A look at the headlines today:
1. IAF aircraft to bring back Indians from coronavirus-hit Iran today
India sent a military transport aircraft with a specialist medical team on board to Iran on Monday night to bring back Indians stranded in the coronavirus-hit nation. The flight is set to return today. According to the Indian Air Force, its C-17 Globemaster military aircraft left for Iran from the Hindon airbase at 8.30 pm. "An IAF C-17 'Globemaster' aircraft got airborne today at 2030 hrs from Hindan airbase to airlift Indian citizens from Iran. The aircraft has a specialist medical team onboard. Indian citizens will be flown to Hindan where medical facilities including quarantine have been set up," the IAF tweeted. About 2,000 Indians are living in Iran, a country that has witnessed increasing numbers of coronavirus cases in the last few days. According to latest reports, 237 people have died of the coronavirus infection in Iran while the number of positive cases stands at around 7,000. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday made a surprise visit to Kashmir and met parents of students stranded in coronavirus-hit Iran as well as tourism industry representatives, assuring both groups that the government was seized of their problems and all would be well.
2. Ahead of RS polls, MP BJP calls meet of MLAs today
The Madhya Pradesh BJP has called a meeting of its 107 MLAs today, ahead of the March 16 budget session and the Rajya Sabha polls for three seats scheduled on March 26. The Rajya Sabha terms of Congress veteran Digvijay Singh, and BJP leaders Prabhat Jha and Satyanarayan Jatiya will end on April 9. The meeting will begin at 6pm, a BJP functionary said. Earlier in the day, the party had sent a list of 20 to 22 names, including that of national general secretaries Ram Madhav and Kailash Vijayvargiya, to its Central poll panel to pick two candidates for the RS polls.In the 230-member state Assembly, the Congress has 114 MLAs while the BJP has 107, assuring both parties one RS seat each, with the tussle centring on the third. Four Independent MLAs, two lawmakers of the Bahujan Samaj Party and one legislator of the Samajwadi Party are supporting the Congress-led state government.
3. Modi, Shah, Kejriwal to skip Holi celebrations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other top BJP leaders will skip the Holi celebrations today in view of the coronavirus outbreak even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced not to celebrate Holi, and cited incidents of communal violence in the national capital among the reasons. Later, President Ram Nath Kovind's office also tweeted that the Rashtrapati Bhavan will not hold the traditional Holi gatherings as a precautionary measure as with "alertness and safeguards, we all can help contain the outbreak of COVID-19". Announcing his decision to not celeberate Holi, Modi tweeted,"experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Hence, this year I have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan programme." Following Prime Minister Modi's example, Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda also took to Twitter to announce their decision to not celebrate Holi or hold any Holi gatherings in view of the coronavirus outbreak. "Holi is a very important festival for we Indians but in the wake of Coronavirus, i have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan celebration this year. I also appeal everyone to avoid public gatherings and take a good care of yourself and your family," Shah tweeted.
4. US calls for a UN vote today on Taliban deal
The United States has called for a Tuesday vote at the UN Security Council to endorse Washington's deal with the Taliban that was meant to pave the way to peace in Afghanistan, diplomats said. The US military has begun withdrawing troops as part of the pullout agreed in the February 29 agreement with the Taliban. The request for a UN vote came after negotiations on a draft resolution.
5. Mary Kom, Panghal among 3 to qualify for Olympics; India dominates boxing's Asian Qualifiers
Six-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) were among three Indian boxers who secured Olympic berths by advancing to semifinals of the Asian Qualifiers here on Monday, taking the total number of the country's Tokyo-bound pugilists to eight. Second-seeded Mary Kom notched up a comfortable 5-0 win over Philippines' Irish Magno in her quarterfinal bout for a ticket to her second Olympic Games. She won a bronze in the 2012 London Olympics when women's boxing was first introduced at the showpiece. The 37-year-old will square off against China's Yuan Chang in the semifinals. Chang is a former Youth Olympics champion. Earlier, world silver-medallist and top seed Panghal edged out familiar foe Carlo Paalam of Philippines in a 4-1 split verdict to be assured of his maiden Olympic appearance and a medal at the qualifiers. In the last Indian bout of the day, world bronze-medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) upstaged second seed Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia 5-0 to secure her first Olympic place. With this, the number of Indian boxers securing Olympic berths went up to eight after Satish Kumar (+91kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) advanced to the semifinals on Sunday.
-Inputs from PTI
