International
Over 2,500 detained at anti-war protests in Russia – monitoring group
LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) – More than 2,500 people were detained at protests on Sunday in 49 cities across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent Russian-based protest monitoring group.
Thousands of protesters chanted “No to war!” and “Shame on you!”, according to videos posted on social media by opposition activists and bloggers. The OVD-Info protest monitoring group said 2,502 people had been arrested.
Dozens of protesters in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg were shown being detained. One protester there was shown being beaten on the ground by police in riot gear. A mural in the city showing President Vladimir Putin was defaced.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the footage and photographs on social media or to reach Russia’s interior ministry for comment.
“The screws are being fully tightened – essentially we are witnessing military censorship,” Maria Kuznetsova, OVD-Info’s spokeswoman, told Reuters by telephone from Tbilisi.
“We are seeing rather big protests today, even in Siberian cities where we only rarely saw such numbers of arrests.”
The ministry warned on Saturday that any attempt to hold unauthorized protests would be prevented and the organizers held to account. It did not immediately publish data on arrests.
Police used loudspeakers to tell a small group of protesters in Khabarovsk: “Respected citizens, you are taking part in an unsanctioned public event. We demand you disperse.”
Some Russian state-controlled media carried short reports about the protests.
Russia’s RIA news agency said the Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, adjoining the Kremlin, had been “liberated” by police who had arrested some participants of an unsanctioned protest against the military operation in Ukraine.
CHURCH SUPPORT
RIA also showed footage of what appeared to be supporters of the Kremlin driving along the embankment in Moscow with Russian flags and displaying the “Z” and “V” markings used by Russian forces on tanks operating in Ukraine.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said Russian values were being tested by the West, which offered only excessive consumption and the illusion of freedom.
Putin, Russia’s paramount leader since 1999, calls the invasion, launched on Feb. 24, a “special military operation”. He says it is aimed at defending Ukraine’s Russian-speaking communities against persecution and preventing the United States from using Ukraine to threaten Russia.
The West has called his arguments a baseless pretext for war and imposed sanctions that aim to cripple the Russian economy. The United States, Britain, and some other NATO members have supplied arms to Ukraine.
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had called for protests on Sunday across Russia and the rest of the world against the invasion.
About 2,000 people attended an anti-war protest in Kazakhstan’s biggest city Almaty, according to videos posted on social media. Reuters was unable to independently verify the posts.
The crowd shouted slogans such as “No to war!” and obscenities directed at Putin while waving Ukrainian flags.
Blue and yellow balloons were placed in the hand of a statue of Lenin towering over the small square where the rally took place.
The Russian state polling agency VTsIOM said Putin’s approval rating had risen 6 percentage points to 70% in the week to Feb. 27. FOM, which provides research for the Kremlin, said his rating had risen 7 percentage points to 71% in the same period.
At least 20 people have been killed after a passenger bus caught fire in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district on Tuesday (October 14) afternoon. The bus was travelling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur when the accident occurred.
Police said the bus, carrying 57 passengers, left Jaisalmer around 3 p.m. Shortly afterward, smoke was seen coming from the rear of the vehicle. The driver stopped the bus on the roadside, but within minutes, flames engulfed the entire bus.
Locals rushed to help the passengers and informed the fire brigade and police, who later brought the blaze under control. Initial investigations suggest that an electrical short circuit may have triggered the fire.
Fifteen passengers, including four women and two children, sustained severe burns, with some suffering burns over 70% of their bodies. The injured were taken to Jaisalmer’s Jawahar Hospital and later shifted to Jodhpur for advanced treatment.
District authorities launched an immediate rescue and relief operation. Officials confirmed that the bus was completely gutted, making it difficult to identify many of the victims. DNA and forensic teams from Jodhpur have been deployed to assist with the identification process.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma visited Jaisalmer late Tuesday night. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and announced financial aid of ₹2 lakh each for the families of those killed.
(Source: NDTV)
U.S. President Donald Trump has described the Gaza ceasefire agreement as “an important day,” saying that “no one thought this could ever happen.”
He made the remarks aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington after visits to Israel and Egypt.
When asked by reporters whether the ceasefire signaled the return of peace in the Middle East, Trump replied, “Some support a one-state solution, others want a two-state solution — we’ll have to see what happens.” He declined to elaborate further on the issue.
Earlier, at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Trump and representatives from 20 nations signed a peace agreement related to Gaza, aiming to pave the way for a lasting ceasefire in the war-torn enclave.
During the flight back to Washington, Trump also commented on Gaza’s future, saying, “I can’t say what will happen, but whoever takes responsibility — I’ll fight for them.”
Later, on his social media platform Truth Social, the former president wrote, “Something extraordinary was achieved today in Israel and Egypt. Much has been done — and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was an incredible experience!”
Source: BBC Bangla.
International
Jordan’s King Abdullah warns: “Without a Palestinian state, the Middle East will collapse”
Jordan’s King Abdullah II has warned that the Middle East could face destruction if the ongoing peace process does not lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Panorama ahead of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt, King Abdullah called for a renewed commitment to peace, emphasizing that Gaza’s governance should be handed over to an independent Palestinian authority once a ceasefire takes hold.
He said countries like Qatar and Egypt are working closely with the parties involved to ensure compliance with the ceasefire agreement. However, he cautioned that “the devil lies in the details” of the Trump-era peace accords and stressed the importance of continued US engagement in the process.
“The region will collapse if we fail to provide a future for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the King said, adding that the solution must lead toward a two-state outcome.
Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said he does not trust him personally but believes there are Israelis who genuinely want peace with the Arab world.
Despite criticism at home, the King reaffirmed that Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel remains crucial, especially in maintaining regional security cooperation.
He concluded, “Peace is the only solution. If we fail to achieve it, this region may cease to exist as we know it.
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