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Later, Beijing loaned the pandas to other U.S. zoos, with proceeds going back to panda conservation programs. The National Zoo’s three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, eight days ago began their long trip to China. After their departure, only four pandas are left in the United States, in the Atlanta Zoo. Unproven allegations that U.S. zoos mistreated the pandas, known as China’s “national treasure,” flooded China’s social media. The San Diego Zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ” Xi, Xi, Joe Biden, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, Xiao Qi Ji, Biden, Ashraf Khalil Organizations: FRANCISCO, U.S ., National Zoo, Atlanta Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Garden, China Wildlife Conservation Association, Associated Press Locations: China, United States, California, San Diego, U.S, Beijing, Washington, San Francisco, Memphis , Tennessee

The pandas’ departure from the National Zoo leaves Zoo Atlanta as the only other US zoo to feature pandas from China, and not for much longer. First lady Pat Nixon welcomes China's giant pandas on April 20, 1972, at Washington's National Zoo. They have since become the parents of seven giant panda cubs born at Zoo Atlanta, according to the zoo. Staff at the National Zoo say they’re hopeful China might one day send over more giant pandas. Plans for the exhibit, with a welcome sign announcing the “Giant Pandas of Chengdu” and a panda-themed gift shop, aren’t clear.

Persons: Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, Xiao Qi Ji, Nixon, Mao Zedong, Richard Nixon, ”, Mao Ning, Richard Nixon’s, Mao Zedong’s, Pat Nixon, “, Hsing, YaYa, Xin Xin, David Culver, Fernando Gual Sill, CNN Xin Xin –, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Yang Yang, Lun Lun, Steve Schaefer, –, Bob Lee, Jane Mahalik, “ Pat Nixon, ” Mahalik, Jill Biden, Yong Xiong, Melissa Gray Organizations: CNN, Smithsonian National Zoo, ” Zoo, National Zoo, Zoo, AP China, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Washington, of Public Service, Memphis Zoo, Atlanta, Chapultepec Zoo, Pandas, Zoo Atlanta, Getty, Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo, Adelaide Zoo, Chengdu Research Base, Staff, National Locations: Washington ,, China, what’s, Zoo Atlanta, Beijing, United States, City of Peking, Washington, Atlanta, Russia, Mexico City, Chapultepec, Mexico, “, China’s, Moscow, Qatar, AFP, America, Zoo, Chengdu, New York, Los Angeles

NEW YORK (AP) — There are rituals to an Alexander Payne movie. “The Holdovers” is Payne's attempt to make not just a ‘70-set film but an actual ’70s film, styled after some of the movies he grew up with. “I like talking about other people’s movies more than my own,” Payne shrugged. But there was always that distant dream of not being a filmmaker but just going to film school. Most of us trained in film school like those ’70s guys.

Persons: Alexander Payne, Kevin Tent, Payne, ” Payne, ”, —, Paul Giamatti, David Hemingson, Paul Hunham, Giamatti, Angus Tully, Dominic Sessa, Mary Lamb, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Leo McCarey's, Payne —, “, ” Payne shrugged, PAYNE, –, Dominic, ” “ Harold, Maude, Hal Ashby, Harold, Maude ”, “ Harold, we’d, they’re, Franco, You’ve, Antonioni, Kurosawa, Citizen Ruth ”, Mike Nichols, Francis Coppola, Lifechanging, Bob Rafelson, Milos Foreman, Jim Taylor, Ivan Passer’s, Milos, Ivan, Jim, Fireman’s, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, ” “, David O, Russell, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch —, Steven Soderbergh, “ Soderbergh, Jake Coyle Organizations: eBay, New, Somerville Theatre, Stanford, Columbia School of Journalism, Castro Theatre, Times, Franco, Citizen, “, ”, MOMA Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, New England, Manhattan, Boston, “, San Francisco, Spain

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three Sumatran tigers have been born at the Nashville Zoo. It’s the first time that Sumatran tigers were born at the zoo. The cubs’ mother, 9-year-old Anne, arrived at the Nashville Zoo from the San Diego Zoo in December. Nashville Zoo veterinary officials performed a routine checkup on the cubs Thursday. Political Cartoons View All 1223 ImagesThe cubs’ father, Felix, remains separated from Anne at the Nashville Zoo’s Tiger Crossroads Exhibit.

