Russia Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Gross refining margins (GRM) of oil marketing companies (OMC) in India are likely to continue to narrow in the ongoing fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (FY25) with declining discounts on Russian oil and shrinking crack spreads. The benchmark Singapore GRMs in the January-March quarter as of February-end stood at $2.7 per barrel, compared with $4 per barrel in the fourth of the previous fiscal, showed data from Icra Ltd.

they do not want to become the 51st state of the United States. In fact, 80% of Canadians are strongly opposed to the idea, and 78% are concerned about the rhetoric from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who once referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as «Governor Trudeau.»

With Trump now serving his second term as President, this resurfaced record is reigniting discussions about his tumultuous past and the implications of having a convicted felon in the White House.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump acknowledged that his rapid drive to end the war in Ukraine had hit a snag, observing that Russia appeared to be slow-walking the U.S.-brokered negotiations as it angles for further concessions from the West. Trump’s comments came hours after the White House announced a Black Sea cease-fire deal and Russia promptly demanded additional steps from the West on sanctions relief before complying with such a truce.

maritime security deal in the Black Sea. Diplomats told Reuters that most of the curbs listed by the Kremlin related to European Union sanctions and restrictions. What was agreed — and what still needs to happen for the deal to enter force? WHAT DOES RUSSIA SAY IT WILL GET? * The lifting of restrictions on state agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank «and other financial organizations involved in ensuring international trade in food (including fish products) and fertilisers, their connection to SWIFT, and the opening of necessary correspondent accounts».

Reliance Industries Ltd. has paused further purchases of Venezuelan crude after US President Donald Trump authorized a 25% tariff on countries buying the South American country’s oil. India’s largest privately owned refiner is expected to take delivery of a cargo of Merey crude that’s currently en route from Venezuela, but additional buying has been put on hold, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the matter is sensitive. Reliance secured waivers from the US last year to resume importing crude from Venezuela, and Kpler estimates the refiner has taken 6.5 million barrels since the start of the year. Trump’s executive order on Monday, however, will target any nation taking Venezuelan oil with “secondary” tariffs, with effect from April 2.

gold April futures contracts at MCX on Wednesday opened flat with a negative bias, down by Rs 20 or 0.02% at Rs 87,534/10 grams, while the silver May futures opened higher by Rs 220 or 0.22% at Rs 99,373/kg. On Tuesday, gold and silver settled on a positive note in the domestic and international markets. Gold April futures contract settled at Rs 87,554 per 10 grams with a gain of 0.32%, and silver May futures contract settled at Rs 99,153 per kilogram with a gain of 1.70%.

global shipping industry should be open to working with a new group of insurers that emerged to support Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, provided they follow best practice, according to a leading maritime group. The new insurers and P&I clubs — groups that pool risks — should be assessed based on their adherence to international safety and technical standards, Nikolaus Schues, president of shipping association Bimco, said in an interview. They may become legitimate should the Trump administration roll back sanctions on Russia, he said, with the US bidding to end the war in Ukraine. “Some of the new insurers may become part of the IG,” Schues said on Tuesday, referring to the International Group of P&I Clubs, an association whose members provide cover for most ocean-going tonnage against risks including spills and collisions. “Hopefully, after the Russian sanctions end, the bad part of the parallel fleet will go away.”

Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published late on Tuesday. The United States reached separate deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to cease fighting in the Black Sea and pause attacks against energy targets, with Washington agreeing to push to lift some sanctions against Moscow. «We want the grain and fertilizer market to be predictable, so that no one tries to 'ward us off' from it,» Lavrov told the Russian state Channel One television. «Not only because we want… to make a legitimate profit in fair competition, but also because we are concerned about the food security situation in Africa and other countries of the Global South.» If implemented, the deal could be the first significant step toward U.S. President Donald Trump's goal to achieve a more encompassing ceasefire in the war in Ukraine that Russia started with its full-scale invasion three years ago.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Texts by President Trump’s advisers about whether to attack Houthi militants in Yemen underscored the ad hoc nature of the administration’s national security deliberations, a mode that has sometimes left allies bewildered and his own aides at odds. Other presidents have relied on the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council staff to develop and filter options in an orderly manner.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ukraine has navigated a turbulent political landscape since Russia’s 2022 invasion. Its strategy has shifted among direct negotiations, military offensives and increasingly complex diplomatic back channels.

