The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said it has provided critical support for more than 4,800 Sudanese refugees in Libya so far this year.

“Critical support such as access to medical assistance, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, solar lamps, and cash assistance has been provided to over 4,800 Sudanese refugees so far this year,” UNHCR said on Friday in a statement, adding that care arrangements have been offered to 80 unaccompanied children from Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported.

“As more refugees continue to arrive, UNHCR and its partners are stepping up efforts to support those in need,” the statement noted.

It confirmed that more than 40,000 Sudanese refugees are now registered with UNHCR in Libya.

A large number of displaced Sudanese people have been seeking protection and assistance in Libya since the onset of a civil war in their country in mid-April 2023. AGENCIES

The UN is set to facilitate a new round of negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group representatives concerning prisoner and detainee exchanges, a government official told the media.

The local government official, who asked to remain anonymous, said on Friday that the talks are scheduled to commence on Sunday in Muscat, Oman, to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis surrounding prisoners in the conflict-ridden nation.

He clarified that the negotiations will proceed under the auspices of the UN and with oversight from the International Committee of the Red Cross, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss the preparations for the forthcoming prisoner exchange negotiations.

In an official statement released through the state-run Saba News Agency, the PLC reaffirmed its dedication to resolving the humanitarian crisis surrounding detainees, abductees, and forcibly disappeared individuals.

The PLC advocated for a comprehensive “all-for-all” exchange principle, with particular emphasis on securing the release of prominent politician Mohamed Qahtan, whose case is specifically addressed in a UN Security Council resolution.

During the meeting, the PLC also addressed the recent surge in abductions of UN agency employees and NGO workers by Houthis in Sanaa, condemning these actions as violations of national and international laws and calling for intensified pressure on the Houthis to unconditionally release all captives.

This upcoming negotiation round follows a series of UN-sponsored talks between the Yemeni government and Houthis over the years. The most recent discussions, held in Amman in June 2023, ended without an agreement.

However, a previous round in Switzerland in March 2023 led to a successful exchange in April 2023, resulting in the release of more than 800 prisoners and detainees from both warring Yemeni sides.

As Yemen continues to grapple with a protracted conflict that began in late 2014, these negotiations represent a crucial step towards alleviating the humanitarian crisis and potentially paving the way for broader peace talks. AGENCIES

Voting for Iran’s 14th presidential election ended at Friday midnight after 16 straight hours, said Spokesman of Iran’s Election Headquarters Mohsen Eslami.He made the remarks in a live interview with Iran’s state-run IRIB TV, noting that though the polling stations’ doors were closed, those people who had come before the end of the voting process and were waiting for their turns, could still cast their ballots.

The voting began at 8 a.m. Friday local time at about 58,640 polling stations across the country, with four candidates vying for the top position at the country’s executive branch, Xinhua news agency reported.

The candidates were Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Parliamentary Speaker; Saeed Jalili, the former top negotiator for nuclear talks; Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former Interior Minister and Justice Minister; and Masoud Pezeshkian, a former Health Minister.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cast the first ballot at a polling station and made a brief speech calling for the unity of the Iranian people during the election.

The voting was initially scheduled to end at 6 p.m. local time, but was extended three times, with each extension lasting for two hours.

More than 61 million people were eligible to vote in the election, according to Iranian authorities.

A total of 344 polling stations were also set up in more than 95 foreign countries for Iranians to cast their votes, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Eslami said the counting process at the stations would begin upon making sure that the very last voter had cast his vote, adding the winner should collect an absolute majority of the votes, or at least 50 per cent plus one vote, otherwise the run-off would be held next Friday between the two top candidates.

In remarks at a televised interview on Thursday, Mohammad-Taqi Shahcheraghi, head of Iran’s Election Headquarters, said efforts would be made to announce the election’s results before Saturday noon.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in a helicopter crash on May 19. AGENCIES

A man has been arrested after a woman’s body was located in Australia’s eastern state of New South Wales (NSW), local police said on Saturday.

At about 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, police attended a home on Johnston Street, Casino, in the state’s north following reports of a concern for welfare, NSW Police said in a statement.

Officers attached to Richmond Police District arrived and assisted the woman, who is believed to be aged in her 40s. However, she died at the scene, reports Xinhua news agency citing the police statement.

A 31-year-old man, believed to be known to the woman, was arrested at the scene and taken to Lismore Police Station, where he is assisting police with inquiries, according to the police statement.

A crime scene has been established, and a critical incident team from Tweed/Byron Police District will now investigate all circumstances surrounding the incident, including all aspects of the response from NSW Police. AGENCIES

 The World Bank said that it has approved a $750 million loan to strengthen the Philippine economy’s recovery.

The Philippines Second Sustainable Recovery Development Policy Loan supports reforms that increase investment in public service sectors, attract private investment in public infrastructure, particularly in domestic shipping, promote renewable energy, protect the environment and improve climate resilience, reports Xinhua news agency.

World Bank Senior Economist Ralph van Doorn on Saturday said the Philippine economy remains resilient despite ongoing global and domestic challenges. “The reforms supported by this lending program, if implemented, will encourage private investment, innovation, and sustained growth,” he said.

