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☆ Bollywood film ‘Bawaal’ accused of trivializing Holocaust and demeaning victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

They travel to Europe to prominent World War II sites, where their love for one another deepens. And we want what others have.”In another scene in the film, she says: “Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz”. The dialogue and plot has sparked outrage with the SWC calling on the Amazon Prime to stop monetizing the film. Tiwari, Kapoor and Dhawan have not publicly addressed the SWC statement. Dhawan said he respected everyone’s opinion, adding that critics are harder on Hindi movies and give more leeway to Western films.

Persons: New Delhi CNN —, Simon Wiesenthal, Nitesh Tiwari, Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Kapoor, We’re, Adolf Hilter’s Nazi, Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, “ Nitesh Tiwari, India’s, Shantanu Das, “, Tiwari, Dhawan, ”, ” Kapoor Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Amazon Prime, Nazi, SWC, Prime, Global, CNN, Hindustan Times, ” Locations: New Delhi, Indian, Europe, India

☆ Women’s World Cup U.S. and the Netherlands Meet in Rematch of 2019 Final
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Every day, there have been endless questions about how the game is a replay of the 2019 World Cup final. “I think that was four years ago,” United States midfielder Rose Lavelle said on Wednesday. “I think both teams are completely different: different players, different coaches. Both the United States and the Netherlands also agree that Thursday’s game will be different. The Americans will run out a few new faces in their lineup, an injection of skill and talent that offers promise but precious little big-game experience at the World Cup.

Persons: —, Rose Lavelle, “, Jill Roord, ”, Jackie Groenen, Lavelle, Andries Jonker Organizations: ”, Portugal, U.S Locations: United States, Netherlands, Wellington , New Zealand, ” United, Lyon, France, Tokyo, ” Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, Sweden, Vietnam

☆ Women’s World Cup: Three Contenders Look to Make Their Move
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Andrew Das | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The next stretch of games in the Women’s World Cup will see several favorites to win the tournament look to build some momentum — or, in Canada’s case, find some — and display the dominance for which they’re known. Spain, which cruised in its opener, will look to repeat the feat just like Japan did on Wednesday in its win over Costa Rica, 2-0. Spain opened the World Cup in impressive style against Costa Rica. “We weren’t always clicking on the field,” the United States co-captain Alex Morgan said this week. And therein lies the problem facing the United States: that sturdiness, discipline and organization will be tough to break down.

Persons: Hazel Nali, Catherine Musonda, doesn’t bode, Alexia Putellas, Christine Sinclair, “, Bev Priestman, ”, m. E Organizations: Nigeria, Ireland, New Zealand, Vietnam, Ireland Ireland, Australia, Canada, ”, Japan, Costa Rica Japan’s, Zambia Locations: Canada, Spain, Japan, Costa Rica, New, United States, Zambia, Australia, Ireland, JAPAN

Two other cough syrups made in India killed 19 children in Uzbekistan around December, according to the Uzbekistan government. India's overall pharma exports in the April-June quarter rose 5% to $6.58 billion. COUNTRY VISITSPharmexcil delegations have visited countries including Nigeria, Egypt and Russia in recent months to allay any concerns about Indian drugs, he said. Apart from Gambia, no other country has asked for additional tests for Indian drugs since the deaths, he said. Manufacturing a drug in Europe or the United States costs more than 30% than in India, giving India a big advantage, he said.

Persons: syrups, Udaya Bhaskar, Bhaskar, drugmakers, Krishna N, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, pharma, Pharmaceuticals Export, of India, India's pharma, Marion Biotech, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Gambia, India, Uzbekistan, United States, China, U.S, Nigeria, Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, Europe

☆ Women’s World Cup: Sweden Rallies Past South Africa; the Netherlands Gets Started
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Andrew Das | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Women’s World Cup: Sweden Rallies Past South Africa; the Netherlands Gets Started Sunday’s schedule includes three of the tournament favorites. Give this articleNetherlands v. Portugal Molly Darlington/Reuters Netherlands v. Portugal Molly Darlington/Reuters Netherlands fans Lars Baron/Getty Images Sweden v. South Africa Amanda Perobelli/Reuters Sweden v. South Africa Andrew Cornaga/Associated Press Sweden v. South Africa Amanda Perobelli/Reuters Sweden v. South Africa Andrew Cornaga/Associated Press Sweden v. South Africa Andrew Cornaga/Associated Press Sweden v. South Africa Andrew Cornaga/Associated Press Wellington, New Zealand Catherine Ivill/Getty Images Team France Carl Recine/Reuters Published July 23, 2023 Updated July 23, 2023 1 Netherlands Group E 0 Portugal 2 Sweden Group G Full Time 1 South Africa Fridolina Rolfo (65’) Amanda Ilestedt (90’) Hildah Magaia (48’) – France Group F – JamaicaSweden survives a scare against South Africa. Much was made before the World Cup of the potential gap between the eight first-time entrants and the traditional powers. Credit... Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press The Netherlands, Sweden and France are the teams to watch on Sunday, the fourth day of the Women’s World Cup. But if his pedigree coaching women is thin, his World Cup pedigree is long: Most recently, he coached Saudi Arabia in the men’s World Cup in December, a run that included a famous win over Lionel Messi and Argentina.

