Month: June 2020

Stock Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty end higher for sixth day led by financials; M&M, Bajaj Finance top gainers

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Stock Market Highlights: The Indian equity market extended gains for the sixth consecutive session on Wednesday. Financials led the gains yet again, PSU Bank index remained the best-performing index (+5 percent). M&M and Bajaj Finance remained the Nifty top gainers while Zee Entertainment and NTPC remained top losers.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India expels two Pakistan High Commission officials on charges of espionage

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India on Sunday declared two officials of the Pakistan High Commission as ‘persona non grata’ on charges of espionage and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The two officials, Abid Hussain and Muhammad Tahir, were caught by Delhi Police while they were obtaining sensitive documents relating to India’s security installations from an Indian national in exchange of money, official sources said.

“The government has declared both these officials persona non grata for indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission and asked them to leave the country within 24 four hours,” the MEA said in a statement.

The sources said the officials were working at the visa section of the Pakistan High Commission and confessed during the interrogation that they worked for Pakistani spy agency ISI.

In a statement in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office condemned India’s action against the two officials, calling the allegations baseless.
It said the action is “clearly aimed” at shrinking diplomatic space for the working of Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.

“Pakistan strongly rejects the baseless Indian allegations and deplores the Indian action which is in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct especially in an already vitiated atmosphere,” it said.

The punitive action against the two officials came in the midst of frayed ties between the two countries over reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir by India.

Also Read: Explained: What’s behind latest India-China border tension\

Pakistan had downgraded diplomatic ties by expelling the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad following India’s decision to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories in August last year.

The MEA said a strong protest was lodged with the Charge de Affairs of the Pakistan High Commission over the activities of its two officials against India’s national security.

“Pakistan’s Charge de Affairs was asked to ensure that no member of its diplomatic mission should indulge in activities inimical to India or behave in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status,” it said.
The sources said the two officials, working at the visa section of the Pakistan High Commission, were handing over Indian money and an iphone for providing them the documents.

The officials initially claimed that they were Indian nationals and even produced fake Aadhaar cards, the sources said.

A similar case had taken place in October 2006.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Indian states rush to identify high-risk zones to remain in lockdown

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian states on Sunday began identifying high-risk zones where coronavirus lockdowns should continue while the rest of country gears up to reopen in June despite a record rise in COVID-19 cases, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has extended lockdown until June 30 in so-called containment zones that should remain under lockdown because they continue to report a high number of infections.

But restaurants, malls and religious buildings are permitted to reopen elsewhere from June 8 as India loosens the world’s longest lockdown to curb the spread of the spread of the pandemic.

India has reported 182,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 5,164 deaths.

In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, a health official said 1,111 containment zones has been identified, while authorities in Gujarat said that more than 400,000 houses were marked as high-risk zones.

Officials in Maharastra said all markets, except malls and congested spaces, will be allowed to function in a staggered manner.

West Bengal identified 285 containment zones in its capital, Kolkata.

In a radio address to the nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned citizens to remain vigilant.

Also Read: Maharashtra govt implements odd-even scheme for shops as it issues guidelines to ease lockdown

“The fight against the coronavirus is intense, we cannot drop our guard,” he said.

The number of cases reached a daily record high in the past 48 hours, two months after the federal government enforced a rigid lockdown to stop the pandemic from spreading in a country of more than 1.3 billion people.

Critics said Modi had now left states with the responsibility of establishing rules to contain the virus.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Wajid Khan of music composer duo Sajid-Wajid dies at 42

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Singer-composer Wajid Khan of music director duo Sajid-Wajid, popular for their work on superstar Salman Khan’s films such as Wanted , Dabangg and Ek Tha Tiger, died in wee hours of Monday in a city hospital due to complications arising from a kidney infection. He was 42.

Music composer Salim Merchant, who confirmed the news of Wajid’s death, said the composer was hospitalised few days ago at Surana Hospital, Chembur where his condition deteriorated.

“He had multiple issues. He had a kidney issue and had a transplant a while ago. But recently he got to know about kidney infection… He was on the ventilator for the last four days, after his situation started getting worse. Kidney infection was the beginning and then he got critical,” Salim told PTI.

The music composer duo made their Bollywood debut with Salman’s 1998 movie “Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” and went on to work on the actor’s various films including Garv, Tere Naam, Tumko Na Bhool Payenge, Partner and the popular Dabangg franchise.

Wajid also did playback for Salman in chartbusters like “Mera He Jalwa”, “Fevicol Se” and for Akshay Kumar in “Chinta Ta Chita Chita” from the film “Rowdy Rathore”, among others. He recently co-composed Salman’s songs “Pyaar Karona” and Bhai Bhai, which the actor released on his YouTube channel.

Wajid along with his brother Sajid served as mentor on singing reality shows “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012” and “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar”.

