CAIT said that since the last two years, the trend of installing eco-friendly idols of Lord Ganesh in large quantities across the country is growing very fast….reports Asian Lite News
The festive season of this year has started with the 10-day grand celebrations of Ganesh festival across the country from today giving a high hope for the business community for big business this year.
With this festival, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has once again re-continue its boycott of Chinese goods campaign.
CAIT’ National President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that according to an estimate, more than 20 crore Ganesh idols are purchased in the country every year, which generates an estimated business of more than Rs 300 crore.
They said that since the last two years, the trend of installing eco-friendly idols of Lord Ganesh in large quantities across the country is growing very fast.
Earlier, large quantities of Ganesha idols made of plaster of paris, stone, marble and other items were imported from China due to cheap prices but due to the campaign of boycott of Chinese goods by CAIT in the last two years, the import of Chinese Ganesh idols stands nil and the local craftsmen, artisans and potters working in their houses across cities all over the country involving their family women make idols from clay and cow dung, which are easily immersed.
They further said that eco-friendly idols are being made which instead of being immersed are mixed in trees and plants, which does not harm the environment too.
Because of these idols, lakhs of people get business across the country.
The three trends were observed based on analysis of billions of tweets from January 1 2020-December 31 2021…reports Asian Lite News
Twitter on Tuesday revealed, after analysing billions of tweets in India over a two-year period, how three key trends are behind an underlying shift in consumer behaviour in the country.
The ‘2022 Twitter Trends India’ report found three biggest trends emerging to the top of conversation: ‘Finance Goes Social’, ‘Fan-build Worlds’, and ‘Entrepreneurship Hits Peak Culture’.
“The report captures the themes and interests that are shaping consumer behaviour in the Indian market, and outlines top trends for brands to lean into to become a part of conversations that are happening right now, and will continue to grow,” said Preetha Athrey, Director, Global Business Marketing, Twitter APAC.
The three trends were observed based on analysis of billions of tweets from January 1 2020-December 31 2021.
‘Finance Goes Social’ means that as people discuss and dive deeper into finance, related conversations have gone up by 62 per cent in India.
“Communities of experts and everyday people are joining forces to share knowledge, sparking a 185 per cent increase in financial literacy discussions,” said Twitter.
Conversations about money have evolved, and concepts like decentralised finance (DeFi and crypto) and digital assets have entered pop culture with NFT+Bollywood, Bollycoin, and Beyond Life emerging as hot topics.
In the second tred, Twitter observed that fans no longer just follow, they’re now calling the shots.
As fan clubs take charge of the conversation to create worlds they want to be a part of, discussions around fandom have gone up by 47 per cent.
There has been a 22 per cent increase in discussions around entrepreneurship.
Founders are building personal brands, while popular references like #SharkTankIndiaMemes and #PeakBengaluru add humour and fun to the conversation, the report found.
“What’s inspiring is to see a 40 per cent increase in women joining the conversation, with the talk around female entrepreneurship going up by a whopping 269 per cent,” said Twitter.
That’s after a surge this week placed him just behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose own fortunes are estimated at $251 billion and $153 billion, respectively…reports Asian Lite News
Gautam Adani was already Asias richest man and now he is also the world’s third richest person, overtaking LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and becoming the first Asian person to take that spot, according to Bloomberg and its Billionaires index.
Adani, who runs one of India’s top conglomerates, is now believed to be worth approximately $137 billion, the tracker shows.
That’s after a surge this week placed him just behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose own fortunes are estimated at $251 billion and $153 billion, respectively, CNN reported.
Like other billionaires around the world, Adani has seen his wealth skyrocket during the pandemic.
The founder of the eponymous Adani Group controls companies ranging from ports and aerospace to solar energy and coal.
His fortune has grown exponentially since the start of the global health crisis, as investors bet on his ability to grow his business in sectors that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritized for development.
Adani has also benefited from an uptick in coal usage, which has catapulted his ascent in recent months, according to Bloomberg.
He overtook fellow Indian tycoon to become the region’s wealthiest person in February, CNN reported.
His shot up the global wealth rankings comes as some members of the world’s 1 per cent give away more of their resources.
In July, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced he would devote $20 billion to the endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and reiterated his intention to move “off of the list of the world’s richest people”.
Bill Gates is currently ranked the world’s fifth most affluent person, according to Bloomberg’s index, with a net worth of $117 billion, CNN reported.
