Mass Blackout and Water Shortages Hit Ukraine After Technical Malfunction
A widespread power outage struck Ukraine on Saturday, leading to water shortages after a "technical malfunction" caused electrical lines between Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine to fail, according to Ukraine's energy minister. The incident occurred at 10:42 am (0842 GMT), resulting in the simultaneous shutdown of the 400 kilovolt line between Romania and Moldova and the 750 kilovolt line, Euronews reported.
The power grid failure follows months of Russian attacks targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure, which has severely damaged the energy system, Euronews noted.
Cavaliers Coach Fined for Confronting Official
In other news, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was fined $50,000 for "aggressively pursuing, berating and making inadvertent contact with a game official," the NBA announced Saturday. Fox News reported the incident occurred with 10:59 left in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's 126-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Atkinson was assessed his second technical foul of the game after he stormed the court following a no-call against Sam Merrill for driving on Collin Gillespie, who bumped into an official before Atkinson was ejected.
South Africa Expels Israeli Diplomat
Tensions flared between South Africa and Israel, leading to the expulsion of a top Israeli diplomat. South Africa ordered Israel's chargé d'affaires, Ariel Seidman, to leave the country within 72 hours after what it described as "insulting attacks" on South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, The Guardian reported. The move comes amid long-standing disagreements between the two countries over South Africa's support for the Palestinian cause.
Iranian Official Claims Progress in US Talks Amid Tensions
Amid rising tensions in the Gulf and a military buildup by Washington, a top Iranian official claimed progress is being made in arranging negotiations with the United States. Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated in a social media post on Saturday that "unlike the artificial media war atmosphere, the formation of a structure for negotiations is progressing," according to Al Jazeera.
a16z Partner Departs After Program Pause
Kofi Ampadu, the partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) who led the firm's Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, has left the company, TechCrunch reported. Ampadu's departure follows the firm's decision to pause TxO and lay off most of its staff last November. "During my time at the firm, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity and the trust to lead this work," Ampadu wrote in an email to staff, obtained by TechCrunch. He added, "Identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they sharpened their ideas, raised capital, and grew into confident leaders was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career." Ampadu led the program, which launched in 2020, for over four years until its pause.
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