India’s economic and demographic fundamentals are driving business interest.

☆ Inflation in Sri Lanka is coming down but it's still 'hard on the people,' says opposition MP
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInflation in Sri Lanka is coming down but it's still 'hard on the people,' says opposition MPHarsha de Silva, member of Parliament of Sri Lanka and economist, says, however, that "things are stabilizing."

☆ More than two-thirds of elephant habitat lost across Asia, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Elephants have lost almost two-thirds of their habitat across Asia, the result of hundreds of years of deforestation and increasing human use of land for agriculture and infrastructure, a new study has found. The study found that the greatest decline in elephant habitats was in China, where 94% of suitable land was lost between 1700 and 2015. Meanwhile, more than half of suitable elephant habitats have been lost in Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia’s Sumatra. The era also saw “new value systems, market forces, and governance policies” reaching beyond the cities of Europe into the forests of Asia – speeding up elephant habitat loss and the fragmentation of the species, the study found. Habitat loss also means elephants are migrating from their usual territories, creating “challenges for human communities that have little experience with elephants,” the study said.

☆ Taliban ban on Afghan women working for U.N. an 'internal' issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A group of women wearing burqas crosses the street as members of the Taliban drive past in Kabul, Afghanistan October 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File PhotoKABUL, April 12 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban administration has said forbidding Afghan women from working for the United Nations was an "internal issue," after the global organisation expressed alarm at the decision and said it would review its operations there. On Tuesday, the U.N. Mission to Afghanistan said the Taliban administration would be responsible for any negative humanitarian impacts stemming from the ban. Taliban authorities in December said most Afghan female NGO workers would not be allowed to work. The U.N. humanitarian agency has said a huge funding plan for Afghanistan for 2023 is less than 5% funded.

☆ The High Seas Treaty, Explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Haphazard Authority On Ocean Resources | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Global News Changing Tides The first international agreement to protect the world's oceans aims to create “international parks” in the high seas. The high seas represent 95% of the world’s total habitat by volume, but the nautical world remains largely unexplored. “A sentiment we often encountered was that there’s not much in terms of biodiversity out there in the high seas,” he said. MPAs that already exist mostly occupy exclusive economic zones and only make up about 3% of the high seas. A 2016 Pew study on mapping governance in the high seas showed 19 governing bodies with a high seas mandate.

MAYA BAY, Thailand, March 27 (Reuters) - On any given day in Thailand's Maya Bay, up to 40 blacktip reef sharks cruise in the cyan shallows while about 4,000 tourists visit its white-sand beach flanked by towering cliffs. Marine researcher Metavee Chuangcharoendee said that thanks to the pause in tourism the island was once again functioning as a nursery for young sharks. A number of factors affect the sharks around Phi Phi Leh Island, including seasonal movement patterns and human activity like fishing, Metavee said. For Phi Phi Island National Park, annual revenue was almost halved from 638.3 million baht ($18.7 million) in 2018 to 373.6 million baht in 2019 after authorities closed the beach. "If you can create a new image of Maya Bay as a nature reserve ...

☆ Ready, set, roll! Thai man wins fastest joint rolling in Phuket
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Jorge Silva | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PHUKET, Thailand, March 26 (Reuters) - With nimble fingers and years of practice, Ativat Janmuangthai beat other cannabis enthusiasts to roll a perfect, one-gramme joint in 43 seconds on Saturday, becoming the fastest joint-roller in Thailand's Phuket. "He's been rolling joints for five years, he can even roll joints blindfolded. He's very fast," said Saksorn Sotornkittirat, friend of Ativat who accompanied him at the first Phuket Cannabis Cup competition. Cannabis advocates in Phuket recently formed the Phuket Cannabis Association to create a stronger voice for the industry, with over 1,000 licensed dispensaries now on the island. Poonwarit Wangpatravanich, the group president, hopes laws to regulate cannabis use will be hastened after the election.

☆ Midmarket Firms Re-Evaluate Regional Bank Risk Following Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Maria Armental | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Midmarket private-equity firms are increasingly moving business to a wider range of banks—especially to those bigger in size—to hedge against the fallout from the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, a major lender to private-market fund managers and their companies. “There’s definitely a flight to quality, to have at least one bank account with kind of a bulge bracket, top-four bank,” said Richard de Silva, the founder and managing partner of private-equity firm Lateral Investment Management in San Mateo, Calif.A...

