US REPORTS 600 CASES OF B.1.617 STRAIN OF COVID

Highlights

• This strain was recently divided into 3 sub-lineages on the basis of the presence of different mutations

• These mutated cases include 126 in California, 82 in Washington, 42 in New York and 39 in the state of New Jersey along with other states

S. KOREAN AIRLINES TO RAISE FUEL SURCHARGES FROM JUNE

Highlights –

• S. Korean airlines to raise fuel surcharges from June.
• The amount will be raised specifically for international routes.
• One-way tickets on international routes surcharge will range from 3,600 won to 20,400 won.

CHINA’S RETAIL SALES INCREASE BY 29.6 PERCENT IN Q1 2021

Highlights –

• China’s retail sales increase by 29.6 percent in Q1 2021.
• Retail sales in April alone surged 17.7 percent year on year.
• Consumption in urban areas in April stood at about 2.89 trillion yuan.
• Online retail...

NEW VOLKSWAGEN POLO GTI TO BE UNVEILED NEXT MONTH

HIGHLIGHTS

• New Polo GTI is going to be unveiled by Volkswagen in JUNE 2021.
• The company is silent on India launch but it is expected soon.
• The new car is getting styling tweaks and more safety features, along with an updated infotainment sy...

S. KOREA’S AUTOMOBILE EXPORTS ROSE TO 53% IN APRIL

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s automobile exports rose to 53% in April.
• In April, S. Korea’s outbound shipments of automobiles reached 188,293 units.
• Hyundai Motor Co. saw its exports jump 40.3 percent in April.
• SsangY...

CAIRN ENERGY DRAGS AIR INDIA TO A U.S. COURT TO RECOVER $1.2 BN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AWARD

In order to recover its international arbitration award worth $1.2 billion, Scottish  explorer Cairn Energy Plc has dragged Indian airlines company Air India to a US court. Cairn Energy won this international arbitration award against the Indian government's retrospective tax claim in th...

AS PART OF A $7.5 BN INVESTMENT, HYUNDAI TO BUILD EV IN THE U.S.

Highlights

• Hyundai in a statement said the investments will be made through 2025 without specifying exact amount diverted to each area

• Earlier this month, Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz had said that thanks to SUVs like the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Santa Fe, the two bra...

US GLOBAL TASK FORCE ON PANDEMIC RELIEF HAD A WORD WITH INDIA'S EAM S. JAISHANKAR

Highlights

• Talking about conversation, Jaishankar said India’s priorities like oxygen, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals have been figured in the deliberation

• CEOs of companies like Accenture, Amazon, Apple, IBM, FedEx and Bank of America are part of the task f...

CHIP SHORTAGE LEADS HYUNDAI & KIA TO SUSPEND FEW ASSEMBLY LINES

Highlights –

• Chip shortage leads Hyundai & KIA to suspend few assembly lines.
• Hyundai Motor said that it will halt the No. 5 Ulsan plant that produces Tuscon and Nexo.
• KIA will suspend the No. 2 Sohari plant that makes Stonic.

HOKKAIDO, OKAYAMA & HIROSHIMA TO COME UNDER COVID-19 STATE OF EMERGENCY

Highlights –

• Hokkaido, Okayama & Hiroshima to come under COVID-19 state of emergency.
• Infections continue to surge ahead of this summer's Tokyo Olympics.
• Okayama and Hiroshima were planned to be put under a quasi-emergency ear...

43 COUNTRIES PLEDGED TO BATTLE THE PANDEMIC IN INDIA

Highlights: 

• More countries are joining hands to combat the raging second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India. 
• New Delhi, one of the worst affected states from the novel coronavirus, has received 87 consignments from 28 countries in t...

DAIKIN EUROPE PLANS TO EXPAND

Highlights:

• Daikin Europe is planning to expand as Daikin industries’ global center of expertise which will provide low carbon heating solutions and its heat pump technology.
• The demand for heat pumps in Europe has surged over the past year whic...

EATING BREAD CAN BE HEALTHY, ESPECIALLY WITH EZEKIEL BREAD

Highlights –

• Eating bread can be health, especially with Ezekiel bread.
• Ezekiel bread is a flourless bread made using a variety of sprouted grains.
• The bread is usually made with four different types of grains, as well as various legu...

MIHAMA NUCLEAR PLANT TO BEGIN FULL OPERATION ON JUNE

Highlights –

• Mihama nuclear plant to begin full operation on June.
• Kansai Electric Power Co. will load nuclear fuel into the No. 3 unit at the Mihama plant.
• In 2016, Mihama plant was given approval to operate beyond the 40-year limit ...

57 U.S. CONGRESSMEN WRITE TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN URGING HIM TO BOLSTER COVID AID TO INDIA

Highlights

• The letter said “We are extremely concerned with regards to India’s deadly COVID-19 second wave

• Sherman said “India’s latest surge of COVID-19 infections is a humanitarian crisis that requires our assistance”

Urg...

S. KOREA’S EMPLOYED PEOPLE REACHED 27.2 MILLION IN APRIL 2021

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s employed people reached 27.2 million in April 2021.
• The number of unemployed people came to 1.15 million in April.
• The jobless rate fell 0.2% point on-year to 4%.
• The number of temporary worker...

TAIWAN PRESIDENT REASSURES PUBLIC OF HANDLING COVID-19 CASES WELL

Highlights –

• Taiwan president reassures public of handling COVID-19 cases well.
• Taiwan reported 6 local COVID-19 cases recently.
• 5 cases were discovered in a gaming cafe in Yilan county on Taiwan's eastern coast.
• On Tue...

THREE-YEAR BUDGET GRANTED FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE AUSTRALIAN SPORT

Highlights:

• The three-year budget for the high-performance Australian sport has been future-proofed
• A boost of 132.8 million dollars had been granted for the high-performance sports for the next three-years

The Australian high-perfor...

YES BANK WANTS TO BUY CITIBANK INDIA'S RETAIL ASSETS

HIGHLIGHTS

• Yes Bank is interested in buying retail assets of Citibank India.
• The India business of Citibank included credit card service, retail banking, mortgages, and wealth management.
• Citibank India also had a presence in the distributi...

AMID INCREASING US-CHINA TENSIONS, TESLA HALTS ITS PLANS TO PURCHASE LAND IN SHANGHAI

Highlights

• It is also being said that Tesla had previously thought of expanding exports of its China-made entry-level Model 3 to more markets including the US

• Sources claim that Tesla was intending to curb the proportion of China output in its global production d...