• India diversifies LPG sources with new US supply deal.
• India-US talks continue despite tariff, oil import disputes.
• US tariffs seen denting India’s GDP by up to 80 bps.
  

India said on Monday it had signed a “significant” deal that will see the United States supply nearly 10% of the Asian giant’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports, as it seeks to diversify its energy sources.

Relations between Washington and New Delhi plummeted in August after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on India to 50%, with US officials accusing the country of fuelling Russia´s war in Ukraine by buying its discounted oil.

Trump has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to cut its Russian oil imports as part of a prospective trade deal — something New Delhi has not confirmed.

India and the United States remain in talks, despite disagreements over a range of issues, including agricultural trade and the Russian oil purchases.

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India had signed the one-year deal for 2.2 million tonnes per annum of LPG, sourced from the US Gulf Coast, providing “close to 10%” of India´s annual imports of the fuel.

Puri said it was “the first structured contract of US LPG for the Indian market”.

“In our endeavour to provide secure, affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing,” Puri said in a statement, adding that “one of the largest and the world´s fastest growing LPG market opens up to the United States”.

In October, Indian state-backed refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy said it halted purchases of Russian crude after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil companies.

Reliance Industries, the privately owned main Indian buyer of Russian crude, has also said it is assessing the implications of the US restrictions, as well as those imposed by the European Union.

India’s economy, the fifth-largest in the world, grew at its fastest pace in five quarters in the three months ending June 30, helped by higher government spending and improved consumer sentiment.

But US tariffs continue to overshadow the economy, with experts projecting that they could shave anywhere between 60 to 80 basis points off GDP growth this fiscal year, if there is no relaxation soon.

A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal on Monday handed down a death sentence to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wrapping up a months-long trial that held her responsible for ordering a lethal crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

The verdict marks one of the most consequential legal actions against a former Bangladeshi premier in decades and comes just months before national elections expected in early February.

With Hasina’s Awami League already barred from contesting, fears are mounting that the ruling could ignite renewed unrest ahead of the polls.

The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court based in Dhaka, announced the judgment under stringent security measures and in Hasina’s absence, as she fled to India in August 2024.

Hasina received a life sentence for crimes against humanity and the death penalty for the killings that occurred during the uprising. The courtroom erupted in cheers and applause as the death sentence was read out.

The former premier retains the right to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court. However, Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, told Reuters a day before the ruling that they would not pursue an appeal unless a democratically elected government—one including the Awami League—takes office.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed they had obtained evidence proving Hasina ordered security forces to use deadly force to crush the student movement that swept the country in July and August 2024.

A United Nations assessment estimated that as many as 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 5, 2024, with thousands more injured—many from gunfire by security forces.

Hasina was defended by a state-appointed lawyer, who insisted the charges were fabricated and urged the court to acquit her.

The former premier, however, had repeatedly dismissed the proceedings as politically motivated, calling the outcome “predetermined.”

Tension had been rising nationwide in the days leading up to the verdict, with at least 30 crude bomb blasts and 26 vehicles torched across different cities. No casualties were reported.

Hasina, 78, who has remained in India since she was overthrown in August 2024, challenged the legitimacy of the Tribunal in an email interview with Reuters last month.

“These proceedings are a politically motivated charade,” she said. “They have been brought by kangaroo courts, with guilty verdicts a foregone conclusion. They are presided over by an unelected government which consists of my political opponents.”

She also said she was denied adequate notice of the hearings and any meaningful opportunity to mount a defence, adding that she was not personally involved in the use of lethal force or other alleged crimes.

The Muslim-majority South Asian country of 170 million people has been governed by an interim administration headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus since Hasina fled. Although the country has been largely peaceful since, political stability is yet to return.

In the Reuters interview, Hasina warned of growing anger among supporters of the Awami League and said that millions of party loyalists would boycott the parliamentary elections in February.

On Monday, security remained tight across Dhaka and other major cities, with paramilitary forces deployed around key government buildings and the tribunal complex.

• Embassy in Riyadh, Jeddah consulate assisting affected families.
• PM Modi expresses grief, prays for quick recovery of the injured.
• Millions visit kingdom for Umrah in addition to annual Hajj pilgrims.

RIYADH: The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia on Monday said a “tragic” bus crash involving Muslim pilgrims occurred near the holy city of Madina overnight, with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering his condolences.

“Deeply saddened by the accident in Madina involving Indian nationals. My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones,” the prime minister wrote on X.

“I pray for the swift recovery of all those injured. Our Embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah are providing all possible assistance,” he added.

Indian media reported dozens had potentially been killed in the incident, though officials have yet to provide a toll.

Millions visit Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage, which happens outside of the Hajj period.

In March 2023, a bus ferrying pilgrims to the holy city of Makkah burst into flames after a collision on a bridge, killing 20 people and injuring more than two dozen others.

And in October 2019, some 35 foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near Madina.

Pilgrimages are an essential component of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning tourism sector that officials hope will help diversify the kingdom’s economy away from fossil fuels.

The Gulf kingdom is also home to more than two million Indian nationals who have long played a pivotal role in its labour market, helping construct many of the country’s mega-projects while sending billions of dollars in remittances back home each year.