Total has 2 months to seek US sanctions exemption
French oil major Total has two months to seek exemption from US sanctions after Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran’s oil minister said on Wednesday. Bijan Zanganeh, told state news agency SHANA that failure to secure an exemption would mean that China’s state-owned CNPC could take over Total’s stake in the South Pars gas project, lifting its own interest from 30 percent to more than 80 percent. “Total has 60 days to negotiate with the US government,” Zanganeh said, adding that the French government could also lobby Washington. Total signed a contract in 2017 to develop phase 11 of the South Pars field with an initial investment of $1 billion, Reuters said. Tehran has repeatedly hailed the contract as a symbol of the nuclear deal’s success.
Warships of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet return home from Mediterranean
The frigate ‘Admiral Grigorovich’ and the guard ship ‘Pytlivy’ have completed their missions as part of Russia’s Mediterranean permanent task force and have set off for Sevastopol, according to Black Sea Fleet spokesman Captain 1st-Class Vyacheslav Trukhachyov. “Currently, the warships are passing though the Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, heading for the Black Sea,” the spokesman said on Thursday. The warships’ crews earlier held various drills, solely and as part of a naval group, performing artillery fire against practice surface and air targets, and also sharpened the skills of anti-submarine warfare, TASS reports. The Mediterranean task force comprises about 15 warships and support vessels, Trukhachyov said.
A Pacific Fleet task force on Thursday completed its unofficial visit to Thailand, Pacific Fleet spokesman Captain 2nd-Class Nikolay Voskresensky said. The task force of the Pacific Fleet’s warships “consisting of large anti-submarine vessels ‘Admiral Tributs’ and ‘Admiral Vinogradov’ and a mid-size sea tanker ‘Pechenga’ wrapped up its visit” to the port of Sattahip, Thailand where it arrived on an unofficial visit on May 27, he said. The ships left Thailand and continued fulfilling the long voyage’s tasks, the spokesman added. During the visit, commander of the task force Captain 1st-Class Oleg Korolyov and officers who accompanied him made a protocol visit to the commander of the major naval base Sattahip. The meeting with Russian Ambassador to Thailand Kirill Barsky was also held onboard the ‘Admiral Vinogradov’ vessel, TASS reports. This is the fourth visit of Russian ships to Thailand over the past three years.
Italy new push to form coalition
Italy showed little sign of succeeding on Wednesday, with major parties calling instead for repeat elections in July – a vote investors fear could become a de facto referendum on the euro.
Prime minister-designate Carlo Cottarelli, tasked by the head of state with calming political turmoil and overseeing fresh elections after the summer, has failed so far to find support from any major party for even a stopgap administration.
Cottarelli met the head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, on Wednesday morning for brief informal talks, a presidential source said. The source did not elaborate.
The major parties are calling instead for President Sergio Mattarella to dissolve parliament immediately and send the euro zone’s third-largest economy back to the polls on July 29, less than four months after the inconclusive March 4 vote.
The situation, though, remained fluid and unpredictable with some Italian newspapers holding out the prospect of a last-minute deal to avoid repeat elections and installing a ruling coalition of the two anti-establishment parties.
The deadlock follows an aborted attempt by the 5-Star Movement and right-wing League to form a government.
They dropped the plan at the weekend when Mattarella vetoed their choice of a eurosceptic as economy minister and any 11th-hour compromise between the president and the two parties would likely involve the omission of 81-year-old Paolo Savona from their proposed line-up.
If there is a repeat election, it would likely focus on the ideas of Savona who has argued Italy should be ready to quit the euro zone. Opinion polls show a snap election is also likely to deliver an even stronger anti-establishment vote.
A new opinion poll showed the League, which argues that fiscal rules governing the euro zone are “enslaving” Italians, would boost its share of the vote to a quarter, from around 17 percent on March 4.
The IPSOS poll, in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, showed support for the League’s would-be coalition partner, the 5-Star Movement, steady at about 32.6 percent — implying a much more comfortable majority if the pair were to try again to govern.
