Page 120 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

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Russia's oil to India in June the cheapest since Ukraine war began

The price for each barrel including freight costs was $68.17, down from $70.17 in May and $100.48 a year earlier, according to the latest figures from India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Wheat climbs as Ukraine attack poses risk for key Russian export route

Top wheat shipper Russia moves most of its grain through the waterway. It is in the midst of a second bumper harvest, making this a crucial time for getting crops to markets and ensuring enough supply

Amid disagreements over Ukraine, China bats for more dialogues with EU

Earlier in July this year, China cancelled European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell's visit to Beijing, The Diplomat reported citing the EU

Respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity must: NSA Doval at Jeddah

Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on the crisis while underlining the need for upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states without "exception". The two-day meeting hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman was attended by top security officials of around 40 countries, including US NSA Jake Sullivan and China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui. Russia was not invited to the deliberations. In his address on Saturday, Doval, referring to the impact of the conflict, said the whole world, especially the Global South is bearing the brunt of the situation. India has regularly engaged both Russia and Ukraine at the highest levels since the beginning of the conflict and New Delhi supports a global order based on principles enshrined in UN Charter and international law, he said. The NSA especially emphasised that sovereignty and

Russia mounts massive missile, drone attack on Ukraine after retaliation

Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker. Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said. Separately, Moscow's second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs. Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraine's Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the city's airfield, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the ...

Ukraine proposed peace formula to restore int'l rules-based order: Zelensky

Zelenskyy posted a video message on Twitter, saying that a total of 42 countries are represented at the peace talks in Jeddah and everyone is united by the priority of international law

India a willing partner to find solution to Russia-Ukraine conflict: Doval

NSA Doval on Saturday arrived in Jeddah to participate in a summit of national security advisers and other officials being hosted by Saudi Arabia to discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict

Russia promises retaliation after Ukrainian drones hit Russian tanker

Moscow promised retaliation on Saturday after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late on Friday, the second sea attack involving drones in one day. Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday. Moscow strongly condemned what it sees as a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app. As Kyiv's naval capabilities grow, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important battleground in the war. Three weeks ago, Moscow withdrew from a key export agreement that allowed Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale on world markets. In the wake of that withdrawal, Russia carried out repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odesa. An official

Ukrainian drones hit Russian tanker transporting fuel near Crimea

Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea, according to Russian officials. They said that the vessel's engine room sustained damage in the strike late Friday night in the Kerch Strait. The Sig tanker...suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack, Russia's Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties among the 11 crew members. Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine's partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ship's crew were wounded because of broken glass. An official with Ukraine's Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces. A sea drone, filled with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT, was used for the attack, added the official who spoke on condition of anonymity ..

NSA Ajit Doval in Jeddah for Saudi Arabia hosted Ukraine peace talks

Doval was welcomed at the Jeddah Airport by Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Suhel Khan and Consul General Mohammed Shahid Alam

Ukraine and its allies to woo the Global South at Saudi Arabia meeting

Zelenskiy would like the Jeddah meeting to pave the way for a summit of leaders backing the 10-point "peace formula" he released last year

Tell Russia to stop using Ukrainian grain as blackmail: US challenges world

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken challenged all countries Thursday to tell Russia to stop using the Black Sea and Ukraine's grain as blackmail and stop treating the world's hungry and vulnerable people as leverage in its unconscionable war. America's top diplomat lashed out at Russia at a U.N. Security Council meeting for ignoring the world's appeals and pulling out of the year-old deal that allowed Ukraine to ship more than 32 tons of grain from Black Sea ports to needy countries. And what has Russia's response been to the world's distress and outrage? Bombing Ukrainian granaries, mining port entrances, threatening to attack any vessel in the Black Sea, he said. Blinken was chairing the signature event of the United States' council presidency this month on conflict as a key driver of hunger and famine. He announced that the United States, which has provided more than $17.5 billion since January 2021 to address famine and food insecurity, will give $362 million more to tackle

