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India and the United Arab Emirates agreed the framework for a strategic defence partnership the Indian foreign ministry said, as they seek to deepen ties amid the Iran war. The two countries also signed pacts on strategic petroleum reserves and supply of liquefied petroleum gas during a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE, it added. “The two sides have agreed on deepening defence industrial collaboration and co-operation on innovation and advanced technology, training, exercises, maritime security, cyber defence, secure communications and information exchange,” the ministry said in a statement. Ahead of the visit, Indian sources told Reuters that Modi was likely to discuss long-term energy supply deals and also seek support to expand New Delhi’s strategic oil reserves. The UAE’s decision last month to leave Opec is expected to boost its output and help importers such as India. The Iran war has roiled global energy markets with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting transportation and business across the region as Iranian strikes hit Gulf states, including the UAE, before a fragile ceasefire last month. The oil pact announced on Friday includes a potential increase of Adnoc’s crude oil storage in India for up to 30 mn barrels, Abu Dhabi’s state oil firm said in a separate statement, adding the deal also explores potential crude storage in the UAE’s Fujairah as part of India’s strategic reserve. Adnoc said that it would explore expanded LPG supply and trading opportunities with Indian Oil Corp. “India’s scale and growth trajectory make it one of the defining energy markets of our time. As demand accelerates alongside a rapidly expanding population, the strength of the UAE India energy partnership becomes ever more critical,” Adnoc managing director and CEO Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber said. EYEING CLOSE SAUDI-PAKISTANI TIESNew Delhi and Abu Dhabi signed a $3bn deal for India to buy LNG from the UAE, its third-largest trading partner, in January, as well as a letter of intent to work towards forming a strategic defence partnership. That followed a mutual defence accord that Pakistan, India’s arch-rival neighbour, signed with Saudi Arabia last year. Pakistan has emerged as the key mediator between Washington and Tehran to end the war which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. It has also moved to shore up Saudi Arabia’s defences after the kingdom came under hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks. Riyadh said last month it would provide $3bn in additional support to help Pakistan bridge a multi-billion-dollar financing gap linked to a debt repayment to the UAE. The Indian ministry also announced UAE investments worth $5bn yesterday, pointing to past deals including Emirates NBD’s acquisition of a 60% stake in RBL Bank last year for $3bn, and Abu Dhabi’s IHC $1bn Sammaan investment. Related Story Source link
A French toy spaniel named Lazare thought to have been “the world’s oldest dog” has died aged 30, his carer said on Friday.AFP contacted the Guinness World Records to find out if Lazare had held the record before he passed away on Thursday, but did not receive an immediate response.Lazare, a Papillon dwarf spaniel with stand-up “butterfly” ears, was born on December 4, 1995, according to animal charity worker Anne-Sophie Moyon.He spent most of his life with the same companion until she died and he ended up at the charity’s shelter.Ophelie Boudol, a 29-year-old single mother, fell in love with the animal one year her senior at the shelter last month.She had initially intended to find a pet for her mother, she told AFP, but instead ended up taking Lazare home to her nine-year-old son and two cats.”He had been found next to the body of his owner,” she said she was told.”I spent half an hour sitting next to him, then I said, ‘Listen, if nobody wants to take him, I don’t mind — as long as he gets on with the cats,” she told AFP.Lazare, who Boudol called “our little grandpa baby”, died just weeks later.”He started slipping away in my arms last night,” she said.”He was off to reunite with his first carer”.At 30 years and five months old, Lazare wore nappies, could no longer hear or see, and slept almost all day.But Boudol said he was delightfully spirited.”He really has such an endearing personality,” she told AFP earlier this week, cradling him at home in the southeastern town of Villy-le-Pelloux.When Moyon and colleagues discovered Lazare’s age, they thought “Lazare might be the world’s oldest dog”, she said.They verified his birth date in two registries, and filled in the paperwork to register him for a possible record as a joke, she added.A Portuguese Rafeiro do Alentejo named Bobi was thought to be the oldest dog when he died reportedly aged 31 in 2023, according to the Guinness World Records website.But a review in 2024 found there was not enough conclusive evidence of his age. Related Story Source link
