The unexpected missile attack on a second India-bound ship carrying Russian crude, just three weeks after the first, has complicated matters for domestic refiners. India now counts the Vladimir Putin-led nation as its biggest oil supplier, according to Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler, and these attacks come on top of US sanctions since December, where vessels that bring crude to India are facing heightened scrutiny. Panama-registered Pollux, which loaded crude at the Sheshkaris oil terminal in the Russian port of Novorossiysk on January 24, was scheduled to deliver the medium, sour Urals grade to Paradip port on February 28.
President Joe Biden and other top US leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn't be just one hit but a "tiered response" over time.
An explosion was reported in the capital city of Afghanistan. Sputnik reported citing local sources that the blast was the result of a rocket landing on a residential building near the Kabul airport and that it had killed a child,
The United States probe into the November 26 air attack on Af-Pak border that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers has found that American forces acted in self-defence after being fired upon and there was no intentional effort to target them, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The reports were changed by CENTCOM higher ups to adhere to the Obama administration's public line that the US is winning the battle against the terror groups, claim analysts.
The United States has named a top air force general to head the investigations into the NATO air strike on Pakistani border posts that left 24 soldiers dead and has invited Pakistan and Afghanistan to join the probe.
Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta will move to Pentagon to become new US Defence Secretary to replace Robert Gates while his top military commander in Afghanistan Gen David Petraeus is to takeover as the new CIA Director.
Army Chief General V K Singh began his official visit to the US during which terrorism, situation in the region including Afghanistan and Pakistan, besides bilateral military-to-military ties would top the agenda of his talks with top American military leadership.
Post 26 /11, amid growing tension between India and Pakistan and mounting evidence that people in the Pakistani establishments were involved in the Mumbai terror attacks, Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, told the US that his army would respond to an Indian attack.
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover reported 25 per cent increase in its global sales in November this year at 37,403 units.
Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni even went to the extent of defending Musharraf in terms of defusing the Kargil crisis
Afghanistan will remain a frontline state for Washington for a foreseeable future in terms of the potential threats to US national security from terrorist groups, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
Releasing a few short videos of the strike, US Central Command Commander Gen Kenneth Mckenzie told reporters at a Pentagon news conference that after the raid, Baghdadi's compound looks 'pretty much like a parking lot with large potholes'.
All in all, the global economic recovery has been wavering as a result of rising crude oil and commodities prices and as a result, interest rate hike would further affect growth.
The statement comes Days after Trump sought Imran Khan's help in the Afghan peace process.
'As far as acquisition of Russian equipment is concerned, with about 70% of Indian military equipment being of Russian origin, a sudden decision to abandon imports from Russia is not feasible,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'Both India and Pakistan are now, for the first time in history, very closely allied and connected with the US -- economically and politically.'
'Traditionally, the US tried to tamp down tensions whenever a crisis situation arose and deputed officials from Washington to travel to Delhi to counsel restraint.' 'This time around, no US envoy flew down to Delhi -- not even when tensions spiked and a flashpoint was reached last week,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Warning India against the increasing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean region, a top American military commander on Wednesday stressed on the need to sign two key agreements between India and the US for joint tracking.
The plan hinged on two critical assumptions: India would not be able to replenish supplies quickly to launch a counter-attack. India could not respond in enough strength to dislodge the Pakistanis. Both assumptions would be proved wrong due to the ferocity of the Indian response, reveals former RAW officer Tilak Devasher in his new book, Pakistan At The Helm.
'A three generation US-Pakistan relationship is not likely to be snapped any time soon. All this presents an irritant to an India that wishes to concentrate on economic development,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Countries in the region like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Maldives face serious existential threats from a mix of terrorist groups active in the region and elsewhere
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