RUSSIAN CENBANK deputy governor said room for further rate cuts has narrowed.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said a Monday survey found 68.2% of companies hire foreign workers to ease severe staff shortages, the top-cited reason since the survey began in 2023. About 56% cited foreign workers' skills and qualifications and 18% said hiring aimed to internationalize workplaces. The results underscore corporate dependence on overseas labor even as Prime Minister Takaichi moves to tighten rules for non-Japanese residents. Teikoku Databank reported this month that over half of firms say full-time headcounts are insufficient and nearly 30% report shortages of non-regular staff, as Japan's population decline and ageing workforce push firms to increase foreign recruitment.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan. They discussed recent progress in bilateral ties and measures to deepen cooperation across sectors, urging fuller use of existing cooperation potential and resources to advance relations.