DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

London CNN —There’s no denying the echoes to the late Princess Diana’s 1997 death in a car crash in Paris. As their first public appearance since Prince Harry returned from King Charles’ coronation in London, it had initially seemed a pretty routine affair. Chris Sanchez, who was part of the royal security detail, told us they were immediately followed from the event by a dozen vehicles. It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” the statement outlined. However, those images appear to show Prince Harry documenting the moment on his phone, so we may yet learn more about what exactly happened from their perspective in the future.

☆ Queen Elizabeth II's funeral cost over $200 million, UK government reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II cost the U.K. government around £162 million ($201.4 million), the Treasury said on Thursday. The U.K.'s longest-serving monarch died on Sept. 8, 2022, aged 96, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. A 10-day period of national mourning, during which most businesses and workplaces remained open but many events were canceled, was held ahead of her funeral in Westminster Abbey on Sept. 18. An estimated 250,000 members of the public saw the British queen lying in state in London during the mourning period, with many queuing in the streets of London for more than 24 hours. She was buried at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, Berkshire.

Electric vehicles sales are already trending up, accounting for 8% of all car sales in April, up from 1.1% a year earlier. DEMAND UNCERTAINTYDespite the government's EV push, uncertainty remains over how tough its vehicle emission standards will be. The challenge is the expansion of public chargers, especially in regional areas, where the power infrastructure to support fast chargers is often scarce or absent. The country's public chargers tend to be underpowered, with 0.5 kilowatts of public charging per EV versus an average 2.4 kw worldwide. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsExpansion of public chargers is slow as operators face long delays connecting to the grid.

☆ Prince Harry and Meghan involved in ‘near catastrophic car chase’ involving paparazzi in NY
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Max Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” involving paparazzi in New York City on Tuesday night, his spokesperson says. The couple were followed by a “swarm” of paparazzi, but there was no car accident, according to a law enforcement source. The incident happened after Harry accompanied Meghan to the Women of Vision Awards, held at the city’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. Paparazzi on the scooters and bikes zoomed down the sidewalk to keep up, the source explains. The late Princess of Wales died in 1997 after suffering internal injuries resulting from a high-speed car crash in Paris.

☆ 'Cannibalized' parts show how the British navy is struggling to keep its 2 new aircraft carriers in fighting shape
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Royal Navy is taking parts from one of its aircraft carriers and using them on its other one. New warships often have problems, especially complicated vessels like aircraft carriers. HMS Prince of Wales, which was commissioned in 2019, has been sidelined since August because of a broken propeller shaft. HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales sail together for the first time in May 2021. (HMS Queen Elizabeth's escorts during its maiden deployment included a US Navy destroyer and a Dutch navy frigate.)

☆ Australia's InvoCare gets higher $1.3 bln offer from TPG, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Australia's InvoCare Ltd (IVC.AX) said on Monday it had received a higher A$1.86 billion ($1.26 billion) offer from TPG Global, weeks after the private equity firm revoked its A$1.81 billion pursuit for the funeral services provider. Shares of InvoCare rose 11.5% to A$12.36 by 0050 GMT, while the broader market (.AXJO) was up 1.4%. Last month, TPG withdrew its buyout bid after it was not granted access to the New South Wales-based company's books following its A$12.65 per-share indicative offer — a 41.3% premium at the time. InvoCare said on Monday it had agreed to provide TPG a chance to undertake a five-week due diligence on an exclusive basis to deliver a binding offer. The company intends to recommend shareholders vote in favour of TPG's latest offer if it becomes a binding deal, InvoCare added.

☆ Wikipedia cofounder slams Elon Musk for caving to Turkey's government and censoring tweets, says Wikipedia fought similar demands and won
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter announced it would "restrict access to some content in Turkey" right before the country's presidential election. Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales criticized Twitter CEO Elon Musk's decision to restrict content. Twitter's Global Government Affairs account had tweeted about the changes ahead of Turkey's presidential election held on Sunday. Turkey's highest court determined that blocking the website was unconstitutional, and access to Wikipedia was restored in January 2020, The New York Times reported. Before Musk, Twitter agreed to around 50% of government requests.

☆ Swedish singer Loreen wins Eurovision Song Contest for 2nd time at event feting Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Swedish singer Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her power ballad "Tattoo," at a colorful, eclectic music competition clouded for a second year running by the war in Ukraine. Loreen, 39, previously won Eurovision in 2012 and is only the second performer to take the prize twice, after Ireland's Johnny Logan in the 1980s. Under the slogan "united by music," Eurovision final fused the soul of the English port city that birthed The Beatles with the spirit of war-battered Ukraine. Now in its 67th year, Eurovision bills itself as the world's biggest music contest — an Olympiad of party-friendly pop. "Now, the music industry, the world, knows that if you appear at Eurovision, you could be in for a great thing," said Steve Holden, host of the official Eurovision Song Contest podcast.

