Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will pay an official visit to India in December, the Kremlin said on Friday, as ties between the countries grow closer, and after the United States imposed tariffs on New Delhi over its purchases of Russian oil.

Putin will also meet Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at a regional summit in China on Monday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, including AFP, saying the pair would discuss “preparation for the December visit”.

US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for New Delhi’s massive purchases of Russian oil, part of a campaign to pressure Moscow into ending its offensive in Ukraine.

Energy incomes are a key source of revenue for Moscow’s state budget.

Russia is also one of India’s top arms suppliers, and the warm ties between the two countries date back to the Soviet era.

Ukraine’s Western allies have sought to cut Russia’s export earnings since Moscow launched its military assault in February 2022.

But Russia has been able to redirect energy sales away from Europe to countries including India and China, ensuring the multi-billion-dollar flow of funds has continued.

India has argued it imported oil “from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict”.

Putin has significantly curtailed his foreign travel amid the offensive on Ukraine, for which he was slapped with an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.

India is not a party to the ICC and, therefore, not obligated to detain Putin.

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The National Orientation Agency has urged parents to protect their integrity by ensuring that their children do not engage in actions capable of tarnishing their family’s image.

The agency warned that the practice of writing on the breasts and laps of female students during sign-out celebrations in tertiary institutions runs contrary to Nigeria’s core national values.

Addressing journalists in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Friday, to formally commence the agency’s two-week nationwide civic engagement drive in Osun, NOA’s Director, Human Resources, Ayisola Olowoyo, who spoke on behalf of the Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, cautioned against extreme actions while celebrating milestone achievements.

“Let me say something briefly on the sign-out activities. The exercise itself is a good one, but there can be evil forces behind it. People are celebrating, they wish their friends congratulations, but they go to extremes.

“In some situations, they wear white; they write a lot of things on it. They write on the laps of their colleagues, they write on the breasts of their colleagues. This is against national values”, Olowoyo said.

To bring back discipline into the nation’s public life, the NOA boss said the agency would launch the National Values Charter, a document containing information about discipline, duty of care among the citizens of the country, honesty and integrity in private and national life.

“So when this charter is launched, you know we are expecting positive results. Then, at our own level as parents, we want to take some drastic steps because we like to protect our names. We don’t want our names to be spoiled. You have the right to teach your children how to behave, how to conduct themselves”, Olowoyo added.

Speaking on the significance of the two-week nation-wide civic engagement drive, Olowoyo said the campaign would cover five areas to include: national enlightenment on government policies, programmes and activities, flood mitigation, national security awareness, national values reorientation for students against extreme sign-out practices, as well as, Nigerian identity project/national symbol campaign.

To drive the message to all parts of the state, she said grassroots outreach would be held in markets, schools, motor parks, religious institutions and community halls, urging traditional rulers, religious leaders, community stakeholders, among others to join the campaign for the desired results to be achieved.

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The Nigerian Postal Service has announced that, with effect from August 29, 2025, all postal shipments from Nigeria to the United States, except letters and documents, will attract a mandatory prepaid customs duty of $80 or its naira equivalent.

In a public notice to its customers on Friday, NIPOST explained that the new charges stem from a recent Executive Order signed by the Government of the United States of America suspending de minimis exemptions for all postal shipments globally.

The directive, it said, was issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

“The Nigerian Postal Service wishes to inform our esteemed customers of a recent policy change by the Government of the United States of America, enacted through the Executive Order on ‘Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries’ under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,” the notice read.

According to NIPOST, the decision by Washington applies to all designated postal operators worldwide and is not limited to Nigeria.

“This Executive Order applies to all postal operators and designated postal administrations worldwide, and the payment of the additional duty affects all global postal inflows into the United States, not just those from Nigeria,” it added.

The agency said the new measure will have far-reaching implications for Nigerians sending parcels and goods to family, friends and business partners in the U.S.

It warned that global logistics operations were already adjusting to the policy, with airlines and cargo carriers adopting stricter protocols in handling shipments destined for America.

“Global logistics operations are also being affected, as airline and cargo carriers adopt more cautious measures in handling U.S.-bound shipments. This may extend both transit and processing times, potentially resulting in delivery delays,” NIPOST stated.

The notice further stated that all U.S.-bound items would undergo additional Customs checks on arrival. This, officials said, may compound waiting times for recipients.

NIPOST, however, assured customers that it was actively working with international partners to cushion the impact.

“NIPOST is actively engaging with the Universal Postal Union, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and our airline partners to minimise service disruptions and safeguard customer experience,” the agency said.

The postal service reiterated its commitment to ensuring efficient and reliable service delivery despite what it described as a “global regulatory adjustment.”

It added, “We reassure our customers that NIPOST remains committed to providing safe, reliable, and efficient postal and courier services despite this global regulatory adjustment.”

The United States on Friday ended tariff exemptions on small packages entering the country from abroad, in a move that has sparked concern among small businesses and warnings of consumer price hikes.

President Donald Trump’s administration cited the use of low-value shipments to evade tariffs and smuggle drugs in ending duty-free treatment for parcels valued at or under $800.

Instead, packages will either be subject to the tariff level applicable to their country of origin or face a specific duty ranging from $80 to $200 per item. But exclusions for some personal items and gifts remain.

Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, told reporters that closing this “loophole” helps restrict the flow of “narcotics and other dangerous and prohibited items” while bringing fresh tariff revenues.

But the monthlong lead time Trump’s order provided has sparked a frenzy.

Postal services, including in France, Germany, Italy, India, Australia and Japan, earlier said most US-bound packages would no longer be accepted.

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