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☆ UK regulator refers Vodafone's merger with Three for in-depth competition probe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.K. competition regulator on Thursday referred the proposed merger between Vodafone and CK Hutchison's Three mobile network to an in-depth investigation. The CMA has given itself a deadline of Sept. 18 to complete the in-depth probe, also known as a phase 2 investigation. The CMA has previously said the deal could lead to customers facing higher prices and reduced quality, a lessening of competition in the U.K. mobile market. Announced last year, Vodafone and CK Hutchison's transaction would merge the two brands' U.K. businesses, giving Vodafone a 51% controlling stake and leaving CK Hutchison with the minority interest. Vodafone and Three reiterated that "there will be no change to each operator's pricing strategy as a result of the merger."

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, CK Hutchison Organizations: Vodafone, CK, Markets Authority, CMA, Regulators, CK Hutchison Locations: London, British, United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — British cellphone company Vodafone confirmed Friday that it is selling its Italian business to Switzerland’s Swisscom for 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) and will hand back half of the proceeds to its shareholders through the buyback of company shares. Swisscom, a telecoms operator, will pay in cash that it will finance through new debt. "Fastweb and Vodafone Italia are an ideal fit to create high added value for all stakeholders." Swisscom will pay annual initial charges of 350 million euros, which is expected to decrease over time. ”Its refreshed strategy also has seen it seek to merge its U.K. business with Three U.K. to create Britain’s biggest mobile phone network worth around 15 billion pounds ($19 billion).

Persons: Swisscom, Christoph Aeschlimann, Margherita Della Valle, “, ”, Sophie Lund, Yates, stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown Organizations: Vodafone, Fastweb, Vodafone Italia Locations: British, Italy, Hungary, Ghana, London, Zurich

☆ I tried 28 of Trader Joe's popular dips, and I'd buy at least half of them again
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Savanna Swain-Wilson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

I tried 28 dips and spreads from Trader Joe's to see which would be the best for a Super Bowl party. As a regular connoisseur of Trader Joe's salsas and spreads, I decided to try some of the chain's most popular dips. AdvertisementThe pimento cheese dip basically was comfort food in a containerTrader Joe's pimento cheese dip was soft and flavorful. VERDICT: I may not be an expert on Southern dips, but Trader Joe's pimento cheese option tasted like a winner. So it was unsurprising that Trader Joe's upgraded version of this familiar favorite turned out to be one of the standout dips I tried.

Persons: Joe's, —, Wilson, I'm, I'd, could've, Savanna, pico de gallo, Wilson I'm, jalapeño hummus, hummus, it's, Wilson It's, tzatziki, Wilson I've, Joe's tzatziki, Margherita, I've, pico, gallo, It's, Wilson Chunky, you've Organizations: Super Bowl, Service, Wilson, Joe's Locations: Buffalo, Savanna, Southern, dill, Joe's Buffalo, Monterey Jack, cayenne

☆ UK opens antitrust probe into Vodafone merger with CK Hutchison's Three mobile network
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A pedestrian walks past a Vodafone store in central London on May 16, 2023. British mobile giant Vodafone is to axe 11,000 jobs over three years in the latest cull to hit the tech sector, as new boss Margherita Della Valle slammed recent performance. Britain's competition watchdog on Friday said it is opening an investigation into the proposed merger between Vodafone and the Three UK mobile network owned by CK Hutchison . The initial probe will look at whether the deal will lead to a "substantial lessening of competition," according to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). "The CMA will assess how this tie-up between rival networks could impact competition before deciding next steps."

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, CK Hutchison, Sarah Cardell Organizations: Vodafone, CK, U.K, Competition, Markets Authority, CMA Locations: London, British

☆ Inside the rise of Chiara Ferragni, the social media mega-star who's been accused of misleading followers into buying a charity cake
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Andrew Lloyd | Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Chiara Ferragni is an Italian influencer with just under 30 million followers on Instagram. Here's how the digital entrepreneur shot to social media superstardom. The item was packaged with a pink box featuring Ferragni's name and logo, as well as an illustration of the social media star. AdvertisementBut how did Ferragni become such a social media superstar and build her empire — amid this controversy? Amid the recent scandal, Ferragni's massive online presence continues to span social media.

