LIVE: Three powerful explosions heard near Ukraine's Lviv, says governor

'There were three powerful explosions near Lviv from the direction of Kryvchytsy, now there is an air raid warning, so keep calm and take shelter,' said regional Governor in an online post

8:02 AM

Ukrainians hold large protest in Brussels, demand west for tougher sanctions on Russia

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its second month, a large protest was carried out in Brussels with protesters, including the sizable Belgian-Ukrainian community and recently arrived refugees, demanding tougher sanctions against Russia.

 

The event was organized by the Ukrainian-led advocacy group Promote Ukraine. It took place in front of the Council of the European Union, where US President Joe Biden was concluding a summit with European leaders, reported Ukraine's local media outlet The Kyiv Independent.

7:49 AM

Female foreign ministers press Taliban on girls' education

Female foreign ministers from 16 countries around the world said on Friday they are deeply disappointed that Afghan girls are being denied access to secondary schools and called on the Taliban to reverse their decision. Diplomats from 10 countries sounded a similar message at the United Nations.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools on Wednesday to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community. So far, they have refused to explain the sudden decision.

7:46 AM

Saudi Aramco storage petroleum facility hit by Houthi attack, causing fire

Yemen's Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties.

 

A huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the Red Sea city where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is taking place this weekend, an eyewitness said.

7:42 AM

Ukraine war: J K Rowling slams Putin's 'cancel culture' remark

Author J K Rowling is pushing back after Russian President Vladimir Putin dragged her into a rant against Western efforts to cancel'' Russian culture.

Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics, the Harry Potter author said Friday in a tweet linked to an article about jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny.

Putin earlier compared recent Western criticism of Russia with efforts to cancel Rowling over her views on transgender issues. Rowling has been criticized after saying she supported transgender rights but did not believe in erasing the concept of biological sex.

7:35 AM

Kaspersky Named First Russian Company on Security Risk List

The U.S. placed internet-security provider AO Kaspersky Lab on a list of companies deemed a threat to national security, for the first time adding a Russian entity to a list dominated by Chinese telecommunications firms.

 

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday also added China Telecom (Americas) Corp, and China Mobile International USA Inc. to the list.

 

Once a company is on the list, federal subsidies can’t be used to purchase its equipment or services.

 

 

7:33 AM

Sisodia to present annual budget in Delhi Assembly today

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia will present the annual budget for the financial year 2022-23 in the Delhi Assembly on Saturday.

 

After the annual budget, the minister will present the Demands for Grants for the Financial Year 2022-23 and Supplementary Demands for Grants for the Financial Year 2012-22.

 

After that, Sisodia will introduce the "The Delhi Appropriation Bill, 2022" in the assembly.

 

The budget session of the Delhi Assembly commenced on March 23 and will conclude on March 29.

7:32 AM

International Labour Organisation elects new chief

Gilbert F. Houngbo from Togo will be the next Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the organisation has announced.

 

He was elected by the UN agency's Governing Body, comprising representatives of governments, workers and employers during their meeting in Geneva on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Houngbo, former Prime Minister of Togo, will be the 11th head of the agency, and the first African to hold the post.

7:32 AM

No rotation of staff at Chernobyl nuclear plant since March 21, says UN nuclear watchdog

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there has not been any rotation of technical staff at the Chernobyl nuclear plant since March 21, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday (Local Time).

 

In an IAEA statement, Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, Ukraine also did not know when the next rotation might take place.

 

Ukraine's regulatory authority told the IAEA on Thursday that Russian shelling of checkpoints in the nearby city of Slavutych, where many Chernobyl nuclear power plant staff live, "prevented them from travelling to and from the plant."

7:31 AM

Biden supports Russia's exclusion from G20

US President Joe Biden has said he was in favour of Russia being excluded from the Group of 20 (G20).

 

If Russia is not excluded, at least Ukraine should also be invited to the G20 group as an observer, Biden added at a press conference at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.

 

The US President is in Brussels to attend three summits addressing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including the NATO extraordinary summit, the Group of Seven summit and the European Council meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.

7:31 AM

UP CM Adityanath to hold first cabinet meeting at 10 am today

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold his first cabinet meeting at 10 am on Saturday in Lok Bhawan, Lucknow, after which he will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Protem speaker Ramapati Shastri in Raj Bhawan at 11 am.

 

CM Adityanath will also address Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and top officials at 11:30 am in Yojana Bhawan, Lucknow.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel appointed Ramapati Shastri as the Protem Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly.

7:30 AM

Russia restricts flow of funds to 'unfriendly' countries, regions

Russia has imposed restrictions on the movement of funds that could be transferred to "unfriendly" countries and regions, its central bank has said.

 

The measure was taken in response to the freezing of part of Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves in some countries, the central bank said on Telegram on Friday.

 

"A comparable amount" of funds are affected, it said, without specifying the exact sum, Xinhua news agency reported.

7:30 AM

Ukraine crisis causes German business sentiment to 'collapse': Ifo Institute

Sentiment among German companies "has collapsed" due to the Ukraine crisis, the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research has said.

 

Accordingly, the institute's seasonally adjusted Business Climate Index dropped from 98.5 points in February to 90.8 points in March, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Due to the international sanctions against Russia and the supply chains interrupted by the military conflict in Ukraine, several German companies, including industry heavyweights such as carmaker Volkswagen, have stopped all business with Russia.

 

7:29 AM

US concerned with new surge of Covid-19 despite fall of deaths

There is wide concern in the US that another wave of Covid-19 is lurking somewhere ahead over the looming dominance of the BA.2 subvariant, though figures and rates currently give some reason for optimism, according to reports by major news media.

 

The data analysis of The New York Times (NYT) showed that the seven-day average new Covid-19 deaths on March 24 in the US went down to 830, a minus 36 per cent change over a period of 14 days. New coronavirus cases were 30,387, recording a minus 15 per cent change, Xinhua news agency reported.

7:29 AM

US puts AO Kaspersky Lab, 2 Chinese firms to national security threat list

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Friday (local time) that it is putting AO Kaspersky Lab and two Chinese companies on the list of equipment and services that have been deemed as a threat to national security.

 

"The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau today added equipment and services from three entities - AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp, and China Mobile International USA Inc. - to its list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed a threat to national security, consistent with requirements in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019," the FCC statement read .

7:29 AM

60 miles from Ukraine, Biden sees refugee crisis in Poland

Just 60 miles from Ukraine, President Joe Biden saluted Poland on Friday for welcoming more than 2 million refugees who have fled Russia's invasion. Then he met with humanitarian experts on the ground about what will be needed to mitigate the growing suffering.

 

Biden said he had hoped to get even closer to the border but was prevented because of security concerns. Still, he said he wanted to visit Poland to underscore that the assistance it is providing is of enormous consequence" as Europe experiences the biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

 

It's not stopping," Biden said of the devastation in Ukraine. "It's like something out of a science fiction movie.