As per the White House, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be preparing another chemical weapons attack, one that would result in the “mass murder” of civilians.
The preparations were similar to those undertaken by the Assad regime ahead of an apparent chemical attack on a rebel-held town in April.
FARC Rebels Seal Historic Disarmament
Colombia’s leftist FARC rebel force declared its disarmament complete after half a century of war against the state, bringing Latin America’s oldest civil conflict close to an end.
The move is a key part of efforts to end the long territorial and ideological conflict under a 2016 peace accord. The accord was at first narrowly rejected by Colombians in a referendum last year before it was redrafted and pushed through Congress.
China Accuses Indian Troops
China accused Indian troops of crossing the boundary in the Sikkim section and demanded their immediate withdrawal while asserting that it has shut down the Nathu La pass entry for Indian pilgrims travelling to Kailash Mansarovar because of the border standoff.
The Centre has directed NTPC, BHEL and private power producers to explore technological solutions to ease India’s dependence on imported coal, which currently costs Rs. 1 lakh crore a year, especially as the country has ample stocks of the fuel.
India has one of the largest coal reserves in the world, enough to power us for at least 500 years.
Banks Rated at BBB-
Fitch Ratings affirmed ratings of eight lenders including State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda at 'BBB-', with a stable outlook.
Bank of Baroda (New Zealand), Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank's rating has been also affirmed at BBB-.
The stable outlook on SBI, BoB, PNB, Canara, BoI and ICICI mirrors the outlook on the country's rating which is BBB-/Stable.
Merlin Agri Projects Banned from Capital Markets
SEBI has barred Merlin Agri Projects India Ltd and its directors from the capital markets for not complying with public issue norms.
A probe by Sebi found that the company had allotted redeemable preference shares worth about Rs. 51 lakh to 56 persons between 2011 and 2013.
Since these securities were issued to more than 50 investors, this qualified as a public issue, which requires compulsory listing on recognised stock exchanges.
Weeks after the WannaCry ransomware affected systems in over 100 countries, another major cyber-attack is causing mass disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine and Russia the hardest.
Reports suggest that Russia's biggest oil company, Ukraine's international airport as well as global shipping firm AP Moller-Maersk have been impacted by the attack.
Senior advocate K. K. Venugopal has emerged as the front-runner for the post of attorney general following the decision of Mukul Rohatgi to step down as the top law officer in the government.
Venugopal, who is the recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan, is likely to represent as the top law officer for the second time, as he was one of the Additional Solicitors General during Morarji Desai’s government.