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Coco, coach part ways

Recency bias is often evident in sports, where past achievements matter little in terms of affecting current outcomes. True, the term “momentum” can be attributed in large measure to form and confidence brought about by a string of victories in their wake. That said, it is still no determinant for future success. Which is why roller-coaster performances are typical in adrenaline-laced endeavors. Focus and determination need to be accompanied by a consistent translation of theory to practice.

Take, for instance, the 14-month stretch that Coco Gauff had with Brad Gilbert as her coach. She turned to the latter — a noted practitioner whose stable included Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray — after a frustrating first-round exit at Wimbledon last year, and she could not have been more pleased with the immediate results. She ended the season with a 22-1 bang capped by a United States Open singles title. Positive prognoses turned into semifinal-round stints at the Australian and French Opens, and then, lo and behold, into despondency following fourth- and third-round flameouts at the All England Club and Roland Garros, respectively.

For Gauff, the last straw came courtesy of her inability to move past the first week at the US Open. She was supposed to defend her title; instead, she exited with a whimper, coming up with 35% more double faults than winners to bid goodbye to Flushing Meadows in the Round of 16. That she suffered the indignity at the hands of fellow American and supposed underdog Emma Navarro, likewise her tormentor at Wimbledon, served only to add insult to injury. And just like that, her partnership with Gilbert came to an end.

If there’s any silver lining, it’s Gauff age. At 20, she’s practically a babe in the woods; her best is most definitely ahead of her. Still, she cannot but look to 2025 as a make-or-break year. For all her missteps, she continues to carry the weight of her potential; to whom much is given, much is expected. There’s no question that she has talent, and her skill set may well be elite. Unless and until she develops the mental fortitude required for protracted prosperity, however, ups and downs figure to be more the rule than the exception. Little wonder, then, that she’s turning elsewhere for help, with her fans hoping that she finally gets it — in more ways than one.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict

TOY SOLDIERS, Hezbollah and Israel flags are seen in this illustration taken on Oct. 15, 2023. — REUTERS

BEIRUT – Hand-held radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon’s south in the country’s deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and Israel nearly a year ago, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group’s pagers the day before.

Lebanon’s health ministry said 20 people were killed and more than 450 injured on Wednesday in Beirut’s suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from Tuesday’s explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured.

Israeli officials have not commented on the blasts, but security sources said Israel’s spy agency Mossad was responsible. One Hezbollah official said the episode was the biggest security breach in the group’s history.

The operations, which appeared to throw Hezbollah into disarray, played out alongside Israel’s 11-month-old war in Gaza and heightened fears of an escalation on its Lebanese border and the risk of a full-blown regional war.

“We are opening a new phase in the war. It requires courage, determination and perseverance from us,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in remarks at an air force base.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi accused Israel of pushing the Middle East to the brink of a regional war by orchestrating a dangerous escalation on many fronts.

The US, which denied any involvement in the blasts, said it was pursuing intensive diplomacy to avert an escalation of the conflict. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel told Washington on Tuesday it was going to do something in Lebanon. But Israel did not provide details and the operation itself was a surprise to Washington, the official said.

At least one of Wednesday’s blasts in Lebanon took place near a funeral organized by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of the group’s pagers exploded across the country and wounded many of its fighters.

A Reuters reporter in the southern suburbs of Beirut said he saw Hezbollah members frantically taking batteries out of any walkie-talkies that had not exploded, tossing the parts in metal barrels. Hezbollah turned to pagers and other low-tech communication devices in an attempt to evade Israeli surveillance of mobile phones.

Lebanon’s Red Cross said on X that it responded with 30 ambulance teams to multiple explosions in different areas, including the south of Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.

Images of the exploded walkie-talkies showed labels bearing the name of Japanese radio communications and telephone company ICOM and resembled the firm’s model IC-V82 device.

Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed ICOM said on Thursday it was investigating news reports two-way radio devices bearing its logo exploded in Lebanon and would release updated information as it becomes available on its website.

The company, which says it manufactures all of its radios in Japan, could not confirm whether it had shipped the device, in part because that model had been discontinued 10 years ago.

The Osaka-based firm said its products for overseas markets are sold exclusively through authorized distributors and it vets exports in accordance with Japan’s security trade control regulations.

The company has previously warned about counterfeit versions of its devices circulating in the market, especially discontinued models.

The hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time as the pagers, a security source said.

In Tuesday’s explosions, sources said Israeli spies remotely detonated explosives they planted in a Hezbollah order of 5,000 pagers before they entered the country.

