NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. I am SAIRA MUJTABA and with me is APRAJITHA NAIR bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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THE HEADLINES:

⦁ Made in India passenger aircraft to take to the skies soon, connecting small cities and towns in the country, asserts Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

⦁ President of India Droupadi Murmu lays emphasis on wide publicity of country's art, traditions and culture through new technology.

⦁ Blue economy of India to be the next GDP multiplier, says Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

⦁ Women 20 Inception meeting under India's G20 Presidency begins in Maharashtra.

⦁ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires a senior military commander.

⦁ Iran's currency hits new low amid anti-government protests.

⦁ Earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hits Turkiye, toppling more buildings; One person killed.

⦁ Tornadoes and severe winds destroy homes, leaving several injured across central United States.

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PREZ RAJASTHAN

President of India Droupadi Murmu has laid emphasis on wide publicity of the country's art, traditions and culture through new technology. President Murmu was addressing the inauguration function of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav at Bikaner in Rajasthan on Monday. She said that it is necessary to match technology with traditions and science with art. Technology is also being adopted in the field of art and culture. She added, through the internet, the talent of new and young artists is also spreading in every corner of the country. The President said, Indian culture has been of high quality since ancient times and we should be proud of our rich and prosperous traditions. Ms. Murmu opined that new ideas should also be given a place in the traditions, which can connect the youth and future generations with them. She said that it is very important that the youth and children also understand the importance of the precious heritage of the country.

President Murmu said, there is no dearth of artists and art in the villages, but it is the need of the hour to find the artistic talents in rural part of the country.

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KARNATAKA-PM

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has exuded confidence that in the coming days, Made in India passenger aircraft will take to the skies connecting small cities and towns in India. He was speaking in Shivamogga in Karnataka on Monday. On the occasion, Mr Modi inaugurated the Shivamogga airport and laid the foundation stone for various rail, road, water connection related projects. He said, before 2014, there were just 74 airports in India and the aviation sector was in the doldrums but today, 74 additional airports are functional. He added that the order for 500 aircraft by Air India reflects the vibrant aviation sector in India.

The Indian Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth over 2240 crore rupees at Belagavi. He released the 13th instalment of over 16000 crore rupees under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammaan Yojana to benefit eight crore farmers across the country.

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JAISHANKAR-FREDERIK

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar met Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark in New Delhi on Monday. In a tweet, Dr. Jaishankar said, conversation was held on sustainability and digital delivery in particular. He said various aspects of the New India have been shared with the Royal Couple. He said, green strategic partnership is a driving force for strengthening ties between the two nations. The Danish Royal Couple who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, is on four-day visit to India.  

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CAG-G20

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu said that India's blue economy could be the next GDP (gross domestic product) multiplier. He was speaking at a seminar on Blue Economy organised as part of the G20 and SAI Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) 20 in New Delhi today. Mr Murmu said that India's Exclusive Economic Zone of over two million square km has a bounty of living and non-living resources with significant recoverable resources such as crude oil and natural gas. He added that the Blue economy is intrinsically linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)14. This includes the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Mr Murmu noted that the UN has declared the decade 2021-2130 as the decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. He added that the SAIs can make recommendations on how the government could direct their efforts and policies for the sustainable development of the Blue Economy of the nations.

Blue economy refers to a wide range of economic activities pertaining to the sustainable development of resources and possessions in the oceans, connecting rivers, water bodies and coastal regions and with a focus on equity, inclusion, innovation and modern technology.

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MAHARASHTRA-SMRITI IRANI

The Women 20 (W20) inception meeting under India's Presidency began in Maharashtra on Monday. Women 20 is an official engagement group under the India's G20 Presidency. Addressing the inaugural session, India's Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said, W20 will give guidance on how to use best practices to make empowerment of women more effective. Around 150 women dignitaries from G20 member countries, guest countries and special invitees are participating in the two-day meeting.

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HOTSPOT

In today's Hotspot Section, we bring you a News Commentary: PM’s Mann ki Baat: PM hails India’s Digital Strides: e-Sanjeevani and UPI.

