Putin Rages Over Destruction Of WW2 Memorials; 'Ukraine Will Come 2nd Even In Contest For Idiots'
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Hindustan Times
4 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian firm shipped explosives to Russia despite US warnings
* Indian firm shipped explosives to Russia despite US warnings HMX 'critical for Russia's war effort,' U.S. government says * Indian companies have been shipping materiel to Russia despite threat of US sanctions * One Russian recipient has ties to Moscow's military, Ukraine says By Gram Slattery, Tom Balmforth and Shivam Patel WASHINGTON/KYIV/NEW DELHI, - An Indian company shipped $1.4 million worth of an explosive compound with military uses to Russia in December, according to Indian customs data seen by Reuters, despite U.S. threats to impose sanctions on any entity supporting Russia's Ukraine war effort. One of the Russian companies listed as receiving the compound, known as HMX or octogen, is the explosives manufacturer Promsintez, which an official at Ukraine's SBU security service said has ties to the country's military. The official said that Ukraine launched a drone attack in April against a Promsintez-owned factory. According to the Pentagon's Defense Technical Information Center and related defense research programs, HMX is widely used in missile and torpedo warheads, rocket motors, exploding projectiles and plastic-bonded explosives for advanced military systems. The U.S. government has identified HMX as "critical for Russia's war effort" and has warned financial institutions against facilitating any sales of the substance to Moscow. The HMX sale to Russian firms has not been previously reported. Russian defense manufacturers have been working around the clock for the past several years to sustain President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which intensified with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022. India, which has recently forged closer ties with the United States in an effort to counterbalance China's growing influence, has not abandoned its longstanding military and economic ties with Moscow. India's trade with Russia - especially its purchases of Russian oil - has remained robust, even as Western nations have tried to cripple Russia's war economy with sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened earlier in July to hit nations with a 100% tariff if they continued purchasing Russian crude. The U.S. Treasury Department has the authority to sanction those who sell HMX and similar substances to Russia, according to three sanctions lawyers. HMX is known as a "high explosive," meaning it detonates rapidly and is designed for maximum destruction. Reuters has no indication that the HMX shipments violated Indian government policy. One Indian official with knowledge of the shipments said that the compound has some limited civilian applications, in addition to its better-known military uses. India's foreign ministry said in a statement: "India has been carrying out exports of dual-use items taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation, and based on its robust legal and regulatory framework that includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria on such exports." The U.S. State Department did not comment on the specific shipments identified by Reuters but said it had repeatedly communicated to India that companies doing military-related business are at risk of sanctions. "India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in full and frank dialogue, including on India's relationship with Russia," a spokesperson said. "We have repeatedly made clear to all our partners, including India, that any foreign company or financial institution that does business with Russia's military industrial base are at risk of U.S. sanctions." Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. "While India has not typically been among the primary jurisdictions used for circumventing sanctions, we are aware that isolated cases can occur," Ukrainian presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk told Reuters. "We can confirm that the Russian company Promsintez has appeared on our radar in the past, including in connection with cooperation involving Indian counterparts," added Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top sanctions official. WASHINGTON WOOS NEW DELHI Reuters identified two HMX shipments sent in December by Indian firm Ideal Detonators Private Limited, both of which were unloaded in St. Petersburg, according to the Indian customs data. An Indian government official with direct knowledge of the shipments confirmed them. One shipment, worth $405,200, was purchased by a Russian company called High Technology Initiation Systems, the data show. The other shipment, worth more than $1 million was purchased by Promsintez. Both purchasers are based in Samara Oblast, near the border of Kazakhstan in southern Russia, according to the data. Ideal Detonators Private Limited, based in the Indian state of Telangana, did not respond to a request for comment. Promsintez and High Technology Initiation Systems also did not respond to requests for comment. While several Indian entities were sanctioned during the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden for supporting Russia's war effort, sanctions were applied sparingly due to geopolitical considerations, according to two U.S. officials who worked on sanctions under Biden. Under Trump, Russia-related sanctions work has slowed to a trickle, and it is not clear if the United States will take further action against Indian companies doing business with Russia's defense industry. Washington has long sought closer relations with India to pull the South Asian country away from China. Eric Prince, a partner at Washington-based law firm Akin, said the U.S. government often prefers to communicate its concerns privately to allies and only take punitive actions as a last resort. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Economic Times
34 minutes ago
- Economic Times
India trade deal likely will get shifted to September 2, the due date for decision on Russian oil as well: Ajay Bagga
Market expert Ajay Bagga anticipates trade deals, like those between the UK and Japan, to boost markets. Several Asian countries are pursuing similar agreements, while Korea has engaged with the US. Bagga notes that India might receive an extension on a Russian oil decision, potentially leading to a trade deal with the US. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads , Market Expert, says trade deals are anticipated to boost markets. The UK and Japan deals are inspiring others. Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam already have deals. Malaysia and Thailand are aiming for deals this week. Korea has engaged with the US. A Russian oil decision is expected on September 2. India might get an extension until it is a very pleasant surprise and a very welcome move. We have seen the action happening across Asian markets. Even though Europe opened up, Europe is also in a celebratory mode. Directionally, it is pointing towards more deals coming and hopefully Europe and India both will be able to get a deal done. Overall, 10 days back, it looked a very dismal picture as far as Japan was concerned. In fact, President Trump issued letters to Korea and Japan, levying 25% tariffs on them. Japan went into elections without a deal and if this had happened last week, maybe the Liberals would have got a better outcome in the upper house elections. They lost the majority in the upper house and one of the reasons apart from inflation was this policy uncertainty leading to corporates being very uncertain in terms of fresh investments and consumers being very uncertain about safety of their timing-wise, the Japanese prime minister must be wishing that if the deal had come last week, it would have helped him a lot. Overall, it