New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Nearly 80 million barrels of crude oil are ready to transit the Strait of Hormuz if a tentative US‑Iran deal leads to a sustained reopening of the vital shipping corridor.About 40 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), loaded with non‑sanctioned Gulf crude, are currently stationed inside the Persian Gulf. Apart from them, Iranian oil and smaller tankers are also positioned in this area, making the true volume of supply waiting much higher, multiple reports said, citing …
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Mexico City, June 18 (IANS) Mexico and South Korea may not command the same global attention as some of the FIFA World Cup’s marquee fixtures this week, but their Group A encounter has all the ingredients to emerge as one of the most intriguing matches of the tournament.With football fans focused on heavyweight nations such as Argentina, Portugal, England, and Brazil, the clash between Mexico and South Korea could quietly prove to be one of the defining contests of the group stage.Both teams beg…
Tokyo, June 13 (IANS) Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday departed for her first trip to Europe since taking office in October. She is going to visit the UK, Italy and attend the G7 Summit in France.In the UK and Italy, Takaichi will meet the respective Prime Ministers Kier Starmer and Georgia Meloni and discuss issues such as the situation in East Asia, the Middle East, and Ukraine, while also engaging in discussions with the leaders of both countries to strengthen bilateral coope…
New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) India’s real‑time digital payments system Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been cited by South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago as a model as Pretoria moves to reduce cash use, a new report has said.Kganyago said other countries are further ahead in going cashless and cited UPI as an instant, low-cost payments tool “using simple tools such as a cellphone number or a QR code, instead of an expensive point-of-sale terminal,” the report from South Afr…
Washington, June 13 (IANS) A ship captain accused of transporting sanctioned Iranian oil and leading the US Coast Guard on a weeks-long chase across the Atlantic Ocean has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Washington, the Justice Department said.Avtandil Kalandadze, 47, a citizen of Georgia and former master of the tanker Bella 1, pleaded guilty to failing to obey an order from the US Coast Guard to stop his vessel during an interdiction operation.“Kalandadze’s guilty plea today should se…
Washington, June 13 (IANS) US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump’s push for “energy dominance” is central to the administration’s efforts to strengthen the economy, boost manufacturing and enhance national security, arguing that abundant domestic energy will be critical to winning the global race in artificial intelligence and advanced industries.Speaking at the Petroleum Club of Houston on Friday, Bessent described energy as the foundation of the administration’s econo…
New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) The future utility of the Quad will not be defined by its transformation into an ‘Asian NATO’ or by rhetorical rivalry with Beijing. Instead, its relevance will depend on whether it can evolve into a flexible strategic mechanism capable of stabilising an increasingly fragmented maritime and economic order stretching from the Pacific to the Gulf, a report has stated.During the recent visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India, the consistent public response unde…
Washington, June 11 (IANS) India has entered a phase of “peak development potential” and is poised to sustain high growth over the next two decades, the World Bank’s Chief Economist Indermit Gill said, arguing that the country’s economic trajectory will be driven by its own strengths rather than by following China’s development model.During a briefing on the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, Gill told IANS that India stands out among major economies because its long-term …
Washington, June 11 (IANS) The conflict in the Middle East is emerging as a major economic threat to South Asia through rising oil, gas and fertiliser prices, with the World Bank warning that the region is among the most exposed to the fallout from the crisis despite remaining the world’s fastest-growing economic region.The World Bank’s latest ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report projects South Asia’s growth to slow from 7 per cent in 2025 to 6.3 per cent in 2026 as higher energy costs, inflationa…
New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices are expected to climb to their highest levels in more than three years, driven by rising demand in Asia and the need for Europe to replenish depleted inventories ahead of winter, according to a report.A report by Morgan Stanley forecasted the Asian LNG benchmark price to rise to $25 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) during the third and fourth quarters of the year, an increase of more than 30 per cent from current forward…