Persons: Chiara Ferragni, Here's, —, Ferragni, Balocco, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Federico Leonardo Lucia, Leone, Fedez, ferragnez, Lapresse, Eugenio Fusco, Alessandra Balocco Organizations: Service, Regina Margherita Hospital, Italian Competition Authority, Authority, Associated Press, Milan's Bocconi University, Financial Times, Teen Vogue, Forbes, Harvard Business School, Prada, AP Locations: Italian, Turin, Italy, Balocco, Milan, Venice, TikTok

☆ Israel Presses Assault on Hamas’s Last Major Gaza Bastion
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Dov Lieber | Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TEL AVIV—Israeli forces closed in on the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, engaging in close combat with Hamas fighters in what could be the decisive battle of the two-month-old war, while residents fled from the fighting amid a worsening humanitarian plight. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, is defending its last major bastion in Gaza, where Israel believes the group’s leaders are hiding and holding hostages, after Israeli forces drove the militants and much of the population out of Gaza City in the enclave’s north.

Persons: Khan Younis Organizations: Hamas Locations: TEL AVIV, Khan, Gaza, U.S, Israel, Gaza City

☆ Palestinians Abandon Villages Following West Bank Settler Violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Palestinians Abandon Villages Following West Bank Settler ViolenceThe U.N. said Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank have doubled since the Israel-Hamas war began, prompting many Palestinians to abandon their homes. WSJ’s Margherita Stancati visited the village of Zanuta to find out more. Photo Illustration: Marina Costa/Tanya Habjouqa

Persons: Margherita Stancati, Marina Costa, Tanya Habjouqa Organizations: Bank Settler, West Bank, Hamas Locations: Israel, Zanuta

ZANUTA, West Bank—Hanaa Abul-Kbash was home with her children in this tiny village in the occupied West Bank when she says an Israeli settler, armed with a military-style rifle, barged in telling her she had to go. “I told him this has been my home for 21 years and that I would not leave,” recalls 43-year-old Abul-Kbash of the encounter in late-October. The man grabbed her by the collar, shook her violently, cocked his weapon and left, Abul-Kbash says. Days later, on Oct. 28, she and the roughly 250 other residents of Zanuta abandoned the Palestinian village.

Persons: West Bank — Hanaa Abul, Kbash, “, ” Organizations: West Bank —, West Bank Locations: Zanuta

Hamas released 17 Israeli and foreign hostages on Sunday, including a 4-year-old-girl with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, as negotiators remained locked in talks over a possible extension to the four-day deal that halted fighting. Israeli authorities said that 14 Israelis were freed Sunday afternoon and left the Gaza Strip. Egyptian and Qatari officials involved in the negotiations to free the hostages said that three Thai citizens were also released. Among them is a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, four-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, whose parents were killed on Oct. 7.

Persons: Abigail Mor Idan Locations: Gaza, U.S

☆ Vodafone reports Q2 improvement after Germany returns to growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Telecoms company Vodafone (VOD.L) reported an acceleration in service revenue in the second quarter on Tuesday after Germany, its biggest market, returned to growth. It reported a 4.2% rise in group service revenue for the six months to the end of September, with both Europe and Africa up, and 0.3% higher adjusted core earnings, a rise limited by higher energy costs. Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle said Vodafone had delivered improved revenue growth in nearly all of its markets in the first half of its financial year. "Our focus on customers and simplifying our business is beginning to bear fruit, although much more needs to be done," she said. ($1 = 0.9346 euros)Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton Organizations: Vodafone, British, Thomson Locations: Germany, Europe, Africa

Israeli forces said they were engaged in fierce fighting early Saturday around Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, where Israel says Hamas has positioned fighters near thousands of displaced people and hundreds of patients amid worsening conditions at the facility. Hospital officials said doctors were using scant remaining medical supplies to treat wounded people as the battle in the area intensified, the hospital largely operated without electricity and water ran desperately low. There were no indications that Israeli troops had entered the hospital complex as of Saturday morning or whether Hamas fighters were inside it.

