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☆ Inheritance for your dog: How the rich put millions into trusts with very specific purposes, from taking care of pets to cryogenically freezing their bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Lawyers to the uber-rich told Insider how purpose trusts work and how to plan for centuries ahead. Fortunately, there is a workaround: purpose trusts. Trusts are well-known as a tool for saving millions on taxes, but purpose trusts are seldom used to pay less to Uncle Sam. Here is how purpose trusts workPurpose trusts are not absolutely necessary to make sure your pets are cared for after you pass, Yadav told Insider. Purpose trusts set up to maintain art collections usually include a timeline for liquidating or donating the artworks, according to lawyer Neil Solarz of Weinstock Manion.

Persons: Leona Helmsley, Naomita Yadav, Uncle Sam, Yadav, perpetuities, Neil Solarz, Weinstock Manion, Solarz, that's, Samantha, someone's, Shepherd Organizations: Siberian huskies, huskies Locations: Withersworldwide, California

☆ How the rich put millions into trusts to take care of their pets and pay for cryogenic freezing after they die
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The rich can use trusts to devote millions to pets, art collections, and even cryogenic freezing. Lawyers to the uber-rich told Insider how purpose trusts work and how to plan for centuries ahead. Fortunately, there is a workaround: purpose trusts. Trusts are well-known as a tool for saving millions on taxes, but purpose trusts are seldom used to pay less to Uncle Sam. Here is how purpose trusts workPurpose trusts are not absolutely necessary to make sure your pets are cared for after you pass, Yadav told Insider.

☆ Cary Elwes Is Soothed By Grunge and a Maltese Poodle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elwes, 60, talked about the music, cities, pets and pastimes that similarly inspire him. Let’s face it: Nirvana and Pearl Jam changed music. It’s very charming and there’s very little traffic, so it’s perfect for a sunny day. 4Our Maltese PoodleWhen I was a kid, I had a cat, but I didn’t understand how to treat it well and to get the cat to hang out with me. I never wanted a dog, but then my daughter sent me a picture of a Maltese poodle and I just about melted.

Persons: Elwes, Pearl Jam, there’s, I’m, I’ve Organizations: Marylebone London, Maltese Locations: Marylebone, Maltese

☆ How ‘Nimona’ Helped Its Creator Explore His Emerging Identity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Robert Ito | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The film had its beginnings in 2015, the same year the book was published, and is that rarest of Hollywood literary makeovers. For Stevenson, much of the book spoke to his own upbringing and experiences. Stevenson, 31, was born and raised in Columbia, S.C., the middle child of five siblings. After years of home-schooling and two more at the local high school, he went to the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he began posting Nimona comics online in 2012, a project that became his senior thesis. “When I first started making the comic, I didn’t consider myself a writer,” he said.

Persons: Nimona, Stevenson, ”, “, Nimona ”, Eisner, ” Stevenson, Ra Organizations: Hollywood, Netflix, Maryland Institute College of Art, ”, Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios, DreamWorks, Media Locations: Hollywood, Burbank, Sur Monterey County, Columbia

☆ Malta, Land of Knights, Sailors and Rainbow Flags
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Alexander Lobrano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Knowing nothing about Maltese food, I assumed it would be a variation on the fare of nearby Sicily. “Our food is a reflection of all of the peoples who ruled us,” he said, explaining that Malta has one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cuisines. Baroque masterworks and neon-lit nightlifeMalta is only 122 square miles, so 72 hours had seemed like an adequate amount of time to explore. I decided to check out the main island first, and then Valletta itself after that. The delightful Anna Grech Sant, a local guide, offered an abbreviated but fascinating lesson in Maltese history, richly seasoned with memorable trivia.

Persons: ruddy, bouillon, Brincat, ”, Anna Grech Sant Organizations: British Navy Locations: Sicily, Malta, Libya, India, Northern Europe, Bolognese, Gozo, Valletta

☆ ChatGPT Secret Training Data: the Top 50 Books AI Bots Are Reading
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

To figure out what GPT-4 has read, they quizzed it on its knowledge of various books, as if it were a high-school English student. One way to answer the question is to look for information that could have come from only one place. Genre — sci-fi, mystery, romance, horror — is, broadly speaking, more interesting, partially because these books have plots where things actually happen. Bamman's GPT-4 list is a Borgesian library of episodic connections, cliffhangers, third-act complications, and characters taking arms against seas of troubles (and whales). See what a bot makes of Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun," maybe, or Sheri Tepper's "Grass."

