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HAVANA, October 31. /TASS/. The contract on supplying Russia’s S-400 missile systems to India has been signed in rubles, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Wednesday.

"The contract has been signed in rubles," Borisov said.

Earlier reports said Russia would switch to settlements in national currencies instead of the dollar with its partners in military and technical cooperation.

Mumbai, Oct 30 (PTI) The rupee Tuesday depreciated by 23 paise to close at 73.68 against the US dollar in line with fall in equities amid steady capital outflows and the strengthening of the American unit against major rivals overseas.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened lower at 73.58 and lost further ground to hit an intra-day low of 73.70 against the US dollar on strong demand for the American currency from importers.

However, the rupee clawed back some lost ground and finally settled the day at 73.68, down by 23 paise.

LONDON (AP) — Shares in HSBC are rallying after Europe’s biggest bank posted a 32 percent increase in third-quarter earnings.

The London-based bank, which gets most of its profit from Asia, said net income advanced to $3.90 billion from $2.96 billion in the same quarter last year. HSBC shares rose 4 percent to 629.20 pence in early London trading.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s yuan sank to a 10-year low against the dollar on Monday, coming close to breaking the politically sensitive level of seven to the U.S. currency.

The yuan declined to 6.9644 per dollar at midday, passing its most recent low in 2016 before recovering slightly. It was the lowest level since May 2008.

The currency’s weakness is one of a series of elements fueling Washington’s trade complaints against Beijing. The U.S. Treasury Department declined this month to label China a currency manipulator but said it was closely watching Beijing.

TEHRAN, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said Sunday that Iran is prepared to frustrate U.S. Nov. 4 sanctions on its crude exports.

The Iranian government has prepared plans to counter the impacts of returning U.S. sanctions by maintaining oil exports above one million barrels per day, Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Press TV.

New Delhi, Oct 28 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said India and the US have exchanged offers for a possible trade deal with a view to resolving issues related to bilateral commerce.

"The negotiations are ongoing. Of course, at this stage they have given an offer and we have also given a counter-offer and we are working on it," he said at an event here Saturday.

The statement assumes significance as India has deferred a notification for hiking import duties on as many as 29 US products.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held plenty of grand opening ceremonies in his 15 years at Turkey’s helm. On Monday he will unveil one of his prized jewels — Istanbul New Airport — a megaproject that has been dogged by concerns about labor rights, environmental issues and Turkey’s weakening economy.

TASS, October 28. Tehran expects that the US sanctions won’t reduce its oil exports to the level of less than 1 million barrels per day, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Sunday, according to the IRNA news agency.

Over the past months, Iran has been exporting 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, Jahangiri said. The US cannot halt Iranian oil exports as there is no substitution for them on the market, he noted.

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Moscow will find the ways to reduce the damage from the US sanctions and then to become independent from them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on Rossiya 1 TV channel.

"As for sanctions, this is a separate issue," Lavrov said. "In any case, we will find the opportunities to do so to minimize the damage from them, and some time later to stop being dependent on what they try to blackmail us."

By Murtuza Merchant

Mumbai, Oct 28 (PTI) The United States is not going to put pressure on India to buy F-16 fighter jets or any other defence system, a senior US diplomat has said here.

United States Consul General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said India has purchased more than USD 15 billion worth of American defence materials and the US is "very proud" of the expanding defence ties between the two countries.