DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Have You Seen Paul McCartney’s Lost Bass Guitar? Tips Welcome.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Before Beatlemania, there was the distinctive Höfner violin bass — the first guitar that Paul McCartney bought after becoming the bassist for the Beatles. That bass can be heard on some of the band’s most famous hits, including “Love Me Do,” “She Loves You,” and “Twist and Shout.”Mr. McCartney picked up the instrument in a Hamburg music store in 1961, and it accompanied the Fab Four as they rocketed to stunning success, becoming the most famous band in the world. But the guitar vanished eight years later. A new campaign is seeking to find the missing instrument, and hundreds of people have responded, hoping to help solve the decades-old mystery: Where is Paul McCartney’s missing bass guitar?

Persons: Paul McCartney, Mr, McCartney, Paul McCartney’s Locations: Hamburg

☆ A couple in the UK quit their 9-to-5 jobs to move to the Philippines. Now, they have no debt and their monthly utility bills rarely exceed $55 — see how they did it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Adam and Jane Vizor moved to the Philippines with their daughter to lead a slower-paced, debt-free life. Now, the couple has no debt, and their monthly utility bills rarely exceed $55. "After we came to see the land, we worked with an architect to create a floor plan to maximize the layout of our house," Adam said. Adam and Jane Vizor"An equivalent house in the UK, I would say, probably easily costs a million pounds," Adam added. Adam and Jane VizorUnlike the UK, they have no heating costs, since the Philippines is a tropical country.

Persons: Adam, Jane Vizor, Isabella, Jane, She'd, I'd, Jane's, —, we've, It's, it's, everyone's, Jane Vizor It's, Jane said Organizations: Service, YouTube Locations: Philippines, Wall, Silicon, Bristol, Ormoc, Leyte, Manila, —, England

☆ Grim Struggle Begins to Identify Victims in South African Fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Families of the victims of a fire in downtown Johannesburg were still searching for relatives at mortuaries and hospitals on Friday to see if they had lived or died, a day after the blaze tore through an overcrowded building in one of the deadliest residential fires in South African history. At least 74 people died in the fire, a dozen of them children, with some victims jumping to their deaths from the building and others trapped inside. Health officials on Friday urged people to come forward to identify their relatives at a mortuary, adding that 40 men and 24 women were among the victims. Ten other bodies were so badly burned they were beyond recognition, they said, and DNA testing would be used to identify them. On Friday morning, the police were seen taking search dogs around the charred site.

Organizations: Health Locations: Johannesburg, mortuaries, South

☆ Scenes From Johannesburg: A Deadly Fire Downtown Kills Scores
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A fire consumed a crowded five-story building in downtown Johannesburg early on Thursday, tearing through an informal settlement of homeless people in what was being described as one of the deadliest blazes in South African history. Owned by the city, the building once provided emergency housing for women but had become home to a large squatter camp, a sign of the scarcity of affordable housing in South Africa’s most populous city. These are photographs from the scene.

Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa’s

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/media/cnn-expected-to-tap-ex-new-york-times-chief-mark-thompson-as-ceo-765c18c7

Persons: Dow Jones, 765c18c7 Organizations: cnn

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: cnn

☆ Rich History, Dizzying Beauty: The Sicilian City Where Aimless Wandering Is the Point
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Tara Isabella Burton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

THE SUN was setting as I made my way past tombs and ruins toward the ancient amphitheater for the night’s performance. By this point, my third day in Sicily, I was prepared to be taken back in time. The show, Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Tauris” was written in the 5th century B.C., roughly when the theater might have been completed. The scalding summertime heat of the Italian island had at last receded and the smell of jasmine and bougainvillea filled the air as I took my seat.

Persons: Euripides ’ “, Tauris ” Locations: Sicily, Tauris

☆ Tucker Carlson’s Trump Interview Starts Tough Fight to Take on Fox and Cable News
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Amol Sharma | Isabella Simonetti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones, carlson

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery Adds CNN Live-News Service to Max Streaming Platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Isabella Simonetti | Joe Flint | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/media/warner-bros-discovery-adds-cnn-live-news-service-to-max-streaming-platform-9b87e4f2

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: warner, cnn

☆ King Charles to Visit France in September, After Protests Forced Delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

King Charles III of Britain announced plans on Thursday for a visit to France next month, his first trip to the country as monarch, after widespread demonstrations postponed a visit planned earlier this year and caused an awkward moment for President Emmanuel Macron. The British monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, will visit Paris and Bordeaux from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22, Buckingham Palace said, adding that it would be a celebration of “the shared history, culture and values of the United Kingdom and France.”The French president had originally intended to host King Charles in March, in one of the king’s first overseas trips as Britain’s head of state. On the heels of a visit from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the plan for King Charles’s trip was a signal of a warming in the relationship between the two countries, which has been strained in the years since Britain formally left the European Union in 2021. But an outpouring of anger in March over a plan by Mr. Macron to raise the retirement age in France to 64 from 62 spurred huge street demonstrations and strikes, some of which turned violent. The strikes also disrupted train services, causing concerns over the travel logistics.

