The ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict has disrupted India's efforts to gain from a recent fall in crude oil prices. Since Hamas' invasion of southern Israel on October 7, petroleum has become costlier by around $5 per barrel, threatening to stoke prices and impact growth. Brent crude was trading at $89.8 per barrel on October 9 (9.15 pm IST), up over 4 per cent, thwarting India's anticipation of a period of declining oil prices - after the leading global petroleum benchmark declined by around 11 per cent last week.
The incident remains a reminder of the inherent fragilities of all geopolitical relationships.
Biden said that the Saudi Crown Prince told him he was not "personally responsible" for Khashoggi's murder.
'Israel has received an extremely hard and rude reminder that it cannot go ahead and talk of normalisation of relations with other Arab countries without addressing the issues pertaining to Palestine.'
Among the 44 per cent of Indian students who have used Gen AI in their studies, 60 per cent say it helps them learn faster, 55 per cent say it allows them more creative use of learning, while 51 per cent say it frees up their time.
Indian imports of Russian oil plunged by a record in August month-on-month (M-o-M) as discounts on the fuel shrank in tandem with rising Brent oil prices. Higher crude prices will drive inflation or hurt earnings at oil companies and India's fiscal position if such spikes are not passed on to consumers. Indian purchases of Russian crude declined by around 24 per cent in August from July to the lowest level since January, with refiners expecting volumes to drop further amid rising rates of Russian benchmark Urals grade, substantial stocks at refiners, and planned maintenance at Indian refineries, according to ship tracking data and industry officials.
'By making it so public in the House of Commons, you know the reaction in India... Mr Modi is not very happy about it; you're kicking out Canadian diplomats; you suspended visa services for Canadians...'
'Indians are basically liked because they are educated, they are intelligent.'
If military power is all it would take to finish the menace of an awful terrorist organisation like Hamas, how come five Israeli wars in Gaza since 2003 have failed to do so? asks Shekhar Gupta.
Most of India's oil supplies are expected to stay safe because of the country's good relations with both Russia and Iran. That would take care of over a third of India's supplies.
Closely watched by the world for any escalation, the Iran-Israel conflict is already showing early signs of stress for India Inc - longer deliveries, doubling freight rates, extended working capital cycles, and higher costs. For those yet to feel the heat, there is growing apprehension and nervousness over future developments, observed industry executives.
'But unlike Bond who killed an individual, Israel is killing a nation.'
All the latest news from the summer transfer window...
After his visit to Brussels, McGurk will visit Israel where he is slated to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and senior security and intelligence officials.
'We thought all the Jews in the world could live securely in today's world, and that feeling is broken.'
Israel needs to come terms with the new reality that they are no longer invincible or the dominant power in the West Asian region, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India was the world's biggest importer of Russian oil in February, exceeding China by 20 million barrels.
An escalation in the already simmering tensions between North and South Korea, China and Taiwan, and Russia and Ukraine could prove to be a bigger worry for the markets over the next few months rather than central bank policy action, said analysts. The markets, they said, are still not fully factoring in this possibility. "The conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia is another geopolitical worry.
India's import of discounted crude oil from the Russian Federation hit an all-time high in May, with state-run refiner IOC becoming the biggest importer of Russian oil, relegating Reliance Industries to the second place, trade and shipping data show. Indian imports of Russian oil, accounting for over 46 per cent of its total crude oil imports in May, have grown after strong backing by New Delhi, with state-run refiners powering imports of discounted crude. Discounts on Russian oil average around $10 a barrel, said an official from a state-run refiner. IOC's May purchases rose by 64 per cent on the month, and accounted for half of its total crude imports last month, ship tracking data show.
'India should respect Maldivian nationalism and their desire to be not over-dependent on India.' 'India should not behave like a big brother towards Maldives as many times, we tend to behave like that.'
Hundreds of people are feared dead after a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza for which Hamas and Israel traded charges holding each other responsible for the incident.
The report also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July 2017.
Trump said he was "not satisfied" with the response of Riyadh over Khashoggi's death.
There is only one perpetrator, Hamas. It is a terrorist organisation. It is obscene to argue that until the Palestinian question is solved, anybody has the right to use terrorism as an instrument of policy, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Officials from State-run refiners contend that savings from purchase of Russian oil are used to offset a part of the losses in revenues from selling transport fuels and LPG at State-set rates.
The biggest question looming over the summit is whether there will be a joint leaders' declaration in view of the sharp differences between the West and the Russia-China combine on the text to describe the Ukraine conflict in the document.
China's Vivo said on Thursday it will export more than one million 'Made in India' smartphones in 2023 to achieve a target announced last year when it sent out its first indigenous shipment to Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Vivo India, known for its economical phones, has proposed investing Rs 7,500 crore in the country and it is set to spend Rs 3,500 crore of that amount by end of this year. According to the firm's India Impact Report 2022, it will start production at a new 'state of the art' manufacturing facility by early 2024 after regulatory clearance.
India's voting pattern in the United Nations with regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict is lately marked by a calibrated distancing from Israel, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Social media giant Meta Platforms and Bharti Airtel on Monday announced a collaboration to jointly invest in telecom infrastructure to cater to the rising demand of high speed data and digital services in India. The announcement comes on the back of telecom operators' demand to share revenue with service providers to build networks. "Airtel and Meta will jointly invest in global connectivity infrastructure and CPaaS (communications platform as a service) based new-age digital solutions to support the emerging requirements of customers and enterprises in India," the statement said.
While Ambani, 66, drew nil salary from the company since the 2020-21 fiscal year, other executive directors including his cousins Nikhil and Hital are paid a salary, perquisites, allowances and commission. His three children - twins Akash and Isha (both 31) and Anant (28 years) - will get only a sitting fee and a commission on the profit earned by the firm.
'...The more the Pakistan army becomes weaker, then there is every possibility that terrorist groups may create more anarchy in Pakistan.'
Unlike Israeli company NSO, whose sale of Pegasus cyber tech grabbed worldwide attention, and other manufacturers of offensive-cyber products, Cellebrite operates in a grey area between security exports and civilian ones.
Salman's comments will appear in a PBS documentary on the killing of Khashoggi last year as a result of a 'rogue operation' in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Major General S C N Jatar, who passed into the ages on Monday night, thwarted anti-national forces at the peak of the Assam agitation. Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) salutes this officer and gentleman.
The US State Department had identified him as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in January 2017.
'My father never asked me to join Al-Qaeda, but he did tell me I was the son chosen to carry on his work'
'India is respected by both Israel and Palestine.' 'India can push the international community for the peace process.'
Russian forces have made minimal progress on land, sea or air in recent days and they continue to suffer heavy losses, the UK's ministry of defence said on Thursday.
The report will address what 'we think the overall impact was and who caused it, and who did it', Trump said.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, suffocated to death while his head was covered with a plastic bag -- according to the head of investigations at the Turkish Daily Sabah newspaper.
