Israel's 'Secret' Syria Raid: IDF Paratroopers Storm 4 Sites In South Syria As Sweida Truce Frays
India has sharply increased crude oil imports from the US during President Donald Trump's second term, marking a major energy policy shift. In the first half of 2025, US crude imports rose over 50% year-on-year, reaching 0.271 million barrels per day. The April–June quarter saw a 114% surge, with the value rising from $1.73 billion to $3.7 billion. In July, imports rose 23% over June, increasing the US share in India's oil mix from 3% to 8%. LNG imports nearly doubled to $2.46 billion, and LPG imports also grew. Talks are ongoing for a long-term LNG deal. Despite growing energy ties, a setback emerged as Trump announced 25% tariffs on Indian goods, effective August 7, citing trade barriers, imbalances, and India's ties with Russia. He posted strong criticism of India on Truth Social, dismissing its economic relationship with the US and calling for separation from Russia-linked economies.#crudeoil #indiaustrade #trumptariffs #energytrade #indiarussia #lng #lpg #truthtalk #geopolitics #internationalrelations #toi #toibharat
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Mint
10 minutes ago
- Mint
Home by home, Russia is selling occupied Ukraine to Russians
Photographs posted on the official Telegram channel of the Mariupol City Council showing the Clock House before and after the bombings. In a brochure, the property developer touts the 'majestic style" of the building's architecture and its prime location just a 15-minute walk from the sea, adding a caveat: It was damaged during 'military events." The building that once stood there was in fact demolished by developers after Russia conquered Mariupol in a brutal onslaught that killed thousands of people and devastated the Ukrainian port city's housing stock. Residents of the Clock House counted themselves lucky to survive, but are now excluded from the redevelopment of the building, which has been sold largely to newcomers from Russia. 'We, the previous owners, don't have the right to be there," said Elena Pudak, whose mother owned a spacious apartment in the building but now lives in Germany. Once a landmark of Mariupol's unique heritage, the Clock House now stands as a monument to Russia's transformation of the city for both profit and its own political designs. Across occupied territory, Russia-backed authorities have seized thousands of apartments after declaring them 'ownerless," leaving the Ukrainians who fled faced with growing barriers to return and prove their ownership or claim compensation. Newcomers from Russia, meanwhile, enjoy a range of perks, such as 2% mortgage rates on new building developments. The strategy of replacing the people who once lived in conquered territories with ethnic Russians is one that Moscow has long pursued. The eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, for example, was flooded with Russians in the 1930s as the Soviet Union industrialized the region while starving millions of Ukrainian peasants to death in what the Ukrainian government and many historians consider a genocide. Mariupol is a symbol of Russian brutality and Ukrainian resistance during a siege in the early weeks of the war that destroyed swaths of the city, including the smoke-billowing Azovstal steel works. Real-estate agents tout the city's newly-clean air. Russia conquered Mariupol in a brutal onslaught that killed thousands of people and devastated the Ukrainian port city's housing displacement and destruction has thrown open Mariupol's real-estate market. One new arrival, a Russian woman from Siberia, said she was dazzled by the bright orange of the sun when she first visited last year. She bought an apartment there needing only minor repairs and intends to retire there, fulfilling her husband's dream of living by the sea. For now, she said she would rent it out to a tenant—a woman from Moscow who now lives and works in Mariupol. Oleksandr Nosochenko, a former Mariupol resident, said a Russian military service member had taken over his summer cottage by the seaside on the city's outskirts. As a man of military age, Nosochenko couldn't make the journey back to Mariupol to claim compensation himself, and his wife, who had endured Russia's siege of the city, refused to return there on principle. The Clock House, built in the 1950s, was one of the most coveted addresses in what had been a thriving city. A new clock was installed during repairs to the building's roof and facade in 2021, with a light show that then-mayor Vadym Boychenko hailed as a symbol of 'the era of Mariupol's rebirth." Months later, residents found themselves huddling in the basement as Russian forces besieged the city. In March 2022, a missile tore a hole in the Clock House, killing several residents. 'That's when we realized we had nowhere to go back to," said Pudak, who had escaped the city with her husband and three children days before, leaving the keys to her mother's apartment with a neighbor. Mass displacement and destruction threw open the real-estate market. While workers started clearing rubble, realtors snapped up property on the cheap from fleeing residents. Residents of the Clock House scattered across Ukraine, Russia and Europe, but some remained in the building's basement until a leak appeared in the summer. Despite the damage, residents hoped the building's historic value would ensure its preservation. In a master plan for Mariupol's redevelopment approved by Putin in 2022, the Clock House was marked for restoration. The bulldozers arrived toward the end of 2022. Residents watched helplessly as the building was torn down. Three diggers broke in the process, according to the head of the residents association Maria Tikhovskaya. 