Over 1,700 arrested in latest 'yellow vest' protests in France
Paris, Dec 9 : More than 1,700 people were arrested across France during the latest round of "yellow vest" protests, in which demonstrators clashed with riot police, the interior ministry said Sunday.
Clashes broke out in several cities, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse, during a fourth weekend of nationwide protests against rising living costs and President Emmanuel Macron in general.
A total 1,220 of the 1,723 detained were ordered held in custody, the ministry said.
Police in Paris said they made 1,082 arrests on Saturday, up sharply from 412 in the previous round. The interior ministry said some 136,000 people took part in Saturday's protests, around the same number as on December 1.
But it was Paris which again bore the brunt of the violence and destruction.
Protesters in the capital set fire to cars, burned barricades and smashed windows in pockets of violence, clad in their emblematic luminous safety jackets, as armoured vehicles rolled through the streets.
City authorities said the 'yellow vests' had caused "much more damage" than on December 1.
"The sector concerned by the incidents was much larger... With fewer barricades, there was much more dispersion, so many more places were impacted by violence," Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told France Inter radio.
The embattled president -- whose name rang out across the Champs-Elysees as protesters shouted "Macron, resign" -- is expected to address the demonstrations in a much-anticipated speech in the coming days.
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Russia always ready to supply crude oil to India: Envoy
New Delhi (PTI): Russia has always been open to supplying crude oil to India, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Thursday, amid increasing concerns over spiralling prices of petroleum products in view of the West Asia crisis.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
India imports 88 per cent of its crude oil needs and roughly half of its natural gas requirement. These mostly come via the Strait of Hormuz.
Any prolonged instability in West Asia is set to be detrimental to India's national interests as the region remains a major source of New Delhi's energy security.
"We have been open to supplying crude oil to India," Alipov told reporters while responding to a question on Russian crude oil supplies to India in view of the West Asia crisis.
The US launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In the last three days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both the sides.
India's procurement of crude oil from Russia has seen sharp fall in the last few weeks.
US President Donald Trump, while announcing a trade deal with New Delhi last month, claimed India has agree to not procure crude oil from Russia.
In an executive order, Trump had rolled back an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India that he imposed in August last for India's procurement of crude oil from Russia.
In the order, the US said it would monitor whether India resumed Russian oil purchases directly or indirectly and that would determine whether a 25 per cent tariff would again be re-impose.
India has been maintaining that it will procure oil from multiple sources and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement.