That prospect has rocked financial markets, with the euro sinking to multi-month lows on fears that snap elections would lead to a eurosceptic government in Rome.
Italian government bonds, which suffered one of its most dramatic speculative attacks in years on Tuesday, found some support from local investors on Wednesday.
The yield on 10-year bonds edged away from four-year highs and two-year yields, the focus of earlier attacks, also fell.
Mattarella designated Cottarelli, a former International Monetary Fund official, as interim prime minister this week, with a view to holding a new vote between September and early 2019.
But sources close to some of Italy’s main parties said late on Tuesday that there was now a chance the president could dissolve parliament in the coming days and send Italians back to the polls as early as July 29.
European Commission proposes €55bn plan to help reforms, investments
European Commission proposed on Thursday to set up two new financial instruments with a total fire power of €55 billion ($64.4 billion) to back reforms in EU states and help investments in members hit by financial crises, Reuters reports. The plan comes as recent market turmoil triggered by political instability in Italy has reignited concerns about the future of the euro. Under the plan, which needs backing from 27 EU states, €25 billion will be made available in the 2021-2027 period for countries that embark in structural reforms, such as on pensions or labor markets, agreed with Brussels. The funding, which will come from the EU planned €1.1-trillion budget will be accessible to all member states, but the largest share will be available only to the 19 countries of the common currency area.
Trilateral strategic dialogue in Beijing on terrorism
Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan agreed to strengthen the anti-terrorism security cooperation and continue their alliance in fighting terrorism, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday in a statement on its website.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuan You, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, and Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tamina Janjua co-chaired the meeting on Monday.
During the second round of the trilateral strategic dialogue between the three countries’ deputy foreign ministers, the nations “exchanged in-depth views on political mutual trust, the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan, [and] the progress and direction of trilateral pragmatic and security cooperation,“ the Chinese ministry’s statement read.
It said all the parties agreed that they considered the trilateral cooperation mechanism among Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan to be of great importance. The three states also said they were willing to strengthen their communication to enhance mutual trust.
Pakistan and China mentioned that they highly appreciated the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), with Afghanistan expressing its willingness to maintain a dialogue and the practical implementation of the action plan to promote continuous improvement of friendly relations.
The foreign ministry further commented on how China intends to continue playing a constructive role in improving the Pak-Afghan linkages.
“China and Pakistan appreciate the peace initiative proposed by Afghan President [Ashraf] Ghani and will jointly support Afghanistan in advancing the Afghan-led [and] Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process.”
While the three nations agreed to continue well-established training and humanities exchanges, they also prepared for a second trilateral meeting, scheduled to be held in Kabul later this year.
CAIT LAMBASTED GOVT FOR NOT INVITING FOR E COMMERCE POLICY MEETING
CAIT LAMBASTED GOVT FOR NOT INVITING FOR E COMMERCE POLICY MEETING
BLAMED FOR CARRYING SOME HIDDEN AGENDA
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has expressed its deep resentment and anguish to Union Commerce Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu in a communication sent today for not being invited for meeting of the Ministry with Industry for formulation of policy on e commerce.
CAIT Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal in the communication said that “We have learnt that the next meeting of the “Think Tank” with Industry for drafting E Commerce Policy has been scheduled to be held on 21st June,2018 and as usual your Ministry has neither invited us nor the online vendors though we are one of the most crucial and critical stakeholders of E Commerce business in India. Such an attitude is highly regretted and we are unable to understand as to why we have been left out with the consultation process.
Mr. Khandelwal further said that needless to mention that CAIT was the first organisation in the Country which raised the demand of creation of a E Commerce Policy because of ill -effects of current e commerce business on offline traders who are feeling the heat of Mal-practices being adopted by E Commerce Companies since their inception in their lust to wipe out the competition, control & dominate the retail trade both offline and online.
