Brussels [Belgium], August 30 (ANI/Sputnik): The European Union's leadership is looking for a way to provide Ukraine with up to 8 billion euros (USD 8 billion) in macro-financial assistance, which was announced several months ago, and is holding technical talks on the issue with member states, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Washington [US], August 8 (ANI): The United States on Monday announced USD 1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine to meet its critical security and defence needs amid the ongoing war with Russia.

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 14 (ANI): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that it had reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the combined seventh and eighth reviews for a USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan facility.

Kabul [Afghanistan], April 29 (ANI): American troops left behind USD 7.12 billion worth of military hardware in Afghanistan after they pulled out from the war-ravaged country, in August last year, the US Department of Defense said.

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], April 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar on Wednesday said that the AYUSH sector has increased to more than USD 18 billion with unprecedented growth in the production of AYUSH medicines, supplements and cosmetics.

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 8 (ANI): Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate International Holding Company will invest USD 2 billion as primary capital in three Adani Group firms - Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises, Adani Group said on Friday.

Beijing [China], February 4 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in China on Thursday to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and urge a USD 3 bn loan from the communist regime as Islamabad faces financial difficulties at home, according to a media report.

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Following are the top stories at 1300 hours DEL5 VIRUS-CASES India reports over 25 lakh Covid cases 627 fatalities New Delhi Jan 28 PTI With 251209 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day Indias total tally of cases increased to over 406 crore according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday DEL4 PM-LAJPAT RAI PM pays tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to noted freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary BOM1 MP-TIWARI-REMARK-FIR MP TV actor Shweta Tiwari booked for hurting religious sentiments through her remark on God Bhopal Police here on Friday registered a case against television actor Shweta Tiwari for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through her remark on God an official said ELX1 POLLS-PB-DHURI-GOLDY Cong Dhuri candidate banks on development projects says rival Mann not serious about constituency Dhuri Pb Congress candidate and sitting legislator Dalvir Singh Goldy from Punjabs Dhuri seat has challenged the AAPs chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann for an open debate on the issue of development works claiming the comedian has nothing to show to the people ELX2 POLL-UP-HINDU YUVA VAHINI With Yogi in fray from Gorakhpur Hindu Yuva Vahini gets active again to campaign for its founder Gorakhpur UP The Hindu Yuva Vahini which was formed nearly two decades ago to spread the message of nationalism among youths but was almost dormant for the past few years has become active again to canvass for its founder Yogi Adityanath in the Uttar Pradesh polls Anand Rai LEGAL LGD9 SC-MLAS-LD MAHARASHTRA Resolution suspending 12 Maharashtra MLAs beyond period of remainder of session unconstitutional SC New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday held that a resolution suspending 12 BJP MLAs from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly beyond the period of the remainder of the session held in July 2021 is unconstitutional and irrational LGD10 SC-LD RESERVATION SC refuses to lay down yardstick for granting reservation in promotion to SCsSTs New Delhi The Supreme Court Friday refused to lay down any yardstick for granting reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobsLGD8 SC-SPICEJET SC grants three weeks to SpiceJet to resolve financial issues with Swiss firm New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday granted three weeks time to SpiceJet to resolve its financial dispute with Swiss firm Credit Suisse AG and stayed the operation of the Madras High Court verdict permitting winding-up petition and directing the official liquidator to take over the assets of the low-cost airline BUSINESS DEL13 BIZ-WGC-INDIA Indias gold demand skyrockets to 7973 tons in 2021 WGC Mumbai Indias gold consumption surged to 7973 tonnes in 2021 on the back of recovery in consumer sentiments and pent-up demand post COVID-19-related disruptions and the bullish trend is set to continue this year as well according to the World Gold Council WGC DEL12 BIZ-LD GOOGLE-AIRTEL Google to invest USD 1 bn in Airtel to buy 128 pc stake for USD 700 mn New Delhi Internet giant Google will invest USD 1 billion in telecom major Bharti Airtel which includes equity investment as well as a corpus for potential commercial agreements to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms over the course of the next five years SPORTS DELHI SPD5 SPO-CRI-BCCI-RANJI Ranji Trophy to be held in two phases BCCI New Delhi BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on Friday said that the postponed Ranji Trophy will be held in two phases starting next month clearing the decks for Indias premier domestic competition to resume after being cancelled last season PTI TIR TIR

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Internet giant Google will invest USD 1 billion in telecom major Bharti Airtel which includes equity investment as well as a corpus for potential commercial agreements to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms over the course of the next five years Google made the investment as part of its Google for India Digitization Fund This will comprise- USD 700 million equity investment in Bharti Airtel at a price per share of Rs 734 Airtel said in a statement Out of the total investment USD 300 million will go towards implementing commercial agreements which will include investments in scaling Airtels offerings that covers a range of devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs as well as other offerings aimed at accelerating access and digital inclusion across Indias digital ecosystem Under the larger strategic goals of the partnership both companies will also potentially co-create India-specific network domain use cases for 5G and other standards with cutting-edge implementations the statement said Bharti Airtel board has approved the issuance of up to 71176839 equity shares of face value of Rs 5 each of the company to Google International LLC on a preferential basis at a price of Rs 734 per equity share aggregating to Rs 52243 crore around USD 700 million Airtel and Google share the vision to grow Indias digital dividend through innovative products With our future ready network digital platforms last-mile distribution and payments ecosystem we look forward to working closely with Google to increase the depth and breadth of Indias digital ecosystem Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in the statement Google CEO Sundar Pichai in July 2020 had announced a USD 10-billion Google for India Digitization Fund to help accelerate Indias digital economy Thereafter the internet major invested Rs 33737 crore about USD 45 billion to buy 773 per cent stake in Jio Platforms just a couple of days after it made an announcement about the fund Our commercial and equity investment in Airtel is a continuation of our Google for India Digitization Funds efforts to increase access to smartphones enhance connectivity to support new business models and help companies on their digital transformation journey Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Under the larger strategic goals of the partnership both companies will work on co-creation of India-specific use cases for 5G and other standards Airtel is already using Googles 5G-ready evolved packet core and software defined network platforms and plans to explore scaling up the deployment of Googles network virtualisation solutions to deliver a superior network experience to their customers the statement said As a part of its first commercial agreement Airtel and Google will work together to build on Airtels extensive offerings that covers a range of Android-enabled devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs Together the companies will continue to explore further opportunities to bring down the barriers of owning a smartphone across a range of price points in partnership with various device manufacturers the statement said The commercial arrangement includes development of the cloud ecosystem in India which is one of the strategic interest areas and business drivers for Google The partnership will enable Google to reach out to over 1 million small and medium businesses that are currently served by Airtel Google has already partnered with Jio to help them develop low cost Android devices PTI PRS DRR

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Internet major Google will invest USD 1 billion in telecom major Bharti Airtel which includes equity investment as well as a corpus for potential commercial agreements to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms over the course of the next five years Google made the investment as part of its Google for India Digitization Fund This will comprise- USD 700 million equity investment in Bharti Airtel at a price per share of Rs 734 Airtel said in a statement Out of the total investment USD 300 million will go towards implementing commercial agreements which will include investments in scaling Airtels offerings that covers a range of devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs as well as other offerings aimed at accelerating access and digital inclusion across Indias digital ecosystem it added Under the larger strategic goals of the partnership both companies will also potentially co-create India-specific network domain use cases for 5G and other standards with cutting-edge implementations the statement said PTI PRS DRR DRR