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☆ 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

☆ Three Teams Drop Out of Tour de Suisse After Cyclist’s Death
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Organizers of the Tour de Suisse cycling race said they would resume the multistage competition on Saturday, one day after a rider died from the injuries that he sustained in a crash during a high-speed mountain descent. The rider, Gino Mäder, was a member of the Bahrain-Victorious team, which announced on Saturday morning that it was withdrawing from the race. Two other teams, Tudor Pro and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, also said they had decided to leave the race. The Bahrain-Victorious team’s riders, as well as the rest of the competitors, were informed of Mäder’s death on Friday morning — a day after he went off the course and tumbled down a steep ravine. The riders participated in a shortened memorial ride on Friday that replaced the day’s stage, which was called off.

Persons: Gino Mäder Organizations: Tour de Suisse, Tudor, Tour de France Locations: Bahrain

He warned that contaminated medicines could still be found for several years, because adulterated barrels of an essential ingredient may remain in warehouses. Cough syrups and the ingredient, propylene glycol, both have shelf-lives of around two years. Unscrupulous actors sometimes substitute propylene glycol with toxic alternatives, ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, because they are cheaper, several pharmaceutical manufacturing experts told Reuters. The WHO said it has also offered help to Liberia and Cameroon – which recently signalled that it too may have contaminated cough syrups for sale. The contaminated syrups in Liberia were made by India's Synercare Mumbai, according to the Nigerian regulator.

Persons: Rutendo Kuwana, Kuwana, –, syrups, Naresh Kumar Goyal, QP Pharmachem, India's Synercare, Synercare, It's, Jennifer Rigby, Krishna N.Das, Edward McAllister, Stanley Widianto, Sumit Khanna, Sophie Yu, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Reuters, Pharmaceutical, Marshall, Indonesian, –, PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries, AFI, Pharmaceuticals, Marion Biotech, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Thomson Locations: LIBERIA, CAMEROON, Liberia, Nigeria, Gambia, Uzbekistan, Micronesia, Indonesian, – Timor Leste, Cambodia, Senegal, Philippines, Cameroon, syrups, Marshall Islands, India's Synercare Mumbai, Nigerian, Liberian, India, Panama, Delhi, Dakar, Jakarta, Ahmedabad, Beijing

The Additional Chief Secretary, G. Anupama, said in a text message, "Enquiry is underway" and directed Reuters to the health minister for Haryana state, Anil Vij, for further details. Its chief minister and health minister, to whom Yashpal also sent his complaint, did not respond to requests for comment. Naresh Kumar Goyal, the founder of Maiden Pharmaceuticals, told Reuters in December his company did nothing wrong in the production of the cough syrup. The bribery allegation was one of about half a dozen claims of corruption by Yashpal against Taneja in the letter. Yashpal told Reuters he did not comply, because he did not feel comfortable bringing such details to the deputy of someone he had accused of corruption.

Persons: Sagnia, Edward McAllister, Yashpal, Manmohan Taneja, Taneja, Maiden, Yashpal –, –, Shatrujeet Kapur, Kapur, Anupama, Anil Vij, Vij, Naresh Kumar Goyal, Goyal, Narendra Modi, Taneja's, Lalit Kumar Goel, Goel, Krishna N, Jennifer Rigby, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, WHO, Reuters, Corruption Bureau, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, pharma, Corruption, Taneja, EG, Thomson Locations: Yundum, Gambia, DELHI, Haryana, New Delhi, Vietnam, India, London

“We can think about it.” His players, at that point, could “visualize” completing a domestic and European treble. Among English teams, though, only United can lay claim to the genuine article. In the first 54 years of European competition, four teams won the treble. Should City, as expected, beat Inter Milan on Saturday, it would make it six in the last 14 years. Cup carries more historical weight than other domestic cup competitions.

Persons: Pep Guardiola, ”, Guardiola, ure, twitter.com/xVn, Gil l Organizations: Manchester City, League, Premier League, Liverpool, European, Milk, UEFA, Europa League Locations: Real Madrid, Manchester

Despite hitting an 18-month low of 4.70% in April, analysts do not expect India's inflation to fall to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% medium-term target in a sustainable manner for some time. India has raised rates by 250 basis points (bps) since May 2022, but surprised analysts in April by keeping them unchanged. India's hold on rates contrasts with recent central bank actions elsewhere. "Our goal is to achieve the inflation target of 4% and keeping inflation within the comfort band of 2-6% is not enough," Das said. Das said that the central bank would remain "nimble" with its liquidity operations amid spikes in overnight rates despite surplus liquidity in the banking system.

Persons: Shaktikanta Das, OIS, Das, Michael Patra, Suvodeep Rakshit, Gaura Sen Gupta, Swati Bhat, Sudipto Ganguly, Ira Dugal, Krishna N, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, Reserve Bank of India's, MPC, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, IDFC, Thomson Locations: Delhi, India, Anushree, MUMBAI

☆ India cabinet approves $11 bln revival plan for state-owned BSNL
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Rama Venkat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man speaks on his mobile phone as he walks past a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) advertisement painted on a wall outside its office in Kolkata, India, August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriBENGALURU, June 7 (Reuters) - India's cabinet on Wednesday approved an 890.47 billion rupee ($10.79 billion) revival package for loss-making Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to help the state-owned telecom operator deploy 4G and 5G services in a market dominated by private players. "With this revival package, BSNL will emerge as a stable telecom service provider focused on providing connectivity to remotest parts of India," the cabinet said in a statement. Debt-laden BSNL, grappling with poor infrastructure, has been posting losses for the past 12 years. The losses narrowed to 69.82 billion rupees in the year ended March 2022 from 74.41 billion rupees a year ago.

Persons: Vivekanand Subbaraman, Sakshi Dayal, Rama Venkat, Krishna N, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Nigam Ltd, REUTERS, Sanchar Nigam Ltd, BSNL, Tata Consultancy Services, 5G, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Das, Thomson Locations: Kolkata, India, Chowdhuri BENGALURU, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Air India to send replacement plane for passengers stranded in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, June 7 (Reuters) - Air India said on Wednesday a reserve plane would take off from Mumbai on Wednesday for passengers whose flight on Tuesday was forced to land at an airport in Russia's Far East because of engine trouble. The airline said its ferry flight would leave Mumbai at 0730 GMT and head to Magadan in Russia, carrying food and other essentials for the passengers stranded there. Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia had said that a reserve Air India plane was scheduled to land at 0300 GMT. Air India did not immediately respond to a request to share the nationalities of the passengers. The airline said it had moved passengers to makeshift accommodations, citing infrastructure limitations around the airport.

Persons: Rosaviatsia, Vedant Patel, Patel, Tanvi Mehta, Lidia Kelly, Krishna N, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Air, Boeing, Air India, NDTV, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Air India, Mumbai, Russia's Far, Delhi, San Francisco, Magadan, Russia, Air, Indian, U.S, United States, New Delhi, Melbourne

☆ Lionel Messi, Soccer’s Most Coveted Free Agent, Picks Miami
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Andrew Das | Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Should the deal be finalized, Messi’s signing would be the biggest coup for M.L.S. That deal shifted perceptions of the league’s quality, and its ambitions, around the world; capturing Messi would, if anything, deliver even more attention to the league in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. Messi admitted, in his interview, that Miami had — perhaps — not been his first choice of destination as his contract at his most recent team, Paris St.-Germain, ran down. He “obviously really wanted to return,” he said, and had discussed the idea with both Xavi Hernández, the club’s manager, and Joan Laporta, its president. Ultimately, though, Barcelona’s financial turmoil forced his hand.

Persons: Beckham, Messi, Germain, “, ”, Hernández, Joan Laporta Organizations: Barcelona Locations: Miami, Paris St, Barcelona, Catalonia, Europe, Argentina

Karim Benzema, one of soccer’s best players and a fixture at the Spanish giant Real Madrid for more than a decade, has agreed to join the Saudi champion Al-Ittihad on a three-year contract that will make him the latest prize acquisition for a kingdom rapidly expanding its ambitions and influence in sports. The decision by Benzema, a 35-year-old French striker, to move to Saudi Arabia was confirmed by Al-Ittihad on Tuesday after days of rumors. Benzema’s arrival will come only months after a different Saudi club lured another star, the Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, with one of the richest contracts in soccer history. Among the other marquee players said to have been targeted by the Saudi league is Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in December in Qatar. The salaries offered to the players are some of the largest in sports history, according to interviews with agents, Saudi sports officials and consultants hired to execute the project.

