Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian officials meet Indian crew on board tanker seized by UK

INDIAN officials have met the 24 Indian crew members who were on board shipping vessel 'Grace 1', which was detained by Gibraltar police authorities, and assured them that the government will take necessary steps to ensure their release and repatriation, India’s External Affairs Ministry said Thursday (25).

Iranian oil tanker 'Grace 1' was seized off the Spanish coast earlier this month by British marines and Gibraltar police.


A team of the Indian High Commission in London met the Indian crew and staff on board VLCC Grace 1 on Wednesday (24), Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said.

"Crew's morale is high. Assured all assistance for early release. HCI London will facilitate necessary travel document and related arrangements," the minister tweeted.

MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, at a media briefing, said India had sought consular access which was granted on Wednesday and a three-member team visited and met all the 24 crew members.

"What we saw was that the crew members were very calm, very composed, and there was no sense of panic. They had been in regular touch with their family members. We had assured them that the government of India will undertake all the necessary steps to ensure their early release and repatriation," Kumar said.

Giving an update on 18 Indians on board the British oil tanker Stena Impero which was seized last week by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz for what Tehran called alleged violation of international maritime rules, he said India has called for their early release and repatriation.

"We have sought access. We hope we are granted (access) very soon. We continue to impress upon Iranian authorities to release them so that they can be repatriated," Kumar said.

(PTI)

More For You

uk-jail-inmate-iStock

At HMP Whitemoor, where Muslims were 43 per cent of inmates, 55 per cent of the use of handcuffs and pain-inducing methods involved Muslim prisoners. (Representational image: iStock)

Muslim prisoners in England more likely to face use of force, charity finds

MUSLIM prisoners in England are more likely to be subjected to force by prison staff, including the use of pain-inducing techniques, according to data obtained by social justice charity Maslaha.

Freedom of information requests filed by Maslaha revealed that in eight out of nine prisons with higher-than-average Muslim populations, Muslim inmates were more likely than other prisoners to face the use of batons, rigid bar handcuffs, or painful restraint methods, reported The Guardian.

Keep ReadingShow less
sonia and rahul gandhi

The federal Enforcement Directorate (ED) has charged party leader Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in a case that dates back several years.

Getty Images

India opposition says graft charges against Gandhis are political

INDIA's main opposition party, the Congress, has said that corruption charges filed against its senior leaders are politically motivated.

The federal Enforcement Directorate (ED) has charged party leader Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in a case that dates back several years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asylum seekers' mental health worsened after riots, study finds

FILE PHOTO: Protestors hold placards as they demonstrate in front of members of the media outside of The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts in Liverpool, north west England on January 23, 2025, ahead of the sentencing Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana.(Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

Asylum seekers' mental health worsened after riots, study finds

LAST summer's civil unrest harmed the mental wellbeing of asylum seekers across the country, a new study has revealed.

The riots, which followed the killing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport, left many too frightened to leave their accommodation.

Keep ReadingShow less
US-India-iStock

India’s exports to the US increased by 11.6 per cent to £64.9 billion (USD 86.51 billion) in 2024-25, from £58.1 billion (USD 77.52 billion) in 2023-24. (Photo: iStock)

US remains India’s top trading partner in FY25

THE UNITED STATES was India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade amounting to £98.9 billion (USD 131.84 billion), according to government data.

In the same period, India's trade deficit with China increased to £74.4 billion (USD 99.2 billion).

Keep ReadingShow less
EY London

The FRC said the probe will look into EY’s audits of the Post Office’s financial statements between 2015 and 2018.

Reuters

FRC launches probe into EY audits of post office

THE Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into EY’s audit of Post Office Limited, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The move comes as inquiries continue into one of the country’s most serious miscarriages of justice.

Keep ReadingShow less