I think of leaving but the post of CM is not leaving me: Ashok Gehlot

"I sometimes think of leaving but the post of chief minister is not leaving me," Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said on Thursday almost tongue-in-cheek. The Congress veteran's remark came in response to a woman from Alwar who expressed her wish to see Gehlot continuing as the chief minister after the assembly elections slated for later this year. "The post of CM...I sometimes think of leaving but the post of chief minister is not leaving me. Let's see what happens going ahead," he said. Gehlot's remark, though made on a lighter note, assumes significance as he has been engaged in a power tussle with his former deputy Sachin Pilot since the last assembly elections in 2018. During her interaction with the chief minister, Dholi Devi, the woman from Alwar, also expressed her gratitude to him for launching the Chiranjeevi health insurance scheme under which she underwent heart transplant at a private hospital free of cost. On Indian Organ Donation Day, the chief minister interacted with som

India to attend Jeddah conference on Ukraine's peace plan on Aug 5-6

India is among a select group of countries invited by Saudi Arabia to a two-day conference on Ukraine's peace plan that will take place in the coastal city of Jeddah from Saturday. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Several European nations, the US, China and India are among the countries invited to the conference. "Yes, India has been invited to a meeting being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Ukraine in Jeddah," Bagchi said, replying to a question in his weekly media briefing. "India will participate in this event and our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward," he said. The MEA spokesperson, however, did not mention who will represent India at the conference. "We will let you know (about level of participa

EU imposes sanctions on dozens in Belarus over support for Russia

The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel and a company accused of supporting Russia's war on Ukraine. Travel bans in Europe and asset freezes were slapped on 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors. The EU also froze the assets of state oil and chemicals giant Belneftekhim. It said the company represents a fundamental asset for the Belarusian economy and foreign policy, in particular in relation to the cooperation between Russia and Belarus in developing a common oil market. Belneftekhim benefits from the support provided by President Alexander Lukashenko's regime to lessen the impact of Western sanctions, it said. The EU also extended an export ban to firearms and the aviation and space industries. It now has imposed restrictive measures on more than 230 people and almost 40 entities - often companies, banks or organizations - since

Russia adds Norway to list of unfriendly nations for 'targeting' diplomats

Russia has added Norway to its list of unfriendly countries for allegedly targeting Russian diplomats abroad, further worsening its relations with the West. The Russian government published the order Thursday, which restricts the number of local staff the Norwegian diplomatic mission can hire in Russia to 27 people. In April, Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats after accusing them of carrying out intelligence activities under diplomatic cover. Russia retaliated by expelling 10 Norwegian diplomats in what Norway said was an act of revenge. Norway's Foreign Ministry said it hasn't yet received official information from Russian authorities but that there is no basis for saying Norway is unfriendly toward Russia. Today's situation is due to Russia's war against Ukraine. Russia can itself choose to end the war, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told local media. Huitfeldt added that the two nations, which share a border in the Arctic, have an interest in functioning diploma

Russia fines Wikipedia, Apple for 'false information' on Ukraine conflict

A Russian court on Thursday imposed fines on Apple and the host of Wikipedia for failing to remove material deemed to be false information about Russia's military actions in Ukraine. A justice of the peace in a magistrate's court, which handles administrative violations and low-level criminal cases, fined the Wikimedia Foundation 3 million rubles (USD 33,000) for retaining material on Russian-language Wikipedia pages that violated a law against discrediting Russia's military and spreading false information about the Ukraine conflict, the Interfax news agency reported. The same justice found Apple guilty of failing to delete podcasts and apps with such information and fined the company 400,000 rubles (UAD 4,400). Since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has enacted an array of measures to punish any criticism or questioning of the military campaign. Some critics have received severe punishments. Opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced this year to 25 ye

Russian shelling hits a landmark church in the Ukrainian city of Kherson

Russian shelling on Thursday damaged a landmark church in the city of Kherson that once held the remains of the renowned 18th-century commander who exerted Russian control through the southeast parts of modern Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine's emergency service said that four of its workers were wounded in a second round of shelling as they fought the fire at St. Catherine's Cathedral. Four other people were wounded in the first shelling attack, which also hit a trolleybus, the general prosecutor's office said. The shelling followed the severe damage sustained by a beloved Orthodox cathedral in a missile strike last week in Odesa and underlined the war's risk to the country's cultural monuments. The Kherson church, dating from 1781, is one of the city's most notable buildings. It once was the burial spot for Prince Grigory Potemkin, a favoirite of Russian Empress Catherine the Great. The remains were removed last year while the city was still under Russian ...

Chicago wheat falls after Russian attack on Ukraine port renews worries

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 15 cents at $6.37-1/4 a bushel by 10:15 a.m. (1615 GMT), its lowest since July 13 after earlier rising nearly 5%