Persons: Molly Darlington, Lars Baron, Africa Amanda Perobelli, Africa Andrew Cornaga, New Zealand Catherine Ivill, Carl Recine, Africa Fridolina, Amanda Ilestedt, Hildah Magaia, John Cowpland, Fridolina Rolfo, Alessandra Tarantino, Corinne Diacre, Hervé Renard, Lionel Messi, Sophia Smith, Crystal Dunn, Andrew Cornaga, Sophia Smith’s, Smith, Katie Meyer, Meyer, “, Katie, ” Smith, Naomi Girma, Girma, Katie ❤️ pic.twitter.com, AoGLUcxeMU — Naomi Girma, ” Organizations: Reuters, Getty, Associated Press, Team, –, Jamaica, Credit, Canada, England, Haiti, United, Vietnam, Sunday, Sweden, South, U.S, Portugal, Tokyo, Wellington , New Zealand, that’s, Saudi Arabia, Stanford, U.S . Locations: Africa, Netherlands, U.S, Reuters Netherlands, Sweden, Reuters Sweden, Associated Press Sweden, Associated Press Wellington, New Zealand, Portugal, Jamaica Sweden, South Africa, United States, France, Wellington , New, that’s Portugal, Saudi, Argentina, Germany, Australia, Jamaica, Credit, States, Vietnam

☆ Women's World Cup U.S. to Open Title Defense Against Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

PinnedThe World Cup is always about expectations, but reputations count for a lot, too. The United States women’s team, which plays Vietnam at 9 p.m. in its first match of the tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, knows this, of course. Its chase for a third consecutive World Cup championship — and fifth overall — opens today with a game against Vietnam. The United States team that arrived at this World Cup is not the same one that rolled into France four years ago and beat all comers. Rose Lavelle, who had two that day in Reims, is finally fit again after months away from the team, Andonovski said.

Persons: ”, Vlatko Andonovski, “, Andonovski, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd recoiled Organizations: United, United States women’s, Vietnam, selfies, United States, Thais Locations: United States, Vietnam, Auckland , New Zealand, U.S, Auckland, Eden, Thailand, France, Reims

☆ Women’s World Cup Begins With Host Nations in Opening Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Andrew Das | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

He moved through the building site, discharging the firearm as he went. Clearly, with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland. Image Members of the Philippines Women’s World Cup team in Auckland on Thursday. New Zealand’s prime minister, Chris Hipkins, said the Women’s World Cup would proceed as planned. Even before then, gun ownership was relatively rare in New Zealand, and gun violence is considered unusual.

Persons: Chris Hipkins, Andrew Coster, Coster, ”, David Rowland, Abbie Parr, ” Mr, Hipkins, cordoning, Saeed Khan, Lise Klaveness, ” Halvor Lea, Maren Mjelde, Jacinda Ardern, Juliet Macur, Andrew Das, Yan Zhuang, Tariq Panja Organizations: Armed Offenders Squad, FIFA, New Zealand Herald, Police, ., Eden, United States, Vietnam, Norway, New Zealand Police, Associated Press, New Zealand, Agence France, Norway women’s Locations: New Zealand, Auckland, Queen, Auckland , New Zealand, Norway, Auckland’s, U.S, Australia, Ireland, Philippines, ”, Norwegian, Christchurch, North, Raurimu, Aramoana, Sydney

☆ Women’s World Cup: Canada Ties Nigeria, but Laments Missed Penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Andrew Das | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

Women’s World Cup: Canada Ties Nigeria, but Laments Missed Penalty Switzerland beat the Philippines, which was making its World Cup debut. Credit... Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Not much of what led to this World Cup has gone the way Canada’s women’s team might have wanted. What he and Horan do know, however, is that the world of women’s soccer has changed since the United States thumped Thailand, 13-0, at the last World Cup. The first two World Cup debutantes to take the field, Ireland and the Philippines, both lost, but in close games. injuries are keeping some big stars off the Women’s World Cup stage.

