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☆ Fintech Naro wants to take advantage of Europe's ETF boom. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Naro, a German fintech startup, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding. Cologne-based Naro, founded in 2022, wants to take advantage of the boom in exchange-traded funds — or ETF — products in Europe to offer white-label services to various banks, funds, and brokers. Naro's pre-seed funding round was led by Berlin's La Famiglia alongside Discovery Ventures, plus investment from Robin Capital, Angel Invest, and various angels. Funding will go towards expanding the startup's current team of 10 staff as it looks to partner with potential customers looking to build out products within their existing infrastructure. Naro's business plan subsequently changed from its original slides, you can see a version of its pre-seed pitch deck below:

Persons: Chris Püllen, Püllen, Naro's, Berlin's La Organizations: Business, Trade Republic, Discovery Ventures, Robin Capital, Angel Invest, Credit Suisse Locations: Naro, Cologne, Europe, Germany

Germany and Austria earlier on Monday said they were suspending bilateral development aid to Palestinians, while others such as Italy had said suspending aid was not up for discussion. It is unclear whether the suspensions in development aid will also apply to such assistance. Varhelyi said all new budget proposals for Palestinian aid were also postponed until further notice. The Israeli flag has been hoisted above the chancellor's office and the Foreign Ministry after the shock Hamas assault. Asked if Italy would follow Germany and Austria in suspending development aid, the foreign ministry spokesperson said this was not under discussion.

Persons: Amir Cohen, Oliver Varhelyi, Varhelyi, Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah, Alexander Schallenberg, Svenja Schulze, Rishi Sunak, Andrew Gray, Francois Murphy, Sarah Marsh, Markus Wacket, Angela Amante, Kate Holton, Mark Heinrich, Alison Williams, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, BRUSSELS, European, United Nations, Union, EU, EU Commission, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Austrian, European Union, Foreign Ministry, Social Democrats, Greens, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Ashkelon, Israel, Germany, Austria, Italy, BERLIN, Europe, West, Berlin, Palestinian, Berlin's, Brandenburg, United Nations, Britain, Brussels, Vienna, Rome, London

☆ Berlin's Brandenburg Gate spray-painted by climate activists
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] People walk in front of the Brandenburg Gate after Last Generation ("Letzte Generation") climate activists threw paint on the columns of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, September 17, 2023. REUTERS/Swantje Stein Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Climate activists sprayed orange and yellow paint on the columns of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate on Sunday to push demands for a stop to the use of fossil fuels by 2030. "Members of the so-called 'Last Generation' sprayed the columns on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate with orange paint from fire extinguishers during the morning," Berlin police said on X, formerly known as Twitter. It added that police officers noticed a hydraulic lift was being operated at the gate and they kept the protesters from scaling the landmark building. Germany aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2045, but it missed annual targets for the last two years.

Persons: Swantje Stein, Ludwig Burger, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Brandenburg, Berlin, Germany, Europe

☆ China still conducting police activities in Germany -German ministries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) - German security authorities believe that China is still conducting police activities on German soil even though Beijing assured Berlin in February that it had ceased to do so, the German foreign and interior ministries said on Monday. "The security authorities continue to assume that there are two so-called overseas police stations in Germany," a spokesperson for the interior ministry said at a regular press conference. Berlin called on Beijing in November to shut down extraterritorial police stations in the country. The interior ministry spokesperson clarified that the police stations in question were "not fixed-location offices, but mobile facilities" from which Chinese and non-Chinese nationals were conducting "official duties" on behalf of Beijing. Germany is reassessing its bilateral relations with China amid increased wariness of Beijing as a strategic rival even as it remains Berlin's largest trading partner.

BERLIN, May 9 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday that Beijing would maintain lines of communication with all parties to the war in Ukraine, including Germany, in seeking a ceasefire. European nations have repeatedly criticised China for its refusal to describe Russia's war in Ukraine as an invasion, or to call for a Russian withdrawal. "China is willing to maintain communication with relevant parties, including Germany, to achieve an early ceasefire." Qin said Beijing "firmly opposes some countries in using their so-called laws to impose long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on other countries, including China". He added: "China will make necessary responses and resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises."

The EU law would require all new cars sold from 2035 to have zero CO2 emissions, making it effectively impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered cars. E-fuels, like e-kerosene, e-methane, or e-methanol, are made by synthesizing captured CO2 emissions and hydrogen produced using renewable or CO2-free electricity. Germany and Italy want clearer assurances from the EU that sales of new ICE cars can continue beyond 2035, if they run on CO2-neutral fuels. Most major carmakers are betting on battery-electric vehicles - a technology that is already widely available - as the main route to cut CO2 emissions from passenger cars. Supporters say e-fuels offer a route to cut the CO2 emissions of our existing passenger car fleet, without replacing every vehicle with an electric one.

☆ Photos show how Germany has changed in 75 years since the era of the Nazis in World War II
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

NOW: The Brandenburg Gate in 2022, now an iconic landmark and a symbol of a reunited Berlin after the Cold War. A Christmas tree (L) with its top chopped off is seen next to a Chanukkah menorah in front of Berlin's landmark the Brandenburg Gate on December 21, 2022 TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty ImagesSource: Visit Berlin

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