Trump deploys National Guard in Washington DC, places it under direct federal control
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US President Donald Trump Monday invoked Home Rule Act in Washington DC and placed it under direct federal control. Deploying National Guards troops in DC, Trump said he is placing Washington police under federal control."We are going to take our capital back," he said. He said that he plans to place the Washington DC Police Department under "direct federal control" using the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. Trump said he will be deploying the national guard to DC and federalising the city's police department.The move comes after Trump ordered a seven-day surge in federal law enforcement within the city last week, pointing to several high-profile crimes.
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Time of India
10 minutes ago
- Time of India
China refiners grab Russian oil as Trump menaces flows to India
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Oil refiners in China have stepped up purchases of Russia's flagship crude, seizing an opportunity to take discounted cargoes relinquished by India as Washington ramps up trade tariffs against New China is the largest importer of Russian oil , it tends to take deliveries from the nation's Far East. Yet so far in August, shipments of Urals — which loads from Baltic and Black Sea ports — were almost 75,000 barrels a day. That's almost double the year-to-date average of about 40,000 barrels, according to Kpler. In contrast, exports to India sunk to no more than 400,000 barrels a day this month, compared with the average of 1.18 million.'Generally, Chinese refineries are in a comfortable position to keep taking Russian oil for now, in contrast to Indian refiners,' said Jianan Sun, an analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. Urals — which ships from Russia's west — remains competitive against alternative grades from the Middle East, Sun global oil market is focused on shifts in global flows as US President Donald Trump steps up a diplomatic push to try and broker an end to the war in Ukraine. As part of that drive, Washington has doubled a levy on all Indian imports to punish the nation for taking Russian crude, although it hasn't yet followed through with a comparable measure against China amid a trade truce with Beijing. The Asian nations are the top buyers of Moscow's differing approaches — which have presented Chinese refiners with a buying opportunity — have been on display in recent days. Last Friday, Trump said he would hold off on raising tariffs on Chinese goods over the country's purchases of Russian oil, citing progress with Russian President Vladimir Putin toward ending the war. Meanwhile, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has described India's buying as 'opportunistic and deeply corrosive,' while also acknowledging that the US can't go further on China without hurting itself.'One thing is certain: Trump will not do things which he knows he cannot achieve,' said Mukesh Sahdev, head of commodity markets at Rystad Energy A/S. 'Putting pressure on India, he has certainly achieved and he can make an impact, but putting pressure on China? Probably not.'Refiners in China, Asia's largest economy, have likely purchased 10 to 15 cargoes of Urals for October and November delivery so far, more than their usual intake, according to Kpler and Energy Aspects.'I won't be surprised to see more November-delivered cargoes to be bought by the Chinese in the coming days' if Urals prices remained attractive, said Muyu Xu, senior crude analyst at grade was most recently offered at $1 a barrel premium over Dated Brent, with no further discounts seen, following elevated interest from Chinese refiners, according to traders in the market who asked not to be present, at least two tankers carrying Urals — each with capacity of 1 million barrels — are waiting off China's coast, with more expected in coming weeks, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessels — Georgy Maslov and Zenith — are idling near Zhoushan. That's the base for Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., and also close to strategic storage processors remain on the sidelines, although they have been receiving and considering offers for Urals, the traders Russian barrels 'have to be removed, and those barrels can only be removed by China into storage,' said Sahdev. 'Without China buying, the Russian crude may start discounting more to get new buyers.'
