Country Financial News

Greece has introduced a new law allowing certain private-sector workers to enforce a six-day workweek. Effective July 1, this measure aims to support the country's aging workforce and provide additional income for workers, while ensuring respect for workers' rights. The law targets specific industrial and manufacturing sectors, particularly businesses operating continuous shifts 24/7, and will be applied only in exceptional circumstances, such as an unexpectedly increased workload. Labor unions, advocating for better working conditions, have strongly opposed the move, sparking heated debates and protests. Greece already has the longest average workweek in the European Union, and it remains uncertain whether this extension will enhance productivity.

China has added Shanghai to a list of top-tier cities allowing the use of driverless robotaxis in which no safety supervisors are present, part of the country’s efforts to take the global lead in autonomous driving and commercialize the technology. Shanghai officials said over the weekend that in parts of the city, residents can now book free rides in robotaxis of four companies—internet search giant Baidu, SAIC Motor-owned Saike Technology and self-driving startups Pony.ai and Auto X. The taxis are driverless and don’t have supervisors physically present in the car, with the companies approved to offer services through Jan.

Hum Saath Saath Hain. “Growing up, I never had any ambition to pursue entrepreneurship. One didn’t even know what such a life entailed.

Iraq after being convicted for committing various crimes in Iraq and Syria when the terror organization headed by her husband occupied large parts of the Levant region. According to the Supreme Judicial Council, a criminal court in Karkh convicted a woman who has been identified as Asma Mohammed for working in a terror organization and detaining Yazidi women. The first wife of the slain commander of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is also known by the name of Umm Hudaifa.

The presidential residence of Gabriel Boric, the leftist millennial leader of Chile, shares a street in Santiago, the capital, with a homeless shelter that’s now at full capacity

Rishi Sunak suddenly called for general elections across the country. Within a matter of six weeks, the entire voting process around UK general election results 2024 happened, with the results yet to be declared. The official voting process has formally ended and the first wave of results will start coming 11.30pm onwards.

Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. The lack of majority for any single alliance threatened to plunge France into political and economic turmoil. Final results are not expected until late Sunday or early Monday in the highly volatile snap election, which was called just four weeks ago in a huge gamble for Macron. It does not appear to have paid off for the deeply unpopular president, whose alliance has lost control of parliament, according to the projections. Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally greatly increased the number of seats it holds, meanwhile, but fell far short of expectations. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon urged Macron to invite the leftist New Popular Front coalition to form a government, given projections that put it in the lead. The alliance, he said, «is ready to govern.»

Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, according to a statement by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on social media platform X. Shah expressed confidence in Gambhir's ability to lead Team India forward, citing his deep understanding of modern cricket dynamics and his successful career across various roles. Following the announcement, Gautam Gambhir also posted on social media, «India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life. I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat. But my goal is the same as it has always been, to make every Indian proud. The men in blue shoulder the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians and I will do everything in my power to make these dreams come true!»

Dozens of classic sailing vessels from 13 countries that are plying the Baltic Sea have arrived in the Finnish capital at the end of the first leg of the Tall Ships Races that began in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipeda in late June

Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran's Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian's modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels.

Argentina designated Hamas a terrorist organisation on Friday and ordered a freeze on the financial assets of the Palestinian group, a largely symbolic move as President Javier Milei seeks to align Argentina strongly with the US and Israel. Announcing the decision, Milei's office cited the militant Palestinian group's cross-border attack on Israel last October 7 that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, in the deadliest assault in Israel's 76-year history. The statement also mentioned Hamas' close ties to Iran, which Argentina blames for two deadly militant attacks on Jewish sites in the country. The move comes just days before the 30th anniversary of one of those attacks, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires. It killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more in the worst such attack in Argentina's modern history.

U.K. man is facing jail time for carrying a copy of a Legend of Zelda sword in public.Police in the county of Warwickshire said they arrested 48-year-old Anthony Bray in the town of Nuneaton on June 8 when he was seen on CCTV carrying a replica “master sword” from the popular video game series.Bray carried the six-inch blade inside a blue and gold sheath that could release the weapon with the press of a button.

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal voiced his support for a 70-hour work week, echoing sentiments put forth earlier by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. Aggarwal, in a podcast appearance, emphasized his belief that such intensive work hours are essential for fostering national economic growth, despite facing criticism on social media. «When Mr. Murthy said that (70-hour work week), I was publicly in support of that and I got trolled on social media for that. But, I don’t care because I have a strong belief that one generation will have to do tapasya… so that we can build the number 1 country in the world, the largest economy,» Aggarwal remarked. Aggarwal also dismissed the concept of work-life balance, asserting, «I don’t agree with the work-life balance concept because if you are enjoying your work, you will find happiness in life also and work also, and both of them will be in harmony.»

