Author: Finance for Sight

NEW DELHI: India will buy 156 combat helicopters for its air force and army in a deal worth over $7.3 billion, the defence ministry said on Friday, marking one of the biggest purchases this financial year in the country’s drive to modernise its military. The dual-engine ‘Prachand’ helicopter manufactured by Indian warplane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is powered by engines co-developed with France’s Safran and can operate at an altitude of 5,000 metres and above. India has been making efforts to boost its domestic defence production to achieve self-reliance and shield itself from disruptions in global supply chains after being…

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of a long-delayed solar power project during his upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, an official said on Friday. Vikram Misri, the secretary of India’s foreign ministry, said Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will witness a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for their joint-venture solar power project in the island’s northeast on April 5. The proposed 120-megawatt venture in the northeastern coastal district of Trincomalee has stalled for years, but New Delhi backed it as a joint project between the neighbouring nations. “This, in many senses, is going to…

BANGKOK: A powerful earthquake killed dozens of people in Myanmar on Friday, according to state media, toppling buildings and damaging infrastructure over a wide area. The quake also hit Thailand and an official said that at least nine people had died in the capital Bangkok. Rescuers were searching through the rubble of a tower block that was under construction and collapsed in the quake. Much of the destruction took place in Mandalay, which is Myanmar’s second largest city and lies only about 17 km (10 miles) from the quake epicentre. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which…

BEIRUT: Israel’s air force conducted a heavy strike on a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Friday, a Reuters witness said, the first heavy bombardment there since a truce in November ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel warns it will hit Hezbollah building in south Beirut The strike, which resounded across Beirut and produced a large column of black smoke, followed an evacuation order by the Israeli military for the neighbourhood and three smaller drone strikes on the building intended as warnings, security sources told Reuters.

DHAKA: Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, that Beijing would consider requests to lower interest rates on Chinese loans to Dhaka, Yunus’ press chief said on Friday. Yunus was in China on his first bilateral state visit since assuming office last year. He has yet to visit India, amid diplomatic tensions between the two neighbours. President Xi also reaffirmed China’s commitment to encouraging Chinese investment in Bangladesh and facilitating the relocation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises, Yunus’ Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said in a Facebook post describing the talks as “comprehensive, fruitful, and constructive”. “President Xi…

CAIRO: Six Russians died on Thursday and 39 foreign tourists were rescued when a viewing submarine sank off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, the local governor’s office said on Facebook, adding that no passengers or crew were still missing. The Red Sea Governorate said the submarine, named “Sindbad”, had 50 people onboard: 45 tourists of different nationalities from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden, and five Egyptian crew members. “Most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada,” the Russian consulate in Hurghada said. The submarine was equipped with large portholes to…

ISTANBUL: Turkey on Thursday stepped up a crackdown on media coverage of mass protests since the arrest of Istanbul’s popular mayor, deporting a BBC journalist and imposing a 10-day broadcast ban on an opposition TV channel. The moves came after police detained 11 Turkish journalists, including an AFP photographer, who were covering the worst street protests to hit Turkey since 2013. The protests erupted on March 19 after the arrest and subsequent jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival. Earlier on Thursday, Turkey deported a BBC journalist covering the protests on grounds he posed…

BOAO: Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Thursday pledged stronger policy support for the world’s No.2 economy, which he said had started 2025 well and was on track to hit this year’s growth target, buoyed by advancements in AI and other technologies. His keynote speech at a business and political summit in the island province of Hainan comes in a week where Beijing has mounted a charm offensive to woo fresh foreign investment for its sluggish economy and protect against simmering geopolitical tensions. Chinese policymakers have put expanding domestic demand top of the agenda this year as they try to…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting next week, widening the global trade war he kicked off upon regaining the White House this year in a move auto industry experts expect will drive up prices and stymie production. “What we’re going to be doing is a 25% tariff for all cars that are not made in the United States,” Trump said at an event in the Oval Office. Trump, who sees tariffs as a tool to raise revenue to offset his promised tax cuts and to revive a long-declining…

DUBAI: Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said on Thursday Tehran has not closed all doors to resolve its disputes with the United States and is ready for indirect negotiations with Washington. Tehran has so far rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning it to make a deal or face military consequences. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the message deceptive and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said talks are impossible unless Washington changes its “maximum pressure” policy. “The Islamic Republic has not closed all doors. It is ready for indirect negotiations with the United States in order to evaluate…