Through these reforms, Van Doorn said the Philippines can transition faster to a greener economy and achieve its environmental and climate objectives.

Given the Philippines’ archipelagic nature, he added that marine transport is critical for trade and connecting its numerous islands and destinations, enabling efficient movement of goods and products.

Van Doorn said attracting more local and foreign investments in domestic shipping can significantly boost the country’s competitiveness.

The loan also supports reforms that aim to enhance plastic waste reduction, recovery, and recycling, promote green transportation, and encourage the production and consumption of environment-friendly goods and services through public procurement. AGENCIES

^{Yemen’s Houthi Group Has Said In A Statement That They Have Launched Multiple Attacks Against An Oil Tanker And Other Cargo Ships, Including A Joint Attack With The Iraqi Islamic Resistance.}

^{“Our Armed Forces Carried Out Several Qualitative Military Operations, Including A Joint Military Operation With The Islamic Resistance In Iraq Targeted The Oil Tanker Waler In The Mediterranean Sea With Several Drones While It Was On Its Way To Haifa Port,” Yahya Sarea, The Houthi Military Spokesman, Said On Friday In The Televised Statement Aired By Houthi-Run Al-Masirah Tv.}

^{“Our Naval Forces Carried Out A Military Operation Targeting The American Ship Delonix In The Red Sea With Several Ballistic Missiles. The Operation Led To A Direct Hit On The Ship,” Sarea Added.}

^{“We Also Targeted The Ship Johannes Maersk In The Mediterranean Sea With A Winged Missile, And The Operation Achieved Its Goal Successfully,” He Said As Reported By Xinhua News Agency.}

^{“The Operation Was Carried Out Simultaneously With The Naval Forces Carrying Out Another Military Operation In The Red Sea Against The Ship Loannis. The Ship Was Targeted By Several Unmanned Boats,” He Added.}

^{Since November Last Year, The Houthi Group Has Been Conducting Drone And Missile Attacks In Shipping Lanes, Claiming These Actions Are In Solidarity With Palestinians Amid The Ongoing Conflict In Gaza.}

^{In Response, The Us-British Naval Coalition Stationed In The Waters Has Since January Conducted Air Raids And Missile Strikes Against Houthi Targets To Deter The Group, But This Only Led To An Expansion Of Houthi Attacks To Include Us And British Commercial Vessels And Naval Ships.} AGENCIES

 India has now become the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market after the U.S. and China, as airlines such as IndiGo and Air India have expanded their fleet size to cater to the surge in air passengers, according to data compiled by aviation analytics firm OAG.

The data show India’s domestic airline capacity doubled in the last 10 years from 7.9 million seats in April 2014 to 15.5 million in April 2024 to surpass Brazil and Indonesia and move up from the 5th position.

India has replaced Brazil, which now stands at the fourth place with 9.7 million airline seats followed by Indonesia in fifth rank with 9.2 million.

India has also posted the highest annual average capacity growth rate of 6.9 per cent over the last decade among the top five countries, followed by China at 6.3 per cent and the US at 2.4 per cent.

IndiGo and Air India, which together have more than 1,000 planes on order, account for 9 of 10 domestic seats in the country.

According to OAG, India’s transition to low-cost carriers (LCCs) has been the sharpest among the top five.

In April 2024, LCCs accounted for 78.4 per cent of Indian domestic capacity, followed by Indonesia at 68.4 per cent, Brazil at 62.4 per cent, the US at 36.7 per cent, and China at 13.2 per cent. AGENCIES

 The Indian healthcare sector has become a major target for cybercriminals, experiencing an average of 6,935 cyberattacks per week over the last six months, compared to 1,821 attacks per organisation globally, a new report revealed on Friday.

According to the cyber security provider Check Point Software Technologies, this trend highlighted the increased attack surface due to the rapid adoption of technologies such as electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

“The simplicity of spoofing email addresses and the capability to deliver weaponised content make email a powerful tool for spreading malware, stealing credentials, and executing social engineering attacks,” said Sundar Balasubramanian, MD for India and SAARC at Check Point Software Technologies.

“Check Point urges users to avoid opening unverified email attachments, use strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and exercise caution with unsolicited or suspicious emails,” he added.

Following healthcare, the most attacked industries in India include education/research (6,244 attacks), consulting (3,989 attacks), and government/military (3,618 attacks), the report mentioned.

The report also highlighted that Indian organisations, on average, were targeted 2,924 times per week over the past six months, compared to 1,401 attacks per organisation globally.

The most prevalent malware in India was ‘FakeUpdates’, accompanied by other malicious software such as ‘botnets’ and a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) named ‘Remcos’.

Information disclosure was the most commonly exploited vulnerability in India, affecting 72 per cent of organisations, followed by Remote Code Execution impacting 62 per cent, and Authentication Bypass affecting 52 per cent.

In the last 30 days, 63 per cent of malicious files in India were delivered via email, while 37 per cent were delivered through the web.

