Page 8 - Germany

HCLTech signs agreement worth $278 million with Germany's apoBank

IT services company HCL Technologies (HCLTech) on Tuesday said it has expanded partnership with Germany's largest cooperative primary bank Deutsche Apotheker- und rztebank eG (apoBank). The estimated contract value of the deal is USD 278 million over a duration of 7.5 years, according to a regulatory filing. "HCLTech will accompany apoBank with an outcome-oriented managed services model that delivers resilient, scalable, high quality and compliant digital foundation services, enabling apoBank to deliver fast and secured banking services to its customers," a company statement said. apoBank COO Thomas Runge said HCLTech has extensive Avaloq expertise and deep understanding of apoBank, which makes it an ideal partner. "We look forward to working with apoBank to help them serve their customers by leveraging our comprehensive portfolio of managed infrastructure and cloud services and our longstanding experience with Avaloq," said Sudip Lahiri, Executive Vice President and Head of Financ

Germany hosts conference for Ukraine before peace summit in Switzerland

Germany is hosting a conference on Tuesday to gather support for Ukraine's recovery from the destruction wreaked by Russia's war, sending a new signal of solidarity with Kyiv at the start of a week of intense diplomacy. The two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, following up on a similar gathering in London a year ago, comes before the Group of Seven summit of Ukraine's leading Western allies in Italy and a global peace summit in Switzerland this coming weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who last week attended events marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France, is expected at the gathering, which the German hosts say will bring together 2,000 people from politics, business and other areas. Even during the current times of war, Ukraine needs to continually rebuild houses, water pipelines, hospitals and power grids, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said in a statement. People want to keep on living in their country, and to do so they .

Far-right gains in EU election deal stunning defeat to Macron, Scholz

Voting has ended to elect the European Union's regional lawmakers for the next five-year term after the last remaining polls closed in Italy. Official results were expected any moment after Italian polling stations closed at 11 pm local time (2100GMT), officially ending a marathon election spanning four days across 27 bloc member countries. An initial projection provided by the European Union indicates far-right parties have made big gains at the European Parliament. In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced he was calling early legislative elections after his party suffered a heavy defeat from the far-right National Rally party. Far-right parties made major gains at the European Union parliamentary elections Sunday, dealing stunning defeats to two of the bloc's most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved

EU set to disclose tariff rates for Chinese electric vehicles this week

The move comes as European automakers are being challenged by an influx of lower-cost EVs from Chinese rivals. Still, there is virtually no support for tariffs from the continent's auto industry

German central bank warns of inflation, lowers growth forecast for 2024

The warning from Europe's biggest economy is likely to reinforce expectations that interest rates can only come down slowly. Inflation has fallen from double-digit territory in late 2022

Germany looking into buying 8 additional Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets

The jets are equipped with advanced sensors and other gear, and nearly impossible to track with radar

European Parliament elections begin today; check out the issues at stake

Nearly 400 million European Union citizens can go to the polls over the coming days to elect members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, in one of the biggest global democratic events. Far-right parties are seeking to gain more power amid a rise in the cost of living and farmers' discontent, while the wars in Gaza and Ukraine stay on the minds of voters. One of the biggest questions is whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will remain in charge as the public face of the EU. Here is a look at the election, which runs Thursday to Sunday, and the biggest issues at stake: WHEN IS THE VOTE? EU elections are held every five years across the 27-member bloc. This year marks the 10th parliamentary election since the first polls in 1979, and the first after Brexit. The vote takes place from June 6-9. Initial results can only be revealed on the evening of June 9, once polling stations have closed in all member states. HOW DOES VOTING WORK? The elections started on Th

Russia could provide weapons to others to strike Western targets: Putin

Taking questions from international journalists for the first time since his inauguration last month to a fifth term, Putin also said nothing will change in terms of Russia-US relations

Ukraine using German weapons to strike Russia 'dangerous step' warns Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Germany on Wednesday that use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike targets in Russia would mark a dangerous step" and ruin relations between Berlin and Moscow. Germany joined the United States recently in authorizing Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying. Putin said that the deliveries of German tanks to Ukraine came as a shock to many in Russia. Now if they use missiles to strike facilities on the Russian territory it will completely ruin Russian-German relations, he said.

Netherlands emerges as India's 3rd largest export destination in 2023-24

The Netherlands has emerged as India's third largest export destination after the US and UAE during 2023-24, even as the country's merchandise shipments dipped by over 3 per cent, according to the commerce ministry data. The main commodities which registered healthy exports growth in the Netherlands include petroleum products (USD 14.29 billion), electrical goods, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals in the last fiscal. India's trade surplus with the Netherlands has increased to USD 17.4 billion in the last fiscal from USD 13 billion in 2022-23. The Netherlands has taken over major destinations such as the UK, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Germany. India's exports to the Netherlands rose by about 3.5 per cent to USD 22.36 billion in 2023-24 as against USD 21.61 billion in 2022-23, the data showed. In 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to the European country stood at USD 12.55 billion and USD 6.5 billion, respectively. The exports have been registering healthy growth continuously

Germany likely to miss 2030 climate goal, advisors calls for new policy

Expert Council on Climate Issues, which has independent authority to judge the country's climate performance, said Germany is unlikely to meet its goal to cut 65% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

GDP growth slows down in USA and Japan; remains same in Germany

The OECD expects the US and China, the two largest economies, to slow down in 2025

Germany's new visa rules: Great opportunity for skilled foreign workers

Country needs some 4,00,000 skilled employees annually to cover a labour shortage in specialised fields

German inflation higher than expected ahead of ECB rates decision

Economists will pay close attention to the data ahead of the release of inflation figures from the wider euro zone on Friday

Two-day G7 finance summit kicks off seeking unity on Ukraine, China

The G7 will also address a proposed global wealth tax on billionaires, promoted by Brazil and France among the broader Group of 20 developed countries

Germany backs ending EU tax break that helps Shein, Temu keep prices low

Under current EU regulations, packages purchased online from a non-EU country are not subject to customs duties if their value is under 150 euros

Vodafone reports slight rise in net profit helped by gains in UK, Germany

On Tuesday it said it expected core earnings this year to be broadly flat at around 11 billion euros, while free cash flow would be at least 2.4 bn euros, slightly ahead of current market forecasts

How to avoid last-minute Schengen visa rejection and save money: Explained

Over 100,000 Indians faced Schengen visa rejections in 2022, translating to a loss of Rs 87 crore due to non-refundable trip expenses

German carrier Lufthansa looks to strong summer to shake off strike costs

The airline confirmed its forecast of full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion)

Top UN court to rule on Nicaragua's plea for Germany to halt aid to Israel

The United Nations' top court is ruling Tuesday on a request by Nicaragua for judges to order Germany to halt military aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin's support enables acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Nicaragua's case is the latest legal bid by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people to stop Israel's offensive. Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the court. The cases come as Israel's allies face growing calls to stop supplying it with weapons, and as some including Germany have grown more critical of the war. On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel must still do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip. At hearings early this month, Nicaragua's Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Jos Argello Gmez told the 16-judge panel that Germany is failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian .