Former champion cyclist Gregor Braun, who won two gold medals at the 1976 Olympics has been convicted by a German court in a child sexual abuse case.

Braun (67) was found guilty  by a regional court in the southwestern city of Tuebingen of sexually abusing a child, soliciting the serious sexual abuse of a child and soliciting the production of abuse imagery in several cases. He was sentenced to 33 months imprisonment

Braun won gold medals in the individual pursuit and team pursuit events at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, several World Championships and numerous other track and road races before retiring from professional cycling in the late 1980s.

The World Bank has approved USD 700 million in financing to help Sri Lanka to recover from the current economic crisis and provide relief to the poor and vulnerable people, the biggest     funding tranche since the IMF deal in March.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is currently struggling with the worst economic crisis in history.

In 2022, the economy had contracted by over seven percent as the economic difficulties forced people to take to the streets with protests across the island nations that also led to the ouster of Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa family from politics.

Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations condemned the burning of the Koran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, warning such acts "inflame" the feelings of Muslims around the world.

Under a heavy police presence, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old who fled to Sweden several years ago, on   Jun 28 stomped on the Koran before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm's largest mosque.

Police in the Swedish capital had granted him a permit for the protest in line with free-speech protections, but said later they had opened an investigation into the man over "agitation".

The incident occurred as Muslims around the world began marking the Eid al-Adha holiday and as the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia was drawing to a close.

Greece's left-wing opposition leader, Alexis Tsipras, announced his decision to step down after a crushing election defeat.

Tsipras, 48, served as Greece's prime minister from 2015 to 2019 during politically tumultuous years as the country struggled to remain in the eurozone and end a series of international bailouts.

In  recent  general election, Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party received just under 18 percent percent of the vote while the winning New Democracy party topped 40 percent.

Tsipras is expected to stay on as leader until his successor is elected by the party membership.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has honoured Rajindar Singh Dhatt, one of the last surviving Sikh soldiers who fought in the Second World War with Points of Light honour at a UK-India Week reception at 10 Downing Street.

Dhatt, based in Hounslow in southwest London since 1963, was born in pre-Partition India in 1921 and fought with the Allied forces during the British colonial period.

Dhatt joined the British Indian Army during the Second World War and excelled up the ranks, being promoted to Havildar Major (Sergeant Major) in 1943.

He was later drafted to the Far East campaign to fight in Kohima in northeast India to support the Allied Forces and help break through the Japanese defences.

After the war, Dhatt returned to India before settling in London with his family.

Japan and South Korea agreed to revive a currency swap agreement for times of crisis, in the latest sign of warming ties as the countries work to smooth over historical antagonisms.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki announced the agreement after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Choo Kyungho. It was the first time the two countries have held annual financial talks in seven years, though Suzuki and Choo also met in South Korea in May.

The $10 billion swap arrangement expired in 2015 and had not been renewed. Largely symbolic, it allows the South Korean and Japanese central banks to exchange currencies for each country's reserves of U.S. dollars to provide extra liquidity, or cash supplies, in case of a crisis.

The two major Asian economies, both U.S. allies, have recently mended ties as they contend with challenges posed by China and North Korea, despite tensions over issues left over from Japan’s 35-year occupation of the Korean Peninsula before and during World War II.

From July 21, Japan plans to reinstate South Korea as a preferred nation with fast-track trade status. That will essentially end a four-year trade dispute that began in July 2019 when Japan removed South Korea from its “white list” of countries given fast-track approvals in the trade as ties deteriorated over compensation for Japanese wartime actions.

Japan’s tightening of trade controls against Seoul was in apparent retaliation for South Korean court rulings in 2018 that ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean workers for abusive treatment and forced labor during World War II.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in March in the first formal summit between the two countries since 2015.

Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945, imposing Japanese names and language on Koreans and conscripting many into forced labour or prostitution in military brothels before and during World War II. Japan gave $800 million to South Korea’s then-military-backed government under a 1965 accord to normalize relations which were mainly used on economic development projects driven by major South Korean companies. A semi-government fund set up by Tokyo offered compensation to former “comfort women” when the government apologized in 1995, but many South Koreans believe the Japanese government should take more direct responsibility for the occupation.

The two sides also have a longstanding territorial dispute over a group of islands controlled by South Korea but claimed by Japan.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has sold initial gas it is producing from its KG basin fields in the Bay of Bengal to three firms, including Torrent Gas.

In an e-auction, the firm sold 1.4 million standard cubic meters per day - a fraction of the planned output from the block that sits next to Reliance Industries' prolific KG-D6 area in the Bay of Bengal, to Torrent Gas Pune Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).

GAIL picked up 0.8 mmscmd while HPCL took 0.42 mmscmd and Torrent 0.12 mmscmd.

Twelve states will receive `66,413 crore incentives for reforms they have made in the power sector in their respective states, said Union power minister RK Singh.

The government has earmarked `1,43,332 crore as an incentive for to states for undertaking power reforms in 2023-24.

The reforms include the progressive assumption of responsibility for losses of public sector power distribution companies (DISCOMs) by the state government, transparency in the reporting of financial affairs of the power sector including payment of subsidies and recording of liabilities of governments to DISCOMs and of DISCOMs to others, timely rendition of financial and energy accounts and timely audit and others. West Bengal received the highest amount of additional borrowing permission for 2021-22 and 2022-23.