Business

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday a plea which has sought a direction to the Centre to appoint a commission, headed by a retired apex court judge, for inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The petition has alleged that the Centre failed to undertake timely and effective measures for containing transmission of the virus and an independent inquiry by a commission, appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952, was essential to inquire into the "lapses".

New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Thursday said it has launched Remdesivir under the brand name Remdac, used to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19, in the Indian market.

Priced at Rs 2,800 per 100 mg vial, Remdac is the most economical Remdesivir brand in India, Zydus Cadila said in a regulatory filing.

The company said the drug will be made available across India through the group's strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

12 Aug 2020; MEMO: For the first time in five months, Egyptian authorities yesterday opened the Rafah Crossing for Palestinian travellers from and the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a brief statement, the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza said: “Egyptian authorities opened the crossing exceptionally after a five-month closure.”

On Monday, the Interior Ministry announced the names of the people who would be allowed to travel through the crossing, which is due to remain open for three days.

12 Aug 2020; MEMO: Iran has threatened to respond appropriately and firmly if the arms embargo that has been imposed on it since 2015 is extended. According to government spokesman Ali Rabiei, any resolution that violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231 would be unacceptable and lack compliance with international law.

12 Aug 2020; MEMO: Saudi giant, Aramco,  has raised its domestic gasoline prices for August, state TV reported yesterday.

In July, the state-owned company increased the price of the 91 octane gasoline grade from 1.29  ($0.34) to 1.43 riyals ($0.38) per litre and the price of the 95 octane grade from 1.44 riyals ($0.38) to 1.60 riyals ($0.43) per litre.

12 Aug 2020; MEMO: US President Donald Trump has pledged to conclude an agreement with Iran within four weeks, if he wins the presidential elections slated for November.

In a press conference held in the White House, Trump confirmed that in case he wins the election, he will conclude a number of agreements and deals with several countries, indicating that conditions will be different if the Democrats win.

12 Aug 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has ended a loan and oil supply to Pakistan due to the South Asian nation’s criticism that the Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is not doing enough to pressure India on the Kashmir issue, marking a new milestone in the deteriorating relations between the two allies.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said its latest round of trade talks with the United States made positive progress in many areas, and that both sides agreed negotiations should continue at pace in the coming months.

After leaving the European Union earlier this year Britain is trying to tie up swift trade deals with major partners like the United States to capitalize on its new freedom to strike bilateral deals rather than EU-wide ones.

“Positive progress continues to be made in many of the areas covered by an agreement,” the British trade department said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. politicians risk making a "dreadful mistake" by stoking a geopolitical Cold War with China, a renowned U.S. economist has warned.

"The last Cold War was dangerous enough," Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor at Columbia University and senior United Nations advisor, said in an interview with CNBC on Monday.

"This one would be even more dangerous. It's completely misconceived and misguided, but a lot of Americans want to put it to China and think that we run the show, which is a very dangerous view of thinking," he said.

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) India's industrial production declined by 16.6 per cent in June, on account of disruption in normal business activity following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, the government data showed on Tuesday.

The decline in factory output was widespread across the sectors, including manufacturing, mining, power generation, capital goods and consumer durables, as per the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had expanded by 1.3 per cent in June 2019.