India's AI-driven tech firings could derail middle class dreams
India's showpiece software industry is facing a moment of reckoning.
The country's biggest private sector employer Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - also its largest IT services company - has announced it will cut more than 12,000 jobs at middle and senior management levels. This will reduce the firm's workforce by 2%, BBC reported.
The Mumbai-headquartered software behemoth employs over half-a-million IT workers and is considered a bellwether for business sentiment across India's $283bn software industry. It forms the backbone of formal, white-collar employment in the country.
The decision, TCS says, was taken to make the company "future ready" as it invests in new areas and deploys artificial intelligence at scale amid seismic disruptions in its traditional business model, according to BBC.
China offers childcare subsidy to tackle falling birth rate
China is offering parents 3,600 Yuan ($500) per year for each child under three, in its first nationwide effort to raise birth rates. The policy, announced Monday, will be backdated to early 2024 and aims to ease parenting costs for around 20m families, according to BBC.
Despite ending its one-child policy years ago, China’s population continues to shrink and age. Local governments have tested similar incentives, with some offering up to 100,000 Yuan per child. Raising a child in China now costs an average of $75,700—among the highest globally.
US begins preparing Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One
Preparations are under way to refit a Qatari jumbo jet that is expected to serve as Air Force One for President Donald Trump, CBS, the BBC's US news partner, reports.
The Boeing aircraft - valued at $400m (£300m) - is being donated by Qatar as an "unconditional" gift, with any necessary retrofitting costs being borne by the US government.
The deal has ignited criticism from both Trump's detractors and some allies, with a few calling it a "bribe" from a foreign power.
The White House has insisted that taking the aircraft is legal, and pledged that it will be donated to Trump's presidential library once he leaves office. Current rules suggest US officials can only accept gifts under $480, according to BBC.
France and Germany lead downbeat EU response to US trade deal
Leaders from Europe's two largest economies have led a chorus of gloomy reactions to the trade deal struck between EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump, BBC reported.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement would "substantially damage" his nation's finances, while French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said it was tantamount to "submission".
The reaction has been downbeat across the bloc - though several capitals acknowledged signing an uneven deal was worth it in order to avert an all-out trade war.
It will see a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the US - half the rate threatened by Trump - in return for Europe buying more American energy and slashing taxes on some imports, according to BBC.