☆ A world in three islands on the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pavlo Fedykovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea lies a small country made up of three inhabited islands and irresistible allure. Across its three inhabited islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – you’ll find every sun-soaked aspect of the perfect vacation. The solution: Marsaskala, towards the southeastern tip of Malta island. Mellieħa Bay and St. Paul’s BayBugibba is a classic seaside resort town in St. Paul's Bay. The population is a modest two people, there are no cars, and no signs of globalization – just the untouched Mediterranean.

☆ They've been beaten, trolled, threatened with sexual violence but refuse to be silenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Adie Vanessa Offiong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ixchíu Hernández had already been the victim of years of online threats -- attempts to humiliate and silence her. Published in April 2021, it reveals: "Online attacks on women journalists appear to be increasing significantly, as this study demonstrates, particularly in the context of the 'shadow pandemic' of violence against women during COVID-19. "Online violence against women journalists is designed to: belittle, humiliate, and shame; induce fear, silence, and retreat; discredit them professionally, undermining accountability journalism and trust in facts; and chill their active participation...in public debate. Ricchiardi-Folwell explains that because of the often-sexualized nature of the attacks, women remain silent about their harassment, which leads them to believe they are alone. Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2021 and updated to reference the latest report by UNESCO.

☆ Seven Syrians face terror-related charges in Malta
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VALLETTA, April 30 (Reuters) - Seven Syrian men were accused in a heavily guarded Maltese court on Sunday of having encouraged and trained others to commit terrorism in Europe. The seven, aged between 21 and 27, were arrested on Saturday in an operation coordinated with the European police agency Europol, the Malta police said. The group are accused of association with an extremist organisation, inciting terrorism through public messages, recruiting or attempting to recruit others to commit terrorism, instructing others on the use of explosives or firearms and attempting to travel to Europe to commit terrorism. They all pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody at the end of the hearing. Reporting by Christopher Scicluna; Editing by Crispian BalmerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Media Freedom Faces Threats Even in EU, Says Press Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People demonstrated in Valletta, Malta, in 2019 over the killing of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia two years earlier. Photo: Guglielmo Mangiapane/REUTERSBRUSSELS—The European Union, among the world’s strongest proponents of media freedom, isn’t doing enough to protect reporters within its own borders, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international advocacy group. The group, in a new report, identifies growing restrictions on media across the 27-country bloc and spotlights the murders of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 and of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018, both of whose killings were linked to their work.

It also partners with Costco to offer Canadian members discounts on any Pets Plus Us Pet Insurance plan. Types of Pet Insurance Plans from Pets Plus UsPets Plus Us coverage is offered in a few different tiers, which include a starter tier of accident-only coverage. To file a claim with Pets Plus US, you can:Submit a claim online at Portal.PetsPlusUs.comBegin a claim by emailing submissions@petsplusus.comFax claims information to 1-855-456-PETS (7387)You can also file a pet insurance claim through the mail using the following address:Pets Plus UsSuite #400, 710 Dorval DrOakville, ON L6K 3V7Pets Plus Us Pet Insurance FAQsDoes Pets Plus Us offer pet insurance plans in the United States? Methodology: What Went into Our Pets Plus Us Pet Insurance ReviewBefore we wrote this Pets Plus Us review, we gathered information from more than 20 pet insurance providers offering similar pet health coverage. Pets Plus Us Pet Insurance Competitors PetSecure Pet InsurancePHI Direct Pet InsuranceFetch Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

☆ Italy's coastguard works to rescue 1,200 migrants drifting at sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The boat in distress with about 400 people on board is pictured in Central Mediterranean Sea in this handout obtained by Reuters on April 10, 2023. Giacomo Zorzi/ Sea-Watch/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, April 10 (Reuters) - The Italian coastguard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend. The other rescue operation by Italian coastguard on Monday was to help a fishing boat carrying 800 people that was located over 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, in Sicily. A spokesperson for coastguard said it would take hours to complete the two ongoing operations because of difficult conditions, including the long distance form the coast. Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard had already rescued around 2,000 migrants since Friday, it said.

