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25 March 2022; MEMO: The British Embassy in Beirut said on Friday it was "deeply concerned" by Lebanese banks closing accounts belonging to people who are nationals or residents of the United Kingdom, Reuters reports.

In a statement, the Embassy said "this unilateral action" by banks had singled out account holders on the basis of their British residency or nationality, in "what appears to be a targeted and discriminatory manner".

25 March 2022; MEMO: Russia is looking to China, Turkey, Iran and India, to plug the gap created by an exodus of western retail companies, an industry body said on Friday, as Moscow grapples to find ways to combat its growing isolation in the face of sanctions, Reuters reports.

24 March 2022; MEMO: Saudi oil exports recorded a significant jump of 57.5 per cent on an annual basis, amounting to $8 billion during the month of January.

According to government data, issued by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, petroleum exports amounted to $22 billion compared to $14 billion in the same month in 2021.

Merchandise exports increased in January 2022 by 49.6 per cent compared to the same month last year.

24 March 2022; MEMO: China's Foreign Minister, on Thursday, arrived in Afghanistan on his maiden trip to the country after the exit of US-led foreign forces last year, Anadolu News Agency reports.

As most countries worldwide have taken a wait-and-see approach to the country's Taliban interim government, officials said the visit by Wang Yi sent a "positive message."

24 March 2022; MEMO: US refiners have begun snapping up fuel oil cargoes from the Middle East this month after US President, Joe Biden, banned Russian oil imports over the country's invasion of Ukraine, shipping data showed, Reuters reports.

The United States, last year, imported about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of different types of fuel oil and other feed stocks that mostly went to US Gulf Coast refineries to supplement heavy crude oil, according to market research data.

25 March 2022; MEMO: Russia and Iran are considering the possibility of recognising the Russian payment system for electronic fund transfers MIR, as an alternative to the global Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network, the Iranian ambassador to Moscow said on Thursday.

"We are making efforts in this direction in order to implement good steps in this field in the future," Kazem Jalali said.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on Friday, the third increase in four days as oil firms recoup losses from holding rates during the period prior to the recently-concluded assembly elections.

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 97.81 per litre as against Rs 97.01 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 88.27 per litre to Rs 89.07, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held wide-ranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Ahead of the talks, Jaishankar tweeted, "Greeted Chinese FM Wang Yi at Hyderabad House. Our discussions commence shortly."

It was the first public comment by India on Wang's visit.

The Chinese foreign minister arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening in the highest-level visit between the two countries after the ties came under severe strain following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh that began nearly two years ago.

Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) Indian cricket's crown jewel, the IPL, is back home: bigger, better and longer.

It will be the first time since 2011 that 10 teams be fighting it out for the most coveted T20 trophy in world cricket.

Two new entrants, Lucknow Supergiants and Gujarat Titans, fetching a combined price of approximately USD 1.7 billion shows that brand IPL keeps getting bigger.

It took 14 years but the league has now well and truly gone global.

24 March 2022; MEMO: Turkey warned money lenders not to provide lira liquidity to companies looking to speculate in the offshore money market, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, Turkish lira's offshore swap on Tuesday was becoming more difficult for foreign investors to hedge their exposure to lira assets. Due to offshore swap increase, Turkey's banking regülatör warned banks not to support investors trading liras offshore.