KOLKATA, 9 March, 2021 (TON): On Monday evening, a fire broke out in an office building in central Kolkata’s Strand Road that killed around 9 people.

The dead include, four firemen, a police officer, a railways officer, and a security person, the officials said.

While expressing grief over the incident, the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Sincere condolences to the families of the 9 brave deceased including the 4 firefighters, 2 Railways personnel and an Assistant Sub Inspector of Police (ASI) who have been fighting the fire at the Eastern Railways Strand road office in Kolkata."

"Railway officials including the GM are at the site and are working in coordination with the State Govt for rescue and relief efforts. We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the safety of all concerned," the minister said in another tweet.

PM Narendra Modi also expressed grief over the incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

PM Modi also extended condolences to the dead and said, "Saddened by the loss of lives due to the fire tragedy in Kolkata. In this hour of sadness, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest."

Earlier in the evening, immediately after the fire broke out at 6.30 pm, the fire minister, the urban affairs minister, and police officers rushed to the spot. At least 25 fire engines were deployed to put out the blaze that began on the 13th floor.

Around 11 pm, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the spot and announced to give ₹ 10 lakh to the families of those killed.

NEW DELHI, 9 March, 2021 (TON): On Monday, while addressing women on International Women’s Day, Chief Minister Dehli Arvind Kejriwal has said that a women-focused approach has been adopted by his government that would develop and provide relief to working women.

At India Habitat Center, the Dehli Commission for Women (DCW) organized the event.

Kejriwal said while applauding women, "Almost all the policies of the Delhi government in the last six years have been women-centric, aiming to provide some relief to women in light of the inflation and economic crisis. Policies like free water, free electricity, and free bus-ride are examples. Keeping women's safety and security in mind, we have installed CCTV cameras and street lights in every nook and corner of the city."

He added that in view of women's safety and security, the Delhi government has installed around 1.5 to 2 lakh CCTV cameras across the city.

While honoring the women on the occasion, he said, "We felicitated a lot of women that made me wonder whether we are honoring them or these women are honoring us with their work. Each individual, who was awarded, made an important contribution towards the society for which I would like to congratulate them. I hope it would inspire other citizens to carry forward this work."

In his address, the minister clearly mentioned the developments made in the city for the protection and safety of women. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also congratulated several women for their great achievements in life.

DHAKA, 9 March, 2021 (TON): A senior police official confirmed Banned Bangladeshi militant outfits to send a huge amount of money to another extremist group in Kashmir in the form of cryptocurrency.

A Special Action Group of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP)Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC), had arrested two AI militants, Awal Newaz alias Sohel Newaz and Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, in September 2019, the official said.

Since 2014, the militants were receiving huge funds through Bitcoin, the militant groups said during interrogation.

The two also mentioned that they collected huge sums of money from Pakistan and Gulf countries also in the form of cryptocurrency.

Earlier they used to get money through hundi, but because the law enforcers kept in under surveillance, they shifted to Bitcoin, they claimed.

Ahmedul Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner of the Special Action Group, terror financing is largely being carried out with the help of cryptocurrency.

"It's very tough to monitor the illegal transaction of Bitcoin as we have not advanced technical devices to monitor it.

"It'll be a big challenge for the law enforcers to check the virtual currency in the future," he added.

However, Bangladesh has banned virtual currency. In December 2017, the Bangladesh Bank issued a notice asking everyone to refrain from such transactions.

JERUSALEM, 9 March, 2021 (TON): On Monday, Israel has lifted the ban on the entry of foreign nationals into the country, Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority stated.

This decision has been announced by the Israeli cabinet that has permitted the foreign nationals to enter the country under the approval of a special permit committee following a request in advance.

Besides, the cabinet permitted the entrance of Israelis with a maximum of 3,000 people per day.

On 21 December, 2020, Israel completely banned the entry of foreign nationals. And on 26 January 2021, Israel closed Ben Gurion International Airport for most inbound and outbound flights to avoid the spread of the new strains of the virus.

Ahead of the 23 March general elections, priority will be given to the entry of Israelis in the next two weeks. However, before that, the entry of foreign citizens will be approved on a limited basis.

RIYADH, 9 March, 2021 (TON): On Monday, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Malaysia’s PM met before the talks on Tuesday to sign the MoU (Memorandums of Understanding).

On Saturday,  Muhyiddin Yassin PM of Malaysia reached Jeddah to perform Umrah.

There he was received by the Kingdom’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Mahmoud Qattan, the Gov. of Jeddah Prince Mishael bin Abdul Aziz, and other officials.

In an interview with the media, Abd Razak Abdul Wahab Malaysian ambassador described the long-standing relationship between the Kingdom and Malaysia as when Yassin was first elected into office, Saudi Arabia was the first country he decided to visit. And these visits reinforced the unity between the nations, he said.

“When we talk about bilateral relations, of course, it is very good and warm between the two countries, and it has been for years,” he said.

“The relations are good between people and people, and between government and government, also the private sector.”