Persons: Karim Benzema, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi Organizations: Al, Saudi, Investment Fund Locations: Real Madrid, Saudi, Ittihad, Saudi Arabia, Portuguese, Argentina, Qatar

☆ Opinion: What Oppenheimer’s reading list can teach us
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jane Carr | Opinion Jane Greenway Carr | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Oppenheimer’s list of books included works by Plato, mathematician Bernhard Riemann and scientist Michael Faraday, and the “Bhagavad-Gita,” with which he has famously long been associated. What happens when the inner workings and potential reach of scientific inventions are unknown, even to the human beings who create them? Still, Pride is also a time to revel in culture’s power to transform, sustain and bring joy to LGBTQ communities. But Medvedev knows that above all else he needs Putin to think of him as unequivocally loyal and useful. What it will do is help 40 million borrowers who, like me, were drowning in debt and need immediate relief.

Persons: Robert Oppenheimer, ” Oppenheimer, Plato, Bernhard Riemann, Michael Faraday, William Shakespeare’s “, ” Charles Baudelaire’s “, Fleurs, Mal ”, Eliot’s, Oppenheimer, ” Matthew Zapruder, ”, William Carlos Williams, Nick Anderson, ChatGPT, Stuart Russell, Jessica Chia, Bethany Cianciolo, Russell, isn’t, ” Russell, “, Clay Jones, Joe Biden, John Avlon, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Joel Pett, Poppy Harlow, James Comey, Donald Trump, Republicans ’, MAGA, Julian Zelizer, Zelizer, Trump, Kayleigh McEnany, Rob Finnerty, Matt Wolking, Cupp, McEnany, that’s, Kayleigh, Pride Luciano, Sereno, Luciano Vecchio, It’s, ” Vecchio, “ Sereno, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s, Frida Ghitis, Medvedev, Putin, ” Medvedev “, Michael Bociurkiw, Biden, Sophia A, Nelson ., Nelson, it’s, …, Brandon Bell, Jill Filipovic —, —, Filipovic, we’ve, ” Don’t, Keith Magee, Kara Alaimo, James Moore, Texas GOP Tess Taylor, Lala Tanmoy Das, Alex Soros, Scottie Pippen can’t, Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Nathaniel S, Butler, NBAE, Michael Jordan, ” Pippen, Charles Barkley, Phil Jackson —, Will Leitch, ” Leitch, Pippen, Leitch, There’s Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, American, Committee, Tribune, Agency, Biden, Republicans, Trump, GOP, Luciano Vecchio Pride, United, AFP, Russia’s Security, Republican, Texas GOP, Philadelphia 76ers, Getty, NBA Locations: Berkeley, Iowa, revel, it’s, Argentina, United Russia, United Kingdom, Russia, Houston City, America, European, Texas

Lewis Hamilton drove aggressively and overtook rivals, sometimes with apparent ease. George Russell gained several places by zipping up the pit lane at the start and held off a late challenge from Sergio Perez. It was a great day for Mercedes. Once again, Max Verstappen of Red Bull raced away from the Formula One field in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday, winning the pole, and then on race day never holding any position but first. With five wins in seven races (and two seconds), he is on his way to his third straight Formula One title, barring a major shock.

Persons: Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Organizations: Mercedes, Formula, Prix, Sunday Locations: Spanish, Barcelona

BALASORE, India, June 3 (Reuters) - Ompal Bhatia, a survivor of the three-train crash in India on Friday, had first thought he was dead. When the train he was traveling in went off-track, Bhatia was with three friends on his way to Chennai for work. The 25-year-old had spent most of the four-hour journey on the Coromandel Express standing. The train, traveling past hills along India’s eastern coast, takes more than 24 hours to complete the journey of more than 1600 kilometres. Archana Paul, a housewife from West Bengal, was in the other train, the Howrah Yesvantpur Express, when the crash happened.

