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☆ First Ship Carrying Food Aid Arrives in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A humanitarian aid ship arrived on Friday in Gaza for the first time since the start of the war, a first step in a fledgling maritime operation to bring more aid to hungry Palestinians as aid groups say that Israel is restricting more efficient deliveries by road. Linda Roth, a spokeswoman for World Central Kitchen, said that the Open Arms had docked at a newly built jetty on the Gaza coast and that workers were beginning to move the food onto land. “For aid delivery at scale there is no meaningful substitute to the many land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza,” two U.N. aid officials, Sigrid Kaag and Jorge Moreira da Silva, said in a statement this week. Still, they welcomed the opening of a maritime corridor, given how much more humanitarian assistance is needed in Gaza. Israel, which tightened an already restrictive blockade on Gaza after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, has said throughout the war that it is committed to allowing as much aid into Gaza as possible.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Linda Roth, Sigrid Kaag, Jorge Moreira da Silva Organizations: Arms, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Israel, Cyprus, Gaza . Israel

☆ Israel Hamas War: Latest Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Distribution of humanitarian aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, in Rafah, Gaza, earlier this week. But aid workers say that the maritime project is not ambitious enough to alleviate the humanitarian disaster unfolding as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip. The floating pier, General Ryder said, would be built and assembled alongside an Army ship off the Gaza coast. Israeli officials have denied they are hampering the flow of aid, saying the United Nations and aid groups are responsible for any backlogs. “We want to see the amount of aid going via land increase significantly,” General Ryder said.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Pat Ryder, General Ryder, Sigrid Kaag, “, Israel, ” General Ryder, “ We’re, ” Organizations: United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Pentagon, U.S ., 7th Transportation Brigade, Base, Army, Defense, U.S . Army, . Security Council, Israel ., United Nations, ” Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Eustis, Va, Norfolk, Egypt, Kerem, Israel, United, U.S, ”

Ryder also said the construction of the pier and causeway will likely require as many as 1,000 US military personnel to complete. The initiative will aim to augment a maritime corridor that the US, the European Commission, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and the UK, have been working to open to deliver assistance directly. The pier will allow ships to offload aid, which will then be transported across a causeway into Gaza that will also be constructed by the US military, officials said. “We are committed to supporting the maritime corridor which is planned by Fogbow,” the official said. The US president and vice president each said Israel had “no excuses” not to ramp up the aid allowed into Gaza.

Persons: Patrick Ryder, Ryder, Biden, Joe Biden, Sigrid Kaag, “ We’re, ” Ryder, Fogbow, “ I’m, ” Biden, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ” Kaag, ” Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, European Commission, United Arab, US, United Nations, United States Air Force, UN, Navy, Army, military’s, 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary, Base Langley, USAID, CIA, Blue, Qatari, European Union, Administration, “ Locations: Gaza, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, United, Base Langley Eustis, Virginia, American, Qatar, Israel

☆ Netherlands pledged €15 million to the 'loss and damage' fund, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNetherlands pledged €15 million to the 'loss and damage' fund, finance minister saysSigrid Kaag, minister of finance of the Netherlands, says "it's upon all of us as members of the international community to make a success" on loss and damage progress.

Persons: €, Sigrid Kaag Organizations: Netherlands Locations: Netherlands

☆ Dutch polls, first in years without PM Rutte at VVD helm, set for November
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People sit on benches with a view of the parliament building in The Hague, Netherlands March 9, 2021. Rutte announced his imminent departure from politics on Monday, three days after he had handed in the resignation of his fourth coalition government. Other major parties will also have new leaders, as Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra have also said they won't run in the elections. Rutte's four-party coalition will stay on as caretaker government until a new administration is formed after the election. Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Bart Meijer; Editing by Alison Williams, Devika Syamnath nd Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: de, Mark Rutte, Rutte, Sigrid Kaag, Wopke Hoekstra, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Bart Meijer, Alison Williams, Devika, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Bruins, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, AMSTERDAM

☆ Dutch parliament chair calls on Twitter to prevent threatening messages on platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, May 31 (Reuters) - The chairwoman of the Dutch parliament on Wednesday called on Twitter to act to stop threats being broadcast on the social media platform against the country's lawmakers. The leader of the Netherlands' anti-Islam Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, has been the frequent target of death threats on Twitter for more than a decade. Musk, a self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist," has said he bought Twitter to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division. Although she is not a member of parliament, the Netherlands' Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag of the centre-left D-66 Party has also been subjected to online and offline threats. Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vera Bergkamp, Geert Wilders, Elon Musk, Bergkamp, Sigrid Kaag, Kaag, Toby Sterling, Toby Chopra Organizations: Twitter, . company's Global Affairs, Freedom Party, company's Global Affairs, Netherlands ' Finance, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Netherlands

Dutch government sources estimate the deal at 20 billion euros ($22 billion) or more, but German industry sources say it may be less. TenneT had a book value of 7.3 billion euros at the end of 2022, on a balance sheet of 38.5 billion euros. TenneT's German grid alone has liabilities of 21.6 billion euros, nearly three times that of the Dutch network. TenneT's 19 billion euros of outstanding bonds, issued when interest rates were lower, are another issue, the people said. Dutch pension fund PGGM, one of TenneT's bondholders, expects such an outcome in the event of a sale.

