NEW DELHI, June 30: Mentha oil prices fell by 1.14 per cent to Rs 739.30 per kg in futures trading today as speculators reduced positions amidst sluggish demand from consuming industries in the spot market.
Further, increased supplies from producing regions also put pressure on mentha oil prices.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, mentha oil for delivery in June eased by Rs 8.50, or 1.14 per cent, to Rs 739.30 per kg in a business turnover of 126 lots.
Similarly, the oil for delivery in July lost Rs 6.90, or 0.90 per cent, to Rs 759.90 per kg in 715 lots.
Analysts attributed the fall in mentha oil futures to offloading of positions by speculators amidst subdued demand from consuming industries in the spot market. (PTI)
JERUSALEM, June 30: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the international community to support Jordan in the fight against “Islamic extremism” and to back the independence of Iraq’s Kurds.
“We need to support efforts by the international community to strengthen Jordan and support the aspirations of the Kurds for independence,” Netanyahu said yesterday in a speech to the Institute of National Security Studies think-tank in Tel Aviv.
“I think it’s our common interest to make sure that a moderate, stable regime like (Jordan) is able to defend itself.”
His remarks follow reports in Israeli media that officials in Tel Aviv fear Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants may extend their control to areas of Jordan after seizing parts of Iraq in recent weeks.
In Syria, ISIL’s fighters already control large swathes of territory in Deir Ezzor near the Iraq border, Raqa in the north, as well as parts of neighbouring Aleppo province.
In Iraq, they have spearheaded a lightning offencive, capturing sizable territories in the north and west of the conflict-torn country.
Netanyahu also called for independence for Iraq’s Kurdistan region, where Kurdish peshmerga security forces have mobilised in an unprecedented deployment to fight against ISIL.
The premier voiced concern over “the powerful wave triggered by ISIL, which could reach Jordan in a very short time.”
He added: “We must be able to stop the terrorism and fundamentalism that can reach us from the east at the Jordan line and not in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted talks with Gulf allies and Jordan last week, emphasising the Hashemite kingdom’s key role in helping to stem the regional gains of ISIL, who had earlier seized control of a Jordanian border crossing in Iraq.
ISIL yesterday declared it had established a “caliphate”, or Islamist state, straddling Iraq and Syria. The jihadists said the state would spread from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq, ordering Muslims in those areas to pay allegiance to the group. (AGENCIES)
LONDON, June 30: ‘Bridesmaids’ star Melissa McCarthy says she struggled with her body image.
The 43-year-old actress said that she used to regularly cry about how she looked, reported Digital Spy.
“In my 20s I used to cry about why I wasn’t thinner or prettier, but I want to add that I also used to cry about things like: ‘I wish my hair would grow faster. I wish I had different shoes,'” she said.
“I was an idiot… It’s a decade of tears. I’ve never felt like I needed to change. I’ve always thought, ‘If you want somebody different, pick somebody else.’ But sure, criticism can sometimes still get to me. Some things are so malicious, they knock the wind out of you,” she said. (PTI)
NEW DELHI, June 30: Continuing its overseas acquisitions, pharma major Cipla has inked a pact with a Yemeni firm to acquire its majority stake for USD 21 million (over Rs 125 crore).
The company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 51 per cent stake in a pharmaceuticals manufacturing and distribution business in Yemen, it added.
“The company will pay USD 21 million for this transaction, with additional considerations to be paid over the next 3 years on achievement of agreed milestones,” Cipla said.
Given the recent preference to local manufacturing, this secures the company’s presence in a fast-growing market. Cipla already has a leading position in Yemen with over 200 products, it added.
As part of its global expansion, Cipla had completed the buyout of South African pharma firm Cipla Medpro for Rs 2,707 crore last year.
It had also acquired Croatia-based firm Celeris, distributor of its products in that country last December. (PTI)
NEW DELHI, June 30: Crude oil futures prices today eased by 0.13 per cent to Rs 6,356 per barrel, as speculators trimmed positions amidst a weak trend in the Asian trade.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in July shed Rs 8, or 0.13 per cent, to Rs 6,356 per barrel in 525 lots.
The oil for August delivery moved down by a similar margin to trade at Rs 6,347 per barrel in a volume of 15 lots.
The trading sentiment turned weak in futures trade after oil prices eased in Asia on softer US demand.
However, tensions in the Middle East where the rebels have declared an Islamic state in some areas straddling Iraq and Syria, is likely to keep prices high, analysts said.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for August delivery was down 26 cents at USD 105.48 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude eased 22 cents to USD 113.08 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (PTI)
NEW DELHI, June 30: Crude palm oil futures traded higher by 0.25 per cent to Rs 527.60 per 10 kg today as speculators enlarged positions on upsurge in demand in the spot market.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude palm oil for delivery in July moved up by Rs 1.30, or 0.25 per cent, to Rs 527.60 per 10 kg in a business turnover of 136 lots.
Similarly, the oil for delivery in August edged up by Rs 1.10, or 0.21 per cent, to Rs 525.60 per 10 kg in 14 lots.
Analysts said the rise in crude palm oil prices in futures trade was mostly influenced by rise in demand in the spot market against tight supplies from producing regions. (PTI)
SANTIAGO, June 30: Britain’s Prince Harry, on the last day of a three-day official visit to Chile, joked and played with handicapped children.
The prince, joined by Social Development Minister Maria Fernanda Villegas, was all smiles and appeared relaxed with the little ones at the Friends of Jesus children’s facility yesterday.
It was the second visit the prince made to a children’s centre on this visit, after meeting young people at a shelter on Friday.
Prince Harry did not seem limited by the language barrier in meeting and playing with the youngsters with a range of disabilities and disorders.
He toured fire-ravaged areas of the port city of Valparaiso on Saturday, and met with families who lost their homes in a recent blaze.
The 29-year-old prince met briefly Friday with President Michelle Bachelet at the ornate La Moneda palace in the capital Santiago.
Harry, an army captain who is fourth in line to the British throne, arrived in Santiago late Thursday after a stop in Brazil to watch the England football team play out a 0-0 bore draw against Costa Rica on Tuesday in its last game of a disappointing tournament.
The prince recently made headlines with his party-going antics at a wedding in Memphis, Tennessee, and there has been intense speculation about his private life after his split from girlfriend Cressida Bonas.(AGENCIES)
