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☆ Hong Kong to resume hamster imports a year after mass cull over Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Marie Brockling | Dorothy Kam | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG — Hong Kong is lifting a ban on the importing of hamsters for sale, a year after it ordered more than 2,000 hamsters and other small mammals to be culled in an effort to prevent pets from spreading Covid-19 to people. The Hong Kong government ordered the culling last January after a small virus outbreak was traced to a pet shop called Little Boss that had imported hamsters from the Netherlands. Hong Kong residents who had recently purchased hamsters were advised to surrender their pets, shops selling hamsters were temporarily shut down and an import ban was enacted. But at the time of the Hong Kong government’s decision last year, the Chinese territory was following a strict “zero-Covid” approach in line with mainland China, leading officials to act aggressively. In recent weeks both Hong Kong and mainland China have relaxed anti-Covid restrictions that minimized cases and deaths but also caused widespread public frustration.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A Russian hacking team known as Cold River targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States this past summer, according to internet records reviewed by Reuters and five cyber security experts. Cold River has escalated its hacking campaign against Kyiv's allies since the invasion of Ukraine, according to cybersecurity researchers and western government officials. 'INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION'In May, Cold River broke into and leaked emails belonging to the former head of Britain's MI6 spy service. Reuters was unable independently to confirm why Cold River targeted the NGOs. "Google has tied this individual to the Russian hacking group Cold River and their early operations," he said.

Jan 6 (Reuters) - FTX's U.S.-based bankruptcy team have agreed to coordinate with liquidators winding down the crypto exchange's operations in the Bahamas, resolving a dispute that threatened the recovery of what could be billions of dollars in lost funds. FTX’s U.S. bankruptcy team has been at odds with Bahamian officials since November, when competing bankruptcies were filed in the two countries. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings on Nov. 10 against FTX Digital Markets Ltd., the company's Bahamas-based unit. The next day a U.S. Chapter 11 proceeding was filed in Delaware, which included more than 100 FTX entities including FTX Trading and crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. Bahamian regulators have seized FTX assets, which officials said was meant to safeguard assets that will ultimately be returned to creditors of FTX Digital Markets.

☆ The US relied on a secret force of Japanese-Americans to win World War II in the Pacific — while their families were locked up at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Katie Sanders | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Japanese-American Nisei soldiers at US Army Military Intelligence Service language school. Not many people know that we had Japanese-Americans fighting the Pacific war. The very first Japanese language school was started by the Army a months before Pearl Harbor. A US Army Nisei soldier gives water to a child in Okinawa. US Army Nisei soldiers interrogating a Japanese prisoner of war.

☆ Standard Chartered becomes first foreign bank to trade bond futures in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Plc's (STAN.L) China unit said it had become the first foreign bank to trade treasury bond futures in the country which is deregulating capital markets. The move comes as China steps up efforts to draw global investors amid months of foreign money outflows from its $20-trillion bond market. In a statement on Wednesday, Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd said it had completed its first treasury bond futures transaction in China, with the permission of regulators. Treasury bond futures are a key tool to manage interest rate risks, and China's opening-up of the market will allow foreign investors to better participate in its onshore bond market and promote yuan internationalisation, the bank said. In February 2022, Standard Chartered said it would invest $300 million in China-related businesses over the next three years and double the relevant profit contribution by end-2024.

In India, Google is now gearing up to file a legal challenge at the Supreme Court within days as the antitrust watchdog's Jan. 19 deadline to implement changes to its model looms, the first source with direct knowledge said. The Supreme Court approach will come after Google suffered a setback on Wednesday when a tribunal turned down its request to block the antitrust ruling. Google believes some of CCI's directives cannot be implemented, and the company "has no other option" than approaching the Supreme Court for relief, the source added. Google licenses its Android system to smartphone makers, but critics say it imposes restrictions like mandatory pre-installation of its own apps that are anti-competitive. Separately, Google has alleged in its filings the CCI's investigation unit copied parts of a European 2018 ruling against the U.S. firm, Reuters has reported.

☆ George Santos arrived in D.C. this week. No one is more riled than N.Y.'s other gay congressman.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Matt-Lavietes-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Matt Lavietes | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

“The House Republican chaos has a silver lining,” Torres tweeted Wednesday, referring to Republicans’ difficulty in electing a House speaker. Does Stefanik have George Santos in mind?” Torres tweeted Tuesday. In another tweet last week, Torres posted a screenshot of an invitation Santos sent to supporters, inviting them to celebrate his swearing into Congress. “He’s a pathological liar who cannot be trusted to serve the very public he defrauded,” Torres told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Monday. “No one has handed me anything on a silver platter,” he previously told NBC News.

