Europe

A senior Russian banker revealed on Wednesday that India, the world's second largest importer of Russian oil, has built a functional payments infrastructure using roubles. India increased its imports of Russian oil at a discount due to Western sanctions, resulting in a record-breaking $70 billion trade between Russia and India in 2024. The bilateral trade dropped in 2025 when the sanctions were tightened, but recovered in the first half 2026. "There are no problems in the settlements between Russia & India." Ivan Nosov is the head of Sberbank India. He said, "I am prepared to say that this is a...

Energy Secretary Chris Wright of the United States said that after arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday, the oil companies in the U.S. as well as?other countries will sign deals in Caracas tomorrow that will result in a more-than-doubling in crude production over the next few year. Wright is in Venezuela for a day-long visit, his second trip since U.S. troops seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's office in January. Venezuelan oil production peaked at over 3 million barrels a day in the late 90s, but then plummeted due to a lack investment, poor management and U.S. sanction. In recent months, it...

The Polish chemicals group Grupa Azoty announced on Tuesday that it had informed prosecutors of alleged safety violations during the launch in 2023 of its flagship Polimery Police Project. State-controlled chemicals manufacturer said in a press release that the Polimery Police Plant, operated by an Azoty Unit, was built without the necessary permits and under conditions that could have put employees and residents at risk. The documentation cited by the company alleged that there were a number of defects, and that permits had only been issued in 2024 - months after the plant’s?ceremonial opening. Malgorzata Crolak, Deputy CEO, said: "Our...

An oil refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region, Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez, or ?YANOS, suspended oil processing at two ?of its three crude distillation units after a drone ?attack on August ?28, two industry ?sources ?told . The local governor stated on Friday that the facility had been hit by debris from an Ukrainian drone. Sources claim that the attack caused damage to the AVT-3 primary unit of crude distillation with a daily capacity of 17,140 metric tonnes, which is about 40% of the refinery's total capacity. The AVT-4 unit, with a daily capacity of 14,300 tons, represents 33% of the total capacity. The...

According to two sources in the industry, Russia's gasoline production fell to 70% of its domestic consumption by the end August. This was after a series drone attacks forced major refineries into suspension of operations. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia's infrastructure to reduce Moscow's revenue. This has created a fuel shortage that has forced Russia import petroleum products, and maintain sales restrictions throughout the country. After a short respite in July when local authorities began to?ease or lift restrictions on fuel sale, shortages returned in Russian regions by August. According to sources, gasoline production dropped at the end...

Brazil's oil export tax is in a state of uncertainty after a local court ruled to suspend the levy and the Foreign Trade Chamber approved extending it for another 60-days. These contradictory moves have left the future of 12% tax unclear, and the oil companies are challenging it. This could lead to a legal battle between the Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva administration and the oil producers. Sources familiar with the issue said that the Foreign Trade Chamber?Camex had approved the extension of tax due to expire September 9. A 'federal court' had granted an injunction to suspend the tax...

Shipping data shows that Turkey increased its diesel imports from the United States and India to record levels in August. This was due to a Russian ban of diesel exports, and to wider disruptions caused by Iran's war. According to Kpler, the commodities data firm, Turkey has imported Indian diesel at a rate of more than 120.000 barrels per day, while its imports from the U.S. have reached 90,000 barrels per daily. Kpler data dating back to 2017 shows that these volumes are the highest monthly totals ever recorded. After Ukrainian strikes on refineries disrupted the domestic supply, Russia has...

The Russian rouble fell sharply against the U.S. Dollar on Thursday. It lost more than 2%. China's currency, the yuan, also hit multi-month lows as a result of fading tax-related support amid rising imports and lower oil prices. Analysts have predicted that August will be the weakest rouble month of the year so far, due to the Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure, which are driving up the imports for fuel and equipment for refinery repair, increasing the domestic demand for foreign currency. The rouble was supported earlier in the week by exporters who sold?foreign currency revenue before Friday's monthly taxes....