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday about the pager blasts after a request by Arab states.

Tehran’s ambassador in Lebanon was superficially injured in Tuesday’s blasts, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported then. But the New York Times on Wednesday said he lost one eye and the other was severely injured when a pager he was carrying exploded, citing two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Iran’s envoy to the U.N. said in a letter on Wednesday that it “reserves its rights under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond” to the attack.

 

HEZBOLLAH LAUNCHES ROCKETS

Hezbollah, which has vowed to retaliate against Israel, said on Wednesday it attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets, the first strike at its arch-foe since the blasts. The Israeli military said there were no reports of any damage or casualties.

“Hezbollah wants to avoid an all-out war,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director of research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “But given the scale … there will be pressure for a stronger response.”

The two sides have been fighting across the Lebanese border since the Gaza conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, fuelling fears of a wider Middle East war that could drag in the United States and Iran. The previous highest daily Lebanese death toll was 11 who died in Israeli shelling last month, according to official counts.

Gallant said Israel, which has vowed to return evacuated residents to their homes in the north, was transferring troops and resources to the Lebanon border region. Israeli sources said this included the army’s 98th Division, which has commando and paratrooper formations, moving from Gaza to the north.

“The ‘center of gravity’ is moving north, meaning that we are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern arena,” Gallant said in remarks released by his office.

A full-blown war with Israel could devastate Lebanon, which has lurched from one crisis to another, including a 2019 financial collapse and the 2020 Beirut port blast.

Rising tensions may also complicate so far unsuccessful efforts by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the US to negotiate a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally also backed by Iran.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday it was too soon to assess the impact of the blasts on ceasefire talks.

Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful proxy in the Middle East, said in a statement it would continue to support Hamas in Gaza and Israel should await a response to the pager “massacre.”

A Hamas delegation visited people wounded in the blasts in Lebanese hospitals on Wednesday, Lebanese state news agency NNA said.

The explosions followed a series of assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas commanders and leaders ascribed to Israel since the start of the Gaza war. – Reuters

Canada further tightens rules on temporary workers, foreign students

An employee cleans the glass window at CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 15, 2020. — REUTERS

TORONTO — Canada is further reducing the number of study permits it will grant to foreign students and tightening eligibility for work permits in a bid to cut down on the number of temporary residents in the country, the government said on Wednesday.

The announcement comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, trailing in the public opinion polls and coming off a major by-election loss this week, seeks to reduce the number of temporary residents — including international students and foreign workers — in the country.

The issue has become one of the most contentious in Canadian politics with a federal election due no later than October, 2025.

The changes announced on Wednesday would reduce the number of international study permits issued to 437,000 in 2025. Canada approved 509,390 in 2023, according to immigration department data, and 175,920 in the first seven months of 2024.

The changes would also limit work permit eligibility for spouses of some students and temporary foreign workers.

As Canada sees a spike in the number of refugee claimants, the government said Wednesday it planned to review measures to strengthen visa integrity and was “reviewing visa decision-making so that our highly trained officers have the right tools to detect fraud and reduce the number of non-genuine visitors.”

“The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to—just like not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in a statement.

The government has already pledged to reduce the number of temporary residents to 5% of the total population. It was 6.8% in April.

Canada’s temporary foreign worker program has come under fire for being, in the words of a damning United Nations report, “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery” — language Mr. Miller called “inflammatory.”

“The Ministers made no mention not even once about workers’ rights, instead continuing to obsess about numbers and cuts,” Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said in a statement.

“Reducing the numbers of migrants will not stop their exploitation; giving them equal rights and the power to exercise those rights will — and that is only possible through permanent resident status for all.”

Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers Armine Yalnizyan said she was disappointed Wednesday’s announcement did not include a plan to transition migrants from temporary status to permanent.

“These are not temporary jobs. Why aren’t we facilitating permanence for these people?” she asked.

“We are not going to grow economically without more newcomers. So we’ve got to be very clear on what the future path is.”

Migrants have been blamed for societal problems including a lack of affordable housing and ramped-up cost of living, even as post-pandemic inflation slowed to the Bank of Canada’s target of 2% annually in August.

Immigrant advocates and some economists argue the link between migrants and economic malaise is an oversimplification, and that vulnerable newcomers cannot be held responsible for complex economic problems.

Polls have shown a growing slice of the public thinks Canada is bringing in too many immigrants, and anti-migrant rhetoric and attacks have risen in Canada, once renowned for its welcoming stance toward newcomers.