Persons: Anne, Felix Organizations: Nashville Zoo, Zoo, San Diego Zoo, The International Union for Conservation, Nature, Facebook, Nashville, San Diego Locations: Tenn, Indonesia

Seoul, South Korea CNN —When fighting broke out in Kang Hyeon-joo’s elementary school classroom, her heart would beat so fast she could not breathe and her vision would blur. Tens of thousands of teachers have been protesting in recent months, calling for more protection from students and parents. But we couldn’t do anything, if we teach them, we could be accused,” said Ahn Ji-hye, an elementary school teacher who helped organize previous protests. Mourners lay flowers in front of a memorial altar for an elementary school teacher who died in an apparent suicide in July at an elementary school in Seoul on September 4, 2023. South Korea’s education minister Lee Ju-ho initially warned teachers that a mass strike would be an illegal act.

Persons: Kang Hyeon, ”, Kang, ” Kang, Charles Miller, Sung Youl, kwan, “, Ahn Ji, Ahn, Jung Yeon, Lee Ju, Sung, Chung Sung, –, ” Sung Organizations: Lifeline, South Korea CNN, CNN, Police, Kyung Hee University, “, Getty, National Assembly, Child Welfare, ”, Federation of Teachers ’ Labor Union Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Zoo's three celebrity giant pandas will be heading home a little earlier than expected. Zoo officials told The Associated Press on Thursday that adult bears Mei Xiang and Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji will be returning to China sometime in mid-November. The zoo’s exchange agreement with the Chinese government, originally brokered by President Richard Nixon 50 years ago, expires Dec. 7. The San Diego zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year. The pandas return to China when they reach old age, and any cubs born in the United States are sent to China around age 3 or 4.

Persons: Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, Xiao Qi Ji, Richard Nixon, Annalisa Meyer Organizations: WASHINGTON, Associated Press, U.S, China Wildlife Conservation Association, Zoo, Atlanta Zoo Locations: China, Beijing, San Diego, Memphis , Tennessee, America, United States

☆ Danny DeVito, His Daughter and a Lot of Baggage (Onstage)
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Jazmine Hughes | More About Jazmine Hughes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The script was still pliable, and both of them were grasping to achieve the fullness of their characters. Danny was memorizing his lines, looking up toward the heavens every time he drew a blank. His riffs bejeweled every line: When the script called on him to invite his daughter in for breakfast, he instead laid out a menu. While running those lines, Lucy pulled over to ask for directions from von Stuelpnagel: Where is her character, emotionally, right now? She’s really, really in there — she’s in there, digging, and that’s part of the whole idea,” Danny said a few weeks later during a break from rehearsals.

Persons: Danny, hunched, Lucy, von Stuelpnagel, Lucy smacking, ” Danny, “, She’s, Eager, DeVito, Martini Organizations: American Academy of Dramatic Arts Locations: Summit , N.J, New York

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Antibodies found in early results of a historic new vaccine trial are expected to give endangered California condors at least partial protection from the deadliest strain of avian influenza in U.S. history. The so-called bird flu reached the U.S. in February 2022 after wreaking havoc across Europe. “We’re thankful that we’re getting any immune response,” said Ashleigh Blackford, the California condor coordinator for the U.S. Dr. Carlos Sanchez, the Oregon Zoo’s director of animal health, said wildlife officials faced questions about undertaking the bird flu vaccine study. She hopes the condor study will lead to bird flu vaccines for other endangered species.

Persons: ”, Hendrik Nollens, “ We’re, we’re, Ashleigh Blackford, wilding, Carlos Sanchez, Dr, Dominique Keller, what's, ” Blackford, Tiana Williams, Williams, Claussen, “ Organizations: ANGELES, California condors, California condor, condors, Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego, Safari, Oregon Zoo . Authorities, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Authorities, U.S . Fish, Wildlife Service, California Gold Rush, LA Zoo, condor Locations: U.S, Arizona, Pacific Northwest, Baja California, Mexico, Europe, South Dakota, Utah, California, Oregon, Northern California

☆ Qantas overhaul gets stuck on tarmac
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Qantas Airways QF100 flight, which marks the airline's 100th birthday, departs from Sydney Airport to fly over Sydney Harbour in Australia, November 16, 2020. Gregg Porteous/Destination NSW/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) customers are already used to interminable waits due to postponed or cancelled flights and lost luggage. Now the $5.4 billion airline has shunted its much-needed governance overhaul into an unnecessary holding pattern. On Wednesday Qantas said Richard Goyder is stepping down after five years as chair along with two other directors who have been on the board for a decade. And Goyder intends to remain in the cockpit until just before the company’s annual meeting in over a year’s time.

Persons: Gregg Porteous, –, Richard Goyder, Alan Joyce, Jaqueline Hey, Maxine Brenner, Goyder, Antony Currie, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Qantas Airways QF100, Sydney Airport, Sydney Harbour, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Qantas Airways, Wednesday Qantas, Qantas, X, Alstom, Thomson Locations: Australia, Brussels

☆ More than 130 taxidermied animals in a South Dakota museum were found to contain arsenic. Nobody knows what to do with them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

TenHaken’s plan is to have the collection legally declared “surplus,” allowing the city to get the animals out of the museum. Dioramas at the Delbridge Museum. He donated the collection to the city, and it has been housed at the Great Plains Zoo since 1984. The Great Plains Zoo, which included the Delbridge Museum when it was open, attracts about 250,000 visitors a year. A Great Plains Zoo official told CNN proper display of the animals was a condition of the original donation.

Persons: they’ll, Paul TenHaken, “, Becky Dewitz, ” Dewitz, ” TenHaken, Henry Brockhouse, C.J, Dewitz, ”, KELO, it’s, ” Paloma Strong, Strong, Brockhouse, Charles Darwin, John Edmonstone, “ Taxidermy, ” Strong, taxidermy Organizations: CNN, Delbridge, Facebook, Sioux Falls, Plains, Sioux, Plains Zoo, Angeles, Society, Indiana Historical Society Locations: Sioux Falls , South Dakota, Sioux Falls, Sioux, China, taxidermy, South Dakota, Delbridge, Guyana, Scotland

CNN —A female sea lion briefly escaped from her enclosure in New York’s Central Park Zoo Friday when heavy rain caused her pool to flood. Water levels in the sea lions’ pool have since receded, and all animals are in their designated exhibits, the news release noted. Central Park Zoo is part of the world’s largest network of urban wildlife parks, which also includes the Bronx Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and New York Aquarium. California sea lions like the ones housed by the Central Park Zoo are native to the West Coast, according to NOAA. As adults, female sea lions can weigh up to 240 pounds and measure up to 6 feet long, NOAA said.

Persons: Jim Breheny, “, Breheny, ” Breheny, ” Organizations: CNN, Zoo, Wildlife Conservation, Aquarium . Staff, Bronx Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park, New York, Wildlife Conservation Society, Central, NOAA, Mammal Locations: New, Prospect, Wildlife, New York, California, West Coast

☆ Italy’s fiscal weakness toughens its green plight
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks on, on the day of the state funeral of the former Italian President and senator, Giorgio Napolitano in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2023. Rome also cut its GDP forecasts to 0.8% and 1.2% over the next two years, from 1% and 1.5% before. The ballooning deficit is chiefly a result of ill-fated renovation incentives introduced by previous governments and amounting to some 140 billion euros, or 7% of Italy’s GDP. Record-high euro zone interest rates are also increasing the cost of servicing Italy’s mammoth debt, seen at 140% of GDP by year-end. The risk is that Rome's green transition becomes a victim of its fiscal challenges.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Giorgio Napolitano, Yara, Europe’s, Lisa Jucca, ’, quagmire, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Reuters, X, Thomson Locations: Italian, Rome, Italy, Ukraine

☆ Jittery markets may tie Dutch insurers' hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dutch insurers NN (NN.AS) and ASR (ASRNL.AS) have lost 3 billion euros of combined market value after court rulings in the Netherlands raised the prospect of large compensation claims. The respective 22% and 16% stock price collapse will put pressure on the two groups to reach a speedy resolution. But customers argue that the insurers marketing these policies failed to disclose how much of their premiums went to actual investments, and how much covered the sellers’ costs. Take Hague-based NN: it has 315,000 active woekerpolissen policies and 581,000 inactive ones, ING reckons. Its 2.1 billion euro market value loss is equivalent to a claim of 2,300 euros per policy.

Persons: Pamela Barbaglia, ’, quagmire, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, ING reckons, JPMorgan reckons, Dutch, X, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Ukraine

☆ Sanction shocker delays UBS valuation upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That’s one lesson from the $3 billion slide in market value for his bank UBS (UBSG.S) on Wednesday. The report says that the DOJ is launching a full-scale investigation into Credit Suisse, which UBS now owns after a state-backed rescue in March. UBS has about $6 billion of provisions set aside for legal and regulatory bills, suggesting shareholders are well protected against Credit Suisse’s historic nasties. After Wednesday’s slide, UBS’s share price is almost exactly in line with its most recent tangible book value per share, compared with a roughly 30% premium back in early March. The implication is that investors are less excited about UBS’s prospects after incorporating Credit Suisse than they were about its standalone story.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti can’t, Liam Proud, ’, quagmire, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Bloomberg, U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ, Credit Suisse, Credit, X, Thomson Locations: Ukraine

☆ Net neutrality may be US regulators’ next quagmire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jonathan Newton/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - U.S. regulators risk another quagmire. The Federal Communications Commission wants to reinstate net neutrality rules that regulate how traffic flows on the internet. As with antitrust enforcers’ often-frustrated deal crackdown, the agency is stuck in a cycle of trying to litigate future problems, today. Regulators are trying to use yesterday’s tools to address the hypothetical problems of tomorrow. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jessica Rosenworcel, Jonathan Newton, ’, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Jennifer Saba, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: U.S . Senate Commerce, Science, Transportation Committee, Federal Communications Commission, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Verizon Communications, Netflix, Regulators, X, Republicans, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Ukraine

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Upon spotting a zookeeper laden with a bucket full of fruit-flavored ice pops, black spider monkeys in Rio de Janeiro’s BioParque gracefully swung their way towards him on Friday, chattering excitedly. The ice pops are part of the monkeys’ well-being program. For the monkeys, the ice pops are watermelon, pineapple or grape flavored. But for Simba, the zoo’s lion, the ice treat is made up of blood or minced meat. To cool her down even more, a zookeeper sprayed Koala with a hose.

Persons: chattering, it's, it’s, ”, zookeeper Tadeu Cabral, Simba, Daniel Serieiro, Carlos Acuña Organizations: RIO DE, National Institute of Meteorology Locations: RIO DE JANEIRO, Rio de, Brazil, Sao Paulo, Costa Rica, Bahia

☆ Republicans leave Ukraine, weed, crypto in limbo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Legislative casualties of U.S. Congress’s budget fight are emerging. His caving to extreme members of the party augurs poorly for measures like Ukraine aid and cannabis banking. Republicans including Representative Matt Gaetz and Representative Andy Biggs have already denied calls for new Ukraine aid. By siding with further-right members, McCarthy gives them more power to hold the line.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Jonathan Ernst, Joe Biden, Biden, McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Ben Winck, Bernie Sanders’s, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Reuters, Republican, Wednesday, Banking, X, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Ukraine, Washington

