Latest news with #Moscow
BBC News
26 minutes ago
- Business
- BBC News
Russia oil imports "a point of irritation" in India-US ties, says Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Delhi's relationship with Moscow remains a "point of irritation" in India-US statement comes a day after US President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on Indian goods "plus an unspecified penalty", for buying Russian oil and an interview to Fox News Radio on Thursday, Rubio called India an "ally" and "strategic partner" but added that Delhi's purchase of Russian oil was hampering its relationship with oil made up 35% to 40% of India's oil imports in 2024 - up from 3% in 2021. India has not officially commented on Rubio's statement. Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a major energy importer, it must buy the cheapest available crude to protect millions of poor Indians from rising ramped up its purchase of cheaper Russian crude after the Ukraine war began, triggered by sanctions from the West. Rubio acknowledged India's reasons for buying Russian oil, noting that the country had huge energy needs and that it was buying from Moscow because of its discounted prices. But he added that this was fuelling the Russian war effort in Ukraine."I think what you're seeing the President express is the very clear frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia," he added, alluding to Trump's threat of imposing penalties on Indian companies buying Russian oil and news agency reported that India's state-owned refineries like Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) and Indian Oil Corp (IOCL) had stopped importing Russian crude since the past week due to lowered BBC has reached out to the companies for Global Investment Research also said there was a "significant decline" already in India's oil purchases from Russia in July. Last month, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri had said that the country would be able to meet its oil needs from alternative sources if Russian supplies were hit by US said India had widened its pool of oil suppliers from 27 to about 40 diversification in India's oil imports away from Russia is expected to have a minimal impact on India's current account deficit - the gap between the value of a country's exports and imports and international transfers of capital - according to CareEdge, a ratings agency. "The price differential between Russian Ural and Brent Crude has significantly narrowed to around $3 per barrel from an average of $20 per barrel in 2023," CareEdge said in a note.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil Heads for Weekly Gain as Traders Focus on Russia, US Tariffs
(Bloomberg) -- Oil was heading for its biggest weekly increase since mid-June after President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Russia, as the market braced for the fallout from US tariffs that take effect on Friday. The World's Data Center Capital Has Residents Surrounded An Abandoned Art-Deco Landmark in Buffalo Awaits Revival We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Budapest's Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild San Francisco in Talks With Vanderbilt for Downtown Campus West Texas Intermediate was steady above $69 a barrel, heading for the largest weekly gain since Israel attacked Iran, while Brent traded near $72. Trump has threatened Moscow with economic penalties unless there's a swift truce to the war in Ukraine, and singled out India for buying Russian crude. For now, financial markets will be fixated on Trump's tariffs and any retaliatory measures from targeted countries. The president signed an executive order that increases the rate on Canada to 35% from 25%, but kept in place an exemption for goods under the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact that includes oil. Trump will maintain a minimum global tariff of 10%, while India will be subject to a 25% levy. The US president flagged that duty on the South Asian nation in a social media post on Wednesday, taking aim at its purchases of Russian energy and weapons, and raising the prospect of an additional penalty. In response, India has told its state-run refiners to come up with plans for buying non-Russian crude, and one person familiar with the directive said it amounted to scenario planning. More than a third of the nation's overall purchases have been from the OPEC+ producer this year. Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
NHK
an hour ago
- Politics
- NHK
Trump calls Russia's attack 'disgusting,' plans to send envoy to Russia
US President Donald Trump has strongly condemned Russia for continuing its attacks on Ukraine. He says he is sending special envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia, as part of apparent efforts to force Moscow to agree to ending the fighting by the deadline set for August 8. Reuters news agency and others reported on Thursday that Russia conducted waves of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Media outlets quoted Ukrainian officials as saying that the attacks killed 16 people, including children, and wounded 155 others. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said what Russia is doing is "disgusting." He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is hitting people in towns and cities with rockets. He said it is "disgraceful." Trump reiterated his intention of imposing sanctions on Russia if the country does not agree to a deal with Ukraine by the deadline he set for August 8. Trump said his envoy Witkoff will visit Russia, without elaborating on who he will meet there. The US envoy is one of Trump's close aides and has met Putin before.
