UPS Financial News

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal from Israel to Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to end the war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis. The offer calls for a ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Singapore: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday the Indo-Pacific region remained a «priority» for Washington, saying the United States was secure «only if Asia is». Lloyd made the remarks at a major security forum in Singapore, a day after he met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun. «The United States can be secure only if Asia is and that's why the United States has long maintained its presence in this region,» Austin told the Shangri-La Dialogue, which in recent years has become a barometer for US-China relations.

Sunday’s elections that will determine the presidency, nine governorships and about 19,000 mayorships and other local posts. The country’s powerful drug cartels have long staged targeted assassinations of mayoral and other local candidates who threaten their control. Gangs in Mexico depend on controlling local police chiefs, and taking a share of municipal budgets; national politics appear to interest them less.

India hubs of multinationals that employ millions are increasingly resorting to hiring of contingent workforce, which helps them address immediate talent requirements even as they remain cautious on permanent recruitments amid a bearish global outlook. There has been a considerable increase in demand for gig employees in the global capability centres (GCCs) of MNCs in the last six months — up by 20-25% from a year earlier — as they look for a balance of cost-effectiveness, scalability, and faster access to skills, show data from staffing firm Randstad.

India's growth surged to 8.2% in FY24, riding a better-than-expected 7.8% expansion in the March quarter on the back of robust manufacturing, provisional estimates released on Friday showed, underscoring the country's status as the world's fastest-expanding major economy. This is the highest annual growth since FY17, excluding the 9.7% post-Covid rebound in gross domestic product (GDP) in FY22 after the 5.8% contraction in FY21. The advance estimate released in February had pegged FY24 growth at 7.6%. Economists and government expect the high growth to continue though tepid private consumption remains a concern. The data comes ahead of the final phase of polling on Saturday.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering using drones and tethered balloons for restoring 5G connectivity during emergencies and natural calamities when normal telecom services get severely disrupted, said an official aware of the details. DoT is likely to hold trials in the coming months to check the efficacy of this initiative, the official told ET. The department aims to complete the trials and take a final decision by June next year. «There is a plan to provide a temporary 5G network using tethered balloons or drones to provide mobile coverage during emergencies and disasters,» the official said.

heatwave and extreme weather conditions in most parts of the country have taken a toll on restaurants, pubs and bars across Indian cities, with outlets reporting an up to 40% dip in sales and footfalls. Businesses that thrive on al fresco, or open-air dining, and those present in high street locations are among the worst hit, industry insiders said. The impact is most visible during the lunch hours when the usual hustle and bustle have given way to mostly empty tables. The lunch business is “almost next to nil”, said Priyank Sukhija, chief executive of First Fiddle Restaurants that operates outlets of brands such as Lord of the Drinks, Miso Sexy, Diablo, Tamasha and The Flying Saucer Café.

GlobalLogic has seen a significant increase in its India business because of the growing number of global capability centres (GCCs) in the country, the IT engineering firm’s top executives said. The number of GCC clients the company has in India rose to 36 in the last fiscal year from 15, in a period also marked by 90℅ growth in its GCC business where it provides niche IT engineering services to these hubs of multinationals, chief executive Nitesh Banga and India head Piyush Jha told ET.

ambush shooting death of a Minneapolis police officer has stunned a department that has struggled to fill its ranks since the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing turmoil. Officer Jamal Mitchell's death Thursday came days after the fourth anniversary of Floyd's killing by a city officer, which sparked sometimes violent unrest across the country and forced a reckoning with police brutality and racism. Minneapolis became ground zero for the “defund the police" movement, and while that didn’t succeed in eliminating the city's police department, the force remains well below full strength.

Sweet Magnolias has wrapped up filming for its fourth season. The popular drama series finished production and is set to return in 2025. Here are the details of the filming journey and the cast’s reflections, as per a What’s on Netflix report.

Will Smith has probably received two things at once with 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die', one being back in the headlines while the other, getting back with his partner, with whom he appeared to have fallen apart, according to the separation revelation by Jada Pinkett Smith, back in 2023.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were seen attending the graduation party of their daughter Violet. Lopez was in no mood for any chit-chat and was seen exiting her stepdaughter’s graduation party within an hour. This came as the couple tried to put up a united front as news spread regarding a potential split. Lopez and Affleck were seen leaving the venue together in a black Cadillac Esplanade. They were attending the graduation party in the mansion of Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner. The actor returned to the mansion that he had rented out after differences emerged between the couple. The couple were seen arriving together at the actor’s mansion which is less than 30 minutes from the mansion where the couple were residing which was estimated to be worth $60 million and was located at Beverley Hills.

Freshly released data from the Canada Revenue Agency reveals just how much the typical saver was able to put into a first home savings account in the first year the account was on offer for Canadian home-buying hopefuls.

Notcoin (NOT) has taken crypto markets by storm in the last few weeks since its launch on May 16, with the Notcoin price pumping up 150% in the last seven days to new all-time highs amid surging trading volumes.

Institutional investors have grown tired of paying fees to hedge funds for what they see as “skill-less returns.” 

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday said that its intervetion led to the arrest of 23 accused persons in Rajasthan for allegedly selling girls, mostly minors on stamp papers for physical abuse and sexual assault in various parts of the country and abroad. The NHRC observed that given the registration of cases involving the selling of girls in some communities in the recent past, it appears that the practice is still continuing unabated. It has said that this practice requires to be curbed forthwith in totality and stringent steps be taken by all the stakeholders.

kidnapping and rape case of a minor daughter of a granthi has caused the head of the Akal Takht to issue an ultimatum to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to expedite arrest of all the accused, also warning him that if the police fails, the Sikh community will be forced to take action at its own level. Out of three accused in the FIR and one unnamed accused, the police arrested two persons, including the prime accused and one unnamed accused.

Jim Parsons, the iconic face behind Sheldon Cooper in the immensely popular CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," has given fans little hope that he will be part of any potential sequel. Despite his memorable cameo in the "Young Sheldon" finale, Parsons has signaled that his time portraying the eccentric genius may have come to an end.

Many companies are pivoting to a new form of hiring that emphasizes applicants' skills over more traditional metrics, such as education or years of experience, according to recent reports and data.

ALSO READ: KKR's IPL 2024 victory lights up Burj Khalifa; netizens call it, 'SRK effect'With KKR pacer Mitchell Starc's delivery being referred to as the ball of the tournament that dismissed Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma in the IPL 2024 final, Gambhir has a different view towards it.According to the former Indian opener, there is no such thing as an 'unplayable' delivery, and neither was Starc, who was bought by KKR for a whopping ₹24.75 crore at the auction.During an interaction with Sportskeeda, Gambhir labelled Starc as an X-factor.ALSO READ: IPL 2024 final: RCB fan wants both KKR, SRH to lose tonight; netizens ask, ‘Why so salty even after your journey ended?’"We always knew he was the X-Factor and he will become one at the right time. I mean, what other big matches could be there in the IPL? It was the Qualifier 1 and the Final.

MUMBAI:India’s largest IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) faced questions related to the rise in harassment cases and the difference in median salaries of men and women empl-oyees. Chairman of Tata Sons, Natarajan Chandrasekaran concurred that while TCS, with more than 600,000 employees, has zero tolerance towards harassment, the uptick in cases could be due to more employees expressing themselves.He also denied any conscious disparity in salaries based on gender.“...we are operating in such a global environment.