Democratic lawmakers are demanding scrutiny into Paramount Skydance’s financial backers amid rising concerns about potential foreign influence of U.S. media properties.
In a letter this week to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, seven U.S. senators criticized Carr’s suggestion that Paramount’s $111-billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, backed by billionaire Larry Ellison and his family, was on a fast track to receive FCC approval with scant oversight.
Such complicated mergers typically receive an intense government review. The proposed merger would combine two legendary film studios, dozens of cable channels, HBO, CBS and two major news organizations, CNN and CBS News.
Ellison and his son, David, who chairs Paramount, are friendly with President Trump, who has long agitated for changes at CNN, which is slated to be absorbed by Paramount.
The company has said it expects to complete the deal by the end of September.
The Democrats expressed concerns that the fix may be in. Trump’s Justice Department has been reviewing whether the merger would violate U.S. antitrust laws, but a key deadline passed last month without comment from the department’s antitrust regulators.
Also at issue is the Middle Eastern money the Ellison family has been expecting to pull off Paramount’s leveraged buyout of its larger entertainment company rival. The acquisition would leave the combined company with nearly $80 billion in debt.
Late last year, Paramount disclosed that it had lined up $24 billion from wealth funds representing the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, who would then become equity partners in the combined company.
Paramount has described the funds as largely passive investors, saying the royal families would not have input into corporate decision-making. They also would not control seats on the Paramount-Warner board.
Congressional Democrats previously have warned about potential national security concerns. The senators, led by Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), remain concerned, particularly because the transaction will help shape the future of Hollywood production and the direction of key news outlets, including CNN, which maintains a strong presence around the world.
Members of the party have called on Carr to conduct “a full and independent” analysis of the foreign ownership interests before signing off on the merger. The FCC could play an important role, they said, because the tie-up includes Paramount-owned CBS, which holds FCC broadcast station licenses.
Paramount declined to comment. FCC officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Booker and Schumer pointed to Carr’s comments at an industry conference in Spain earlier this month. During an appearance at the Mobile World Congress, Carr suggested the Paramount-Warner deal could be swiftly approved because the foreign investment would warrant only a “very quick, almost pro forma review,” Carr reportedly said.
The FCC has a duty to examine foreign ownership, the lawmakers said, referencing the U.S. Communications Act, which forbids owners from outside the U.S. from holding more than 25% of the equity or voting interests in an entity that maintains an FCC license.
The lawmakers mentioned the FCC’s move earlier this year to tighten its foreign ownership framework to bolster transparency.
Paramount has not yet disclosed its final list of equity partners.
The company previously disclosed its proposed partners in Securities & Exchange Commission filings. However, last month, the composition of the Paramount-Warner deal changed when Larry Ellison agreed to fully guarantee the $45.7-billion in equity needed to finance the $31-a-share buyout of Warner investors.
Before Ellison stepped up, Warner board members had expressed concerns about Paramount’s financing. The tech billionaire’s increased involvement helped carry the Paramount deal over the finish line. Netflix bowed out Feb. 26, ceding the prize to Paramount.
Still, Paramount is expected to line up billions of dollars from outside investors.
It would be significant if Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co., contributed $24 billion to the deal, the Democrats wrote.
“This is not incidental capital, it represents roughly one-fifth of the total transaction value,” Booker and the others wrote. “And it is not clear that this will be the only foreign investment.”
Initially, Paramount included Chinese technology company Tencent Holdings as a minority investor, but Paramount later removed Tencent from the investor pool due to concerns about its problematic status — it has been blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that Tencent might return to the fold.
“This constellation of foreign investment from China and from Gulf States, with complex and sometimes competing relationships with the United States, demands rigorous, not perfunctory review,” Booker and the others wrote.
The letter also was signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii).
They keyed in on the role of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, saying it was controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “whom the U.S. intelligence community concluded ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.”
The proposed $24-billion investment would give “these governments a significant financial stake in the future content, licensing, and strategic decisions of a combined entity that includes some of the most-watched news and entertainment networks in America.”
