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 Arab News Dated 02.12.2020 RIYADH: Following the successful completion of the G20 Summit in Riyadh on Sunday, Italy assumed the forum’s annual rotating presidency from Saudi Arabia during a ceremonial handover. The two-day summit, the 15th meeting of the forum, brought together leaders of economies that account for about 85 percent of global gross domestic product to discuss the most challenging socioeconomic issues. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman formally handed over the G20 presidency to Italy, which will chair next year’s leaders’ summit. Delivering a short speech to mark the occasion, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said a decision had been taken that the focus of the world’s premier forum for economic cooperation would continue to be “people, planet and prosperity.” He told fellow G20 leaders on the concluding day of the summit: “In order to achieve a safe and sustainable world, we must first restore the balance between people and nature. On this basis, we will then support...

 BBC News Dated 02.12.2020 By Michelle Roberts Britain's medicines regulator, the MHRA, says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe to be rolled out. The first doses are already on their way to the UK, with 800,000 due in the coming days, Pfizer said.  Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the NHS will contact people about jabs. Elderly people in care homes and care home staff have been placed top of the priority list, followed by over-80s and health and care staff.  But because hospitals already have the facilities to store the vaccine at -70C, as required, the very first vaccinations are likely to take place there - for care home staff, NHS staff and patients - so none of the vaccine is wasted. A further 648 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test were recorded in the UK on Wednesday, with another 16,170 cases reported.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public not to get "carried away with over optimism or falling ...

 Tribune Date 02.12.2020 Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra has been rebranded “Diem” in a renewed effort to gain regulatory approval by stressing the project’s independence.  Plans for Libra, first floated by Facebook last year, were slimmed-down in April after regulators and central banks raised concerns it could upend financial stability, erode control over monetary policy, and threaten privacy. Tuesday’s name switch is part of a move to emphasise a simpler, revamped structure, Stuart Levey, CEO of the Geneva-based Diem Association behind the planned digital coin, said.  “The original name was tied to an early iteration of the project that received a difficult reception from regulators. We have dramatically changed that proposition,” Levey told Reuters. Jibran Nasir, others target of WhatsApp OTP scam Diem, which means “day” in Latin, now aims to initially launch a single dollar-backed digital coin, he added.  He declined to comment on timing for the launch, whi...

 India Today Dated: 02.12.2020 China has started importing Indian rice for the first time in at least three decades due to tightening supplies, said Indian officials. The move is also a result of sharply discounted prices offered by India, according to officials who spoke to news agency Reuters.  While India is the world’s biggest exporter of rice, China is the biggest importer. The Reuters report said Beijing imports around four million tonnes of rice annually but avoided purchased from India due to quality issues. However, China has again started importing due to tightened supplies this year. The development comes at a time when tension continues to simmer between India and China due to the  ongoing border dispute .  “For the first time China has made rice purchases,” BV Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association, told the news agency. He feels that China may buy more rice “after seeing the quality of Indian crop”.  The report, quoting officials,...

 Dawn Dated 02.12.2020 By: Anwar Iqbql UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations launched a $35-billion global appeal on Tuesday to help more than 235 million vulnerable people in 2021, including 10.5 million in Pakistan.  The world body is also seeking $285.3 million for Pakistan, where it is targeting about 3.3 million as the “most vulnerable and fragile.” The UN appeal explained that across the globe, a record 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection next year, a near 40 per cent increase on 2020. The UN and partner organisations have listed 160 million people across 56 countries as the most vulnerable.  The UN emergency relief chief Mark Lowcock said the 40 percent increase was “almost entirely from Covid-19”, which has had a particularly devastating impact on developing economies.  The pandemic has forced one in 33 people to seek emergency relief — a significant increase from 1 in 45 at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview 2020, whi...

 The Telegraph Dated 03.12.2020 A mixed set of data points for some high-frequency indicators have pointed to the challenges the economy may face as it looks to quickly regain normalcy from the ravages of the pandemic amid fears over a fresh wave of infections. A key index of manufacturing has dipped to a to 3-month low, while GST collections grew for the third month in a row. Diesel sales fell 7 per cent on an annual basis, while the country's top car maker also reported a dip in sales a possible sign of the festive season fizzling out. Manufacturing activity failed to pick up pace and dropped to a three-month low of 56.3 in November because of slower increases in factory orders, exports and buying levels, prompting firms to cut jobs for the eighth month in a row, a survey showed. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell from over a decade high of 58.9 in October to a three-month low of 56.3 in November. GST mop-up GST collections crossed the Rs 1-la...

 India Today Dated 01.12.2020 By  Col Vinayak Bhat (Retd) China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) seems adamant to continue with the present standoff in eastern Ladakh beyond winters - or much longer - possibly to tire out India. Satellite images suggest Beijing has continued the same stance all along the Tibet-India border. In March-June 2017, the Chinese PLA had carried out massive incursions to grab Bhutan's territory in and around Doklam plateau and threatened India strategically. The latest satellite images released by space firm Maxar Technologies reveal the construction of road and civilian settlements, as claimed by China, inside Bhutan's territory. The Indian Army considering its own strategic interests due to the proximity of this area to Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, and a friendly neighbour's concerns had intervened to stop the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) advance in Sharsingma or Yatung valley.  However, the latest satel...

