A senior government official asserts India's independence in purchasing Russian oil, stating that US sanctions waivers merely remove friction but do not dictate India's energy policy. The official highlights India's commitment to energy security and affordability for its citizens.
The Congress has strongly criticised the US government's temporary waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil, raising concerns about continued 'American blackmail' and its impact on India's energy policy.
A Delhi court has requested further information from the investigating officer in the child custody case involving Viktoriaa Basu, a Russian woman accused of illegally leaving India with her child.
Amidst escalating tensions with Iran, the US has granted India a temporary 30-day waiver to continue purchasing Russian oil, aiming to stabilise global energy markets and encourage future US oil imports by India.
Replacing over a third of India's oil imports at competitive rates is going to be a challenge, said traders from State refiners, even though some progress was made in the last two months.
'No one can or will bar India from pursuing its energy goals as it wishes.' 'The US FTA wording may sound more restrictive, but the underlying reality will not undermine India's sovereign energy decisions.'
Several incidents of harassment targeting Russian female tourists have been reported on Goa's beaches, prompting intervention by beach marshals, lifesavers, and the Goa Police. The incidents involved both domestic and foreign tourists and included unwanted filming, photographing, and physical advances.
Lavrov said that the US has set itself the objective of 'achieving economic domination', adding further to it that Americans want to control the routes to leading countries to provide its energy sources to them.
Lavrov's comments came two days after Russia accused the US of attempting to prevent India and other countries from buying Russian oil, saying Washington was using a wide range of 'coercive' measures, including tariffs, sanctions and direct prohibitions.
Alekseyev, deputy chief of Russian military intelligence (GRU), has been involved in Russia's military campaigns in Ukraine and Syria. He's also been sanctioned by the US and EU for his role in malicious cyber activities and the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England.
India will restrict crude oil purchases from Russia as part of an agreement reached with the US in exchange for lower trade tariffs, sources said, adding imports will continue for now by refiners such as Nayara Energy, which have no other alternative source. US President Donald Trump announced overnight that the United States will cut the reciprocal tariff on imports of Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent under a broader bilateral understanding.
Greer said that India has taken down some digital services taxes and is moving tariffs down.
Four Indian medical students injured in a stabbing attack at a Russian university are reported to be stable and recovering well. The attacker, a 15-year-old, is also hospitalized.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India's energy decisions are guided by national interest.
India has gained the least since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and was penalised the most, while the US, China and the European Union emerged as the biggest beneficiaries from the war.
United States President Donald Trump has backed a sanctions bill that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, giving the White House leverage against countries like China and India to stop them from purchasing cheap oil from Moscow.
Following the seizure, Moscow issued a strong condemnation asserting that no country has the right to use force against vessels lawfully registered under another state's jurisdiction, particularly on the high seas.
The Kremlin has announced it will not disclose data on crude oil exports to India, citing concerns about 'ill-wishers'. This decision follows reports of increased Russian oil supplies to India and China amid geopolitical tensions.
The US Coast Guard seized a Russian oil tanker, the Marinera, in the North Atlantic. The crew includes three Indian citizens. Moscow has protested the seizure, calling it a violation of international maritime law and demanding humane treatment of the crew.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that long-term oil supplies are 'abundant' and there are no worries regarding that, but in the short term, there is a need to get oil on the market.
Indian private sector and State-run refiners continued to receive crude oil from Russian suppliers even after November 21 -- the winding-down date for US sanctions on supplies from leading Russian oil producers imposed in October -- as new intermediaries sprung up in West Asia to sell the oil, according to senior refining sources and ship tracking data.
An Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI fighter jet went missing shortly after taking off from Jorhat airbase in Assam, prompting a search and rescue operation.
According to a post on X by the US European Command, the tanker violated US sanctions and was tracked by the US Coast Guard cutter Munro prior to the operation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Mottaqi, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, emphasising the need for political and diplomatic solutions.
Russians won't represent their country at Winter Olympics even if Ukraine war ends, IOC chief says
Russian President Vladimir Putin is actively working to de-escalate the escalating crisis in the Gulf, engaging with regional leaders following Iran's retaliatory strikes on US facilities after joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
An Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI fighter jet crashed in Assam during a training mission, prompting an immediate search operation for the missing pilots.
Moscow's international airports were temporarily closed due to safety concerns after air defense forces intercepted multiple Ukrainian drones.
A Russian intelligence agency has claimed that the UK and France are covertly planning to transfer nuclear weapons to Ukraine, alleging a violation of international law.
In Operation Sindoor, Pakistan had deployed additional squadrons of the Chinese-origin HQ-9 air defence systems, which could not do much against the Indian aircraft when they brought down multiple terror targets inside Pakistan.
India is closely monitoring developments related to a proposed American legislation that seeks to impose up to 500 per cent tariff on countries procuring Russian crude oil.
Ukraine's capital Kyiv came under a large-scale missile and drone attack overnight on December 27, with multiple explosions reported across the city and surrounding regions, one day ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as diplomatic efforts continue to end the four-year-long war.
'India should understand that we are not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago.'
A US lawmaker has criticized President Donald Trump's tariff policy on India for purchasing Russian oil, urging him to reverse it immediately.
Travel disruptions following airspace closures in the Gulf have forced Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev to miss an Indian Wells exhibition, while an ATP Challenger in Fujairah was cancelled amid security concerns.
The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar due to rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and foreign fund outflows.
The US-Israeli military campaign, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury" by Washington, has entered its third day, with US President Donald Trump stating that operations would continue "until all of our objectives are achieved."
Bill Gates has apologized to the Gates Foundation staff for his association with Jeffrey Epstein and admitted to having affairs with Russian women, stating he did nothing illicit but regrets the mistake.
Analysts predict India will face oil price volatility and macroeconomic effects due to the escalating Iran crisis, though the country's oil supply chain is not yet structurally insecure.
European nations say their findings show that his death was not a natural result of ill health but the consequence of deliberate poisoning.
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