Chinese President Xi Jinping had an “extremely positive” phone conversation with US President Donald Trump about trade and other issues, the foreign ministry said Friday.

The two leaders agreed to “strengthen economic exchanges,” said a ministry spokesman, Lu Kang. He gave no indication whether they made progress on settling an escalating tariff war over Beijing’s technology policy.

Trump said earlier on Twitter that he and Xi had a “very good” conversation.

“I agree, this phone conversation was an extremely positive phone conversation,” Lu said at a regular briefing.

Trump has imposed penalty tariffs of up to 25 per cent on $250 billion of Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing’s plans for state-led development of technology industries. Washington, Europe and other trading partners say those violate China’s market-opening obligations and some American officials worry they might erode US industrial leadership.

Trump said he and Xi plan to meet during a gathering of the Group of 20 major economies this month in Argentina.

Market benchmark Sensex soared almost 580 points to end at a one-month high of 35,011.65 Friday, propelled by financials and auto stocks, amid cooling global crude prices, rising rupee and fresh flow of foreign funds.

Positive leads from most other Asian markets that jumped to three-week highs and a positive opening of European shares on easing concerns over the US-China trade war too buoyed sentiments here, brokers said.

The 30-share index got off to a strong start at 34,743.95 points and reclaimed the 35,000-mark to hit a high of 35,190.20 but profit-booking trimmed the gains. It finally settled 579.68 points, or 1.68 per cent, higher at 35,011.65.

This is its highest closing since October 4, when it had finished at 35,169.16.

The NSE Nifty leaped 172.55 points, or 1.66 per cent, to 10,553 after touching a high of 10,606.95 during the session.

On a weekly basis, both the Sensex and Nifty halted their two-week losing streak by surging 1,662.34 points or 5 per cent, and 523 points or 5 per cent, respectively.

Argentina could be a late candidate to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, the country’s Olympic Committee said on Wednesday, as the three current bidders face major obstacles ahead of next year’s decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Calgary, Stockholm and an Italian bid by Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo are the three candidates left in the race after several other cities dropped out.

Calgary, however, could be the next to pull the plug as an ongoing debate over finances ahead of the Nov. 13 plebiscite forced its Olympic assessment committee on Tuesday to recommend the city scraps its bid. Neither the Italian bid, which at one stage also included Torino before that city pulled out, nor the Swedish candidacy enjoys government backing and both could face strong local opposition.

“The Argentine Olympic Committee informs that it is analysing the feasibility of a joint candidacy between the cities of Buenos Aires and Ushuaia for the celebration of the 2026 Winter Olympics at the End of the World,” the National Olympic Committee said in a statement.

The capital Buenos Aires could host ice sports and Ushuaia, one of the world’s southernmost cities on the tip of continent, could stage the snow sports events. The Argentine Olympic Committee said the IOC had been informed of the feasibility study for a potential bid for 2026.

The much-awaited section of the Pink Line from Shiv Vihar to Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake was opened for public on Wednesday. The Metro section will connect entire East Delhi and North Delhi areas, including Shiv Vihar, Gokul Puri, Maujpur, Jaffrabad etc. The Shiv Vihar to Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stretch will immensely benefit the residents of the neighbouring Ghaziabad areas of Uttar Pradesh. The entire inaugurated section comprises 15 elevated stations, three of which offer interchange facilities.

Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, flagged the Metro on Wednesday. This 17.86-km Shiv Vihar-Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake section of the 59-km Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor, also known as the Pink Line, will be a major boon for those living in nearby areas as it will provide several business opportunities as well.

This section will also provide interchange facilities at three metro stations, including Welcome (Red Line), Karkardooma and Anand Vihar ISBT (Blue Line). This Pink Line stretch is also crossing the existing Vaishali-Dwarka elevated line, also known as Blue Line, at Kadkaduma.

“I do not like carving the world into segments; we are one world”, said the only former lady Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Daughter of the nation’s very first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi was one of the longest serving Prime Minister of the country with a reign of around 15 years.

