Trump's envoy Witkoff is expected in Russia on Wednesday, TASS cites sources as saying
Trump has set a deadline of Friday for Russia to agree to end the Ukraine war or face new sanctions.
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Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Russia accuses UK of plotting 'false flag' to sink its ships
Russia is feared to be preparing false flag attacks on its shadow fleet of sea vessels in order to deter the West from further sanctioning them. According to reports from the SVR, Moscow's foreign intelligence service, is said to have claimed that the UK was plotting to attack the country's fleet of ships used to subvert sanctions. The SVR said that the attacks would be designed to look like accidents, causing significant environmental damage and allowing Britain and the rest of NATO to justify further actions against them. The Telegraph reported it claimed: 'British intelligence services are planning to use NATO allies to launch a mass raid on the "shadow fleet"; for this purpose, an ecological catastrophe in international waters is being prepared.' But experts said the report's publication raised concerns that Russia is preparing its own false flag operation, a scheme carried out by the Kremlin but designed to look like it has British origins. Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at RUSI, told the newspaper: 'One interpretation might be that the Russians are insuring themselves against something breaking down or sinking, in a way that creates a pretext for restricting [their movement across the ocean].' So far at least six tankers have suffered mysterious explosions since the start of the year. The suspicion has largely fallen on Ukraine, as all of the tankers were docked in Russian ports. Some of them were carrying Russian oil. It comes after the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned UK financial firms that Russian oil trading companies are utilising a complex network of companies with deliberately obscure ownership structures in order to evade sanctions. Britain has banned the maritime transportation of Russian oil as its energy exports are funding the war in Ukraine. In 2024, 30 per cent of Russia's federal budget came from oil and gas sales. But Russian oil trading companies are managing to circumvent sanctions to get Western cash which is continuing to fund the Russian state, investigators believe. One of the companies sanctioned last year used over 100 Shadow Fleet oil tankers, vessels which are usually over 15 years old which secretly carry Russian oil. To avoid detection, flags are regularly changed and the ship's automatic identification system is turned off to avoid its movements being tracked, while the oil is often transferred from one ship to another to obscure its origin before the shipment reaches its destination. Over 400 Shadow Fleet vessels have so far been sanctioned by the UK, EU, US and Canada. An NCA spokesman said: 'Today, the National Crime Agency has issued an alert to financial institutions and other members of the UK regulated sector in relation to the sale of Russian oil and gas through the use of Shadow Fleet vessels and front companies.' 'Sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine have had a significant impact on its ability to sell oil and gas it produces. However, in an effort to circumvent these controls, Russian oil trading companies are utilising a complex network of companies with deliberately obscure ownership structures to evade sanctions whilst accessing Western finance and professional services in order to continue to fund the Russian state.'
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Texas Democrats leave state to block Republican gerrymandering efforts
Democratic lawmakers left Texas in an attempt to prevent voting on a Republican plan to redraw the state's congressional districts. By redrawing district lines, Republicans hope to flip five congressional seats held by Democrats. This would protect the party's narrow House of Representatives majority in next year's midterm elections
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil little changed as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as traders assessed rising supply by OPEC+ against worries of weaker demand and U.S. President Donald Trump's new threats on India over its Russian oil purchases. Brent crude futures dipped 1 cent to $68.75 a barrel by 0631 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2 cents at $66.28. Both contracts fell by more than 1% in the previous session to settle at their lowest in a week. Both benchmarks have receded because extra capacity from OPEC+ is acting as a buffer for any shortfalls in Russian supplies, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September. It marks a full and early reversal of the group's largest tranche of output cuts, amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or around 2.4% of global demand, though analysts caution the actual amount returning to the market will be less. The rising supplies come amid renewed concerns about demand, with some analysts expecting faltering economic growth in the second half of the year. JPMorgan analysts said on Tuesday the risk of a U.S. recession was high as labour demand has stalled. In addition, China's July Politburo meeting signalled no additional policy easing, with the focus shifting to structural rebalancing of the world's second-largest economy, the analysts wrote in a note. At the same time, investors are eyeing possible supply disruptions. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he could impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russian crude buyers such as India after announcing a 25% tariff on Indian imports in July. On Monday, Trump again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the Russian oil purchases. New Delhi called his attack "unjustified" and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening the trade rift between the two countries. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million bpd from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. Traders are also awaiting any developments on the latest U.S. tariffs on its trading partners, which analysts fear could slow economic growth and dampen fuel demand.