Nonetheless, after years of increasing Canada’s ranks of temporary residents, its federal government is seeking to pull back.

In January, the government placed a two-year cap on international students, whose approvals are projected to decrease by almost half this year.

Earlier this month, the government walked back 2022 expansions to the temporary foreign worker program. In some sectors, it reduced the maximum share of any employer’s workforce that can be made up of low-wage, temporary foreign workers. It also ended, in some sectors, low-wage temporary foreign workers in communities with high unemployment rates. — Reuters

Who still uses pagers anyway?

PAGERS on display at a meeting room at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Sept. 18, 2024. — REUTERS

AS MOBILE PHONES became the world’s main communications tool, pagers, also known as beepers because of the sound they make to notify users about incoming messages, were largely rendered obsolete, with demand plunging from their 1990s heyday.

But the tiny electronic devices remain a vital means of communication in some areas — such as healthcare and emergency services — thanks to their durability and long battery life.

“It’s the cheapest and most efficient way to communicate to a large number of people about messages that don’t need responses,” said a senior surgeon at a major UK hospital, adding that pagers are commonly used by doctors and nurses across the country’s National Health Service (NHS).

“It’s used to tell people where to go, when, and what for.”

Pagers grabbed headlines on Tuesday when thousands used by members of militant group Hezbollah were detonated simultaneously across Lebanon, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others.

According to a senior Lebanese security source and another source, explosives inside the devices were planted by Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

The UK’s NHS was using around 130,000 pagers in 2019, more than one in 10 of the world’s pagers, according to the government. More up-to-date figures were not available.

Doctors working in hospital emergency departments carry them when they are on call.

Many pagers can also send out a siren and then broadcast a voice message to groups so that whole medical teams are alerted simultaneously to an emergency, a senior doctor in the NHS said. That is not possible with a mobile phone.

Britain’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) uses pagers to alert its crews, a source familiar with the lifeboat service told Reuters. The RNLI declined to comment.

PAGERS HARDER TO TRACK
Hezbollah fighters have been using pagers as a low-tech means of communication in an attempt to evade Israeli location-tracking, two sources familiar with the group’s operations told Reuters this year.

Pagers can be harder to track than smartphones because they receive messages transmitted via radio signal, while mobile phones send information to the network to find the nearest cellular tower and stay connected, allowing it easier to trace. 

Pagers also lack more modern navigation technologies like the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

These have made them a popular choice among criminals, especially drug dealers in the United States, in the past.

But gangs are using mobile phones more these days, former FBI agent Ken Gray told Reuters.

“I don’t know if anyone uses them (pagers),” he said.

“They all went to cell phones, burner phones” which can be easily disposed of and replaced with another phone with a different number, making them difficult to trace.

Mr. Gray, who served 24 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and now teaches criminal justice and homeland security at the University of New Haven, said that criminals changed with the times and newer technology.

The global pagers market, once a major source of revenue for companies like Motorola, amounted to $1.6 billion in 2023, according to an April report by Cognitive Market Research.

That amounts to a tiny fraction of the global smartphone market, which was estimated at around half a trillion US dollars as of end-2023.

But demand for pagers is rising as a larger patient population creates more need for efficient communication in the healthcare sector, the report said, forecasting compound annual growth of 5.9% from 2023 to 2030.

It said North America and Europe are the two biggest pager markets, generating $528 million and $496 million in revenue respectively. — Reuters

US sues Singaporean owner of cargo ship that wrecked Baltimore bridge

REUTERS

WASHINGTON — The US Justice department on Wednesday filed a civil claim seeking $103 million from the two Singaporean companies that owned and operated the container ship that in March toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the US Northeast.

The department is seeking to recover from Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited the money the U.S. government spent in responding to the disaster and for clearing the wreck of the Dali ship and bridge debris from the Port of Baltimore so the waterway could reopen in June.

“This was an entirely avoidable catastrophe, resulting from a series of eminently foreseeable errors made by the owner and operator of the Dali,” Brian Boynton, who heads the Justice department’s Civil Division, said in a statement.

The department also is seeking an unspecified sum in punitive damages, accusing the two companies of negligence.

The US National Transportation Safety Board said in May that the Dali lost electrical power several times before it crashed into the bridge in the Patapsco River in the early morning of March 26. The FBI in April opened a criminal investigation probe into the disaster.