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MURUGAN-SRILANKAN ISSUE

India's Minister of State for fisheries Dr.L.Murugan has said that the fishermen issue will be discussed at the minister level meeting to be held between India and Srilanka in April this year. Speaking to the media at Chennai on Monday, Dr. Murugan said, the Government was very concerned about the plight of the fishermen and their economy. He said that the Government had provided more than 50 thousand GPS instruments to the fishermen to identify the sea boundaries as a precautionary measure. He said that the fishermen issue was taken up even during his recent Srilankan Visit. He said a joint level committee of secretaries have been set up between the Countries to find a remedy for the fishermen issues.

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SRI LANKA-INDIA

Sri Lanka’s state Minister of Finance Ranjit Siyambalapitiya has assured that eggs imported from India will be sold to food manufacturers at a price of 30 Lankan rupees. Highlighting that the eggs being imported by the State Trading Corporation (STC) will not be released into the market, Mr Siyambalapaitiya emphasised that only the STC has been permitted to import eggs into the island nation.

The Cabinet of Ministers in the island nation recently approved the importation of eggs in a bid to address the shortage of eggs in the market and to bring down the soaring prices.

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B'DESH-CITIZENSHIP

Bangladeshi cabinet on Monday passed a proposal that paved the way for its citizens to acquire dual citizenship of 44 more countries. Previously, Bangladesh citizens could hold dual citizenship of 57 countries, besides their country of birth. We have a report:

People born in Bangladesh can now obtain dual citizenship of the country even while they are citizens of any of the listed 101 countries in the world. Bangladesh cabinet expanded the list to include 44 more countries from where dual citizenship will be permitted. Out of these 44 countries 19 countries are in Africa, 12 countries are in South America, 12 countries are in the Caribbean region and one in Oceania. Some of the major countries in the newly expanded list include Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Sudan, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Fiji among others. Bangladesh allows for dual citizenship under limited circumstances based on procedures prescribed by the government. Bangladeshi origin people who are citizens of the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and Europe are allowed to take up dual citizenship of Bangladesh. Such people based on their application and fulfilling certain conditions are issued a Dual Nationality Certificate (DNC) and they can obtain a Bangladeshi passport, apart from the passport of those countries. However, people with dual citizenship are not permitted to become members of parliament or contest elections in Bangladesh. People from the SAARC region are not allowed to have dual citizenship as per Bangladeshi law. Rajesh Jha for World News, All India Radio, Dhaka.

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NEPAL-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

In Nepal, eight political parties have decided to support the Nepali Congress candidate for Presidential election.

The parties held a meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar yesterday. During the meeting, the eight political parties decided to form a task force,  led by NC vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka, in view of the presidential polls to be held on 9th March.

The eight parties attending the meeting were- Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party, Rastriya Janamorcha and Nagarik Unmukti Party.

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KATHMANDU-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

India's Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, handed over the College Building of Madan Bhandari Memorial in Kathmandu to the College Management Committee. The building has been constructed with the financial assistance of Government of India. Talking to AIR News, Mr Srivastava said, the project was taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project at a total cost of 28.64 million Nepalese Rupee under ‘the Nepal-India Development Cooperation’.  

 Since its inception, the college has achieved remarkable success in terms of quality education and infrastructural development. This College is affiliated with Tribhuvan University and has over 1500 students from different districts of the country and offers a variety of courses.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE UPDATE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fired a senior military commander on Sunday. In a decree, the President announced the dismissal of Eduard Moskalyov as commander of the joint forces of Ukraine, which are engaged in battles in the Donbas region. Mr. Moskalyov had been in the post since March 2022, shortly after Russia started special military operation in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev said that the continued arms supply to Kyiv risks a global nuclear catastrophe. However, Russian forces are making concerted efforts to capture the two eastern regions.

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UK-EU DEAL

Britain and the European Union proclaimed a new chapter in relations on Monday as they agreed for a crucial overhaul of trade rules in Northern Ireland that aims to ease tensions stoked by Brexit.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adopted the deal at a meeting in Windsor, west of London. The landmark deal follows more than a year of tense talks over the "Northern Ireland Protocol", which has caused unease in the province after a significant peace agreement that ended three decades of armed conflict.

Agreed in 2020 as part of Britain's EU divorce, the pact kept the province in the European single market for physical goods and subject to different customs rules than the rest of the UK, angering pro-UK unionists there and eurosceptics in London.

The UK government had threatened a unilateral overhaul of the protocol unless the EU agreed to wholesale changes, souring diplomatic ties and risking a wider trade war.

In joint press conference with European Commission President, the UK Prime Minister said, this is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.

Ms Von der Leyen heralded the "historic" agreement that would ensure a "stronger EU-UK relationship" to tackle shared challenges such as Russia-Ukraine conflict and climate change. She said, the new Windsor Framework will benefit people in Northern Ireland, and support all communities, celebrating peace on the island of Ireland.

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IRAN-CURRENCY FELL

Iran’s currency on Sunday fell to a new record low amid the nationwide anti-government protests and the breakdown of the 2015 nuclear deal. Traders in Tehran were exchanging the rial at around six lakh to the dollar, after the currency plunged further from five lakh rials for one dollar on Wednesday.

According to media reports, people have formed long lines in front of exchange offices in recent days, hoping to acquire increasingly scarce dollars. Many have seen their life savings evaporate as the local currency has deteriorated. Meanwhile, according to Iran’s statistics center, the inflation reached 53.4 per cent in January, up from 41.4 per cent two years ago.

Iran’s currency was trading at 32,000 rials to the dollar when it signed the 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.

Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests since September. Demonstrations broke out following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police.

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TURKEY-QUAKE

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Türkiye on Monday, three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region, causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person. Country's disaster management agency, AFAD, said, 69 people were injured as a result of the Monday's earthquake which was centred in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province.

Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces that was hit hard by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of southern Türkiye and northern Syria on 6th of this month. That quake led to death of more than 50,000 people in both countries as well as the collapse of one lakh seventy three thousand buildings in Türkiye. Disaster management agency of Türkiye, urged people not to enter damaged buildings saying strong aftershocks continue to pose a risk. Close to 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region affected by the quake since 6th of February.

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MEXICO PROTEST

In Mexico, tens of thousands of people on Sunday protested against an electoral reform approved by the ruling party-controlled Congress that is widely perceived as an attack on democracy ahead of 2024 presidential polls. Political and civic organizations joined forces for the show of discontent, gathering on Mexico City's main square, Zocalo, and in other cities under the slogan #MiVotoNoSeToca (Hands Off My Vote). Saying the National Electoral Institute is under threat, protesters denounced the majority move by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's backers to reduce the independent body's size and budget. The legislation must now be enacted by President Lopez Obrador, who championed the change.

The President, whose popularity hovers at about 60 percent, cannot seek reelection as the constitution bars more than one six-year term. He has ruled out trying to change the constitution to stay in office, but is nevertheless keen to see his Morena party hold on to power. The opposition vowed to challenge the reform in the Supreme Court.

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HC-AGNIPATH

The High Court in India's national capital on Monday upheld the validity of the Agnipath military recruitment scheme. Dismissing a batch of petitions against the recruitment scheme, the court said it was formulated in the national interest and to ensure that the armed forces are better equipped. The court said there is no reason to interfere in the scheme. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the central government and submitted before the court that more than 10 lakh aspirants have been given the benefit of age relaxation. The Agnipath scheme is a major paradigm shift in the recruitment process for defence personnel.

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EX.-COBRA-WARRIOR

An Indian Air Force contingent comprising 145 Air Warriors has departed from Air Force Station Jamnagar to participate in Exercise Cobra Warrior at the Waddington Air Force Base of the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The Exercise Cobra Warrior is a multilateral Air exercise in which Air Forces from Finland, Sweden, South Africa, the United States of America and Singapore would also be participating. The exercise aims to participate in fighter aircraft engagements and learn from the best practices of various Air Forces. The IAF will be participating in the exercise with five Mirage 2000 fighters, two C-17 Globemaster III and an IL-78 mid-air refueller aircraft.

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SIVASAGAR-GANGA VILAS

The tourists onboard world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas on Monday visited the historic Sivasagar town which is famous for monuments and palaces of the Ahom kingdom in the northeastern part of Assam. The tourists comprising 26 Swiss and two German nationals visited Ranghar, Talatal Ghar and Siva Doul in the heritage town. The tourists enjoyed Bihu dance performances organised by the Sivasagar district administration

Earlier, in the day, the tourists visited the Auniati, Uttar Kamalabari and Samaguri Sattras in the world's largest river island Majuli.

MV Ganga Vilas’ will culminate its journey in Dibrugarh on Tuesday. A welcome ceremony will be organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India in Dibrugarh on the same day. The event will be graced by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal along with other Union Ministers, State Ministers, Diplomats and concerned officials.

‘MV Ganga Vilas’, a cruise vessel made in India, was flagged off by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi on the 13th of last month.  

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US-WEATHER

In the United States, powerful storms with widespread wind gusts and reported tornadoes swept across Oklahoma and Kansas, leaving more than a dozen people injured. Possible tornadoes and widespread wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour were reported in Oklahoma, with downed trees and power lines, road closures and damage to homes around Norman and Shawnee. Officials in Norman, about 32 kilometers south of Oklahoma City said, there were 12 confirmed weather-related injuries, but none were considered critical. The National Weather Service said, a tornado touched down near Liberal in Kansas on Sunday in which more than a dozen homes were reported damaged. One person received minor injuries.

The Storm Prediction Center said the severe weather threat remained on Monday as thunderstorms were expected to produce damaging gusts across the Ohio Valley. At least a few tornadoes were also possible.

In hard-hit southeastern Michigan, authorities continued to work to restore electricity following last week's ice storm and high winds.

California, meanwhile, got a brief break from severe weather after a powerful storm a day earlier swelled Los Angeles-area rivers to dangerous levels, flooded roads and dumped snow at elevations as low as about 1,000 feet.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

The Sensex and the Nifty closed with losses today. A report from the business desk:  

BUSINESS CAPSULE

The Sensex dropped 176 points, or 0.30 per cent, to end at 59,288. The Nifty-50 also fell 73 points, or 0.42 per cent, to close at 17,393. Among global stock markets, Asian shares ended in negative territory. Japan's NIKKEI-225 fell 0.1 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.3 per cent each. Singapore's Straits Times slipped 0.6 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI ended 0.9 per cent down. However, European shares were up in intra-day trade. Oil prices rose as Russia halted exports to Poland via a key pipeline. The rise comes ahead of a hefty supply cut announced for March, but a stronger dollar and fears of recession capped gains. In intra-day trade, Brent crude was trading at 83 dollars per barrel. Back Home, at the Multi Commodity Exchange, Gold futures for April was trading at 55,365 rupees per ten grams. Silver futures for March was trading at 63,235 rupees per kilogram. Anubha Rohtagi for World News, All India Radio.

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FPR

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

⦁ The Financial Times reports, US companies say it is easier to hire despite low jobless rate.

⦁ The Straits Times reports, France seeks pro-nuclear alliance for EU energy talks.

⦁ The Globe and Mail reports, Israel sends more troops to occupied West Bank after deadly shooting, settler rampage.

⦁ The Washington Post writes, Biden’s student loan forgiveness program comes before Supreme Court.

⦁ The Japan Times reports, Japan needs more than just new visa options to attract highly skilled workers.

⦁ The New York Times writes, U.K. and Brussels Are Close to a Deal on a Brexit Sticking Point.

⦁ South China Morning Post says, UN chief slams ‘climate-wrecking’ firms at human rights meeting in Geneva.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

⦁ Made in India passenger aircraft to take to the skies soon, connecting small cities and towns in the country, asserts Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

⦁ President of India Droupadi Murmu lays emphasis on wide publicity of country's art, traditions and culture through new technology.

⦁ Blue economy of India to be the next GDP multiplier, says Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

⦁ Women 20 Inception meeting under India's G20 Presidency begins in Maharashtra.

⦁ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires a senior military commander.

⦁ Iran's currency hits new low amid anti-government protests.

⦁ Earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hits Turkiye, toppling more buildings; One person killed.

⦁ Tornadoes and severe winds destroy homes, leaving several injured across central United States.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artists from MYANMAR.

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME TOMORROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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