The CAIT is advocating with the Government since last 4 years to take effective steps to stop the malpractices on e commerce. “As any outcome of the discussions will directly affect our traders, we were expecting to receive an invite from the Government to join the discussions. It seems there might be some hidden agenda which prompts us to keep out of the discussions”-said the CAIT.
Mr. Khandelwal further said that any policy crafted with due consultation with all stakeholders is bound to create resentment and anguish. Merely inviting E commerce Companies and few of individual Industry will not suffice the purpose unless the real stakeholders, the traders both offline and online are not invited and made equal part of the discussion.
The CAIT has asked the Minister to immediately look in to the matter and advise the concerned officials to rectify the mistake and extend invite to us as well to end discrimination and meet the ends of principle of natural justice.
Rooter teams up with Dabang Delhi KC
Rooter teams up with Dabang Delhi KC as their official fan engagement partner
Rooter will offer live fantasy game, prediction game, live chat forums and a chance to win Dabang Delhi merchandise and match tickets which will collectively enhance virtual experience for all Kabaddi fans
New Delhi, May 30, 2018: Dabang Delhi Kabaddi Club, the Delhi franchise of Vivo Pro Kabaddi announces official fan engagement partnership with Rooter – the first-of-its-kind live social sports engagement platform, as the players’ auction for Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 commences. Rooter will host a prediction game for Dabang Delhi KC during the auctions, enabling fans to predict their Dabang squad.
Through Rooter, the Dabang Delhi KC fans can provide real-time suggestions to the team, who will consider the same during the auctions as well. Additionally, fans can use the platform to make relevant suggestions and strategies that may benefit Dabang Delhi KC throughout the season. Rooter will enable Dabang Delhi to engage with fans on live match chat forums, thereby giving the squad members and fans a unique chance to interact with each other. The platform also offers a unique engagement opportunity for fans through their Prediction and Live Fantasy Game during the Vivo Pro Kabaddi season. Additionally, Rooter will provide real-time scores, updates, and statistics from Dabang Delhi’s games.
Dabang Delhi KC, has retained the Iranian born talented all-rounder Meraj Sheykh, and is looking to build a strong side during the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League Auctions. Rooter, on its part, will ensure the team is able to reach out to their fan base and expand it sizably across Northern India. Scheduled to begin on the 19th of October this year, Pro Kabaddi League will prove to be a game changer for ‘The Eagles’ and their fans, owing to the unique virtual experience that Rooter has to offer.
Commenting on the association, Piyush, Founder & CEO-Rooter said, “The 6th PKL is expected to be filled with blitzy raids and powerful super-tackles as teams have lined up a formidable array of heavyweights full of speed, power and confidence. With Dabang Delhi K.C., these attributes have reached newer heights as the team prepares to raid its way towards a maiden PKL title. Rooter aims to support the team throughout the auctions and the season, serving as the perfect virtual bridge between the squad and their dedicated fans, promising unique experiences, games, contests, trivia, and live chats to add to the season’s excitement!’
Fans can find the link to the Rooter app on the official website of Dabang Delhi KC to play the prediction game during the auctions and the fantasy game once the season starts. With its new ‘Rooter 3.0’ look and a collaboration with one of the finest teams in the league, Rooter and Dabang Delhi KC are surely ready to win the league and the hearts of hundreds of fans, being#DilSeDabang all the way! This is Rooter’s 8th sports partnership making it one of the most successful apps in India.
For more details, please refer – https://rooter.app.link/DBbAN1Z3iN
About Rooter:
Rooter is the world’s first sports social gaming platform that connects sports fans and engages them during live sports matches. Rooter offers unique Live match prediction game, Live Fantasy Game and Sports Social Feed across 8 sports and enables a live chat forum where fans interact during live matches with fastest live scores and commentary. It provides a seamless mix of gaming, conversations, and Live scores. Rooter was started by Piyush (Founder & CEO) and Akshat Goel (Co-founder & CTO) in Sept 2016 and now engages more than half million sports fans across 8 sports: Cricket, Football, Hockey, Tennis, Basketball, Kabaddi, Badminton, and F1.
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