Citi Financial News

From crates of contraband eggs being seized at checkpoints to fines being issued for unauthorized poultry products, eggs have suddenly become one of the hottest black-market items according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. In fact, since October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded more than 3,700 seizures of bird and poultry-related products—a staggering number when compared to just 352 fentanyl seizures in the same period.

Real estate developers have acquired 5,885 acres land during 2022-24 for Rs 90,000 crore to build projects amid strong demand for housing and commercial assets, according to JLL India. Real estate consultant JLL India data showed that real estate developers bought 1,603 acres of land in 2022 for Rs 18,112 crore, 1,947 acres in 2023 for Rs 32,203 crore. During 2024, the land acquisition by developers touched 2,335 acres costing Rs 39,742 crore. During the 2022-24 period, real estate developers bought 5,885 acres for Rs 90,057 crore.

Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday announced the dates for the 2024-25 playoffs with two-legged semifinals scheduled between April 2-6 and the final to be played on April 12. The league stage concluded on March 12. The Knockouts will be played on March 29 and 30, and the semifinals will be held on April 2, 3, 6 and 7. Mohun Bagan SG created history by clinching the League Shield for the second season in a row, becoming the first team in the competition to do so. Along with Mohun Bagan SG, FC Goa (2nd), Bengaluru FC (3rd), NorthEast United FC (4th), Jamshedpur FC (5th) and Mumbai City FC (6th) all confirmed their spots in the playoffs. In the playoffs, the teams ranked third to sixth will battle it out in two single-legged knockout matches to determine the opponents for Mohun Bagan SG and FC Goa, who made it directly to the semi-finals.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Spring has arrived in Bengaluru and flowers are everywhere—on trees, in parks, in flower markets, in nurseries, at traffic junctions, at wedding venues in different colours, shapes, sizes and fragrances. This is no longer the garden city I grew up in.

Bengaluru's traffic woes overnight, the Congress leader on Thursday outlined a strategy to tackle traffic congestion with large-scale infrastructure projects. «I have taken responsibility of Bengaluru seriously. Unlike New Delhi, Bengaluru is not a planned city. Only areas like Jayanagar, Indiranagar, and Malleswaram have planned layouts,» he told the legislative council.

Saina Nehwal and PR Sreejesh, have written a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential candidates, urging them to make climate action their top priority. As IOC members gather in Costa Navarino, Greece, to vote on the seven candidates next week (March 18-21), the Olympians called for stronger commitments from the IOC to cut carbon emissions, promote sustainability in host cities, set clear guidelines on polluting sponsors and use its platform to advocate for climate action. Climate impacts are «no longer a distant threat, but a current and growing harm to the sports we love and to the countries that make up our Olympic family», the letter said. The signatories include 57 Olympic champions and over 100 Olympic flag bearers. They represent some of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, including Argentina, Aruba, the Bahamas, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Eswatini, Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Recognizing that extreme weather events are already disrupting the Summer and Winter Olympics and affecting athlete performance and safety, the letter urges decisive action to ensure the games remain accessible and safe for future generations. Earlier this year, massive wildfires burned large areas of Los Angeles, the host city of the 2028 Olympic Games. The fires killed about 30 people, destroyed thousands of buildings, and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

OfBusiness. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can also enhance employment from 110 million to 175 million, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, it said. «AI and technology transformation can scale-up SMEs production and then reach to 50% contribution to the GDP from the current 30%, and enhancing employment from 110 million to 175 million, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, would not be difficult. This would prove to be a major game-changer for the Indian economy,» OfBusiness said in a statement. It said most SMEs are looking forward to adopting AI & ML in their business operations to upscale production.

BEIJING — Chinese videostreaming platform iQiyi announced Thursday it plans later this year to open its first full-fledged theme park in China based on characters from its own shows.

Johns Hopkins University said Thursday it is being forced to lay off more than 2,000 employees in the aftermath of the Trump administration's massive reduction in foreign aid funding. «This is a difficult day for our entire community. The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work here in Baltimore and internationally,» the school, a leading institution of scientific research, said in a statement. Hopkins, in Maryland's largest city an hour's drive north of the US capital, is eliminating more than 2,000 positions — 1,975 in projects across 44 countries and 247 jobs in the United States. The cuts impact several key programs, including the university's medical school and school of public health, and Jhpiego, a global health non-profit organization founded at the university more than 50 years ago and which works to improve health in countries worldwide. «Johns Hopkins is immensely proud of the work done by our colleagues in Jhpiego, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the School of Medicine to care for mothers and infants, fight disease, provide clean drinking water, and advance countless other critical, life-saving efforts around the world,» the university said.

Delhi Police are ramping up security ahead of Holi, which coincides with Ramzan’s Friday prayers this year. More than 25,000 police personnel, along with paramilitary forces, will be deployed across the city to prevent any disturbances and maintain law and order.