Taiwan will deepen ties with the US following talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, its foreign minister said yesterday, adding that it was China that was increasing regional “risks”.Trump said earlier yesterday on his way home from Beijing that he had discussed US arms sales to Taiwan with President Xi and said he would soon make a decision on the matter, highlighting a flashpoint in US-China relations.The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, while China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own, has demanded that such arms sales stop.In a post on his Facebook page which did not directly reference Trump’s remarks, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said many Taiwanese had been “concerned” by the US president’s meeting with Xi.”I want to report to everyone that my diplomatic team and I have continued to closely monitor the situation, and have maintained good communication with the US,” Lin said.”Taiwan occupies a key geostrategic position and is a responsible and trustworthy partner of the international community. Looking ahead, we will continue to deepen co-operation with the US and like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.Lin pointed to comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday that US policy towards the island remains unchanged. Trump reiterated that stance in his comments to reporters on board his plane yesterday.Last December the US approved an $11bn arms sales package for Taiwan, the largest ever, and a second one worth some $14bn is awaiting Trump’s approval, Reuters has previously reported.China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, with the means to defend itself.Lin said Taiwan has always been a contributor to, and guardian of, peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”The party that has truly continued to heighten regional risks is China, with its expanding military activities and authoritarian oppression in recent years,” Lin said.”China, which is attempting to change the international order and the status quo of regional peace and stability, is the main source of threat that is widely concerning the international community.”Xi told Trump on Thursday that mishandling the countries’ disagreements over Taiwan could push China-US relations to a “dangerous place”. Related Story Source link
A worker pumps fuel into a motorcycle as newly increased fuel prices are displayed at a fuel station in Kolkata, yesterday. (Reuters) India’s state-run oil companies raised petrol and diesel prices by more than three % yesterday as disruption to energy supplies due to the Iran war mounts pressure on the economy.The increase marks the first hike in automobile fuel prices in India since the war broke out in February, prompting Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.India, the world’s third-largest oil buyer, normally sources about half of its crude through the vital waterway.In Delhi, petrol prices rose to 97.77 rupees ($1.02) per litre from 94.77 rupees, while diesel climbed to 90.67 rupees from 87.67, according to data from the Indian Oil Corp.Rates vary across the country depending on local taxes.Oil companies say they have been incurring losses due to higher global crude oil prices.The government had earlier raised prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a primary cooking fuel for millions of households.The latest move comes as authorities ramp up austerity measures to curb fuel consumption and conserve foreign exchange.Delhi’s chief minister on Thursday said government offices will have two work-from-home days a week for those able to and urged residents to cut back on private vehicle use.The steps came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said restrictions on fuel use were necessary to save foreign currency spent on fuel imports.India has ramped up imports of Russian crude to plug gaps in supplies from the Middle East, ship-tracking and import data show, following a temporary US waiver on sanctions.But with the waiver set to end on Saturday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar criticised “unilateral coercive measures”, without naming any country.”Such measures disproportionately affect developing countries,” he said on Thursday as he met foreign ministers from Brics nations, including Iran’s Abbas Araghchi and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov — representing two of the countries most heavily sanctioned by the US.”These unjustifiable measures cannot substitute dialogue, nor can pressure replace diplomacy.” Related Story Source…
A chartered aircraft transporting six passengers who sailed on a hantavirus-affected cruise, to Australia departs from Eindhoven Airport, in Eindhoven Thursday. (AFP) Six passengers who sailed on a hantavirus-affected cruise will fly to Australia from the Netherlands Thursday while dressed in full protective gear, the Australian government said.The six — four Australians, a Briton who lives in Australia, and a New Zealander — were in “good health”, showed no symptoms, and recently tested negative for the virus, Health Minister Mark Butler told a news conference in Canberra.The Australian government has secured a plane and crew, due to leave the Netherlands at 0730 GMT Thursday, with all aboard required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE).The plane is expected to arrive today at an air force base in the Western Australian capital, Perth, located next to a 500-bed quarantine facility where the six will be required to stay for at least three weeks, Butler said.”This is one of the strongest quarantine arrangements in response to this hantavirus outbreak you will find anywhere in the world,” Butler said.”They will be subject to testing when they arrive in Australia, and they will be in full PPE during the duration of the flight, so there is no risk of transmission.”He did not provide further details about the passengers or say where the plane would refuel — a question that had reportedly complicated flight arrangements.The government has yet to determine how to handle the passengers’ isolation after the initial three-week quarantine, given the virus’ potential incubation period of 42 days, the minister said. Related Story Source…