The 'Amur Gas Chemical Complex', located in Russia's Far East, announced on Thursday that the death toll from a fire which broke out earlier this week was now 15. The plant announced on Wednesday that six Chinese citizens were among the seven victims of the fire. In a Thursday?Telegram, it said that 14 of the 15 victims were foreigners without revealing their nationalities. The report said that 39 people are still?in hospital, nine of whom were airlifted to Moscow. The complex is a joint venture between Sinopec and Sibur, a Chinese oil and gas firm. It claims to be one...

The Kremlin reported on Wednesday that U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials but did not meet Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow, which U.S. president Donald Trump referred to as "semi routine." Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters that Putin was briefed about the outcome of the visit on Tuesday. The visit came at a time when the war in Ukraine is dragging on and efforts to achieve a lasting peace with the United States and Iran are stalled. Peskov refused to reveal what was discussed or provide further details. "All I can say is...

The Elysee Palace announced on Monday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had visited Paris and agreed to build a manga-themed amusement?park near Paris?. The Elysee said that the project, which is based on the popular Japanese manga and anime series Dragon Ball Z, would be built in Cergy-Pontoise to the northwest of Paris, and was expected to create 22,000 jobs. Macron advisers claim that the idea came about after French President Emmanuel Macron discovered a common interest in Dragon Ball Z with Saudi Crown Prince during Macron's trip to Saudi Arabia 2025. The project will be funded by...

The Financial Times reported that Shell has attracted interest from bidders such as ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell and others for its U.S. chemical assets, which could fetch up to $8 billion. The report cited people who were familiar with the matter as saying that the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and the chemicals division of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, had also expressed an interest in the?assets. Shell is looking to sell off underperforming chemical?plants. Shell, ExxonMobil and Kuwait Petroleum have not responded to requests for comment outside of regular business hours. Shell, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell Apollo and Kuwait Petroleum did not...

The British government will lend PS400 million ($541.04million) to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This initiative, led by Brazil, is designed to fund?the conservation of endangered forest. Brazil launched the initiative at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit last?year? with the ambition of raising $10 billion in public money within its first year. It has already raised almost three quarters of this target. The TFFF is an innovative model that manages the fund 'like an endowment' and pays eligible countries an annual stipend based on their tropical forest remaining standing. Britain supported the concept at the summit, but didn't make an...

The United Kingdom announced on Thursday that it would invest PS400,000,000 ($541,000,000) in the Tropical 'Forever Facility' (TFFF), a Brazil initiative designed to?finance?the protection of endangered forest. Brazil's announcement of the TFFF was a major project at the COP30 talks on climate change last year. The United Kingdom's refusal to?contribute to the fund was met with criticism because the UK helped design the fund. The TFFF aims at raising $125 billion from governments, public institutions and other sources, including $25 billion. This money will be used to compensate countries based on how well they preserve forests. In a press statement,...

Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced on Thursday that the maximum fine for large manufacturers, including battery manufacturers, will be raised to $5 billion forints. This is a change from his predecessors efforts to attract EV battery plants. Former premier?Viktor Orban who was ousted from power by Magyars in April after 16 years of rule, made a big bet on EV batteries. He attracted foreign investment, mostly from South Korean and Chinese companies, and turned Hungary into a major hub for Europe. Magyar stated that a new environmental authority, announced by the government earlier this summer will monitor strictly battery...

China has fully reopened a road leading to the Gyirong Border?crossing?into Nepal, one week after sections?were washed out by catastrophic flooding. Heavy machinery can now reach the main disaster area for the first. China airdropped equipment and supplies for frontline rescuers who had trekked through mountains to reach the site. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that a large number of heavy machines, as well as equipment to strengthen search operations, have now arrived in the area where an inspection complex for the Chinese border once stood. CCTV showed footage of rescue crews and excavators and said that they had deployed...