☆ Boat with 400 migrants adrift between Libya and Malta, support service says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, April 9 (Reuters) - A vessel with around 400 people on board is adrift between Malta and Libya and is taking on water, support service Alarm Phone said on Sunday, amid a sharp rise of migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Alarm Phone said on Twitter they had received a call from the boat, which departed from Tobruk, in Libya, last night and that they had informed authorities. But no rescue operation has been launched so far, they added. Alarm Phone said the boat was now in the Maltese Search and Rescue area (SAR). Another NGO, Germany's Resqship, said on Sunday at least 23 migrants died the previous night in the Mediterranean in a separate shipwreck.

☆ The Conversations That Entertain Us
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Paula Marantz Cohen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Conversation, when it is performed for an audience, has a structure and order that is impossible in real life. When my daughter was growing up, we watched the TV show “Gilmore Girls” together, and I was taken with the highly articulate and probing conversations of the characters, Lorelai and Rory, mother and daughter. “Let’s talk like Lorelai and Rory,” I would say to my daughter who, at 14 or 15, merely rolled her eyes and walked away. In most movies and TV shows, the talk between and among characters serves only to drive the action forward. When the characters played by Sydney Greenstreet and Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon” say that they “like to talk,” the statement seems an ironic commentary on their cat-and-mouse interaction, which bears no resemblance to the undirected back-and-forth that constitutes good talk.

So You Want to Turn an Office Building Into a Home? There’s an appealing simplicity to the idea of converting office buildings into housing. Basically, they did this:How to Turn a 26-story Office Building Into a 30-story Apartment Building Cut a hole through 23 floors of the building. How to Turn a 26-story Office Building Into a 30-story Apartment Building Cut a hole through 23 floors of the building. That could change with tax abatements and subsidy programs, or if outdated office buildings lose so much value that the cost of acquiring them plummets.

☆ Wealthy Americans are racing to get the EU's last remaining 'golden passport' before it's gone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For the first time, Americans are applying for "golden passports" more than any other nationality. For the first time, Americans are applying for golden passports and visas more than any other nationality, according to Henley & Partners' 2023 USA Wealth Report, released Thursday. Henley & Partners' Head of North America Mehdi Kadiri said Malta's golden passport scheme was the second-most sought-after program among Americans, in part because Malta's program is accessible through real estate investment. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt reportedly applied for European citizenship in 2020 through Cyprus' now-defunct golden passport program. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, golden passports and visas faced global scrutiny for allowing sanctioned oligarchs access to the UK.

☆ Britain, Malta sign deal covering defence, migration
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VALLETTA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Britain and its former Mediterranean colony Malta signed a wide-ranging cooperation agreement on Friday covering areas including security and defence, migration, education, health and trade. The agreement was signed during a short visit to the island by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who met Foreign Minister Ian Borg. Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964 and the two countries have traditionally enjoyed a close friendship. Britain and Malta have worked together on migration. Malta is on the main migration route across the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe, with many migrants then attempting to carry on to the UK.

The gathering of the 27 national EU leaders was called after Austria and the Netherlands led a growing choir of complaints about increasing arrivals. In a call ahead of the summit with his Polish, Belgian, Finnish, Maltese and Bulgarian counterparts, Orban called for EU financing for such projects, saying that "fences protect all of Europe", according to his press chief quoted by state news agency MTI. In a joint letter ahead of the summit, the leaders of Malta, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Austria and Slovakia said the EU's "current asylum system is broken." "Irregular migration has once again become one of the most pressing issues in the EU," they said. "Without renewed and successful efforts ... irregular migration to Europe can only be expected to continue and increase in the coming years."

☆ Bernard Kalb, longtime foreign affairs newsman, dies at 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

“You have a historical memory to call upon and you see the trust of American foreign policy and other foreign policy,” he said. “Anything that hurts America’s credibility, hurts America.”New York Times columnist William Safire praised the resignation. “In his final official act, Bernard Kalb rose above ‘State Department spokesman’ to become the spokesman for all Americans who respect and demand the truth,” Safire wrote. At CBS Marvin and Bernard were known as “The Kalbs,” but Bernard lived somewhat in the shadow of his younger brother. One widely circulated, but apocryphal, story had their mother calling the CBS foreign desk in New York and saying: “Hello, this is Marvin Kalb’s mother.

