Business

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 30 (PTI); India is a key partner in America's efforts to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, the Trump administration has said.

The remarks by a senior US diplomat came ahead of the announcement by the US of initiatives for development and economic assistance in the entire region.

Contestants from South China University of Technology celebrate during the awarding ceremony of the RoboMaster 2018 competition in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, July 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

KATHMANDU, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Industrial investment more than doubled in Nepal in the last fiscal year 2017-18 that concluded in mid-July, the Department of Industry (DoI) said on Saturday.

Investors registered 496 industries at the DoI with the committed investment of 350.58 billion Nepali rupees (3.18 billion U.S. dollars) in the last fiscal, DoI data showed.

TEHRAN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran will file a lawsuit with international tribunals against U.S. fresh sanctions on importing handwoven Iranian rugs, Press TV reported Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump "has wrongly sanctioned the art industry, which is a symbol of culture and intellectual property of the Iranian people," said Fereshteh Dastpak, head of Iran National Carpet Center.

"According to international protocols, what belongs to a nation could not be sanctioned," Dastpak noted.

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China's software and information technology sector posted faster growth in the first six months, official data showed.

The sector generated 2.9 trillion yuan (around 430 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in the first half of 2018, up 14.4 percent year on year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement.

The growth rate was slightly higher than that in the first five months and more rapid than the 13.6-percent increase a year ago.

Tehran, July 29, IRNA – US is a sanctions addict and it has imposed sanctions on an array of nations more than any other countries in the world, Iran's Foreign Minister said Sunday.

29 July 2018; AFP; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the US in comments published Sunday that sanctions would not force Ankara to "step back" after Donald Trump threatened to punish Turkey if a US pastor was not freed.

"You cannot make Turkey take a step back with sanctions," Erdogan said in his first comments since relations soured after Trump threatened the measures on Thursday if Pastor Andrew Brunson was not released.

JOHANNESBURG, July 27. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin said that Russia does not renounce the US dollar as a universal reserve currency.

"Russia does not renounce the dollar as a universal reserve currency," the Russian leader said at a press conference following the results of the BRICS summit.

"We are not going to make any drastic moves, we are not going to renounce the dollar, we are using it and will use it as far as the financial authorities of the United States do not hamper the use of the dollar in settlements," Putin said.

SANTIAGO, July 27 (NNN-XINHUA) -- Using Chinese technology, a Chilean company has succeeded in making "non-plastic" bags that quickly dissolve in cold water and won't take hundreds of years to disintegrate.

The cost-effective formula combines hydrogen, carbon and a synthetic polymer, which doesn't cause pollution to produce a grocery bag, according to the company Solubag.

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on emerging market economies and developing countries to enhance cooperation in addressing common challenges.

Xi made the remarks in a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the "BRICS Plus" and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit here.

The leaders discussed international development and cooperation, as well as the important cause of South-South cooperation, and reached broad consensuses.