☆ Cazoo’s debt fix points to bumpy ride
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That’s not the fate of shareholders in UK-based and U.S.-listed Cazoo (CZOO.N), which has just announced a brutal debt restructuring. Under the deal announced on Wednesday, bondholders will swap $630 million of convertible notes for $200 million of fresh debt and a large slug of the equity. The debt cut will do little to fix Cazoo’s rickety engine. Although the company had 195 million pounds of cash at the end of June, it burnt through over 50 million pounds in the previous six months. And revenue this year is expected to fall nearly 40%, as customers racked by high interest rates tighten their belts.

Persons: That’s, Cazoo, Aimee Donnellan, Bernie Sanders’s, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S

The zoo is run by the local government, which was said to be running out of money and therefore unable to feed its charges. These vehicles are legal entities created by Chinese cities to circumvent borrowing restrictions imposed by the central government in Beijing. “Why hurt small businesses which are the weakest?”Noodle sellers in Shanghai have been fined for adding cucumber to their dishes. Last year, Beijing issued a directive forbidding local governments from imposing “arbitrary fines” to generate income, and dispatched inspection teams to check that the policy was being followed. The scale of financial stress among China’s local governments is so big that “creative” sources of income can only cover a relatively small shortfall, he said.

Persons: hadn’t, Xi Jinping’s, ”, Willy Lam, Lam, “, Aly Song, Jiemian, Logan Wright, hasn’t, Li Qiang, Steve Tsang, Joseph Cheng, —, Martha Zhou Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Species Fund, CNN Local, China Newsweek, ” CNN, China National Radio, Washington, Jamestown Foundation, CNN, ”, Weibo, “, SOAS China, SOAS University of London, City University of Hong Locations: China, Hong Kong, Dongshan, Liaoning, Beijing, Shanghai, Henan, Huizhou, Nanchang, Qingdao, City University of Hong Kong

☆ Deliveroo lacks tasty recipe for takeover call
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Deliveroo’s (ROO.L) valuation makes it a plausible takeover target, but Chief Executive Will Shu has a weak hand in negotiating any deal. Activist investor Sachem Head Capital Management has built a stake in the London-listed food delivery company, Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday. Share prices of Deliveroo rose nearly 5% on Thursday morning. That’s below the 1.5 times average of rivals Delivery Hero (DHER.DE), Just Eat Takeaway.com (TKWY.AS), HelloFresh (HFGG.DE) and DoorDash (DASH.N). Lastly, Delivery Hero and Amazon’s 5% and 12.5% stakes could complicate any deal.

Persons: Will Shu, LSEG, Uber, Karen Kwok, BoE, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Head Capital Management, Bloomberg, X, Treasury, Thomson Locations: London

☆ War-traumatized Ukrainian bear to be adopted by Scottish zoo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An Asiatic black bear, which endured severe trauma in a zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine, is set to be adopted by a zoo in Scotland. In October 2022, according to posts on a Ukrainian rescue center’s social media, Ukrainian soldiers entered the abandoned zoo in the village of Yampil, Donetsk, which had been under Russian occupation. They found that almost all of the 200 animals at the zoo had been killed. It’s often forgotten that it’s traumatic for animals as well,” Romain Pizzi, Five Sisters’ head veterinarian, told CNN. Yampil is a “gentle bear,” Pizzi has observed so far, adding that the staff at the zoo are hopeful that they can give him a good life in Scotland, where he can become “a happy, normal bear.”