Persons: Ompal Bhatia, Bhatia, Moti Sheikh, Sheikh, ” Bhatia, ”, Archana Paul, Paul, “, Das, Jatindra Dahs, Krishn Kaushik, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, Express, Thomson Locations: BALASORE, India, Chennai, Bangalore, West Bengal, Howrah, Balasore, New Delhi

[1/2] A smartphone with the Netflix logo lies in front of displayed "Streaming service" words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. Companies often face legal cases and police complaints their content sometimes hurt religious sentiment, and many have self-censored content over the years. As part of India's anti-tobacco drive, the health ministry this week ordered streaming platforms should within three months insert static health warnings during smoking scenes. The companies, and India's health ministry, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. But in India, companies from Netflix to Amazon (AMZN.O) to Disney (DIS.N), also have popular Hindi content which often shows Bollywood actors smoking, something activists say encourages tobacco use.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mukesh Ambani's, Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine, Ambani's JioCinema, Kaushik Moitra, Dylan Mohan Gray, Aditya Kalra, Biplob Kumar Das, Tony Tharakan, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, David Evans Organizations: Netflix, REUTERS, Disney, Companies, Reuters, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros, Bharucha, Partners, Thomson Locations: India, DELHI, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Opinion: The good news about lower HIV infections comes with a big caveat
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Opinion Lala Tanmoy Das | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But as of 2019, Black people accounted for 40% of people with HIV, and Hispanic and Latino people accounted for nearly 30%, according to the CDC. And shockingly, in 2021, only 11% and 20% of Black and Hispanic people, respectively, who would potentially benefit from PrEP, were prescribed it. To date, health care providers are the primary gatekeepers of PrEP prescriptions. For example, educational sessions in conferences, easily accessible virtual resources and academic journal clubs may help dispel myths among health care providers about PrEP. Several studies found that White men who have sex with men (MSM) have significantly higher PrEP awareness than Black and Hispanic MSM.

Persons: Lala Tanmoy, Tom, Das, Read, Lala Tanmoy Das Patricia Kuharic, it’s Organizations: Weill Cornell Medicine, CNN, for Disease Control, PrEP, The Joint Commission, California’s PrEP, MSM, Facebook, Pride Month, FDA, Twitter Locations: New York, White, Black

MUMBAI, May 29 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India has come across instances of some banks trying to conceal the real status of their stressed assets while governance gaps have also been noticed at certain lenders, its governor said on Monday. Das also said that despite the guidelines on corporate governance, it was a matter of concern that the RBI has come across gaps in governance at certain banks, which have the potential to cause some volatility in the sector. "While these gaps have been mitigated, it is necessary that boards and the managements do not allow such gaps to creep in," he said. A robust governance structure is the most important requirement to ensure the stability of a bank and sustainable financial performance, Das added. "RBI has engaged with certain banks on the need to make suitable adjustments in their business strategies where it was observed that over-aggressive growth in certain business segments were creating avoidable vulnerabilities," Das said.

☆ Can Formula 1’s Season Still Take a Turn?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Andrew Das | Josh Katz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A dark tunnel and then a burst of blinding light along the waterfront. The famed Circuit de Monaco, which first hosted a grand prix race in 1950, is one of the most iconic stops on Formula 1’s schedule. But the bling and the boats disguise an open secret: it is incredibly narrow, incredibly hard to pass, and an incredibly easy place to find trouble. Just ask Lewis Hamilton, who saw his car lifted off the circuit by a crane after his own accident on Saturday. Or just ask Fernando Alonso, who qualified second but now must find a way to get past Max Verstappen if he is to taste victory.

