The UK is testing a four-day work week. More than three thousand employees from 70 companies are participating in the experiment. The experiment is carried out according to the «100:80:100» model. This means that the British will receive 100% of the salary, reducing working hours by up to 80%, but maintaining 100% productivity.
The productivity and well-being of employees will be monitored by scientists from Oxford and Cambridge for six months. The results of their study will show whether the 32-hour work week is effective. Prior to this, the short work week was tested in Iceland for four years. It turned out that productivity is the same, more happiness, and less burnout.
<<< News Feed June 08, 2022 >>>
Russia turned out to be one of the world leaders where children live with only one parent: 18% of all children (under 18) in our country live with only one of their parents. More only in the US (23%), UK (21%) and Sao Tome and Principe (19%)
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Russian exporters have received the right to credit foreign exchange earnings to their accounts in foreign banks, the Ministry of Finance reported. The permit is valid from 6 June.
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Representatives of the European Parliament and the EU Council have reached a preliminary agreement on a directive on uniform requirements for chargers for gadgets, the EP press service reported.
According to a preliminary agreement, by the fall of 2024, all tablets, e-readers, headphones, digital cameras, portable game consoles, portable audio speakers sold in the EU must be equipped with a USB Type-C connector.
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The State Duma of Russia adopted in the first reading a draft law on the legalization of parallel imports of goods from the list approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The document says that in this way Russian companies that import goods without the permission of the copyright holder will be protected from possible civil, administrative and criminal liability.
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The Ministry of Digital Development of Russia until December 31, 2022 canceled the collection of fees for the use of the Unified Biometric System (UBS), transformed into a state information system.
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From June 30, 2022, Raiffeisenbank introduces a commission for keeping funds in foreign currency accounts, for each currency the commission will be 0.2% per month of the amount of the established limit (minimum 10 USD), the bank said in a message to customers.
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The State Duma of Russia adopted in the first reading a bill summarizing the rules on foreign agents.
The concepts of «foreign agent», «foreign influence», «foreign source», «political figure» are specified.
The status of a «foreign agent» can be assigned to any Russian or foreign organization, individual, if they receive foreign support, are under foreign influence, conduct political activities, collect information about Russia’s military-technical activities, publish materials for an unlimited number of people or finance such activity.
A unified register of foreign agents will be created instead of the four existing ones.
Foreign agents are prohibited from teaching, enlightening, educational activities in relation to minors.
Foreign agents will be limited in their ability to invest in strategically important companies.
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The Central Bank of the Russian Federation raised the monthly limit of transfers abroad for individuals from $50,000 to $150,000 or the equivalent in another foreign currency. As explained in the Central Bank, either Russian residents or non-residents from friendly countries can transfer from their account in a Russian bank to their account abroad or to another person.
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The outflow of gold from global ETFs (exchange traded funds — exchange-traded investment funds) in May amounted to 53.2 tons for $3.1 billion, calculated by the World Gold Council (WGC)
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De Beers Raises Small Diamond Prices During June Sales Cycle
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The Moscow Arbitration Court recognized as legal the transfer of equipment and spare parts from the Spanish Patentes Talgo to the passenger subsidiary of Russian Railways (JSC FPC), which operates the Strizh trains, formed from the cars of the Spanish company.
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American aerospace and defense manufacturer Raytheon Technologies announced the creation of a new global headquarters in the urban district of Arlington (Virginia), which is a suburb of Washington
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Turkish authorities on Tuesday again urged Greece to withdraw its armed forces from the islands of the Aegean Sea, reports Associated Press.
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The American electronic corporation IBM completely stops working in Russia and began laying off employees in the country, Reuters reports citing a letter from CEO Arvind Krishns to employees.
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The creation of nuclear submarines for Canberra under the US-UK-Australia partnership (AUKUS alliance) should not begin without the approval of all members of the IAEA, as there is a risk of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
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The first freight train with grain was sent from the Zaporozhye region to the Crimea, the head of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye region, Yevhen Balitsky, said.
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The US Treasury has tightened its interpretation of sanctions against Russian debt, effectively banning US investors from buying Russian sovereign and corporate bonds on the secondary market.
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The government of Belarus has recommended banks to provide natural persons with a deferral of loans, the press service of the Council of Ministers reported.
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The European Parliament (EP) announced an agreement with the Council of the EU on European legislation, which aims to ensure that the minimum wage in all EU countries guarantees a decent standard of living for workers.
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The Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan published on Wednesday in the republican media an official report on the results of voting in the republican referendum on amendments to the Constitution. According to the law, amendments to the Constitution come into force from the day of the official publication of the results of the referendum, subject to Article 2 of the said law.
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Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Zhaparov instructed state banks to open branches in Russia and other countries where there is an appropriate level of service. Interfax writes about this with reference to the press service of the government. RSK-Bank, Aiyl Bank, Keremet Bank and Development Bank should enter the international market.
According to Zhaparov, labor migrants from Kyrgyzstan spend 30 percent of the money they earn on their expenses, send 30 percent home, and keep another 30 percent in deposit accounts of banks in the countries where they left. The country’s authorities want these funds to work for the Kyrgyz economy, Lenta.ru reports.
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Large Russian companies with foreign shareholders (Ozon, Avito and CIAN) asked the government to change the criteria for including their products in the register of domestic software. This is necessary to receive tax breaks, grants and concessional loans.
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Lumber exports from Russia in January-May 2022 increased by 10%, to 11.2 million cubic meters. m. The leader among buyers of Russian boards remains China, which accounted for half of the deliveries
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In the Russian pharmaceutical industry, there is a shortage of chromatographic columns necessary for the development of new drugs. This is reported by Kommersant with reference to the company. Foreign manufacturers suspended or limited supplies, and there are no analogues in Russia
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In April, exports from Belarus to Russia in monetary terms increased by 100% compared to last year, Bloomberg reports.
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A quarter of Russians (26%) are confident that over the next year they have reason to expect an improvement in their financial situation; among young people aged 18-30, 42% of respondents have such expectations, according to a survey by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), published on official website of the sociological center.
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Avilon Auto Dealer Group, engaged in the sale of premium brand cars, will start selling cars of four Chinese brands Chery, Exeed, FAW and Changan
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In Luxembourg, the assets of citizens and organizations subject to EU sanctions have been frozen, totaling about 4.627 billion euros, the Duchy’s Finance Ministry said.
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Spain’s Industria de Diseno Textil SA (Inditex), one of the world’s largest clothing retailers, increased its first fiscal quarter net income by 1.8 times, revenue by 36%, while writing off 216 million euros due to the suspension of operations in the markets Russia and Ukraine.
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In May, sales of new passenger cars in Belarus fell by 83% year-on-year, to 629 units, the Belarusian Automobile Association (BAA) reported.
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China’s BYD Co., a leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer in the country, plans to supply its electric vehicle batteries to US Tesla Inc., executive vice president Lian Yubo said on CGTN.
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Now there are 15 companies in the queue for obtaining the status of a resident of a special administrative region (SAR) on the territory of Russky Island in Primorye, despite the fact that now it consists of only seven, Alexei Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, told reporters.
He noted that there has been an influx of world class investors. Several notable companies have re-registered in Primorye SAR — for example, Interros Capital, which owns shares in Norilsk Nickel, SUEK Ltd, and the international company Wandle Holdings Limited, through which the Fund for the Support of Islamic Organizations owns about 46% of the gold miner Polyus.
On August 3, 2018, the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed a package of laws providing for the creation of Special Administrative Regions (SAR) with special conditions for doing business for foreign companies and the possibility of creating international funds
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The volume of tax revenues from IT companies in 2021 increased by 20% compared to 2020 and amounted to 87 billion rubles, despite tax incentives, said Maksut Shadayev, head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation.
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The Moscow Exchange plans to launch trading in the Armenian dram, Uzbek som and Emirati dirham, Andrey Skabelin, director of the Moscow Exchange’s foreign exchange market department, said. According to him, the exchange has 20 currency pairs under consideration for a possible launch.
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Mortgage lending falls for the second month in a row. Russian banks issued mortgage loans worth 119.4 billion rubles in May, which is almost 27% less than a month earlier, according to the results of Frank RG express monitoring. The fall in annual terms amounted to 72.9%. The amount of housing loans issued in May was the lowest since February 2017.
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Due to changes in the economic environment and its impact on Microsoft’s business in Russia, the corporation decided to significantly reduce its presence in the Russian market, Bloomberg reports citing a company statement. Earlier Microsoft announced the termination of sale of the goods and services in the Russian Federation. The corporation did not specify which aspects of Microsoft’s operations will be affected by the company’s new solution.
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Norway will tighten the rules for sorting garbage from 2023. All plastic and household waste from January 1 will be recycled or prepared for reuse. The new rules apply to households, public and private enterprises, according to the government website.
By 2035, the share of recycled plastic waste should increase from 23% to 52%. Recycling of biological waste — from 47% to 71%. In addition, all Norwegian municipalities by 2035 will be required to fulfill the 70% norm for sorting plastic and food waste.
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The State Duma of Russia in the third and final reading passed a law giving the president the right to impose large-scale restrictions on the operation of the financial and banking system of Russia..
Amendments to the law “On measures of influence (counteraction) on unfriendly actions of the United States and other foreign states” allow the head of state, among other things, to impose restrictions on operations on accounts and deposits, as well as “freeze (block) property,” follows from a document posted in a single base of the Duma.
The president’s powers extend to both citizens and legal entities, according to the text of the law, which was introduced in late May by a group of deputies headed by Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma committee on financial markets.
According to the amendments, which will come into force after official publication, the president will also be able to impose restrictions and prohibitions on foreign exchange transactions for residents and non-residents, establish a special procedure for transactions with persons from «unfriendly states», change the currency of obligations under individual agreements.
The president also gets the right to introduce a permissive procedure for transactions, set limits on currency transactions, introduce requirements for buying and selling currency on the stock exchange, including through the “special trading session” mechanism. We are talking about a two-section mode of operation of the exchange, when individual participants receive priority access to trading, and then the market is opened for everyone else.
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The Russian Association of Cinema Owners (AVK) has decided to withdraw from the International Association of Cinemas, which unites the European national associations of cinemas and cinema owners (UNIC), the decision was made against the backdrop of sanctions and the departure of Hollywood film companies from the Russian Federation, a member of AVK, the head of the Russian representative office of Comscore Corporation, told Interfax Roman Isaev.
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S7 Airlines decided to freeze the Citrus low-cost airline project, which was supposed to start flying in the summer of 2022
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Irish airline Ryanair has ordered holders of South African passports to take a test in Afrikaans for knowledge in various fields about South Africa, failing which it refuses them boarding on flights to the UK. The air carrier explains this requirement by frequent cases of forgery of South African passports.
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The Vilnius City Council approved the dismantling of the memorial at the largest burial place of Soviet soldiers in Lithuania at the Antakalnis cemetery. The mayor of the Lithuanian capital, Remigius Simasius, noted that this would not be a demolition, but “an orderly removal of the sculptural stelae” so that there would be an opportunity to exhibit them later. According to him, the dismantling of the monument will be carried out before the end of summer. The municipality proposes to leave the burials of Soviet soldiers in place.
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Media group Shkulev Media Holding has suspended the publication of Elle, Elle Decoration, Elle Girl and Maxim magazines in Russia
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Canada is imposing new sanctions on Russia that will affect 28 enterprises that ensure the operation of the oil, gas and chemical industries in the Russian Federation. This was announced today by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly.
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Sberbank decided to close the gaming division of SberGames. The hiring of new employees has been stopped, and specialists already employed in the project can go to work in other structures of the company.
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Veon (owner of VimpelCom) is selling its subsidiary in Georgia to Beeline Georgia to a former local partner, according to a press release from the company. The transaction value is $45 million
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The USE during the transition to the national system of higher education will continue, since this format is not part of the Bologna system, said the head of Rosobrnadzor Anzor Muzaev. He explained that the USE is built on Russian educational standards, taking into account the traditions of the national education system.
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A draft law was submitted to the State Duma of Russia to ban the use of digital assets as a means of payment — the only official currency in Russia is the ruble, and the current ban will eliminate the risks of using money surrogates — the bill says
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Almost 30% of the richest people in the world directly or indirectly invest in cryptocurrencies, this proportion is higher than that of investors who are not billionaires, a recent survey by the American Forbes showed. It was attended by 65 billionaires.
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The Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced the temporary closure of the Consulate General in Murmansk from July 1. Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt acknowledged that there are few prospects for improving the situation, so the closure of the Consulate General could be lengthy. The country’s embassy in Moscow and the consulate general in St. Petersburg will continue to work
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