☆ Mexico's Mayan Train a threat to ancient areas, scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

MEXICO CITY — Parts of Mexico’s remote southern jungles have barely changed since the time of the ancient Maya. But the railway and its hasty construction also critically endanger pristine wilderness and ancient cave systems beneath the jungle floor, droves of scientists and environmental activists say. Construction costs are seen at up to $20 billion, López Obrador said in July. “The Mayan Train project is of course safe, monitored and regulated by the environmental authorities as has happened up to now,” the agency told Reuters. A spokesman for López Obrador did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ India tribunal declines Google's request to block Android antitrust ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Arpan Chaturvedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - An Indian tribunal on Wednesday declined a request by Google to block an antitrust ruling that ordered the tech giant to change its approach to its Android platform, dealing the U.S. firm a setback in a key growth market. During the hearing, Google's counsel, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, repeatedly pushed for putting the decision on hold, or extending the date of implementation of CCI's directives beyond Jan. 19. He said the CCI's decision will force the company to change its business model and harm consumer interest. The CCI investigators "copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India", Google alleged. Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi and Munsif Vengattil in New Delhi; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden names Phillips acting head of energy regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FollowWASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has named Willie Phillips, a Democrat, acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC said on Tuesday. Phillips joined the commission in December, 2021 after being appointed by Biden and approved by Congress. After Phillips joined FERC, that began to change as Democrats had a 3-2 majority and the Biden administration pursued policies to transition to low-carbon energy. But now Phillips is acting chairman, FERC will be locked at a 2-2 because the former head, Richard Glick, left FERC after Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, did not hold a confirmation hearing to consider Biden's re-nomination of Glick. Phillips will serve as temporary chief of the commission as the Biden administration considers nominating a permanent chair.

☆ Indian tribunal declines interim stay for Google on Android-related antitrust ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - An Indian tribunal on Wednesday declined Google's request for an interim stay on an antitrust ruling that ordered the tech giant to change its approach to its Android platform. The Competition Commission of India in October fined Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google $161 million for exploiting its dominant position in markets such as online search and through the Android app store, and asked it to change restrictions imposed on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps. Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in New Delhi; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BOSTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The architect of the largest U.S. college admissions fraud scheme ever uncovered will be sentenced on Wednesday for helping wealthy parents secure the admission of their children to elite universities through cheating and bribery. The former college admissions consultant played a key role as a cooperating witness in the "Operation Varsity Blues" investigation. Singer admitted in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and funneling money from wealthy parents to corrupt university coaches to secure the admission of their children as fake athletic recruits. The years-long investigation into the scheme resulted in the conviction of more than 50 people, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, two of the many wealthy parents Singer had as clients. Singer took in more than $25 million from his clients while running a California-based college admissions counseling service called The Key and a related charity.

So if workplace weight loss programs don’t actually improve employee health — what is it they are attempting to do? And yet, workplace wellness programs that focus on weight loss and other fatphobic-related measures like BMI and fat percentage persist. There’s not much evidence to suggest these workplace weight loss programs even reduce costs. So we’re shaming fat folks, excluding people with disabilities and triggering those of us recovering from eating disorders for ... absolutely no reason at all. And any workplace wellness program that specifically incentivizes weight loss should be acknowledged as harmful and ended immediately.

Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in New York federal court Tuesday to eight charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research. The onetime crypto billionaire was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. Federal prosecutors also announced the launch of a new task force to recover victim assets as part of an ongoing investigation into Bankman-Fried and the collapse of FTX. Federal prosecutors built the indictment against Bankman-Fried with unusual speed, packaging together the criminal charges against the 30-year-old in a matter of weeks. The federal charges came alongside complaints from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

☆ Google alleges India antitrust body copied parts of EU order on Android abuse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Indian visitors talk on their mobile phones outside the Google stall at the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi on Sept. 27, 2017. In its filing to an Indian appeals tribunal, Google argues the CCI's investigation unit "copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India". Spokespeople for the CCI and European Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In Europe, 75% of 550 million smartphones run on Android, compared with 97% of 600 million devices in India, Counterpoint Research estimates. In its appeal, Google alleges the CCI only found antitrust infringements related to the Google search app, Chrome browser and YouTube, but its order "extends beyond" that.

☆ Regulators in the Bahamas back their estimate on $3.5 billion in seized FTX crypto assets, saying the exchange's counter-claim of $296 million is due to 'incomplete information'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Regulators in the Bahamas stood by their estimate on the $3.5 billion in crypto assets they seized from FTX. They rejected FTX's claims that the assets are worth just $296 million. "Such public assertions by the Chapter 11 debtors were based on incomplete information," the SCB said. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas pushed back against FTX's own valuation of $296 million, saying "Such public assertions by the Chapter 11 debtors were based on incomplete information." Meanwhile, FTX founder and former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried is set to be arraigned in court on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

☆ Bahamas regulator sticks to estimate of FTX assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 2 (Reuters) - The Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) rebuffed on Monday FTX's claims about the digital assets of its Bahamas unit held by the regulator, saying the debtors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange had "incomplete information". Last month, the SCB said it had seized more than $3.5 billion in cryptocurrency from the unit, FTX Digital Markets, which it was holding for future repayment to customers and other creditors. FTX disputed SCB's calculations, saying its digital assets seized in November were worth just $296 million and not $3.5 billion. "Such public assertions by the Chapter 11 debtors werebased on incomplete information," the regulator said in a statement on Monday. Bahamas officials have sought access to FTX's records to help liquidate FTX Digital Markets, but the company's U.S. bankruptcy team said it did not trust them with the information.

