Southern Financial News

Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict. Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel shortly after Hamas' Oct. 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza, and the sides have been trading blows in the months since then. Hezbollah has said it will not stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. «We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas,» Gallant said in a statement before setting off to Washington, where he said he would meet his counterpart Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that there had been a «dramatic drop» in U.S. weapons deliveries for Israel's war effort in Gaza, doubling down on a claim that the Biden administration has denied and underscoring the growing strains between the two allies. Netanyahu told his Cabinet that the drop had occurred four months ago, without specifying which weapons, saying only that «certain items arrived sporadically but the munitions at large remained behind.» The spat highlights how high tensions have surged between Israel and Washington over the war in Gaza, particularly surrounding the Israeli military's conduct in the beleaguered territory and the harm to civilian life there. President Joe Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs since May over those concerns, but his administration fought back last week against Netanyahu's charges that other shipments had also been affected.

Israeli strikes across northern Gaza on Saturday, as rescue workers scrambled to find survivors beneath the rubble, according to Palestinian and hospital officials. Fadel Naem, director of the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, told The Associated Press that more than three dozen bodies arrived at the hospital. The Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency group active in Gaza, said its emergency workers were digging for survivors at the site of a strike in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City and that it had pulled several dozen bodies from a building hit by an Israeli strike in an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City. Israel said Saturday that its fighter jets struck two Hamas military sites in the Gaza City area but did not elaborate further.

Ayyannapatrudu was elected unanimously as the Speaker of the 16th Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Saturday. Addressing the Assembly, Pro-tem Speaker and TDP's Rajahmundry Rural MLA G Butchaiah Chowdary said that Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan, TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh and BJP's Staya Kumar Yadava made three proposals on behalf of Ayyannapatrudu for the Speaker's post. «As Ayyannapatrudu was the only person who filed the nomination, I declare that he has been elected as the Speaker unanimously. I extend my wholehearted congratulations to Ayyannapatrudu and request him to ascend the Speaker's chair,» said the Pro-tem Speaker. Ayyannapatrudu's election was a mere formality as no other MLA filed a nomination to challenge him.

Red Sea needs to more than double in size because of escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the head of the operation said. Four EU vessels have been patrolling the waters off the coast of Yemen since February. In that time, they’ve provided “close assistance” to 164 ships, shot down more than a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles and destroyed four anti-ship ballistics missiles, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview on Wednesday. The Yemen-based Houthis began attacking vessels last year to pressure Israel and its allies over the war in the Gaza Strip. Their campaign has roiled global shipping, forcing many vessels to sail thousands of miles around southern Africa instead — despite the EU operation and US and UK bombing that began in January.

Raymond James has augmented its advisory network in the Southern US market as a former Ameriprise advisor jumps ship in Florida.

Israeli military declared in Gaza to facilitate aid flows has had no impact on deliveries of badly needed aid, the UN's health agency said Friday. «So overall, we the UN can say that we did not see an impact on the humanitarian supplies coming in since that, I will say, unilateral announcement of this technical pause,» said Richard Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the Palestinian territories.

reservoirs across the country further dipped to just 21 per cent of their total live storage capacity. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has released the live storage status of 150 key reservoirs across India in its latest bulletin. These reservoirs, crucial for hydroelectric projects and water supply, have a combined live storage capacity of 178.784 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is approximately 69.35 per cent of the total live storage capacity created in the country. As of Thursday, the live storage available in these reservoirs is 37.662 BCM, which is 21 per cent of their total capacity. Overall, the live storage available across the 150 reservoirs stands at 54.310 BCM against the estimated total capacity of 257.812 BCM.

LISBON—The Americans are here, and this sun-bleached coastal city is booming. At bars, hotels and restaurants that line winding cobblestone streets, business is so good that Mayor Carlos Moedas recently slashed local income tax for residents. With economic growth of 8.2% last year and a 20% rise in tax revenue from prepandemic times, he’s also made public transportation free for young people and the elderly.

