EU commission approves Lufthansa purchase of long-troubled Italian airline ITA, with conditions

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EU commission approves Lufthansa purchase of long-troubled Italian airline ITA, with conditions

2024-07-03 21:35 Last Updated At：21:40

MILAN (AP) — The European Commission on Wednesday approved Lufthansa’s takeover of Italian airline ITA with conditions to protect competition in a deal that Italy's finance minister called “historic.”

Lufthansa will invest 325 million euros ($350 million) to acquire a 41% stake in ITA, formerly Alitalia, from the Italian government, gaining full control by 2033 with a total investment of 829 million euros.

The commission approved the deal after a year-long investigation and with conditions to protect competition, noting that Lufthansa, ITA and its partners, for example, control most routes from Rome and Milan to North America.

Under the deal, the merged company must make it possible for rival airlines to launch non-stop flights between Rome or Milan and central European airports, where competition is limited; make room for rivals on long-haul routes between Italy and the United States and Canada, and allot slots at Milan’s Linate airlines to competitors.

Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the deal frees the Italian government from pumping money into the loss-making company, which the state took over most recently in 2021. As Alitalia, the company was in and out of bankruptcy, and at one point was controlled by Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad Airlines.

“And so finishes the era of state aid,’’ Giorgetti told a press conference in Rome.

He said the Lufthansa deal will make it possible to develop ITA’s routes “in the interest of the Italian economy,’’ noting that Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport would be the hub for routes to North America, Asia and Africa, which are important for tourism.

Beryl batters Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as Texas officials urge coastal residents to prepare

2024-07-06 02:29 Last Updated At：02:30

TULUM, Mexico (AP) — Beryl battered Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday after hitting near the resort town of Tulum, whipping trees and knocking out power, and officials in Texas urged coastal residents to prepare as the storm moves toward the Gulf of Mexico

Beryl hit Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane but weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center expects Beryl to regain hurricane strength once it reemerges into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it is forecast to head toward northern Mexico near the Texas border, an area soaked by Tropical Storm Alberto just a couple of weeks ago.

Beryl spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados this week after becoming the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.

Mexican authorities had moved some tourists and residents out of low-lying areas around the Yucatan Peninsula before landfall, but tens of thousands remained to tough out the strong winds and expected storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards (meters) above sea level.

The city was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it came ashore. Screeching winds set off car alarms across the town. Wind and rain continued to whip the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades roved the streets of the tourist city, clearing fallen trees and power lines.

After seeing Beryl tear through the Caribbean, 37-year-old Lucía Nagera Balcaza was among those who stocked up on food and hid away in their homes.

“Thank god, we woke up this morning and everything was all right,” she said. “The streets are a disaster, but we're out here cleaning up."

Although no dead or wounded have been reported, nearly half of Tulum continued to be without electricity, said Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Mexican Civil Protection.

In Texas, some counties have already issued voluntary evacuation orders in low-lying areas. Along the Texas coast in Corpus Christi, city officials announced it had distributed 10,000 sand bags in less than two hours on Friday, exhausting its supply.

“This is a determined storm, that is still strong,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said.

Patrick has issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 39 counties, which allows state and local authorities to start planning and contracting for response.

Nim Kidd, chief of state emergency operations, said oil companies have started moving employees off oil rigs along the coast that may be in the path of the storm.

While many in the Yucatan Peninsula took a deep breath, Jamaica and other islands ravaged by the hurricane were still reeling. As of Friday morning, 55% of Jamaica still without electricity and most of the country was without running water, according to government figures.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness promised swift relief for residents affected by Hurricane Beryl after visiting one of the worst-affected areas of the island, the southern parish of St Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon.

“I know some of you are experiencing discomfort and displacement, and I want to assure you that the government will move as quickly as we can to get you the help you need,” he said.

The storm’s center Friday afternoon was about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of the town Dzilam and moving west-northwest at 15 mph (about 24 kph), Mexicans authorities said. Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (115 kph).

Before the storm hit Mexico, official had set up shelters in schools and hotels. When the wind began gusting over Tulum's beaches Thursday, officials on four-wheelers with megaphones rolled along the sand telling people to leave and authorities evacuated beachside hotels. Sea turtle eggs were even moved off beaches threatened by storm surge.

Tourists also took precautions. Lara Marsters, 54, a therapist visiting Tulum from Boise, Idaho, said she had filled up empty water bottles from the tap.

“We’re going to hunker down and stay safe," she said.

Earlier in the week, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 95% of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and ripped off roofs and knocked out electricity in Jamaica.

On Union Island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a man who identified himself as Captain Baga described the storm’s impact, including how he had filled two 2,000-gallon (7,570-liter) rubber water tanks in preparation.

“I strapped them down securely on six sides; and I watched the wind lift those tanks and take them away — filled with water,” he said Thursday. “I’m a sailor and I never believed wind could do what I saw it do. If anyone (had) ever told me wind could do that, I would have told them they lie!”

The island was littered with debris from homes that looked like they had exploded.

Myers reported from Kingston, Jamaica. Associated Press writers Renloy Trail in Kingston, Jamaica; Mark Stevenson and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City; Coral Murphy Marcos in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Lucanus Ollivierre on Union Island, St. Vincent and Grenadines; and Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.