Crude oil prices surged more than 3% as strikes on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure and attacks on ships in the Middle East intensified supply concerns. Brent crude futures rose $3.21, or 3.1%, to $107.82 per barrel by 1218 GMT, after reaching $108.65. US WTI futures gained $2.77, or 2.8%, to $102.82. Oil prices have climbed around 9% in a week as Middle East attacks intensified. Brent has remained above $100 a barrel for the first time since July and reached its highest level since May, at around $110. Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation increased to 4.82% in August, driven by higher food prices, while the Consumer Food Price Index stood at 5.95%. (PC: Times Now)

China has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that India follows an independent foreign policy and that its engagement with Beijing is not influenced by any third country. Beijing described the message as significant for the future of China-India relations. The comments followed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. It was Xi’s first bilateral visit to India in seven years and the leaders’ third interaction in three years. Beijing described the meeting as another important step towards improving bilateral ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the talks reaffirmed the direction of relations, from restarting engagement in Kazan to further progress in Tianjin and now New Delhi. (PC: Reuters)

Three Italian nationals flew from Delhi to Munich without undergoing immigration at Delhi airport on September 4, prompting the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to issue a show cause notice to Air India. The passengers had flown from Amritsar to Delhi on an Air India domestic service before boarding a Lufthansa flight to Munich. They were not eligible for Air India’s “Easy Connect” hub-and-spoke arrangement, which allows eligible passengers to complete immigration at their origin airport. Their boarding passes carried the D designator, requiring them to exit arrivals and undergo immigration at Delhi. MoCA issued the notice on September 12, seeking explanations over the incident, ground handling and passenger-data reconciliation. Air India has not responded. (PC: Zee Business)

US President Donald Trump claimed Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, although neither side has confirmed the understanding. Trump made the claim Monday on his social media platform, saying Ukraine agreed not to target Russian energy facilities and Moscow agreed to do likewise. His statement came a day after he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian oil refineries and diesel infrastructure. Trump argued such strikes were contributing to a shortage and pushing diesel prices higher. He said halting attacks on energy targets could help ease pressure on global diesel supplies. The claim follows concern over rising diesel prices in the United States. 

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar claimed Congress welfare schemes in Karnataka have inspired similar plans in other states and the US. Referring to Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 payment for American adults, Shivakumar said, “Now they copied us in Maharashtra, copied us in Madhya Pradesh, in Rajasthan, in Bihar, and now Trump is copying us.” Trump announced the proposed payment if Republicans retain control of both houses of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections. Shivakumar also accused the BJP of using religion for politics. He alleged that money meant for the Ram Temple was misused. The BJP has not responded to these specific claims.  

US tech stocks fell after AI company leaders called for a slower pace of AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said development should slow to reduce the risk of serious problems. Elon Musk agreed, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said current safety standards are not ready for much faster progress. The Nasdaq fell 1.2% in early trading. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.27%. Hewlett Packard shares fell 10%, while Intel and Sandisk dropped 7%. Nvidia fell 3%. US President Donald Trump rejected calls for stronger AI guardrails and said the US must stay ahead of China.  

The CBI has named Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray, Rhea Chakraborty and others in its FIR on Disha Salian’s death. Their roles require investigation, according to the FIR. Actors Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi are also named. The FIR mentions alleged conspiracy, a false suicide story and possible evidence tampering. Former police officers Sachin Waze and Param Bir Singh are also listed. Salian died after falling from a Mumbai building on June 8, 2020. Her death was earlier recorded as an accidental death. The CBI probe follows a Bombay High Court order for a detailed investigation into the case.  

India’s fusion research has received a boost with a new heating system at the SST-1 tokamak in Gujarat. The Institute for Plasma Research has installed an 82.6 GHz gyrotron with 400 kW power. The system helps scientists heat and control extremely hot plasma. SST-1 is an experimental machine that uses strong magnetic fields to confine plasma. India has previously produced plasma temperatures above 200 million degrees Celsius. The new system will support further experiments on plasma heating and stability. It works with an existing 42 GHz system. SST-1 is not producing electricity and remains a research facility. (PC: Reuters)  

Rebel TMC MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia claimed 17 of the 20 NCPI MPs will join the BJP before or after Durga Puja. He said the group has finalised the plan and would avoid the anti-defection law by crossing the two-thirds mark. Basunia also claimed three MPs would support the NDA from outside. However, fellow NCPI MPs rejected his claims. Satabdi Roy said no such decision had been taken. Abu Taher Khan said the three MPs would not join either the BJP or NDA. The BJP also distanced itself from the claim and said it had no information about such a move.  

Former India pacer and 1983 World Cup winner Madan Lal has criticised India’s decision to refuse the Asia Cup trophy from ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi. After India Women won the title by beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs, the team did not accept the trophy from Naqvi. The presentation ceremony was delayed by around 40 to 45 minutes. Reacting to the incident, Lal wrote on X, “We should not play Pakistan any trophies.” He said India should follow this approach if the same situation continues. India’s men’s team had also refused to take the trophy from Naqvi last year.