CNN
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
‘House is gone. Cars are gone': Paul Whelan's life one year after his release from a Russian prison
Russia CrimeFacebookTweetLink Follow For Paul Whelan, returning to life in the United States after more than half a decade of Russian imprisonment has been 'interesting' – and not without its challenges. 'You're literally starting over,' he told CNN ahead of the one-year anniversary of the sweeping US-Russia prisoner exchange deal that secured his release. 'For people like me who have come home after five-and-a-half years, we really don't have very much. House is gone. Cars are gone. Employment's gone. No health insurance,' he said. His post-traumatic stress disorder gets triggered in hotel rooms, after he was 'violently arrested' in one in 2018 while visiting Moscow for a friend's wedding. It was that arrest on espionage charges that started his nearly six-year nightmare of Russian detention. Returning to his home in Michigan was an adjustment, he said, and he had even developed new seasonal allergies from being away so long. 'It took a little bit of time for me to kind of feel comfortable driving down the same streets that I used to or going to a park or doing things that I used to do, especially with my dog when she was alive,' Whelan told CNN. His dog passed away while he was in Russia. 'Doing routine things that I hadn't done for five-and-a-half, six years, and then I was doing them again, and it did take a few months just to kind of get back into the hang of it.' Whelan hasn't been able to get a new job. Some companies won't hire people who've been in prison, regardless of whether that imprisonment was wrongful, he explained, and he's competing with people who don't have a nearly six-year gap on their resume. 'Most people understand the wrongful detention issue,' he told CNN. 'They don't know what to do with it. It doesn't necessarily fit into their policies or procedures.' Whelan has been working with Michigan Democratic Reps. Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens and others to pass a law 'that would fund the medical, dental and psychological care listed in the Levinson Act that was never funded, as well as to provide compensation and things like that for former hostages who were wrongfully detained,' he said. The Levinson Act codified key parts of US hostage policy into law, including the position of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and set out criteria for making wrongful detention determinations. Additional amendments have sought to increase support for families of US hostages and wrongful detainees. 'Congresswoman Dingell has worked closely with Paul Whelan to understand and address the challenges that political prisoners face when they return home,' Dingell's deputy chief of staff Michaela Johnson told CNN. 'One of these is ensuring they have the medical treatment and mental health resources they need to recover from their traumatic experience.' 'She is working on legislation to address these issues that have been raised in her experience working with Paul,' Johnson said. Whelan also wants to meet with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the matter. Whelan keeps in touch with fellow inmates who were imprisoned with him in a Russian penal colony in Mordovia. That facility, IK-17, has now closed and will instead house Ukrainian prisoners of war, Whelan said. His friends have been scattered around the country, but they describe the situation as poor. 'The food is worse than what we had. Russia is having a tremendous problem with the economy. The prison guards aren't happy. There aren't enough guards to go around,' he recounted. Prisoners, especially foreigners, are being told that if they want to get out, they have to go fight in Ukraine, he said. Whelan also is in contact with fellow former wrongful detainees, he said, including Evan Gershkovich, who was freed with him last year. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, were also released as part of the sweeping exchange. There's a sense of camaraderie among the former detainees, Whelan said, likening it to 'the Island of Misfit Toys' from the Christmas movie 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' 'It's a unique club of people from all different backgrounds were brought together not by their choosing, and we have shared experiences,' Whelan said. Looking ahead to how he will commemorate the one-year anniversary of being freed, Whelan said, 'There's a special bottle of scotch that I have that I'll probably open, and I think I've got a box of cigars sitting around.'
CNN
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
‘House is gone. Cars are gone': Paul Whelan's life one year after his release from a Russian prison
Russia CrimeFacebookTweetLink Follow For Paul Whelan, returning to life in the United States after more than half a decade of Russian imprisonment has been 'interesting' – and not without its challenges. 'You're literally starting over,' he told CNN ahead of the one-year anniversary of the sweeping US-Russia prisoner exchange deal that secured his release. 'For people like me who have come home after five-and-a-half years, we really don't have very much. House is gone. Cars are gone. Employment's gone. No health insurance,' he said. His post-traumatic stress disorder gets triggered in hotel rooms, after he was 'violently arrested' in one in 2018 while visiting Moscow for a friend's wedding. It was that arrest on espionage charges that started his nearly six-year nightmare of Russian detention. Returning to his home in Michigan was an adjustment, he said, and he had even developed new seasonal allergies from being away so long. 'It took a little bit of time for me to kind of feel comfortable driving down the same streets that I used to or going to a park or doing things that I used to do, especially with my dog when she was alive,' Whelan told CNN. His dog passed away while he was in Russia. 'Doing routine things that I hadn't done for five-and-a-half, six years, and then I was doing them again, and it did take a few months just to kind of get back into the hang of it.' Whelan hasn't been able to get a new job. Some companies won't hire people who've been in prison, regardless of whether that imprisonment was wrongful, he explained, and he's competing with people who don't have a nearly six-year gap on their resume. 'Most people understand the wrongful detention issue,' he told CNN. 'They don't know what to do with it. It doesn't necessarily fit into their policies or procedures.' Whelan has been working with Michigan Democratic Reps. Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens and others to pass a law 'that would fund the medical, dental and psychological care listed in the Levinson Act that was never funded, as well as to provide compensation and things like that for former hostages who were wrongfully detained,' he said. The Levinson Act codified key parts of US hostage policy into law, including the position of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and set out criteria for making wrongful detention determinations. Additional amendments have sought to increase support for families of US hostages and wrongful detainees. 'Congresswoman Dingell has worked closely with Paul Whelan to understand and address the challenges that political prisoners face when they return home,' Dingell's deputy chief of staff Michaela Johnson told CNN. 'One of these is ensuring they have the medical treatment and mental health resources they need to recover from their traumatic experience.' 'She is working on legislation to address these issues that have been raised in her experience working with Paul,' Johnson said. Whelan also wants to meet with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the matter. Whelan keeps in touch with fellow inmates who were imprisoned with him in a Russian penal colony in Mordovia. That facility, IK-17, has now closed and will instead house Ukrainian prisoners of war, Whelan said. His friends have been scattered around the country, but they describe the situation as poor. 'The food is worse than what we had. Russia is having a tremendous problem with the economy. The prison guards aren't happy. There aren't enough guards to go around,' he recounted. Prisoners, especially foreigners, are being told that if they want to get out, they have to go fight in Ukraine, he said. Whelan also is in contact with fellow former wrongful detainees, he said, including Evan Gershkovich, who was freed with him last year. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, were also released as part of the sweeping exchange. There's a sense of camaraderie among the former detainees, Whelan said, likening it to 'the Island of Misfit Toys' from the Christmas movie 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' 'It's a unique club of people from all different backgrounds were brought together not by their choosing, and we have shared experiences,' Whelan said. Looking ahead to how he will commemorate the one-year anniversary of being freed, Whelan said, 'There's a special bottle of scotch that I have that I'll probably open, and I think I've got a box of cigars sitting around.'