(Left-Right, front) Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam…
A wolf-like robot “Super Monster Wolf” stands beside a rice field to drive away wild animals that cause damage to crops in Kisarazu, Chiba prefecture.(AFP/File photo)…
China’s President Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump Thursday that mishandling the countries’ disagreements over Taiwan could push China-US relations to a “dangerous place,” as the two leaders met for a closely watched summit.Xi’s remarks on Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing, came in a closed-door meeting of the leaders of the world’s two largest economies that ran more than two hours, China’s foreign ministry said.They represented a stark – if not unprecedented – warning during a pomp-filled occasion that was otherwise friendly and relaxed, although the US summary of the talks made no mention of Taiwan.According to Chinese state media Xinhua, Xi, referring to Taiwan, told Trump: “If handled poorly, the two countries could collide or even enter into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into an extremely dangerous place.”Taiwan has long been a flashpoint in the US-China relationship, with Beijing refusing to rule out the use of military force to gain control of the island and the United States bound by law to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is with Trump in China, confirmed to NBC News that the issue of Taiwan was discussed, saying the Chinese “always raise it on their side, we always make clear our position and we move on to the other topics.”The US summary of the talks focused on the leaders’ shared desire to reopen the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closed due to the Iran war, and Xi’s apparent interest in buying American oil to reduce China’s dependence on Middle East supplies. With Trump’s approval ratings dented by a war with Iran that shows no signs of abating, the first visit by a US president to China in nearly a decade has taken on added significance as he searches for economic wins.”There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever,” Trump told Xi in brief opening remarks, after a ceremony that featured an honour guard and throngs of children waving flowers and flags at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.Xi told Trump that preparatory negotiations between US and Chinese economic and trade teams in South Korea on Wednesday had reached “balanced and positive outcomes”, China’s foreign ministry said in a summary. The talks aimed to maintain a fragile trade truce struck when the leaders last met in October, where Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of vital rare earths. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led Wednesday’s talks, said he expected progress on establishing mechanisms to support future bilateral trade and investment, and an announcement about large Chinese orders for Boeing aircraft.Trump expected Xi to raise the thorny issue of US arms sales to Taiwan, he said earlier this week. With the status of a $14bn package awaiting Trump’s approval still unclear, China has reiterated its strong opposition to the sales.”US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today,” Rubio told NBC. Trump did not respond to a reporter’s shouted question whether the leaders had discussed Taiwan as he posed with Xi later for photos at the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where emperors once prayed for good harvests. Taipei said there was nothing surprising from the summit and that China’s military pressure is the real threat to peace.Underscoring its outsized importance to the US economy, Taiwan, an island of 23mn people, is the United States’ fourth-largest trading partner, behind China, which has about 1.4bn people.At a lavish state banquet attended by senior officials and business executives, Xi told the audience that the China-US relationship was the most important in the world.”We must make it work and never mess it up,” Xi said, before guests tucked into a 10-course dinner that included lobster soup, Beijing roast duck and tiramisu.The leaders will take tea and lunch together today before Trump departs. Joining Trump on his visit are a group of CEOs looking to resolve issues with China, from Elon Musk, viewed in China as a visionary and occasional villain, to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a late addition to the delegation. The United States has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s powerful H200 AI chip, but not a single delivery has been made so far, Reuters exclusively reported.Trump entered the talks with a weakened hand. US. courts have hemmed in his ability to levy tariffs at will on exports from China and other countries, while the Iran war has boosted inflation at home and elevated the risk that Trump’s Republican Party will lose control of one or both legislative branches in November’s midterm elections.Though the Chinese economy has faltered, Xi does not face comparable economic or political pressure.As well as Boeing jets, Washington is looking to sell farm goods and energy to China to cut a trade deficit that has long irked Trump. Beijing, for its part, wants U.S curbs eased on exports of chip-making equipment and advanced semiconductors, officials involved in the planning said.Trump is expected to encourage China to convince Iran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict, as a fifth of global supplies of oil and natural gas travel through the Strait of Hormuz in normal times. But analysts doubt Xi will be willing to push Tehran hard or end support for its military, given Iran’s value to Beijing as a strategic counterweight to the United States.Rubio told Fox News that it was in China’s interest to help resolve the crisis as many of its ships are stuck in the Gulf and a slowdown in the global economy would hurt its exporters. Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Thursday that an agreement had been reached to let some Chinese ships pass.Trump Thursday invited Xi for a reciprocal trip to the White House on September 24, in what would be his first visit to Washington since 2015 and his first to the United States in the US president’s second term Related Story Source link
At least 89 people were killed and other injured after powerful thunderstorm in Uttar Pradesh state in India.The rainy storm uprooted trees, damaged houses and triggered wall collapses, which resulted in at least 89 deaths and multiple injuries, according to Indian media.Storms are common in Uttar Pradesh during the hot season, which runs from March to June, ahead of the monsoon rains. Source link
US President Donald Trump has said he does not expect to need China’s help to end the war in Iran and ease Tehran’s firm grip over the Strait of Hormuz, in remarks made before he arrived in Beijing yesterday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The war is expected to feature in talks between Trump and Xi over the next two days, but Trump downplayed Beijing’s potential role in ending the conflict, which has choked off traffic through a key waterway that typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. “I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,” he told reporters in Washington before departing for China. Iran has appeared to firm up its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Iranian officials have signalled they see that control as a long-term strategic goal. An army spokesperson said supervision of the waterway could generate revenue amounting to twice Iran’s oil income, while strengthening its foreign policy leverage. “After this war ends, there will be no place for retreat,” the spokesperson said, according to comments carried by ISNA news agency. More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, US and Iranian demands to end the war remain far apart. Washington has called for Tehran to scrap its nuclear programme and lift its hold on the strait, while Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the US blockade and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump has dismissed those positions as “garbage.” The Trump administration said on Tuesday that senior US and Chinese officials had agreed last month that no country should be able to charge tolls on traffic through the region, in an effort to project consensus on the issue ahead of the summit. China, a major buyer of Iranian oil that maintains close ties with Tehran, did not dispute that account. On Wednesday, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 mn barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed, marking the third known passage by a Chinese oil tanker through the channel since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28. Other countries are exploring shipping arrangements similar to Tehran’s deals with Iraq and Pakistan, sources said, potentially entrenching Tehran’s control of the waterway through which fertilisers, petrochemicals and other bulk commodities vital to global supply chains normally flow. As the costs of the conflict mount, Trump said Americans’ financial struggles were not a factor in his decision-making on the war. Data released on Tuesday showed that US consumer inflation accelerated in April, with the annual rate posting its largest gain in three years as food, rent and airfares rose. Asked to what extent the economic strain on Americans was motivating him to strike a deal, Trump replied: “Not even a little bit.”“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation…,” Trump said before leaving for China. “I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”The remarks are likely to draw scrutiny as cost-of-living concerns remain a top issue for voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. The conflict is weighing heavily on global energy markets. Global oil supply will fall by around 3.9 mn barrels per day across 2026 and undershoot demand due to disruptions caused by the Iran war, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, with more than 1 bn barrels of Middle East supply already lost. Brent crude futureswere steady at around $108 per barrel, after a three-day rally driven by the Hormuz deadlock. Surveys show the war is unpopular with US voters less than six months before nationwide elections. Two out of three Americans, including one in three Republicans and almost all Democrats, think Trump has not clearly explained why the country has gone to war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Source link