Search continues for 20 missing as Indonesia landslide death toll rises to 60
The death toll from last week’s landslide in Indonesia has climbed to 60 as search and rescue teams continued operations on the seventh day to locat...
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a €500 million loan (almost $590 million) to the national gas company Naftogaz (NAK) for emergency gas purchases for Ukraine.
The loan is geared at reinforcing Ukraine’s energy security, which has been compromised by repeated targeted attacks from Russia this year.
This agreement marks the Bank’s largest single loan facility in Ukraine to date, said the EBRD in its statement.
The EBRD’s loan is backed by a European Union guarantee covering 90% of the loan amount, that is provided under the European Union’s Ukraine Investment Framework—an initiative aimed at unlocking financing for Ukraine’s recovery and long-term growth.
This latest financing to Naftogaz comes in response to severe Russian attacks on the company’s upstream gas production and processing facilities during the first half of 2025. These attacks have caused significant production losses and increased the need for gas imports, as the company works to restore its damaged infrastructure.
This is the fourth finance package the EBRD has provided for Naftogaz since Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in 2022. It brings the total Bank financing to Naftogaz to €1.6 billion (almost $1.90 billion), including €1.27 billion (around $1.5 billion) in EBRD loans and €330 million (around $386 million) in grants provided by Norway via EBRD.
According to the Bank's statement, the transaction will also support the reform objectives of previous EBRD engagement, with Naftogaz working towards the integration of the Ukrainian gas market with that of the EU.
Naftogaz will source natural gas competitively from 30 pre-qualified gas suppliers with contracts based on standards of the European Federation of Energy Traders.
"Replenishing the depleted gas reserves of Ukraine with the help of this financing package will be key to allow the country's critical infrastructure and population to access energy sources during the winter," the EU statement said.
"Upon reimbursement of the 2-year loan, the EBRD and the Commission will reallocate the available guarantee coverage to capital investment projects enabling long-term private and public investments, for instance in the renewables sector," it added.
Catherine O’Hara, the celebrated Canadian actress and comedy legend, has died at the age of 71, her publicist confirmed on Friday. She passed away at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
Storm Kristin has killed at least five people and left more than 850,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday (28 January), as it toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted road and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to assist in rebuilding Syria’s war-damaged economy as the country's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa made his second visit to Moscow in less than four months on Wednesday (28 January).
The Kremlin said on Friday (30 January) that Russian President had received a personal request from his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump. The request was to halt strikes on Kyiv until 1 February to create a favourable environment for peace negotiations.
Colombian authorities on Wednesday (28 January) located a missing plane carrying 15 people in the northeast of the country, with no survivors found, an Air Force source and local media said.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest producing assets, after Baghdad nationalised the field earlier this month following U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s Lukoil.
Argentina's economic activity shrunk 0.3% in November compared with the same month last year, marking the first monthly contraction of 2025, data from Argentina's national statistics agency showed on Wednesday.
Wall Street closed sharply lower on Tuesday as global markets fell after U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats against Europe unsettled investors and revived fears of renewed volatility.
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