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05 Feb 2020; MEMO: The government of Iraq and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan have reached an agreement on Erbil’s contribution to the 2020 federal budget, state news agency INA reported on Wednesday.

The deal includes a transfer of 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the oil-producing region to Iraq’s national budget, Kurdistan regional government (KRG) spokesman Jotiar Adil was quoted as saying.

Iraq’s 2020 federal budget is currently under discussion in parliament.

Lucknow, Feb 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the DefExpo, India's biennial military exhibition that seeks to showcase the potential of the country to become a global defence manufacturing hub.

Delegates from 70 countries and 172 foreign military manufacturers will attend the five-day mega exhibition, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said. As many as 856 Indian defence firms will also showcase their products at the event.

05 Feb 2020; MEMO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke by phone Tuesday on the latest developments in the region, reports Anadolu Agency.

Abbas reiterated his country’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He said his country has always respected international law and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Borrell said in response that the EU supports the two-state solution and peace efforts.

TEHRAN, Feb 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — The visiting EU representative and Iranian senior officials have expressed their readiness to boost cooperation in the matters of the Iranian nuclear program, regional security and others.

Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, announced that the European states will do their utmost to protect the Iranian 2015 landmark nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

TRIPOLI, Feb 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — The state-owned Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that the country’s daily production of crude oil has dropped from more than 1.2 million barrels to fewer than 200,000 as a result of the closure of oil fields and ports.

“The NOC confirms a drop in production to the current level of 187,337 barrels per day, with losses resulting from illegal blockades amounting to 931,775,672 U.S. dollars,” NOC said in a statement.

LONDON, Feb 5 (NNN-BB NEWS) – Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, consented to sign the exchange of letters, in the field of defence, with British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, at No 10, Downing Street, London, yesterday.

Accompanying the Sultan was his son, Prince ‘Abdul Mateen.

Earlier, the Sultan attended a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister at No 10, Downing Street.

04 Feb 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia intends to buy weapons from Israel’s Rafael company which is known for its precision missiles, Hebrew news sites have reported.

Israel Defence Magazine said yesterday that Saudi Arabia has expressed a desire to purchase equipment from Rafael and if permission is obtained from Israeli authorities, arms can be supplied to the kingdom through its European representative, Euro Spike.

04 Feb 2020; MEMO: Turkey and Pakistan are considering a plan to make it easier to provide dual nationality for both countries’ citizens, in what would be a significant increase in relations.

The plan, which was revealed yesterday, came to light during a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah and Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul.

Kolkata, Feb 4 (PTI) With the number of passengers travelling to China from the city dwindling following the outbreak of coronavirus in that country and the WHO guideline to contain the spread of the deadly disease, a low cost carrier is all set to suspend its flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou, officials said on Tuesday.

Another airline based in China which operates flights between Kolkata and Kunming has adopted a wait and watch policy.

New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday reported a standalone net loss of Rs 492.28 crore for December quarter 2019-20 as provisioning for bad loans was raised substantially.

The state-owned lender had posted a net profit of Rs 246.51 crore for the same period a year ago. In September quarter 2019-20, the bank logged a profit of Rs 507.05 crore.

Total income during the quarter under review was at Rs 15,967.49 crore as against Rs 14,854.24 crore in the year-ago same period, PNB said in a regulatory filing.