Author: Publisher
McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri drives during the first practice session ahead of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit in Suzuka, Mie…
India approved proposals worth $25bn yesterday to buy transport aircraft, Russian S-400 missile systems and remotely piloted strike aircraft as it pushes its military modernisation and replenishes equipment after its conflict with Pakistan.The decision comes on the back of another major approval last month worth $40bn to purchase more French Rafale fighter jets for the air force and Boeing P-8I reconnaissance aircraft for the navy.Yesterday’s approvals also covered purchases of armoured piercing tank ammunition, gun systems and aerial surveillance systems for the army, increasing the life of the Sukhoi-30 fighter jets operated by the air force, and hovercraft for the coastguard, a statement from the defence ministry said.Separately, the ministry also signed a 4.45 billion rupees ($47mn) contract yesterday with Russia’s JSC Rosoboronexport to acquire Tunguska air defence missile systems for the army.In all, India has approved 55 proposals worth 6.73tn rupees ($71bn) and signed contracts for another 503 proposals amounting to 2.28tn rupees in the fiscal year ending March 31, the statement said, adding that both were the highest in a fiscal year.India is the world’s fifth-largest military spender and the second-largest arms importer after Ukraine, according to latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.It has for decades been modernising its mostly Soviet-era equipment and increasingly looking to new sources including France, Israel, the US and Germany. In recent years, it has pushed to manufacture everything from guns and drones to fighter jets and submarines at home, either on its own or in collaboration with foreign partners. Last year, India and Pakistan were involved in a fierce four-day military conflict, their worst in decades, after an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir. New Delhi said the militant attackers were from Pakistan. Pakistan denied the accusations.India’s ties with China have also been testy and they were locked in a military stand-off in the Himalayas for more than four years before they agreed to pull back in 2024 and repair relations. Source link
Australia’s leader said yesterday it was not consulted over the war with Iran which was having a “massive global economic impact”, responding to President Donald Trump’s swipe the US ally was not doing enough.Trump has urged nations to dispatch warships to secure crucial oil supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz.Although many have baulked at Trump’s proposal, the US president included criticism of Australia as he vented his frustrations over lack of British support.”Australia was not great. I was a little surprised by Australia”, he said Thursday during a cabinet meeting at the White House.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia was in close contact with Gulf states under attack from Iran, providing a surveillance aircraft to help defend the United Arab Emirates, where many Australians live.”There is no request been made to Australia that has not been agreed to,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra yesterday.”I make the point as well that Australia wasn’t consulted before this action was undertaken. I respect that, that’s a matter for the United States,” he added.The United States is Australia’s main security ally, and a partner with Britain in the trilateral AUKUS pact to build more nuclear submarines to counter China.”We do want to see a de-escalation and we do understand that this war is having a massive global economic impact,” Albanese said.War has engulfed much of the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28.Australia made an early statement of support for the US acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.Australia had “abhorrence” for Iran’s regime, Albanese said Friday, pointing to its expulsion of Iran’s ambassador in August after attributing the fire bombing of a Melbourne synagogue a year earlier to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Source link
AFPBeijingChina wishes to strengthen economic co-operation with the United States to avoid “vicious competition”, commerce minister Wang Wentao told US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to a readout released yesterday.The two met on Thursday on the sidelines of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference in Cameroon’s capital, less than two months ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing.”China is willing to strengthen multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation with the United States,” Wang told Greer, according to a statement by the Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce.The two powers must “properly handle the relationship between competition and cooperation” and “avoid vicious competition,” he said.The world’s two largest economies were locked in a bitter trade battle last year before agreeing to a truce in October.High-level talks in Paris this month between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng also helped to ease tensions.Nevertheless, issues including US tariffs, a trade balance in China’s favour, and US restrictions on exports of advanced technologies continue to threaten relations.Wang expressed “grave concerns” on Thursday regarding recently announced US trade investigations signalling the possibility of fresh tariffs.Washington’s trade investigations target 60 economies, including China, and will look into “failures to take action on forced labour” and whether these burden or restrict US commerce. Source link
Isogo Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant operated by the Electric Power Development Co, Ltd, is seen in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, yesterday. (AFP) Japan’s government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants as it seeks to ease an energy crunch caused by the Middle East war, officials said on Friday.Officials presented the plan at a meeting of a panel of experts, who approved the proposal, the industry ministry said on its website.”Given the current situation in the Middle East affecting fuel prices, we believe that uncertainty regarding future LNG procurement is increasing,” an industry ministry official said at the meeting, which was broadcast online.”We think it will be necessary, by increasing the operation of coal-fired power plants, to… ensure the reliability of stable supply,” he said.Power suppliers have previously been required to keep the operating rate of coal-fired thermal power stations that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide at or below 50 %.But the government now intends to allow the full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, for a year from the new fiscal year starting April, according to the plan presented at the meeting.Japan relies on thermal power plants to generate around 70% of its electricity needs, with coal constituting 30% of their fuel.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) accounts for another 30%, and oil comprises seven %.The emergency measure to boost reliance on coal is estimated to “result in an LNG savings effect of approximately 500,000 tonnes”, the official added.But Yoko Mulholland of climate think-tank E3G told AFP that the plans to lift coal power restrictions “deepen the risk that Japan will not meet its goal of phasing out inefficient coal plants by 2030”.Not only threatening climate health, the move can also “lock Japan into a vicious cycle of fossil-fuel dependence” and delay progress toward Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stated goal of 100% domestic energy self-sufficiency, she said.”This crisis has laid bare the risks of relying on imported fossil fuels, and now is the time for Japan to shift course to fully embrace renewable energy as a strategic national asset.”Since the Middle East war prompted Iran to partially close the crucial Strait of Hormuz trade route and target energy facilities in the Gulf, many Asian nations have pivoted towards coal to power their economies.South Korea plans to lift a cap on coal-powered generation capacity while also increasing nuclear plant operations.The Philippines also intended to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil with more than 90 % of it coming from the Middle East.Around 10% of its LNG imports are also from the region.Tokyo purchases nearly 80% of its coal imports from Australia and Indonesia, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.Japan on Thursday said it had also started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves, as it faced supply challenges to its oil imports. Source…
A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters yesterday, while US President Donald Trump said that Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught. The Iranian official said that the proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, “was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader”. It lacked the minimum requirements for success and served only US and Israeli interests, the official said, while stressing that diplomacy had not ended despite the lack for now of a realistic plan for peace talks. Trump described the Iranians as “great negotiators” but added that he was not sure he was “willing to make a deal with them to end the war”. Iran has launched strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states as well as effectively blocking Middle East fuel exports via the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. “They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to join a new path forward,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “We’ll see if they want to do it. If they don’t, we’re their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away.” Oil jumped to $105 a barrel yesterday and stock markets fell on renewed pessimism over ceasefire prospects as global plastics, technology, retail and tourism struggled with the impact. Trump suggested yesterday that Iran let 10 oil tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture in negotiations, including some Pakistan-flagged vessels, elaborating on what he had described as a “present” from Iran. The president, who is expected to send thousands of troops to the Middle East, driving expectations of a ground invasion, also said taking control of Iran’s oil was an option but gave no further details. A note seen by Reuters on Tuesday to the United Nations from Iran said that “non-hostile vessels” could transit the strait if they co-ordinated with Iranian authorities. A Thai oil tanker has passed through the strait following diplomatic co-ordination with Iran, and Malaysia said its vessels were also being allowed to transit in a sign that restrictions were loosening for some countries (see report on page 7). Iran would be receptive to any request from Spain related to the strait, its embassy in Madrid said, in the first such offer to an EU state. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US had sent a “15-point action list” as a basis for negotiations to end the war. Pakistan’s foreign minister said “indirect talks” between the US and Iran were taking place through messages relayed by Islamabad, with other states including Turkiye and Egypt also supporting mediation efforts.Any talks, were they to happen, would likely prove very difficult given the positions laid out by both sides. According to sources and reports, the 15-point proposal includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the strait. Iran has hardened its stance since the war began, demanding guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the strait, Iranian sources say. It also told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire deal, regional sources said. Trump has not identified who the US is negotiating with in Iran, with many high-ranking officials among the thousands of people killed in the war across the Middle East. Israel removed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf from its hit list after Pakistan urged Washington to press Israel not to target them, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment. Yesterday Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, striking Tel Aviv, Haifa and other areas, including a Palestinian town in central Israel. At least one ballistic missile hit Tel Aviv, according to the military, while others carried cluster munitions that dispersed smaller explosives, damaging homes and cars. Israel’s ambulance service said a man was killed in Nahariya after Hezbollah fired a rocket barrage at the northern city. In Iran, strikes hit a residential zone in the southern city of Bandar Abbas and a village on the outskirts of the southern city of Shiraz, where two teenage brothers were killed, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said. A university building in Isfahan was reported to have been hit. US and Israeli officials said that Israel had killed the naval commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and that it had many more targets left as it degraded Iranian capabilities. Off the coast from Bandar Abbas on Qeshm – the largest Iranian island in the Gulf – one local resident told AFP via Telegram that he hoped the site would not be taken over by the military. “The suffering of people, the poverty, and the political oppression have been getting worse every year,” said 42-year-old Sadeq. “I don’t think war is the solution to these conditions, but ending it won’t change much for us either.”Fresh violence flared in the Gulf, with two killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi, and drones fired at both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Source link
The Sierra Leone-flagged Sara Sky, which is carrying crude oil from Russia, is seen anchored at Limay port, Bataan province, Thursday. (AFP) A ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived in the Philippines, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP Thursday, days after the country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.The purchase, unthinkable before long-time treaty ally the US eased sanctions tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine, comes as the import-dependent archipelago scrambles to expand its options in a suddenly volatile oil market.The Sierra Leone-flagged Sara Sky and its cargo from Russia’s ESPO pipeline arrived Monday, with documents showing the consignee as Petron Corp, operator of the Philippines’ sole oil refinery, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorised to speak to the press.The Philippines has seen the price of fuel hit historic highs since the US-Israeli war with Iran forced the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with President Ferdinand Marcos saying the country’s dwindling stocks could last about 45 more days.Presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro later confirmed the Russian oil purchase to reporters in a group chat on a messaging app.An AFP journalist Thursday saw the Sara Sky at anchor in Limay port just outside Manila, where the Petron refinery is located. It is believed to be the first shipment of Russian oil to the country in five years.Ramon Ang, CEO of Petron, told AFP last week the company was “in talks” to potentially purchase Russian oil. Ang declined Thursday to confirm the arrival of the shipment.President Marcos said on Wednesday that the Philippines was casting a wide net in its search for fuel.”We have not only gone to our… traditional oil suppliers, we have tried to explore other sources that are not affected by the war that is ongoing in the Middle East,” he said in a press briefing addressing the state of emergency.”Nothing is off the table. We are looking at everything, everything that we can do.”Asked about the Russian oil, the Philippines’ foreign affairs department told AFP Thursday the country would co-operate with “all possible partners to contribute to regional and global stability, balanced with our duty to protect and secure Philippine national interests”.The US this month eased some restrictions on sales of Russian crude, allowing countries to purchase oil that was already at sea until April 11.Ateneo de Manila University economist Ser Pena Reyes said buying the Russian crude — equivalent to about two days of national demand — was a pragmatic move that might help stabilise prices in the short term.Ongoing geopolitical volatility, however, made Moscow less attractive as a long-term partner, he told AFP.”Russia can be a useful supplementary supplier… but the Philippines will likely benefit more from a balanced approach, maintaining strong ties with traditional partners while gradually investing in renewable energy and regional energy cooperation,” Pena Reyes said.The Department of Energy on Thursday separately announced the arrival of 142,000 barrels of government-procured diesel, part of its target of “up to 2mn barrels of additional supply for the country”, it said in a statement.Energy secretary Sharon Garin told AFP the shipment had come from Japan.Earlier in the day, Garin said the department had taken the “proactive step” of activating a 20bn-peso ($332mn) emergency fund aimed at securing fuel supplies. Related Story Source…
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said on Friday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed five drones in the Eastern Province, according to the ministry’s official spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki Al Maliki.The spokesperson had earlier said in two separate statements that four drones were intercepted and destroyed in the Eastern Province. Source link
More than 370,000 children have been forced from their homes in Lebanon amid Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, with at least 121 children killed and 399 injured, UNICEF's representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, said on Friday. He further noted that displaced people in Lebanon are finding no safe shelter, even in the capital, Beirut, amid the ongoing Israeli offensive. Source link
sraeli occupation forces carried out a series of aerial and artillery strikes across southern Lebanon on Friday, according to Lebanese state media. Heavy shelling was reported in the town of Hanine in the Bint Jbeil district, while a drone strike in Aita Al Shaab caused injuries. Overnight, Israeli warplanes also hit several towns including Majdal Selm, Hadatha and Haris. Further strikes targeted the towns of Zibqin and Tayri, as well as an area between Ramadiya and Siddiqine, in continued cross-border escalation. A Lebanese military source told Qatar News Agency (QNA) the army had repositioned some units away from the border, withdrawing five to seven kilometers inland to protect personnel amid ongoing Israeli incursions in several areas, including Khiam, Kfar Kila and Marjayoun. The source added that at least five bridges in southern Lebanon, including the Qasmiyeh bridge, had been hit, in what appeared to be an effort to disrupt connectivity between southern areas and the rest of the country. The Lebanese army, the source said, is currently focused on maintaining internal stability and preventing domestic unrest, particularly amid political divisions over the issue of arms control. Source link