➣ Washington has given Berlin written assurance that the German subsidiary of Russia’s Rosneft will be exempt from the new energy sanctions, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche told Reuters.
➣ Germany argued that the refineries are “decoupled” from the parent company and vital for national fuel security.

Police have arrested Mohammad Adil Hussaini, a suspected spy who had travelled to several countries, including Pakistan, and was allegedly in contact with nuclear scientists in Russia and Iran. Authorities suspect he may have shared sensitive information abroad, though officials have not confirmed the scientist link, citing an ongoing investigation.

Trump said he was negotiating a trade deal with India, praising PM Modi for being strong and saying he has “great respect and love” for him. He also called the Pakistani Prime Minister a “great guy” and mentioned a Field Marshal there as a “great fighter.”

Recalling a period of India–Pakistan tensions where seven planes were shot down, Trump said he called Modi, warning no trade deal could happen while India was at war, and then called Pakistan’s leadership with the same message.

According to Trump, both sides initially wanted to keep fighting, but within two days, they agreed to stop after his intervention. He described Modi as a tough leader, saying he’s “the nicest-looking guy, but a killer,” and claimed Biden could never have done it.

Trump says, "It's a great honour to be with a friend of mine, really for a long time now. The very, very distinguished and respected President of China. We've already agreed to a lot of things, and we'll agree to some more right now, but President Xi is a great leader of a great country, and I think we're going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time, and it's an honour to have you with us."

Defence Minister to address forum in Kuala Lumpur on November 1

The European Union is one of India’s largest trading partners, providing a stable market for a wide range of Indian merchandise exports. India’s exports to the EU in the last financial year stood at $82 billion, slightly lower than those to the United States ($86.5 billion).

"We have agreed to close 10 out of 20 chapters. Another four or five chapters have, in principle, been broadly decided. And on more and more issues, we are leading towards convergence so that when their team visits next week for the next round of negotiations or the Trade Commissioner visits India, maybe end of November or sometime in December, we should be in a position to make significant and substantial progress towards closure,” said Goyal

➣ The extension comes as a relief for India, which has been using Chabahar Port to send humanitarian aid and essential supplies to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan

➣ The port is also seen as a critical link to Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, offering them direct access to the Indian Ocean.

India still faces up to 50% tariffs

Trump reduces tariffs from 57% to 47% on China after meeting with Xi Jinping

Even though China and the European Union import a much larger share of Russian fossil fuels compared to India, the United States has moved to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods, while India continues to face higher trade barriers.