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07 Apr 2021; MEMO: Syria's fuel crisis has deepened in the areas under the regime's control resulting in long queues of vehicles at petrol stations.

Local media yesterday quoted sources as saying the halt of fuel supply from the areas controlled by the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Unit (YPG) to the Syrian regime-controlled areas had "deepened the country's fuel crisis."

Mumbai, Apr 6 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Tuesday permitted Chinese company ByteDance to operate its Indian bank accounts, that had been frozen by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities over alleged tax evasion, after depositing a sum of Rs 78.91 crore in a state-run bank.

A bench of Justices SP Deshmukh and Abhay Ahuja directed ByteDance to deposit Rs 78.91 crore in any nationalised bank towards the demand raised by the GST authorities and said the company could operate its other Indian bank accounts and utilise the remaining funds.

New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) The United States' Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, on Tuesday lauded India for "getting the job done on climate" and said it is a world leader already in deployment of renewable energy.

Kerry is on a four-day visit to India, from April 5 to April 8, during which he will meet representatives from the Union government, the private sector and NGOs.

Mumbai, Apr 7 (PTI) Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday expectedly left interest rates unchanged and maintained an accommodative stance as the economy faces a renewed threat to growth due to the resurgence of coronavirus cases.

The central bank kept the benchmark repurchase rate unchanged at 4 per cent and maintained accommodative policy stance to support growth.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept its estimate for economic growth unchanged at 10.5 per cent for the current fiscal.

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) Following are the highlights of RBI's monetary policy for 2021-22:

* RBI keeps policy rate unchanged for fifth time in a row; repo at 4 pc

* Economic growth projection for current fiscal retained at 10.5 pc

* RBI to maintain accommodative monetary policy stance to support growth, keep inflation at targeted level

* Says recent surge in COVID-19 infections has created uncertainty over economic recovery, focus be on containing virus spread

06 Apr 2021; MEMO: Iran has called for Saudi Arabia to engage in direct talks to solve ongoing issues between the two countries without the involvement of a third party, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said yesterday.

According to Iran's FarsNews Agency, Khatibzadeh said: "I regret that Riyadh has not yet developed the courage to have dialogue outside the domain of the trans-regional powers. Riyadh still looks to other capitals outside the region."

Beijing, Apr 6 (AP-PTI) China's foreign minister has cautioned Japan against teaming up with the US to counter China, ahead of a US-Japan summit next week.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart in a phone call Monday evening that their two countries should ensure that bilateral relations do not get involved in the so-called confrontation between major countries, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a swipe at the government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, saying karma is the ledger of one's action and no one can escape it.

He said this after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million Euros was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer, a charge that was denied by the BJP as baseless.

Gandhi has been alleging that commissions have been paid in the Rafale deal, which the government has denied.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushing for trillions of dollars in development spending, President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers are directing Americans’ eyes to the rear-view mirror, pointing to a booming, ambitious China they say is threatening to quickly overtake the United States in global clout and capacity.

New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Investors' wealth tumbled over Rs 4.54 lakh crore in morning trade on Monday as markets crashed amid a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in the country.

The 30-share BSE benchmark index plummeted 1,449.03 points to 48,580.80 in morning trade.

Following this, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies dived Rs 4,54,987.72 crore to Rs 2,02,71,414.07 crore.