☆ Bangladesh struggles to pay for fuel imports as dollar crisis worsens -letters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, May 22 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is struggling to pay for imported fuel because of a dollar shortage, letters reviewed by Reuters show, with the state petroleum company owing more than $300 million as it faces an "alarming decrease in fuel reserves". Heavily reliant on energy imports, Bangladesh is grappling with power cuts resulting from a fuel shortage that have badly hurt its exports-oriented garments industry. BPC imports 500,000 tonnes of refined oil and 100,000 tonnes of crude oil every month. The April letter said several fuel suppliers had either sent fewer cargoes than scheduled or threatened to halt supplies. Others in South Asia, such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan, have also sought or received IMF funds this year.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and federal and state regulators attended the session in February, according to a statement from the health ministry that did not mention cough syrups. A source with knowledge of the matter said the policy change could mean increased oversight of India's $41 billion pharmaceutical industry, which is the world's largest supplier of generic medicines. Increased testing of cough syrups as well as of raw materials for drugs in general is one of the steps being considered, said the source. India has acted against a second Indian company whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 kids in Uzbekistan, including the arrest of three of its employees. Indian health officials have expressed concern that the incidents of contaminated syrups will harm its pharmaceutical industry.

☆ Champions League Live Updates: Manchester City vs. Real Madrid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Tariq Panja | Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Cup and the Champions League. If it is found to have violated those rules, City could be stripped of a string of Premier League triumphs. But that inquiry — ongoing, and cloaked in the strictest secrecy — is specifically related to Premier League rules. That means there appears to be little risk that City would lose the Champions League title if it manages to finally win it. UEFA’s greater enmity these days is actually toward City’s opponent on Wednesday, Real Madrid, which remains a proponent of creating a Super League that would rival the Champions League.

☆ Formula 1 Cancels Grand Prix Amid Deadly Floods in Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is unclear if the canceled event can be rescheduled; Formula 1’s packed schedule has little flexibility given the time and trouble it takes to move it from country to country. If the race at Imola is not rescheduled, Formula 1 will have 22 races this year instead of the record 23 it had planned. The entire Emilia-Romagna region faces the threat of more rains, and more flooding, this week. “It is such a tragedy to see what has happened to Imola and Emilia-Romagna, the town and region that I grew up in,” said Stefano Domenicali, the chief executive of Formula 1. “My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the flooding and the families and communities affected.”

☆ Opinion | The Republican Embrace of Vigilantism Is No Accident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Perry had lived out the right-wing fantasy of lethal violence in defense of “order.” By their lights, he had done nothing wrong. What we know is that Neely, who was homeless, was erratic and acting hostile toward other passengers. At some point, Penny, a former Marine, placed Neely in the chokehold that killed him. But this has not stopped conservatives from valorizing him in the same way they valorized Rittenhouse and Perry. In listening to conservative fans of Rittenhouse, Perry and Penny, you would never know that there were actual people on the other side of these confrontations.

☆ Opinion: DeSantis’ comments about Jordan Neely’s death are part of a dangerous pattern
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Opinion Dean Obeidallah | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show.” Follow him @DeanObeidallah@masto.ai. CNN —We are seeing an alarming pattern emerge in which some GOP leaders defend — and even pledge to pardon — people charged with or convicted of killing a person. “The unfortunate result was the unintended and unforeseen death of Mr. Neely.”Penny has received support from a score of right-wing figures. Instead, DeSantis is sending a message that if you are supported by the GOP base, we may have your back, even if you are charged in someone’s death. After Perry’s conviction, many on the right demanded GOP Texas Gov.

☆ India builds more hospitals as population surges but doctors in short supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The problem is a lack of doctors, a shortage that is reaching crucial levels as India becomes the world's most populous nation. Inaugurating the first specialised medical institute in northeast India last month, Modi said his government had sought to increase the number of doctors by setting up more medical colleges. The number of public hospitals, excluding specialised institutes, has risen some 9% in Modi’s time at the top, government data shows. The government says there was a near 80% shortage of surgeons, physicians, gynaecologists and paediatricians at community health centres in rural India as of March 2022. Specialist doctors tend to go overseas or join the private sector in metropolitan and other large cities, said Dr K. Srinath Reddy, at the Public Health Foundation of India non-profit.

ETImage Trumpet, a bloodhound, was named best in show last year after outlasting some terrific competition. Credit... Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesThere are around 3,000 dogs at Westminster, and all of them are such good, good boys and girls. The 210 breed winners then advance to compete in the group finals. The seven group winners (four of which have already been decided) then vie for the big prize. Last year’s winner was Trumpet, a bloodhound.

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