Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is in France to exchange an assessment of the Ukraine crisis with French President Emanuel Macron as an Indian Army chief has said that Pakistani militants killed in J&K have been found with sophisticated weapons that were left behind by US troops in Afghanistan…writes Joyeeta Basu.
News in brief from South Asia
India
Jaishankar, French counterpart discuss Ukraine crisis: External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian, and exchanged an assessment of the Ukraine crisis with French President Emanuel Macron to resolve the crisis diplomatically, reports the Hindustan Times.
Assembly elections phase 3: Polling in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in Phase III of the Assembly elections on Sunday was largely peaceful, with 65.32% turnout in Punjab and 60.46% in Uttar Pradesh, according to the Election Commission, reports The Hindu.
Modi promises to solve stray cattle issue in UP: Reacting to the stray cattle menace in Uttar Pradesh, which threatens the BJP’s narrative among farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised voters a new policy would be set up to deal with the issue after the assembly election results, reports The Hindu.
Security tightened in Karnataka town after ‘murder’ of Bajrang Dal worker: Prohibitory orders have reportedly been imposed in Karnataka’s Shivamogga after the killing of a 26-year-old Bajrang Dal activist. Schools and colleges will also remain shut as a precautionary measure, reports the Hindustan Times.
India’s Lok Sabha Speaker arrives in UAE: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to the United Arab Emirates, was received at the airport by members of the Federal National Council ahead of his historic address, reports Asian Lite News.
Financial news
Airport lounges set to grow as airports increase in number: The number of airport lounges in India is expected to increase to 70-90 by 2025, to 150-160 by 2030 and to 193 by 2040, as per estimates based on FICCI data, a statement by MoCA and Frost & Sullivan research, reports The Hindu.
Pakistan
Street crimes: Pak Sindh CM Pins blame on financial crisis: Pakistan Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah attributed the rise in street crimes in Karachi to the current financial situation of the country, Dawn reported.
Afghanistan
‘Weapons abandoned by US recovered from militants killed along LoC’: Pakistani militants killed along the LoC in recent months have been found with sophisticated weapons abandoned by the US troops in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover last year and the weapons “could reach Kashmir anytime”, a top Indian Army officer has said, reports Greater Kashmir.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka successfully completes trial run of train supplied by India: Sri Lanka has successfully completed trials of an AC train supplied by India under a USD 318 million line of credit extended in 2014-15, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said in an official statement on Sunday, reports The Print.
Nepal
Fierce protests in Nepal over US grant: The police in Nepal fired rubber bullets and tear gas as hundreds of people protested over a $500m US grant going before parliament, BBC reported. Groups opposing the US funding have said it undermines Nepal’s sovereignty, the report said.
On a lighter note…
Alia Bhatt’s stylist reveals reason for her all-white looks: Sharing pictures of Alia Bhatt, her stylist Ami Patel said: “They say the colour white is special because it has all the colours of the rainbow in it. In Gangubai Kathiawadi I saw the entire spectrum of human emotions from celebration, gratitude, giving, sharing and every shade of love possible,” reports DNA News.
Keerthy Suresh’s first music video from ‘Gandhari’ is out. In the video, the national award winner can be seen adorned in a red lehenga, anklets, bangles, and a maang tikka. Keerthy wrote: “The promo for #Gandhari is here! Cannot wait for you all to watch and groove to this! ❤️”
Three-crore set created for Samantha’s upcoming movie Yashoda: A lavish set reprising a seven-star hotel has been created for the film Yashoda, according to reports. The much-hyped movie is Samantha’s next and actors Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Unni Mukundan, Rao Ramesh, and Murali Sharma will also play important roles in the movie, add industry sources.