Time of India
10 minutes ago
- Time of India
Short-term bets on oil risky amid geopolitical uncertainty: Vandana Hari
I don't see a high likelihood of Trump imposing secondary tariffs on China or Brazil, given existing trade tensions, which means the picture for Russian oil supply and related market concerns wouldn't change much in the near term. Oil markets are in a holding pattern due to uncertainty surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war and potential shifts in Western sanctions. The focus has shifted from a quick ceasefire to a longer-term resolution of territorial disputes and security guarantees. Market participants are adopting a wait-and-see approach, as the path to a resolution is expected to be lengthy and complex. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads "If we take a step back, something has changed fundamentally compared to how the oil markets viewed the situation before last Friday's summit between Trump and Putin. The summit and subsequent events, including Trump involving Zelenskyy, have altered the outlook. Until last Friday, the focus was on a potential ceasefire, which I viewed as a quick solution—a resolution, yes, bringing peace—but leaving the fundamental reasons behind the conflict unresolved," says Vandana Hari , Vanda is likely to remain in a holding pattern. As you pointed out, there isn't much for oil markets to go on when it comes to assessing what will happen with the war in Ukraine, and consequently, how Western sanctions and embargoes against Russian oil might evolve. This, in turn, affects expectations regarding Russian oil flows—whether there will be future disruptions or if they will continue as they are now. So, there are a lot of dots to connect for the oil we take a step back, something has changed fundamentally compared to how the oil markets viewed the situation before last Friday's summit between Trump and Putin. The summit and subsequent events, including Trump involving Zelenskyy, have altered the outlook. Until last Friday, the focus was on a potential ceasefire, which I viewed as a quick solution—a resolution, yes, bringing peace—but leaving the fundamental reasons behind the conflict has changed now is that the ceasefire seems off the table, and attention is shifting to resolving the much bigger issues: the territorial dispute between the two countries and Ukraine's security guarantees. For oil market participants, this means adopting a wait-and-watch approach. Moving from a potential ceasefire to a full resolution will clearly take much longer. It's going to be a longer, more winding, and more difficult path. So, there isn't much point in making bets on whether to go long or short on oil right now. It's just a wait-and-watch while we're in a holding pattern, it's worth considering what could happen in the next two weeks. The timelines I've seen suggest two weeks, according to Trump and some European leaders; one European leader mentioned it could take up to three weeks. It could drag on the meantime, there is a chance things could deteriorate. The next step is a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, based on what Trump said after his meetings. These two leaders haven't met since the war began. There's a possibility it could revert to a stalemate or even worsen. At that point, Trump might consider imposing secondary tariffs on countries like China, Turkey, or Brazil, but that remains base case is that this process could drag on beyond two to three weeks. I don't see a high likelihood of Trump imposing secondary tariffs on China or Brazil, given existing trade tensions, which means the picture for Russian oil supply and related market concerns wouldn't change much in the near term.
The Hindu
10 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Russian attack on Poltava shows Putin does not want peace, Ukraine says
An overnight Russian attack that rocked the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk and left hundreds of customers in the Poltava region without power shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace, regional Ukrainian officials said. During a summit at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (August 18, 2025) that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. Also Read | Takeaways from Trump-Zelenskyy meeting: Praise, security talks, more meetings After the meeting, Mr. Trump called the Russian leader and began arranging a meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy. "At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin's army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk," Vitalii Maletskyi, Mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region, said on the Telegram messaging app. Mr. Maletskyi added that tens of blasts shook the city. "Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine." The scale of the attack was not clear. Ukraine's Air Force said overnight that the central Ukrainian region was under the threat of a cruise missile attack. Also Read | Five killed in Russian drone attack on Ukraine apartment block in Kharkiv Poltava Governor Volodymyr Kohut said that the attack damaged administrative buildings of a local power infrastructure operation. "Fortunately, there were no casualties," Mr. Kohut said on Telegram. He said that in the Lubny district nearly 1,500 residential and 119 commercial customers were left without power. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides have been targeting infrastructure key to the military in their strikes during the war on each other's territory, including energy infrastructure. Russia said on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that Ukraine's overnight drone attack sparked fires at an oil refinery and a hospital roof in the Volgograd region. Also Read | Putin and Zelenskyy set for Russia-Ukraine peace summit after Trump talks Russia's drone attack on Chernihiv region damages infrastructure, Governor says Russia's morning drone attack on Ukraine's Chernihiv region damaged infrastructure with power cuts reported in parts of the northern region, the regional Governor said. 'Some settlements are experiencing problems with electricity supply. Energy workers and rescuers are already working on restoration,' Governor Viacheslav Chaus wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday (August 19, 2025).
