< Back Pakistan declines Trump’s push to join Abraham Accords 26 May 2026 It is the first among the countries approached by Trump to publicly oppose joining the Israel normalisation pact. Pakistan’s refusal is aligned with its long‑standing pro-Palestinian stance and its reluctance to shift regional policy despite US pressure. Trump urged several Muslim‑majority nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan, to normalise relations with Israel under the Accords. Still, none of the others has issued official responses yet. Trump is tying the current Iran negotiations and broader Middle East stabilisation efforts to a major expansion of the Accords. He has publicly urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan to normalise relations with Israel as part of a larger regional deal. The Abraham Accords are a set of US‑brokered agreements from 2020 that normalised diplomatic, economic, and security ties between Israel and several Arab/Muslim‑majority countries, starting with the UAE and Bahrain, and later joined by Morocco and Sudan. They broke the long‑standing Arab position that Israel would only be recognised after a Palestinian state was created. Check out my books, The Black Flames , The Flames Turn White , and crawlers , a poetry collection on KINDLE . Previous Next

< Back Supreme Court dismissed PIL against E20 petrol 1 Sept 2025 The petitioner cited a 2021 NITI Aayog report that raised concerns about older vehicles being non-compliant with E20. Advocate Akshay Malhotra had filed a petition with the Supreme Court citing concerns about ethanol-based petrol E20. He sought an option of ethanol-free petrol for vehicles manufactured before April 2023. Vehicles made after April 2023 are compliant with E20 petrol. The matter was presented before the bench headed by the Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, who dismissed the petition. Attorney General of India R. Venkataramani called the petitioner a ‘name lender’ and pointed out the huge lobby behind the petition. He highlighted how the E20 fuel policy benefits sugarcane farmers and helps save foreign exchange. E20 petrol policy sparked concerns about the expected 6% reduction in fuel efficiency. The Road Transport and Petroleum Ministries have dismissed the rumours. The Petroleum Ministry referred to a NITI Aayog study on Ethanol, citing that E20 promises better acceleration and ride quality. Check out my new book, THE BLACK FLAMES , on Amazon Kindle. Previous Next

< Back After resisting for long, Ola adopts fixed daily fee for drivers 25 Mar 2025 The cab hailing market leaders are making serious changes as competition stiffens in the segment. Fintech startup Juspay’s ride-hailing app, Namma Yatri, launched three-wheeler rides in November 2022 and cab-hailing services in April 2024. It introduced a fixed daily fee (called take rate) for auto drivers instead of the commission per ride like Uber and Ola. In January 2024, Rapido launched cab services with the same concept. To retain its position, Ola embraced this subscription model for three-wheeler rides in December 2024, followed by Uber in February 2025. Ola switched its cab-hailing services to this fixed daily fee model this month and introduced bike taxis on the same model. Earlier, Ola charged 20% commission, which after tax came to 15%. After running a ₹100 daily fee pilot in October in Hyderabad, it now charges ₹149 for one day and ₹399 for three, a take rate of 10%. Rapido offers drivers ₹5,000 worth of rides for a ₹50 subscription, a take rate of 5%. Never miss another post from SalestorrsNews150. Follow Salestorrs on WhatsApp , LinkedIn , Facebook , X , and Instagram . Previous Next

< Back 10,000 Canadians face layoffs after Indian student numbers decline 11 Jul 2025 Canadian colleges are laying off administrative and support staff as funding declines after a drop in Indian student numbers. Marc Miller, the Canadian Immigration Minister, in February, asked educational institutions to reduce their overdependence on international students from a particular region, diversify hiring processes and refine educational standards. Canadian universities receive over 50% of applicants from India. Resultantly, Ontario’s universities forecast $330 million in losses for 2025, rising to $600 million the following year. Sheridan College suspended 40 programs in November 2024 due to budgetary shortcomings and reduced enrolment. Northern College of Timmins anticipates a $6 million deficit for the academic year (AY) 2025-26 and a $12 million deficit for 2026-27. Seneca College in the Greater Toronto Area temporarily closed its Markham campus after international student numbers nosedived. British universities, too, earned £11.8 billion from international students in 2022-23. In AY 2024, one-third of their higher education institutions had funds to last only 100 days. 43% of institutions face budgetary issues and are now lobbying for visa reforms. Never miss another post from SalestorrsNews150. Follow Salestorrs on WhatsApp , LinkedIn , Facebook , X , and Instagram . Previous Next

