Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone said its acquisition of Haifa Port with a local Israeli partner will boost trade lanes with the company's Indian ports and could better connect Europe and the Middle East in the longer term.

After a two-year tender process, Adani Ports and local chemicals and logistics group Gadot clinched the 4.1 billion shekel ($1.18 billion) winning bid for Haifa Port, Israel announced on Thursday.

The NCP on Friday criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the clearances given to the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, saying he should focus more on issues concerning the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that Shinde had given all the clearances to expedite the project, which the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government, of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, had put on the back burner.

In FY22, Dabur India added two more brands Meswak and Real Drinks in the Rs 100 crore club taking the total number of brands with sales over Rs 100 crore to 12.

Its Dabur Chyawanprash, and Dabur Honey continued to stay in the Rs 500 crore club last financial year and it also continued to have four brands in the Rs 1,000 crore club which include, Real Juices, Dabur Amla, Dabur Vatika and Dabur Red toothpaste, the company said in its annual report.

Biocon arm Syngene International has signed a 10-year agreement to manufacture the drug substance for Librela, a monoclonal antibody used to treat osteoarthritis in dogs, with US-based animal health company Zoetis.

The collaboration with Zoetis started in 2011 and over the past 11 years, Syngene has undertaken development work on several monoclonal antibodies for use in animal health, including developing and manufacturing clinical supplies of a treatment for allergic or atopic dermatitis, and Librela.

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting has announced its foray into packaged food business in India. The company has appointed Anil Chugh, currently the India & SAARC head of the Wipro Consumer Care business, to head the vertical. Also, Neeraj Khatri, head of Wipro Consumer Care’s Philippines entity, has moved to the role of India & SAARC head of Wipro Consumer Care business.

Vineet Agrawal, CEO of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, said: “Our decision to enter the packaged food business would complement our existing categories in personal care, thus building a complete offering in the FMCG space in India.”

Cement maker ACC, which was recently acquired by the Adani group along with Ambuja Cement in a $10.5-billion deal, on Thursday reported a 60 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 227 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. In the corresponding period last year, consolidated PAT stood at Rs 569 crore, its financial results show.

Bloomberg consensus estimates had pegged net profit at Rs 296 crore and revenue at Rs 4,390 crore for the period under review.

Asian shares were pinned at two-year lows on Thursday after white-hot U.S. inflation data drove fears the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates even more aggressively, which boosted the safe haven dollar.

Underscoring how inflation pressures are also hitting Asia, both the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas surprised markets by tightening monetary policy on Thursday in off cycle moves.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The Novavax vaccine will be available as two-dose primary series for adults, three weeks apart, Xinhua news agency reported.

The National Democratic Alliance's presidential election nominee Droupadi Murmu will meet the ruling alliance MPs and MLAs here on Thursday as part of the campaign to seek support for her candidature.

The meeting is scheduled at a suburban hotel, before which a luncheon has been organised with the parliamentarians and legislators, sources said.

A person who returned from abroad has been admitted to a hospital in Kerala after he showed symptoms of monkeypox, state Health Minister Veena George said here on Thursday.

The minister said his samples have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing.

She said the disease could be confirmed only after getting the test results.

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