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Covid-19: After 945 days, Hong Kong people drop masks, breathe freely

February 28, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The world’s longest mask mandate ended in Hong Kong on Tuesday, literally giving its people breathing space as they will no longer have to wear masks from Wednesday, made compulsory after the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020. Masks will no longer be necessary outdoors, indoors, or on public transport, Hong […]

Business

Roving Periscope: The US reopens Covid origin issue, says it may have spread from a Chinese lab

February 28, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: As Sino-US relations deteriorate further and America goes to the presidential polls next year, the theory of the Covid-19 virus first circulating in Wuhan around November 2019 and spreading from a laboratory, has resurfaced. And, if she became US President in 2024, Indian-origin hopeful Nikki Haley has vowed to cut […]

Business

Energy transition: Essar launches EET, to invest $ 3.6 bn in the UK and India

February 27, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The Essar Group on Monday announced the formation of Essar Energy Transition (EET) to drive the creation of the United Kingdom’s leading energy transition hub in North-West England. EET plans to invest a total of USD 3.6 billion in developing a range of low-carbon energy transition projects over the next […]

Business

G-20: FMs may fail to draw consensus over Russia—Ukraine war, debt burdens

February 25, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: A day after the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine entered the second year on Thursday, a meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of 20 (G-20) countries may have failed to arrive at a consensus over the devastating war and the debt burden of the “Global South.” Russia, a member […]

Business

Roving Periscope: China, which attacked India in 2020, wants peace in Ukraine!

February 24, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: On Friday’s first anniversary of the ongoing war in Ukraine, China claimed neutrality, then blamed the West and its allies for ‘inciting’ the Russian invasion and called on all parties to support the two countries in reaching “a comprehensive ceasefire.” In fact, China spoke a lot without really saying anything […]

Business

Essar Oil: Vertex Hydrogen to supply 1,000MW of hydrogen to decarbonize leading UK industries

February 23, 2023 virendra pandit

Mumbai: Vertex Hydrogen, a joint venture between Essar Oil UK and Progressive Energy, has signed agreements to supply over 1,000MW of hydrogen to decarbonize the leading industries in the United Kingdom. A leader in the energy transition, Vertex Hydrogen is developing the UK’s first large-scale, low-carbon hydrogen production hub at Essar’s site in Ellesmere Port, […]

Business

Roving Periscope: As the wealthy frolic, broke Pakistan announces austerity for ministers, officers

February 23, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: A week after hundreds of wealthy Pakistanis thronged an upmarket mall in Lahore and queued up for hours to grab expensive branded coffees and pastries from Canadian food chain Tim Hortons, Islamabad announced on Wednesday some ‘austerity measures’ for ministers and officials to somehow impress the International Monetary Fund (IMF) […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Vivek Ramaswamy also to contest against Donald Trump in 2024

February 22, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Former US President Donald Trump, who is likely to run for the President’s office in 2024, now has two Indian-American challengers, both from within his own Republican Party—Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy. While Haley, 51, threw her hat in the ring last week, tech entrepreneur Ramaswamy, 37, launched his 2024 […]

Business

Roving Periscope: A year on, Putin blames the West for Ukraine war, suspends START

February 21, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Two days before the first anniversary of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine on Friday, President Vladimir Putin accused the war-torn neighbor and the West of provoking the conflict with the expansion of NATO and new European anti-rocket defense systems, and developing military contingents on the border of Russia. Since […]

Business

‘Protect the poor, tax the rich,’ IMF asks broke and embattled Pakistan

February 20, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: After Defense Minister Khwaja Asif’s open admission last week that Pakistan is bankrupt and has already defaulted, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the nearly cashless country to protect the poor and impose more taxes on the wealthy as the South Asian nation seeks to unlock funds from the […]