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Oil prices fall as US delays decision on direct Iran involvement

Oil prices fall as US delays decision on direct Iran involvement

Time of India21-06-2025
Oil prices
fell on Friday after the White House delayed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, but remained on course for a third consecutive weekly rise.
Brent crude futures
fell $2, or 2.5%, to $76.85 a barrel by 0648 GMT but still looked set to gain more than 3% on the week.
U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude
for July - which did not settle on Thursday as it was a U.S. holiday and expires on Friday - was down 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.
The more liquid August contract was up 0.3%, or 19 cents, to $73.69.
On Thursday prices jumped almost 3% after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel. The week-old war between Israel and Iran showed no signs of either side backing down.
Iran is OPEC's third-largest producer.
Brent futures trimmed previous session gains following the White House's comments that President Donald Trump would decide whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks.
"Oil prices surged amid fears of increased U.S. involvement in Israel's conflict with Iran. However, the White House press secretary later suggested there was still time for de-escalation," said Phil Flynn, analyst at The Price Futures Group.
"The "two-week deadline" is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions. Often these deadlines expire without concrete action,.. which would see the crude oil price remain elevated and potentially build on recent gains," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.
Emril Jamil, oil research analyst at LSEG, said the "unwavering determination" of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to increase output "may have added jitters to the market".
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What is Bela? Trump's four-letter post leaves internet baffled
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What is Bela? Trump's four-letter post leaves internet baffled

President Donald Trump has sent the internet into a tizzy with his four-letter post on Truth Social. Amid a flurry of posts on Trump's own platform, regarding his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump wrote the word 'Bela'. Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Monday, where several European leaders will also reportedly be present. (X/@WhiteHouse) Donald Trump's Truth Social post(Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump) Now, it has left everyone wondering as to what the president could possibly be trying to say. What is Bela and why did Trump write it? As far as any immediate connections can be drawn, 'Bela' does not seem to have any bearing on the President of the United States. In most likelihood, it is a typo from the POTUS amid the many posts he was putting out on the platform. Ahead of the seemingly incomprehensible word, Trump had written on Truth Social 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED! President DJT'. He also wrote 'If I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the Deal, the Fake News, and their PARTNER, the Radical Left Democrats, would say I made a terrible mistake and a very bad deal. That's why they are the FAKE NEWS! Also, they should talk about the 6 WARS, etc., I JUST STOPPED!!! MAGA.' This has been the theme of Trump's posts for the day – taking it to the press for criticizing his handling of the meeting with Putin. 'Bela' leaves internet baffled Soon after Trump put 'Bela' out into the world, internet sleuths got onto the task. One person on Reddit went so far as to posit that perhaps Trump, or his social media team, might be referring to the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) law in South Africa, which is reportedly controversial. The term even began to trend on X. Bela trends on X(X) With the term trending, it also sparked a series of posts online. One person recalled Trump's last word snafu, when he had said 'covfefe', and shared a post on it. Another quipped with a faux Trump-Putin conversation 'Trump: Please don't release the Kompromat on me. Putin: Then let us take over Ukraine! Trump: Ok let me think about it. Putin: You have until tomorrow. Just tweet 'Bela' so I know the deal is a on. Otherwise the videos will be released.' Yet another joked that due to 'Bela', Belarus was trending, and people would read up on the place, when trying to figure out what Trump meant. Meanwhile, the US president is set to meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Monday, where several European leaders will also reportedly be present.

John Abraham at Idea Exchange: ‘In the name of being secular, you can't be making controversial films. But biased films finding an audience is worrisome'
John Abraham at Idea Exchange: ‘In the name of being secular, you can't be making controversial films. But biased films finding an audience is worrisome'

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John Abraham at Idea Exchange: ‘In the name of being secular, you can't be making controversial films. But biased films finding an audience is worrisome'

Actor-producer John Abraham on Tehran, his interest in geopolitics, the thin line between patriotism and jingoism and why the best films are coming out of the Malayalam industry. This session was moderated by Devyani Onial, National Features Editor Devyani Onial: You debuted in films in 2003. It has been a long journey… Devyani Onial: Your latest film, Tehran, on Zee5 is topical with all that has played out between Israel and Iran. But you also have a personal connection with Iran — your mother traces her roots to the country. Tehran came to me as a typically good guy India and bad guy Iran, and I said, hey, wait a second. So my father's a Malayali and my mother and my grandfather from my mother's side came from Iran. So obviously I said Iran can't look so bad. There has to be something nice about this country. So we wrote a story about Iran, Israel, India, and how India was affected by the whole Iran-Israel conflict. 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Mint

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Oil Dips as Focus Shifts to Zelenskiy Meet After Putin Summit

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