Imphal: Two days before the counting of votes, a house was bombed in Manipur. Two people, including a child, were killed in the attack. The blast took place at a house in Churachandpur district. Five people were seriously injured. The incident took place around 7.30 pm on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Mangmillal (6) and Langinsang (22). The injured were rushed to the district hospital by the police but could not be rescued. Remains of a grenade were found at the scene of the blast. An investigation has been launched into the incident.
New Delhi: The first group of Indians has arrived from Ukraine. The Air India flight with 219 people, including students, landed at Mumbai airport around 8 pm. The Central Government has given the name Operation Ganga to the Ukraine rescue mission.
Earlier, it was reported that the flight would reach Mumbai at 4 pm. The Indians, who arrived in Romania after crossing the border from Ukraine, were airlifted by Air India from the capital, Bucharest. Another plane carrying 250 people took off from here at night. Another plane has left for Hungary to pick up Indians. The Air India flight left Delhi for Budapest, the capital of Hungary, at 5 pm. With the suspension of services to Ukraine following Russia’s military action, India has begun the process of repatriating civilians by bringing planes to neighboring countries.
Indian Ambassador to Romania Rahul Srivastava said that India was making every possible effort to repatriate those stranded in Ukraine. Meanwhile, thousands of students living in bunkers are complaining that they are not getting any help. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared a video of students demanding help as soon as possible. They said in the video that they had not received water or food for more than 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has advised people not to cross the border without contacting the embassy. The embassy pointed out that the situation was tense at several border check posts. Thousands of Indians are flocking to Ukraine in search of a way out.
Moscow: Amid war tensions, Russia imposed restrictions on FaceBook in the country. The government has imposed partial restrictions on the use of Facebook, citing censorship of the media’s Facebook pages and violating the rights of citizens. The Russian media regulator said it had taken steps to impose partial control. But no details have been released on what kind of restrictions will be imposed.
Russia has accused the pro-government channel Sweda, the state news agency RIA Novosti, and the online media Lenta and Gazeta of illegally imposing censorship on their Facebook pages. Since 2020, there have been 23 incidents related to censorship. The statement said that a letter had been sent to Facebook’s parent company, Meta, asking them to clarify the reason for the censorship, but did not respond. Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.
Hyderabad: A helicopter crashed in Telangana’s Nalgonda district, killing the pilots. The dead included a training pilot. According to reports, the helicopter crashed in Tungathurthi village in the Peddavura block near the Nagarjunasagar dam on the Krishna River. Locals rushed to the spot when they heard a loud explosion. Police and a medical team arrived at the scene. The aircraft is owned by a private aviation academy in Hyderabad. The dead have not yet been identified. An investigation has been launched into the incident.
Bangalore: A college in Mangalore has been closed due to the hijab controversy. The move comes in the wake of protests following the blocking of students wearing hijab. Ullal Bharat Pre-University College has barred students from wearing hijab in the wake of an interim order of the High Court banning religious symbols on school uniforms.
Students boycotted classes and stood at the entrance. Mangalore Deputy Commissioner of Police Hariram Shankar, ACP Dinkar, and Ullal Inspector Sandeep spoke to the students but they did not back down. Discussions with the college management and parents in the presence of the MLA UT Khader Tehsildar did not bear fruit. With this, it was decided to close the college.
The students protested for the second day in a row when the college authorities banned them from entering the classroom. Hijab students staged a sit-in protest in front of the college. Classmates and boys came to support them.
Thiruvananthapuram; South Kerala is likely to receive showers on March 2 and 3. A cyclone will form in the Bay of Bengal tomorrow. It is likely to intensify and turn into a low-pressure area in the south-eastern Bay of Bengal. The meteorological office warned that the cyclone would form in the Andaman Sea and nearby areas. Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts are likely to receive showers.
Kyiv: Ukraine says it will not back down from counter-attacks and is not hiding. The Ukrainian military says it has intensified its counterattack against Russia. The Ukrainian military claims to have killed 3,500 Russian troops in the past two days of fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the resistance would continue.
Ukraine says more than 200 Russian soldiers have been taken prisoner of war. Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed that a Russian drone had fired at the Black Sea.
Russia’s focus on airstrikes on the third day of the war. Russia is stepping up airstrikes in response to Ukraine’s defense of the land war.
Airstrikes have been issued in six Ukrainian cities. Airstrikes are possible in Yemen and Odessa in central Ukraine.
Kyiv: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has moved into a secret base. The army moved to the Zelensky bunker, which was closer to Kyiv. But there are reports that he has left the capital. Although the airstrip was closed, a plane carrying him was reportedly flown from Zhuliany airport. Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi tried to contact Zelensky on the phone after an agreement was reached that they would talk to each other at 9.30 am, but could not be reached. Earlier in the day, Zelensky announced that it was ready to hold talks with Putin. His message was to sit around a table and discuss and stop killing people.
New Delhi: The Central Government has provided aircraft for Indians in Ukraine. The government will bear the entire cost of the trip, officials said.
Meanwhile, the camp offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are now operating in the cities of Lviv and Chernivtsi in western Ukraine. Government sources said more Russian-speaking officials were being sent to the camp offices. The first batch of Indian students has now reportedly left Chernivtsi for the Ukrainian-Romanian border.
Alternative arrangements are being made to evacuate Indian nationals in the wake of the closure of the Ukrainian air border. A team from the Indian Embassy in Hungary has been sent to the border post-Sohani to co-ordinate and assist Indians in exiting Ukraine. Indian officials said in a tweet that they were working with the Hungarian government to provide all possible assistance. India is closely monitoring the situation and developing evacuation plans.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also sending teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Romania. The group from Poland is on its way to the Krakowicz border with Ukraine. The team from the Slovak Republic is on a voyage to the Wisnie Nemeke Land Border and the team from Romania to Suseva.
The Ministry advised Indian nationals in Ukraine near these border points to contact these teams if they wish to leave Ukraine. Contact numbers are available on the Ministry’s website.
More than 20,000 Indians are stranded in Ukraine following Russia’s military action against its neighbors.
Washington: US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions against Russia in the wake of the Russian occupation of Ukraine. Sanctions were imposed on the Russian economy, including export restrictions. Biden has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is an aggressor and that his country will have to face the consequences. Meanwhile, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, announced that the European Union (EU) has decided to impose further sanctions on Russia over its military action in Ukraine. He added that the support of the Ukrainian people and government to mobilize economic capacity and humanitarian support was also discussed. Charles’ response came after the European Union summit.
Biden has said he will not send troops to Ukraine and will not negotiate with Putin. Biden reiterated that Putin had decided to attack months ago. Britain, meanwhile, has announced significant economic sanctions against Russia. In the British Parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a major economic embargo on Russia over Ukraine’s occupation.
