With thousands of his supporters on the streets from early morning, chaos erupted when a huge crowd breached a gate of the Nairobi sports arena, prompting soldiers to fire in the air

International News via Reuters:

At least two people were shot dead in Nairobi on Thursday after Kenyan security forces fired in the air to disperse crowds at a stadium hosting a viewing of deceased opposition leader Raila Odinga’s body, according to a police source and local media.

Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.

With thousands of his supporters on the streets from early morning, chaos erupted when a huge crowd breached a gate of the Nairobi sports arena, prompting soldiers to fire in the air, a Reuters witness said.

A police source told Reuters that two people were shot dead at the stadium, with KTN News and Citizen TV also reporting the same death toll.

After security forces fired in the air, police lobbed tear gas to disperse thousands of mourners, the two broadcasters showed, leaving the stadium deserted.

Earlier in the day, thousands of mourners briefly stormed Nairobi’s international airport, interrupting a ceremony for President William Ruto and other officials to receive Odinga’s body with military honours.

That prompted a two-hour suspension of airport operations.

DEVOTION

Crowds also flooded nearby roads and tried to breach parliament, where the government had originally scheduled the public viewing.

Though mainly known as an opposition figure, Odinga became prime minister in 2008 and also struck a political pact with Ruto last year in a career of shifting alliances.

He commanded passionate devotion among supporters, especially in his Luo tribe based in western Kenya, many of whom believe he was cheated of the presidency by electoral fraud.

Odinga’s mourners, many of whom were not yet born in 1991 when Kenya became a multi-party democracy, paid tribute to Odinga’s efforts as an activist.

“He fought tirelessly for multi-party democracy, and we are enjoying those freedoms today because of his struggle,” university student Felix Ambani Uneck told Reuters at the stadium where thousands had gone on foot and motorbikes.

Reporting by Monicah Mwangi, Vincent Mumo, Edwin Waita, Humphrey Malalo and George ObulutsaEditing by Ammu Kannampilly and Andrew Cawthorne

The so-called “28th regime” reform would make it easier to raise money and invest across European Union by harmonising financial, legal and taxation rules to create a simpler framework

International News via Reuters:

European Investment Bank President Nadia Calvino urged the European Commission to be bold with new rules allowing startup firms to easily operate across the bloc, a move aimed at keeping fledgling companies in the region.

The so-called “28th regime” reform would make it easier to raise money and invest across European Union by harmonising financial, legal and taxation rules to create a simpler framework.

That could make it easier to raise capital and grow a business in the EU, boosting Europe’s attractiveness and helping it close the gap to the United States, where startups have grown into some of the world’s biggest, most influential companies. 

The Commission, the EU’s executive, is due to issue a proposal on the 28th regime reform in January.

“I really hope that the Commission will be bold in their proposal,” Calvino told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington on Wednesday.

EU CAPITAL MARKET INTEGRATION A TOP PRIORITY

“Reinforcing the integration of Europe’s capital markets, building an integrated capital market is undoubtedly one of our top priorities right now for Europe,” Calvino said.

The European Investment Bank, owned by EU governments, is one of the bloc’s key institutions, borrowing to finance priority projects.

This year, it committed 3.5% of its 100 billion-euro ($117 billion) lending volume to defence and security, triple what it invested in the sector last year, a figure Calvino said she expected will rise further in 2026.

Europe needs “successful innovators to grow and stay in Europe and to finance the necessary investments to maintain our leadership in key technologies for the future,” Calvino said.

The 28th regime has been under discussion, including in a report on how to improve the EU’s single market by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. But it requires the backing of member state governments and the European Parliament, making the final outcome of reforms uncertain.

Calvino also backed plans to create a single EU financial supervisor, saying it would be “a very important step in the right direction.” 

Europe has grappled with divisions as it seeks to forge a common front on reforms to make it stronger in the face of an increasingly dominant United States. Many countries are reluctant to surrender their power to central authorities.

The region’s economic woes have added to the problem with political infighting in France over critical economic reforms such as pensions further underscoring the difficulties.

($1 = 0.8576 euros)

Reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi; Editing by Joe Bavier

The bill, which allows employers to enforce 13-hour work days, up from the current eight hours, aims to make the labour market more flexible and effective, the conservative government says

International News via Reuters:

Greece’s parliament approved a bill on Thursday allowing private sector employers to extend working hours despite protests from workers already struggling from a cost-of-living crisis.

The bill, which allows employers to enforce 13-hour work days, up from the current eight hours, aims to make the labour market more flexible and effective, the conservative government says.

But the proposal has triggered two general strikes this month by workers who see it as a move to undermine their rights just as they are struggling with stagnating wages and the rising costs of food and rent.

“When the rest of Europe is in discussions to reduce working hours, in Greece we increase them,” said 41-year-old barman Themis Lytras, who said his rent had doubled over the past two years.

Greece already has among the longest working weeks in Europe at around 40 hours, EU data shows, against an average 34 hours worked in Germany or 32 in the Netherlands.

GREEKS STRUGGLE DESPITE ECONOMIC REBOUND

Greece is recovering from a debilitating 2009-2018 debt crisis, marked by years of belt-tightening, that wiped out a quarter of national output. 

Strong economic growth in recent years has opened up room for tax cuts and pay increases. But wages remain below pre-crisis levels and Greeks’ purchasing power is among the lowest in the European Union, Eurostat data shows.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government has seen its popularity wane in opinion polls partly due to disappointment over the failure of the economic recovery to generate higher living standards.

“After the crisis, we expected a return to normality,” said George Koutroumanis, a former labour minister who called the new law “absurd”.

The extended work shift can only be applied three days a month and up to 37 days a year. The bill protects people from being fired if they refuse to work overtime, but unions say it strips workers of negotiating power in a country where there is undeclared work and where average wages remain relatively low.

The bill, which also gives employers more flexibility on short-term hirings and allows staff to work four days a week through the entire year upon prior agreement, was approved by a majority of lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament.

Additional reporting by Mark John and Lefteris PapadimasEditing by Ed Osmond, Edward McAllister and Gareth Jones