Persons: Alessandra Tarantino, Costa Rica Catherine Ivill, Wellington , New Zealand Catherine Ivill, Morgan Hancock, Nigeria Izhar, Hannah Mckay, Philippines Lars Baron, Abbie Parr, Associated Press Team England Dan Peled, Reuters Team Denmark Luisa Gonzalez, Reuters Manhattan Michael M, del Campo, Aitana Bonmati, Esther Gonzalez, Switzerland Ramona Bachmann, Seraina Piubel, Canada’s Julia Grosso, Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie, Robert Cianflone, Asisat Oshoala, Christine Sinclair, Deborah Ajibola Abiodun, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Sinclair, Bev Priestman, “ Christine Sinclair, ” Priestman, Sam Kerr, Ramona Bachmann, Sanka, A.R., e Parr, Amer, “it, tol, conn, abou, S., ike, orr, C., Viv Organizations: Canada Ties Nigeria, Associated Press, Getty, Canada, Shutterstock Canada, Agence France, Reuters, U.S.A, Associated Press Team England, Reuters Team Denmark, Reuters Manhattan, Credit, Barcelona, Ireland, emi, erc Locations: Philippines, Spain, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Associated Press Spain, Wellington , New Zealand, Nigeria, Nigeria Izhar Khan, Reuters Switzerland, Costa, Canada Canada, Australia, Melbourne, Canada, Norway, Ireland, nsw, hol

At least two people were killed and several others injured after a gunman stormed a building under construction with a shotgun in the New Zealand city of Auckland early Thursday, hours before the first soccer match of the Women’s World Cup was scheduled to begin in the city. The gunman was also killed, the police said in a post on Twitter. Armed police officers and vehicles swarmed the area, and the authorities shut down parts of the city. The episode occurred as teams from New Zealand and Norway were set to play at Eden Park Stadium, about three miles from the site of the shooting. Several World Cup teams and many fans are staying in Auckland’s central business district, and the shooting occurred very close to Norway’s team hotel and near a fan festival set up for the tournament.

Persons: Anna Thompson Organizations: Twitter, New Zealand Police, Eden Locations: New Zealand, Auckland, Norway, Auckland’s

☆ Floods force Indian capital to shut schools, offices, and plan water rationing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Men walk across a road flooded due to the high water level of the river Yamuna after heavy monsoon rains, New Delhi, India, July 13, 2023. Video footage showed submerged roads in the downtown area, where government and private companies' offices are located, with water half-way up the sides of parked cars. "Due to closure of water treatment plants, the supply of water will be affected by up to 25%. Flash floods in the state over the weekend brought down a bridge and washed away several clusters of hutments. Roads have been washed away during heavy rains in the mountainous Uttarakhand state, its chief minister told reporters on Wednesday.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Arvind Kejriwal, Kejriwal, Krishna N, Shivam Patel, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, India Meteorological Department, Civil, Das, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand

July 11 (Reuters) - Sapphire Ventures plans to invest over $1 billion in AI enterprise startups, doubling down on the technology's adoption by companies across the world, its president Jai Das said at the Reuters MOMENTUM conference in Austin on Tuesday. The $1 billion in capital will come from Sapphire's existing funds, which have $10 billion under management and about $3 billion waiting to the deployed. The majority will be a direct investment in AI startups, while some capital will also go to early-stage AI-focused venture funds through its limited partner fund. Over $40 billion has been invested into AI startups in the past six months, accounting for nearly a quarter of overall startup funding, according to PitchBook data. With headquarters in Austin, Texas, Sapphire has invested in AI-powered enterprise startups including Clari and DataRobot.

Persons: Jai Das, it's, Sapphire, Das, Krystal Hu, David Evans, Deepa Babington Organizations: Sapphire Ventures, Thomson Locations: Austin, Austin , Texas

☆ India's Go First airline seeks investor interest as part of insolvency process
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, July 10 (Reuters) - India's Go Airlines (India) Ltd has invited investor interest in the company through a court-appointed administrator as part of the carrier's ongoing insolvency, a newspaper advertisement showed on Monday. Two bankers aware of the developments told Reuters on Monday that they expect Indian conglomerate Wadia Group - which used to own Go Airlines before it started bankruptcy proceedings - to be part of its insolvency process. Go Airlines and Wadia Group's Ness Wadia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. "They (Wadia Group) are not disqualified by law to bid for the airline because there has technically been no default," this banker said. Right after the bankruptcy filing, the airline's then chief executive had told Reuters that the Wadia Group was completely committed to the company.

