Pact

Scientists are cautiously optimistic about the new global biodiversity pact that emerged from down-to-the-wire negotiations in Montreal this week. Given the vast amount of disputed text at the start of the conference—spanning 265 pages—observers were surprised and delighted that 190 countries managed to beat the clock on Monday and release a final agreement that sets a wide range of targets for protecting nature. “To me, it’s a miracle,” says Binbin Li, a…

Singtel has unveiled plans for its first data centre in Indonesia, where it hopes to tap growing demand for digital and cloud services. It has signed up local parters Medco Power and Telkom, the latter of which will hold majority ownership of the new facility. Both Singtel and Medco Power will be minority shareholders of the hyperscale data centre, to be located in Kabil Industrial Estate along Batam's eastern seaboard. To be developed in three phases on a site spanning eight hectares, the data centre would have a total…

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangaluru-based deep tech startup QNu Labs to develop indigenous Satellite QKD (quantum key distribution) products. With this MoU, QNu Labs, with the support of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and IN-SPACe, aims to demonstrate unlimited distance Satellite QKD based quantum secure communication, according to a joint statement. Terrestrial QKD systems have the limitation of requirement of…

Countries reached a historic deal on Monday to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world's species and ecosystems in what the UN chief hailed as "a peace pact with nature."After the marathon COP 15 biodiversity summit in Montreal ran into the small hours, chair Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu declared the deal adopted and banged his gavel, sparking loud applause."We are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, hailing the accord.EU…

NEW DELHI : Prejex Inc., a spin-off of Germany-based Prejex GMBH, on Monday announced that it has entered into an agreement with Polybond, headed by…

Food and agri-tech platform provider WayCool Foods has expanded its agriculture input portfolio by signing a memorandum of understanding with nitrogen fertiliser producer Yara India, the city-based company said on Friday. The partnership with Yara India aims to offer superior crop nutrition while facilitating chemical and environmental solutions that have minimal impact on soil health and drip irrigation systems which would enhance overall crop productivity. "As per the MoU, WayCool will list and promote Yara's products…

Khartoum inks a preliminary deal with a group led by UAE's AD Ports Group and Invictus Investment to build and operate Abu Amama port and economic zone on Red Sea. Abu Amama port, to be built north of the existing key hub of Port Sudan, will include an industrial zone, an international airport, and an…

Five Asean nations have inked a pact to boost connectivity and facilitate speedier cross-border payments. The agreement further supports the region's ambition to establish connected payments to drive down the cost of such payments. The central banks of Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines would look to "enhance cooperation on payment connectivity to support faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payments". The Memorandum of Understanding was inked by Bank Indonesia,…

Last Updated: October 29, 2022, 13:30 ISTImage Used For Representation. (Photo: Reuters)AAI, on behalf of SAIL - Rourkela Steel Plant, will operate and manage the airportState-owned SAIL on Friday said that it has entered into a pact with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for facilitating the start of commercial flights from Rourkela in Odisha. Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has signed the operation and management contract with AAI through its unit Rourkela Steel Plant. The public sector enterprise had in 2018…

Singapore and Australia have inked a green economy agreement with the aim to establish "common rules and standards" that drive trade and environmental sustainability. Pipped as the first such global trade pact, it encompasses various initiatives including cross-border clean energy trade and digital trade platforms. Both countries also had set up a technical working group to establish statistical measurements of the green economy, according to a joint statement released Tuesday by Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry…