Holidays turn into horror, Bhansali brand of razzmatazz and tons more on OTT this week.
India's net oil import bill could widen to $101-104 billion in current fiscal from $96.1 billion in 2023-24 and any escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict could impart an upward pressure on the value of imports, ICRA said on Tuesday. The domestic rating agency said based on its analysis, lower value of Russian oil imports is estimated to have led to savings of $7.9 billion in 11 months (April-February) of 2023-24, up from $5.1 billion in 2022-23.
Closely watched by the world for any escalation, the Iran-Israel conflict is already showing early signs of stress for India Inc - longer deliveries, doubling freight rates, extended working capital cycles, and higher costs. For those yet to feel the heat, there is growing apprehension and nervousness over future developments, observed industry executives.
Exports of high-quality basmati rice from India grew by 22 per cent to $5.2 billion during April 2023-February 2024, amid robust demand, primarily from West Asia. According to data compiled by the commerce department, exports of basmati rice increased to 4.68 million metric tonnes (MMT) in April-February, from 4.1 MMT during the same period a year ago, registering a growth of 14 per cent.
Naseer and his associates had conspired to wage war against the government of India and also to kill Indians in order to destabilise the country and create communal disharmony, it said.
Escalation of the conflict in West Asia between Israel and Iran has had a direct impact on the energy markets, and more broadly on the financial markets as well as the global economy.
However, the reason behind the explosions is not known as yet.
Oil and LNG prices are likely to shoot up if Iran is to block Strait of Hormuz, through which countries like India import crude oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, leading to a spike in inflation, analysts said on the Iran-Israel conflict. The Iran and Israel conflict has escalated over the last few days. Iran first launched drone and rocket attacks on Israel, which retaliated by firing a missile. Crude oil prices have hovered around USD 90 per barrel since the conflict.
In a statement released on Friday, the United Nations Atomic Watchdog said it is monitoring the situation very closely.
Israel launched missile strikes against Tehran during early hours on Friday (local time), ABC News reported citing a senior United States official.
The latest flashpoint in West Asia has derailed India's preliminary plans to resume crude oil imports from Iran, officials said. In January, officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had told Business Standard that the government had been studying proposals for the same, given that India was trying to expand sources of imports. "We are always monitoring the situation when it comes to crude flows.
Top government officials in New Delhi have started discussions with stakeholders ranging from shipping and container companies to export promotion councils to understand the impact of the Iran-Israel tensions and plan ahead. Inter-ministerial talks are also being lined up amid the crisis situation in West Asia, sources confirmed. While the crude flows are not directly under any threat, elevated oil prices remain a concern, according to officials.
Indian airline companies are likely to announce the suspension of flight operations to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.
India on Sunday said it is seriously concerned over escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran, and called for immediate de-escalation of the situation.
The United States, Canada and the United Nations have condemned the Iranian air attack on Israel, with President Joe Biden reaffirming America's 'ironclad commitment' to the Jewish nation and vowing to convene a meeting of the G-7 leaders on Sunday to develop a coordinated response to the brazen assault.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack was aimed at "specific targets".
In an address at a security conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Kazakh capital, he also underlined the need for holding accountable the sponsors, financiers and facilitators of terrorism, in remarks that came amid Pakistan's continuing support to various terror groups.
Dawtrey said he was planning to quit his job in May and travel to India to train in an academy affiliated with Pro Kabaddi side UP Yoddha.
Despite discounts on Russian crude oil - which fell to the lowest since the Ukraine war began - and the rising sanctions, import volumes from the country will remain stable for now or at least till July, said refinery officials. "There is an appetite for Russian crude, and shipments are not expected to taper off beyond this point unless something major happens. "Talks are on, and buying will continue," an official at a major refinery said.
His associate Anurag Singh alias Rehan of Panipat got converted to Islam, while his wife is a Bangladeshi national, he added.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
India's crude oil imports from Russia fell for a second straight month in January to its lowest in 12 months but the nation's insatiable appetite for Russian crude remains for the long term, according to data from energy cargo tracker and industry officials. Russia supplied 1.2 million barrels per day of crude oil to India in January, down from 1.32 million barrels in December and 1.62 million barrels in November 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia however continues to remain India's top oil supplier, accounting for a little less than a quarter of 4.91 million barrels a day of oil that the world's third largest energy consumer imported in January.
President Joe Biden and other top US leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn't be just one hit but a "tiered response" over time.
According to the official, investigations so far have revealed he had transferred funds to the dreaded global terrorist group, also called Islamic State, three times.
US central command said that several US personnel are undergoing evaluation for "traumatic brain injuries" and at least one Iraqi service member was wounded in the attack.
The United States on Thursday (local time) evaded a question on whether Pakistan held prior consultations with Washington, DC before conducting retaliatory air strikes on Iran.
Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs said that the violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is "completely unacceptable" and warned of serious consequences.
Islamabad also summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires here and issued a strongly worded condemnation of Iran's "violation of its airspace", the Foreign Office said.
The strikes were concentrated in an area in Pakistan's Balochistan where "one of the largest headquarters" of Jaish al-Adl was located, the report said.
Most of India's oil supplies are expected to stay safe because of the country's good relations with both Russia and Iran. That would take care of over a third of India's supplies.
Indian imports of Russian crude oil may stabilise or even decline in 2024 from record 2023 levels amid shrinking discounts, lower output, and a rebound in West Asian supplies, according to the ship-tracking data and industry executives. This may impact the billions of dollars in annual savings that India made last year. Imports of Russian oil jumped by a record 140 per cent in calendar 2023 to 1.79 million barrels a day (b/d) from 740,400 b/d in 2022, when Russia marched into Ukraine in February, and from just 102,000 b/d in 2021, according to the data from Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler.
Qatar returns to the spotlight on Friday little more than a year after the first World Cup held in the Arab world when the relocated and delayed 2023 Asian Cup gets underway amid a seismic shift in football's global order.
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The 4000-page chargesheet, which was filed in the court of special NIA judge AK Lahoti, has 16 protected witnesses.
The early morning crackdown against the terror group in Ballari and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Amaravati, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Jamshedpur and Bokaro in Jharkhand and Delhi, led to the foiling of a plan by the accused to carry out terror acts, especially improvised explosive device blasts.
A division bench of Justices SS Sundar and Sunder Mohan observed while hearing the bail plea of an alleged Islamic State of Iraq and Syria sympathiser, and also set him on liberty with a string of conditions, recently.
India is expected to ramp up its purchase of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the coming months following discussions between the two countries on the sidelines of the ongoing COP28 summit in Dubai, multiple sources in the know said. The UAE has historically been India's third-largest source of crude. It has suffered the largest drop in shipments since Indian refiners began to binge on Russian crude in 2022.
They were motivating impressionable Muslim youths to relocate from their place of residence for strengthening the Padgha base, the spokesperson said.
The 15-nation Council met on Friday to vote on the resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. The resolution got the backing of 13 Council members who voted in its favour while the United Kingdom abstained.
In Group C, Iran's Sepahan survived a pair of red cards to defeat Air Force Club from Iraq 1-0 in Tehran and stay two points adrift of leaders Al-Ittihad from Saudi Arabia.
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