Two Swedes Jailed for Bombing Danish Tax Office
COPENHAGEN—A Copenhagen court on Thursday found two Swedes guilty of bombing the Danish tax agency and sentenced them to five and four years’ jail respectively. Zacharias Tamer Hamzi, 24, and Nurettin Nuray Syuleyman, 23, were convicted of transporting a bomb via the Oresund Bridge, known from the TV crime series “The Bridge”, and detonating the device in August 2019. The explosion in Copenhagen shattered glass doors and windows and scorched metal cladding at the main entrance of the building in Nordhavn, just north of the city center. One person was slightly wounded. The motive for the bombing remained unclear, but the court dismissed terrorism charges. The prosecutor had sought lifetime sentences for the childhood friends, neither of whom had been convicted of a serious crime before. “I’m pleased that my…
LONDON—Britain will suffer the sharpest peak-to-trough economic slump of any major economy this year, rating agency Moody’s warned on Friday, while its debts as a share of GDP will surge by 24 percentage points.
Moody’s said the UK government’s latest stimulus package, announced this week, would aid a gradual economic recovery but add further pressure to the UK’s fiscal position.
“The UK’s public debt ratio will likely rise by 24 percentage points of GDP or more relative to 2019 levels,” a group of Moody’s top analysts wrote in a note.
“We forecast a contraction of 10.1 percent in the UK’s GDP for this year, but expect a gradual subsequent recovery on the back of the easing in lockdown measures, with growth rebounding to 7.1 percent next year”.
Moody’s rates Britain Aa2 with a negative outlook.
Focus News: UK Economy to Slump Over 10 Percent, Debts to Surge: Moody’s
US Treasury Chief Supports More Direct Payments in Next Coronavirus Aid Bill
WASHINGTON—U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he supports another round of direct payments to individuals as part of the next coronavirus legislation and is working to get it passed by Congress by the end of July. Mnuchin also told CNBC in an interview that not all of the airlines that signed Treasury loan agreements will need to access those loans, as they may be able to meet their financing needs in private financial markets. Despite United Airlines’ decision on Wednesday to notify 36,000 employees of potential furloughs, Mnuchin said he believed most airlines wanted to keep as many staff as possible, and healthy airlines were needed to aid the U.S. economic recovery. Regarding the future of the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program, Mnuchin said any extension of…
