
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump aide says India financing Putin's war by buying Russian oil
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said the US president had made it clear that it was "not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia".
"People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That's an astonishing fact," Mr Miller told Fox News, ramping up pressure on New Delhi over its ties with Moscow.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, said his special envoy Steve Witkoff could travel to Russia this week as the US readied sanctions on Moscow if president Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire before Friday.
As the war continued, over 100 firefighters rushed to tackle a blaze at an oil depot in Sochi, Russia, after Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on Sunday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's corporate earnings growth stays weak, banks and IT firms disappoint
Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's listed companies posted yet another quarter of lackluster earnings in the April-to-June period, extending a bout of weakness which began last year and weighed on benchmark stock indexes. The Indian economy is expected to grow at a world-beating 6.5% in the current fiscal year and inflation has been low. Yet, sectors from banks to IT services are facing earnings pressure from pockets of weakness in domestic and global demand. Aggregate profit growth for 38 of the Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab firms that have reported so far stood at just 7.5%, according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Jefferies said that full-year earnings per share estimates for 113 companies on the MSCI India index (.MIIN00000PUS), opens new tab have been trimmed by 1.7%, with growth now projected at 8%. U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on shipments from India threatens to further cloud the outlook for export-heavy sectors. Trump has also warned of harsh tariffs over India's Russian oil imports—an action New Delhi called "unjustified." Earnings growth for Indian companies has been in single digits for five consecutive quarters, below the 15%–25% growth seen between 2020–21 and 2023–24, which fueled a 160% surge in the Nifty 50 index (.NSEI), opens new tab. Since the start of the fiscal year 2025, the Nifty has risen 10%. "It's clear that the earnings momentum has stalled, with slower credit growth dragging down performance of financials. However, this isn't just a sectoral story—it reflects broader weakness in nominal growth," Avinash Gorakshakar, director of research at Profitmart Securities said. Nominal GDP growth, which includes inflation, and is more relevant to corporate profitability, is seen staying below 10% for the third straight year. "A real revival may take shape only in the second half of FY2026—if credit growth revives, private capex kicks in, and a good monsoon boosts rural demand. Until then, the benchmarks are likely to remain rangebound," said Gorakshakar. Banks — the heaviest sector in the Nifty — delivered mixed results in the June quarter. Lenders reported lower margins following steep policy interest rate cuts and as bad loans in segments such as consumer loans, credit cards and microfinance started to rise. IT firms, the second-largest sector in the Nifty, also saw a subdued quarter amid persistent demand weakness from the U.S., a key market. There were a few bright spots in the June-quarter earnings, with auto, cement, and select infrastructure companies meeting or beating expectations. Analysts lowered their full-year profit forecasts for more companies, though the number of downgrades was lower than in the previous three quarters. "The earnings engine is clearly sputtering. Margin strain in banks, tepid global IT demand, and weak nominal growth have stalled profit momentum," said Samrat Dasgupta, chief executive of Esquire Capital Investment Advisors. "Until credit and consumption revive meaningfully, markets may find little earnings firepower to break higher."


Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russian seaborne diesel exports fall in July, data shows
MOSCOW, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell 5% in July from the month before to about 3.26 million metric tons due to lower production amid refinery maintenance and strong domestic demand, according to LSEG shipping data and market sources. Diesel loadings via the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk, the country's biggest outlet for exports of ultra low-sulphur diesel (ULSD), totalled 1.26 million tons in July, down 11.3% on a daily basis from June. Turkey and Brazil remained the main importers of Russian diesel and gasoil last month, shipping data showed. Diesel and gasoil exports from Russian ports to Turkey fell in July to 1.25 million tons, down 14% from June, while loadings for Brazil decreased 29% from June to 0.37 million tons. Meanwhile, more than 400,000 tons of diesel loaded in Russian ports are heading to ship-to-ship transfers near the Cypriot port of Limassol for discharge or orders for further destinations, which are unknown yet, shipping data showed. Russia's July diesel and gasoil exports to African countries decreased by a quarter from the previous month to about 0.69 million tons, with Morocco, Senegal, Ghana and Libya among the biggest importers, according to LSEG data. The shipping data also showed that vessels loaded in May with about 110,000 tons of diesel in Russian ports had their destination marked as "for orders," meaning their discharge points are either not yet known or not declared.


Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's Adani Ports posts quarterly profit rise on cargo volume growth
Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone ( opens new tab logged a quarterly profit rise on Tuesday, boosted by growing cargo volumes and said its Israeli port of Haifa "operated unhindered" in a quarter which saw the Israel-Iran conflict. India's biggest private port operator is seen as a proxy for long-term infrastructure prospects in the world's fastest growing major economy. The company operates 15 domestic ports and terminals, and four international ones - including one in Haifa, a major port city in Israel. The Haifa port clocked highest quarterly revenue and operating core profits since the group acquired and privatised it in 2022, Adani Ports said. A 12-day-long conflict between Iran and Israel in June had many ships avoiding West Asia and rerouting through a longer route around the southern tip of Africa, lifting volumes at major Indian ports by 6%, ElaraCapital said. Cargo volumes for Adani Ports grew, opens new tab 11% on-year during April-June, faster than 8% in the preceding quarter and 7.5% year-ago, opens new tab. That lifted its revenues by 31% to 91.26 billion rupees ($1.04 billion). The port operator's consolidated net profit rose 6.5% on-year to 33.15 billion rupees for the quarter. Adani Ports maintained its fiscal year 2026 forecast of cargo volumes at 505 million metric tonnes to 515 million metric tonnes. The company said Executive Chairman Gautam Adani will now be its non-executive chairman. The Indian billionaire would cease to be key managerial personnel of the company, it added. ($1 = 87.8140 Indian rupees)