Known for her remarkable speeches and strong views on various social and political issues, Indira Gandhi often took the crowd by storm with her extraordinary presence. Outspoken, yet humble, the first lady Prime Minister of India had much to contribute to the nation.

On her death anniversary, to pay tribute to this powerful leader, we bring to you a collection of some inspirational sayings by Indira Gandhi on knowledge, freedom, power, and feminism.

* Happiness is a state of mind, you know. I don’t think you are permanently happy. One is happy about certain things and not so happy about others.

The Indian passport was ranked 66th in the world in the latest ranking of the Global Passport Index. The ranking was based on the passports’ visa-free score. The ranking of Indian passport, granting its holders visa-free access to 66 countries, improved nine notches since the previous year.

As per the annual passport index, Singapore has the world’s “most powerful” passport with access to 165 countries. This is followed by Germany, Denmark and Sweden.

Falling in the last place of the list is Afghanistan, ranked 91 with a score of 22, followed by Pakistan and Iraq at 90 with a score of 26, Syria at 88, having a score of 29 and Somalia at 87 with a score 34.

The results are part of citizenship planning firm Henley and Partners’ annual passport index, which ranks passports based on the number of countries a holder can go to without a visa or the number of countries a holder can go to where they can obtain a visa, visitor’s permit, or electronic travel authority upon arrival.

They may have to start counting the pennies at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II received her lowest rise in public funding since the UK changed its financing arrangement with the royal family six years ago. The UK Treasury said in its 2018 Budget this week that Her Royal Highness will get 82.4 million pounds ($104.7 million) for the next financial year to fund her duties as monarch, a 0.2 percent rise from the prior 12 months, trailing September’s 2.4 percent annual inflation rate.

The Queen, 92, the UK’s longest-reigning monarch, receives public funding through the income of the estate that oversees the land, palaces and jewels owned by the serving sovereign. She received 15 percent of The Crown Estate’s profits from the Treasury between 2012 and 2016, but the rate rose to 25 percent the following year to pay for Buckingham Palace’s decade-long overhaul. Based on the U.K.’s 2017 population of 66 million, she costs each citizen 1.20 pounds on average.

Colombian Tatiana Calderon became the first Latin American woman to drive a Formula One car in an official capacity when she took part in a promotional event for the Sauber team in Mexico on Tuesday. The 25-year-old GP3 racer was appointed official test driver for the Ferrari-powered Swiss team last March after a year in a development role but on Tuesday she had her first opportunity to drive the 2018 car.

“I can’t describe the sensation of being in the car, I don’t want to go back to my GP3 car,” she said afterwards. Teams are allowed to do a maximum of 100km — equivalent to 23 laps of the Mexican Grand Prix circuit — on such filming days. “Since I started racing, my dream and goal has been to drive at the highest level one day,” she had said when it was announced she would drive the C37 car at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Centre to submit the pricing and strategic details of the Rafale aircraft deal in a sealed cover by November 10. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was hearing a batch of petitions, including the joint plea filed by former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie along with activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, into the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said the strategic and pricing details are covered under the Official Secrets Act and cannot be shared. The court then asked him to file an affidavit stating so. The matter has been adjourned till November 14.

The bench had earlier directed the Centre to provide in a sealed cover the “details of the steps” taken in the decision making process leading to the deal, but clarified that it did not want information on “pricing” and “technical suitability” of the fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Statue of Unity Inauguration LIVE Updates: Eight years after proposing the ambitious project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday unveiled the Statue of Unity – the world’s tallest statue at 182 metres -built in honour of freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The statue stands on Sadhu island on the Narmada in Gujarat and is said to be twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US.

PM Modi also did a virtual “abhishek” of the statue with the help of a lever. Also present at the venue are BJP chief Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel. The guests were also presented with mementoes that were made of the same metal that was used to clad the statue. Just like Patel’s idol, the mementoes will not age for the next 100 years.

The prime minister will perform a special prayer at the feet of the Statue of Unity and visit the museum and exhibition, and the viewers’ gallery. The gallery, at 153 metres, can accommodate up to 200 people at a time and offers a spectacular view of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, its reservoir, and the Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges.