Latest news with #Schindler
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Was Beyoncé's Atlanta show sabotaged by a cockroach?
Beyoncé's Atlanta concert ended in chaos as 11 fans were injured in a bizarre post-show incident involving a scream, a stampede, and a suspected cockroach. Just after midnight on July 15, concert-goers exiting the final night of the singer's Cowboy Carter tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium packed into the nearby Vine City MARTA station. That's when panic broke out. According to MARTA officials, a 10-year-old girl reportedly screamed after spotting a bug, possibly a cockroach, near the escalator. That scream allegedly triggered a stampede on the crowded moving escalator, which abruptly sped up before coming to a sudden halt. Passengers began toppling over one another, leading to injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to a broken ankle. Footage from the scene shows a chaotic human pile-up, with bystanders rushing to help as the escalator surged then stopped. 'It just created a whole entire slide full of people,' one attendee told local media. 'People were just tumbling on each other.' Though MARTA initially suspected a malfunction, escalator manufacturer Schindler later claimed the system was working as designed but had been overloaded beyond capacity. The escalator has since been barricaded pending further investigation. Online, the incident quickly went viral. TikTok users shared videos of the fall and debated who, or what, was to blame. One video, claiming the screamer was a child frightened by a 'Palmetto bug,' racked up thousands of views. MARTA police and state officials are continuing to review footage and witness accounts, but for now, a simple bug has become the unlikely villain in a night meant to celebrate one of the world's biggest stars.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Schindler's sales hit by strong Swiss franc, but beat expectations
July 18 (Reuters) - Swiss lift maker Schindler (SCHP.S), opens new tab reported a nearly 6% drop in its second-quarter sales on Friday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war drove up the value of the Swiss franc. The value of the Swiss currency, seen as a safe haven amid economic turmoil, has grown around 12% against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year. As Schindler makes a vast majority of its sales in foreign currencies, this means their value suffers a negative impact when converted into francs. The company, which also makes escalators and moving walkways, saw a 5.7% revenue drop to 2.75 billion francs ($3.43 billion) in the quarter, which exceeded analysts' mean estimate of 2.65 billion, LSEG data showed. Currency conversions impacted sales by 186 million francs in the first half of the year, it said. Schindler's shares, which have gained around 17% since the start of the year, were down 2.4% as of 1108 GMT. The company is working to pass on some tariff costs to its customers, like it had said in April, CEO Paolo Compagna told Reuters. "There's a pricing action in place, and in magnitude of customers, we go piece by piece," he said, adding the company had not seen a change in the market environment or customers' behaviour yet. "Everyone talks about these question marks towards the future, but by now, it's not yet there," Compagna said. Schindler has focused on the digitalization of its business in recent years, a move that it expects to drive growth through enhanced customer loyalty as services become more efficient. "Our efforts in modernization are paying off, driving solid organic growth at a time of macro-economic uncertainty and severe currency headwinds," Compagna said in the earnings statement. The company also confirmed its guidance for 2025. ($1 = 0.8027 Swiss francs)
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Schindler's revenue falls in Q2, but beats market forecasts
July 18 (Reuters) - Swiss lift and escalator maker Schindler (SCHP.S), opens new tab reported a 5.7% drop in its second-quarter sales on Friday, citing negative currency exchange effects. The company posted quarterly revenue of 2.75 billion Swiss francs ($3.43 billion), down from 2.92 billion francs a year earlier, but beat analysts' average forecast of 2.65 billion francs, according to LSEG data. "Notably, our efforts in modernization are paying off, driving solid organic growth at a time of macro-economic uncertainty and severe currency headwinds," CEO Paolo Compagna said in a statement. Schindler has focused on digitalization in recent years, a move that it expects to drive growth through enhanced customer loyalty as services become more efficient. The group's quarterly order intake amounted to 2.93 billion Swiss francs, compared to 2.99 billion francs a year earlier. ($1 = 0.8027 Swiss francs)
Axios
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
MARTA faces scrutiny after Beyoncé concert escalator mishap
A post-Beyoncé concert escalator malfunction — immediately preceded by what MARTA is calling a "stampede" — has put Atlanta's transit agency back in the hot seat. Driving the news: MARTA's board meets Thursday and will likely discuss the July 15 incident at the Vine City station that left 11 people injured. MARTA and Schindler, the escalator manufacturer, are investigating the incident, MARTA spokesperson Stephany Fisher said. Catch up quick: The agency said MARTA Police on scene "reported that a person began screaming and running, causing a stampede on the escalator that caused it to temporarily speed up and then stop suddenly." The other side: Jaylen Black, one of the injured concertgoers, told the AJC that more MARTA personnel should have been on the scene to handle the crowd. People were walking calmly, she told the outlet, "then all of a sudden it was free falling to the bottom." Black broke her ankle and leg and needed emergency surgery.
