Orco Bank expands ATM network in Curaçao with new Gosieweg location

Two KFC locations on Curaçao — in Sta. Maria and Brievengat — will stop accepting cash payments starting Thursday, at least for the foreseeable future. The move to cashless-only transactions marks a significant shift in how these fast food outlets operate on the island. Customers visiting either branch will need to pay exclusively by card or digital payment methods. The change is described as temporary in nature, though no end date has been specified. This development may inconvenience customers who rely on cash, which remains widely used across Curaçao. It is unclear what prompted the decision, whether technical, security, or operational factors are behind it.

A power outage struck the Esso refinery in Rotterdam on Thursday morning, causing all systems across the facility to shut down simultaneously. The disruption affected every operation on the refinery's grounds, bringing production to a complete halt. By later in the day, nearly all businesses and units at the site had their power restored. Facilities began the process of restarting their operations following the restoration of electricity. While the cause of the outage was not detailed in the report, the swift restoration suggests the issue was contained and manageable. The Esso Rotterdam refinery is a significant industrial facility, and any disruption there can have implications for regional fuel supply and processing capacity. No injuries or major long-term consequences were immediately reported.

Romania began a full shutdown of its only nuclear power plant on Thursday due to historically low water levels in the Danube River. The plant relies on Danube water for cooling its reactors, and the critically low water levels made continued safe operation impossible. The Cernavodă nuclear plant is Romania's sole source of nuclear energy, making this shutdown significant for the country's energy supply. The low water levels are attributed to prolonged drought conditions affecting the Danube basin. This development raises concerns about energy reliability in Romania and highlights the broader vulnerability of water-dependent energy infrastructure to climate-related water scarcity.