Russian strikes hit western Ukraine as offensive widens
Russia widened its military offensive in Ukraine on Friday, striking near airports in the west of the country for the first time, as observers and satellite photos indicated that its troops, long stalled in a convoy outside the capital Kyiv, were trying to maneuver to encircle the city, Associated Press reported.
With the invasion now in its third week, the U.S. and its allies prepared to step up their efforts to isolate and sanction Russia by revoking its most favored trading status. The move comes amid mounting outrage after a deadly airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, under an increasingly constricting 10-day-old siege.
The new airstrikes in western Ukraine were likely a message from Russia that no area was safe, Western and Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have struggled in the face of heavier-than-expected resistance and supply and morale problems. So far, they have made the most advances on cities in the south and east while stalling in the north and around Kyiv, according to the Associated Press.
Strikes on the western Lutsk airfield killed two Ukrainian servicemen and wounded six people, according to the head of the surrounding Volyn region, Yuriy Pohulyayko. In Ivano-Frankivsk, residents were ordered to shelters after an air raid alert, Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv said.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russia used high-precision long-range weapons Friday to put military airfields in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk “out of action.” He did not provide details.
New satellite photos, meanwhile, appeared to show a massive Russian convoy outside the Ukrainian capital had fanned out into towns and forests near Kyiv, with artillery pieces raised for firing in another potentially ominous movement.
The 40-mile (64-kilometer) line of vehicles, tanks and artillery had massed outside the city early last week, but its advance appeared to stall as reports of food and fuel shortages circulated. U.S. officials said Ukrainian troops also targeted the convoy with anti-tank missiles, Associated Press reported.
The satellite imagery, from Maxar Technologies, showed the 40-mile (64-kilometer) line of vehicles, tanks and artillery outside Kyiv had been redeployed, the company said. Armored units were seen in towns near the Antonov Airport north of the city. Some vehicles moved into forests, Maxar reported, with towed howitzers nearby in position to open fire.
Pakistan warns arch-rival India over mystery flying object
Pakistan on Friday warned New Delhi of “unpleasant consequences” over what it said was an Indian-originated, but unidentified high-altitude supersonic object that crashed in Pakistani territory, Reuters reported.
Pakistan foreign office said in a statement it summoned on Friday India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest over what it said was the unprovoked violation of its airspace. Pakistan called for an investigation of the incident, which it said could have endangered passenger flights and civilian lives.
Pakistan warned India in the statement “to be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence off such violations in future.”
The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars and have engaged in numerous military clashes, most recently in 2019 which saw the air forces of the two engage in combat, Reuters reported.
In a hurriedly called news conference late on Thursday night, Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikhar said, “On 9 March a high-speed flying object was picked up inside Indian territory by air defence operations centre of the Pakistan air force.”
He said the military was not sure of the nature of the object, which he said crashed near the eastern Pakistani city of Mian Channu and originated from the Indian city of Sirsa, in India’s western Haryana province, according to Reuters.
Pakistan also called on India to share outcome of the investigation into the incident.
There was no immediate response from India’s Ministry of External Affairs to a Reuters’ query on the matter.
“The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace as well as human life and property of ground,” said military spokesman Iftikhar.
A Pakistan air force official at the news conference said the object was being analysed forensically and initial studies suggested it was a surface-to-surface supersonic missile, but was unarmed, Reuters reported.
He said it travelled at an altitude of 40,000 feet, at Mach 3, and flew 124 kilometres (77 miles) in Pakistani airspace before crashing.
Iftikhar said the military would not jump to conclusions until they got an explanation from India, but said that Pakistan strongly protested against a “flagrant violation” of its airspace.
“Whatever caused this incident to happen, it is for the Indians to explain,” Iftikhar said.
Nepal records 77 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death on Friday
Nepal logged 77 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Friday.
With this, the country's active caseload mounted to 1,082,668. Similarly, the death toll has climbed to 11,743.
According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 5, 607 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 62 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 374 people underwent antigen tests, of which 15 tested positive.
The Ministry said that 181 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.
As of today, there are 5, 212 active cases in the country.
Among them, 5, 108 people are staying in home isolation while 104 are in institutionalized isolation.
Home Ministry urges public to be aware of increasing online fraud
Home Ministry has urged the general public to be aware of the increasing online frauds and requested them not to be swayed by the frauds.
Various people and groups were conducting such illegal activities in the name of providing good opportunities.
If such illegal activities are found, the people are requested to inform the District Administration Office or the nearby police unit, the Ministry urged. The people and groups involved in such activities would be taken action.
The Ministry issued a press release on Thursday and informed that online investment, online lottery, online gambling, donations were circulated to people massively. Similarly, even the lure of promotion, digital currency, scholarship and study were made online.