These are the most popular stories on the New York Times' business pages. These stories have not been?verified' and we cannot vouch for their accuracy. ?At a G20 finance summit in North Carolina last week, U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent praised Trump's economic policies and urged others to follow suit. This drew criticism from Europe, Canada, and other allies, who claimed that U.S..policies had harmed their own economies. The United Nations announced on Wednesday that it will miss the climate goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It also proposed a "new" goal of limiting the "overshoot"....

Met Office statistics released on Tuesday show that Britain experienced its hottest summer in recorded history. This follows a year of extreme heat and drought, which has put infrastructure, food production, and wildfire fighting capacity to the test. According to the agency, Britain experienced record heat for the second consecutive summer, according to statistics dating back to 1884. Since 2003, the country has experienced five of its warmest summers. The Met Office stated that the human-induced climate changes "made it around 130 times more probable" for this summer's 16.5 degree Celsius (61.7 degree Fahrenheit) average temperature. Mark McCarthy, head of...

Foresters in Serbia are facing difficult choices more than a week after fires ravaged the Deliblatska Pescara Reserve. They must decide how to restore its unique dunes, woodlands and forest ecosystems so that they can better withstand 'future wildfires. The question of what to replace and keep in a region where forest fires were once rare but will become more frequent with global warming is a core issue. Jovana devetakovic is a lecturer in the Faculty of Forestry at University of Belgrade. She said, "For the next 15, 20, or even 25 years it won't likely look like a tree...

Rescue teams from China worked through the night and the relentless rain to repair the last kilometre of the only road that leads to the Gyirong Border crossing into Nepal. The road was destroyed by a catastrophic slide last week. The reopening of the China-Nepal Border crossing was a struggle with the elements. Rescuers were working in a narrow mountain canyon squeezed between crumbling mountains and a raging stream. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday that the rapids have repeatedly swept away efforts to rebuild a road over the last few days. CCTV footage shows excavators standing on shattered road...

Authorities said that the death toll from the catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet last week reached 750 people on Sunday, with another 3,044 still missing. Rescuers were forced to move to higher ground when rains swollen river levels. Rescue operations have been suspended a few times since Friday because of the bad weather. There are also concerns that a mudslide caused by Wednesday's collapsed glacier could cause fresh flooding in Nepal after a lake formed across a border between Nepal and China. According to Red Cross, more than 90 000 people may have been affected by this disaster. China...

China said on Sunday that 261 foreigners from 23 different countries were missing on the Tibetan border with Nepal after a mudslide which ripped through the Himalayan area. The death toll for Tibet is now 16 people. At a press briefing, officials from China's Tibet Autonomous Region stated that the largest number of foreigners missing was from Nepal, with 104. Also unaccounted for were 49 Indians, 33 Latvians, 18 Americans and 15 British nationals. Beijing authorities have informed foreign missions, they said. This was the first nationality breakdown from the Chinese since Wednesday's collapse of a ice sheet?released a torrent...

In an interview, the lead author of the study called the widespread belief that Robusta coffee was more resistant to climate change than other varieties an "internet myth" that was based on flawed studies that ignored the crop's vulnerability and its inability to tolerate drought. Robusta coffee is often viewed as a cheap filler when compared to arabica beans. However, each year, millions of bags are shipped worldwide, with the majority coming from Brazil and Vietnam. The findings published in the Wiley journal Sustainable Development late Thursday are a challenge to those who advocate robusta as an alternative way of...

The 'Red Cross' said that more than 90,000 people are directly affected by the Himalayan land slide and urgently need humanitarian assistance. Officials from the aid sector expressed their fears about further flooding. David Fisher, the head of the delegation of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for Nepal, said at a Geneva press briefing: "We think that 93,000 people are affected, and they're in a lot of need." He added, "We are of course concerned about the second flood." Fisher stated that the organisation's trucks containing relief supplies had been?blocked by a lake? formed by the...