'The house itself was fighting the demolition," she said in a video posted online. Satellite images show most of the building had been leveled by early 2023. Still, residents expected to receive apartments in the new building. A 2022 decree entitled them to be rehoused on the site of their former home. Unknown to them, however, the building had been allocated for redevelopment by a subsidiary of a company called Roskapstroy, which is owned by Russia's construction ministry. The reality began to sink in when they saw the floor plans and computer generated images of the new building on a Telegram channel that popped up in July 2023. It was several stories higher than the building they knew, and had a completely different layout. Instead of spacious two-bedroom apartments, it had been subdivided mainly into studios. Residents attempted to contact the developer, RKS Development, but were ignored. The developer instead opened a sales office near the site. Among the buyers was a real-estate agent from Mariupol, who reserved three apartments in the new Clock House. 'There was a lot of interest," said the 28-year-old. Most of the other buyers he encountered were from Russia, he said. As for the former residents, he knew of their grievances but had little sympathy. If they wanted to keep living there, they could have put down a deposit like everyone else, he said. Nevermind that the price was about three times what residents say they were offered in compensation for their apartments. 'It's barely enough to buy a burial plot," said one resident. Even if they could have afforded it, many former residents objected on principle: Why should they pay the price for the destruction of Mariupol? Within a week, the apartments had sold out, the real-estate agent said. The bulk of the planned construction cost of 850 million Russian rubles, or around $10.5 million, was covered by future owners, according to a project disclosure statement from the developer. The U.S. sanctioned Roskapstroy and its subsidiaries for operating in occupied Mariupol later in 2023. The developer didn't respond to a request for comment. The central avenue of Mariupol in the early months of the war, as Russian troops intensified a campaign that destroyed swaths of the a strategic port city, is a symbol of Russian brutality and Ukrainian resistance during a siege in the early weeks of the war. As construction work began, residents mobilized, appealing to official bodies in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian name for the government it installed in eastern Ukraine. In response, they were told the law had changed: Residents were no longer entitled to be rehoused on the site of their former homes, but anywhere within the city limits. Meanwhile, Elena Pudak's mother attempted to travel back to Mariupol to claim compensation for her apartment. She was denied entry at Russia's Sheremetyevo airport—the sole legal entry point for Ukrainians seeking to return to occupied territories. There was no explanation, but Pudak suspects the authorities are trying to keep people with property claims out. With dwindling options, Clock House residents filed a lawsuit against the Donetsk People's Republic, arguing that their rights as newly minted citizens of Russia had been violated. In a letter addressed to Putin, they pleaded their case. There was no response, and late last year, the court ruled against them.
Economic Times
10 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Godrej Properties plans its largest-ever bond issue: Report
Godrej Properties, the real estate unit of India's Godrej Industries, is set to tap the corporate bond market later this month with its largest issue to date, three sources aware of the matter said. ADVERTISEMENT The real estate developer is likely to raise around 20 billion rupees ($230 million) through the sale of shorter duration bonds, with a maturity of three to five years, the sources said last week. "The company could look to tap the market after the central bank's monetary policy decision this week, in the hope that yields ease further," one of the sources said. All the sources requested anonymity as the talks are private. Godrej Properties did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment. The bonds are rated 'AA+', and this will be the company's first bond issuance in nearly a year. Last September, it had raised around 650 million rupees through the sale of five-year bonds at an annual coupon of 8.50%. ADVERTISEMENT Godrej Properties has borrowed 25 billion rupees through bonds since September 2023. The upcoming sale would take its outstanding issuances to 45 billion rupees. The Mumbai-based firm last month acquired around 50 acres of land for premium plotted residential units in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. ADVERTISEMENT ($1 = 87.2300 Indian rupees) (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Time of India
10 minutes ago
- Time of India
Congress – singing the tune of Pakistan
Keshav Upadhye, a young, dynamic and prominent face, has been working with the Bharatiya Janata Party for over two decades. In 2014, the then state president Devendra Fadnavis had appointed Upadhye as the spokesperson in his team. Owing to his journalistic background and better understanding of the socio-economic issues of the state, Upadhye made a mark as a spokesperson in a short span. He articulates the views of the party and aggressively defends the party on various platforms including the Marathi and Hindi national news channels. Keshav Upadhye worked for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and after completing his degree in Journalism from Ranade Institute, Pune, he began his career as a journalist with daily Pudhari, Loksatta and Mumbai Tarun Bharat. Knowing the pulse of the news, he writes on varied topics and on various platforms like the newspapers, blogs and other social media platforms. He was involved in two study groups formed by the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini in 