Notably, 58 per cent of the top malicious files delivered via email were executable files, while 59 per cent of malicious files delivered via the web were PDF files, the report said.

“Preventive measures, such as regular software updates, employee training, and the deployment of advanced security solutions, are essential to mitigate the growing threat landscape,” Balasubramanian said. AGENCIES

India government bonds or government securities are set for inclusion in the global bond index from Friday.

JP Morgan will add Indian government bonds to its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) from June 28. It is the first time ever that Indian government bonds would be included in this index.

Government securities inclusion in the global bond index will have a positive impact on the Indian economy.

Indian bonds will have a 10 per cent weightage in the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index. The weightage of India’s government bonds will be gradually increased in this index in a phased manner from June 28, 2024, to March 31, 2025, by one per cent each in the next 10 months.

JP Morgan announced the inclusion of Indian bonds in GBI-EM in September 2023, since then there has been an inflow of more than $10 billion into Indian bonds.

The move will enable foreign inflow to accelerate into Indian bonds. Demand for Indian government bonds will increase due to the inflow of foreign investment. This will increase the size of the Indian bond market. Besides, liquidity and efficiency will also increase.

Till now, only banks, insurance companies, and mutual funds have been major investors in government bonds. Now, a large number of global investors will be able to invest in Indian bonds. This will reduce the bond yield and will also reduce the cost of borrowing for the government which is expected to reduce the fiscal deficit.

Demand for the rupee will increase due to foreign inflow and hence it may remain strong in the coming months. AGENCIES

The scope and scale of operations of ITC’s Agri Business have grown manifold over the years and currently encompasses nearly 3 million tonnes of annual volume in 22 states and over 20 agri-value chains, according to the ITC Annual Report 2023-24.The strategic focus of the business in recent years has been to accelerate growth by rapidly developing and scaling up Value-Added Agri Products (VAAP), straddling multiple value chains comprising spices, coffee, frozen marine products, and processed fruits, among others.

Amid the extremely challenging operating environment, ITC leveraged its strong farm linkages, extensive sourcing expertise enabling traceable, attribute-based and identity-preserved sourcing of agri-commodities, multi-modal logistics capability, agile supply chain operations, deep customer relationships, and focus on scale-up of the VAAP portfolio to sustain business operations during the year.

ITC is one of India’s largest exporters of agri commodities with exports to over 85 countries.

ITC is a leading player in spices such as chili, turmeric, coriander, and cumin. In line with its strategy of enhancing value addition and ‘producing the buy’, the business has, in recent years, scaled up its presence in ‘food safe’ markets viz. the US, EU, and Japan, leveraging its key strengths such as identity-preserved sourcing expertise, strong backward integration, custody of supply chain and customer-focused strategies.

During the year, the business consolidated its position as a preferred supplier in ‘food safe’ markets (private labels, steam sterilised, organic products) leveraging deep customer relationships, portfolio augmentation, and agile execution.

The business scaled up its Organic and Integrated Crop Management (ICM) programmes, thereby enhancing its ability to produce ‘food safe’ spices in a sustainable manner. The business continues to partner with various State Governments for production of ‘food safe’ spices and has maintained an unblemished track record over the years in terms of compliance with stringent food safety parameters.

The business continues to pursue sustainable farm management practices anchored on Rainforest Alliance and Global GAP accreditation.

Capacity utilisation of the state-of-the-art spices processing facility in Andhra Pradesh has been ramped up to enable ITC to expand its customer base in ‘food safe’ export markets, besides promoting inclusive spices value chains benefiting thousands of Indian farmers.

During the year, coffee prices witnessed a sharp increase in the international markets primarily due to lower crop output in Vietnam. The tightness in supply, in anticipation of further price increases, resulted in lower export volumes of Indian coffee. Notwithstanding these challenges, the business registered strong growth in exports, leveraging its strategic presence in key coffee-producing regions of India, deep understanding of estate and region-specific varieties, and focus on premium grades of Arabica, Certified Coffees, Specialty and, Monsooned Coffee.

ITC is one of the leading exporters of value-added frozen marine products from India with expertise in processing individually quick-frozen (IQF), raw and cooked products, adhering to the highest standards of safety and hygiene prevalent in developed markets such as the US, EU, and Japan.

During the year, ITC has emerged as one of the top three exporters of frozen shrimps from India to the EU market by expanding its footprint in sustainably sourced shrimps leveraging the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) programme.

The business also provides sourcing support to the ‘ITC Master Chef’ range of ‘Super Safe’ frozen prawns in the domestic market and supplies high-quality shrimps to ITC’s Hotels Business.

In the Processed Fruits & Vegetables segment, the business continues to expand its footprint in the fruit pulp and tomato paste categories through a robust network comprising a large number of small and marginal farmers in four states.

The business continues to focus on its strategy of moving up the value chain by scaling up its customised crop development and cultivation programme in Madhya Pradesh to further enhance its expertise in Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Extracts (MAPE).

Collaborations with farmers are being strengthened with the business providing necessary inputs, advisory, on-field support, and enabling farmers to ‘produce the buy’. AGENCIES