Government reassures students stranded in Ukraine’s Sumy

The Government of India on Saturday said it was “deeply concerned” about the students trapped in Sumy, on the frontline of Ukraine’s war with Russia, and assured them that it was in talks with the two countries for a safe corridor for them after they threatened to march towards the border carrying the Indian Flag despite heavy bombing of the city.

Putin warns against imposing any no-fly zone over Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin warned on Saturday that Russia would consider any third-party declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as participation in the war there, while Ukrainian officials blamed Russian shelling for breaching a ceasefire arranged in two cities to evacuate civilians.

FATF retains Pakistan on its terror funding ‘grey list’

The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF has retained Pakistan on its terrorism financing “grey list” and asked Islamabad to address at the earliest the remaining deficiencies in its financial system, according to a media report on Saturday.

In Sumy, students run out of food, water and hope

Students in Sumy on Saturday said they were running out of hope after several days of promises on their evacuation through a “humanitarian corridor” and that continued bombardment in the city indicated there was no sign yet of a ceasefire for them.

IMF says war in Ukraine will have ‘severe impact’ on global economy

In a statement, the global lender International Monetary Fund said the war in Ukraine was driving energy and grain prices higher, and had sent a wave of more than 1 million refugees to neighboring countries, while triggering unprecedented sanctions on Russia.

Can Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning put judiciary on the fast track?

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be used in judicial processes to reduce the pendency of cases? In response to this unstarred question in the Lok Sabha during the first part of the Budget session of Parliament, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that while implementing phase two of the eCourts projects, under operation since 2015, a need was felt to adopt new, cutting edge technologies of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase the efficiency of the justice delivery system.

PM Modi had requested us to help students caught in Ukraine crisis: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally requested the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha to serve the Indians who were caught in the Ukrainian crisis, the outfit has said in a press statement. The organisation came in media focus when some of the students of Kerala and Tamil Nadu alleged upon return that the Indian authorities had displayed discriminatory attitude during the transit through Poland where BAPS was in charge of providing humanitarian support.

Court refuses anticipatory bail to Chitra Ramkrishna

A Delhi court on Saturday refused to grant anticipatory bail to former managing director and chief executive officer of National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna in connection with the NSE co-location case.

Sharad Pawar objects to PM launching ‘half-completed projects’ in Pune

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate a part of the Pune Metro on Sunday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that the PM was welcome in Pune, but inaugurating the “half-completed project” at a time when Indian students have to be evacuated from Ukraine had to be taken more “seriously”. 

Global food prices jumped 20.7% to hit record high in February, says FAO

World food prices hit a record high in February, led by a surge in vegetable oils and dairy products, to post a 20.7% increase year-on-year, the U.N. food agency said on Friday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 140.7 points last month against a downwardly revised 135.4 in January. That figure was previously given as 135.7.

Azhar Ali’s 185 takes Pakistan to 476-4 declared on day two

Azhar Ali hit his fourth Test hundred against Australia as Pakistan piled on 476-4 before declaring its first innings on the second day of the first Test on Saturday.

Ali missed out on a double century and got dismissed for 185 with Pakistan declaring under overcast conditions late in the final session.