The United Kingdom government on Tuesday imposed tough sanctions against five Russian banks and three super-rich oligarchs from the country over President Vladimir Putin's aggressive action on the Ukraine border.
'We know that our Indian partners are committed to that rules-based international order. There are any number of tenets in that order. One of them is that borders cannot be redrawn by force'
Yashaswini Singh Deswal has won the individual silver medal in the junior women's air pistol event after she shot a total of 197.7 points on the second day of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
At her daily news conference on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked how the world's largest and oldest democracies are working together to bring peace in the region amidst the war in Ukraine.
Serbia had their backs to the wall when Kazakh veteran Mikhail Kukushkin beat debutant Miomir Kecmanovic in a three-hour epic in the first singles rubber. But Djokovic calmly levelled the tie with a straight-sets defeat of Alexander Bublik before returning to court to team up with Nikola Cacic and beat Kazakh pair Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
It will be the first high-level meeting between the two sides after the border row escalated in eastern Ladakh in early May.
Guterres will visit Moscow where on April 26 he will "have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Vladimir Putin," Eri Kaneko, associate spokesperson for the secretary-general said on Friday.
The 193-member UN General Assembly on Thursday voted to adopt a draft resolution moved by the US to suspend Russia from the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
These sweeping financial sanctions follow the action earlier this week to cut off Russia's frozen funds in the United States to make debt payments.
Norwegian Ski Federation said it does not want Russian athletes
About 16,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine as Russia's invasion of the east European country entered its second day on Friday. Of the students, many studying medicine in Kharkiv and Kyiv, about 2,500 are from Gujarat and 2,320 from Kerala.
As the Ukraine conflict impacts the global GDP, India is projected to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2022, slower than the last year's 8.8 per cent but still the fastest-growing major economy, with higher inflationary pressures and uneven recovery of the labour market curbing private consumption and investment, according to a UN report. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in its World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report released on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine has upended the fragile economic recovery from the pandemic, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, increasing food and commodity prices and globally exacerbating inflationary pressures. The global economy is now projected to grow by only 3.1 per cent in 2022, down from the 4.0 per cent growth forecast released in January 2022.
The US hopes India will "reconsider" its decision to ban wheat exports, with Washington "encouraging" countries not to restrict exports as that will exacerbate food shortages, amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer, has banned wheat exports in a bid to check high domestic prices amid concerns of wheat output being hit by scorching heat waves. The decision would help control retail prices of wheat and wheat flour, which have risen by an average 14-20 per cent in the last one year, besides meeting the foodgrain requirement of neighbouring and vulnerable countries.
President Vladimir Putin proposed sweeping constitutional changes that could extend his hold on power for many years. Russian Federal Tax Service head Mikhail Mishustin to be the new PM.
India has said that it was deeply concerned over the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and reiterated its call for immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities.
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine on Monday that "Ukraine deeply regrets that more than 2,000 citizens of India, China, Turkey, Pakistan and other countries suffer today along with Ukrainians from Russian aggression."
The US, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia's "unjustified, unprovoked and premeditated" invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Putin and Lavrov.
India's projected economic growth for 2022 has been downgraded by over two per cent to 4.6% by the United Nations, a decrease attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with New Delhi expected to face restraints on energy access and prices, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability, according to a UN report released on Thursday. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6 per cent from 3.6 per cent due to shocks from the Ukraine war and changes in macroeconomic policies that put developing countries particularly at risk. The report said while Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia.
"India has been deeply concerned over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the ensuing humanitarian crisis," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said.
The two leaders discussed the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from the conflict areas.
"I am saddened, however, that there is a small, handful of members that seem to be still tolerating the war," Sergiy Kyslytsya said after the Security Council voted on the United States-led draft resolution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the Navy personnel, saying their service and sacrifice has made India safer.
Russia is keen to strengthen economic ties with India.
India abstained from a procedural vote taken in the United Nations Security Council to call for a rare special emergency session of the UN General Assembly on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, even as New Delhi welcomed Moscow and Kyiv's decision to hold talks at the Belarus border.
Tirumurti also said India is 'deeply concerned' about the welfare and security of the Indian community, including a large number of Indian students, in Ukraine.
Putin justified his decision in a speech blaming NATO for the current crisis and calling the US-led alliance an existential threat to Russia.
The retaliatory move from the Trump administration comes weeks after Russia forced a cut in US diplomatic staff in Moscow by hundreds.
Cairn Energy has threatened the Indian government that it is looking at executing the favourable $1.2 billion international tribunal award in the retrospective taxation case by seizing India's overseas assets.
"In devising a new strategy for reaching the $10-billion trade mark, the growing importance of regions of the Russian Federation needs to be understood," Secretary General of India-Russia Chamber of Commerce Pripuran Singh Haer said in New Delhi.
Whether it liked it or not, the Ukraine crisis forced India to choose between the aggressor Russia and the US-led free world, a decision it hated to make, Virendra Kapoor points out. In the end, it abstained from the vote in the Security Council.
The Russian Federation has gone a step further and shut down all activities of the British Council, which promotes greater understanding of the UK and the English language. The foreign ministry said it would also close a consulate in St Petersburg.
According to the Global Entrepreneurial Report India is the global leader for entrepreneurism.
The world governing body of chess (FIDE) on Thursday stopped the Candidates tournament in Yekatrinburg, Russia at halfway stage after the hosts decided to ban all flights into and out of the country owing to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The prestigious tournament was stopped after seven rounds. The eighth round was scheduled to be played on Thursday.
India's direct import of roughs was $767 million from Russia in 2013, a little less than five per cent of India's total import of roughs.
Russia's parliament has granted President Vladimir Putin permission to use the country's military in the Crimea, the southern part of the Ukraine where support for Russia is strong.
We can make a beginning by openly acknowledging the Russian help in 1971 victory when President Putin visits India on 6 December 2021. Showing gratitude to a friend is part of our DNA, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The government is hopeful of a speedy launch of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India and all stakeholders, including the Russian manufacturer and its Indian partners, have been directed to fast-track the application and regulatory approval procedures for the jab to boost the country's vaccination drive, sources said.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree waiving visa requirements for athletes and officials attending international sporting events in Russia, the Kremlin announced on Monday.
The Western powers appear to regard Delhi as the most logical destination in the region in these extraordinary times -- as a counterpoint to the ascendance of political Islam and a rising red star over Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