The Southern Baptist Convention—whose nearly 13 million members make it the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.—is often described as a “barometer" for evangelical sentiments nationwide. Yet last week the convention did something few Christian bodies have done: It adopted a resolution opposing the use of in vitro fertilization. Public debates about IVF and advanced reproductive technology aren’t new.

shipping sector, spelling trouble for businesses in the city-state. The bunching up of container vessels outside one of the world’s busiest maritime trade hubs — caused by ships avoiding the Red Sea due to Houthi rebels’ attacks — means there’s more cargoes trapped in shipyards for longer. That’s pushing freight rates ever higher, with no immediate end to the congestion in sight. For the manufacturers and exporters needing to get their finished products out of the city-state, that means there may be little choice other than to hold on to their inventories longer than they’d like to.

U.S., Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced new sanctions against members of La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel, a notoriously violent group that wars for territorial control with a slate of other Mexican cartels

Space enthusiasts are in for a treat as one of the most celebrated celestial events, the Strawberry Moon, graces the night sky on Friday, June 21, 2024. This full moon, named for its occurrence during the strawberry harvest season, promises to be a spectacular sight.

The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd.(up 20.00%), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd.(up 20.00%), National Fertilizers Ltd.(up 19.86%), Madras Fertilizers Ltd.(up 19.62%), Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd.(up 19.29%), Paradeep Phosphates Ltd.(up 16.09%), Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd.(up 12.81%), Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd.(up 11.80%), Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Ltd.(up 9.91%) and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.(up 9.85%) stood among the top gainers.

Officials say at least 34 people have died and dozens are hospitalized after drinking illegally brewed liquor tainted with methanol in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu

longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere has arrived. It will hit at 4.50 PM on June 20. This is not a rare event, but it is certainly one of the most interesting annual astrological events. It is summer solstice. At this point, the sun will reach its highest point in the sky as it will be directly above the Tropic of Cancer. It will make the longest day with the shortest night in the northern hemisphere. It will also herald the onset of Cancer season. The summer solstice holds astrological significance and the people have been observing certain rituals from the pre-historic period. Reason behind solstices

ozone layer may be depleted by internet satellite networks like Elon Musk's Starlink. According to researchers from the University of Southern California, the ozone layer may be harmed by the large amount of aluminum oxide gas that SpaceX's Starlink satellites emit into the atmosphere. Because it shields humans from the Sun's harmful UV radiation, which can cause skin cancer and hurt crops and food supply, the ozone layer is essential. As per the reports of NDTV, there are more than 8,000 internet satellites in low-Earth orbit. New concerns about satellite impact

Mint. Around 50-60% of the new centers would be set up in these states, he added. The move aims to expand IPPB's digital payment channels to serve its 90 million customers.Transactions by IPPB customers have increased tenfold to 10 million per day over the past three and a half years, with 80-90% of these transactions serving its rural customer base, and 5-10% catering to semi-urban areas.

Sorn, the 2-Michelin star restaurant housed in a beautiful 90-year-old building in Bangkok's central Khlong Toei district. The interiors are luxurious, and the seating arrangement is unique. Diners are divided into several dining rooms, some offering great views of the kitchen. Owners Khun Ice and Chef Yod, both from south Thailand, source almost all ingredients from that part of the country. Sustainability is important, so they only purchase produce from their own network of farmers and anglers from 14 southern Thai provinces. The cooking is Thai — refined, elegant and delicious. Clay pot cooking, leaf-steaming and charcoal grilling is the norm. Each meal is elaborate — 14 courses with over 22 dishes.

Juneteenth 2024 is here and the US is celebrating what is considered to be its second Independence Day. This marks the end of slavery in the US. After President Joe Biden signed the legislation adding June 19 to the list of federal holidays in 2021, millions of Americans get a paid holiday on this historic day. The American civil war ended on this day after General Gordon Granger marched into Texas with his troops in 1865 and released over 250,000 individuals working as ‘slaves’ in the various agricultural fields of the southern states. Will the retail stores, food restaurants and other eateries be open?

Starlink satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX could significantly deplete Earth's ozone layer. With 6,000 of the 8,100 objects currently in low Earth orbit belonging to Starlink, the environmental impact of these satellites is raising concerns among scientists. Joseph Wang, a researcher in astronautics at the University of Southern California and the corresponding author of the study, said, «Only in recent years have people started to think this might become a problem. We were one of the first teams to look at what the implication of these facts might be.» SpaceX has already received permission to launch an additional 12,000 satellites, with plans for up to 42,000. Other companies, including Amazon, are also planning to launch large constellations of satellites ranging from 3,000 to 13,000.