☆ North Korea's Kim sacks No. 2 military official
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - North Korea has sacked Pak Jong Chon, the second most powerful military official after leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported. The party's Central Military Commission, which is headed by Kim, is considered the country' most powerful military decision-making body, above the defence ministry. In late 2020, Pak was promoted to the politburo and earned the title of marshal, the highest military rank under Kim, and became a leading voice last November against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises. Like most other top military aides who went through ups and downs repeatedly under Kim, Pak was briefly demoted in mid-2021 after Kim chided some officials for their handling of North Korea's anti-coronavirus policy, before being promoted again months later. Ri, Pak's successor, is also a senior military commander who held key positions including chief of the army's general staff and defence minister.

☆ FTX says Bahamas regulators hold $296 mln, not $3.5 bln of company's assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 30 (Reuters) - FTX on Friday disputed the Securities Commission of the Bahamas' claims that the regulator was holding $3.5 billion of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange's assets. When the digital assets of FTX were transferred to the regulator in November, their value was just $296 million, FTX said in a statement. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bahamas Regulator Says It Seized $3.5 Billion in FTX Crypto Assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jonathan Randles | Becky Yerak | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bahamas securities regulators said they seized digital assets valued at $3.5 billion from FTX’s local operation in mid-November as the cryptocurrency exchange spiraled toward collapse and confirmed they relied on FTX’s co-founders to make the transfers happen. Christina Rolle, executive director of the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, said in an affidavit made public Thursday that the commission sought control of the crypto assets held by FTX Digital Markets Ltd. last month after FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried told local authorities under oath about a hacking attempt.

☆ Bahamas regulator holds FTX assets pending delivery to customers, creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said on Thursday that it is holding FTX assets worth $3.5 billion based on market pricing at the time of transfer on a temporary basis to deliver them to customers and creditors who own them. FTX's Bahamas unit's digital assets were transferred to digital wallets under the exclusive control of the commission in November soon after the company and its hedge fund Alameda Research and dozens of affiliates filed for U.S. bankruptcy. "All transferred assets were and remain under the sole control of the commission," Rolle said. The authorities in the Bahamas, where the company had its headquarters, appointed liquidators to wind down FTX's international trading business soon after the company announced bankruptcy. Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pandemic curbs linked to early start to Europe's winter flu season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Natalie Grover | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

This winter, health officials have warned of what has been dubbed a tripledemic of influenza, RSV and continued COVID-19 cases, adding to the pressure on over-burdened health services. In Wales, for instance, there were 111.6 confirmed RSV cases per 100,000 in children aged under five in the week ending Nov. 27. In the week ended Dec 18, European cases rose 7% over the week prior, according to ECDC figures. But scientists are concerned that social interaction during the festive season could lead to further increases in respiratory infections, especially as people meet vulnerable elderly relatives. As an added complication, viral respiratory infections can predispose patients to bacterial infections, just when some common antibiotics that can treat them are in short supply in Europe.

☆ 'Investors changed the rules of the game overnight.' The CEOs of Rapyd, Revolut, Wefox, and Klarna look ahead to fintech in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After a bruising year for the sector, fintech startups are prioritizing profitability. The CEOs of Revolut, Klarna, Wefox, and Rapyd outlined the new reality for consumer-facing fintech. "Investors changed the rules of the game overnight," Rapyd CEO Arik Shtilman told Insider. "Investors changed the rules of the game overnight," Arik Shtilman, CEO and founder of $15 billion fintech Rapyd told Insider at the Slush conference in Helsinki. Regardless of whether a focus on profitability has been pushed by investors or not, the tide has now turned for the fintech sector in Europe.

☆ Bahamian regulator says it seized $3.5 billion of FTX crypto assets for 'safekeeping'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas says it seized $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from collapsed crypto exchange FTX. In a media release late Thursday, the watchdog confirmed the total sum taken from FTX's Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, and added that the funds were moved into its own digital wallets "for safekeeping." The regulator had previously confirmed it was holding some of FTX's digital assets but did not specify the amount. The transfer took place on Nov. 12, the day after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. The regulator said it took the funds after receiving information from Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's disgraced co-founder, concerning cyberattacks on the systems of FTX's Bahamian unit.

☆ The U.S. passed a historic climate deal this year — here's a recap of what's in the bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The IRA's provisions have major implications for clean energy and manufacturing businesses, climate startups and consumers in the coming years. As 2022 comes to a close, here's a look back at the key elements in the legislation that climate and clean energy advocates will be monitoring in 2023. Taking aim at methane gas emissionsSome pumpjacks operate while others stand idle in the Belridge oil field near McKittrick, California. Mario Tama | Getty ImagesThe package imposes a tax on energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane gas emissions. And the bill has a hydrogen production tax credit, which provides hydrogen producers with a credit based on the climate attributes of their production methods.

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