LIVE: Biden says US to give Ukraine drones, anti-aircraft systems

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the United States was offering an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine to combat Russia's invasion

3:50 PM

Russia says parts of a Ukraine compromise deal are close

Russia said on Wednesday that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv agreed to discuss neutrality, raising hopes of an end to the biggest war in Europe since World War Two.

 

"Neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said told RBC news.

 

"Now this very thing is being discussed in negotiations - there are absolutely specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement," Lavrov said.

 

He said that President Vladimir Putin had spoken about neutrality, along with security guarantees for Ukraine without NATO enlargement, as one possible variant in February.

3:34 PM

Russian forces try to crush Ukraine defences amid diplomacy

Russia's military forces blasted Ukraine's capital region and other major cities Wednesday as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defence that has frustrated their progress nearly three weeks after invading.

 

With Russia's ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, a glimmer of optimism emerged that talks between the two sides could make progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiations would continue and Russia's demands for ending the war were becoming more realistic.

 

Russia rained shells on areas around Kyiv and within the city, where a 12-story apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

 

Zelenskyy said Russian forces had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities. British and U.S. intelligence assessments supported the Ukrainian leader's view of the fighting.

3:23 PM

Social media being used to hack democracy, charges Sonia Gandhi in LS, calls for curbs

3:17 PM

Russia's Lavrov says some deals with Ukraine close to being agreed

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that some formulations for agreements with Ukraine were close to being agreed, with neutral status for Kyiv under "serious" consideration.

 

However, he told the RBC news outlet that there were other issues of importance too, including the usage of the Russian language in Ukraine and freedom of speech.

2:48 PM

Cong chief Rahul Gandhi attacks Facebook, says its 'worse for democracy'

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked social media giant Facebook on Wednesday and alleged that it was "worse for democracy".

Gandhi shared a compilation of news reports on Twitter, accusing the social media giant of helping the BJP reach out to voters during the elections.

"Meta-worse for democracy," Gandhi said on Twitter.

He also shared a report of Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective which claimed that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.

2:42 PM

Russia is using secret 'decoy dart' missiles to fool Ukraine air defence

Russia is using secret 'decoy dart' missiles -- which they have refused to export to stop the West reverse-engineering them -- to strike Ukrainian targets, the US intelligence has claimed, Daily Mail reported.

 

Mobile rocket launchers in Russia and Belarus are believed to be shooting Moscow's Iskander-M missiles while deploying decoy systems to fool Ukrainian air defence.

 

These dart-shaped armaments, originally thought to be cluster bombs, have been seen on social media from almost the beginning of Russia's invasion, the report said.

2:14 PM

Ukraine says it launches counteroffensives against Russian forces

Ukraine's armed forces are launching counteroffensives against Russian forces "in several operational areas," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

 

"This radically changes the parties' dispositions," he added, without giving details.

 

In an update on the war, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces referred to the "high intensity of hostilities" but did not say where fighting was heaviest.

 

2:14 PM

A proud moment, says Anand as Chennai chosen to host 44th Chess Olympiad

Legendary Viswanathan Anand says it's a proud moment for Chennai and the chess fraternity in the country as the capital city of Tamil Nadu has been chosen to host the Chess Olympiad, later this year.

 

The 44th Olympiad, which was supposed to take place in Moscow, was shifted out of Russia in the aftermath of its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on February 24.

 

The prestigious event is tentatively scheduled to be held between July 26 and August 8.

1:42 PM

Bhagwant Mann sworn in as Punjab chief minister

AAP leader Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as the Punjab chief minister on Wednesday.

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mann in the swearing-in ceremony that took place at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district.

Mann took oath in Punjabi.

Besides newly-elected AAP MLAs, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and other leaders wearing yellow turbans took part in the ceremony.

The AAP romped home winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, decimating the Congress and the SAD-BSP combine.

1:41 PM

Undeclared blockade by China causing losses to Nepali traders

While the world has been in throes of the pandemic, traders in Nepal have had a rough deal at the hands of China. They are the victims of an undeclared Chinese blockade and have incurred hefty losses.

The distraught traders are now pinning their hopes on the forthcoming visit of the Chinese foreign minister.

Nepal imports readymade garments, cosmetic products, footwear, consumer electronic items and stationery goods, among other products, from China and exports handicraft items like metal statues.

1:28 PM

Scindia bats for paternity leave in airlines; wants 50 per cent women pilots

Airlines must consider giving male employees paternity leave so that they, too, can share the responsibility of bringing up children, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday.

He also batted for increasing the share of women pilots in the country from 15 per cent to 50 per cent.

India passed the Maternity (Amendment) Bill in 2017 that increased the right to paid maternity leave for working women to 26 weeks from 12 weeks.

1:13 PM

Women's World Cup: Dean, Knight lead England to 4-wicket win over India

On the back of Charlie Dean's career-best figures of four for 23 and captain Heather Knight's unbeaten 53, England ended their winless run in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup with a four-wicket victory over India at Bay Oval on Wednesday.

After bowling out India for a paltry 134 in 36.2 overs, England chased down the target with 112 balls remaining.

The pursuit of 135 began on a shaky note as Meghna Singh and Jhulan Goswami struck in quick succession in the first three overs. Danni Wyatt pushed hard but found Sneh Rana diving full-length to her right at slip while Tammy Beaumont was trapped lbw in pad first on forward defence, giving Goswami her 250th wicket in ODIs.

1:09 PM

Railways has approved preparation of DPRs for dedicated freight corridors: Govt

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday said his ministry has sanctioned preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for new Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) on three routes and their outcome would be the primary basis for arriving at an investment decision.

Vaishnaw said due to continuous economic growth, demand for rail transportation in both passenger and freight sectors is continuously increasing and the Indian Railways is constantly endeavouring to increase its capacity over a large number of routes to meet this growing demand.

"The Ministry of Railways has sanctioned preparation of DPRs for new DFCs on three routes, including the East Coast Corridor- Kharagpur to Vijayawada (1115 kms)," he said during Question Hour.

12:59 PM

Omicron infection linked with common respiratory illness in children: Study

Infection with the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is associated with a common respiratory illness in young children, known as croup, a previously unrecognised complication of COVID-19, according to a study.

The observational study, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, describes 75 children who came to the Boston Children's Hospital emergency department (ED) with croup and COVID-19 from March 1, 2020 to January 15, 2022.

The researchers noted that some cases were surprisingly severe, requiring hospitalisation and more medication doses compared to croup caused by other viruses, adding that just over 80 per cent occurred during the Omicron period.

12:50 PM

End Facebook interference in India's democracy: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday urged the government to put an end to the alleged "systematic interference" of Facebook and other social media giants in India's electoral politics.

Making a Zero Hour submission in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi referred to a report published in Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.

"I urge the government to put an end to the systematic interference and influence of Facebook and other social media giants in the electoral politics of the world's largest democracy. This is beyond partisan politics," she said.