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TEHRAN, May 17 (NNN-IRNA) – The United States would be practically unable to block shipments of fuel from Iran to Venezuela, at a time when the two countries need to cooperate, to mitigate the impacts of American sanctions on their energy sectors, Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for the Iranian Association of Exports of Crude Products, said on Saturday.

Washington is extremely angry about Iran’s delivery of fuel to a location near its borders, despite various sanctions it has imposed on Tehran’s shipping and energy sectors, Hosseini was quoted as saying.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia urged China on Sunday to respond to its requests to discuss easing tensions between the two trading partners after Canberra called for an international enquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus.

China, accusing Australia of playing “petty tricks”, has recently suspended beef imports from four of Australia’s largest meat processors and is considering imposing hefty tariffs on imports of barley.

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said electricity distribution companies in Union Territories (UTs) will be privatised.

This is expected to provide a model to be replicated in states later to improve efficiency and attract investment.

Unveiling the fourth tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package to revive the coronavirus-hit economy, Sitharaman said there is sub-optimal performance of power distribution and supply in the country.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia and China are committed to further enhancing existing defence co-operation between the two countries.

The Ministry of Defence said, in a statement today, that the co-operation commitment was announced by the Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob after receiving a phone call from the Chinese Minister of Defence Wei Fenghe at 4 pm today.

“Ismail Sabri and his counterpart also discussed regional and international security challenges of mutual interest, including the South China Sea,” it said.

VILNIUS (Lithuania), May 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have opened their borders to one another, creating a coronavirus “travel bubble”.

From midnight on Thursday, citizens and residents can move freely between the three EU nations.

Anybody arriving from outside the zone however must self-isolate for 14 days.

This is the first “travel bubble” in Europe since nations began shutting their borders earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

MONTEVIDEO, May 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou announced that the government had renegotiated the terms of a deal that would see Finnish company UPM invest in the building of a pulp plant in the South American country.

The original $3 billion investment by UPM, which already operates one such plant in Uruguay, was controversial because the new plant is located on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina.

BEIRUT, May 16 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Finance Minister, Ghazi Wazne, said on Friday that, Lebanon may cut down half of the number of banks operating in the country, by restructuring the banking sector, a local media outlet reported.

“We have a total of 49 commercial banks and we will reduce the number gradually in different ways, including mergers,” Wazne was quoted as saying by Elnashra, a local independent online newspaper.

Kanpur: Lockdown leaves the humming market desolate in Lal Bungalow locality of Jajmau area here. It is one of the main markets in the area. Its expansion has taken place in the past several years.

After a gap of nearly fifty days when one to pass through the market, one was completely stunned by the eerie silence prevailing in the approaching road to the bustling market.

15 May 2020; MEMO: Boeing has won two contracts worth $2.6 billion to deliver more than 1,000 air-to-surface and anti-ship missiles to Saudi Arabia, the US’ defence department announced yesterday.

In an official statement, the Pentagon explained that the first contract was worth $1.97 billion, adding that it would include “modernizing SLAM ER cruise missiles and delivering 650 new missiles in support of the government of Saudi Arabia.”

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) India's exports contracted by a record 60.28 per cent to USD 10.36 billion in April amid the coronavirus lockdown, official data showed on Friday.

Imports too tumbled by 58.65 per cent to USD 17.12 billion in April from USD 41.4 billion in the same month last year, according to the data by the commerce and industry ministry.