Ashton also questioned how Mas’ud came to be in custody in the U.S. — something that remains unclear. Late last month, local Libyan media reported that Mas’ud had been kidnapped by armed men from his residence in Tripoli, the capital. He was convicted of 270 counts of murder, was given a life sentence and was the only person convicted for their involvement in Lockerbie. The release was met with scenes of jubilation in Libya, where al-Megrahi was greeted by thousands of well-wishers in the capital, Tripoli. He is among the victims’ family members who question the evidence used to convict al-Megrahi in 2001.

☆ Under fire for weak regulation, dLocal CEO says seeking UK license
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Isabel Woodford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Speaking in a closed-door call hosted by Goldman Sachs, dLocal CEO Sebastian Kanovich said that a full license with the UK regulator (FCA) was pending, citing the UK's exit from the European Union. "We have been advised not to engage in a tit for tat," he responded, adding dLocal was only engaging privately with stake holders. Neither dLocal nor Goldman Sachs responded to a request for comment. Muddy Waters told Reuters that Kanovich's explanations for the multi-million deficit in merchants' accounts "were so implausible, we literally laughed out loud." The company's CEO was also asked why dLocal had nearly $6 million in funds trapped in disgraced crypto exchange FTX, which dLocal failed to withdraw before the exchange's collapse.

☆ Russia is concerned over oil tankers build-up in Bosphorus - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Maltese-flagged crude oil tanker Minerva Baltica sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File PhotoMOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia is concerned about a build-up of oil tankers in the Bosphorus Strait and is discussing the issue with insurance and transport companies, RIA cited Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Wednesday. After all, insurance companies insure, not the state," Grushko is quoted as saying. The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February. Kazakhstan, a large oil exporter, said on Wednesday that the build-up of the oil tankers at the Bosphorus is normal during the winter season.

☆ Stowaways on tanker from Nigeria set for deportation from Spain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LAS PALMAS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Two of three stowaways who were rescued in Spain's Canary Islands after enduring 11 days on the rudder of a fuel tanker from Nigeria have been returned to the ship with the aim of deporting them. In a photograph on Twitter by the Spanish coast guard on Monday, the three stowaways are shown hunkered on the rudder under the hull, just above the waterline of the Alithini II. The ship's captain confirmed to the Red Cross that it had sailed from Nigeria 11 days earlier. The stowaways were treated for moderate dehydration and hypothermia, the Canary Islands emergency services and the Red Cross said. The Spanish-owned Canary Islands are a popular but dangerous gateway for African migrants attempting to reach Europe.

☆ The Spanish coast guard rescued 3 stowaways who spent 11 days balancing on a ship's rudder as it traveled from Nigeria to the Canary Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The Spanish coast guard rescued three men who traveled from Nigeria to the Canary Islands on a ship's rudder. They survived the 11-day journey that left from the port of Lagos in Nigeria on November 17. The men were sitting on the upper part of the rudder blade on the outside of the hull, under the stern, the agency reported. The Maltese-flagged oil tanker "Alithini II" had left Nigeria on November 17 and arrived Monday afternoon, according to MarineTraffic.com. The stowaways may be able to stay in Spain if they can claim asylum, the director of migrant rights organization Walking Borders told Reuters.

☆ Malta proposes to remove total ban on abortion after US tourist nearly died due to pregnancy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Maltese government has said it will propose a change to its total ban on abortion. Under the proposed changes, doctors can terminate a pregnancy if the mother's life is at risk. The U-turn comes after Andrea Prudente from Seattle nearly died on the island due to her pregnancy. The proposed changes, however, will not allow for abortion in any other circumstances, including rape, incest, or severe fetal anomalies. —Doctors for Choice Malta (@Drs4ChoiceMalta) November 16, 2022However, Prudente's placenta detached at 16 weeks, making her pregnancy unviable and putting her at risk of a severe, life-threatening infection.

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