The Spanish newspaper El País has appointed its first female editor in its 42-year history at the end of a week that has also seen a record number of women chosen to serve in the new government’s cabinet.

Soledad Gallego-Díaz, 67, joined the paper shortly after its founding in 1976 and has been its correspondent in Brussels, London, Paris, Buenos Aires and New York. She has also served as deputy editor and ombudsman. She was nominated by El País’s board and received the backing of more than 97% of the paper’s staff in a vote on Thursday. Addressing the paper’s journalists on Friday morning, Gallego-Díaz reminded them that they existed to serve their readers. “They know what they can call on us for and what they can’t, and what they fundamentally want from us is that we don’t stray from the truth,” she said.

Her nomination still needs to be formally approved by the board of directors of El País, the biggest Spanish-language publication in the world and an institution both in Spain and Latin America. Gallego-Díaz replaces Antonio Caño, who occupied the post since 2014.(theguardian)…[+]

The TV chef Anthony Bourdain has died at the age of 61. The cable news network CNN, which hosted Bourdain’s globetrotting culinary travel guide Parts Unknown, confirmed Bourdain’s death on Friday and said it was suicide.

The CNN chief executive, Jeff Zucker, sent a note to staff saying the circumstances of the death are still unclear but that “we do know that Tony took his own life”. “Tony was an exceptional talent. A storyteller. A gifted writer. A world traveler. An adventurer. He brought something to CNN that no one else had ever brought before,” Zucker said in the letter. “This is a very, very sad day.” Bourdain was understood to have been in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series. His friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room.(theguardian)…[+]

Grenada – The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), has approved a loan of USD5.6 million (mn) to assist the Government of Anguilla in meeting its fiscal obligations after the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The funds will allow the Government to focus on its recovery priorities, without having to divert resources to meet financing needs.

“Hurricane Irma resulted in a major economic setback for the island of Anguilla. The Government is now facing a financing gap, having had to meet increased spending needs, while at the same time facing a loss of revenue from a missed tourism season. This loan will provide a needed liquidity buffer for post-Irma rehabilitation during 2018, allowing focus to be placed on the critical social and economic needs of the country,” said Dr. Justin Ram, Director of Economics at CDB.

The loan is repayable over a period of 13 years, inclusive of a grace period of three years. Hurricane Irma caused approximately USD507 mn in damage on Anguilla, including to much of the island’s physical infrastructure, air and sea ports. In addition, the tourism industry—the main driver of growth in the country—suffered significant losses. These factors are expected to have a major negative impact on Anguilla’s revenues during 2018. Irma’s impact further deepened socioeconomic challenges in Anguilla as the Government worked toward recovery from a near decade-long fallout of the financial crisis, which threatened the island’s economic security due to contractions in the two main economic sectors—tourism and financial services.

In December 2017, CDB approved a loan of USD5 mn to assist in the restoration of electricity on Anguilla, and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the Bank provided an Emergency Relief Grant of USD200,000 to the Government. Since 2000, CDB has provided USD4.3 mn in support for three disaster management projects in Anguilla.(CDB)…[+]