To reduce the dependency on Russian gas post-invasion on Ukraine, France is in talks with Spain to construct a gas pipeline connecting the two countries. The French ambassador in Madrid, Jean-Michel Casa, said that France has long refused Spanish calls to build the link but is now ready to discuss the feasibility of the Midcat pipeline if Madrid officially requests it. Casa said, “Now that the underlying situation has changed, is it necessary to talk about Midcat? Let’s talk”. Both energy regulators in Spain and Portugal rejected the investment proposal for a central section of
A package worth €2 billion (S$3 billion) has been announced by the French government to assist consumers suffering from high fuel prices. The price at the pump is expected to drop. On Saturday (March 12), French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that petrol and diesel prices would be lowered by 15 centimes per litre. The state will be reimbursing gas station owners for the difference when vehicle owners pay. Petrol prices have risen to over 2 euros per litre in some areas, putting pressure on the government to reduce the impact on households. A lot of the price at the pump is ta
South Korea chose Suk-yeol as the country’s next president following a tightly-contested race. He is a conservative opposition candidate who edged out his victory over the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-Myung. Both the candidates were counted as widely unpopular throughout the campaign. According to the analyst, voters appeared disenchanted by the frontrunners that the local media dubbed the vote “election of the unfavourable”. Mr Yoon, a political novice promised to tackle class inequality and called his win a “victory of the great South Korean people”. However, the results are
On Monday, Tata Sons chief Natarajan Chandrasekaran is appointed as the new chairman of Air India. The board cleared his appointment last week. The development comes days after Ilker Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, declined an offer from the Tata Group to lead Air India as its CEO and Managing Director. However, the reason for Ayci rejection of the post was not revealed. Chandrasekaran started his career as a software programmer in 1987. When he was 46, he took over as head of the Tata group and was one of the group's youngest CEOs. In 2016, he joined the Tata Sons board and
On Friday, India and Canada finally agreed to step up talks to consider a free trade agreement between both countries to boost trade in goods and services along with an early harvest deal. The official statement issued by the commerce minister said, “The Interim Agreement would include high-level commitments ion goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any areas mutually agreed upon”. The negotiation for India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will formally be launch
Visualization of a factory can never be complete without sweaty faces, grease-stained uniforms, metal clanking, groaning and creaking of machines and all the loading and unloading activity. In order to improve industrial output and steady economic progress, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking to change conventional ideas about manufacturing processes by using emerging technologies. As part of the recently announced Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the minister headed by H.E. Sultan Al Jaber aims to deploy innovative ideas and new technologies to expand manufacturing practices, add
The G7 club of the most industrialized nations urged the producers of energy to increase deliveries to blunt the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on prices on Thursday. Due to Russian President Putin's decision to announce the withdrawal of tens of thousands of troops from Ukraine on February 24, wholesale gas and crude oil prices have risen to record levels in Europe this week. The G7 energy ministers expressed grave concern about the burden the spike in energy prices would place on households and businesses "especially in Europe," while noting they would be "felt most acutely
On Monday, Saudi Arabia attracted $21.6 billion (81 billion riyals) of investment in the industrial sector in 2021. According to the Saudi industry minister, the investment was for both the private sector and the joint sector with government entities. As part of the Vision 2030 initiative spearheaded by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is investing hundreds of billions of dollars and has set lofty goals for diversifying its economy and reducing reliance on oil. The prince is aiming to develop a homegrown industry, however, there are snags and delays as the n
According to the Labor Department, employers in the United States added 678,000 jobs in February, an increase that underlines the health of the American economy. Since the pandemic began two years ago, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% from 4% for this month. US President Joe Biden said in his Friday statement that his plan to “build America from the bottom up and the middle out is working”. He said, “Since I took office, the economy has created 7.4 million jobs. That’s 7.4 million jobs providing families with dignity and a little more breathing room. We are building a better A
On Tuesday, The World Bank predicted that Tanzania’s economy is expected to expand between 4.5% to 5.5% this year. Its country’s director announced comparing its previous year's percentage of 4.3% in 2021. According to a joint IMF-World Bank examination of the country's debt sustainability, Tanzania's risk of external debt distress had climbed from low to moderate which was conducted in September 2021. The growth is said to be due to the lifting of the coronavirus-related restriction in many countires which is helping in boosting tourism and trade. Tanzania changed its approach unde