Washington, May 20 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that the United States was “an hour away” from launching military action against Iran before regional partners urged him to pause, as he defended his administration’s hardline stance against Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon.Speaking to reporters during a visit to the construction site of a new White House ballroom and security complex, Trump said Gulf allies had asked for additional time for diplomacy.“I was an hour away from maki…
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Washington, May 20 (IANS) Admiral Brad Cooper on defended the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran, telling lawmakers that Tehran’s military capabilities had been “significantly degraded” following weeks of US-led operations across the Middle East.Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, the commander of US Central Command repeatedly argued that Operations “Epic Fury” and “Midnight Hammer” had dismantled much of Iran’s ability to project power acros…
Washington, May 20 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him that Beijing was not supplying weapons to Iran, as he defended ongoing diplomatic efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.Speaking to reporters during a visit to the White House ballroom construction site, Trump said he had received direct assurances from Xi amid rising tensions in the Middle East.“President Xi has promised me that he’s not sending any weapons to Iran,” Tru…
New Delhi/Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) A special court of the National Investigation Agency in Bengaluru has convicted and sentenced a key accused in a terror radicalisation and recruitment case linked to the banned Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorist organisations to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, an official statement by the National Investigation Agency said on Tuesday. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 63,000 on the accused.The accused has been identified as Thane resident i…
New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates has assumed major strategic significance as India and the Gulf nation signed key energy agreements at a time of rising geopolitical tensions and volatile oil markets triggered by the US-Israel conflict with Iran.The UAE visit marked the first leg of PM Modi’s five-nation tour, which will also take him to the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.Analysts said the timing of the visit reflected India’s …
New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) India’s increase of Rs 3.91 per litre in the prices of petrol and diesel announced this week, works out to 4.4 per cent, which is the smallest hike of any major economy outside the directly subsidising Gulf producers such as Saudi Arabia, according to figures compiled by GlobalPetrolPrices.com.An Indian Oil official pointed out that the Rs 3.91 increase, which restores only part of the rise in crude prices, has been undertaken after 76 days of complete absorption of co…
New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) India is steadily improving in terms of industrial depth to become a global superpower, a report has said.”The challenge before India is to become a more technologically capable, industrially mature and structurally resilient one. It will have to enhance its ability to manufacture precision and high-end industrial machinery that can produce other machines, the report from India Narrative said.It further highlighted that it has a long way to go in developing dense, vertic…
Washington, May 19 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that he postponed a planned military strike on Iran after urgent appeals from Gulf leaders seeking more time for diplomacy, signalling a possible opening in high-stakes negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.At a White House healthcare event, Trump said the United States had been prepared to launch a “very major attack” on Iran as early as Tuesday, but he agreed to delay military action following requests from leaders in Saudi …
Madrid, May 18 (IANS) Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has suffered a major setback ahead of naming his World Cup squad after FC Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez was ruled out of the tournament with a broken foot.Lopez fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot during the 3-1 win against Real Betis on Sunday. The Spanish champions announced that Lopez will have surgery, but did not give a timeframe for his return.”Fermin Lopez suffered a fracture to the fifth metatarsal bone in his righ…
New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) India’s current account deficit (CAD) is likely to be about 2.1 per cent of GDP for FY27, assuming an oil average of $85 per barrel, a report said on Monday.The report from HDFC Bank said elevated crude and a closed Strait of Hormuz pose upside risks to forecast, adding that the recent gold import compression measures could provide some offset.The bank said that raising import duty to curb gold imports could trim the deficit, estimating a 20 per cent decline in gold vo…