Persons: Yampil, –, Yampil –, ” Romain Pizzi, Gary Curran, “, ” Pizzi, ” Curran, Pizzi, ” Organizations: CNN, Five Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Scotland, Yampil, Donetsk, Belgium, Scottish, Poland, Edinburgh, … Scotland, Natuurhulpcentrum

☆ Tian Tian: Giant panda celebrates last birthday in DC zoo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Piper Hudspeth Blackburn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The 26-year-old bear, Tian Tian, along with two other pandas in the zoo, are slated to leave by December 7. On Sunday, Tian Tian received a special “fruitsicle” cake made with fruits and vegetables with a “frosting” of sweet potatoes, mashed carrots and honey for his birthday, the museum said. The National Zoo’s Giant Panda Program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian first arrived at the zoo in the early 2000s and were originally supposed to stay for 10 years. According to the National Zoo, giant pandas have an estimated lifespan of about 15-20 years in the wild and about 30 years in human care.

Persons: Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, Xiao Qi Ji, Mei Organizations: Washington CNN, Conservation Biology Institute, China Wildlife and Conservation Association, Panda Program, National Zoo Locations: United States, China

☆ Baby gorilla almost died before a zookeeper held him close. Now he has a new adoptive mom
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“It’s been a hell of a journey.”Kaius holds onto Chad Staples as they walk around the zoo. Eventually, Kisane put down the baby and zoo staff rushed in to grab him. Chad Staples/Mogo Wildlife ParkA fight to stay aliveKaius, then still just a day old, was diagnosed with sepsis pneumonia. Kaius moved from Staples’ house – which is inside the zoo – to the gorilla enclosure, in a pen neighboring G-Anne, his new adoptive mom. But resettling a baby gorilla comes with tremendous risk.

Persons: Australia CNN —, Chad Staples, ” Staples, Kaius, you’ve, ”, “, Staples, Anne, “ It’s, ” Kaius, Kipensi, Kisane, Kriba –, “ We’re, ” “ He’d, Hilary Whiteman, she’s, “ I’m, it’s, I’m, It’d Organizations: Australia CNN, CNN, Kaius, ” Zoo Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Staples, New South Wales

☆ Fintech Vesttoo seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Israel-based fintech Vesttoo is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court which will enable it to pursue legal action against those responsible for a fake collateral scandal, it said in a statement on Monday. Vesttoo - partly backed by Banco Santander's (SAN.MC) fintech venture capital arm Mouro Capital - has laid off staff, closed offices and appointed an interim chief executive following the discovery of fraudulent letters of credit used on its platform. Vesttoo provides insurers with access to so-called insurance-linked securities - an alternative form of reinsurance. Led by Mouro, Vesttoo last raised $80 million at a $1 billion valuation last October. In its bankruptcy filing, Vesttoo said it had appointed law firm DLA Piper and financial adviser Kroll to represent the firm.

Persons: Vesttoo, Ami Barlev, Mouro, DLA Piper, Kroll, Carolyn Cohn, Sonali Paul Organizations: Banco Santander's, Thomson Locations: Israel, U.S

☆ Scion of Family Tied to 2014 Ferry Disaster Is Being Extradited to South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A businessman whose family’s company operated a ferry that sank off South Korea in 2014, killing more than 300 people, will be flown to that country from the United States to face embezzlement charges, officials said on Thursday, after years of requests from Korean prosecutors. The businessman, Yoo Hyuk-kee, 50, also known as Keith Yoo, is expected to arrive in South Korea, where he faces trial on seven counts of embezzlement, on Friday. South Korea’s Justice Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Mr. Yoo would arrive at Incheon International Airport on Friday at 5:20 a.m. local time. A company controlled by Mr. Yoo’s family, the Chonghaejin Marine Company, operated the Sewol ferry, which capsized off the southwestern coast of South Korea in April 2014. Most of those who died were teenagers on a school trip, and the disaster traumatized the country.

Persons: Yoo Hyuk, Keith Yoo, Yoo, Yoo’s Organizations: Korea’s Justice, International Airport, Chonghaejin Marine Company Locations: South Korea, United States, New York State

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