Mint
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Israel's agonizing choice over which hostages to save
TEL AVIV—Only 20 of the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza are believed to be alive. A cease-fire deal being negotiated is expected to bring an agonizing choice over who to free. Israel can only pick 10. 'It's Schindler's list," said Anat Angrest, the mother of captive soldier Matan Angrest, 22, who said her son was injured. 'I don't understand how the state can choose who should stay in hell." Israel and Hamas are now hammering out a deal that would see the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 others in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. A deal appears to be closer than at any point in recent months. In two previous cease-fire rounds, the decisions, while painful, were easier to rationalize in some ways. Priority was given to civilian women, children and the elderly. Next in line were female soldiers or men who were injured. Now, all of the living hostages are men, and they are all likely to be in a deteriorating mental and physical state. For the families still waiting, the decision is creating deep despair. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office didn't respond to a request for comment about how it chooses which hostages should be released. Ilay David knows that his brother, Evyatar David, 24, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, is likely not a top priority for release as he is young and uninjured, even if he faces harsh conditions in captivity. 'We understood early on that Evyatar…was never going to be among the first," David said. But for Evyatar to be left behind again would shatter him, he said. 'This knowledge that your brother is still there, still suffering, is really unbearable. I pray that we won't reach a situation where he is left there." Hostage families have insisted that any deal should include the release of all hostages at once rather than in phases. Many families are angry at the Israeli government over the partial deals it has negotiated. Hamas has said it would release all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war, something Israel refuses to do until the group is defeated. 'By insisting on choosing partial deals, the Israeli government has created with its own hands the system of selection," said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that represents most of the families. In addition to the 20 men Israel believes to be alive, there are also two men whom Israel has said it has 'severe concern for their lives," language typically used by the military when hostages are likely to be deceased but haven't yet been declared dead. There are also 28 bodies of hostages that are being held in the Gaza Strip. For hostage families, the impending deal is fostering a sense of panic over whether their loved ones will make it onto the list. The inclusion of one hostage means another won't make it out, making any choice a painful outcome for families who have bonded and lobbied the world together over 21 months of war. Macabit Mayer, whose twin nephews Gali and Ziv Berman, 27, are being held in Gaza, says she can't sleep. She closes her eyes, but finds herself in a state of constant tension, ready to grab her phone or turn on the television for breaking news. Her heart beats faster and she dreads a phone call informing her of the worst. 'It's like a nightmare you just can't wake up from," Mayer said. 'Everyone is in a very extreme situation," she said, referring to hostage families waiting to see if they will make the list. While the exact criteria for inclusion on the list are still unclear, there is speculation it could include the injured, wounded or men with children, say people close to the families. Many hostage families are emphasizing the poor medical condition of their relatives in interviews and some are compiling medical files in hope it could influence authorities. But some medical professionals say that giving priority to the most vulnerable after 21 months will prove professionally impossible because of limited information and ethical implications. 'I really don't think that the medical teams at this point in time can determine who is more at risk and who is less at risk," said Hagai Levine, a doctor who heads the health team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Levine, who has compiled medical files for each hostage since the start of the war, says there isn't up-to-date information on the precise medical state of each hostage and that he relies on released hostages' testimonies and Hamas videos. 'It's like treating a patient with a heart disease based on his EKG from three months ago," he said. In recent days, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan, 25, was kidnapped from a kibbutz, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, whom she hugged. It was a surprising display of affection toward the Netanyahus. Zangauker has been one of the prime minister's fiercest critics over his refusal to end the war for the release of all the hostages. She later said that Netanyahu had assured her in the meeting he would free all the hostages. She declined to comment for this article. The deal being discussed in Doha includes a stipulation that the two sides are supposed to immediately enter into negotiations for a second stage that would end the war and free the remaining hostages. Some fear the second stage will never come. A previous cease-fire deal earlier this year never reached a second stage after Israel resumed fighting in the enclave. Hamas has sought stronger guarantees from mediators that talks will proceed to an end for the war, something Israel has so far refused. Parents of soldiers held in Gaza are especially worried because they have heard from released hostages that soldiers are treated worse than civilians and face violence and interrogations by militants. Previous cease-fire deals placed soldiers in the last category for release. They fear they could be left for last. Out of the 20, two were soldiers captured in uniform. Some families of soldiers say they feel betrayed by their government because it failed to protect their loved ones during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks that started the war, and now could be leaving them behind again. Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli citizen, is the only soldier captured in uniform who has so far been freed in a deal. That deal was between the U.S. and Hamas and didn't include Israel. In Israel, where military service is mandatory at age 18, many Israelis believe that the oath taken by a soldier to protect the state means the country will do everything to protect him in return. 'My Matan is a soldier and our country didn't fight for the soldiers as part of the deals," Angrest said. 'This contract has been broken." Write to Anat Peled at
