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US renews Russian oil waiver amid Iran war-driven price shocks

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US renews Russian oil waiver amid Iran war-driven price shocks


Pump jacks are seen at the Ashalchinskoye oil field owned by Russia’s oil producer Tatneft near Almetyevsk, in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, July 27, 2017. — Reuters
  • Lawmakers criticise “benefiting” Russia amid Ukraine war.
  • Analyst warns energy market tools are “nearly exhausted”.
  • European Union urges no relaxation of Russia sanctions.

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as lawmakers accused the government of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on.

The Treasury Department’s waiver lets countries purchase Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. It replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on April 11 and excludes transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea.

The move is part of the administration’s effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the US-Israeli war on Iran. It came after countries in Asia, suffering from the global energy shock, pressed Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach markets.

Reversal by treasury

“As negotiations (with Iran) accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said.

Just two days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not be renewing the waiver for Russian oil and another for Iranian oil, which is set to expire on Sunday.

Global oil prices tumbled 9% on Friday to about $90 a barrel after Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke point in the Gulf. But the war has already created the worst global energy supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency has said.

The war, which entered its eighth week on Saturday, has damaged more than 80 oil and gas facilities in the Middle East, and Tehran has warned it ​could close the strait again if the recent US Navy blockade of Iranian ports continued.

High oil prices are a threat to President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Trump has also faced pressure from partner countries on the oil price. A US source said partner countries on the sidelines of the Group of 20, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington this week had requested the US extend the waiver.

And he spoke about oil this week in a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, a big purchaser of Russian oil.

The waiver on Iranian oil, which the Treasury Department issued on March 20, allowed some 140 million barrels of oil to ​reach global markets and helped relieve pressure on energy supply, Bessent said last month.

Lasting damage

US lawmakers from both political parties had slammed the administration over the sanctions waivers, saying they stood to help the economy of Iran while it was at war with the US and of Russia as it was at war with Ukraine.

The waivers could impede the West’s efforts to deprive Russia of revenue for its war in Ukraine ​and put Washington at odds with its allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said now is not the time to relax sanctions against Russia.

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev said in a social media post about the renewal of the waiver: “US-Russian economic and energy cooperation will continue.”

He had said the first waiver on Russian oil would free 100 million barrels of crude, equal to almost a day’s worth of global output.

Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at the consulting firm Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Friday’s renewal is likely not the last waiver Washington will issue.

“The conflict has done lasting damage to global energy markets, and the tools available to stabilise them are nearly exhausted,” Erickson said.





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‘Saturday Night Live’ alum Tina Fey admits past jokes missed the mark

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‘Saturday Night Live’ alum Tina Fey admits past jokes missed the mark


Saturday Night Live veteran Tina Fey reflected on her years at the NBC sketch institution, acknowledging that some of her jokes were “on the wrong side”.

Speaking at the History Talks event in Philadelphia, Fey said she’s realized with time that not every punchline was fair.

The two times Globe Globe winner added candidly, “I was pretty dumb.”

Fey joined SNL in 1997 and later became head writer.

She recalled navigating some of the show’s most difficult broadcasts, from the first episode after September 11 to the anthrax scare and even President George W. Bush’s visit to meet Will Ferrell.

Over time, she said, the line between comedy and current events grew thinner, with politicians and public figures often responding directly to the sketches.

One of her most memorable stretches came in 2008, when she teamed with Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler to craft the now iconic Sarah Palin sketches.

Fey explained that the team worked hard to make sure their material was “a fair hit,” grounded in truth rather than random exaggeration.

“If it’s not true, it will not be funny,” she noted.

Reflecting on the influence of SNL, Fey said it was both thrilling and intimidating to know that what she wrote could be taken seriously by people in power.

She emphasized that the show never set out to control politics or the national narrative, but admitted that some of her own jokes didn’t age well.

Fey appeared alongside Nicole Kidman, Ted Danson, Kate McKinnon, Colin Jost and others at the event, which marked the nation’s 250th anniversary.





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Prince William’s ally Robert Irwin rejects Prince Harry, Meghan offer

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Prince William’s ally Robert Irwin rejects Prince Harry, Meghan offer


Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared to completed a successful four-day tour to Down Under, as they received a warm welcome from the Aussies.

The optics of the visit worked in the Sussexes’s favour, having plenty of similarities to an official royal tour. However, there was one particular item on their to-do list which they were not able to accomplish after facing a major rejection.

The Irwin family is hugely popular in Australia and especially with Robert Irwin’s work and amplified fame after winning Dancing with the Stars, they hold a special prestige in the country. So much so, Prince William has made Robert one of the ambassadors of the Earthshot Prize, a deeply personal and important initiative William had taken over five years ago.

Hence, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were hoping to get a meeting with the Irwins especially the celebrity conservationist at Australia Zoo in Queensland. However, it was not possible during the four-day trip, per New Idea magazine.

The source revealed that there is “no ill-will” towards the Sussexes from the Irwins and cited that it “wasn’t possible”. Although, it is key to note that they are all “staunch monarchists and fiercely loyal to The Firm”.

“Aligning with the Irwins’ worthy causes is something that Meghan and Harry could be on board with,” the source said. But, it seems that Robert may have played it safe as he did not want to upset William.





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Breakthrough Prize laureate David Gross drops shocking prediction for humanity

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Breakthrough Prize laureate David Gross drops shocking prediction for humanity


Breakthrough Prize laureate David Gross drops shocking prediction for humanity

David Gross has won the Special Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics with a whopping $3 million prize, as announced by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation on April 18, 2026.

The prize honors scientists whose discoveries have contributed significant advancement to the development of human knowledge.

The Breakthrough Prizes—commonly known as the ’Oscars of Science’—were established in 2012 to celebrate the wonders of the 21st century scientific age.

David Gross, who is a Nobel Prize laureate in Physics (2004), served as director at the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics at University of California, Santa Barbara for three decades.

What earned Gross winning Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics?

In the early 1970s, there was a wide gap in quantum field theory, as it could not define the strong nuclear force, which holds the atom’s nucleus together.

But in 1973, Gross and his graduate student Frank Wilczek cracked the mystery.

They discovered that the strong force works the opposite way to familiar forces like gravity: it gets weaker as particles approach each other, but stronger as they move apart.

That discovery led to the development of quantum chromodynamics.

After taking home the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, he drops a shocking prediction for humanity in an interview with LiveScience.

Gross, when asked if humanity will ever get to a place where we get rid of nuclear weapons.

Gross predicted, “We’re not recommending that. That’s idealistic, but yet, I hope so. Because if you don’t, there’s always some risk an AI 100 years from now, but chances of (humanity) living, with this estimate, 100 years, is very small, and living 200 years is infinitesimal.”

Gross became one of this year’s six awardees for his contributions to theoretical physics, earning the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

David Gross has remained an authority in fundamental physics for six decades.





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