NewsBytes

The US has designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a "foreign terrorist organisation" over the Pahalgam terror attack, a move welcomed by India as  a "timely and important" step reflecting strong counter-terror cooperation between the two countries. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing the punitive measure, said it was part of Washington's commitment to countering terrorism and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack. Rubio said the US State Department is adding the TRF as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The TRF, a  Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) "front and proxy", claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack which killed 26 civilians, he said , adding it was "the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attack conducted by the LeT."

India's first indigenously built Diving Support Vessel, Nistar, was commissioned here on Friday, marking a major maritime achievement. Nistar was originally built on March 29, 1971, playing a crucial role during the Indo-Pakistan war, identifying Pakistan's sunken submarine Gazi outside Visakhapatnam harbour and Eastern operations. Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said that the new Nistar will carry forward its legacy with advanced saturation dive systems and capability to rescue deep submergence rescue vessels, including submarines. "Old ships never die, they always return in upgraded form," said Tripathi, during the commissioning ceremony. Nistar is both technologically and operationally significant, enhancing India's and regional partners' submarine rescue capabilities, with India set to emerge as a preferred partner in submarine rescue globally, said the CNS.

The European Union imposed sanctions on the Indian oil refinery of Russian energy giant Rosneft and lowered the oil price cap, as part of a new raft of measures against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The fresh sanctions package on Russia included new banking restrictions, and curbs on fuels made from Russian crude oil. The lowered oil price cap - currently set at USD 60 per barrel - means Russia will be forced to sell its crude at reduced rates to buyers like India. As the second-largest purchaser of Russian oil, India stands to benefit from this move. Russian crude currently accounts for nearly 40 per cent of India's total oil imports. "For the first time, we're designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.

The Indian Navy will participate in the 32nd edition of exercise SIMBEX as part of its engagement with the Singapore Navy. It is one of the longest uninterrupted maritime exercises for India, High Commissioner to Singapore Shilpak Ambule has said. The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) is conducted annually by the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). It will be held in Singapore later this month. It was previously known as Exercise Lion King. "The Indian Navy's engagement with the navies in the region, particularly Singapore, has been an upward trajectory, which, without doubt, has gained from a very well-founded construct established well over three decades ago, and has kept evolving in the past years," Ambule said while addressing over 200 guests on board INS Shakti, part of Eastern Fleet that is visiting Singapore from July 16-19, on Thursday.