☆ TikTok went big at SXSW and creators discussed building lasting businesses. Here are 3 takeaways that I left Austin with.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Creators gathered at Meta's Austin, TX offices for a series of talks hosted by the Asian Creator House. Whether creators were talking about pay transparency, or startups were pitching their products as solutions, creator monetization was an ongoing conversation at SXSW. "More and more creators are being transparent as to how much they're making," said Monica Ravichandran, creator and Collective Voice staffer. At the Asian Creator House, led by Always Be Creating cofounders Justin Nguyen and Jerry Won, creator pay and business building were also top of mind. But on the brand and marketing side of SXSW, AI wasn't a potent topic, according to Influencer's Penchin.

☆ Brazil sinks rusting old aircraft carrier in the Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Brazil sank a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean off its northeast coast, the Brazilian Navy said, despite warnings from environmentalists that the rusting 1960s French-built ship would pollute the sea and the marine food chain. The 32,000-tonne carrier had been floating offshore for three months since Turkey refused it entry to be scrapped there because it was an environmental hazard and the ship was towed back to Brazil. The Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier served the French Navy for four decades as the Foch, capable of carrying 40 war planes. It then decided to sink the Sao Paulo at high sea. The company's legal representative in Brazil, Zilan Costa e Silva, said that disposal of the carrier was the Brazilian state's responsibility under the 1989 Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.

☆ Portugal agrees to swap Cape Verde's debt for environmental investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Portugal has signed an agreement to swap Cape Verde's debt for investments in an environmental and climate fund that is being established by the archipelago nation off West Africa's coast, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday. The former Portuguese colony, which is already suffering from rising sea levels and significant biodiversity loss due to increasing ocean acidity, owes around 140 million euros ($152 million) to the Portuguese state and over 400 million to its banks and other entities. Climate change is a challenge that takes place on a global scale and no country will be (environmentally) sustainable if all countries are not sustainable," Costa said during a state visit to Cape Verde in remarks broadcast by RTP television. Cape Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said his country needed to urgently enable mechanisms and financing instruments to support such solutions and deal with natural emergencies. ($1 = 0.9206 euros)Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; editing by Andrei Khalip and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ COVID curbs over, China's tourists hit Thai beaches for first time in 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Kwang Jirapornkuhakan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Colorful umbrellas are seen in a restaurant as tourists enjoy a beach in the island of Phuket in Thailand January 19, 2023. Previously, when I was here, I ate mango sticky rice, which was delicious. Back in China I kept thinking about the mango sticky rice here. The Chinese return was welcomed by businesses, despite some wariness about a huge spike in COVID infections in China after Beijing ended its zero-COVID policy. The Thai government is expecting at least five million Chinese tourist arrivals this year, with some 300,000 coming in the first quarter.

☆ Thai elephant camp adds more jumbos as Chinese tourists return
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Kwang Jirapornkuhakan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] A Chinese tourist rides on an elephant in a jungle park ahead of Lunar New Year in Phuket, Thailand January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaPHUKET, Thailand, Jan 21 (Reuters) - An elephant camp in Thailand has purchased six new jumbos to welcome tourists and returning Chinese visitors, offering activities from elephant rides to elephant showers, the owner said. Pang Chang Kamala Elephant Camp on the resort island of Phuket is also adding programmes such as elephant care due to a rise in bookings after the Lunar New Year, camp owner Wittaya Taweeros told Reuters. With 25 elephants now, the camp can receive 300 tourists per day, up from 200, he added. China's reopening raises hopes for the return of Chinese visitors, who accounted for nearly a third of Thailand's 40 million foreign tourist arrivals in pre-pandemic 2019.

☆ Triller missed its target for going public again, as it waits for the SEC to OK its confidential filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Triller is in a holding pattern on its path to becoming a public company. A spokesperson said that once its registration statement is declared effective, it will make the filing public for the required time ahead of its public listing. The long slog toward becoming a public company as lawsuits pile upTriller has been pursuing a public offering for over a year. In December 2021, Triller announced it instead planned to go public via a reverse merger with the video-tech company Seachange International. "After much deliberation, Triller has determined that the best course of action is a direct listing for Triller."

REUTERS/Jorge Silva/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports last year declined due to infrastructure outages, U.S. sanctions and rising competition in its key Asia market despite assistance from ally Iran, according to shipping data and documents. Iran expanded its role in Venezuela last year, sending supplies to boost exports and technicians to repair a refinery. Venezuela's crude production averaged some 721,000 bpd according to a preliminary data for December and OPEC reports. A U.S. license granted to Chevron Corp (CVX.N) to recover output and exports in Venezuela will take effect this year. A global appetite for fuel alternatives boosted its oil byproducts exports, which added millions of dollars last year.