The Israeli attack on Wednesday is the 22nd against Syrian sites this year, following a deadly strike earlier last week in the city of Masyaf…reports Asian Lite News
An Israeli missile strike hit the international airport of Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, causing material damage, a Syrian military statement said.
Local news websites on Wednesday said the missiles came from over the Mediterranean, Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Israel fired four missiles against the airport and surrounding warehouses, causing explosions to “what is believed to be a shipment of Iranian missiles”.
The Israeli attack on Wednesday is the 22nd against Syrian sites this year, following a deadly strike earlier last week in the city of Masyaf.
Sunak is looking to make history as Britain’s first Prime Minister of Indian-origin and has the overwhelming support of the Indian diaspora, many of whom have already voted in his favour as Conservative Party members…reports Asian Lite News
Rishi Sunak pledged to work “night and day” for the “best country in the world” as the election campaign to take over from Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader and the new British Prime Minister entered its final stage on Wednesday, with the very last hustings event set for London.
Sunak reiterated his vision statement as the first British Indian to run for the top job at 10 Downing Street ahead of the final campaign event scheduled at a popular concert venue in Wembley on Wednesday evening.
The former Chancellor will go head-to-head with his rival Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for one last time as they fight it out for any remaining Tory members yet to cast their ballots before voting closes on Friday evening.
The 42-year-old former finance minister, who has focussed his campaign message on the urgency of getting a grip on inflation and countered 47-year-old Truss’ claims that tax cuts are the answer to address the cost-of-living crisis crippling the UK economy, made a last-ditch effort to drive home his “consistent, clear and honest” vision.
“Britain is the best country in the world to grow up in, start a family and build a business, and our future looks bright. But we can only get there if we tackle the challenges we face in the short term head-on with honesty and a credible plan,” said Sunak, in a statement released by his Ready4Rishi campaign team on Tuesday night.
“I have the right plan, rooted in Conservative values, and I have been consistent, clear and honest throughout this contest that we must fix inflation first. Only by supporting people through this winter and gripping inflation can we lay the foundations for growth and prosperity for lower taxes, a better NHS and a healthy economy making full use of our Brexit freedoms,” he said.
“That’s my vision for Britain, and I’ll work night and day to deliver it for the party and country I love,” he added.
Sunak is looking to make history as Britain’s first Prime Minister of Indian-origin and has the overwhelming support of the Indian diaspora, many of whom have already voted in his favour as Conservative Party members.
After a dream run in the initial stages of the contest when his fellow members of Parliament voted resoundingly to elect him as one of two finalists, Sunak has been trailing in the surveys and bookie’s odds since the campaign widened to the Conservative Party membership across the country.
A fiercely loyal base of Johnson supporters who see Sunak as having triggered his early exit from Downing Street by resigning as the Chancellor in early July and Truss’ tax cutting pledge seem to be the dominating factors that have gone against the UK-born Indian-origin MP for Richmond in Yorkshire.
However, Sunak and his team have expressed optimism throughout the campaign and insisted that he would fight till the end for what he believes is the right vision for the country.
After a series of hustings events since last month, the voting in the leadership election will officially close at 1700 local time on Friday. By then, an estimated 160,000 Tory voters should have registered their ballots either by post or online.
“I am proud of the strong slate of candidates we’ve had for this contest, the most diverse range of candidates for any leadership election in British history, showing once again the Conservatives are the party of meritocracy,” said Conservative Party Chairman Andrew Stephenson, overseeing the election process.
The result of the ballot for a new Tory leader is set to be announced on Monday, with the winner going on to address his or her first Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons next Wednesday.
De Croo has therefore started talks with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to study possibilities of reducing energy prices…reports Asian Lite News
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has urged the EU to take responsibility to manage the skyrocketing energy prices that had reached an unsustainable level in recent weeks.
“It is only at (the) European level that we will succeed in reducing prices. Only Europe can achieve this,” he said on Wednesday.
The federal government and the representatives of Belgium’s federated entities met in Brussels on Tuesday in a Consultation Committee (CODECO) and managed to come up with additional measures to deal with soaring energy prices at national level, while at the same time calling on the EU to assume its responsibilities.
De Croo has therefore started talks with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to study possibilities of reducing energy prices, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Since March, our country has been pleading for measures to be taken on gas prices, and in particular to achieve a freeze on gas prices,” he said, adding that von der Leyen announced at the beginning of the week that an emergency mechanism would be put in place to lower energy prices.
