Author: Lalit Barendran

Physical gold dealers in India charged premiums this week for the first time in nearly two months as a pullback in domestic prices lured buyers, while premiums in top consumer China slipped. Indian dealers charged a premium of up to $5 an ounce over official domestic prices – inclusive of 15% import and 3% sales levies, versus last week’s $15 discount. SIGN UP FOR THE PRECIOUS METALS DIGEST SIGN UP “Buyers had been waiting for a price correction for many weeks. The recent drop in prices prompted some of these buyers to make purchases,” said a New Delhi-based jeweller. In…

On the first anniversary of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s deadliest border war, marked in September, irascible Kyrgyz national-security chief Kamchybek Tashiev aired his frustrations at the slow progress in talks aimed at demarcating the disputed frontier. Tajikistan, said Tashiev, was making “territorial claims” against Kyrgyzstan in the talks. “But our answer is that there should be no such claims,” Tashiev fumed, noting ominously that Kyrgyzstan had found “new documents” related to the border. “Based on those, we know that many parts of Kyrgyzstan had been given to Tajikistan,” he claimed. “If [Tajikistan] does not renounce its territorial claims against Kyrgyzstan then…

President Kassym-Joomart Tokayev approved the new government of Kazakhstan under the leadership of Olzhas Bektenov. The names of the ministers were published on primeminister.kz. Most of the ministers remained from the old government. Four ministers were replaced: Nurlan Baibazarov was appointed Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy instead of Alibek Kuantyrov, Madi Takiyev became Minister of Finance instead of Erulan Zhamaubaev, Akmaral Alnazarova was appointed Minister of Healthcare instead of Azhar Giniyat, and Chingis Arinov became the new Minister for Emergency Situations instead of Syrym Shariphanov. Members of the government who remained in their positions included First Deputy…

The child was agitated and restless. He had been bitten by a dog a month before while playing with his friends on the ground. However, instead of receiving the preventive rabies shot, the illiterate parents relied on home remedies. Last year, when a teenage boy was rushed to Raigad rural hospital with hydrophobia and seizures, Dr Sudhir Prasad diagnosed the symptoms at a single glance—it was rabies. The child was agitated and restless. He had been bitten by a dog a month before while playing with his friends on the ground. However, instead of receiving the preventive rabies shot, the…

Frankfurt (18/12 – 14) That there are remarkable advantages in being ignored is not generally recognized. Central Asian countries, historically under the thumb of Moscow, all through the 70+ years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were more or less cut off from the outside world. There was little trade or other exchange. The USSR was in fact a grab-bag of ethnicities, religions and languages, controlled with an iron fist by Stalin and afterwards with unbroken dominance through subsequent regimes. Under Soviet management, Central Asia had stayed poor and ignored; it had not developed any hydrocarbon resources to lure…

If you`re looking for exciting things to do in Mumbai in December, here`s a line-up that is sure to keep you busy We scoured the length and breadth of Mumbai to curate a list of three exciting things to do in Mumbai: Christmas at Khotachiwadi Kick off the festive season with a Christmas Bazaar bringing the best kind of cheer for the season. Explore exotic items by locals at Khotachiwadi who will be exhibiting items like Parsi Gara embroidery, slow fashion, handmade bags, coal-fired traditional home-style Maharashtrian food and much more. Get your hands on targeted and result-oriented supplements through sugar-free dark…

The deal struck between Italy and Albania to outsource the processing of asylum claims is not in breach of EU law because it falls “outside” EU law, says European Commissioner Ylva Johansson. “The preliminary assessment by our legal service is that this is not violating the EU law, it’s outside the EU law,” Johansson, who is in charge of the home affairs portfolio, said on Wednesday afternoon. The comments are the first high-level political reaction from Brussels to the nine-page protocol surprisingly announced last week by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albania counterpart, Edi Rama. Under the deal, Italy will outsource the…

Ambitious project may become operational after 4 years; water from plant will be supplied to Kandivli and Borivli The estimated cost of the first desalination project for Mumbai has risen from R3,500 crore in 2021 to R8,500 crore in 2023. The tenders will be floated next month and the project is supposed to be completed within four years. The 200 MLD water generated initially through the plant will be supplied to nearby areas of Kandivli and Borivli. After much dilly-dallying, BMC is in the last stages of inviting tenders for the ambitious project to get potable water from the sea. The plant will be…

Paris, Brussels (20/10 – 87) In an atmosphere of justifiably feverish global anger, following the murderous attacks by Hamas troopers on a “peace concert” held near the border with Gaza and the massive retaliation by Israel, several nations have declined to jump on the bandwagon: notably, Malaysia is one. Anwar Ibrahim, its Prime Minister, has issued a statement refusing to make a reflexive condemnation of Hamas. History and alliances will tell us why. When attempting to figure out the way Malaysia is distancing itself from “world opinion” (actually the “management of consent” by administrative state-directed corporate media) it is important…

Digital distribution is going to be a challenging time, said Ramesh Laxminarayan, CIO of HDFC Bank. There are tech challenges across the board for the banking industry and banks need to prioritise strategies to make a change to their growth cycle, according to private bankers. “There are challenges across the banking industry of digital distribution, and harnessing future technology. The banks face a challenge in understanding how to make assets in each of the segments rather than having separate approaches,” Ramesh Laxminarayan, chief information officer at HDFC Bank Ltd., said at the BQ Banking Unlimited event in Mumbai on Friday.…