bank

Ukraine will need roughly €500 billion to rebuild from Russia’s war, a joint assessment by the World Bank, United Nations and European Union said, putting a price tag nearly three times the country’s annual economic output on nationwide recovery as the conflict enters its fifth year. The estimate — about $588 billion — is 12% higher than last year’s figure, reflecting a winter of relentless strikes on the power grid that left millions without heat or electricity. The damage tally runs through the end of December, the report…

Top UN official warns of ‘gradual de facto annexation’ as Israel tightens West Bank control; Al‑Aqsa access curbed for Ramadan A senior United Nations official warned the Security Council that recent Israeli steps to expand control over parts of the occupied West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to “gradual de facto annexation,” escalating diplomatic tensions as Ramadan begins with new limits on access to Jerusalem’s Al‑Aqsa Mosque. “We are witnessing the gradual de facto annexation of the West Bank, as…

Israel has approved a process to register land in the occupied West Bank as “state property,” prompting swift condemnation from Arab governments, the United Nations and the European Union, which warned the move would further entrench Israeli control and undercut prospects for a Palestinian state. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the measure, approved late Sunday, is meant to enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes” following what it called unlawful land registration in areas…

Somalia’s development bank taps Deloitte for first-ever audit as it pivots from aid to investment The Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank has hired Deloitte for its first external audit, a landmark step for the state-owned lender as it seeks to cement transparency, strengthen governance and attract global investor confidence. SDRB said the independent audit began in December and will culminate in a published report in early 2026. The engagement with Deloitte covers not only financial statements but also internal…

Thieves drilled through a parking garage wall into a bank vault in western Germany over the Christmas holiday, smashing open more than 3,000 safe-deposit boxes and fleeing with an estimated 30 million euros in cash, gold and jewelry, authorities and the bank said. The heist at a Sparkasse branch in Gelsenkirchen, in North Rhine-Westphalia state, unfolded while most businesses were shut for the Christmas break. Investigators suspect the burglars may have used the extended closure to spend days inside the underground vault…

Israel has condemned a joint statement by 14 countries — including Ireland, France and Britain — that denounced its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank as illegal under international law, with senior officials calling the criticism discriminatory and vowing to press ahead. “Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews,” Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said. “The cabinet decision to establish…

Kenyan man gets life for al-Shabaab plot to crash hijacked airliner into Atlanta’s tallest building A federal judge on Monday sentenced Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 34, to two consecutive life terms plus a lifetime of supervised release for plotting a 9/11-style attack on Atlanta’s 55-story Bank of America Plaza on behalf of the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab. A Manhattan jury found Abdullah guilty in 2024 on six counts tied to the thwarted plot, which prosecutors said was designed to mirror the tactics of the Sept. 11,…

AfDB approves $76.37 million in additional financing to boost Somalia’s road corridors, cross-border trade Sunday December 14, 2025 The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved $76.37 million in additional financing for Somalia’s Road Infrastructure Program, strengthening a key segment of the Horn of Africa corridor linking Somalia with Ethiopia and Djibouti and aimed at accelerating regional trade and integration. In a statement issued Thursday, the bank said the program is designed to “stimulate cross-border…

Israel has given final approval for 764 new homes in three settlements in the occupied West Bank, drawing condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and highlighting the strain on regional diplomacy as humanitarian aid to Gaza lags far behind targets set under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The approvals were announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist who opposes a Palestinian state. Smotrich said that since late 2022, when he took office, 51,370 housing units have been cleared by the government’s…

Human Rights Watch says Israel’s expulsions from West Bank refugee camps amount to war crimes Human Rights Watch released a 105-page report alleging that about 32,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps during Israeli "Operation Iron Wall" in January and February. The rights group says the expulsions, destruction of homes and denial of return meet the thresholds for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report, titled "All My Dreams Have Been Erased," documents…