Persons: King Charles III of, Emmanuel Macron, Queen Camilla, Buckingham, ”, King Charles, Rishi Sunak, King Charles’s, Macron Organizations: Paris, European Union Locations: France, British, Bordeaux, United Kingdom, Britain

☆ Scenes From Greece, Where Hundreds of New Fires Burn
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With forests parched from weeks of scorching heat waves, the authorities in Greece feared that this summer’s conditions had created more opportunities to spark catastrophic wildfires. Those fears came true this week, with officials calling a raft of summer wildfires the worst since modern record-keeping began. Fierce fires earlier in the season had already ravaged acres of land on several Greek islands, causing tourists to flee during the height of the travel season. The fresh fires this week razed even more of the country, resulting in apocalyptic scenes of burning homes and cars as locals used buckets of water to defend their villages. Earlier in the week, Greek firefighters recovered the bodies of 18 people, among them two children, in a forest in the northern Evros region.

Locations: Greece, Athens, Evros

☆ Biden to visit fire-ravaged Maui on Monday as search efforts continue, with more than 800 people still missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Biden is planning to name a senior federal emergency official to oversee long-term recovery efforts during his visit. Josh Green, Biden sought to ensure the large footprint required for a presidential visit would not obstruct ongoing response and recovery efforts. “If President Biden could just teleport himself over, he would’ve come here in five seconds,” Green said at a news conference last week. Bob Fenton, an experienced disaster response official, will serve as the chief federal response coordinator. During the visit, Biden plans to reassure residents that the federal government will support their recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Sunday.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Biden’s, curt “, Biden couldn’t, Josh Green, ” Biden, “, ” Green, “ I’ve, Jill Biden, Bob Fenton, Fenton, Deanne Criswell, “ He’s, ”, Criswell, Isabella Guzman, ” Guzman, CNN’s Kayla Tausche, ” Criswell Organizations: CNN, Hawaii Gov, Biden, FEMA, White, Federal Emergency Management, Union, US Small Business Administration, SBA Locations: Maui, Maui County, Delaware, Salt Lake City, Green, Lahaina, Hawaii, “ State

In the game’s last seconds, Ona Sánchez couldn’t sit still. Then, when the referee finally blew the whistle to confirm that Spain had won the Women’s World Cup, she and the crowd around her — girls, boys, parents and other fans who had gathered to watch the match in Sant Pere de Ribes, near Barcelona — erupted in cheers. Olé, olé, olé!” Ona and her friend Laura Solorzano, both 11, and draped together in a Spanish flag, sang in the small town’s central cobblestone square as other supporters splashed water from a nearby fountain. The two friends, both players in a local soccer club, said they couldn’t have hoped for a better ending. “It was the first time I watched a World Cup,” Ona said, emerging from a group of dancing children.

Persons: Ona Sánchez couldn’t, “, ” Ona, Laura Solorzano, ” Locations: Spain, Sant Pere, Ribes, Barcelona

☆ Thousands Evacuated in Canary Islands After ‘Most Complex’ Fire in 40 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Tonight, at least, the fire has behaved and the weather has behaved normally,” Fernando Clavijo, the regional president for the Canary Islands, told reporters on Friday, adding that firefighters had worked intensely to stop the fire’s progress after it moved in an unpredictable manner earlier in the week. Mr. Clavijo said he was hopeful that the forecast would improve, but added that the blaze still was not under control. At least eight municipalities have been affected by the fire, though local authorities on Friday lifted the lockdown order on La Esperanza, a village northeast of Teide National Park, where 3,820 residents had been ordered earlier in the week to shelter in place. The priority on Friday, Mr. Clavijo said, was to confine the fire to an area near the village. For residents closest to the fire, the past few days have been marked by streams of choking smoke and an overcast sky with an orange glow that has been filled with falling ash.