☆ Portuguese climate activists must pay fine over protest, says court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A Portuguese court ordered four climate activists to pay a fine on Friday for occupying a university building to protest what they perceived as political inaction around climate change. According to the judge's decision, each activist must pay a fine of 295 euros ($312.61). If they are not able to pay it in one go they can either pay in instalments or do community service. "We think it's not fair that we are being criminalised for fighting for the environment," one of the sentenced students, Ana, told RTP broadcaster outside the court. The Faculty of Humanities was one of several universities and high schools in the city that young people angry about the climate crisis occupied last month.

☆ Fact Check-Online claims that Brazilian military is executing officials due to ‘stolen’ presidential election are false
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence to support claims that the Brazilian military is executing officials from President-elect Lula de Silva’s administration because of a “fraudulent” election. Reuters found no credible reports of “executions” of politicians in the country, or that the military declared Bolsonaro as the president (bit.ly/3VUIePu). Lula narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election October 2022, and is set to take office on Jan. 1, 2023, Reuters reported (here). Claims the election in Brazil were fraudulent have previously been debunked by Reuters in Portuguese (here) and (here). There is no evidence that the Brazilian military executed officials related to President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

☆ Portugal young gun Ramos faces tough test from wily Saiss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Shady Amir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ramos, 21, made headlines when the teams were announced, picked to lead the attack in place of Portugal's all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo who was relegated to the bench. It did not take long for the youngster to become one of the biggest stories of the Qatar World Cup. Ramos made his debut in Portugal's 4-0 win over Nigeria in a warm-up game before the World Cup and played a total of 10 minutes as a substitute in two of the three group matches. Perhaps Ramos, who helped Benfica reach the Champions League last 16 this season, benefited from being the third striker in the squad behind Ronaldo and Andre Silva. He will now be firmly in the spotlight when Morocco coach Walid Regragui considers his tactics.

☆ Baaba Maal back with new music, 'Glastonbury of Africa' festival hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Andrea De Silva/File PhotoLONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - When Baaba Maal released his last album “The Traveller” in 2016, the Senegalese singer and guitarist wasn’t sure he would put out another record. The uptempo song "Yerimayo Celebration", released last week, salutes the cultures of fishermen, the profession of Maal's father. In 2005, Maal founded the Blues du Fleuve festival in his hometown of Podor on the Senegal River. “Sometimes I (joked) with my friends (saying) ‘I want this festival to be like the Glastonbury of Africa’. “Wakanda, if ever it existed, it might be Africa...and to be the voice of Africa, it’s great for me.

☆ Triller is planning to go public in a few weeks despite removing major-label music from its app
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The update comes as the company removed last week the song catalogs of major labels from its video app. In 2020, Triller partnered with Billboard to publish weekly "Top Triller US" and "Top Triller Global" charts. In its statement to Insider, Triller suggested that removing music from major labels could help save the company money. The Triller app remains just one piece of the company's overall business. Triller even invoked TikTok in its statement about its decision to remove the catalogs of major music labels, writing that, "TikTok and the labels have aligned so closely."

☆ South Korea beat Portugal to squeeze into next round at World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Anita Kobylinska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/8] Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group H - South Korea v Portugal - Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar - December 2, 2022 South Korea players celebrate after the match as South Korea qualify for the knockout stages REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayAL RAYYAN, Qatar, Dec 2 (Reuters) - South Korea scored a last-gasp goal to beat already-qualified Portugal 2-1 at the World Cup in a comeback win that sent the Asian side into the last 16 ahead of Uruguay on goals scored. South Korea had to beat Portugal at the Education City Stadium to stand a chance of going through to the last 16 and their win catapulted them from fourth to second place by virtue of having scored four goals in the tournament to Uruguay's two. Portugal finished top despite the loss and should avoid facing likely Group G winners Brazil in the knockout stage. However, they did manage to equalise 10 minutes later through defender Kim Young-gwon who scored after the ball bounced off Cristiano Ronaldo's back following a corner. Writing by William Schomberg and Anita Kobylinska; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ One of Wall Street's toughest shops isn't for the faint of heart. But the rewards are plenty for those who make it to the top.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Apollo Global Management; Yahoo; Brightspeed; Legendary; Alyssa Powell/Insider1. That, in a nutshell, is life at Apollo Global Management. The firm works on a points system that could most easily be described as a profit-share system, Casey told me. In other news:France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Cup REUTERS / Kai Pfaffenbach2. You're not just watching the World Cup.

Search resuls for: "e Silva"

25 mentions found