However, it is quite noticeable that the ties between the two countries are entering a new era, with many joint initiatives on the horizon, as both the nations hope to seek further strengthening the initiatives through joint collaborative ventures that can further contribute to Vision 2030.

NAIMEY, 9 March, 2021 (TON): Mahamadou Issoufo, Niger’s President won this year's $5m Ibrahim prize for Achievement in African leadership for his work in promoting economic progress and joining regional efforts to put an end to the threat of rebels and militants.

In 2011, Issoufou was first elected and then re-elected in 2016.

While, leaders like Guinea's Alpha Conde and Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara pushed their terms for the third time by amending the constitution, Issoufo stepped down after serving two terms.

Festus Mogae, chair of the prize committee and a former president of Botswana said, "In the face of the most severe political and economic issues, including violent extremism and increasing desertification, President Mahamadou Issoufou has led his people on a path of progress."

Issoufou is set to be succeeded by the former interior minister, Mohamed Bazoum, who won the presidential election in February. However, he is the sixth African head of state to win the award, which is paid out over 10 years.

CHANDIGARH, 8 March, 2021 (TON): As the Assembly polls in Punjab are approaching, on Monday the state Finance Minister Manpreet Badal presented the budget for the next fiscal.

Badal presented the fifth and the last Budget of the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government of Rs 168,015 crore for 2021-22.

The total receipts are expected to be Rs 162,599 crore.

"This year Punjab contributed 27 percent of paddy and 32 percent of wheat to the Central pool and the state paid Rs 13,774 crore on account of servicing of the cash credit limit (CCL) gap taken over by the previous SAD-BJP government till March 2021," he said.

Amid the farmers’ issue of the farm laws, he announced to waive Rs 1,186 crore of 1.13 lakh farmers and Rs 526 crore of landless farmers in the next phase of the crop loan waiver scheme launched in 2021-22.

As per the Budget speech, there will be a provision of Rs 200 crore for crop diversification and Rs 7,180 crore to go as a free power subsidy for the farmers.

Rs 170 crore has been allocated for the travel so that the women and student passengers can travel cost-free in public buses.

Old age pensions would be increased from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 a month, the Shagun scheme from Rs 21,000 to Rs 51,000, and the monthly pension of freedom fighters from Rs 7,400 to Rs 9,400, while, the pension for a month of the Punjabi writers increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per month.

A total of 48,989 posts in the government to be filled in the first phase against 1 lakh vacancies.

In the education sector, Badal announced a slew of new schemes, including, two new medical colleges and hospitals to be set up in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur towns, entailing an expenditure of Rs 650 crore.

He said the state GSDP has increased from Rs 4,26,988 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 6,07,594 crore in 2021-22, i.e. an increase of 42.30 percent over 2016-17.

However, the budget was announced before a year of the Assembly polls that seem to curry favored the farmers, women, elderly, and government employees by presenting a populist but deficit budget for the next fiscal year.

LONDON, 8 March, 2021 (TON): In the 48-year history of the ATP rankings, on Monday, Novak Djokovic Serbian tennis player set a record for most weeks at No.1.

Djokovic entered his 311th week at the top of the rankings, one week longer than Swiss 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer's record.

Last month, 18-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic grabbed his ninth Australian Open title, while, Federer set the record in July 2012 surpassing American Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks.

In May 2018, amid a series of injuries and downtown in form Djokovic fell to No. 22.

However, he stormed back into the top five after winning Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018 and following that up with a win at the 2019 Australian Open and 2019 Wimbledon. Moreover, Federer, Djokovic, and Spain's Rafael Nadal have dominated men's singles tennis, particularly the Grand Slams, for nearly two decades.

ANKARA, 8 March, 2021 (TON): On Monday, the media reported that Turkey has readily confirmed to ease ties with Egypt and Gulf countries.

“A new chapter can be opened, a new page can be turned in our relationship with Egypt as well as other Gulf countries to help regional peace and stability,” Spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ibrahim Kalin told the media.

After the 2013 presidential election of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the relations between Egypt and Turkey severed.

“Egypt is an important country in the Arab world; I mean it still remains the brain of the Arab world, the heart of the Arab world. Egypt is struggling with economic issues, with security issues we fully understand,” the spokesperson said.

Dialogue between the two countries can calm their bilateral ties and regional issues, however, the country is likely to be interested in talking to Egypt over the maritime, Palestinian, and Libyan crisis, as the sources said.

MELAMCHI, 8 March, 2021 (TON): In order to increase the water level in view of the upcoming Hindu event Shivaratri, water is drawn from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchok district has been discharged into the Bagmati River.

With the flow of 260 liters per second, the water was diverted from a 26.5 km tunnel to Sundarijal Water Processing Centre, according to Melamchi Drinking Water Development Board.

On 6 March, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the water diversion into the Sundarijal water processing plant.   

Stakeholders cleaned the river, on the bank of which Pashupatinath Temple is seated, and used the water to wash away sludge and other wastes, ahead of Mahashivaratri, which falls on 11 March this year.

The reports state that water purification in the river was recently announced by the PM Oli, however, the construction of a dam at Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park is yet to be materialized.