Business

30 Jan 2021; MEMO: The UAE has adopted law amendments that allow granting Emirati citizenship to investors, specialised talents, and professionals, reports The Khaleej Times.

The professionals include scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors, and their families.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai announced the new law on Saturday.

Ghaziabad, Jan 30 (PTI) Support for the farmers' protest swelled on Saturday, as more villagers poured in at a key protest site on the Delhi- Meerut highway in Ghazipur on the border with Uttar Pradesh.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws here looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protestors have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also joined in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The country's exports are expected to contract by 5.8 per cent and imports by 11.3 per cent during the second half of the current financial year, though implementation of several measures by the government would help support exports going forward, according to the Economic Survey 2021.

With gradual recovery of economic activities, the survey said that imports and exports have picked up.

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the only solution to the farmers' issue was throwing the new agri laws in the "waste paper basket" and warned that if not resolved, the agitation will spread to other parts of the country.

In a no-holds-barred attack at the Centre, Gandhi accused the government of trying to intimidate and discredit the farmers, using the National Investigation Agency.

Mumbai, Jan 29 (PTI) The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 1.091 billion to USD 585.334 billion in the week ended January 22, RBI data showed.

In the previous week ended January 15, the reserves had declined by USD 1.839 billion to USD 584.242 billion.

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The Tikri border, one of the epicentres of the agitation against the Centre's farm laws, witnessed tense moments on Friday as a group of people claiming to be locals staging a protest demanding removal of the farmers there.

The group of around 30-40 people from nearby areas, carried national flags and raised slogans against the alleged "dishonour" of the Tricolour by the farmer protesters on January 26.

29 Jan 2021; MEMO: United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al-Otaiba considers that the announcement made by US President Joe Biden's administration regarding halting arms sales to the Emirates and Saudi Arabia was to be expected.

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) The government has approved closure of loss-making state-owned firm Scooters India Limited and shutting down the operations of its units, the company said on Thursday.

PTI had reported a week ago that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is believed to have given its consent to the closure of the Lucknow-based company.

In a BSE filing, Scooters India said the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises has communicated that the competent authority has approved the closure.

Ghaziabad, Jan 29 (PTI) Hundreds of Bharatiya Kisan Union members stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway early on Friday, notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration's ultimatum to vacate the UP Gate protest site.

A confrontation was building up at the UP Gate in Ghazipur even as frequent power cuts were witnessed in the evening at the protest site, where BKU members, led by Rakesh Tikait, are staying put since November 28.

28 Jan 2021; MEMO: Armenia's territorial integrity is a "red line" for Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned yesterday.

Zarif's remarks came during a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Ara Aivazyan, in Yerevan during a trip to the capital city before he sets off to Azerbaijan and Russia.

Officials reportedly discussed "bilateral relations between Armenia and Iran, as well as other regional issues."