Entertainment
US renews Russian oil waiver amid Iran war-driven price shocks
- 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.
Entertainment
Shania Twain wants to sing at Harry Styles, Zoe Kravitz wedding
Shania Twain has made her pitch to perform at Harry Styles and Zoë Kravitz’s wedding, and she’s not being subtle about it.
The 60-year-old country legend, who is currently opening for Styles on the first leg of his world tour, made the declaration during an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Pulse on Friday.
When host Joe “Brady” Blum floated the idea of Twain performing at the celebrity nuptials, she didn’t hesitate. “Oh! I would say yes if he asked,” she replied. “Just putting it out there, Harry.”
Twain is well placed to make the case, she and Styles are currently sharing stages together for the opening 12 shows of his world tour, all being held in London.
She described the invitation to open for him as “really nice,” adding that it made sense for him to begin there.
When Brady expressed hope that the pair might perform Man! I Feel Like A Woman! together again, Twain sounded equally keen.
“I hope we do, too,” she said.
As for the wedding itself, she was playfully realistic about the logistics. When asked whether she could be the entertainment, she mused aloud: “What if they disagree on that?”
Brady suggested that Kravitz’s father Lenny Kravitz could also have a say in the musical lineup, which prompted Twain to propose a rather appealing solution. “Right, him and I could sing it together,” she said with a smile.
Styles and Kravitz, 37, have been one of the most talked-about couples in entertainment since their relationship became public.
Kravitz was spotted last month wearing an impressive diamond ring, widely taken as confirmation of their engagement following a whirlwind romance of around eight months.
The Batman actress was previously engaged to actor Channing Tatum before they split in October 2024, and was briefly married to actor Karl Glusman from 2019 to 2020.
Entertainment
Adam Driver replies to Lena Dunham’s shock memoir claims
Adam Driver has finally responded to the explosive allegations Lena Dunham made about him in her memoir, and he did it with exactly one sardonic sentence.
Speaking at a Cannes Film Festival press conference for his new film Paper Tiger on Sunday, the 42-year-old was asked about the claims Dunham made in Famesick, her recently published tell-all.
His reply was brief and dry: “I have no comment on that, I’m saving it all for my book.”
It was a masterclass in saying nothing while saying quite a lot.
The response came weeks after Dunham’s 416-page memoir landed with considerable force, containing a series of serious allegations about Driver’s behaviour on the set of Girls, the HBO series on which he played Hannah Horvath’s volatile on-off boyfriend Adam Sackler.
Dunham accused him of screaming at her in her trailer, hurling a chair at the wall beside her, and punching a hole in his own trailer wall.
She also claimed he ignored the agreed blocking during their first intimate scene, physically manhandling her in a way that left her shaken.
“Stunned, I couldn’t speak for a moment,” she wrote, describing the confusion and self-doubt that followed.
Dunham has been candid about why she didn’t confront him at the time.
Speaking to The Guardian in April, she said: “At that point in my 20s, I still thought that’s what great male geniuses do, eviscerate you. Which is weird, because I was raised by a male genius who would never do that.”
The memoir also ventured into more personal territory, with Dunham claiming she and Driver came close to having an affair a month before he got engaged to his wife Joanne Tucker in 2012.
She wrote that she pulled back when he arrived at her New York home, choosing not to cross a line she felt would make returning to work impossible.
Driver, she alleged, later acknowledged the moment to her, saying: “When my girl was away, I realised I’m no good alone. I need someone to keep me in line.”
The Cannes press conference where Driver made his comment was for Paper Tiger, James Gray’s crime drama in which he plays former police officer Gary Pearl.
Entertainment
Sindh govt to conduct random drug testing in schools: minister
- Parents carry biggest responsibility currently
- Rehabilitation centres facing serious operational challenges
- Media urged against glamorising narcotics issue
KARACHI: Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Sunday said the provincial government would conduct rapid random drug testing in schools to tackle increasing narcotics use among children.
“Unfortunately, we have not taken narcotics seriously,” Memon said while speaking to the media in Karachi, adding that drug abuse had become a global issue and a major concern across Pakistan.
He said several rehabilitation centres were being developed, but termed the situation a “challenge” for the government. Referring to a recent incident in Karachi, Memon said a drug-addicted child had opened fire on family members.
“When these people become zombies due to narcotics, they go beyond anyone’s control,” he said.
The senior minister said many people had turned narcotics into a profitable business and stressed that dismantling the network was the government’s responsibility.
“I do not want to name anyone, but this is an entire network,” he said, adding that naming individuals would only result in social media memes.
Memon also referred to a suspect identified as Anmol alias Pinky, calling her a woman involved in selling “poison” that was costing precious lives daily.
He urged the media not to glamorise the issue and said parents currently carry the biggest responsibility in protecting children from drug abuse.
“I am not talking about one government alone, but the entire country,” Memon added.
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