Organizations: Shifa, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Al, Israel

Israeli forces said they were engaged in fierce fighting Saturday around Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, where Israel says Hamas has positioned fighters near thousands of displaced people and hundreds of patients amid worsening conditions at the facility. Hospital officials said that doctors at Al-Shifa were using scant remaining medical supplies to treat wounded people, that the hospital was largely operating without electricity and water was running desperately low.

Organizations: Shifa, Hamas, Al Locations: Gaza, Al, Israel

☆ ‘They Have Nowhere to Go’: A Gaza Hospital Braces for Fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Margherita Stancati | Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At the sprawling Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, families pack the hallways inside, while others have set up makeshift tents outside, with bed sheets hung up for privacy. Doctors, short on space and supplies, tend to bloodied patients on the floor. About a mile away, a much bigger problem is approaching: The Israeli army is engaging in firefights with Hamas militants. Palestinians have been told to evacuate the 700-bed hospital, but many believe it’s the safest place they can go. Between 50,000 and 60,000 people are sheltering inside and around the grounds of the hospital, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, with 2,500 patients in need of care.

Organizations: Shifa, Hamas, Health Ministry Locations: Gaza City, Gaza

☆ Netanyahu Says Israel Will Control Gaza Security Indefinitely
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek to assume overall responsibility for security in Gaza, in an early indication that Israel plans to occupy the strip after the war, raising more questions about its exit strategy. “I think Israel for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility, because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu said on ABC News overnight. “When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.”

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, we’ve, ” Netanyahu Organizations: ABC News Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Israeli Siege Leaves Gaza Without Clean Water, Causing Disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Margherita Stancati | Fatima Abdulkarim | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At Rami Hijjo’s home in Gaza City, showering is a luxury of the past. The taps are running dry and he spends hours each day trying to procure rationed drinking water that isn’t even clean enough to make tea. “Sometimes the water is salty and the tea we prepare with it is murky,” said the father of three, a former humanitarian worker.

Persons: Rami Hijjo’s, ” Locations: Gaza City

☆ Israel Faces Growing International Pressure to Pause Gaza Strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

International pressure for a cease-fire or pause in Israeli strikes in Gaza grew Friday as hospitals in the enclave began to run out of fuel and displaced Palestinians struggled to find clean drinking water. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday morning arrived in Israel, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was expected to raise the issue of a pause in fighting, among other measures, U.S. officials said. Before leaving Washington, Blinken said that, in conversations with Israeli officials, he would address “concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women and children in Gaza.”

Persons: Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, ” Organizations: Israeli Locations: Gaza, Israel, Washington

☆ Netanyahu Rejects Calls for a Temporary Israeli Cease-Fire in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Vivian Salama | Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TEL AVIV—Israel’s prime minister resisted pressure from the U.S. to pause strikes on Hamas after Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged more actions to protect civilians in Gaza. The U.S. is stepping up pressure on Israel, saying it has a moral imperative to pause the fighting while humanitarian relief—and particularly fuel—is delivered to Gaza, U.S. officials say. France, Spain and other European countries have issued similar appeals.

Persons: Antony Blinken Locations: TEL AVIV, U.S, Gaza, The U.S, Israel, Gaza , U.S, France, Spain

☆ Netanyahu Rejects Calls for a Temporary Israeli Ceasefire in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Vivian Salama | Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TEL AVIV—Israel’s leader rejected pressure for a pause in Israeli strikes on Hamas following a visit with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that urged more actions to protect civilians in Gaza. “Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire that does not include the freeing of our hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters after meeting with Blinken on Friday. “Israel does not allow the entry of fuel into the Gaza Strip and is opposed to transferring money to the strip.”

Persons: TEL AVIV — Israel’s, Antony Blinken, “ Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, “, ” Organizations: TEL AVIV —, ”, Gaza Locations: TEL AVIV, Gaza, “ Israel

☆ Israel Hits Hamas Tunnels as Ground Offensive Intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Israeli ground troops, backed by tanks and jet fighters, are expanding their operations against Hamas in Gaza, carrying out more raids, exchanging fire with militants and calling in strikes on the group’s vast tunnel network, as pressure grows on the remaining civilians in the northern part of the enclave to flee the battlefield. The war entered a new, delicate stage on Friday, when Israeli ground troops and heavily armored vehicles entered the Gaza Strip with the goal of eradicating Hamas from the enclave following the group’s assault on Israel on Oct. 7.