☆ 'Free speech opportunist' Elon Musk caved to government pressure to censor tweets ahead of the Turkish election. Critics argue SpaceX dealings with the country's right-wing leader may have caused the
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Elon Musk's reputation as a free speech absolutist took another hit on Saturday after Twitter sided with the Turkish government and censored the accounts of political opponents ahead of a contentious election. Targeted Turkish dissidentsThe details of the legal request and which specific accounts were targeted were not made public. Yakut had previously shared information about Erdogan's governmental dealings and alleged the Turkish leader had been involved in the disappearance of his son-in-law, Turkish Minute reported last week. "I'm sure this is just a coincidence," users on Twitter posted, some sarcastically, circulating news of Musk's business dealings with Turkey. Musk and representatives for Twitter, SpaceX, and the Republic of Turkey did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Platypus returns to Australian national park for first time in half a century
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( James Redmayne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A platypus is released by CEO of Taronga Zoo Cameron Kerr and Scientists back into Sydney's Royal National Park for the first time in over fifty years, in Sydney, Australia, May 12, 2023. ... Read moreSYDNEY, May 14 (Reuters) - The platypus, a species unique to Australia, was reintroduced into the country’s oldest national park just south of Sydney on Friday in a landmark conservation project after disappearing from the area more than half a century ago. Four females were released on Friday into the Royal National Park, which was established in 1879 and is the second oldest national park in the world. No confirmed platypus sightings have been reported in the park, located about 35 kilometres or one hour’s drive south of Sydney, since the 1970s. The platypuses, which live along Australia's east coast and in Tasmania, were collected from various locations across south-eastern New South Wales state and subjected to various tests before relocation.

LIVERPOOL, England, May 13 (Reuters) - The grand final of Eurovision 2023 kicked off on Saturday with last year's winner Kalush Orchestra performing on video in Ukraine and live in Liverpool, the northern English city hosting on behalf of the country that is fighting Russia's invasion. The 26 acts that qualified for the grand final span musical styles from ballads to heavy rock to rap, starting with Austria's Teya & Salena performing "Who The Hell is Edgar? [1/6] Mimicat from Portugal performs during the grand final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, Britain, May 13, 2023. Pam Minto, a 37-year-old support worker from Liverpool, said she was proud of her city and hoped it was doing Ukraine proud. Ukrainian Anastasiia Iovova, a 31-year-old teacher who is currently living in Leeds, northern England, said Liverpool felt like home abroad.

☆ In major milestone, wind power was Britain's largest source of electricity in the first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm, in waters off the coast of Wales. The U.K. is home to a mature offshore wind sector. Wind power was Britain's biggest source of electricity in the first quarter of 2023, overtaking natural gas and highlighting the increasingly important role renewables are set to play in the years ahead. According to researchers at Imperial College London, wind turbines provided 32.4% of Britain's electricity in the first three months of the year. Wind turbines, according to the analysis, produced 24 terawatt hours of electricity.

☆ After a Gale Blew Off Their Roof, They Decided It Was Time for a More Durable Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ruth Bloomfield | Photographs Leia Morrison For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The weather in Wales is notoriously wild and windy, and Tracey and Paul Morris’s family home by the sea was feeling the strain. Decades of wind and rain rolling in from the North Atlantic Ocean had left the 1920s house suffering from damp and both wet and dry rot. After a section of its roof blew off during a gale, they decided to cut their losses, and replace it with something much more durable. “A fortress was what we wanted. Something really robust, with clean lines and open-plan space,” said Mrs. Morris.

☆ U.K. Protest Law in Spotlight as Police ‘Regret’ Some Coronation Arrests
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Megan Specia | Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The law, called the Public Order Act 2023, came into effect days before the coronation, giving the police in England and Wales extended powers to detain and charge those they suspect of mounting or of preparing potentially disruptive protests. Saturday was widely seen as the first test for the legislation, which was brought forward last year after a wave of climate protests and has drawn condemnation from rights groups and legal experts. Leila Choukroune, a professor of international law at the University of Portsmouth, said the new legislation is reflective of a growing trend in democracies around the world where governments have introduced measures to legally justify limits on personal freedoms, including the right to protest. “This is why it’s really worrying and why the U.K. and what’s just happened is an example, a very concrete example, but just one example,” she said. “There is this trend for the past 20 years to legally justify the limitation on human rights — from freedom of speech to freedom of movement during the pandemic to the right to protest today.”

☆ Coronation concert fit for a king
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Princess Charlotte, Prince George, the Prince of Wales, and Queen Camilla, in front of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty in the Royal Box viewing the Coronation Concert held on the grounds of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, to celebrate the...morePrincess Charlotte, Prince George, the Prince of Wales, and Queen Camilla, in front of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty in the Royal Box viewing the Coronation Concert held on the grounds of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Sunday, May 7. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERSClose

☆ Hollywood's Reynolds and McElhenney found success at Welsh soccer club Wrexham. But there's a warning for would-be copycats
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"There's a big amount of pressure and attention from the press, not to mention scepticism from diehard football fans. WREXHAM, Wales - May 2, 2023: Wrexham AFC fans celebrate during a bus parade following their league title win. One fan has donned the costume of Deadpool, the comic book character played by co-owner Ryan Reynolds. Hollis said they understood that "it would take more than funny Twitter posts and a documentary" to turn around a struggling club like Wrexham. This sort of dedication plays a crucial role in attracting more support from fans," Hollis said.

