The United States has granted India a six-month sanctions waiver to operate Iran’s Chabahar port, India said on Thursday, boosting New Delhi’s efforts to expand trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries while bypassing rival Pakistan.

But India’s purchases of Russian oil soared amid the war in Ukraine, registering at some 40 percent of its total crude imports for the last two years. New Delhi has justified this dramatic spike by citing low costs; the Trump administration has denounced it as war profiteering and slapped an additional 25 percent tariff penalty on India.

Officials experimented with cloud seeding to try and reduce environmental pollutants as residents choke on filthy air.

Chabahar is not just a port; it is a key part of India’s regional strategy to bypass Pakistan and gain direct access to Central Asia and Europe through Iran.

NEW DELHI: India has reiterated its commitment to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as tensions continue to rise between Kabul and Islamabad over cross-border violence and accusations of proxy warfare.

India has seemingly pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s claim it had agreed to stop importing Russian oil in defiance of massive sanctions from Washington, signaling that an issue that has

Officials believe that such assessments ignore India’s record of humanitarian support while echoing unverified narratives that could embolden extremist elements and distort global perceptions.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to meet U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth in Malaysia on Friday to ease the strain on ties from punitive U.S. tariffs, two Indian officials said, laying the ground for a possible bilateral visit.

Around 20 million people in India’s capital woke up on Wednesday breathing the most polluted air of any major city in the world, a day after celebrations for the Diwali festival, during which revelers typically set off fireworks and firecrackers.

Supporters of the city’s stray dogs say hostility toward them has increased since a court reversed an order that would have moved them all to shelters.

Amid the collapse of peace talks with Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused the Taliban regime of backtracking on its commitments and sought to shift blame onto India, claiming Kabul had been acting as “a tool for New Delhi.