County Geneva Financial News

minimum wage with living wage by 2025 and has sought technical assistance from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to create a framework for estimating and operationalising these, ET has learnt. Living wages – a minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs, factoring in key social expenditure by an individual such as housing, food, healthcare, education and clothing – were endorsed by the ILO earlier this month. These would be higher than basic minimum wages. “We could go beyond minimum wages in a year,” a senior government official told ET. The ILO had agreed on the reform at its 350th governing body meeting in Geneva that concluded on March 14. There are over 500 million workers in India and 90% of them are in the unorganised sector where many draw a daily minimum wage of `176 or more, depending on the state where they work. However, this national wage floor — not revised since 2017 — is not binding on states and hence a few states pay even less than that.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk denounced the rampant hunger and looming famine in Gaza.

Amazon Prime Video was inspired to make a television series from video games and it is coming soon with 'Fallout'. Though more and more video game adaptations are being made, they are still somewhat rare and half of them are animated. It is difficult to create a live-action series, but 'The Last of Us' set an example for others with its huge success. Before Amazon completes the 'God of War' series, it will release 'Fallout' and its performance will decide the issue.

Geneva-based commodities trading firm Gunvor said Friday that it has reached $661 million settlement with U.S. and Swiss prosecutors after a conviction for bribery of foreign officials in connection with the petroleum industry in Ecuador

By Naomi Rovnick and Stella Qiu

Pakistan after it raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council, India has said it cannot pay any attention to a country which is soaked in red due to the bloodshed from terrorism that it sponsors around the world. First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in Geneva Anupama Singh exercised India's Right of Reply at the ongoing high-level segment of the 55th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday. India exercised the Right of Reply to respond to Turkiye and Pakistan after the two countries made references to Kashmir in their statements at the high-level segment.

nuclear weapons against each other or make a political statement in this regard, the Chinese foreign ministry's arms control department said. Director general of the department, Sun Xiaobo, called on nuclear states to fulfil their «special and priority responsibilities» on nuclear disarmament according to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, which seeks to prevent nuclear war, official news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday. During the forum's weekly meeting in Geneva on Monday, Sun said the body should define a roadmap or timetable for an international legal instrument that would protect non-nuclear-weapon states from the threat of nuclear weapons.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Monday deplored how the U.N. Security Council had failed to respond adequately to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying the conflicts had «perhaps fatally» undermined its authority. Speaking at the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Guterres said the U.N. Security Council often found itself deadlocked and «unable to act on the most significant peace and security issues of our time». «The Council's lack of unity on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and on Israel's military operations in Gaza following the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October, has severely — perhaps fatally — undermined its authority,» he said.

Spies and “agents” from Western countries are using crypto to fund their operations, a leading Russian lawmaker claimed.

The head of the World Trade Organization says the body remains relevant and its leaders focus on reform “no matter who comes into power” as Donald Trump — who as U.S. president bypassed WTO rules by slapping tariffs on America’s friends and foes alike ...

(Corrects to remove word «Embargo» from headline)

Prior to joining Lombard Odier, Ducat (pictured) was CEO of La Financière de l'Echiquier.

By Shristi Achar A and Shashwat Chauhan

government has appointed IAS officer Senthil Pandian C as ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva after Brajendra Navnit’s tenure as India’s ambassador to the global trade watchdog ends on March 31, 2024. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Friday approved the appointment of Pandian, a 2002 IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, for three years from the date of assumption of charge. Pandian is currently posted as commissioner, excise in Uttar Pradesh. His appointment comes at a time when the world is witnessing inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical tensions. In October, WTO has more than halved its growth projection for world merchandise trade volume for 2023 at 0.8% compared to the 1.7% forecast in April last year due to a continued slump in goods trade. However, the 3.3% growth projected for 2024 remains nearly unchanged from the previous estimate of 3.2%. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the expected slowdown of trade was a cause for concern because it could depress the living standards of people around the world, particularly in poor countries.

Mina Foundation‘s MINA has been performing well since December 19, which can be attributed to a series of fundamental developments that have bolstered investor confidence and highlighted the cryptocurrency’s potential for growth.

By Emma Farge

Permanent Committee for Human Rights in the UAE, in cooperation and partnership with the General Women's Union and the UN Women Liaison Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council in Abu Dhabi, organised an event titled "Climate Change and Ways to Mitigate Gender-Based Violence" at the Women's Pavilion at COP28. Jamal Al Musharakh, the UAE's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, delivered the opening speech and stressed that COP28 UAE placed the issue of women and gender equality in the context of climate action as a top priority. Furthermore, he added that the conference's allocation of a full day of the presidential programme to confront this issue underscored the criticality of elevating the role and participation of women in tackling climate change. The conference presidency was also keen to enhance the skills of national cadres and support the presence of women in its various activities, adding that the UAE negotiating team included many young talented women specialized in climate diplomacy and international negotiations, which affirms Emirati women's active role in achieving UAE sustainability. He maintained that the UAE is active internationally in addressing climate change, and as a member of the Human Rights Council, and in partnership with the United Kingdom, submitted a draft resolution on girls' education that was adopted by the Council at its 54th session without a vote.

Social justice should be an inherent part of competition laws in the developing world, said Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS International. Mehta was speaking at the CUTS-WTO-UNCTAD event in Geneva to commemorate the World Competition Day by focusing on socially sensitive sectors in the context of the crises currently facing the world.

By Suhaib Salem and Nidal al-Mughrabi

Nithyananda, a guru (n.b.: all gurus are 'self-styled'), reportedly fled India after security agencies began probing his involvement in criminal cases. But, soon enough, the man resurfaced in the online world, claiming that he founded a new nation, the United States of Kailasa (USK).

Nithyananda Paramashivam on X. Meanwhile, a copy of the agreement was also posted on social media.