Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Listen Labs has abandoned a signed term sheet for a $125 million funding round that would have valued the voice-AI market research start-up at $1.5 billion, as it holds takeover discussions with Salesforce. The Series C financing was due to be led by Menlo Ventures, according to people familiar with the matter. The round did not close after Listen Labs withdrew from the agreement, an unusual move in the venture capital industry. The decision is understood to be linked to talks with Salesforce over a possible acquisition of the company for about $2 billion. The discussions, reported by Business Insider,…

A new San Francisco coffee shop is bringing specialty Indian coffee to Polk Street while helping protect the family farm that supplies its beans. Le Mil’s, founded by Milana Ram and her husband, Himanshu Bhaisare, is now open at 1330 Polk Street. The couple created the business after Ram’s family farm in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, southern India, faced the prospect of being sold. The café offers customers coffee sourced from the estate, allowing the family to continue cultivating and selling its own crop. Le Mil’s officially held its grand opening on 15 August 2026. The company says its beans are shade-grown,…

Two men have been taken into custody in Austria after a 40-year-old woman died from injuries allegedly suffered during sexual abuse at her home in Marchtrenk, near Wels. The case has been dubbed “Pelicot 2.0” by Austrian media, although prosecutors have warned that reports of a wider network of men involved in the alleged abuse have not been confirmed. The woman was found severely injured and bleeding at the property on 26 June. Her teenage daughter is understood to have discovered her, while emergency services were called to the scene. Paramedics were unable to save her and an autopsy was…

Helena Foulkes has defeated Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee in the Democratic primary, according to an Associated Press projection, ending the incumbent’s bid for a second full term. With about half the vote counted on Wednesday night, the former CVS executive held a commanding lead of 62.3 per cent to Mr McKee’s 37.7 per cent. The result makes Mr McKee the first sitting governor in the United States to lose a primary since 2018. It is also the first time in more than 30 years that a Rhode Island governor has been beaten in a party primary. Mr McKee, who…

Former CIA analyst Freda Scheuer, once known as Alfreda Frances Bikowsky and portrayed as a relentless counter-terrorism operative in Hollywood, has reinvented herself as a life and leadership coach in Virginia. Scheuer, 61, is understood to be living with her husband, former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, at a secluded property in the Shenandoah Valley after retiring from clandestine service in 2021. Her new coaching business, YBeU Life Coaching, describes her as a certified coach helping women develop confidence, find purpose and advance their careers. The service is based in Virginia but offered online internationally. The career change comes as the…

Shareholder payouts from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are emerging as a crucial test of South Korea’s drive to narrow the so-called “Korea discount”, with investors warning that record cash returns alone may not be enough to change the market’s long-standing scepticism. The two semiconductor groups are expected to return at least 130 trillion won (£72 billion) to investors during 2026, after an artificial intelligence boom sent profits and cash generation sharply higher. The scale of the plans has been welcomed, but the response from investors has been notably restrained. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index remains about 26 per cent…

Brenda Song has shared a glimpse of a romantic birthday getaway in Mexico with her fiancé, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. The actress posted a series of photographs from San José del Cabo, showing the couple relaxing at a luxury resort and celebrating Culkin’s 46th birthday, which fell on 26 August. In one photograph, Song kissed Culkin as they sunbathed by the beach. Other images captured the pair enjoying dinner beneath the stars, playing Yahtzee and making the most of the resort’s spa facilities. Song, 38, also showed Culkin surrounded by an elaborate display of birthday balloons inside their suite,…

Apple’s newly unveiled iPhone Duo may face the same app compatibility problem the company used to criticise Android foldables for. Documentation for iOS 27.1 indicates that apps not updated for the new form factor could appear in a portrait-shaped window surrounded by black bars. During the launch presentation, Apple chief executive John Ternus argued that rival foldable phones could feel like “two phones awkwardly stuck together”. He said their square inner screens made vertical content less effective, while films were surrounded by large black bars. However, Apple’s own guidance for developers suggests that older apps will also be letterboxed on…

Police in Arizona have warned parents after a viral social media trend featuring AI-generated images and videos of the Cat in the Hat was referenced by pupils at schools in Holbrook. The Holbrook Police Department said an investigation had uncovered references to the trend among students. Officers stressed that there was no credible threat to the district or its pupils. The online posts show a digitally altered figure resembling the character from the Dr Seuss books, sometimes portrayed in the costume worn by Mike Myers in the 2003 film. The images and videos are often placed outside schools, homes or…

A 34-year-old music teacher from Hillarys has been charged with allegedly producing child exploitation material and indecently recording a child. The man is employed as a music teacher at several private schools across metropolitan Perth and also provides private music tuition outside school hours. The allegations have not been tested in court. He has not been named.