It is also unclear whether the current tensions in the Middle East over the Iran war will have an impact on Paramount’s investor syndicate.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a proposed Paramount investor, also withdrew late last year.
Paramount shares held steady at $9.17. The company’s stock is down 31% since Feb. 27, when the company prevailed in the Warner auction.
Democrats call for review of Paramount’s Middle Eastern financial backers
Democratic lawmakers are demanding scrutiny into Paramount Skydance’s financial backers amid rising concerns about potential foreign influence of U.S. media properties.
In a letter this week to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, seven U.S. senators criticized Carr’s suggestion that Paramount’s $111-billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, backed by billionaire Larry Ellison and his family, was on a fast track to receive FCC approval with scant oversight.
Such complicated mergers typically receive an intense government review. The proposed merger would combine two legendary film studios, dozens of cable channels, HBO, CBS and two major news organizations, CNN and CBS News.
Ellison and his son, David, who chairs Paramount, are friendly with President Trump, who has long agitated for changes at CNN, which is slated to be absorbed by Paramount.
The company has said it expects to complete the deal by the end of September.
The Democrats expressed concerns that the fix may be in. Trump’s Justice Department has been reviewing whether the merger would violate U.S. antitrust laws, but a key deadline passed last month without comment from the department’s antitrust regulators.
Also at issue is the Middle Eastern money the Ellison family has been expecting to pull off Paramount’s leveraged buyout of its larger entertainment company rival. The acquisition would leave the combined company with nearly $80 billion in debt.
Late last year, Paramount disclosed that it had lined up $24 billion from wealth funds representing the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, who would then become equity partners in the combined company.
Paramount has described the funds as largely passive investors, saying the royal families would not have input into corporate decision-making. They also would not control seats on the Paramount-Warner board.
Congressional Democrats previously have warned about potential national security concerns. The senators, led by Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), remain concerned, particularly because the transaction will help shape the future of Hollywood production and the direction of key news outlets, including CNN, which maintains a strong presence around the world.
Members of the party have called on Carr to conduct “a full and independent” analysis of the foreign ownership interests before signing off on the merger. The FCC could play an important role, they said, because the tie-up includes Paramount-owned CBS, which holds FCC broadcast station licenses.
Paramount declined to comment. FCC officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Booker and Schumer pointed to Carr’s comments at an industry conference in Spain earlier this month. During an appearance at the Mobile World Congress, Carr suggested the Paramount-Warner deal could be swiftly approved because the foreign investment would warrant only a “very quick, almost pro forma review,” Carr reportedly said.
The FCC has a duty to examine foreign ownership, the lawmakers said, referencing the U.S. Communications Act, which forbids owners from outside the U.S. from holding more than 25% of the equity or voting interests in an entity that maintains an FCC license.
The lawmakers mentioned the FCC’s move earlier this year to tighten its foreign ownership framework to bolster transparency.
Paramount has not yet disclosed its final list of equity partners.
The company previously disclosed its proposed partners in Securities & Exchange Commission filings. However, last month, the composition of the Paramount-Warner deal changed when Larry Ellison agreed to fully guarantee the $45.7-billion in equity needed to finance the $31-a-share buyout of Warner investors.
Before Ellison stepped up, Warner board members had expressed concerns about Paramount’s financing. The tech billionaire’s increased involvement helped carry the Paramount deal over the finish line. Netflix bowed out Feb. 26, ceding the prize to Paramount.
Still, Paramount is expected to line up billions of dollars from outside investors.
It would be significant if Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co., contributed $24 billion to the deal, the Democrats wrote.
“This is not incidental capital, it represents roughly one-fifth of the total transaction value,” Booker and the others wrote. “And it is not clear that this will be the only foreign investment.”
Initially, Paramount included Chinese technology company Tencent Holdings as a minority investor, but Paramount later removed Tencent from the investor pool due to concerns about its problematic status — it has been blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that Tencent might return to the fold.
“This constellation of foreign investment from China and from Gulf States, with complex and sometimes competing relationships with the United States, demands rigorous, not perfunctory review,” Booker and the others wrote.
