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commercial ships in the Red Sea, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East says, even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up. Since Operation Prosperity Guardian was announced just over 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the Red Sea region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said in an Associated Press interview, although the US military said that one ship reported being struck by a missile late Saturday.

white label manufacturing for the global brands, now want to take Indian national and local brands to the international markets. The growing strength of home-grown brands, their capacity to offer international standards at reasonable rates than the international brands can help the Indian apparel industry achieve a higher share of the global apparel trade, thinks the Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India (CMAI). As a part of its efforts to take Indian brands to the international markets, CMAI had recently organised its first Brands of India exhibition in the UAE.

2024 with a fireworks display in Auckland on Monday. The fireworks illuminated the cloudy night sky and were accompanied by a laser light and animation show. Here's how some other places and people around the world were bidding farewell to 2023 and welcoming the New Year.

NIA) scaled up its crackdown against terror networks this year, conducting over 1000 raids after registering 68 cases and arresting 625 accused across the country, an official said on Sunday. The anti-terror federal agency also achieved a stupendous 94.70 per cent conviction rate with 74 accused sentenced in various cases, the official said.

engineering exports to Australia reached USD 944 million in April-November 2023-24, a 3 per cent increase. However, imports from Australia also saw a significant 30 per cent upswing during the same period. India's engineering imports from Australia reached USD 355.02 million during April to October 2023-24.

Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the government is developing a strong base of domestic defence industrial ecosystem to make the country a strategic economy. Addressing the 21st Convocation of Tezpur University here, Singh said his ministry is making all efforts to achieve the target of becoming self-reliant in the defence sector.

airports and more aircraft, including A350s, are ready to carry them in expanding routes in 2024 even as the fate of two bankrupt airlines remain uncertain. A slew of airports and terminal building inaugurations and revised norms to address pilot fatigue issue will also happen in the new year.

quality of their sleep is better or worse. Surveys show that some countries are peopled by night owls, but others by early birds. But why this is so remains an open question.

NEW DELHI : India’s first indigenously developed vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer has the same efficacy as those procured from other countries, according to a recent study published in the medical journal Lancet. Serum Institute of India developed the vaccine, called Cervavac, to be administered to youngsters between ages 9 and 26. The vaccine, rolled out earlier this year, is available in private hospitals, where the cost has been set at ₹1,400-1,600.

appreciating Sunak's efforts, said, “Absolutely brilliant Rishi, you’ve made many of us laugh our Christmas socks off." Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and author Sudha Murty. The family spent Christmas in their constituency home in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Head of state. Commander in chief. Oil-trading whale? President Biden’s unprecedented release of oil from America’s petroleum reserves in 2022 turned the White House into an unusually active player in the volatile crude market.

electronics manufacturing sector is set to grow 15 per cent to be worth USD 115 billion in 2024, with players continuing to focus more on higher levels of value addition in terms of components and development of products. The production of mobile phones, the poster boy of the country's electronics manufacturing, is expected to surpass USD 50 billion by March 2024 from around USD 42 billion in the previous financial year.

New Year 2024, it's fascinating to explore which country will be the first to usher in the festivities and which will bid adieu to the passing year. With time zones creating a sequential tapestry of celebrations, the globe embarks on a journey into the future.

law ministry which saw a change of guard this year as Arjun Ram Meghwal took over the reins from Kiren Rijiju. The year saw the Law Commission working on a formula to synchronise all assembly polls by extending or reducing the tenure so that all state elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls from 2029 onwards.

Artificial Intelligence ruled 2023-- its discovery, usage, abuse, and a potential threat to jobs-- the new year 2024 can expect a changed stance of this discovery- based on takes the seat of governance. 2023 saw AI boost stock prices, and a profound shift in how humans function. 2024 will see regulators all over the world scrambling to impose rules on this rapidly growing technology.

INDIA bloc as the motley group of opposition parties called themselves pilloried the Modi government as it took the wind out of its sails by reminding everyone that Article 1 of our Constitution starts with the words India, that is Bharat.

Imran Khan and most of his supporters have been rejected as candidates for the February 8 election, party officials said Sunday after nominations for the ballot closed. Khan has been in prison since August, facing trial over a slew of cases he insists have been orchestrated to prevent him from contesting the election as the figurehead of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. The former cricket star was found guilty of graft earlier this year, but a court suspended his three-year sentence and the conviction is being appealed.

FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies have a lot going for them: rising disposable incomes, rapid pace of urbanisation, growing aspirations and lower penetration of branded products. However, despite a vast growth opportunity, the FMCG companies struggled with various challenges in 2023 and hope to have a better 2024. Weaker-than-expected festive demand, rainfall deficit that hampered rural growth, unseasonal rains that dampened sale of beverages and higher commodity prices constituted a daunting landscape for India's FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies in 2023. When inflation was at a record high, the FMCG industry had a high price-led growth in the last five-six quarters, though the volume was under stress. However, the trend has started reversing with the cooling of commodity prices. While volume growth for the FMCG industry in urban India has been on a positive trajectory since April-June last year, rural markets have grown marginally this calendar year, according to market researcher NielsenIQ. In the September quarter, urban markets grew 10.2% year-on-year while rural grew 6.4%, it said. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, rural markets were driving overall growth, growing twice as fast as urban markets. But the demand has slowed down in the current quarter. Overall sales of apparel and electronic products have been languishing for over a year now, while those of mass-segment electronic products have been low since the pandemic outbreak. According to researcher GfK, there was a slight pick-up in mass segment during Diwali. Below are some of the challenges faced by the FMCG companies that attracted attention in 2023:

Mint examines the reasons and implications. The BRICs grouping, during its summit in South Africa in August, invited six countries including Argentina to join it as permanent members, effective 1 January, 2024. On Saturday, though, Argentina’s newly elected government announced it would not be taking up on the offer.

Ayodhya Ram Temple Consecration: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj has questioned Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) over invitation to the upcoming ‘Pran Prathista’ ceremony at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged ‘140 crore countrymen’ to not attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony on 22 January.

NEW DELHI : Describing 2023 as a year of ‘special achievements’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country is replete with self-confidence and the momentum should continue in 2024. Addressing the nation through the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast, Modi mentioned the G20 summit, passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon and successes in sports as key achievements this year. “Today every corner of India is brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of a developed India; the spirit of self-reliance.