Persons: Ness Wadia, Whitney, Yagnoseni Das, Rama Venkat, Nivedita Organizations: Go Airlines, Wadia, Airbus, Reuters, Wadia Group, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Bengaluru, Siddhi Nayak, Mumbai

Can McLaren cash in? Not even surrendering the pole to Verstappen could spoil what was a banner day for McLaren on Saturday. I guess I’m a little bit surprised, I wasn’t expecting for us to be here, or myself to be here anyway.”Climate protests? “We believe in what people are fighting for and we are making those changes as a sport,” Hamilton said Thursday. We don’t want to be put in harm’s way and we don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way.”

Persons: McLaren, Norris, “, ”, Max, Lewis Hamilton, ” Hamilton Organizations: McLaren, Wimbledon, Prix

☆ Indian lenders want cenbank to conduct more overnight reverse repo auctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Dharamraj Dhutia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The RBI's overnight variable rate reverse repo, or VRRR - usually undertaken to withdraw excess liquidity - saw a subscription of only 390 billion rupees ($4.73 billion) earlier in the day. "But overnight VRRRs should see healthy responses if they do not coincide with any major outflows." That lead to a sharp plunge in overnight rates, averaging comfortably below the central bank's repo rate of 6.50%. The RBI has been intending to maintain overnight rates - currently around 6.40% - around the repo rate and has been proactive in conducting reverse repos to achieve that. Reuters had reported in June that the central bank may resort to overnight VRRRs, with banks showing reluctance to park funds for a longer period.

Persons: Banks, Mataprasad Pandey, Shaktikanta Das, Dharamraj Dhutia, Nivedita Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI

☆ Agarkar named India's new chairman of selectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 4 (Reuters) - Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has been appointed chairman of India's selection committee, the country's cricket board (BCCI) said on Tuesday. The senior selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, had initially been sacked in November after India were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup in the semi-finals in Australia. Agarkar was recently a coach with Indian Premier League side Delhi Capitals but parted ways after this year's tournament. "The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) ... interviewed applicants for the position of one selector in the Men's Selection Committee," the BCCI said in a statement. The 45-year-old played 26 tests for India, 191 one-day internationals and four T20 matches, taking a total of 349 wickets across all formats.

Persons: Ajit Agarkar, Chetan Sharma, Sharma, Agarkar, Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil, Sharath, Rohith Nair, Ken Ferris Organizations: BCCI, Indian Premier League, Delhi Capitals, Cricket Advisory, CAC, Thomson Locations: India, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Red Bull Looks to Stay Perfect in Formula 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Andrew Das | Josh Katz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But Max Verstappen is missing it: He got cleanly away at the start and is running far ahead of the two Ferraris chasing him. Max Verstappen wants you to know this is all harder than it looks. Verstappen, the two-time Formula 1 champion, has started on pole in six of the season’s nine races. Going faster than everyone else is what Max Verstappen does. “It almost looked like we were amateurs out there, the amount of laps that were being deleted.”

Persons: Max Verstappen, Verstappen, grumbling, Sergio Pérez Locations: Austria, Austrian

[1/2] Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedas speaks during the opening ceremony of Web Summit, Europe's largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 1, 2021. REUTERS/Pedro NunesLISBON, July 1 (Reuters) - The mayor of Lisbon has been accused of "boycotting" Portugal's first memorial to victims of slavery, a long-delayed project in a country still struggling to confront its role in the transatlantic slave trade. The mayor's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. According to DJASS, the mayor's office said in April DGCP and EMEL had not given their approval, meaning the memorial had be located elsewhere. DJASS said the mayor's office was dealing with the memorial in a "negligent and disrespectful way" and accused it of adopting a strategy of boycotting the project.