Moreover, the people are urged not to believe in lottery, dhukuti, loan schemes with exorbitant interest (meterbyaj) which are made public online. RSS
EC to hold discussions with political parties regarding upcoming local level polls
The Election Commission (EC) of Nepal is going to hold discussions with the leaders of political parties today in regard to the progress made so far on the upcoming local level polls.
The EC is also expected to inform the politicians about the progress taking place about the poll and solicit recommendations from the political parties.
EC Spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Poudel stated that representatives of 17 political parties have been invited to the EC at 11:30 am on Friday.
“Almost a month has passed after the poll announcement. The main purpose of the meeting is to discuss and conduct interaction to receive feedback from parties,” Poudel said.
The EC has asked the political parties to send two representatives along with a leader at the consultation.
Eighty political parties have submitted their application in the EC for the purpose of local level election. RSS
PM Deuba urges construction entrepreneurs to participate in tender of MCC
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged construction entrepreneurs to compete in the tender of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Addressing the 23rd general assembly of the Federation of Construction Entrepreneurs Nepal, Prime Minister Deuba said that Nepal could also take part in the MCC project as the tender would be announced at the international level.
He urged the construction entrepreneurs to participate in the international tender.
Saying that the US law envisioned that the tender should be announced internationally, the Prime Minister said that any country could take part in the same.
Nepalis would be happy if Nepal achieved success in the tender.
“There will be international competition, global tender. Construction entrepreneurs of Nepal can also take part in the tender,” he said.
Prime Minister Deuba went on to say that construction industries of Nepal should be made of international level.
He also made it clear that the government has also amended the Procurement Regulations to facilitate the entrepreneurs.
Nepal, South Africa agree to enhance mutual corporation
Nepal and South Africa have agreed to enhance mutual corporation.
Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Acting Director General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of the Republic of South Africa Nonce baLosi signed the Declaration of Intent on Cooperation on behalf of their respective Governments in Pretoria on Thursday.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Foreign Secretary Paudyal stated that the Declaration would provide a fundamental basis for further strengthening of bilateral cooperation between Nepal and South Africa.
The Foreign Secretary recalled Nepal’s solidarity with the South African people in their struggle for freedom, dignity and equality.
Acting Director General of DIRCO Losi warmly welcomed the Nepali delegation and stated that this day would mark the new beginning in the friendly relations between Nepal and South Africa. She appreciated Nepal for firmly standing by the side of South African people in their fight against apartheid.
The signing ceremony was followed by the First Nepal-South Africa Bilateral Consultation meeting.
The meeting discussed wide range of issues of bilateral relations between the two countries, including trade, tourism, foreign direct investment, people-to-people contacts, and cultural cooperation as well as exchange of UN peacekeeping experience.
The second meeting of the bilateral consultation mechanism will be held in Kathmandu in 2024.
Foreign Secretary Paudyal also had a separate meeting today with Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Candith Mashego-Dlamini. Matters, including COVID-19 control, vaccine equity and economic recovery featured during the meeting.
In an interview to Ubuntu Radio run by DIRCO, the Foreign Secretary highlighted key priorities of the Government of Nepal and potential areas that the two countries could explore to add more substance into their bilateral relations.
The Nepali delegation led by the Foreign Secretary comprised of Harishchandra Ghimire, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gyan Bahadur Magar, Charge´d'Affaires at the Embassy of Nepal in Pretoria and other officials of the Ministry and the Embassy. RSS
WHO says it advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens in health labs to prevent disease spread
The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country’s public health laboratories to prevent “any potential spills” that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Biosecurity experts say Russia’s movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.
Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO.
In response to questions from Reuters about its work with Ukraine ahead of and during Russia’s invasion, the WHO said in an email that it has collaborated with Ukrainian public health labs for several years to promote security practices that help prevent “accidental or deliberate release of pathogens.”
“As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills,” the WHO, a United Nations agency, said, according to Reuters.
The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine’s laboratories. The agency also did not answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed.
Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and at their embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Ukraine’s laboratory capabilities are at the center of a growing information war since Russia began moving troops into Ukraine two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova repeated a longstanding claim that the United States operates a biowarfare lab in Ukraine, an accusation that has been repeatedly denied by Washington and Kyiv.
Zakharova said that documents unearthed by Russian forces in Ukraine showed “an emergency attempt to erase evidence of military biological programmes” by destroying lab samples, Reuters reported.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm her information.
In response, a Ukrainian presidential spokesperson said: “Ukraine strictly denies any such allegation.” U.S. government spokespeople also strongly denied Zakharova’s accusations, saying that Russia may use its claims as a pretext to deploy its own chemical or biological weapons.
The WHO statement made no reference to biowarfare. The agency said it encourages all parties to cooperate in “the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens they come across, and to reach out for technical assistance as needed.” It offered to help wherever possible with technical guidance and coordination.
The United Nations Security Council will convene on Friday at Russia’s request, diplomats said, to discuss Moscow’s claims, presented without evidence, of U.S. biological activities in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