All were taken by renowned British photographer Hugo Burnand at Buckingham Palace. In this photo made available by Buckingham Palace on Monday, May 8, 2023, Britain's King Charles III poses for a photo in full regalia in the Throne Room, London. Britain's Queen Camilla poses for a photo in The Green Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, London. In this photo made available by Buckingham Palace on Monday, May 8, 2023, King Charles III and Queen Camilla are pictured in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London. Lady Ogilvy and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London.

☆ Photos show what King Charles' reign has been like so far, from ascending the throne to a cancer diagnosis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Samantha Grindell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Charles also greeted well-wishers on Easter 2024 after a tumultuous March for the royals. King Charles and Queen Camilla shake hands with people at Windsor Castle on Easter 2024. Hollie Adams - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesThe king and Camilla attended an Easter service at Windsor Castle on March 31, speaking to members of the public outside of St George's Chapel. Charles and Camilla were joined by his siblings and their spouses, as well as Sarah Ferguson and Charles' nephew, James, Earl of Wessex. According to royal reporter Rebecca English, the king said he was "so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did'.

Persons: Charles, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Hollie Adams, Camilla, Sarah Ferguson, James, Earl of Wessex, Prince, Princess, Kate, Wales, Buckingham, Rebecca English, Catherine Organizations: Windsor Castle Locations: Windsor, St George's, Wales, Kensington

CNN —Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, has undertaken his first royal engagement at the age of five. The Wales family joined the scouts to renovate their scout hut. Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, eight, were seen painting a porch. Prince Louis, dressed in blue shorts and a blue polo shirt, joined his father on a digger and helped fill a wheelbarrow with sand. Prince Louis pushed a loaded wheelbarrow while his mother and sister -- the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte -- watched on.

LOS ANGELES, May 8 (Reuters) - Writing for a new season of "The Handmaid's Tale" and a coming "Game of Thrones" prequel was halted as a nearly week-long strike by thousands of film and television writers rippled across Hollywood on Monday. Writing of the dystopian drama stopped when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called a strike last week, Chang told Reuters on Monday. Martin said in a blog post that the writers' room for prequel series "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight" was "closed for the duration of the strike." Warner Bros has not announced a release date for "The Hedge Knight." The second season of "House of the Dragon," another "Game of Thrones" prequel, began filming in April, Martin said, and will continue in London and Wales.

CNN —Prince William paid tribute to his “Pa” King Charles III at the coronation concert on Sunday, saying “we are all so proud of you” as he evoked the memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Instead, William said he simply wanted to “say a few words about my father and why I believe this weekend is so important.”Prince William, Prince of Wales (left); Queen Camilla and King Charles III (right) at the Coronation Concert on Sunday. Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty ImagesHe went on to pay a heartfelt tribute to the King, outlining his commitment to service over the years. My father’s first words on entering Westminster Abbey yesterday were a pledge of service,” Prince William remarked. Police arrested dozens of people during the coronation, after controversially promising a “robust” approach to protesters.

Prince William honored his father with a few words during Sunday night's concert - the first ever to be staged at Windsor Castle, home to monarchs for almost 1,000 years. Royals dance the night awaySeveral members of the royal family got their groove on throughout the concert. Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesMesmerizing drone displayA fabulous drone display lit up the sky over the coronation concert, earning audible gasps from the crowd below. Crowds watch illuminated drones creating a light display above Windsor Castle. But when Miss Piggy, dressed in a cerise pink evening dress and glittering necklace, recognized “Downton Abbey” star Bonneville she had other things in mind, thinking he was a real lord.

☆ For King Charles, a Detente Emerges in Relationship With U.K. Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( David Luhnow | Alistair Macdonald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People in Piccadilly Circus during the coronation of King Charles III. Photo: Cover Images/Zuma PressLONDON—King Charles III’s coronation this weekend got rave reviews from the British press, part of what appears to be a fragile truce between the notoriously aggressive U.K. media and the new king, after a long and sometimes frosty relationship. The former Prince of Wales has had a famously fraught time with the British press, especially when he had an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, now his wife and queen, while married to Diana, princess of Wales. He was also mocked for years over everything from his ears to his penchant for talking to plants.

Paris CNN —France’s finance minister is in the spotlight. “It is about music, my passion for music,” Le Maire insisted of the novel, whose central character is a piano virtuoso. Some in France chastized the finance minister for devoting time to writing, especially as the country weathers economic headwinds. The French finance ministry confirmed to CNN that Le Maire had warned the French presidency of the book before its release. And the finance minister seemed unabashed on Twitter.

London CNN —The coronation of King Charles III on Saturday was a historic day, jam-packed with events – some planned, others not. The crowning eventCharles was hidden from view for the most dramatic part of the service at London’s Westminster Abbey on Saturday. King Charles III sits as he receives The St Edward's Crown during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. Lady in bluePenny Mordaunt leads King Charles III during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Queen Camilla and King Charles III arrive for their coronation at Westminster Abbey.

Search resuls for: "wales"

25 mentions found