The letter also was signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii).
They keyed in on the role of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, saying it was controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “whom the U.S. intelligence community concluded ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.”
The proposed $24-billion investment would give “these governments a significant financial stake in the future content, licensing, and strategic decisions of a combined entity that includes some of the most-watched news and entertainment networks in America.”
It is also unclear whether the current tensions in the Middle East over the Iran war will have an impact on Paramount’s investor syndicate.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a proposed Paramount investor, also withdrew late last year.
Paramount shares held steady at $9.17. The company’s stock is down 31% since Feb. 27, when the company prevailed in the Warner auction.
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The ‘Eastern European Riviera’ with white sand beaches that you can fly to for £13 from the UK
WHEN you think of heading on a beach holiday, Sopot is probably not a destination that springs to mind.
However, the coastal town on the Eastern European Riviera has white sand beaches and an enormous luxury hotel right on the promenade with rooms from £89.
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Running along the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, Sopot has over 500m of coastline.
It’s most popular with holidaymakers is Sopot Beach – although visitors have said it’s not the warmest for swimming.
But in peak summer, it can be busy and popular for sunbathing and there is.
One visitor to Sopot Beach said: “A must see in Poland! Who would have known Poland had such a beautiful beach?
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“This should be well known. The whitest, softest sand.”
Another added: “The water was cold but it was amazingly sunny and kid loved the sand play and the park right beside it.”
Next to the beach is Sopot Pier which is the longest wooden pier in Europe and goes on for over 500 metres.
It has views of both the Baltic Sea and the Polish coastline, and cots just £2.10 to enter.
Along the front are cafesm restaurants and even chippies like Centrala Rybna.
The magnificently grand Sofitel Grand Sopot Hotel sits right on the promenade too.
First built in 1923, it was designed for affluent guests, but nowadays, visitors can stay there from £89 according to Kayak.
Along with 126 rooms and huge restaurant, it has a just-as-grand spa and wellness centre, along with a private beach.
When it comes to exploring the heart of Sopot, one of the liveliest streets is Monte Cassino Street, which is home to lots of shops, bars and restaurants.
There’s the Crooked House, which looks like something out of a creepy fairytale, as well as the towering Sopot Lighthouse.
While in Sopot, you can pick up a beer for 16zł (£3.33) and the average price for a meal is 45zł (£9.36).
The easiest way for Brits to get to Sopot is to fly directly to Gdansk which in March can be done for as little as £13 with Wizz Air.
The flight takes just two hours and 15 minutes from London Luton – and then it’s a 20-minute drive to Sopot.
Read more about what one travel writer saw in Gdansk and two other destinations which have cheap Ryanair flights.
Plus, the pretty city known as ‘Polish Manchester’ is near Europe’s largest indoor theme park.
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Ten ICU patients killed in hospital fire in eastern India | News
Emergency responders carried patients out of a government hospital in Odisha, India, after a fire killed at least 10 ICU patients, according to officials.
Published On 16 Mar 202616 Mar 2026
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Sustainable Finance Awards 2026: Central Eastern Europe
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Sustainable Finance Awards 2026: Central Eastern Europe
These Central and Southeastern Europe banks are expanding ESG financing, green bonds, and sustainable infrastructure.
Last year may well go down as the year Central and Southeastern Europe truly came to grips with climate change—three heat waves across late spring and summer, unseasonal heavy rain, and serious flooding (which affected harvests across the region) proved that climate change can no longer be ignored.
Banks across the region have recognized the opportunities and are demonstrating ingenuity in developing new green-financing techniques. They are working closely with multinational institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to help implement the EU’s Green Deal and make the continent the world’s first climate-neutral one.
Last year’s Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Sustainable Finance Summit—held in May 2025, with this year’s summit scheduled for September—highlighted the region’s priorities. Many of these reflect CEE’s Communist past, in which pollution was exacerbated by a reliance on polluting coal and lignite and by a system that worked against conservation.