Locations: Gaza, Israel

Israel said Tuesday it hit a Hamas command and tunnel network in northern Gaza, causing widespread damage in a crowded Palestinian refugee camp. Israel said it killed dozens of militants, including a commander who it said led the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. Hamas said hundreds were dead or wounded but didn’t say how many were militants, while hospital officials in Gaza reported receiving scores of bodies.

Persons: Israel Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Dozens Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in North Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Margherita Stancati | Omar Abdel-Baqui | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Israeli airstrikes rocked a densely populated area north of Gaza City on Tuesday, flattening entire apartment blocks, leaving deep craters and causing hundreds of casualties, according to hospital officials, in what the Israeli military said was a strike targeting Hamas infrastructure and militants, including a commander. The Israeli military has been conducting frequent airstrikes on Jabalia as its ground offensive to topple Hamas picks up speed. The military Tuesday night said its ground troops have killed about 50 militants in Jabalia in the past day. It said the airstrike killed a commander that helped lead the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. A Hamas official didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: didn’t Locations: Gaza City, Jabalia, Israel

☆ Vodafone to sell Spanish arm to Zegona for $5.30 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) will sell its struggling Spanish business to Zegona Communications (ZEG.L) for 5 billion euros ($5.30 billion), it said on Tuesday, in the British firm's second major transaction this year. Vodafone said it would receive at least 4.1 billion euros in cash. It will also provide 900 million euros in financing in the form of preference shares redeemable no later than six years after closing. Vodafone ranks third in Spanish telecoms after Telefonica and Orange. Zegona's Chairman and CEO Eamonn O'Hare said he was "very excited" about the opportunity to return to the Spanish telecomsmarket.

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Britain's, Della Valle, Eamonn O'Hare, Yadarisa, Paul Sandle, Subhranshu Sahu, Kate Holton Organizations: Vodafone, Zegona Communications, Vodafone's, Telefonica, British, Zegona's, Thomson Locations: British, Spain, Orange, Spanish, Telecable, Bengaluru, London

☆ Israeli Forces Make Major Advance Toward Gaza City
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Margherita Stancati | Dov Lieber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TEL AVIV—Israeli tanks and infantry pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City on Monday and blocked one of the main roads connecting the northern part of the Gaza Strip to the south, witnesses said, in a major advance that appeared aimed at encircling the enclave’s biggest population center. The push came three days after Israeli ground troops moved into Gaza, marking an escalation of its efforts to eliminate Hamas militants who on Oct. 7 killed some 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 220 in a series of attacks inside Israel.

Locations: TEL AVIV, Gaza City, Gaza, Israel

☆ Vodafone will struggle to get clean exit in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vodafone’s (VOD.L) boss Margherita Della Valle is cleaning up the sprawling 21 billion pound telecom group, but it’s a tough job. A potentially messy exit in Spain illustrates the point. Della Valle lacks an obvious partner in the country: local giant Telefónica (TEF.MC) is too big, while rivals Orange (ORAN.PA) and MásMóvil are merging with one another. As a result, Vodafone may have found itself a potentially problematic counterparty for the Spanish business, which Della Valle has put under strategic review. Investors might be reassured that Della Valle is making things happen, but a clean break in Spain looks increasingly unlikely.

Persons: Toby Melville, Margherita Della Valle, Della Valle, Eamonn O’Hare, Expansión, Zegona, Pamela Barbaglia, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Vodafone, REUTERS, Reuters, Orange, Zegona Communications, Virgin Media, Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, ING, Reuters Graphics Reuters, X, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Spain

Three weeks into Israel’s massive bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, the exact scope of Palestinian casualties has become yet another controversy after President Biden questioned statistics published by the Hamas-run Gaza health authorities. The Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry said Saturday that the death toll has topped 7,703, including 1,863 women and 3,195 children, information it says is based on data compiled by hospitals. The United Nations, which verified and documented deaths in previous conflicts in Gaza, says it is unable to do so now because of the sheer scope of violence.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Hamas, Palestinian Health Ministry, United Nations Locations: Gaza

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