In view of the rising energy prices, CODECO has decided to extend all the support measures already in force until March 31, 2023. These include a 6 per cent VAT reduction on gas and electricity, reduction of excise duties on fuel, and extension of social tariffs and fuel vouchers to target groups.
Among other measures announced, the public authorities will lower heating. They will reduce the use of air conditioning and turn off the lights in every building.
The Belgian Prime Minister also called for the responsibility of every citizen to reduce their energy consumption.
In addition, negotiations, which aims to obtain from banks deferral of the mortgage payment, are also underway with the financial sector to help some people with higher energy bills. Negotiations with the financial sector in financing energy-saving measures are also underway.
Inflation in Italy surges to new high
Prices in Italy were 8.4 per cent higher in August than they were a year earlier, a level that had not been recorded since December 1985, the country’s National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) reported.
Preliminary data from ISTAT on Wednesday showed prices in August were 0.8 per cent higher than in July, Xinhua news agency reported.
Energy-related goods were the main factor behind the jump, ISTAT said, with a year-on-year increase of 44.9 per cent, higher than the 42.9-per cent rise in July compared to a year earlier.
Over the three months starting in June, Italy’s annualised inflation rate has been 8 per cent, 7.9 per cent, and 8.4 per cent, respectively — the three highest monthly totals on record since the formal creation of the euro currency in 1999.
Despite the increase in energy prices, the rate of increase for transportation services slowed slightly in August, rising by 8.4 per cent compared to a year earlier, down from the 8.9-per cent annualised increase registered in July.
Prices for consumer goods rose to 11.8 per cent, while costs for services climbed 3.7 per cent, ISTAT added.
Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which excludes prices for energy and volatile consumer goods like food, was 4.4 per cent, the highest rate since May 1996.
Over the first eight months of the year, the cumulative inflation rate is 7 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
Robinson himself took to Twitter to say he was disappointed & frustrated at the cancellation…reports Asian Lite News
With just days to go before the polls close on Friday in the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s camp accused rival Liz Truss of avoiding scrutiny on Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Truss, who is the current frontrunner according to pre-poll surveys and bookie’s odds, was due to face tough questions from veteran BBC political journalist Nick Robinson in a one-on-one interview already done by Sunak earlier this month. But the Cabinet minister pulled out of the interview hours before it was to air on Tuesday evening, with her team saying she could no longer spare the time.
“Liz Truss has cancelled her BBC One interview with Nick Robinson which was due to air this Tuesday evening (30th August) at 7pm. Ms Truss’ team say she can no longer spare the time to appear on Our Next Prime Minister’, the BBC said in a statement.
“The other candidate for the Conservative leadership, Rishi Sunak, was interviewed by Nick on 10th August. We regret that it has not been possible to do an in depth interview with both candidates despite having reached agreement to do so,” it notes.
Robinson himself took to Twitter to say he was disappointed & frustrated at the cancellation.
It’s important that candidates face proper scrutiny so that [party] members and the public know what they are offering, an unnamed ally of Rishi Sunak was quoted by The Times’ as saying.
“Avoiding that scrutiny suggests either Truss doesn’t have a plan at all or the plan she has falls far short of the challenges we face this winter, the ally said.
The newspaper notes that this is the second time that the Foreign Secretary has avoided an interview with a veteran broadcaster, after she refused to speak to Andrew Neil for a Channel 4 television show earlier in the contest. When the broadcaster recorded a 30-minute interview with the British Indian former finance minister, he concluded the show with a challenge to Truss to follow Sunak.
The Opposition also criticised Truss backing out of Tuesday’s BBC interview, which comes just before the deadline for Tory members to register their online or postal ballots in the leadership contest by Friday evening.
“The British public don’t get a say in choosing the next Tory Prime Minister and now it seems Liz Truss wants to avoid any public scrutiny whatsoever, said Labour Party shadow minister Conor McGinn.
People will rightly conclude that she doesn’t want to answer questions about her plans for the country because she simply hasn’t got any serious answers to the big challenges facing our country, he said.
The Liberal Democrats declared the Foreign Secretary was running scared.
“Liz Truss is running scared of the media and proper public scrutiny. How can she lead our country through an economic crisis when she can’t even cope with a basic media interview, questioned Wendy Chamberlain, a senior party MP and chief whip.
She wants to follow in (former British Prime Minister) Margaret Thatcher’s footsteps but she’s fallen at the first hurdle. She’s fighting for the highest office by answering the lowest number of difficult questions, she said.