is pointing towards a more reasonable level of tariff coming onto major trade partners. So, Europe, for example, anything from 30% to 50% Trump has been talking about, but it will settle nearer to 15%. India has also discounted a 15% overall and the way the UK-India FDA has worked out, we might get something like that with the US as well with foreign cars coming in at a very reduced 10%, opening up some of the agricultural produce where we are already importing from the US and also a lot of goods being opened UK deal is giving some ideas. As is the Japan deal. With Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam having cracked deals, Malaysia and Thailand are now looking at cracking deals this week. Korea has sent a delegation to the US. So, hopes are high and it will be a very strong catalyst for our markets. It would not happen by the 1st August deadline and the next two days are critical because the US customs will need about a week to update their computers with the new tariff deal. So, nothing will happen after 25th next 2-3 days are critical. We will get some news flow, some deals happening. India will get one month more and September 2 is the date for the Russian oil decision as well. So, probably India will get shifted to September 2 and when the Americans are here next month, probably we will get some kind of a deal coming on is amazing that institutions and promoters have been lightening their holdings and the Indian retail via the DIIs which have been absorbing all of it. So, quite remarkable. Normally we would be worried when insiders are selling. They obviously are the most well-informed about the health of the companies, but this time around, we have seen promoters selling off nearly Rs 150,000 crore in QIPs, and OFS (offers for sale) coming the good news is there is a lot of liquidity in the market which is absorbing both primary offerings in the market with a lot more IPOs being scheduled for the second half and this promoter selling that we have seen has not had a bad impact on the market. Yes, if it was not there and this Rs 150,000 crore was coming into the secondary market, we would probably have crossed the September all-time highs already. So, it has just been postponed. But the good news is that the impact cost has not been that a week or so, we see some impact on the stocks and then fresh buying starts again. So, it is a function of the elevated valuations where promoters are cashing out some of their chips but there is retail money on the sides which is absorbing all of it.
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First Post
34 minutes ago
- First Post
3 Trump moves that give away his distraction strategy to divert attention from Epstein files
While US President Donald Trump is navigating the backlash over the Epstein Files, here are three tactics he is deploying to divert attention from the brewing scandal read more US President Donald Trump is in rough waters with his supporters after it was reported on Wednesday that his name appears in the US justice department files about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Amid the backlash, the Trump administration is in damage control mode, with the White House spokesperson denying the Wall Street Journal report. As per the news outlet, Trump was told in May by his attorney general, Pam Bondi, that he is named in the now notorious Epstein Files. Citing senior administration officials, the WSJ reported that Trump was also informed that many other high-profile figures were named and the department did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Amid the whole scandal, the Trump administration attempted to downplay the relationship between the president and the infamous British financier. In a statment to media, Spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote: 'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.' While all this is happening, Trump is utilising another tactic to calm the fury over the Epstein scandal — the tactic of diversion. When the DoJ and FBI memo watering down the Epstein case sparked outrage among his supporters, Trump described the files as 'pretty boring stuff'. The Potus accused his voters of believing what he referred to as a ' radical left hoax', which is being spread by his opposition, in a bid to discredit him. However, the recent moves by Trump are now being seen as diversion tactics by many. Trump's 3 diversion tactics Crusade against Obama Earlier this month, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard appeared at the White House to back Trump's now-infamous, widely doubted claims of 'treason' by former US President Barack Obama. On Friday, Gabbard released a slew of documents that she said implicate members of the Obama administration for 'treasonous' behaviour during the 2016 election. Gabbard accused the Obama administration of falsely tying Trump to Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. On Wednesday, she said at a presser that Obama and his key allies had misled the public and manipulated intelligence to undermine Trump. 'They tried to steal the election,' Trump said at the White House as he claimed Obama had sought to undermine his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton. Amid the chaos, Obama finally broke his silence over the matter. His office took an unusual step of issuing an emphatic refutation to Trump's accusation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' the statement read. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," it furthered. Many believe that Trump is raking up these issues to cover up the Epstein scandal. Release of MLK Files While the Trump administration has been holding on to the Epstein Files, they released a trove of records on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, including FBI surveillance files on the civil rights leader. A court-imposed order kept the documents totalling 230,000 pages, blocked from public view since 1977. Interestingly, the release of the files was opposed by prominent members of King's families. A statement from his two living children condemned 'any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our father's legacy'. Soon after the files were released, Trump's critics noted that they were made public as the administration is accused of a lack of transparency over files relating to influential sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose 2019 jail death was ruled a suicide. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton lambasted the Trump administration and said the disclosure of the King files was 'a desperate attempt to distract' from 'the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unravelling of his credibility'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The NFL name controversy In another bid to distract public attention, Trump reignited a dispute by pushing the Washington Commanders to revert to their former name 'Redskins'. The old name was widely denounced as a racial slur against Native Americans. In a post on TruthSocial, Trump threatened to block the NFL team's stadium unless the team changes its name back to Redskins. 'I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington,' he wrote in the post. Trump went ahead with his cultural crusade by targeting Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians, calling on them to return to the name 'Cleveland Indians,' despite the name being racially insensitive. Many took postshots at Trump's proposition, recalling how he was bashing Obama when he suggested that then-Washington Redskins should change its name. At that time, the business-mogul suggested that Obama should 'focus on important issues', something Trump critics are now asking him to focus on. Hence, it will be interesting to see if the president would deploy more such diversion tactics to cover up the Epstein saga. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
