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world news Diamars 2 November 2021

Barclays CEO steps down over Epstein report by UK regulators

(AP) — The chief execu- Staley characterized his rela- Staley said his last contact
tive of British bank Bar- tionship with Epstein to Bar- with Epstein was in fall 2015,
clays stepped down Mon- clays when he was Epstein’s when he and his wife sailed
day following a report by private banker in his previous to Epstein’s private island
United Kingdom regu- job at U.S. investment bank for lunch. That trip occurred
lators into his past links J.P. Morgan. shortly before he joined
with the late financier and Barclays. He said he had no
sex offender Jeffrey Ep- Details of the report have not contact with Epstein once he
stein. been released, and both regu- joined the bank in December
lators have refused to com- 2015.
Jes Staley has previously said ment.
he “deeply regrets” his rela- C.S. Venkatakrishnan, head
tionship with Epstein, who Barclays said in a statement of global markets for the
killed himself at a federal jail Monday that the bank and bank, will take over as chief
in New York in August 2019 Staley agreed he would resign executive. Barclays said suc-
while awaiting a sex traffick- in light of regulators’ prelim- cession planning has been “commitment and skill,”
ing trial. There is no sug- inary findings and Staley’s in place for some time, and helping transform opera- “Barclays is right to pull the
gestion that the 64-year-old decision to fight them. he had been identified as the tions and improve its results. plug now,” said Neil Wilson,
Staley knew anything about preferred candidate more It added that the regulatory chief market analyst at Mar-
Epstein’s alleged crimes. The bank noted that the in- than a year ago. process still has to run its kets.com. “It probably could
vestigation “makes no find- course and that “it is not ap- have done it earlier.”
Staley said he will contest ings” that Staley saw or knew Shares in Barclays fell 2% fol- propriate” for the bank to
regulators’ preliminary con- about any of Epstein’s alleged lowing the announcement, as comment further on the pre- The bank said Staley will get
clusions, which were shared crimes, which it said was “the Staley had been widely cred- liminary conclusions. a 2.5 million pound ($3.5
with him and the bank Fri- central question” behind its ited with doing a good job at million) payout and receive
day. The report by the Finan- decision to back its chief ex- the bank. Analysts said that Barclays other benefits for a year. He
cial Conduct Authority and ecutive after Epstein was ar- had to act because of the po- also may be eligible to receive
the Prudential Regulation rested in 2019. It wouldn’t Barclays credited him for tential damage to its reputa- repatriation costs to the U.S.
Authority examined the way comment further. running the company with tion. and could receive more cash.

Australia, Thailand reopen borders after lengthy lockdowns

(AP) — Sydney’s interna- to foreign visitors, but Thai- ones who are about to die or VID-19 cases) before wel-
tional airport came alive land also started to substan- have people who died this coming tourists.” Travelers from countries not
with tears, embraces and tially reopen Monday and week, so for them to be able on the preferred list or those
laughter on Monday as many others have already to get off the plane and go see Thailand has allowed resi- who are unvaccinated are still
Australia opened its bor- started, or plan to follow suit. them straight away is pretty dents to travel during the subject to various quarantine
der for the first time in amazing.” pandemic, but mandated a rules.
20 months, with some ar- Traveler Carly Boyd seized strict two-week quarantine
riving travelers removing the opportunity presented In Thailand, a country where in specially designated hotels Restrictions are also being
mandatory masks to see by the new Australian regu- tourism accounted for some for people entering the coun- relaxed in the destination
the faces of loved ones lations to jump on the first 20% of the economy before try. areas, including widespread
they’ve been separated flight home from New the pandemic, the lockdown reopening of businesses and
from for so long. York to surprise her parents, has caused massive job losses Foreign arrivals plummeted other facilities such as de-
whom she hadn’t seen in and hardship, and the gov- from 40 million in 2019 to partment stores, spas, tattoo
Australia and other countries three years. ernment hopes the return of 6.69 million in 2020 — al- shops, schools and sporting
in the Asia-Pacific have had foreign visitors will provide a most all in the first three events.
some of the world’s strictest “Just being able to come much-needed boost. months before the pandemic
COVID-19 pandemic lock- home without having to go to restrictions were introduced With the combination of
down measures and travel quarantine is huge,” she told Still, only a few months re- — to fewer than 100,000 so strict screening of visitors
restrictions, but with vacci- reporters at Sydney’s airport, moved from a surge fueled far in 2021. and higher vaccination rates
nation rates rising and cases where the country’s unoffi- by the delta variant of the vi- in Thailand, Supat Hasuwan-
falling, many are now starting cial anthem “I Still Call Aus- rus that saw deaths rise dra- Monday’s reopening builds nakit, president of Thailand’s
to cautiously reopen. tralia Home” was playing. matically, many Thais remain on a pilot scheme launched Rural Doctor Society, said he
worried that an influx of out- in July on the resort island of is not concerned about for-
Some, like China and Japan, “There’s a lot of people on siders could trigger new out- Phuket, which allowed fully eign tourists sparking a new
remain essentially sealed off that flight who have loved breaks. vaccinated travelers from surge in cases.
selected countries to spend
Bangkok taxi driver Is- their quarantine moving But he said he does worry
sarapong Paingam lost his around the island instead of about the planned reopen-
mother to COVID-19 dur- in a hotel room. ing of bars and clubs in De-
ing the recent surge, and said cember, noting that recent
it would make more sense to Starting Monday, if travel- domestic outbreaks came af-
him for the government to ers are fully vaccinated and ter the government allowed
focus its attention fully on re- from one of 63 countries people to gather for activities
opening domestically before and territories deemed “low such as religious services and
introducing foreign travelers risk” — which some cyni- weddings.
into the mix. cal Thais have noted seem to
be based more on spending “Once people start to gather,
“The government has not power than coronavirus in- eat and drink, it has a high
yet told the public what they fections — they are exempt possibility to create a new
would do if an outbreak takes from quarantine. They need outbreak,” he said. “Most
place again,” the 34-year-old to spend one night at a des- bars and nightclubs are in-
said. “I don’t understand why ignated hotel and can’t check doors with bad airflow, so it is
they don’t let people in the out until they have a negative easy for COVID-19 to spread
country live normally as a COVID-19 test, but then are once they reopen.”
trial to see the trend (of CO- free to travel.