However, analysts believe it is a strategy to prevent rocking the boat while ahead in the polls a similar tactic used by outgoing Prime Minister Johnson who refused an interview with Andrew Neil during the 2019 General Election and went on to secure a landslide majority for the Conservative Party.
Meanwhile, both candidates will face their final hustings event in London on Wednesday evening in an attempt to convince any remaining undecided Conservative Party members who are yet to cast their votes in the election. The winner between Sunak and Truss will be declared on Monday, to be followed by an audience with Queen Elizabeth II for a formal swearing in.
Borrell recently circulated compromise proposals for an agreement text among Iran and United States’ negotiators, describing the response he received from both sides as reasonable…reports Asian Lite News
EU foreign policy Josep Borrell said in Prague that he was sure negotiations to restore the nuclear agreement with Iran could soon be successfully concluded.
“To me it’s clear that there is a common ground, that we have an agreement that takes into account, I think, everyone’s concerns,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.
Efforts are underway to revive the 2015 Vienna agreement to set controls on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Tehran insists its nuclear research activities are solely for civilian use.
The initial deal was struck in 2015, but fell apart a few years later during the US presidency of Donald Trump, who pulled out of the deal. EU negotiators have said a new version of the deal has been worked out and is only awaiting a yes or no from both sides.
Borrell recently circulated compromise proposals for an agreement text among Iran and United States’ negotiators, describing the response he received from both sides as reasonable.
“I am hoping that in the coming days we are not going to lose this momentum and we can close the deal,” the EU official said.
Without providing more details, the official said that security personnel had reached the area and initiated an investigation…reports Asian Lite News
Two persons were killed and three others injured in a blast that rocked Police District 17 of Afghan capital Kabul, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said.
“A Toyota Corolla car, carrying explosive device, exploded in Police District 17 in today’s afternoon, killing two countrymen and injuring three others,” Nafi added on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
Without providing more details, the official said that security personnel had reached the area and initiated an investigation, Xinhua news agency reported.
The blast coincided with the first anniversary of the withdrawal of the US-led forces from Afghanistan.
The Taliban-run administration celebrated the first anniversary of the US forces’ defeat and their pullout of Afghanistan on Wednesday in the former US main military base Bagram, where the administration displayed its military might by arranging a military parade.
Asked to rate the performance of British prime ministers since 1945, some 49% of people told pollster Ipsos that Johnson had done a bad job during his time in Downing Street…reports Asian Lite News
Almost half of the public think Boris Johnson has done a bad job as prime minister, the worst rating of any post-war British leader, a new poll has found.
Asked to rate the performance of British prime ministers since 1945, some 49% of people told pollster Ipsos that Johnson had done a bad job during his time in Downing Street.
The figure was worse than those for both his immediate predecessors. Some 41% of people thought Theresa May had done a bad job, the second highest total, while David Cameron’s 38% was the third highest total.
While Johnson may have had the highest number of people saying he had done a bad job, he also had the fourth-highest number telling Ipsos he had done well.
Some 33% of the 1,100 people surveyed by Ipsos said he had done a good job in office, behind Tony Blair on 36%, and Margaret Thatcher on 43%.
Johnson’s political hero Winston Churchill came top out of the post-war prime ministers, with 62% saying he had done a good job.
Keiran Pedley, director of political research at Ipsos, said: “Winston Churchill continues to top our list of prime ministers the public think did a good job in office, followed by Margaret Thatcher.
“Boris Johnson will be reasonably content with finishing 4th on that list but less happy about topping the list for having done a bad job.”
Johnson, who is currently on a farewell tour of the country before he leaves office on Tuesday, was also one of the few post-war prime ministers to have more people say he had done a bad job than a good one.
His net rating in the Ipsos poll, which was carried out between August 19 and 22, was -16. David Cameron, on -8, and Theresa May, on -13, were the only others to have a negative net rating.
Pedley added: “However, there is a certain degree of recency bias in who tops the bad job list, with Johnson making up a top three with Theresa May and David Cameron. Time will tell how Johnson’s legacy is judged, as we see by improved scores for Gordon Brown over time, negative perceptions today may soften in the future.”
The number of people telling Ipsos that Gordon Brown did a good job rose from 24% in February 2021 to 31% in August 2022 while the number saying he did a bad job fell from 37% to 31%.
Other recent prime ministers including David Cameron, Theresa May and John Major also saw their scores improve.