Financing in the energy sector remains key, with CEE aiming to increase the share of renewables from 30% of total energy consumption today to 75% by 2050. In addition, CEE and Southeastern European countries need about €8 billion annually for low-carbon technologies, particularly in infrastructure, transport, and energy.
The summit concluded that although there has been some pushback on ESG, there is growing awareness of the need to recalibrate it, especially where it excludes investments in defense and security. Reflecting the deterioration in Europe’s geopolitical situation over the past few years, among other things, the summit concluded that “security and defense can and should be reframed as part of broader sustainability and resilience agendas. Long-term peace and democracy are fundamental to sustainable societies.”
Raiffeisen Bank International
Best Bank for Sustainable Finance
Best Bank for Green Bonds
Best Bank for Sustainability Bonds
Best Bank for ESG-Related Loans
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is hardly a stranger to sustainable finance—the Austrian-based entity was among the first to sign the UN Principles for Responsible Banking and has embedded ESG across its strategy, now fully aligned with global standards. Since launching its first green bond in 2018, the bank has built a €5 billion sustainable bond portfolio across multiple currencies and countries.
By November 2025, ESG-labeled bonds were worth some €5 billion, 20% of the total €24.6 billion issued. Raiffeisen Bank Hungary issued a successful €300 million in green bonds in June 2025, while RBI’s €500 million benchmark green bond, issued in November 2025, was oversubscribed by a record amount, demonstrating strong demand for the product and the trust in which RBI is held.
One of RBI’s notable sustainable-finance achievements in 2025 was the relaunch of its Sustainability Bond Framework. According to Markus Ecker, RBI’s head of Sustainable Finance, “RBI will expand eligible green-loan categories and further strengthen advisory services to help clients transition. The goal: deeper emissions reductions and accelerated decarbonization across Central and Eastern Europe.”
RBI has also been active in issuing ESG loans: These increased 14.9% YoY to €19.3 billion at the end of September 2025.
Garanti BBVA
Sustainable Finance Deal of the Year: Antalya-Alanya Motorway Project
Best Bank for Sustaining Communities
Garanti BBVA, one of Turkey’s largest banks, with 28 million customers and almost 800 branches, was established in 1946 as Garanti Bank and is now 86% owned by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). Garanti has made sustainable investment core to its strategy. It seems only right that it should win these two prestigious awards, as its efforts are linked.
The bank’s community investment programs’ strategy comprises four focus areas aimed at sustaining and enriching communities: education for all, reducing inequality, accessible culture and knowledge production, and combating the climate crisis. Garanti monitors the outcomes of its programs using internationally recognized measurement and research techniques through social-impact analysis, ensuring that every Turkish lira invested generates substantially more value.
This emphasis on bringing people together made Garanti BBVA a natural fit for the flagship Antalya-Alanya Motorway Project. The new 122-kilometer motorway connecting Antalya to Alanya is one of Turkey’s major infrastructure developments.
Garanti BBVA participated in €1.7 billion in financing for the project, which will reduce travel time from two-and-a-half hours to just 36 minutes. According to the bank, the motorway will enhance productivity, contribute to overall economic growth, and generate annual savings of approximately 16.9 billion Turkish lira ($385.4 million) in time and 800 million lira in fuel consumption, resulting in a total yearly economic benefit of nearly 17.7 billion lira.
The new corridor will reduce carbon emissions by 47,000 tons per year, helping to preserve the pine forests of the Taurus Mountains as well.
Akbank
Best Impact Investing Solution
Best Bank for Sustainability Transparency
Best Bank for Social Bonds
Akbank’s Sustainable Finance Framework—which had a portfolio of almost $4 billion at the start of 2025—is among the most ambitious and far-reaching in Turkey and the wider region, helping the bank to secure three of our CEE regional awards.
Akbank’s submission underscored the seriousness with which it approaches impact investing, stating, “We encourage investors to direct their capital toward areas and companies that contribute to the well-being of the planet.”
To prove it, Akbank launched Turkey’s strategic partnership with the UN Development Programme’s Cool Up program, which seeks to advance sustainable-cooling finance to mitigate the climate impact of cooling technologies.