L'entreprise financera l’étude de faisabilité de la nouvelle technologie, appelée « petits réacteurs modulaires », à Washington. < Back Amazon signe trois accords pour développer l’énergie nucléaire L'entreprise financera l’étude de faisabilité de la nouvelle technologie, appelée « petits réacteurs modulaires », à Washington. Mercredi, Amazon a annoncé la signature de trois accords pour développer l’énergie nucléaire appelée ‘small modular reactors’ (SMR). La société X-Energy développera cette technologie, qui sera la premier SMR aux États-Unis, et Amazon contribuera au projet à hauteur de 500 millions de dollars. Les composants des SMR seront fabriqués en usine afin de réduire les coûts de construction. Toutefois, les grands réacteurs sont fabriqués sur place. En vertu de cet accord, Amazon aura le droit d’acheter de l’électricité à partir de quatre modules. Un consortium d’entreprises publiques, Energy Northwest, pourra ajouter près de huit modules de 80 mégawatts, soit une capacite totale d’environ 960 MW. L’énergie supplémentaire sera mise à la disposition d’Amazon et des entreprises publiques pour approvisionner les foyers et les entreprises. NuScale est la seule entreprise qui possède le permis de concevoir un SMR. Les détracteurs des SMR estiment qu’ils seront trop couteux. Previous Next

Alléguant des pratiques anticoncurrentielles, Bruxelles a imposé des sanctions à Apple, après quoi la compagnie a introduit de nouvelles règles plus supportées aux développeurs. < Back Sous la pression de l'UE, Apple met à jour sa politique en matière d'App Store Alléguant des pratiques anticoncurrentielles, Bruxelles a imposé des sanctions à Apple, après quoi la compagnie a introduit de nouvelles règles plus supportées aux développeurs. Apple a coulé des nouvelles règles jeudi 8 aout, dont la société américaine affirme qu’elles ses conforment désormais au nouveau règlement européen sous Digital Markets Act (DMA) enfoncée en mars. Maintenant, le politique actualisé de marché permet les développeurs l’approche directe les consommateurs au choix de paiement autre qu’App Store, inclusif de troisième partie marché ou la plateforme de paiement. Apple autorise également les développeurs à utiliser n’importe quel URLs sans la déclarer dans les listes d’informations de l’App Store. La société a introduit une nouvelle structure tarifaire liées à des commissions pour afficher les services des développeurs sur la plateforme et ses connecter aux consommateurs via un système de paiement à deux niveaux. Selon la Coalition for App Fairness, la nouvelle structure est « confuse, arbitraire, et coûteuse » et vise à dominer le marché. La Commission européenne annoncera sa décision à-propos l'enquête contre Apple l’année prochaine. Previous Next

< Back PARAM Rudra supercomputers, High Performance Computing launched across India 27 Sept 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the supercomputers in Delhi, Kolkata, and Pune on Thursday via video call. Three supercomputers developed in India for ₹130 crore have been deployed in Delhi, Kolkata, and Pune to facilitate breakthrough research in various scientific fields. They were created under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). The Inter-University Accelerator Centre in Delhi will use the supercomputer to further research in material science and atomic physics. The Giant Metre Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune will use the newly installed supercomputer to explore astronomical phenomena, like Fast Radio Bursts. The S.N. Bose Centre in Kolkata will boost research in earth sciences, physics, and cosmology. These machines will significantly push AI and machine learning in India. The Prime Minister also revealed a High-Performance Computing (HPC) system, called ‘Arka’ and ‘Arunika’, dedicated to climate and weather research. Developed with an investment of ₹850 crore, the HPC is located at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast, Noida, and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. Previous Next

< Back As JioMart shuts down, Reliance Retail expands to direct consumer channels Ishita Nigam 29 Sept 2023 JioMart has been on a firing spree since May this year, and now it has shut down more than half of its fulfillment centers. While JioMart battled shutting down to curb losses, Reliance Retail bought the Indian arm of German retailer Metro Cash and Carry for ₹2,850 crores . JioMart has fired over 1,000 employees, including 500 corporate executives, since May 2023 and has shut down over half of its fulfillment centers nationwide. On the other hand, Reliance Retail has acquired 31 wholesale outlets and a complete real estate portfolio, including six stores. It also absorbed Metro’s 3,500 workers with overlapping profiles. In September 2023, Reliance Retail expanded Metro’s offerings from only B2B to direct customers. The retail giant already operates 52 B2B outlets under the brand ‘Reliance Market,’ which serves the Kirana stores and institutional consumers. The move comes as JioMart was fighting massive losses and trying to survive in the highly competitive Indian retail domain. It is still trying to smoothen its operations and grow its online B2B business. Previous Next