Persons: Lisbon Carlos Moedas, Pedro Nunes LISBON, DJASS, Carlos Moedas, Moedas, EMEL, Catarina Demony, Giles Elgood Organizations: Web, REUTERS, Portugal's Association of African, Campo das, Directorate, Cultural Heritage, Thomson Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, Campo, Brazil, DGCP

☆ Pakistan hopes for bailout decision in day or two as IMF seeks deal 'quickly'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends a summit on climate resilience in Pakistan, months after deadly floods in the country, at the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 9, 2023. "The IMF team continues discussions with Pakistani authorities with the aim of quickly reaching an agreement on financial support from the IMF," mission chief Nathan Porter said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said earlier in the day that he hoped consensus over the IMF programme's points "will lead to a decision in a day or two". The statement from the prime minister's office added that Sharif spoke to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about the country's bailout funds, stalled since November. The IMF funds subject to approval by its board promise respite for Pakistan, which is battling its worst economic meltdown, with an acute balance of payments crisis and falling reserves of foreign exchange.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Denis Balibouse, Ishaq Dar, Nathan Porter, Sharif, Kristalina Georgieva, Dar, Asif Shahzad, Ariba Shahid, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Shivam Patel, Charlotte Greenfield, Krishna N, Das, William Maclean, Mark Potter Organizations: Pakistan's, United Nations, REUTERS, Pakistan, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Geneva, Switzerland, ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Paris

The company, Marion Biotech, bought the ingredient — propylene glycol (PG) — from trader Maya Chemtech India, as reported by Reuters. "Marion bought commercial-grade propylene glycol," said a second source, an investigator, who declined to be named while the inquiry is ongoing. International standards allow only trace amounts of EG and DEG in pharmaceutical-grade propylene glycol. The toxins were found in cough syrups exported to Gambia by the other Indian company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals. India made it mandatory for companies to have their cough syrups tested before export from June.

Persons: Marion, Deepak Sharma, Max, Vijay Kumar, Tuhin Bhattacharya, Mool Singh, Atul Rawat, Jaya Jain, Sachin Jain, Rohan Gupta, syrups, Maiden, Saurabh Sharma, Krishna, Jennifer Rigby, Olzhas, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg, Deepa Babington Organizations: Reuters, Marion Biotech, Indian, EG, World Health Organization, Authorities, . Police, Marion, Court, Maya, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, WHO, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Uzbekistan, India, Delhi, Marion, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad, Gambia, Indonesia, London, Almaty

☆ Indian shares set for muted start to week after Russia turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, June 26 (Reuters) - Indian shares were set for a muted open on Monday, on the heels of their first weekly loss in over a month, as crude prices rose on supply concerns after a short-lived mutiny by mercenaries in Russia. Foreign institutional investors sold a net 3.45 billion rupees ($42.1 million) worth of Indian equities on Friday, while domestic investors sold 6.84 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data. STOCKS TO WATCH:** ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), ICICI Securities (ICCI.NS): Boards of the companies to consider delisting of ICICI Securities shares on June 29. ** HDFC Life Insurance Company: India's insurance regulator granted approval for transfer of its shares from HDFC Ltd (HDFC.NS) to HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS). ** Shree Cement (SHCM.NS): NDTV reported that tax evasion to the tune of 230 billion rupees ($2.80 billion) has been found in tax searches at multiple locations of Shree Cement in Rajasthan.

Persons: Wagner, Brent, Chris Thomas, Biplob Kumar Das, Eileen Soreng Organizations: Singapore Exchange, BSE, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities, Life Insurance, HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, Ipca, U.S, FDA, of Maharashtra, Axis Bank, Kashmir Bank, NDTV, Shree, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Asia, India, Pithampur, Jammu, Kashmir, Shree Cement, Rajasthan, Bengaluru

☆ Belgium Was Out of Hurdlers. So a Shot-Putter Agreed to Run.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Andrew Das | Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Once it became clear she was going to be the one on the starting line, she said she tried to not think about it too much. Boumkwo beamed and waved at the television cameras when she was introduced with the rest of the runners. Neither was speed, even though she remembered the techniques of hurdling, Boumkwo, 29, said in a phone interview on Monday. Boumkwo said she wasn’t nervous about the race. “I took my race seriously,” adding that she “took it hurdle by hurdle.”

Persons: ”, Boumkwo, “

☆ Sri Lanka set to start tea-for-oil barter with Iran next month
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, June 23 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is set to start bartering tea to Iran next month in lieu of $250 million owed for oil, a Sri Lankan official told Reuters on Friday, as the crisis-hit country tries to lift sales to a key market and protect its forex reserves. "This is very timely for us because we get access to an important market and both Iran and Sri Lanka can trade without relying on dollars," Sri Lanka's Tea Board Chairman Niraj de Mel told Reuters. "The agreement was to send $5 million worth of tea each month for 48 months but we plan to start with about $2 million per month." Globally popular Ceylon Tea is Sri Lanka's highest foreign exchange-earning crop, brewing $1.25 billion for the cash-strapped country last year, according to government data. Iran has been one of Sri Lanka's main tea buyers but exports have fallen steadily from $128 million in 2018 to $70 million last year as U.S. sanctions on Iran hit trade.