Persons: ” Fernando Clavijo, Clavijo, I’ve, ”, María Luisa Pacheco, La Orotava Organizations: El Locations: Canary, La Esperanza, Teide, La, Spanish

☆ Fox News Preps for First Republican Debate, With or Without Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Isabella Simonetti | Joe Flint | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/media/fox-news-republican-gop-debate-donald-trump-9177b7dd

Persons: Dow Jones, donald

☆ Free Cash in Ireland, at Least for a Moment, Thanks to a Bank Glitch
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For some customers at the Bank of Ireland, it was a windfall too good to be true. The bank, one of Ireland’s largest, acknowledged on Wednesday that a “technical issue” with its online banking services had allowed some customers to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts, prompting the authorities to monitor crowds after long lines formed at some A.T. M.s around the country. The problems began on Tuesday, after some Bank of Ireland customers complained that they could not access online banking services, leaving them unable to pay for transactions or transfer money. But the technical glitch also allowed customers to transfer or withdraw funds without affecting their overall balance, the bank said, and some people apparently seized on the opportunity to take out money they did not have. Crowds began to gather around some Bank of Ireland A.T.M.s, according to footage circulating online and chatter on social media, even as the bank warned people not to overdraw their accounts.

Organizations: Bank of Ireland, Ireland Locations: M.s

The rights of Indigenous peoples was one of the social causes FIFA chose to highlight at this year’s World Cup. He and the other members of Indigenous Football Australia, a council that supports his initiative, John Moriarty Football, have called for meaningful support of Indigenous-led grass-roots programs from soccer’s Australian and global governing bodies. John Moriarty Football says it has received less than 20,000 Australian dollars, or about $13,000, from its country’s soccer governing body, Football Australia, since Moriarty launched the program in 2012. “If it wasn’t for programs like JMF, the pathways for children in Tennant Creek to get to elite football, let alone a World Cup tournament, would be nonexistent — an impossible dream,” Moriarty wrote in an email. Courtney Fewquandie, a Butchulla and Gubbi Gubbi woman who serves as Football Australia’s general manager of First Nations, said the advisory group has agreed to a meeting with Indigenous Football Australia after the World Cup that she hopes will be “the first step to moving forward together.”

Persons: Moriarty, John Moriarty, John Moriarty Football, ” Moriarty, Kyah Simon, Courtney Fewquandie, Gubbi, ” Organizations: FIFA, Australian, Indigenous Football Australia, John Moriarty Football, soccer’s, Football Australia, ” Football Australia, Indigenous Advisory Group, Australia, Nations, Football Australia’s, First Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Tennant, New South Wales

☆ U.K. Reveals 5 Espionage Arrests After BBC Reports Russia Link
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Specialist officers from a unit of the force that covers national security policing, carried out the arrests after an investigation, the police statement said, but none of the five have been formally charged with espionage. The statement did not address the BBC report directly. Three of the people were identified by both the BBC and by the police as Orlin Roussev, 45; Biser Dzambazov, 42; and Katrin Ivanova, 32. The police said they had been separately charged with possessing false identification documents with “improper intention.” The BBC report said they had been charged with possessing false documents, including passports and identity cards for Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Slovenia. The police said that Mr. Roussev lived in the eastern English county of Norfolk, and that Mr. Dzambazov and Ms. Ivanova lived in the London district of Harrow.

Persons: Orlin Roussev, Biser Dzambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Roussev, Dzambazov, Ivanova Organizations: London Metropolitan Police, BBC Locations: Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, English, Norfolk, London, Harrow

☆ Researchers from Stanford and Google have made an entire AI village. The 25 bots that live there gossip, work, and plan Valentine's Day parties.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Stanford and Google researchers created a virtual village where 25 AI bots live and form relationships. Memory and reflection enable these bots to believably plan parties, discuss elections, and select birthday gifts, per the researchers. A group of Stanford and Google researchers has created a virtual village where 25 AI agents lead lives that are eerily reminiscent of our own. These bots "wake up," chat about the latest town gossip, and even plan events like Valentine's Day parties. These tools help AI bots to produce conversations that mirror human interactions.

Persons: —, Sam, John Lin, John, Mei, Eddy, Joseph C, O'Brien, Carrie J, Cai, Meredith Ringel Morris, Percy Liang, Michael S, Bernstein, Isabella, Maria, Klaus, Isabella Rodriguez's Valentine's, McDonald's Organizations: Stanford, Google, Morning, Hobbs Locations: Geneva

☆ Heat Waves Are Killing Older Women. Are They Also Violating Their Rights?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The women live scattered around Switzerland, speak a mix of the country’s languages — German, French and Italian — and have worked in varying professions. But the KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, a group of about 2,400 Swiss women aged 64 and over, say they have a common fear: soaring temperatures and heat waves that are threatening them with health ailments in their final decades. “It is difficult to go outside — it is difficult to breathe,” said Fatima Heussler, 71, a member of the group who lives in Zurich, who retired after several decades of working with visually impaired older people. Last year’s summer heat was so tiring, she said she could not do even light household chores. “I used to love summer — and now I can be threatened by it.”