< Back Reliance Jio working with IIT Bombay to launch Bharat GPT 28 Dec 2023 The telecom giant is also planning to launch an operating system for smart TVs. Reliance Jio partnered with IIT Bombay in 2014 and plans to launch Bharat GPT, a Large Language Model (LLM) tailored for the Indian market. Reliance aims to integrate the AI model horizontally across its other services in media, communication, commerce, and devices. The company has also been working on its own television operating system for a while and aims to launch it soon. In September, It partnered with American tech corp NVIDIA to develop LLMs and generative AI apps in India. Reliance aims to offer AI-based apps and services for its Jio customers and energy-efficient AI infrastructure for scientists and startups across India for research. Just two weeks earlier, CoRover.ai announced a partnership with Google Cloud to launch BharatGPT, a generative AI-powered chatbot for the Indian market. It supports over 14 Indian languages in voice, text, and video conversations. Previous Next

< Back US Federal Trade Commission Tapestry’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri 26 Apr 2024 The acquisition will unite six luxury brands, including Tapestry’s Kate Spade, Coach, and Stuart Weitzman, with Capri’s Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors, under one entity. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to prevent Tapestry, Inc.’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings Limited. Tapestry wants to strengthen its foothold in the fashion industry by acquiring Capri. Kate Spade and Coach offer affordable items called accessible luxury accessories. As per the FTC, the combined entity will have no reason to be price competitive, thus forcing Americans to pay more for these items. This will dissolve the competition for affordable handbags, while wage workers may lose their benefits and favourable working conditions. The new company will compete directly with European luxury brands like Burberry and Louis Vuitton. It may record over $12 billion in annual revenue and a presence in over 75 nations. Tapestry announced the deal in August 2024 and received regulatory approval from Europe and Japan. It maintains that customers get ample options in every segment and the deal will not impact their buying power. Previous Next

< Back Karnataka revises excise policy for liquor eff April 6 Mar 2026 Liquor will be taxed based on the actual alcohol content in each beverage. Liquor stocks surged up to 7% after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced a major excise policy revamp in the Karnataka Budget 2026. The overhaul shifts taxation to a system based on the actual alcohol content of each beverage and deregulates liquor pricing. This aligns with international standards followed by mature markets such as the UK, the EU, Australia, and parts of the US. Phasing is expected to take 3–4 years, giving manufacturers time to recalibrate. The revised structure will take effect from April 2026. The government will no longer fix prices, allowing manufacturers to set rates competitively within slabs and reducing liquor prices. United Spirits rose 7%, United Breweries and Tilaknagar Industries gained around 5%, Radico Khaitan jumped 6%, and Sula Vineyards, Allied Blenders, and Globus Spirits also advanced. Last year, the state raised Additional Excise Duty multiple times, hurting alcohol makers. Check out my new book, THE BLACK FLAMES . A gripping, high-stakes mystery. Previous Next

< Back India, Singapore to collab for making semiconductor chips 6 Sept 2024 Amid the tension between the US and China, India and Singapore signed a deal to collaborate to manufacture semiconductor chips and digital technologies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed several agreements during his two-day visit to Singapore to promote chip design and manufacturing and attract Singapore tech companies to invest in India. The two nations will also work closely in cybersecurity, supercomputing, AI, and fifth-generation mobile networks. The $588 billion global semiconductor chip market has been severely impacted by the US-China war. It has jolted many global economies to build independent domestic supply chains unhindered by geopolitical dynamics and attracting business opportunities, too. Singapore is home to some of Southeast Asia's biggest chip manufacturing plants, including Micron Technology Inc. and NXP Semiconductors NV, and many venture capitalists investing in chip startups. The Indo-Singaporean deal is a step towards making India a technological superpower, wherein semiconductor manufacturing will play a crucial role. The Indian government has planned a $21 billion investment to ramp up semiconductor capabilities, including $15 billion in chip manufacturing facilities nationwide. Previous Next