 Business Today Dated 02.10.2020  By: Joe C Mathew SA, European Union and Canada have questioned India's agriculture trade practices and farmer friendly policies at a recent meeting of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The volley of questions has come at a time when India has amended its laws to further liberalise its agricultural trade and allow farmers and agri-businesses the freedom to produce, procure, store and sell agri-produce anywhere in the country and outside without government regulation.  The developed country members complain that India's trade practices are not transparent enough and seek more data on the trade of agricultural goods. The CoA meeting, held on September 22-23 saw USA seeking response from India over the disclosure made by Food Corporation of India (FCI) that India had exported rice to Egypt commercially in 2016-17 and for humanitarian purposes in 2017-18. The USA saw this as an apparent contradictio...

 Mint Dated 30.11.2020 By  Karan Bhasin The  Indian economy  shrank 7.5% in Q2 of the current financial year, a pleasant surprise given the expectations of a 9-11% contraction. While some have attributed this to pent-up demand and festival sales, others see it as part of normalization of  economic activity . Mint explores. How grave has been the shrinkage in economy? The Indian economy has been shrinking since the first quarter of the current fiscal, in the aftermath of the  coronavirus pandemic , after remaining in the positive territory till the last financial year. The pandemic-led lockdown, cited as the most stringent in the world, restricted 65% of the activity in the economy, resulting in a contraction of 23.9% in the June quarter, and 7.5% in the second. With two consecutive quarters of contraction, the Indian economy has formally entered a recession. However, the high growth  economic indicators  have started showing signs of recovery, rai...

 Hindustan Times Dated 30.11.2020 5G connections across the globe are estimated to be 3.5 billion and India will account for 350 million subscriptions by 2026, according to a report by telecom company Ericsson.  India may get its first 5G connection in 2021 if spectrum auctions are held early next year, said Ericsson Head of Network Solutions (Southeast Asia, Oceania and India) Nitin Bansal.  Globally, more than 1 billion people, 15 per cent of the world’s population, are expected to live in an area that has 5G coverage rolled out, according to the ‘Ericsson Mobility Report 2020’ released on Monday. “In 2026, 60 per cent of the world’s population will have access to 5G coverage, with 5G subscriptions forecast to reach 3.5 billion. In India, 5G subscriptions will surpass 350 million, accounting for 27 per cent of all mobile subscriptions in 2026,” the report said.  Bansal said that based on the reported timeline for spectrum auction for 5G services, he expects India t...

 Hindustan Times Dated 30.11.2020 As India and China prepare for the 9th round of military dialogue to restore status quo ante in East Ladakh sector, New Delhi is waiting for “certain clarifications” on the disengagement and de-escalation roadmap from Beijing, people familiar with the matter said. According to military and diplomatic officials based in Delhi and Beijing, the window of opportunity for disengagement and de-escalation from the friction points along the 597 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) would close in December when very heavy snows, polar temperatures and high-velocity winds sweeping the Tibetan plateau and Ladakh heights would make any significant movement of troops, artillery and armour will be near impossible. As of now both sides have deployed more than three divisions of troops on each side with missile, artillery and armor support. “There is a roadmap on the table but India has asked for specific clarifications from China on the stepwise disengagement by b...

 Financial Express Dated 30.11.2020 China’s Defence Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe has lauded Nepal’s leadership for resolutely pursuing the ‘one-China’ policy and offered firm support to the Himalayan country in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, the defence ministry said here on Monday.  Wei, who is also a State Councillor, met Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest and held talks with Army chief Gen. Purna Chandra Thapa on ways to resume military cooperation and training impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during his one-day visit to Nepal on Sunday. According to a Chinese defence ministry statement, Wei told the Nepalese leaders that China highly appreciates Nepal for resolutely pursuing the ‘one-China’ policy, and also firmly supports Nepal to safeguard its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.  Under the ‘one-China’ policy, Beijing emphasises other countries to recognis...

 Financial Express Dated 30.11.2020 Talks between Israel and Lebanon over disputed maritime borders that were scheduled to take place this week have been postponed, Israeli and Lebanese officials said Monday. The two countries have engaged in indirect, US-mediated talks to draw a sea border, despite formally being in a state of war. The last round of talks were held in November and hosted in by the United Nations in a southern Lebanese border town.The negotiations are the first non-security related talks between the two states. An Israeli official confirmed that Wednesday’s scheduled summit was postponed, and said the American mediators “decided to focus on dialogue between the two sides at the moment, in order to prepare the ground for the next round of talks.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the official wasn’t authorized to speak to journalists. In Beirut, a Lebanese official confirmed that the talks have been postponed until further notice. The official, who spo...

 Firstpost Dated 29.11.2020 India on Sunday strongly hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for making factually incorrect and unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir in resolutions adopted by the grouping at a meeting in Niger, and asserted that the union territory is an integral and inalienable part of the country.  In a strongly-worded statement, India advised the OIC to refrain from making such references in future and said it is regrettable that the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country "which has an abominable record on religious tolerance, radicalism and persecution of minorities", a clear reference to Pakistan. The 47th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the OIC in its meeting on 27 to 29  November at Niamey in Niger had made a reference to India over its policies on Jammu and Kashmir.  "We strongly and categorically reject the factually incorrect, gratuitous and unwarranted references to In...