The Ministry of External Affairs in India has set up a control room to provide information and assistance to Indian nationals in Ukraine in view of the prevailing situation. Meanwhile, in a new development, China is looking to set up a maintenance and overhaul facility for surface-to-air missile systems in Bangladesh…writes Joyeeta Basu.
News in brief from South Asia
India
MEA sets up control room to help Indians in Ukraine: The Ministry of External Affairs has set up a control room to provide information and assistance to Indian nationals in Ukraine in view of the prevailing situation in that country over its tensions with Russia, reports Asian Lite News.
Charanjit Channi launches counter strikes at Arvind Kejriwal: Smarting from the political attack over his “UP, Bihar, Delhi de bhaiye remark”, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has launched a counter strike on his Delhi counterpart and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, reports NDTV.
UP polls: ADR report finds 21% candidates face criminal charges: A report released by the Association for Democratic Reform has revealed that 129, or 21%, of the 621 candidates contesting in the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections face serious criminal cases, reports the Hindustan Times.
Financial news
‘Indian economy to grow at quickest pace among large nations’: The Indian economy is set to grow at the quickest pace among the league of large nations on the back of various initiatives taken by the government in Budget 2022-23, said the Finance Ministry’s Monthly Economic Review, reports The Hindu.
Pakistan
Journalist alleges torture on orders of Imran Khan: Pakistan journalist Mohsin Baig, who was arrested following a raid at his residence, has claimed that he was tortured by Federal Investigation Agency officials on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan while in police detention, Friday Times reported.
Bangladesh
China to set up missile repair base in Bangladesh: A decade after China supplied Bangladesh with surface-to-air missile systems, a maintenance, and overhaul facility will come up there, which can double up as a production assembly line of the missile and its advanced variants, reports Tribune India.
Afghanistan
Developments in Afghanistan to have wider ramifications: India at UN: India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations TS Tirumurti expresses concerns over a possibility of growth in international terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from the Afghan territory, reports Times Now News.
On a lighter note…
‘Bruised’ photos of Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif from ‘Tiger 3’ shoot go viral: Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif are shooting in New Delhi for Tiger 3 and a few pictures from the shoot are going viral, reports DNA.
Farhan Akhtar-Shibani Dandekar’s wedding is tomorrow: According to fresh reports, Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar will reportedly get married on Saturday with a civil ceremony on Monday, reports the Hindustan Times.
How photographer in Kerala shot VIRAL album of a labourer-turned-model: Mammikka, a daily wage worker from Kozhikode in Kerala has shot fame and all it took was a single photoshoot by Shareek Vayalil, reports DNA News.
“Virat came to me. I couldn’t control my tears”, says Tendulkar: In one of the most heart-warming stories between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, the one that perhaps stands out is when Kohli offered Sachin the sacred thread that his father had given him on the day Sachin retired from cricket and was sitting and crying in the changing room, reports the Hindustan Times.