Persons: Niraj de Mel, riyals, de Mel, Uditha, Krishna N, Das, Peter Graff Organizations: Sri, Reuters, Tea, United Arab Emirates, Ceylon Petroleum Corp, Tea Board, National Iranian Oil Company, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Iran, Ceylon, Sri Lanka's, Lanka's, UAE, Lankan

☆ The cult of Emily Oster
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Sarah Todd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Emily Oster is sitting in the back of a car, checking her Garmin watch as we lurch through rush-hour traffic toward the Holland Tunnel. A self-described expert in data, Oster uses her economics training to dig into studies on things like circumcision and screen time and translate them for popular consumption. There doesn't seem to be much of a gap between the way Oster presents herself in her books and newsletters and the way she conducts her life. Unsurprisingly, economics informs every aspect of the way Oster sees the world. When Oster was a toddler, her mother told a Yale colleague that Oster often talked to herself before falling asleep.

Persons: Emily Oster, doesn't, Oster, Taylor Swift, Spock, —, Mandy Moore, Emily DiDonato, Amy Schumer, " Oster, Emily, Aisha McAdams, Claudia Goldin, who's, Lori Feldman, " Feldman, Winter, It's, reopenings, Timothy Caulfield, Oster's Brown, OSTER, She's, Sheryl Sandberg's, Brown, Denis Tangney Jr, graham, Eminem, Sharon Oster, Ray Fair, Jesse Shapiro, Katherine Nelson, Carl, Choate Rosemary Hall, John F, Kennedy, Glenn Close, Ivanka Trump, Goldin, Steven Levitt —, Oster —, Paul Farmer, Steven Levitt, Oster's, Levitt, Robert Barro, demographer Monica Das Gupta, Joseph Delaney, she'd, I've, Matt Notowidigdo, Chicago Booth, hadn't, Udo Salters, Patrick McMullan, Shapiro, Jessica Calarco, Dr, Anthony Fauci, Donald Trump, Calarco, Rochelle Walensky, Delaney, University of Manitoba epidemiologist, Abigail Cartus, Justin Feldman, Delivette Castor, they're, COVID, Castor, Notowidigdo, Carter, you'd, she's, there's Organizations: Garmin, Brown University, New York Times, American Academy of Pediatrics, Yorker, Yale School of Management, Yale, Harvard, Connecticut, Choate, University of Chicago, Forbes, Wall, Publicly, University of Manitoba, Getty, Oster, Centers for Disease Control, Columbia University, Harvard Business School Locations: Holland, Montclair , New Jersey, Montclair, Harvard, Providence , Rhode Island, New Haven , Connecticut, China, Canada, Chicago, Ohio, New Jersey

The new rule highlights how governments are reassessing their reliance on India's $42 billion pharmaceutical industry since the contamination came to light last year. India's industry supplies nearly half of the pharmaceuticals used in Africa. In April, India’s government said its officials had held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports did not suffer after at least 70 children died in Gambia after ingesting the cough syrup last year. "Quntrol shall conduct document verification, physical inspection of the consignment and sampling, for laboratory testing for each shipment," the letter said. Since June 1, India has made tests mandatory for all cough syrups before they are exported.

Persons: India’s, Janneh Kaira, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Raghuvanshi, Krishna N, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Reuters, Medicines Control Agency, MCA, Quntrol Laboratories, Bank, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Gambia, India, Africa, Mumbai

☆ Exclusive: World Bank set to approve $700 mln for Sri Lanka next week -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Monetary Fund approved a bailout of nearly $3 billion in March, which Sri Lanka expects will bring additional funding of up to $4 billion from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral agencies. Of the proposed World Bank funding, $500 million will be for budgetary support and is likely to come in two tranches of $250 million each, one of the sources, from the World Bank, said. All four sources, from the World Bank and the Sri Lankan finance ministry, sought anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media. "Households that have registered for support will be ranked ... and the lowest 2 million will be eligible for support," the source added. The World Bank and the finance ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Read, Uditha Jayasinghe, Krishna N Organizations: Bank, Sri, Reuters, Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IMF, Thomson Locations: Colombo, Sri Lanka, COLOMBO, Sri Lankan

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