y the payments amounted to illegal support for terrorists. The groups' victims have largely been civilians The Cincinnati-based company pleaded guilty in 2007 to similar criminal charges and paid a $25 million fine. But if the lawsuits succeed, the families' lawyers estimate the damages against Chiquita could reach the billions of dollars. The cases filed around the country are being heard by a South Florida federal judge. Chiquita Noble Energy Inc, (NBL) but Petroecuador took it over after the U.S. company refused last year to change its production-sharing contract to a new service agreement. Petroecuador said in a statement that the drilling of two wells and the rehabilitation of another three wells will increase gas output from 35 million cubic feet to 50 million cubic feet per day in the short term and to 80 million cubic feet per day at the end of 2012. Petroecuador will invest about $18 million for the rehabilitation process. According to the statement, with the increase of the gas production from the block 3, Ecuador will f Alibaba, of which Yahoo owns roughly 40%. The companies, which have traded barbs over the action, have taken steps to resolve the dispute, although no solution has been put forward publicly. Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz, co-founder Jerry Yang and Chief Financial Officer Timothy Morse kicked off the investor day with a conversation about the Alipay incident, saying Yahoo, Alibaba and Japan's Softbank Corp. (9984.TO), which also owns a large stake in Alibaba, are making "significant progress" in resolving the problem. Bartz also stood by Yahoo's approach to the huge Chinese market. "The core strategy of investing in Alibaba Group has clearly been the right way to invest in the China market," she said. Bartz noted the companies have agreed that the value of the relationship between Alipay and Alibaba's online retail marketplace, Taobao, must be preserved within Taobao. They also agreed that Alibaba must be "appropriately compensated" for the value of the Alipay business that isn't linked to Taobao, she said. "All parties are working very hard to come to a resolution that successfully implements these principles," Bartz said. "Alibaba's management is very committed and cooperative in working with Yahoo and Softbank." She added that Yahoo's disclosure about Alipay was "timely and appropriate." She said negotiations between the companies will be kept private. Yahoo has faced criticism for not disclosing the transfer earlier. The company has said it became aware of the change by the end of March. Yahoo shares have dropped 12% since it disclosed Alibaba had transferred ownership of Alipay. In Wednesday trading, they recently rose about 1% to $16.27. Yahoo has been restructuring into a more focused company, though the strategy has yet to yield convincing results. A major part of Yahoo's turnaround plan, a sea