The dreary, cold months from December to February may prove to be the undoing of many a nation as they grapple with sky-high fuel prices - a result of the Ukraine conflict and the pandemic. Many - Europe, South Korea, Japan, and China - will still pull through on the strength of their wealth or because of strong storage infrastructure. But India will have its back to the wall. Signs of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rates hitting new records this winter are already evident.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the sporting community on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin's country losing hosting rights for the UEFA Champions League final while Formula One drivers said it was "wrong" to race there this year.
'There is a cost to war.' 'The West knows that and so does Putin.' 'The point is, how much of the cost are both sides willing to pay?'
'The clean break between Russia and Europe that this foolish attack is creating may actually last long.' 'It will undermine Europe and benefit the US and China.'
Biden said the US will continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates.
The executive order also provides authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine.
The US is ready to respond "decisively" to a Russian attack on Ukraine which is still very much a possibility, President Joe Biden has said, urging Moscow to step back from the brink of war.
On February 24, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation on Ukraine, few would have thought that Indian government-owned GAIL India would feel the impact. The tensions over gas supplies were essentially a Europe-Russia problem, related to the sanctions western economies imposed on Moscow. But the EU depends on Russian imports for 40 per cent of its gas stocks, an over-dependence that Russia has underlined with Kremlin-owned Gazprom cutting its supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20 per cent, citing maintenance issues.
Other shortlisted chief executives include Abdulrahman Ali Al-Abdulla of Muntajat, Peabody Energy's Gregory Boyce, Pailin Chuchottaworn of PTT Public Company Ltd, Repsol's Antonio Brufau and Ian Taylor of Vitol.
The US is not going to be able to mount a concerted 'Western strategy' against China or Russia in the present international milieu, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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