Business

20 May 2021; MEMO: The UAE is continuing to operate direct flights and tours to the Yemeni island of Socotra despite not having the permission of the government.

According to local sources, hundreds of foreign tourists have arrived on the archipelago over the past few days using visas granted to them by Abu Dhabi, from where weekly direct flights started in March.

Raipur, May 20 (PTI) Farmers in Chhattisgarh will get an input subsidy of Rs 10,000 per acre for cultivating some crops identified by the government other than paddy from the Kharif season 2021-22, an official said on Thursday.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel here on Wednesday in a bid to encourage cultivation of crops other than paddy in Chhattisgarh, which known as the 'rice bowl' of central India because of extensive cultivation of rice in the state.

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over a hike in fertiliser prices, and said this will put an additional burden of Rs 20,000 crore on the farmers.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi said the government has increased the prices of fertilisers, petrol and diesel, and lowered agri subsidies and income of farmers.

Chandigarh, May 19 (PTI) The Punjab government has allowed any individual or a group to open a makeshift COVID hospital in the state with a view to ramp up the bed capacity, a senior official said here on Wednesday.

'Invest Punjab' will grant permission, subject to clearance from the health department, to interested parties in opening up temporary COVID hospital within 24 hours.

Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) With 38 people on board a barge that sank in the Arabian Sea four days ago still missing, Indian Navy ships worked through the night, using searchlights to trace any movement in the pitch dark waters, as hopes of finding more survivors began to recede on Thursday.

The Navy on Thursday morning launched a fresh aerial search and rescue mission, deploying helicopters to scour the waters off Mumbai coast, where the accommodation barge P305 went adrift in Cyclone Tauktae fury before it sank Monday.

18 May 2021; MEMO: Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, has categorically denied media reports claiming his country has asked Saudi Arabia to help it sell its oil and circumvent US sanctions.

18 May 2021; MEMO: IMF member countries have agreed to clear Sudan's arrears to the institution, France's president said yesterday, removing a final hurdle to the African nation getting wider relief on the external debt of at least $50 billion, Reuters reported.

Hosting a conference for Sudan in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron also kick-started the broader debt relief effort, saying his country was in favour of fully cancelling the $5 billion it is owed by Khartoum.

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) Despite the second coronavirus wave entering rural areas and lockdown in several states, the demand for work under rural employment scheme MGNREGA is on the rise, according to the data released by Rural Development Ministry on Monday.

In the wake of the pandemic, there have been casualties in operating staff for implementation of rural development schemes and those work in the front have witnessed casualties due to COVID-19, the ministry said in a statement.

17 May 2021; MEMO: International airlines suspended all flights to and from Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday as rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza hit targets in the vicinity of the airport, it has been reported.

The cancellation of flights has left Israel isolated. Only local airlines Israir and El Al are now operating out of Israel's sole international airport.

16 May 2021; MEMO: Cruise operator Royal Caribbean is cancelling a new line that had been scheduled to run from Israel to Greece and Cyprus from next month, citing regional security concerns, reports Reuters.

The sailings out of Haifa port would have been the first for Royal Caribbean's new ship "Odyssey of the Seas" and were intended to exploit a travel corridor being set up among the three countries for travellers vaccinated against COVID-19.