2006 to study the naxalite movement and its adverse impact on the development of Chhatisgarh. The Prabodhini later published this report. He was also a part of the Prabodhini's fact-finding committee formed to study the Solapur riots. LESS ... MORE Parliament recently held a discussion on 'Operation Sindoor', a joint operation by the Indian armed forces against terrorist outfits in Pakistan. Entire opposition including Congress were consistently demanding a discussion in Parliament on this issue. Congress' prince Rahul Gandhi and his sidekicks were also alleging that the government is not ready to discuss this subject in the parliament. The Modi government refuted the opposition's allegation by discussing this issue in detail. Rahul Gandhi's objection that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not speaking a word on this matter also turned out to be totally false. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also shed light in detail on various aspects related to 'Operation Sindoor' and the subsequent developments. This helped expose Congress' pro Pakistan stand in front of the nation once again. Congress' prince, while speaking in Lok Sabha, questioned why the action by armed forces against Pakistan was stopped and also bragged that the bravery and courage should have been shown like his grandmother Indira Gandhi. There is absolutely no doubt that Mrs Indira Gandhi showed the courage of breaking Bangladesh from Pakistan and making it an independent nation in 1971. Jan Sangh, the main opposition party at that time, had given its complete support to Indira Gandhi. The world could see the proud picture of the entire opposition standing in solidarity behind Indira Gandhi. The same picture was expected during the time of 'Operation Sindoor'. However, the behaviour of opposition parties over the last eleven years has shown time and again that they do not hesitate to take even an anti-national stand just to oppose Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi completely exposed the Congress' stand during his speech in the Lok Sabha. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, while speaking on this matter in Rajya Sabha, showed another example of his love for Pakistan by raising a question 'Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan?' At the same time Praniti Shinde, daughter of another senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, while making her point in Lok Sabha insulted the Indian armed forces by calling 'Operation Sindoor' a 'Tamasha' performed only for the media. She revealed Congress' traditional love for Pakistan by blatantly lying that the government is not giving information on how many terrorists were killed in 'Operation Sindoor'. In the press conference held immediately after 'Operation Sindoor', the Indian armed forces had clearly stated that the only purpose behind this operation was to destroy terrorist camps in Pakistan. In this operation India targeted 4 terrorist camps located 100 km inside Pakistan and destroyed 5 camps in POK with great precision. Officials of the Indian armed forces had informed in a press conference in New Delhi that the bases of the terrorist organizations Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba have been destroyed. Despite that, a public representative like Praniti Shinde in Lok Sabha by asking questions like 'what exactly was achieved by this operation' and calling 'Operation Sindoor' a 'Tamasha', cast a doubt on the actions of the Indian armed forces. Congress has this old habit of insulting the armed forces. Pakistan launched missile attacks targeting civilian settlements in India after 'Operation Sindoor'. However, the Indian armed forces repelled all these attacks. After that the Indian armed forces showed its strength by targeting army bases in Pakistan. Terrified by these attacks, Pakistan pleaded with India to stop the attacks. The Indian armed forces had also clearly stated that they have temporarily stopped 'Operation Sindoor' at Pakistan's request as the aim of teaching Pakistan a lesson had been achieved. Leaders of the ruling party, ministers at centre were not briefing the media throughout this period. All the briefings regarding this operation, losses suffered by Pakistan in this operation were officially done by representatives of the Indian armed forces itself. A modern technique of PowerPoint presentation was used while sharing information about this operation. In spite of this Congress leaders have no shame in doubting the bravery of the Indian armed forces by making statements like what was achieved through 'Operation Sindoor' at the supreme level like Lok Sabha. Few days back, Rahul Gandhi had demanded information on the number of aircrafts shot down by Pakistan in 'Operation Sindoor'. The Indian armed forces had already given a clear explanation on this. Pakistan's Prime Minister had made the ridiculous claim that their army had shot down Indian planes. However, the government of Pakistan failed to provide a single evidence of this. Instead of demanding information about the damage done to Pakistan, Rahul Gandhi was asking for the information on the number of Indian aircrafts that were shot down. Today, Rahul Gandhi is making childish remarks like asking why 'Operation Sindoor' was stopped?, Modi Government lacks courage to take action against Pakistan, but he will conveniently forget that no action was taken against Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks in 2008 despite the readiness of Indian armed forces only because of the weak stand taken by Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi also forgot that his grandmother unconditionally released over one lakh Pakistani soldiers. The prince is even oblivious to the fact that he is speaking the language of Pakistan just to oppose Modi and BJP. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
