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• Indian markets are expected to remain volatile with a positive bias as investors focus on June quarter earnings and the impact of renewed West Asia tensions on oil prices and the rupee. • Global attention will shift to the European Central Bank's policy meeting on July 23, where economists generally expect interest rates to remain unchanged. • Investors will also monitor Japan’s inflation data and flash PMI figures to gauge future interest rate directions and economic health.

• Hungary experienced a pivotal week marked by major constitutional reforms and growing signs of internal disarray within the ruling Fidesz party. • Key developments include the departure of Péter Szijjártó and emerging threats of US tariffs, which create significant economic uncertainty for the nation. • These shifts are critical as they potentially reshape Hungary's political landscape, international standing, and future economic relationships.

CEO’s pay packet surges to £791,000 as union says public ‘sick of obscene pay’ and bosses ‘feathering own nests’Wessex Water awarded its chief executive an above-inflation pay increase even as the company was banned from paying bonuses because of sewage spills, it has emerged.Ruth Jefferson received a 14% base salary increase in October, from £590,000 to £670,000, before other benefits, according to accounts published this month. It was far above the 3.5% given to workers, and put her pay at 18 times that of the company’s median employee. Continue reading...

Netanyahu coalition seeks to extend control with ‘Nahal’ outposts in Gaza and over $400m in West Bank fundingIsrael’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (£300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebrated violent outposts as his “security partners”.With national elections scheduled for 27 October, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition is racing to expand control of land in occupied Palestine and drive out Palestinians before its mandate expires. Continue reading...

109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the USSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Tens of millions of Americans face another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting around 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east.The pungent wildfire blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit, where residents on Friday were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels after the air quality index reached a “hazardous” 361, according to the government website AirNow. Continue reading...

Few know who will get top jobs when new PM enters No 10 and the vacuum of information has its downsidesAs Labour MPs filed out of Portcullis House on the last day before parliament rose – and Andy Burnham ascends – one said they were struggling with a metaphor for how concentrated Burnham’s power had become. Flailing for something that did not sound insulting, he gave up and likened Burnham’s absolute control to North Korea’s Kim dynasty.It is a very congenial and receptive kind of dictatorship. But never in British politics has such power been concentrated in the hands of such a tiny number of individuals. Never in British politics have so many of Labour’s biggest beasts had so little influence or leverage. Continue reading...

Adaptation to frightening new normal and reducing emissions further and faster is critical, scientists warnDozens of people drowned, hundreds had to be rescued and thousands were displaced when floods struck the coasts of west Africa last month.Now scientists have concluded that the rains that caused the floods were supercharged by climate breakdown. Global heating, they say, turned what should have been a routine weather event into a climate catastrophe. Continue reading...