☆ Pennsylvania Chocolate-Factory Explosion Death Toll Rises to Seven
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Authorities were investigating the cause of a large explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania that killed at least seven people, officials said. Two victims were discovered late Sunday in the rubble, bringing the death toll to seven, West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said in a statement Monday.

☆ Death toll in Pennsylvania chocolate factory blast rises to seven
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A general view shows smoke coming out from a chocolate factory after fire broke out, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 24, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Twitter @Based_In410/via REUTERSMarch 27 (Reuters) - The death toll from an explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania has risen to seven people, with authorities ending a search for those believed to be missing following Friday's blast. Palmer Co in West Reading, a town of 4,500 about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Philadelphia. Seven other people were taken to local hospitals with injuries, said the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) on Friday. Palmer Company was founded in 1948.

☆ Explosion at Pennsylvania chocolate factory kills at least 2, 1 found alive overnight as others still missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Friday evening explosion leveled a chocolate factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. The explosion killed at least two, and sent several to the hospital; others are still missing. Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania. One was transferred to another facility, two were admitted to Reading Hospital in fair condition, and the other five were released. The chocolate company has been a part of West Reading for decades since it started in 1948.

☆ Europe is looking to tackle sky-high debt loads after signs it will dodge a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The euro zone is now expected to have reached a GDP (gross domestic product) rate of 3.5% in 2022, rather than the 3.2% estimated in November. BRUSSELS — European officials sighed with relief Monday after new data suggested the region will avoid an economic recession. The euro zone is now expected to have reached a GDP (gross domestic product) rate of 3.5% in 2022, rather than the 3.2% estimated in November. The outlook for this year is also better with an expected GDP rate of 0.9%, compared to the 0.2% growth rate forecast just three months ago. So we need to steer the course and we need to make choices, some of them are difficult," she said.

☆ ECB warns of losses as it pays price for decade of money printing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

This might eventually force some of these central banks to seek a bailout that would raise questions about their independence and raise the ire of taxpayers. On top of depleting its provisions, it might tap any income that national central banks make on their monetary policy operations - such as bonds and loans. Central banks can generally function even if they make losses that deplete all of their capital - as has happened in recent decades in a number of countries including Germany. "It is important to remember that central banks are not like ordinary companies: they can lose money and still operate effectively," the ECB said. "Still, the principle of financial independence implies that national central banks should ultimately always be sufficiently capitalised."

☆ Air France raises 300 million euros with convertible bond issue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Silvia Aloisi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM on Wednesday raised just over 300 million euros ($312 million) by issuing subordinated bonds convertible into stock, seeking to strengthen its capital and pay back state aid but sending its shares plummeting. Air France said in February that it was considering options for raising of up to 4 billion euros of capital, including a rights issue and quasi-equity debt issues. The bonds, which can be exchanged into existing Air France shares as well as converted into new shares, were offered through a placement to qualified investors, the airline said. Major shareholder CMA CGM, a shipping company, participated in the issue pro rata to its 9% equity stake in the company, Air France said in a statement. "The company is not aware of any subscription intention from its other main shareholders," Air France said.

☆ Air France issues bonds convertible into shares for 300 mln euros
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Silvia Aloisi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The shares plunged 13% in early trading as the issue dilutes current shareholders in Air France if the bonds are converted into new shares unless they buy into it. Air France said in February that it was considering options for a capital raising of up to 4 billion euros, including a rights issue and quasi equity debt issues. The bonds, which can also be exchanged with existing Air France shares, will be offered through a placement to qualified investors, the airline said. Air France-KLM received 10.4 billion euros in support in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit, including through direct French and Dutch state loans. "The company is not aware of any subscription intention from its other main shareholders," Air France said.

☆ Debt rules in Europe are changing. And that could have big repercussions in the bond markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The euro zone is to discuss changing its fiscal rules - a task that could have market repercussions. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe euro zone will soon reveal changes to its fiscal rules — a move that could have significant repercussions for government borrowing costs and the region's bond markets. At the same time, Germany and the Netherlands would blame the European Commission for not enforcing the rules with fines. "Interest burden on large public debt to GDP ratios is set to increase significantly in the years ahead. This means that in a optimal scenario, the fiscal rules will be changed from 2024 onward.

☆ Analysis: Decade of central bank largesse haunts taxpayers as losses loom
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Francesco Canepa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. The British government, which received 120 billion pounds in profits from the BoE since 2009, has already earmarked a transfer of 11 billion pounds for the central bank. It will contribute to losses of around 40 billion euros for euro zone central banks next year, according to Morgan Stanley. They have all warned of upcoming losses and the Dutch central bank openly said it risked needing a bailout, although finance minister Sigrid Kaag later cautioned this was "not yet on the table". By contrast, central banks with less cash and higher-yielding bonds in Italy, Spain and Greece were likely to fare better.

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