The composer duo also scored IPL 4 theme song, “Dhoom Dhoom Dhoom Dhadaka”, which was sung by Wajid.

Soon after the news of the composer’s demise broke, many from the film fraternity took to Twitter to pay tributes.

“The one thing I will always remember is Wajid bhai’s laugh. Always smiling. Gone too soon. My condolences to his family and everyone grieving. Rest in peace my friend. You are in my thoughts and prayers,” she posted on Twitter.

Actor Parineeti Chopra said Wajid was one of the “nicest” men in the industry.

“Always singing. All heart. Always positive. You will truly be missed Wajid bhai,” she tweeted.

Actor Varun Dhawan shared a picture of his filmmaker-father David Dhawan with Wajid and remembered the musician as one of the most positive people in Bollywood.

“Shocked hearing this news @wajidkhan7 bhai was extremely close to me and my family. He was one of the most positive people to be around. We will miss you Wajid bhai thank you for the music,” he wrote.

Music composer-singer Vishal Dadlani said he was “heartbroken” after hearing the news.

“Both @SajidMusicKhan and @wajidkhan7 have been close & true friends. The kind who might see the light on and show up at our studio in the middle of the night just to meet and talk and share a laugh. Can’t believe Wajid and I will never speak again,” he wrote.

Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan said he was still unable to come to terms with the news of Wajid’s demise.

“Shocking ! Good bye dear brother.. love you .. till we meet on the other side ! Prayers for your peaceful journey Wajid bhai,” he tweeted.

Singer Javed Ali posted, “Feeling Deeply Saddened after hearing shocking news of the sudden demise of Wajid Khan. May his Soul Rest in Peace. My heartfelt condolences to his family. May Allah give strength to the family.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Long-haul carrier Emirates fires staff amid coronavirus pandemic

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Dubai’s long-haul carrier Emirates said on Sunday it fired an undisclosed number of employees as the coronavirus pandemic halted global aviation, becoming the latest Mideast airline to shed staff over the outbreak.

Emirates, “the jewel of the sheikhdom’s vast array of state-linked enterprises known as Dubai Inc.” to diplomats and investors, declined to offer figures on how many staff members it fired.

“We have endeavored to sustain the current family as is … but have come to the conclusion that we unfortunately have to say goodbye to a few of the wonderful people that worked with us,” the airline said in a statement.

The carrier said it would treat fired staff with fairness and respect, without elaborating.

Emirates had been the sole holdout among the Gulf’s two other major East-West carriers on retaining staff. Previously, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Doha-based Qatar Airways similarly fired staff as countries shut down their airspace as the virus spread.

While the airlines have run repatriation and cargo flights as traffic slowly picks up, the losses have been tremendous. In March, Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the sheikhdom would inject equity into the airline, but offered no details.

Emirates, owned by a Dubai sovereign wealth fund, already reduced salaries for its staff. The carrier announced profits of 288 million in 2019, but acknowledged the virus would deeply affect its business.

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international passengers that’s home to Emirates, has been operating at a fraction of its usual pace.

The airport-based firm Dubai Duty Free, whose vast shelves of alcohol, electronics, perfumes and playthings greet bleary-eyed travelers from the world over, had sales of just over 2 billion last year alone.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US will consider rejoining WHO if it ends corruption, reliance on China: White House

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The US will consider rejoining the World Health Organization if it ends corruption and reliance on China, the White House said on Sunday.

President Donald Trump on Friday terminated America’s relationship with the WHO and accused the global health body of being hand in glove with China in sharing inaccurate information to the world about the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 370,000 people globally.

The WHO needs to reform. What the president said, if the WHO reforms and ends the corruption and ends the reliance on China, the US will very seriously consider coming back, US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien told ABC News.

The US has said that it will spend the money, over USD 400 million which it gives to the WHO, on other international public health bodies.

In the meantime, we’re going to take that USD 400 million that the US spends, compared to the USD 40 million that the Chinese spends on the WHO. And we’re going to make sure it gets to front-line health care workers, just like we’re doing with PEPFAR in Africa, O’Brien said.

The WHO isn’t saving lives for AIDS and HIV victims in Africa. It’s the United States and our generous taxpayers who are saving those lives in Africa. We’re not doing it through the WHO. We’re doing it as the United States of America,? he said.

We’re going to take that same money and make sure it gets to the Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross and the hospitals all over the world that need it, and doesn’t go through a corrupt international organisation that’s controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. That’s for sure, O’Brien said.

Appearing on the CNN on another Sunday talk show, O’Brien said that the US has got a series of measures to deal with China and the way they’ve choked out freedom in Hong Kong.

The president made a very important announcement on that front on Friday and the US government is looking at all of our relations with Hong Kong and China. So there will be a response and it will be proportional, but this is not something that our adversaries are going to get away with for free,  he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow