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MOSCOW (AP) — A negotiating team from the Taliban arrived Friday in Russia, a representative told The Associated Press, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared dead a deal with the insurgent group in Afghanistan.

Russian state news agency Tass cited the Taliban’s Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying the delegation had held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for Afghanistan. The visit was confirmed to the AP by a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Bengaluru, Sep 12 (PTI) Union Minister D V Sadanada Gowda on Thursday said the current economic situation in the country was "challenging", but expressed the hope that the measures taken by the union government to address it would see India quickly progress ahead 'in a very short time.'

"In 2008-09 also we had seen global slowdown, but during the time of economic slowdown, the measures taken by the administrative machinery is important as it plays a crucial role.

12 Sep 2019; MEMO: Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia signed a $991 million deal to adapt Navantia’s combat management systems for Saudi navy corvette ships.

Chandigarh/Dharamshala, Sep 12 (PTI) Four bank employee unions have given a call for a two-day strike from the midnight of September 25 and an indefinite stir from the second week of November to protest against the mega-merger of 10 nationalised banks, a union leader said on Thursday.

The unions are also pressing for expeditious wage revision, the introduction of the five-day week and other demands.

TRIPOLI, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Germany aims to host a conference about Libya this year in conjunction with the United Nations to try to stabilise the oil producing country, where rival factions have been fighting over the capital, Germany’s ambassador to Libya said.

The plans, which are still in the early stages according to diplomats, are the first major diplomatic push since eastern forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar launched in April an offensive to take the capital Tripoli, held by the internationally recognised government of Premier Fayez al-Serraj.

TEHRAN, Sept 12 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, said, negotiations with the United States are unlikely, unless the latter decides to remove anti-Iran sanctions, Press TV reported.

“There is no room for talks, as long as the U.S. administration’s economic terrorism and cruel sanctions against the Iranian people are in place,” Takht-e Ravanchi was quoted as saying.

TEHRAN, Sept 11 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran has urged India to reject the U.S. oil trade ban imposed on Iran, Press TV reported on Tuesday.

If India defies the U.S. sanctions, it would take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Iranian oil and gas sectors, Iran’s Ambassador to India, Ali Chegini, was quoted as saying.

“If India wants energy security, it should look for a stable source, like Iran, because of its resources, as well as, a strong government-to-government relationship, and the friendship between the two countries,” the ambassador added.

Beijing, Sep 10 (AP) Jack Ma, who founded Alibaba Group, the world's biggest e-commerce company, is stepping down as chairman at a time when the rapidly changing industry faces uncertainty amid a US-Chinese trade war.

Ma stepped down Tuesday as part of a succession announced a year earlier. He will stay on as a member of the Alibaba Partnership, a group of 36 people with the right to nominate a majority of the company's board of directors.

Ma, 55, founded Alibaba in 1999 to connect Chinese exporters to American retailers.

New Delhi, Sep 10 (PTI) Hitting out at the Modi government, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said the economy is falling into a "deep abyss" of recession and asked when will the dispensation "open its eyes".

Her remarks comes amid opposition's criticism of the government after growth in the last quarter slipped to 5 per cent.

New Delhi, Sep 10 (PTI) Human rights watchdog Amnesty International India on Tuesday denied charges of violating the foreign exchange law after it was recently served with a show cause notice by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

"Amnesty International India acknowledges that Amnesty International India Private Limited has received a show cause notice from the Enforcement Directorate."