Business

New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Thursday announced it will acquire iconic British toy-maker Hamleys for 67.96 million pounds (around Rs 620 crore) in an all-cash deal.

Hamleys, a 259-year-old toy-maker, has struggled to generate profits in recent times. It reported a profit after tax of 2.44 million pounds in 2018 after suffering a loss of 11.24 million pounds in 2017.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. demand for coal to generate electricity will keep sliding in coming months, federal officials said Thursday, despite efforts by the Trump administration to shore up the struggling industry.

Renewable energy sources including wind, solar and hydropower are expected to fill much of the gap left by coal’s decline, according to the Energy Information Administration.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted two members of “extremely sophisticated” hacking group operating from China in the 2014-2015 theft of the personal information of nearly 79 million customers of insurer Anthem Inc., the biggest known health care hack in U.S. history.

The Justice Department said the two also hacked three other U.S.-based companies it did not name, one in the technology sector, the others in basic materials and communications.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. said Thursday that it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was used to violate international sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that comes amid a tense moment in relations between the two countries.

The “Wise Honest,” North Korea’s second largest cargo ship, was detained in April 2018 as it traveled toward Indonesia. It’s now in the process of being moved to American Samoa, Justice Department officials said.

BEIJING (AP) — President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hikes on Chinese goods took effect Friday and Beijing said it would retaliate, escalating a battle over China’s technology ambitions and other trade strains.

The Trump administration raised import taxes on $200 billion of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. China’s Commerce Ministry said would take “necessary countermeasures” but gave no details.

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): Pakistan on Thursday called upon the World Bank to set up its Court of Arbitration under Indus Water Treaty after India hinted of restricting the flow of water into Pakistan from its share of rivers.

Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal, at a weekly press briefing, said contrary to India’s reluctance, Pakistan favoured the continuity of Treaty and also the smooth functioning of its dispute resolution mechanism.

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday said the government realizing its manifesto had initiated at least 36 development projects of public welfare and economic development during its first eight-month tenure.

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): Minister for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul on Thursday informed the National Assembly that the government is currently working on a plan to prohibit single use plastic bags in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) by August 14.

Replying to a question of Ms. Naureen Farooq Ibrahim in the National Assembly, the minister said that an SRO under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 is being drafted to give legal cover to the proposed action.

WASHINGTON, May 9. /TASS/: President of the United States Donald Trump has ordered to extend for one more year a set of unilateral sanctions against Syria, the White House said in a statement.

"The regime’s brutal war on the Syrian people, who have been calling for freedom and a representative government, not only endangers the Syrian people themselves, but also generates instability throughout the region," the statement quoted President Trump as saying.

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/: Russia and the United States have agreed on two additional places on board of Soyuz carrier rockets for journeys of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), Roscosmos Executive Director for Manned Programs Sergei Krikalyov told TASS.

"The documents have been approved," Krikalyov said adding that it the procedure to sign the papers took place before a recently reported incident with Crew Dragon spacecraft.