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Officials discovered nearly 200 baby tortoises wrapped in plastic in a suitcase in a Galapagos airport

A wildlife official handles a baby turtle that was found along with other turtles in a suitcase at the airport before they could be smuggled from the Galapagos Islands, in Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador March 29, 2021. via REUTERS Nearly 200 baby tortoises were discovered in a suitcase by officials at a Galapagos airport Sunday. Officials said they believed the hatchlings were removed from tortoise nests on Santa Cruz Island. The tortoises have been sent to the Giant Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center to be cared for. See more stories on Insider's business page . Officials at an airport on the Galapagos Islands discovered 185 newborn tortoises hidden in a suitcase going through a security X-ray. A wildlife official handles baby turtles that were found in a suitcase at the airport before they could be smuggled from the Galapagos, in Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador March 29, 2021. via REUTERs The tortoise hatchlings were discovered Sunday wrapped in pla...

IBM's CEO predicts a hybrid remote-work model for 80% of employees post-pandemic

Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Wired IBM expects 80% of its employees to work in hybrid remote roles post-pandemic, Bloomberg reported. CEO Arvind Krishna also said IBM will likely scale back its office space significantly. Some tech companies take a flexible approach to work; Amazon and others want workers in the office. See more stories on Insider's business page . IBM is joining the growing list of tech companies planning to take a flexible approach to remote work even after the pandemic, though it does have concerns about how the strategy could impact its company culture. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Bloomberg's Emily Chang on Wednesday 80% of the company's employees may stay in hybrid roles indefinitely, spending "at least three days a week, maybe not all eight to 10 hours, but at least some fraction of those three days, in the office." Krishna said 10% to 20% of employees could potentially stay fully remote, but that he worried "abo...

10 things in tech you need to know today

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images Good morning and welcome to 10 Things in Tech. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here . Before we get into it, we have a request. We want to know how you've experienced (and dealt with) burnout during the pandemic, especially if you work for a startup. If you have a story you'd like to share, here's how you can contribute. Now, let's get started. 1. Votes are being tallied in Amazon's historic union election. Now what? We outlined what will happen if the vote passes, and what will happen if it doesn't . We also spoke with workers who discussed why they voted against unionization. Here's what they told us . 2. Facebook and Google are funding two new undersea cables. The cables, called Bifrost and Echo , are expected to link America's West Coast to Indonesia and Singapore, with a stopover in Guam, the US island territory in the western Pacific. 3. Gen Z VCs are getting in on the NFT frenzy. You...

Sequoia Capital India on its early investment in Appier, the fund’s latest exit

Chih-Han Yu, chief executive officer and co-founder of Appier Group Inc., right, holds a hammer next to a bell during an event marking the listing of the company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, at the company’s office in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg via Getty Images Appier ’s initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday was a milestone not only for the company, but also Sequoia Capital India, one of its earliest investors. Founded in Taiwan, Appier was the fund’s first investment outside of India, and is now also the first company in its portfolio outside of India to go public. In an interview with TechCrunch, Sequoia Capital managing director Abheek Anand talked about what drew the firm to Appier , which develops AI-based marketing software. Before shifting its focus to marketing, Appier’s founders—chief executive officer Chih-Han Yu, chief operating officer Winnie Lee and chief technology officer Joe Su— worked...

Uganda’s Tugende closes $3.6M Series A extension to meet the demand for its asset finance products

Ugandan technology-enabled asset finance company Tugende today announced that it has closed $3.6 million in a Series A extension round . The investment, which, according to the company, was agreed on and structured in 2020, follows the $6.3 million raised in November 2020 and led by Toyota Tsusho investment fund Mobility 54 . This brings Tugende’s total Series A financing to $9.9 million. San Francisco and Paris-based VC firm, Partech led the round. Enza Capital participated, alongside some unnamed angel investors. Michael Wilkerson founded Tugende in 2012. The company uses asset finance, technology and a customer support model to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises own income-generating assets . While primarily based in East Africa, the company wants to tackle the $331 billion credit gap facing these businesses across Africa. Its core product is for motorcycle riders in Kenya and Uganda, with a lease-to-own or hire-purchase package. These riders get some trai...

The Secret Service arrested a 30-year-old man who broke into the Swiss embassy in DC and assaulted the ambassador

Tino Plunert/picture alliance via Getty Images On Monday, a man broke into the Swiss Embassy in Washington DC and assaulted the ambassador. A secret service agent identified the attacker as 30-year-old Christian David Mandeville of Oregon. Mandeville allegedly also resisted arrest which resulted in injuries to the arresting officer. See more stories on Insider's business page . A 30-year-old man was arrested after breaking into Switzerland's Embassy in Washington DC and assaulting the Swiss Ambassador on Monday, according to a court filing from a Secret Service agent. Agent Jacob Pina wrote in a statement filed in federal district court that he was called to the residence of Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud after reports of an "unwanted guest." The residence is attached to the embassy. The Swiss Embassy did not reply to Insider's request for comment at the time of publication but told CNN that someone had tried to get into the ambassador's ho...