Hindustan Times News | 7th March 2022 | 8 AM

HT Daily News Wrap

Vladimir Putin is now interested in Syrians who are experienced in urban fighting, Imran Khan slammed the Islamabad-based Western envoys for pressuring Pakistan to condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Mukul Arya, India's representative at the Palestinian city of Ramallah, has passed away & other top news in this bulletin.

Vladimir Putin is now interested in Syrians who are experienced in urban fighting so that Russian forces can take control over Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. Quoting US officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that some Syrians are already in Russia preparing for a fresh attack, while more are on their way, as the fight between the Russian and the Ukrainian troops are going on for 12 days now. Russia has been operating in Syria since 2015 to help the Syrian government fight in the civil war. Now, Moscow is hoping that the expertise of the Syrians in urban combat can help take Kyiv, the Wall Street Journal report said, quoting four American officials. “The move points to a potential escalation of fighting in Ukraine,” the report said. The recruitment has also been reported by Syrian media. According to a publication based in Deir Ezzor, Syria, Russia has offered volunteers from the country between $200 and $300 “to go to Ukraine and operate as guards” for six months at a time.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan slammed the Islamabad-based Western envoys for pressuring Pakistan to condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the United Nationals General Assembly voting from which India, Pakistan, the UAE abstained. Addressing a public rally, Imran Khan said Pakistan is not the West’s slave in reply to the joint letter issued by the heads of 22 diplomatic missions in which Pakistan was urged to support a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly condemning Russia. “I want to ask the European Union ambassadors: Did you write such a letter to India?” Imran Khan said. “What do you think of us? Are we your slaves … that whatever you say, we will do?” Imran Khan said adding that Pakistan suffered because it had supported the Western NATO alliance in Afghanistan. “We have friendships with the United States, Russia, China and Europe. We are not in any camp. Since we are neutral, we will try to collaborate with these countries to endeavour for an end to this war in Ukraine,” Imran Khan said.

Mukul Arya, India’s representative at the Palestinian city of Ramallah, has passed away, according to external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sunday. “Deeply shocked to learn about the passing away of India’s Representative at Ramallah, Shri Mukul Arya,” Jaishankar tweeted. “He was a bright and talented officer with so much before him. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. Om Shanti,” he said. It was not immediately known how Arya, a 2008-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, died. The Palestinian foreign ministry said it received with “great astonishment and shock” the news of the death of Ambassador Arya. “As soon as this painful news arrived, immediate instructions were issued from President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh to all the security, police and public authorities, in addition to the Ministry of Health and Forensic Medicine, to immediately move to the place of residence of the Indian ambassador to closely monitor the case of death,” it said in a statement.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday evening arrested Chitra Ramkrishna, former chief executive officer of National Stock Exchange (NSE) in connection with its probe into the stock market manipulation, officials said. A senior officer said Ramakrishna was arrested from Delhi and will be interrogated at length about the irregularities in the NSE during her tenure. Ramkrishna is charged with leaking sensitive information, claiming that she was acting on the advice of a so-called Himalayan yogi, who investigators maintain was none other than former group operating officer Anand Subramanian. The development comes a day after a Delhi court refused to grant anticipatory bail to Chitra Ramkrishna, saying there were strong chances that she may influence the probe and tamper with the evidence. Additional sessions judge Sanjeev Aggarwal also pulled up CBI for its “lackadaisical” probe, saying that the agency hadn’t taken action against the main beneficiaries of the co-location scam, “”who seem to be enjoying merrily at the expense of common citizenry”.

Ending the month-long polling exercise, Uttar Pradesh votes for the 7th and the final phase on Monday, from 7am to 6pm, which also concludes the election season with assembly elections to UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa all wrapped up. An hour after the polling concludes on Monday, exit poll prediction will make their way. In the last phase of UP Assembly elections, as many as 2.06 crore eligible voters will decide the fate of 613 candidates contesting for 54 seats. PM Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi and Akhilesh Yadav’s Lok Sabha constituency Azamgarh are voting today. One of the most-watched candidates in this phase is former minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is contesting from the Zahoorabad seat. Rajbhar had won the seat in 2017 as a candidate of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, which was a BJP ally.