Business

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host his Belarusian counterpart on Thursday for talks on closer integration between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

The meeting follows allegations of a failed plot to assassinate Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, allegedly involving a blockade of the country’s capital, power cuts and cyberattacks. Belarusian and Russian security agencies arrested the alleged coup plotters in Moscow earlier this month.

22 Apr 2021; MEMO: According to a report by Business Today, India sold twice as much oxygen to the world during the first ten months of fiscal 2020-21 as compared to entire financial year before it, shows data from Department of Commerce

This happened despite the fact that India was one of the three worst-affected nations from the coronavirus pandemic for a substantial portion of this period.

Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) The rupee opened on a weak note and fell below the 75 per US dollar level in early trade on Thursday as investors fretted over the prospects of stricter lockdown in some parts of the country amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Moreover, foreign fund outflows, and heavy selling in domestic equities weighed on the domestic currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.25 then lost further ground and fell to 75.26 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 38 paise over its previous closing.

New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the new COVID-19 vaccine policy, terming it as arbitrary and discriminatory and urged him to intervene immediately to reverse it.

In a letter to to the prime minister, the Congress chief alleged that the new vaccine policy implies that the central government has abdicated its responsibility of providing free vaccine to all Indians between 18 and 45 years of age.

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s financial markets authority said Thursday it is looking into possible penalties against Credit Suisse after the top-drawer bank announced “significant losses” linked to a U.S.-based hedge fund.

The authority, FINMA, said it will require “various risk-reducing measures” and investigate “possible shortcomings in risk management” at Credit Suisse. The authority said it is appointing an outside agent to look into the issue.

 21 Apr 2021; MEMO: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed a prominent member of Turkey's ruling AK Party, Mehmet Mus, as trade minister today and split the Family, Labour and Social Policies Ministry into two ministries, Reuters reported.

In a presidential decree, Ruhsar Pekcan was replaced as trade minister by Mus, who has been a lawmaker for Erdogan's AK Party since 2011 and served as the party's deputy chairman in charge of the economy.

20 Apr 2021; MEMO: Prominent Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris' fortune has hit $8.3 billion, Forbes reported yesterday."It appears that Sawiris' fortune in 2020 amounted to $5 billion," Forbes said in its annual 'The World's Billionaires' report.

20 Apr 2021; MEMO: Egypt has agreed to purchase 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinopharm and expects to receive a batch of 500,000 shots this month, Reuters reported its Ministry of Health said today.

The agreement boosts vaccination efforts in Egypt, which has a population of 101 million and has so far received a total of just over 1.5 million doses of Sinopharm and of the AstraZeneca shot.

 20 Apr 2021; MEMO: Talks between Iran, the US and four world powers aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement will reconvene next week, senior officials said in Vienna on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reported.

 20 Apr 2021; MEMO: UAE's Group 42 (G42) and state-owned Israeli Advanced Defense Systems firm, Rafael, have agreed to establish a joint venture for artificial intelligence and big data technologies based in Israel, news agencies reported yesterday.

The two firms agreed to name their joint venture Presight.AI, and it will conduct research and develop products for different sectors, including banking, healthcare, and public safety.