Persons: ”, Fatima Heussler, Isabelle Joerg, “ Locations: Switzerland, —, Zurich, Basel

☆ Disney’s ESPN Plots Its Streaming Future, Seeking Tie-Ups With Leagues and Rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Jessica Toonkel | Isabella Simonetti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/disneys-espn-plots-its-streaming-future-seeking-tie-ups-with-leagues-and-rivals-25041a41

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: espn

☆ Isabella Rossellini’s Mama Farm Introduces a Knitwear Collaboration
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Natalia Rachlin | Erik Morse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This summer, the culture journalist turned art adviser Fiona Mackay launched Kombi, an online gallery and retailer that specializes in South African art, design and craft and caters to the American market. “Because of geography and logistics, so much of this work hasn’t been shown stateside, and I wanted to rectify that,” says Mackay, who was raised in Cape Town and now lives in Brooklyn. Kombi, named for the Volkswagen minibuses that were ubiquitous during Mackay’s childhood, will present work from both emerging and more established makers, offering readily buyable pieces, as well as made-to-order and limited-edition works. “I hope [Kombi] becomes both a cultural and commercial exchange,” says Mackay, who also plans to initiate residencies and collaborations, creating opportunities for American artists to produce work in South Africa and vice versa. Cele plans to show the work with Kombi at an exhibition this autumn in New York.

Persons: Fiona Mackay, hasn’t, ”, Mackay, Cameron, Mpho Vackier, She’s, Kombi Organizations: Volkswagen Locations: Cape Town, Brooklyn, Johannesburg, Namibia, South Africa, Zulu, New York

☆ Greenpeace Protesters Scale U.K. Prime Minister’s Roof With Ease
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Greenpeace activists, angered by Britain’s decision to issue new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, took their opposition to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday — or at least to the rooftop of one of his homes. With apparent ease and unhindered by security guards, the four protesters walked onto the grounds of the manor house Mr. Sunak owns in the village of Kirby Sigston in North Yorkshire, climbed onto the roof and draped the facade with panels of black fabric. “It really was about this image of pouring oil all over the prime minister's house,” said Ami McCarthy, a political campaigner for Greenpeace, who said Mr. Sunak was choosing profits over addressing climate change. “We need our prime minister to stop being so hellbent on fossil fuels.”Mr. Sunak and his family, who live in London, were not at the residence at the time, the North Yorkshire police said, and the four protesters were eventually arrested after spending several hours on the roof. They were taken into custody on suspicion of causing criminal damage and public nuisance.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Kirby Sigston, ”, Ami McCarthy, Mr Organizations: Greenpeace, North Yorkshire police Locations: North, Kirby, North Yorkshire, London

☆ Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman star, dead at 70
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Paul Reubens, who found fame as the quirky man-child character Pee-wee Herman, has died, his publicist announced. It was after college that Reubens created the iconic character Pee-wee Herman while a member of the famed Los Angeles improv group, The Groundlings. Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman in 2009. The HBO broadcast of the show introduced the Pee-wee Herman character to a national audience. In 2010, he produced, co-wrote and starred in an updated revival of “The Pee-wee Herman Show” in Los Angeles.

Persons: CNN — Paul Reubens, Herman, “, Paul Reubens, ”, “ Paul, ” Reubens, I’ve, Reubens, Nick Burns, Camelot, Walt Disney, Danny Moloshok, Stephen Sondheim, Judd Apatow, Laurence Fishburne, Natasha Lyonne, Jimmy Smits, Sandra Bernhard, S, Epatha, ” “, Raymond, ” Paul Reubens, Isabella Vosmikova, Friend, Adam Shankman Organizations: CNN, Ringling Bros, Barnum, Southside Elementary, The Players, Brookside Junior High, Boston, California Institute of the Arts, Walt, HBO, CBS, Netflix, NBC, ” “ Reno, Disney, Entertainment Locations: American, Peekskill , New York, Sarasota , Florida, Sarasota, “, Los Angeles, Angeles

☆ Tucker Carlson’s Fox Exit Helps Boost Newsmax Ratings
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Isabella Simonetti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/tucker-carlsons-fox-exit-helps-boost-newsmax-ratings-8aed0b57

Persons: Dow Jones, tucker

Search resuls for: "Isabella"

25 mentions found