Regarding sustainability transparency, Akbank has launched a series of initiatives, including active participation in the development of the EU’s Green Asset Ratio calculation criteria in conjunction with the Turkish Banking Association’s Sustainability Working Group and the banking sector’s Green Asset Ratio Working Group.
In 2025, Akbank began implementing the green transformation score for commercial, corporate, and SME clients in the 2030 target sectors. The scores are based on client-level transition practices, such as the availability of science-based climate targets, the implementation or planning of low-carbon practices, and the availability of low-carbon products.
This serious approach to transparency and commitment to social bonds is reflected in the bank’s raising of its sustainable-finance target for 2030 to 800 billion lira, having exceeded the bank’s previous 200 billion Turkish lira target.
PKO Bank Polski
Best Platform/Technology Facilitating Sustainability Finance
In response to customer demand for support with ESG, the energy transition, and sustainability generally, PKO Bank Polski—Poland’s largest bank by assets and a leader in ESG financing and bond issues—launched energiatransformacji.pl in 2025.
The new service, an interactive business hub, offers tools to help customers with their energy transition strategy (carbon footprint calculators and a subsidy search engine) and includes an educational database on ESG, sustainable development, and financing.
The initiative reflects PKO BP’s 2025-2027 strategy to secure a 20% share of Poland’s energy transition financing.
VUB
Circular Economy Commitment
As part of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, VUB has long been committed to the highest ESG standards. Much of this focus has been on the consumer sphere, reflecting the Slovak bank’s strong position in its home market and in Czechia.
A typical example of VUB’s capacity for innovation was the introduction of a new Building Reconstruction Simulator that combines real-time market calculations and expert insight to help homeowners make informed, sustainable decisions when undertaking domestic renovations.
For corporate clients, particularly SMEs, the bank has introduced special minibonds that enable the issuance of direct debt securities to finance ESG-related projects. These include specific offerings to promote the circular economy, as well as the installation of renewable-energy projects and energy-efficiency upgrades.
Bank Pekao
Best Bank for Sustainable Infrastructure/Project Finance
Best Bank for Transition/Sustainability-Linked Loans
Poland’s second-largest bank, established in 1929, has prioritized ESG investing and lending over the past decade, becoming one of the largest players domestically and in the CEE region. In 2025, Bank Pekao unveiled its 2025-2027 strategy, outlining its main plans and priorities, building on its 2023 Sustainable Finance Framework.
In the first three quarters of 2025, Bank Pekao financed green projects totaling 5.1 billion Polish zloty ($1.4 billion), up from 3.7 billion zloty in 2024, aiming to reach 9 billion zloty by the end of 2027.
Along with other banks, Bank Pekao has provided financing for the approximately €6.3 billion construction of the Baltyk 2 and Baltyk 3 wind farms in the Baltic Sea, developed by Polenergia and Equinor. The wind farms have a total capacity of over 1.4 gigawatts and can supply green energy to over 2 million Polish households. The farms should start producing energy in 2027 and reach full operational capacity in 2028.
In 2025, Bank Pekao also helped issue a syndicated €300 million loan to a leading energy company, issued five-year green bonds for a leading telecoms company totaling 700 million zloty, and issued bonds worth 1 billion zloty for sustainable development for a large retail company.
QNB Bank
Best Bank for Blue Bonds (New for 2026)
In October 2024, QNB Bank issued Turkey’s first blue bond, in collaboration with the IFC as the sole investor, for $25 million and a five-year maturity.
The bond is financing nearly all water conservation activities, including wastewater management, boosting sustainable tourism, reducing marine pollution, and enabling sustainable fishing.
The bond was issued under QNB Group’s Sustainable Finance and Product Framework. Late last year, QNB Bank again cooperated with the IFC, alongside the EBRD, to complete a $100 million climate transition bond issue, the first of its kind, focused on financing decarbonization efforts in carbon-intensive sectors such as cement production and steel, which are generally excluded from green bonds because of their high emissions.
This climate transition bond is viewed as a strategic link to green and ESG finance.
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