Gensol Engineering’s liquidity mismatch is temporary and its linkages with ride-hailing service BluSmart are being wound down, the founder of both companies told ET amid a crisis that has seen the solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company lose 65% of market value in a month. The crash accelerated after rating agencies ICRA and CARE downgraded Gensol Engineering’s credit rating to default. ICRA cited debtservicing documents submitted by Gensol that it said were “apparently falsified.” This will be investigated, said Anmol Jaggi, Gensol Engineering’s chairman and managing director and cofounder of BluSmart. On Thursday, the company announced a Rs 600 crore fundraise to quell investors’ nerves. “We are working on two areas,” Jaggi told ET. “A committee with independent external experts has been formed to investigate the falsification of documents charge. Neither me nor my brother will sit on that committee. We have announced a fundraise of Rs 600 crore through foreign currency convertible bonds and promoter contribution. We expect liquidity challenges for next the 90 days till when credit rating agencies can review their outlook.” The board has approved a stock split in the ratio of 10:1. The promoters will exercise warrants at Rs 56 apiece for shares with a face value of Re 1 each. That amounts to Rs 560 at the existing face value of Rs 10 per share prior to the split. This is a premium of 113% to the current share price of Rs 262.

IQAir states that air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 99% of people live in areas with unsafe air quality levels. Air pollution is the second leading cause of death globally. It also poses serious health risks to children under five, second only to malnutrition. Also Read: Duke Vs Georgia Tech: Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown get injured in ACC tournament game. Here’s what happened

While the consumption of «green beer» and several popular Irish beverages is one of the most common traditions associated with the festival, there's no harm in throwing a bucket of fried chicken and some great sporting fixtures in the mix.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Bengaluru: Mattress maker Duroflex has aggressively pursued profitability in the past two years as it prepares to list on the public markets in the coming 18 months, its group chief executive officer (CEO) Sridhar Balakrishnan said. The public offering will largely be to give its investors an exit, he said, adding that there is no pressure for the company to raise funds through private equity or an initial public offering (IPO) in the near term as it is well-capitalized for its future expansion plans.

blood moon. As the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, it will cast a deep shadow, momentarily transforming our lunar companion into a stunning red sphere. This rare spectacle will be visible across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Europe’s industrial production recovered at the start of a year that could see the beginnings of new investment and a new dawn for the beleaguered manufacturing sector. In the 20-member eurozone, industrial output was 0.8% higher in January than a month earlier.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Russia said its forces were in the final stages of ousting Ukraine’s army from the Kursk region, where Kyiv had taken Russian territory that it had hoped to use as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations. The Russian military said Thursday it had retaken Sudzha, the biggest town held by Ukraine in the Kursk region, after recapturing a string of villages in recent days.

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and the technology sector, according to a report by Anarock. The co-working sector accounted for 34% of the total transactions, marking a 6% increase from 2023. Conversely, the IT-ITeS sector’s share decreased by 3% to 29%, while consulting business occupiers contributed 12% to the overall transactions. “The year 2024 emerged as a transformative year for the office real estate market, characterized by robust absorption, strategic expansion by diverse sectors, and strong rental growth across major markets,” said Peush Jain, MD-commercial leasing and advisory, Anarock Group.

Madhuri Dixit as a «second-grade star» who is «past her prime.» Jully made this statement during a discussion in the Rajasthan Assembly, where he questioned the benefits of the recent IIFA event held in the state. He criticised the government's spending, saying, «In the name of IIFA, over Rs 100 crore of public money was spent. If you saw the hoardings, it was only a promotion of IIFA and not of Rajasthan.» «What did Rajasthan get from IIFA? The stars who came for the event did not visit any tourist place in the state,» he added. Jully further questioned the calibre of celebrities who attended the event, stating, «And which big name from the industry appeared? Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, all others were second-grade stars. No other first-grade actor came.» When some members objected to his comments, Jully continued, «Now, Madhuri Dixit is a second-grade star, her prime has gone. She was a star in the times of her movies like 'Dil' and 'Beta'.»

Chhattisgarh Waqf Board has decided to reschedule Namaz in mosques across the state this year, as Holi celebrations coincide with Friday prayers. An official directive has been issued to all mosques regarding this change. As per the directive, the Friday prayers, which are usually held between 12:30 PM and 1:00 PM, will now take place between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM on March 14. Speaking on the decision, Chhattisgarh Waqf Board Chairman Dr. Salim Raj said, «The Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board has decided that, considering the festival of Holi, Friday prayers will be held between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM in all mosques. Previously, the prayers were conducted at 12:30 PM or 1:00 PM, but now they will be held later in all mosques across the state. Chhattisgarh has become the first state in the country to implement such a change in mosque prayer timings.» Meanwhile, on Tuesday, according to authorities, Friday Namaaz prayers in mosques in the cities of Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh have been postponed to the afternoon to avoid overlapping with Holika Dahan timings on March 14, the day of the Holi festival. Haridwar Superintendent of Police Pankaj Gairola confirmed that a meeting with community representatives resulted in the decision to hold Friday prayers after 2:30 pm.