World
US due diligence firm Mintz Group says staff detained in China after office raid
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – U.S. company due diligence agency Mintz Group mentioned on Thursday its Beijing workplace was raided by authorities and 5 Chinese language employees had been detained, stoking fear amongst international firms in China simply as its capital hosts a world financial discussion board.
Information of the raid and detentions comes as Sino-U.S. relations have spiraled downwards following months of diplomatic tensions, together with over the U.S. army downing in February of a suspected Chinese language spy balloon and a deliberate U.S. transit subsequent week by the president of Taiwan, the self-governed island China claims as its territory.
“We will affirm that Chinese language authorities have detained the 5 employees in Mintz Group’s Beijing workplace, all of them Chinese language nationals, and have closed our operations there,” the corporate mentioned in an emailed assertion to Reuters.
The corporate mentioned it was able to work with Chinese language authorities to “resolve any misunderstanding which will have led to those occasions”, and that its prime concern was the security and wellbeing of colleagues in China.
“Mintz Group has not obtained any official authorized discover relating to a case towards the corporate and has requested that the authorities launch its workers,” the corporate mentioned.
A supply on the New York-headquartered agency earlier instructed Reuters on situation of anonymity that the corporate’s native authorized counsel mentioned the raid occurred on the afternoon of March 20, and that the workers had been being held incommunicado someplace exterior of Beijing.
The Chinese language international ministry and the Beijing public safety bureau didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
‘RED ALERTS’
As per Mintz Group’s web site, the Beijing workplace is its just one in mainland China. The web site says the corporate specialises in background checking, truth gathering and inside investigations and has 18 places of work world wide and a whole lot of workers.
Randal Phillips, a associate on the agency who heads its Asia operations however relies exterior of China, is listed on its web site because the Central Intelligence Company’s former chief consultant in China.
Phillips labored in Beijing for years after leaving the CIA. There was no indication the incident was associated to him.
The information of the raid and detentions comes as Beijing is gearing as much as maintain the three-day China Improvement Discussion board from Saturday, the place executives from multinationals and representatives from worldwide organisations will likely be among the many greater than 100 abroad delegates current.
One U.S. enterprise group individual instructed Reuters the Mintz Group incident despatched a “exceptional sign” that Beijing desires international cash and expertise however that it will not settle for credible U.S. corporations conducting due diligence on Chinese language companions or the enterprise atmosphere.
“Pink alerts needs to be going off in all boardrooms proper now about dangers in China,” the supply, who didn’t want to be recognized because of the delicate nature of the matter, mentioned.
Western due diligence firms have gotten into bother with Chinese language authorities earlier than. British company investigator Peter Humphrey and his American spouse Yu Yingzeng, who ran threat consultancy ChinaWhys, had been detained in 2013 following work they did for British prescription drugs big GSK.
Reporting by Michael Martina, extra reporting by Yew Lun Tian and Laurie Chen in Beijing; Modifying by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Muralikumar Anantharaman
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
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