Apollo Hospitals Enterprise said it will demerge its digital health and pharmacy operations into a new entity, Apollo Healthtech, with a separate listing targeted by December 2026. The company plans to appoint Shobana Kamineni as executive chairperson of Apollo Healthtech, subject to shareholder approval and the demerger taking effect. Apollo Hospitals said Apollo Healthtech is expected to generate annualised revenue of around Rs 25,000 crore by the time of listing.

The UK’s Royal Navy forcibly boarded and detained the Russian-flagged tanker MV Smyrtos in international waters of the English Channel. The vessel was carrying more than 100,000 tonnes of Russian Urals crude and was bound for India. The operation marked the first armed UK seizure of a sanctioned tanker, with authorities citing the ship’s “stateless” status as the legal basis for enforcement. The incident represents a physical interception of Russia’s shadow fleet and a sudden supply-chain disruption with a direct, verifiable transmission path to spot crude and near-month futures markets.

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to 340.3 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983 and more than 60% below its peak. The drawdown followed three large releases aimed at easing fuel-price spikes triggered by the Iran war, including a record 172 million-barrel loan programme. The latest level is below the post-Russia-Ukraine invasion trough under former President Joe Biden’s administration, while stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma have slid to 21.6 million barrels near operational minimums. The reduced buffer has heightened market sensitivity to potential supply shocks.