Ukraine received a setback when Russian forces rained down its famous Iskander M ballistic missiles. These missiles destroyed two S-400 air defense systems of Ukraine. This happened in the Poltava region of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry published footages of this incident. Russia is increasingly using these missiles and it is believed to be the fourth strike on Ukraine in a span of six days. It has also been reported that Ukraine has adopted a well-known war tactic of using decoys to engage with the Russians. The latter would be tricked into striking dummy models without sustaining any major damages.

Keir Starmer on Friday has paved the way for a fresh chapter in the country's relations with India as the Labour Party takes charge of steering the stalled Free Trade Agreement negotiations that got stalled with the outgoing Rishi Sunak-led administration. If recent high-profile visits by the shadow cabinet members, stepping up as Cabinet members, are anything to go by, the choreography around India being a priority country is likely to see at least some degree of continuity. However, despite a manifesto commitment to build a «new strategic partnership» and the then shadow foreign secretary and now the Foreign Secretary in Starmer's government, David Lammy promising to be on a flight to India before the end of July if elected, how much of a priority India will be among the various domestic pressures facing a cost-of-living crisis hit Britain remains an unknown factor. The India-UK FTA talks began in January 2022 but were stalled in the 14th round as both countries stepped into their general election cycles this year. India saw the new government in the first week and on Friday, it was the UK's.

India's coal import rose 5.3 per cent to 52.29 million tonnes (MT) in the first two months of the ongoing fiscal as against the year-ago period. The country's coal import was 49.62 MT in April and May in FY24, according to data compiled by mjunction services ltd — a B2B e-commerce platform from a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL. However, coal import in May dropped marginally to 26.19 MT, from 26.57 MT a year earlier. «Coal imports… were down 1.43 per cent as against 26.57 MT imported in May 2023,» it said.

Khawaja Asif, has confirmed that the country will persist in launching military strikes against Afghanistan to counter terrorism. Speaking to BBC, he emphasized that these operations are a necessary response to attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, stating, «We won’t serve them with cake and pastries.» Instead, he said, Pakistan is prepared to retaliate forcefully against any aggression. The aerial strikes, part of a broader military campaign called «Resolve for Stability,» are aimed at militant groups that Pakistan accuses of operating from Afghan soil. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of not doing enough to curb these militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban or TTP, which allegedly have sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Pakistan's government maintains that its military actions are justified and necessary to safeguard its national security. Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan alleges that despite its repeated requests, the Afghan Taliban has been reluctant to take action against the TTP, which has been using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan. Asif asserted that Pakistan's strikes are a direct response to these threats, dismissing concerns over the legality of the operations and stating that informing the Taliban of impending attacks would compromise the element of surprise.

Skoda is looking to drive in new models, including the latest version of its premium SUV Kodiaq, in India to bolster its presence in the country. The automaker has already announced plans to introduce a sub-4 meter compact SUV in the country early next year. Skoda already has a presence in the mid-sized SUV segment with Kushaq. In an interaction with PTI, Skoda Auto India Brand Director Petr Janeba said the auto brand is also looking to re-introduce premium sedan Octavia in the market later this year.

Euro Cup 2024 as this time around, both teams' rivalry and intensity will simply be unmatched in this semifinal clash. Spain scored two goals against Germany and won, though their opponents gave them a real hard time after scoring an equalizer in the last leg of the game. However, France was not so lucky as to close the quarterfinals chapter within the 90 minutes and had to proceed to the penalties to ultimately claim victory of Portugal, a very dangerous team, owing to players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. France ensured that Ronaldo's journey at the Euros was officially over, as according to a previous ET report, the footballing icon will not play in further Euro championships.

intelligence capital of the world powered by accelerated computing and its skilled manpower, said Vishal Dhupar, managing director for South Asia at Nvidia. The global AI chip giant aims to help bring the required AI infrastructure to the country enabling it to build AI in a sovereign manner, which could even make India a net exporter of intelligence rather than an importer, Dhupar said.

Sanlu milk scandal? China was rocked by this scandal when about more than 300,000 children fell sick and at least six of them died after drinking powdered milk contaminated with high levels of the industrial chemical melamine. A similar incident has been reported in this country once again. State-run 'Beijing News' has reported that tankers used for carrying fuel allegedly carried food products, like cooking oil and syrup. Besides, these were not decontaminated before using his way. The Chinese government has launched a probe into the allegations.