Indian oil refineries have begun to avoid new purchases of Russian oil for delivery in March-April amid talks between New Delhi and Washington on a trade agreement, which the parties hope to finalize by March, Reuters reports, citing traders and industry sources.
According to the agency, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Reliance Industries are not accepting offers for Russian oil with shipments in March and April, although some refineries still have previously agreed deliveries for March. Reuters notes that most other refiners have also stopped new purchases from Russia.
At the same time, as Reuters emphasized earlier, Indian refineries have not received official instructions to stop importing Russian oil and, in the event of a policy change, would require a transition period to complete deals that are already in progress.
The context is the move by the US and India towards an interim trade agreement and the expectation of finalization in March. Against this backdrop, according to Reuters, the US has eased tariff pressure on India, and the American side has publicly linked this to New Delhi’s commitment to reduce purchases of Russian oil.
INDIA, OIL, refineries, RUSSIA
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia has publicly returned to the idea of buying a minority stake in the Hungarian Paks II nuclear power plant project amid the official start of the main stage of construction of the plant in early February 2026, industry sources report.
On February 5, Hungary held a “first concrete” ceremony, pouring concrete into the foundation slab of the reactor building. According to IAEA standards, this is considered the official start date of construction and transfers the facility to the status of “nuclear power plant under construction.”
Belgrade is interested in acquiring a 5-10% stake in the Paks II project. It is expected that such a stake would give Serbia the right to a fixed share of electricity production and could become a long-term source of “base” low-carbon generation for domestic demand.
Paks II involves the construction of two new power units with VVER-1200 reactors (approximately 1,200 MW each). The project is being implemented with the participation of the Russian state corporation Rosatom under a 2014 intergovernmental agreement and is financed in part by a Russian state loan. The goal is to commission the new units in the early 2030s.
This is not the first time Serbia has expressed interest in participating in the project: in November 2024, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that he had asked Budapest to consider selling Serbia up to 10% of the project and emphasized his willingness to pay for the share at market price, with the Hungarian side promising to look into the matter at the time.
Google has updated its statistics on the distribution of Android versions, and according to the published data, only about 58% of devices run on OS versions that continue to receive critical security fixes, while more than 40% of smartphones – over 1 billion devices worldwide – remain on versions for which such patches are no longer released.
The materials indicate that Android 13-16 are considered supported versions. At the time of data collection, the share of Android 16 was estimated at 7.5%, Android 15 at 19.3%, Android 14 at 17.9%, and Android 13 at 13.9%.
A Google representative emphasized that the built-in Google Play Protect protection continues to work on devices starting with Android 7 and provides real-time application verification, but it does not replace system security updates that close vulnerabilities at the OS level.
In the Android Security Bulletin for February 2026, Google also recommends that users update to the latest version of Android whenever possible and install security updates regularly, as additional security mechanisms are implemented in new versions of the platform.
Foreign and local investors have stepped up deals in Thailand’s hotel market, betting on buying properties in prime locations for subsequent renovation, upgrading, and “repositioning” in a more expensive segment, The Nation Thailand reported.
Colliers Thailand estimates that the value of hotel deals in the country could exceed 12 billion baht in 2026, while in 2025, about six hotels with 1,574 rooms were sold for a total of 10.14 billion baht, with the main locations of interest to investors being Bangkok, Phuket, Samui, Pattaya, Krabi, and Chiang Mai.
Colliers also points to the typical “investment profile” of such deals: investors are more likely to choose properties with an expected return of 6% per annum, buildings up to 10-15 years old, and hotels with more than 150 rooms in order to reduce capital expenditures and improve the economics of the project. Against the backdrop of a decline in the average occupancy rate across the country in 2025 to approximately 72%, hoteliers maintained and increased their rates, which supported RevPAR and interest in upgrading product quality.
Separately, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group reported that 2025 was a record year for Thailand’s hotel transaction market, with total deal volume estimated at 26.4 billion baht, and investors increasingly considering reconceptualization projects and mixed formats, including hotels with branded residences.
In its January inflation report, the National Bank of Ukraine increased its estimate for the grain and legume harvest in 2025 to 63.5 million tons from 61.5 million tons in its October report, while lowering its estimate for the oilseed harvest to 18.6 million tons from 19.3 million tons.
“The estimate for the oilseed harvest in 2025 has been revised downward by 0.7 million tons due to a slightly lower-than-expected soybean harvest and the inability to harvest part of the sunflower crop due to unfavorable weather conditions and the complex security situation in the regions where the crop is grown,” the document says.
This is the second such revision of estimates by the NBU: in last year’s July inflation report, it expected a grain harvest of 57.9 million tons and oilseeds of 21.0 million tons. In 2024, their harvest amounted to 56.2 million tons and 21.3 million tons, respectively.
The National Bank specified, with reference to data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, that as of the end of 2025, 89% of corn and 95% of grain and legume crops had been harvested. At the same time, thanks to significantly higher corn yields, the total harvest of grains and legumes exceeded the previous year’s figure: according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, by 7.4% or 3% when compared with the final data from the State Statistics Service.
As for the 2026 harvest, the NBU maintained its forecast for grains at 62.9 million tons and lowered its forecast for oilseeds from 21.4 million tons to 20.9 million tons.
“In 2026–2027, the production volumes of grains and legumes (62.9 million tons and 63.5 million tons, respectively) will remain close to the current level and will grow more significantly in 2028 (65.0 million tons). Oilseed production will grow moderately in 2026–2028 (to 22 million tons at the end of the forecast period) amid a gradual improvement in productivity in the industry, but it will be held back by climate change in the southern regions, exacerbated by the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, as well as security risks,” according to the National Bank.
At the same time, the NBU continues to assume that livestock farming will continue to make a negative contribution to the added value of agriculture due to the expected reduction in livestock numbers and pressure from production costs. However, this contribution will be less than previously expected due to the growth of poultry farming and the active recovery of pig farming after significant losses in 2024, according to the Inflation Report.
Despite the increase in harvest in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, freight transportation for export in the fourth quarter of last year decreased by 23% y/y (compared to 34% y/y in the third quarter), primarily due to a further decline in maritime transport by 22% y/y (compared to 30% y/y in the third quarter).
As specified by the National Bank, rail transport decreased by 28% y/y (compared to 58% y/y in the third quarter), and road transport decreased by 42% y/y (compared to 53% y/y in the third quarter).
According to the State Statistics Service, the decline in freight turnover accelerated to 18% y/y on average in Q4 from 13% in Q3. Passenger turnover growth slowed to 0% y/y on average in Q4 (compared to an average growth of 7% in Q3).
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) recognized the documentary film “2000 Meters to Andriivka” by Ukrainian director and journalist Mstislav Chernov with its award, according to a post on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian State Film Agency on Sunday.
“The film chronicles the events of the war in Ukraine and focuses on the fighting during the Ukrainian counteroffensive. In the film, Mstislav Chernov and photographer Alexander Babenko follow Ukrainian soldiers, capturing the reality of life in the trenches, heavy fighting, and the personal stories of defenders on the front lines. The cameras convey the immediate experience of war — from tense combat episodes to personal moments,“ the statement said.
It is noted that this is Chernov’s second DGA award. The director previously received this award for the documentary film ”20 Days in Mariupol.”
“The Directors Guild of America Award is yet another confirmation of the international recognition of Ukrainian documentary cinema and the world community’s attention to the events of the war in Ukraine,” the State Film Agency noted.
