
UK sanctions British accountant over alleged Russian ship deals
The UK sanctioned an English accountant for allegedly helping Russia expand the fleet of tankers it uses to covertly ship crude around the globe.
The British government added John Michael Ormerod, a UK national, two Russian ship captains, 18 vessels and 46 financial institutions to its sanctions list, according to a notice Tuesday.
It's part of a broader effort by the UK and European Union to clamp down on Russia's use of a so-called shadow fleet to evade sanctions against its oil sector.
The UK is also working lower the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude exports, according to the notice.

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


Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Army to get new air defence boost with Rs 30,000 crore QR-SAM deal
NEW DELHI: The defence ministry will soon take up the case for a preliminary nod to a Rs 30,000 crore proposal to procure three regiments of the new indigenous quick reaction surface to air missile (QR-SAM) systems for the Army. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Rajnath Singh-led defence acquisitions council will consider granting acceptance of necessity (AoN) for the highly-mobile QR-SAM systems, which are designed to intercept hostile fighters, helicopters and drones at a range up to 25-30 km, later this month. The move comes soon after India's existing multi-layered air defence network played a crucial role in thwarting multiple waves of Turkish-origin drones and Chinese missiles launched by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor - the May 7-10 hostilities. The and the Army have over the last three-four years tested the QR-SAM systems against high-speed aerial targets mimicking various types of threats to evaluate their capability under different day and night operational scenarios. Defence PSUs Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics will co-produce the QR-SAM systems. "The QR-SAM systems can operate on the move with search and track capability and fire at short halts. They are tailor-made to move along with tanks and infantry combat vehicles to provide them air defence in the tactical battlefield," an official said. The Army Air Defence (AAD), which performed exceedingly well during Operation Sindoor, in fact, requires 11 regiments of the QR-SAM, even as it progressively also inducts regiments of the indigenous Akash system, which has an interception range of about 25-km at present. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The induction of the QR-SAM systems will add to the existing air defence network of the IAF and the Army, which ranges from the long-range Russian S-400 'Triumf' surface-to-air missile systems (380 km interception range) and Barak-8 medium range SAM systems (70 km), jointly developed with Israel, to the Russian shoulder-fired Igla-S missiles (6 km), the upgraded L-70 anti-aircraft guns (3.5 km) and the indigenous integrated drone detection and interdiction systems (1km-2 km). While the DRDO is also readying the very short-range air defence missile systems (VSHORADS), which have a 6 km interception range, the real game-changer will be an air defence system with a 350 km range being developed under the ambitious Project Kusha. India plans to operationally deploy this long-range system by 2028-2029, with the defence ministry in Sept 2023 approving the AoN for procurement of five of its squadrons for the IAF at a cost of Rs 21,700 crore, as was first reported by TOI. Also read:


Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Trump Calls Iran ‘Tough' Negotiators, Briefed Israel on Talks
President Donald Trump said he discussed the ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday, indicating he was worried Tehran was asking for too much in negotiations. 'They are good negotiators, but they're tough. Sometimes they can be too tough, that's the problem,' Trump said at an event at the White House. 'So we're trying to make a deal so that there's no destruction and death.' Trump has vowed to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons but Netanyahu has been skeptical of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. Trump in May said he told Netanyahu that a military strike against Iran would be 'inappropriate to do right now' because it could jeopardize negotiations he said were close to an agreement. The New York Times had reported that Israel was weighing potential strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, a move officials in Tehran have warned could trigger a response and derail the talks. Tensions are already high between Israel and Iran since the start of the war in Gaza and amid Israeli strikes on Iran-backed groups. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry during a press conference earlier Monday said Tehran would send a counteroffer in the 'coming days' via Oman in response to a US proposal on its nuclear program. The war in Gaza is also another flashpoint that is high on the agenda, following Israel's move to intensify military operations against Hamas. Israel has been at war with Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, when the group — declared a terrorist organization by the US and European Union — launched a surprise attack that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken. More than 50 of those captives remain in Gaza, and Israel believes about 20 are alive. Trump said the situation in Gaza was among the discussion points on the call. 'We discussed a lot of things, and it went very well, very smooth,' Trump said. Israel's response aimed at rooting out Hamas from Gaza has destroyed much of the territory and sparked a humanitarian crisis. Israel controls limited deliveries of aid assistance to Gaza's population, which numbers about 2 million, and has blamed Hamas for diverting needed aid under a prior distribution system. The war has also sparked a surge in antisemitic violence in the US, including an attack with Molotov cocktails and a flamethrower on peaceful demonstrators in Colorado who were marching in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Trump's administration has seized on worries about antisemitism, including the wave of campus protests over the war, pressuring universities to overhaul their policies. And Trump last week unveiled a new travel ban that, citing the terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, as justification for his administration's hardline immigration policies and ramped-up deportations. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.


NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Russia, Ukraine Swap First Prisoners In Large-Scale Exchange
Moscow: Russia and Ukraine on Monday swapped a first group of captured soldiers -- part of an agreement reached during peace talks that appeared to be in doubt over the weekend. The deal to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the bodies of killed fighters was the only concrete agreement reached at the talks, which have failed to lead to a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war. Progress has stalled. Russia has issued tough conditions for halting its invasion and has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire. "Today an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He posted images of soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags, cheering and hugging. "Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25," he added. Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the swap was part of "agreements reached on 2 June in Istanbul". Neither side said how many prisoners were released. After the talks in Istanbul, both said it would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers, making it the largest exchange of the three-year war. The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange. Mr Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of playing a "dirty, political game" and of not sticking to the agreed parameters -- to free all captured soldiers that are sick, wounded or under the age of 25. Russia said Kyiv was refusing to take back bodies of dead soldiers, 1,200 of which it said were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border. Talks 'Pointless' Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forced millions to flee their homes and decimated much of eastern and southern Ukraine. Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. But they appear as far apart as ever from an agreement. In Istanbul on June 2, Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still under its control, recognise Moscow's annexation of five Ukrainian regions and renounce all Western military support. Kyiv is seeking a full ceasefire and a summit between Mr Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Trump to try to break the impasse. While welcoming POW exchanges, Mr Zelensky said last week said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Meanwhile fighting on the front lines and in the skies has intensified. Russia said on Sunday its troops had crossed into Ukraine's industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign -- a potentially key advance given that Moscow has not put forward a territorial claim to that region. war And Moscow launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv's air force said on Monday. The Ukrainian mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it "the largest attack" on the region since the start of the war. Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region. It called the attack "one of the retaliatory strikes" for a brazen drone attack by Ukraine on June 1 against Russian military jets stationed at air bases thousands of kilometres (miles) behind the front line. Kyiv also claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian electronics factory overnight, saying it manufactured parts for drones. Russian officials said the site had been forced to temporarily suspend production after a Ukrainian drone attack.