Elon Musk's undodgeable firing range DOGE may already have witnessed a firing spree, with thousands of government employees out of a job overnight. But with many of them being repositories and carriers of sensitive information and US government system knowledge, headhunters not so much from Borneo but places like China and Russia could do well to go on a hiring spree. Forget those good old days of campus placements. Think of older days when KGB went to Oxbridge — and, indeed, CIA and MI6 went liaising with Soviet embassy staffers in parks — looking for disgruntled bright sparks unhappy with their country's system. Patriotism, after all, is a roti flip away from serving a cause and salary, especially when your old workplace has spat you out. LinkedIn bios should already be switching from 'National Security Strategist' to 'Spy-for-Hire: Will Work for Renminbis'.

fitness challenge turned into a medical emergency for a resident of Vladivostok in Russia, after he attempted to complete 2,000 squats as part of a bet. What started as a test of endurance quickly escalated into a life-threatening situation, requiring urgent medical attention. According to the press service of the «Thousand-Bed Hospital,» the young Russian man had confidently accepted the challenge, likely enticed by a tempting reward. However, he underestimated the toll such extreme exertion could take on his body. During the challenge, he began to experience discomfort, but he pushed through, unaware of the severe consequences awaiting him.

Vietnam, which has now emerged as the fastest-growing tourism destination in Southeast Asia. Now, Vietnam has emerged as the third-most-visited country in the region, with 17.5 million international arrivals in 2024, edging ahead of Singapore. It follows Malaysia, which had 25 million visitors, and Thailand, which remains at the top with 35 million. The numbers also make Vietnam, also referred to as the Land of the Ascending Dragon, the regional leader in tourism recovery. Five years after the Covid-19 pandemic brought global travel to a halt, Vietnam has regained 98% of its pre-pandemic tourism business, outpacing all its neighbours, including Thailand (87.5%) and Singapore (86%). The momentum shows no signs of slowing down. Nearly four million international tourists arrived in Vietnam in January and February this year, a 30.2% increase from the same period last year, according to figures from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump wants to secure the minerals the U.S. needs for everything from smartphones to jet fighters by striking deals in Ukraine, Greenland and even Russia.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Following the re-election of President Donald Trump last November, there was a growing sense of optimism regarding the outlook for the economy and financial markets in 2025.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. PARIS—Two weeks after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron descended 20 stories beneath Paris to send a message to Moscow. He entered France’s nuclear bunker deep under his regal presidential palace to lead an exercise dubbed Poker.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MANY KNOW the mortification of sending the wrong text message to the wrong person. But when the fat thumb is that of America’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, the message is a detailed military plan to bomb Yemen and the recipient is a prominent journalist, the error is not just a cause of shame but potentially a serious breach of national security.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As metaphors go, the complete closure of Europe’s busiest airport on Friday because of a fire in a suburban electricity substation is a timely one.

Ukraine. The war correspondent for Russia's main pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia was killed in Kharkiv region on Monday, the outlet announced. «Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak was killed in the zone of the special military operation,» Izvestia said, using Moscow's term for its full-scale offensive in Ukraine, adding that he was killed «in the Kharkiv region». Fedorchak was killed as both Russia and Ukraine held talks with the United States on a potential partial ceasefire. The newspaper said that its correspondent died «in the Kupyansk direction» — a city that has been under intense Russian attack and where Russian forces have been advancing. «His last report was broadcast literally the day before,» Izvestia said on its website.