
By BY VALERIE HOPKINS from NYT World https://ift.tt/SJeIBX3





On the fifth day of polling of the Uttar Pradesh elections on Sunday, around 55 per cent polling was recorded for 61 seats spread across 12 districts. According to the Election Commission of India's voter turnout app, the polling percentage was 54. 98. Voting ended at 6 pm.
UP Election Fifth-Phase: Uttar Pradesh will go to the fifth phase of Assembly polls today with voting to be held in 61 constituencies, majorly covering the eastern region of the state. Out of the 61 Assembly seats across 12 districts, the main constituencies include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and Gonda. 
Amid tensions in Ukraine as Russian forces have invaded the country, Ukranian soldier Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovych blew himself up alongwith a bridge in order to prevent invasion by Russian tanks from marching ahead. The incident took place at the Crimean intersection in order to stop the promotion of the tank column. 
UP Election 5th Phase: The campaign for 61 assembly seats across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh going to the polls during the fifth phase of the state assembly elections ended on Friday evening. The voting for the fifth phase of state assembly elections will be held on February 27. State’s Chief Election Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said the campaign for the fifth phase ended at 6 pm and all preparations for the voting on Sunday have been completed.
Two Hindu officers in the Pakistan Army have been elevated to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for the first time, Pakistan's official media has reported, a move that has garnered considerable interest on social media in this conservative Muslim-majority country. Major Dr. Kelash Kumar and Major Dr. Aneel Kumar have been promoted to the post of Lieutenant Colonel after the Pakistan Army Promotion Board approved their promotions, media reports said.



The Special PMLA court in Mumbai on Wednesday sent Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik to Enforcement Directorate custody till March 3 in connection with Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case. The court's order came after Malik was arrested by the ED earlier today.
Around 60 per cent polling was recorded in 59 Assembly constituencies during the fourth of the seven-phase elections in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, according to the Election Commission. The poll panel's voter turnout app till 9.30 pm showed 59.77 per cent voting. The app has updated the turnout trend percentage after an official announcement by the state poll panel at 5 pm. The State Election Commission releases the final voting percentage a day after the polling. With the completion of the fourth round of polling, 231 Assembly constituencies out of 403 in the state have been covered. The last three phases of voting will be held on February 27, March 3 and March 7. As many as 624 candidates were in the fray in this phase.
The ruling DMK and its allies notched a huge electoral victory in the just-concluded urban civic polls winning over two-thirds of the 12,800 plus ward member posts and bagging all the 21 municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu for which results were declared on Tuesday. DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin said the win is proof of people's endorsement of the 'Dravidian Model' of governance and added that he would slog to uphold the faith reposed by the people on him. He thanked the people for bestowing his party and allies with victory.
With the White House calling Russian deployments in eastern Ukraine an invasion, it's expected to follow up with tough sanctions. President Joe Biden has made clear the United States intends to deploy sweeping financial penalties, not American troops, to hit Russia over President Vladimir Putin's moves against Ukraine.
India on Tuesday despatched the first shipment of 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistani land route as part of its humanitarian aid to Afghans reeling under food shortage since the Taliban seized power in Kabul last August. In a ceremony at Amritsar, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla along with Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and World Food Programme Country Director Bishaw Parajuli flagged off the first convoy of 50 trucks transporting the consignment through the Attari-Wagah border crossing.
Shocked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, world leaders moved quickly Tuesday to impose as forceful response as possible in hopes of averting a full-blown war in Europe. Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow, but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies.
Reacting strongly, India on Monday dubbed as "baseless and unwarranted" the allegations by the United Nation's mission in Geneva of "judicial harassment" against journalist Rana Ayyub, and asserted that the country upholds the rule of law and no one is above it.




Delhi on Monday reported 360 fresh cases of coronavirus, and four deaths, according to data released by the health department. Out of these 360 cases, 86 pertain to earlier weeks that were added on the ICMR portal on Sunday, the department said. The number of tests conducted a day ago stood at 38,136, while 706 patients were discharged in a span of 24 hours, the bulletin said.



