India on Thursday described as 'matter of serious concern' reports that said some members of the Indian community in Canadian province of British Columbia received 'extortion calls'.
United States President Joe Biden is not travelling to India next month to grace the Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest, and New Delhi is looking at holding the next Quad summit later next year instead of its earlier plan to host it in January, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
With consensus eluding on the paragraph relating to the Ukraine conflict, India on Friday circulated a draft summit declaration among the member countries without the paragraph on the geopolitical issue in an attempt to hammer out a positive outcome.
During the visit, the Prime Ministers will attend a community event in Sydney to celebrate Australia's dynamic and diverse Indian diaspora, "a core part of our multicultural community", the Australian government said in a statement.
What is more surprising is that a surge in Russian oil supplies has come after the G7 imposed stringent sanctions on Moscow.
Urals and Sokol accounted for every 4 out of 5 barrels of Russian supplies to India last year.
During a meeting with Putin in Samarkand, Modi had told the Russian leader that "today's era is not of war".
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.
India's unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end. The time has come for Indian refiners to navigate, creatively, the choppy waters of the post-honeymoon period, and for Indian policymakers to take cognisance of the broader impact on India from the spillover of the Russian crisis - after Washington's warning to transgressors last week. Shipments from Russia to India have averaged over 1.8 million barrels a day since February, according to data from Paris-based market analytics firm Kpler. But much of the crude shipped to India was non-sanctioned because it traded below a price cap set by the US led G-7 nations in December.
The US also remains in regular contact with the Canadian government, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.
US officials have said that the initial findings have suggested that the missile that hit Poland was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.
Modi added that the world agrees with him when he says any attack on the country's pilgrimage site is not acceptable.
Modi and Albanese also reiterated their shared ambition for an early conclusion of the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that is expected to significantly expand bilateral trade ties.
On Pakistan, the publication quoted him as saying that India wants "normal and neighborly relations."
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC on Thursday, amid the diplomatic rumpus between India and Canada stirred over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
India has substantially increased its crude oil imports from the US, with the country's share in India's crude basket hitting a record 14.3 per cent in December, commerce ministry data showed.
India is deeply concerned over the spike in the price of oil due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and it is "breaking our back," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Addressing a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after holding bilateral talks, Jaishankar on Tuesday said there is a very deep concern among developing countries about how their energy needs are addressed. Speaking about the Ukraine war, he said: "We have taken the position privately, publicly, confidentially and consistently that this conflict is not in anybody's interest."
With Lok Sabha elections months away, the visits are vital politically as these would showcase Modi's standing as a world leader to the home electorate.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the upcoming visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India.
On Monday, July 10, US President Joe Biden held meetings with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III, in an overnight stopover in London.
Russia on Thursday said it was not bothered at a possible price cap on its crude oil proposed by the West, saying Moscow will negotiate directly with its partners like India and China as the price should be decided between the producers and consumers, and "not someone who just decided to punish someone." Members of the G7 have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to hit Moscow's ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Countries want to reach an agreement ahead of December 5, when Europe's embargo on Russian crude travelling by sea takes effect.
"In principle, the ask in return is that India should not support the G7 (Group of Seven) proposal. "A decision on this issue will be taken later following talks with all the partners," an official with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.These "substantial discounts" will be steeper than those offered by Iraq in the past two months, officials said.
Experts say Canada's allegations regarding the Indian government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada 'could be most significant test of strength of US-India partnership since early 2000s'.
The India-Japan global partnership is based on shared democratic values and respect for the rule of law and promotes peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after holding wide-ranging talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
Biden made the remarks after an 'emergency meeting' convened by Biden of North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and G7 leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
'The central government can stop further destruction... if they have the political will to do so.'
Hitting out at Canada, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said it is necessary to call out things like violence, threats and intimidation against Indian diplomats and missions and wondered if this had happened to any other country would the world have taken it with equanimity.
A day ahead of the G20 Summit, it was not very clear whether a consensus on the text to describe the Ukraine crisis in the joint leaders' declaration was achieved with China appearing to emerge as the main stumbling block to bridge the differences on the contentious issue.
But the presidency of India then won't be the same, says author and columnist Shobhaa De in a no-holds-barred conversation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that any direct contact or direct clash of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops with the Russian army would lead to a 'global catastrophe'.
They climbed onto the roof of a Mumbai theatre to launch the song Thumkeshwari from their film Bhediya.
India will soon meet Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to seek a definitive rate of discount on crude oil similar to what Russia has provided so far, sources said. Multiple officials and industry executives said Iraq, which is India's biggest oil supplier, wants to discuss the level of discounts expected by Indian refiners. India's focus on snapping up ever-increasing volumes of Russian crude oil has led to a corresponding decline in imports from the Middle East. Flows from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have suffered as a result.
It says the move builds on action taken last year to halt the installation of new equipment on the government estate and will provide "reassurance" that departments are removing surveillance equipment from sensitive sites.
Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on the crisis while underlining the need for upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states without 'exception'.
On the Ukraine conflict, Modi said, "Some people say that we are neutral. But we are not neutral. We are on the side of peace." "All countries should respect international law and the sovereignty of countries," he said.
The cast of Rashtra Kavach Om watch the movie at the Gaiety Galaxy theatres in Bandra, northwest Mumbai.
Two members of the small delegation accompanying External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the UK have tested positive for Covid-19, forcing him to rework his official schedule in London.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi gets a 'rock star reception' wherever he goes, as he welcomed his 'dear friend' at an event in Sydney and compared him to American singer Bruce Springsteen.
'The Americans want to have a good relationship with India. They see it as a counterweight to China. And also American businesses are all trying to get out of China and go to India and Vietnam as well, but India largely.'