“By court order, all persons alleging claims against the owner and manager of the Dali must file their claim on or before September 24th. Accordingly, the filing of (Wednesday’s) claim was anticipated. The owner and manager will have no further comment on the merits of any claim at this time, but we do look forward to our day in court to set the record straight,” according to a statement provided on behalf of the companies.

The Justice department’s lawsuit was brought as part of a legal action initiated by Grace Ocean and Synergy to limit their liability for the crash to $44 million, a sum department officials called “woefully inadequate.”

Brawner Builders, the construction company that employed all six workers who died in the collapse while working on the bridge and one who was injured, also filed a civil claim against Grace Ocean and Synergy on Wednesday.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified sum in damages for the deaths of its workers and loss of construction vehicles and equipment on the bridge.

The ship slammed into a support pylon, sending the bridge plunging into the river.

Justice department official Benjamin Mizer told reporters that the ship’s owner and operator were aware of longstanding issues with the Dali’s electrical and mechanical systems and failed to correct them “out of negligence, mismanagement, and, at times, a desire to cut costs.”

“As a result, when the Dali lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster,” Mr. Mizer said.

The reopening required the removal of 50,000 tons of debris. More than 1,500 individual responders, along with 500 specialists from around the world, operated a fleet of boats during the operation, which involved 56 federal, state, and local agencies.

The state of Maryland estimates that it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild the bridge and anticipates completion by fall 2028. — Reuters

World leaders to meet at UN amid threat of Gaza, Ukraine war spillovers

REUTERS

UNITED NATIONS — More than 130 world leaders will meet at the United Nations (UN) next week, faced with wars in the Middle East and Europe threatening to spread, frustration at the slow pace of efforts to end those conflicts, and worsening climate and humanitarian crises.

While the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Russia’s war in Ukraine are set to dominate the annual high-level UN General Assembly, diplomats and analysts say they don’t expect progress toward peace.

“The wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan are going to be the three main crisis-points in focus at the General Assembly. I don’t think we are likely to see breakthroughs on any of them,” said Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week told Reuters that the wars in Gaza and Ukraine were “stuck with no peaceful solutions in sight.”

Concerns about a spillover of the Gaza conflict to the broader Middle East have again escalated after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah accused Israel of detonating pagers and hand-held radios in two days of deadly attacks. Israel has not commented on the accusation.

“There is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation,” Mr. Guterres told reporters on Wednesday.

The war in besieged Gaza was triggered by a Hamas attack on civilians in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, two weeks after world leaders finished their annual gathering last year.

Mediation efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have yet to broker a ceasefire and global patience has waned nine months after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly demanded a humanitarian truce and as the Gaza death toll reaches 41,000.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has long accused the UN of being anti-Israel — and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 26.

DIPLOMATIC SPEED-DATING
The annual gathering of world leaders to mark the beginning of each new session of the General Assembly is often referred to as diplomatic speed-dating.

While the event is anchored by six days of leaders’ speeches to the assembly, much of the action happens on the sidelines with hundreds of bilateral meetings and dozens of side events seeking to focus the global spotlight on the main issues.

Also looming this year is the prospect of a new US administration. Republican Donald Trump — who cut UN funding and called the global body weak and incompetent while in office from 2017 to 2021 — faces Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris in a Nov. 5 election.

“Clearly in the back of everyone’s mind is going to be a guy called Donald Trump,” Gowan said. “I think in a lot of the private conversations around the General Assembly… the number one question will be what will Trump do to the organization.”

This year side events will be held on the war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where famine has taken hold, international efforts to help Haiti fight gang violence and the Taliban crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan.

Mr. Guterres on Wednesday poked fun at himself, saying he has “no power and no money.”

“There are two things the secretary-general of the United Nations has, and I have to say that I’ve been using them,” he told reporters. “One is my voice, and nobody will be able to shut it up. And second is the capacity to convene people of goodwill to address and solve problems.”

IRAN, UKRAINE
Western accusations about Iran’s role in the Middle East — Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis are aligned with Tehran — and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine also shadow this year’s UN General Assembly.

European powers seek to revive efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear program and Iranian and European officials are due to meet in New York next week to test their mutual willingness to engage.

Iran’s comparatively moderate new president Masoud Pezeshkian will address the United Nations on Tuesday.

Mr. Pezeshkian “will focus on detente, building confidence with the world, and de-escalation,” a senior Iranian official said, but he will also “stress Iran’s right to retaliate” against Israel if needed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the high-level General Assembly gathering for the third time since Russia invaded his country. He is due to address a meeting on Ukraine of the 15-member Security Council on Tuesday and the General Assembly on Wednesday.

Mr. Zelensky has a plan to push Russia to diplomatically end the war that he wants to present to US President Joseph R. Biden this month. He also wants to share it with both of Biden’s potential successors, Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump.

Some US officials have already been briefed on elements of the plan.

“We think it lays out a strategy and a plan that can work. And we need to see how we can promote that as we engage with all of the countries’ heads of state who will be here in New York… we do have hope to make some progress,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters on Tuesday.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually addressed the General Assembly in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, he has not physically traveled to New York for the event since 2015. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is instead due to speak to the General Assembly on Sept. 28. — Reuters

Sam Verzosa celebrates birthday by empowering 100 entrepreneurs in Manila

Sam Verzosa marked his birthday in a unique and heartwarming way by giving back to the community. Instead of hosting a lavish party, he chose to distribute 100 SioManila Mobile Franchise Business Carts to hardworking and deserving individuals in Manila.

The event took place at the MLQU compound, where a crowd of hopeful recipients gathered, each one excited for the opportunity to start their own business and improve their lives.

In his speech, Sam expressed his gratitude for the support and inspiration he receives from the people around him. “Because of you, I get up and work harder,” he said, acknowledging the motivation that drives him to continue his mission.

His goal is to empower others to build their own success, striving to reach and change more lives across the country.

Reflecting on his own journey, Sam shared that the road to success is not easy, but it is possible with hard work, dedication, and support.

He encouraged everyone to pursue their dreams and seize the opportunities before them.

“From the success of my story, let’s win the story of your life!” he declared, hoping that this small gift would spark a wave of positive change for each recipient and their families. 

SV continues to help and inspire more Filipinos in his public affairs program DEAR SV, aired every Saturday, 11:30 p.m. on GMA. 

#SV #Kabuhayan #DearSV #Purpose

 

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Globe clinches 3-Peat win as Employer of the Year at HR Excellence Awards, gets 6 awards

Globe has been named Employer of the Year for the third consecutive year at the 2024 HR Excellence Awards, cementing its leadership in human resource management.

For three years running, Globe has been honored as Employer of the Year at the 3rd HR Excellence Awards 2024. With a total of six awards, Globe’s dedication to a supportive, and forward-thinking work culture continues to set the company apart.

In addition to the coveted Employer of the Year gold accolade, Globe secured two more golds in the Total Rewards Strategy and In-House Talent Pipeline Strategy categories. It also received silver awards for Best HR Team (MNC), Business Transformation, and Change Management.

“At Globe, our journey to uplift Filipino lives begins with the way we support and invest in our team. At our core is a relentless dedication to addressing our employees’ needs while creating opportunities for their growth. Being recognized as an industry leader for our dedication and excellence is a testament to our efforts,” says Renato Jiao, Globe Chief Human Resource Officer.

“This honor reflects Globe’s deep-rooted commitment to our people. We are deeply thankful for our team’s tireless dedication and passion. What we’ve built together is truly remarkable, and we are thrilled and honored by this achievement,” he adds.

The company’s success at the HR Excellence Awards underscores its holistic approach to employee welfare and development. Globe has consistently demonstrated its ability to support and innovate wellness, learning, and growth programs that enable employees to live their best lives, despite the diverse nature of its workforce.

Globe’s commitment extends beyond excellence in the workplace to embrace sustainability and active nation-building. This holistic approach has fostered a culture where employees are motivated to uplift Filipino lives and contribute to customers’ well-being through unique programs and initiatives.

The HR Excellence Awards serves as a platform to recognize outstanding achievements in human resource management across the Philippines. With 40 carefully curated categories, the event brings together HR leaders and industry visionaries to celebrate excellence and innovation in the field.

Globe’s continued success at these awards highlights its position as a trailblazer in the telecom and digital solutions industry. Through its comprehensive approach to human resource management, Globe continues to set the standard for workplace excellence.

To learn more about Globe, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/.

 

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US says Iran emailed stolen Trump campaign material to Biden camp

The use of cryptocurrency in money laundering is “worrying,” according to an expert. — REUTERS

Iranian hackers sent emails containing stolen material from Republican former President Donald Trump‘s campaign to people involved in Democratic President Joe Biden‘s then re-election campaign, part of an alleged broader effort by Tehran to influence the US election, US agencies said on Wednesday.

“Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to US media organizations,” the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement.

“This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iran’s multi-pronged approach … to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process,” the agencies said.

They added that there is currently no information indicating those recipients replied. They did not provide further details on the nature of the stolen material.

In August, the United States accused Iran of launching cyber operations against the campaigns of both US presidential candidates and targeting the American public with influence operations aimed at fanning political discord.

Iran has denied interfering in US affairs.

On Wednesday its permanent mission to the United Nations in New York said the latest US allegations were “fundamentally unfounded, and wholly inadmissible.” It added: “Iran neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the US election.”

Malicious cyber actors sent unsolicited emails to individuals in Mr. Biden’s campaign in late June and early July that contained a text excerpt from stolen material from the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign, the agencies said.

Mr. Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. Polls show Trump and Harris are in a tight race.

In a statement, the Trump campaign said Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden should disclose whether they used the hacked material “to hurt” Mr. Trump. The former president later said in a rally on Wednesday night that Iran hacked into his campaign to help Democrats, calling it foreign election interference.

“We’re not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign,” a Harris campaign spokesperson said after the statement by US agencies. “A few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt.”

Tehran also says Washington has interfered in its affairs over decades ranging from a 1953 coup of a prime minister to the 2020 killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. – Reuters

Nintendo, Pokemon sue ‘Palworld’ producer for patent infringement

REUTERS
By Pocketpair – https://steamdb.info/app/1623730/info/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75991021

TOKYO – Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the producer of hit survival adventure game “Palworld”, the companies said on Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed with the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, seeks an injunction and compensation for damages on the grounds that the game, produced and released by Tokyo-based Pocketpair Inc, infringes multiple patent rights.

Palworld, dubbed “Pokemon with guns”, became a breakout hit with more than 25 million players within a month of its release in mid-January. In the game, players can use guns to capture and train cute creatures known as “pals”.

Pocketpair representatives did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The Pokemon Company said in January it would investigate and take action over any infringement of intellectual property rights.

Pocketpair in July announced the establishment of a joint venture company, Palworld Entertainment Inc, in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment

and Aniplex Inc to promote the licensing business of Palworld globally. – Reuters

China says will negotiate ‘until the last minute’ on EU EV probe

EREN GOLDMAN-UNSPLASH

HONG KONG – China’s commerce minister said on Wednesday that Beijing will continue to negotiate “until the last minute” on the European Union’s electric vehicle probe, with the investigation undermining confidence of Chinese companies investing in Europe.

Wang Wentao was speaking in Brussels at a China-Europe Electric Vehicles event where around 30 top executives of Chinese and European electric vehicle industries met to discuss views on the EU’s anti-subsidy case against China’s EVs.

Wang is due to meet the European Commission’s trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday to discuss rising trade tension.

The European Commission is on the verge of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3% on EVs built in China on top of the EU’s standard 10% car import duty.

The EU’s 27 members are due to vote on the proposed final duties on Sept. 25. They will be implemented by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65% of the EU population votes against the levies. – Reuters

Taiwan deepening security cooperation with US, other ‘allies’

XANDREASWORK-UNSPLASH

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s combat effectiveness has improved thanks to its deepening security partnership with the United States and other friends and “allies” but this is kept deliberately low key, the island’s defense minister said.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which is claimed by China as its own territory, does not have treaty based defense relations with Washington or any of its allies, though the United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and military officials from both sides do conduct visits and training.

Beijing frequently erupts with anger at any hint of countries having military ties with Taiwan, and has repeatedly sanctioned US arms companies for selling weapons to Taipei.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday in comments embargoed until Thursday, Defense Minister Wellington Koo made rare comments about those relations, given their sensitivity.

“In the past few years, Taiwan, the United States and other friends and allies have continuously strengthened security partnerships and continued to expand and deepen military cooperation,” he said.

“This has contributed to the improvement of the national military’s combat effectiveness and regional peace and stability.”

Cooperation focuses on “substantively improving” combat effectiveness rather than just “formality”, Mr. Koo said.

“The Defense Ministry has never publicized this foreign military cooperation with great fanfare. This is to take into account the international situation and respect for our friends and allies; it is also to avoid unnecessary interference,” he added, in a veiled reference to China.

Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has been staging regular exercises around the island for five years.

China held “punishment” war games around Taiwan in late May shortly after Lai Ching-te took office as president in anger at what Beijing viewed as “separatist” content in his inauguration speech. Lai has repeatedly offered talks with China but been rebuffed. He says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

The Republic of China’s government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists and it remains Taiwan’s official name. No peace treaty or armistice has ever been signed. – Reuters

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