Amidst the wars and chaos of today, India is on the verge of a large oil find that could potentially skyrocket its position in the oil market.

This new revelation comes from India’s exploration of potential oil reservoirs in the Andaman Sea, which is located southeast of the Bay of Bengal.

Since the 1950s, India has worked with its national oil com­pany, the Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC), to survey and discern the area’s bountiful oil content. However, Indonesia and Myanmar have had the most success in oil drilling.

India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri revealed while at the annual UrjaVatra event on Thursday, July 17, 2025, that India is planning to drill and explore for more hydrocarbons in an area of more than 2,00,000 sq km under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), with a target to increase exploration acreage to 0.5 million sq km by 2025 and 1.0 million sq km by 2030.

With this exploration venture, the recent Russian oil sanctions placed by the United States (US) for countries dealing with oil from Russia allow India to take charge of who and what gets a say in their Oil and Gas industry.

An opportunity is now created for the country to reduce its need for oil importation from the Eastern country, which delivers 40% of the country’s crude oil needs, while also increasing its economic growth to the trillions.

Consequently, the positive implications this may have on Guyana’s diplomatic relations with India and the US are real. With the reduced reliance on Russian oil under US sanctions pressure, strengthening the geopolitical alignment between India and the West may foster pertinent investment and diplomatic opportunities.

Guyana, which has always been seen as a pro-West democratic producer, may benefit diplomatically and commercially from aligning with countries that avoid Russian crude.

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Many people have been killed when an Air India flight bound for London with 242 people on board crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in western India, officials say.

The airline said the passengers on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which was headed to London Gatwick Airport, were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and a Canadian. There were also 10 crew members and two pilots on Thursday’s flight.

Indian Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said there had been fatalities, writing in a post on X in Hindi that “the news of many people being killed in the plane crash” was “extremely sad”.

The plane crashed into a hostel for doctors, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting a senior police officer.

Footage showed smoke billowing from the crash site near the airport. Rescue workers quoted by Reuters said at least 30 bodies had been recovered.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from the state of Gujarat, where the crash occurred, said he was “stunned and saddened” by the disaster.

“It is heartbreaking beyond words,” Modi posted on X. “In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”

‘Shocked and devastated’
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he was “shocked and devastated” about the crash and his “thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families”.

“I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” he said in a statement posted to X.

“Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that the scenes at the crash site of the plane with dozens of British nationals on board were “devastating”.

The United Kingdom was working with Indian authorities to urgently establish the facts around the crash and to support those affected, its Foreign Office said in a statement.

Mayday
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad’s airport, the aircraft gave a “mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but after that, there was no response, Reuters reported.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect.

The aviation-tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a wide-body, twin-engined plane that is one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.

This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, told Al Jazeera that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner has a good safety record.

“The 787 has been in service for 15 years. This is a mid- to long-haul passenger aircraft, one of the latest from Boeing in terms of the development and the introduction of carbon-fibre aircraft,” he said.

“In fact, in its 15 years of commercial service globally, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has never been involved in a crash or a hull loss or a fatal accident.”

The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved an aircraft from Air India Express, the carrier’s low-cost arm. Twenty-one people were killed when the aircraft overshot a runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India.

Source: Al Jazeera

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Brazil, the world’s top chicken exporter, has confirmed its first case of bird flu on a commercial poultry farm. The outbreak was reported in the city of Montenegro, located in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The farm, which supplies meat processor Vibra Foods, is now under quarantine. Vibra, a major player in Brazil’s poultry industry, backed by Tyson Foods, has yet to respond to media inquiries. The outbreak has led to the death or culling of 17,000 chickens so far.

Following international safety protocols, China, Brazil’s largest poultry buyer, has placed a 60-day ban on chicken imports from the country. Other major buyers, including the European Union and South Korea, are expected to follow suit. Argentina has already suspended all poultry imports from Brazil until further notice.

However, Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro noted that new agreements with countries like Japan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia may allow trade from unaffected regions to continue, reducing the impact of the nationwide ban.

Brazil exported $10 billion worth of chicken meat last year, making up about 35 per cent of global poultry trade. The southern state of Rio Grande do Sul alone accounts for 15 per cent of that output. Major meat processors like BRF and JBS operate several plants in the area.

Local officials say veterinary teams are actively containing the virus and screening farms within a 10-kilometer radius of the affected site. They are working to prevent further spread and reassure trading partners that the situation is under control.

Favaro emphasized that poultry products shipped before the outbreak will not be affected by trade restrictions. He also reassured consumers that bird flu cannot be spread through eating properly inspected chicken or eggs.

The bird flu virus, which has severely impacted poultry industries worldwide, especially in the United States, continues to raise concerns about potential human transmission. So far, Brazil has only seen cases among wild birds until this incident.

Industry group ABPA said all necessary measures have been taken quickly and that the outbreak is being closely monitored. JBS deferred comment to ABPA, while BRF’s CEO expressed confidence in Brazil’s health protocols and expects the issue to be resolved soon.

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