Seamstress Tove Lycke works on NATO flags, at the flag manufacturer Flagghuset, in Akersberga, outside Stockholm, Sweden, March 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

INS Kolkata assists two merchant vessels hit in Gulf of Aden

Indian Naval destroyer INS Kolkata responded to two instances of missile/drone attacks on merchant vessels in the last few days. On March 6, the warship rescued 21 crew members, including one Indian, from Barbados-flagged bulk carrier MV True Confidence after it was hit in the Gulf of Aden and the crew forced to abandon ship. In another incident, on March 4, INS Kolkata responded to a request from MSC Sky II, a Liberian-flagged container vessel, which was hit at about 7 p.m. approximately 90 nautical miles south-east of Aden.

CJI asks if Speaker did not contradict Supreme Court to bank on legislative majority to decide Shinde camp as ‘real’ Shiv Sena

The Supreme Court on March 7 asked whether Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar “contradicted” a Constitution Bench judgment to bank on ‘legislative majority’ as a criterion to declare Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction as the “real” Shiv Sena.

Sandeshkhali reports misleading, Bengal safest for women, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the reports of atrocities on women at Sandeshkhali were misleading and Bengal was the safest State for women.

Almost 60% of the funds received by national political parties are from ‘unknown’ sources

Almost 60% of the funds received by political parties cannot be traced and come from “unknown” sources, including electoral bonds, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

CCS approves development of AMCA, India’s fifth-gen fighter

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved the project for the design and development of India’s fifth-generation fighter jet, Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), to be undertaken by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), defence sources confirmed on March 7.

India sending unemployed poor to Israel: Arundhati Roy

The unemployed poor of India are being sent to Israel to fill up the vacancies created by Palestinians leaving jobs due to the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, noted writer and activist Arundhati Roy stated. A message from Ms. Roy was read at an event by Indians for Palestine on March 7 at the Press Club of India where the organisers said that more than 30,000 Palestinians have died so far under Israeli attacks and called for “immediate and urgent action” to help civilians trapped in Gaza.

Tribal Affairs Ministry, ISRO to collaborate on use of V-SAT centres for Internet in 80 tribal villages in pilot project

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is planning to collaborate with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to deploy V-SAT stations on a pilot basis for around 80 tribal villages in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra to bring Internet services there, according to a proposal unveiled on Thursday at a ministry event meant to brainstorm innovative projects for tribal development.

Centre releases additional DA to employees, pensioners

The Union Cabinet, which met in New Delhi on March 7, decided to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from January 1, 2024. The increase will be four percentage points over the existing rate of 46% of the basic pay/ pension, to compensate against price rise, the government said. Other allowances, including house rent allowance, canteen allowance and deputation allowance, will also be increased subsequently.

Sweden officially joins NATO after completing its accession process, ending decades of neutrality

Sweden on March 7 formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Days after PM Modi congratulated him, Pakistan PM Sharif thanks him for the greeting

Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his greetings on social media on Thursday, even as the two countries showed no signs of any thaw in ties at present.

Rahul Gandhi likely to seek re-election from Wayanad

The Congress’ top election body is said to have cleared the candidature of party leader Rahul Gandhi for the Wayanad constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Sources also said that Shashi Tharoor will be again fielded from Thiruvananthapuram, where he has won three consecutive Lok Sabha elections. There is, however, no official announcement from the party.

Every citizen has a right to criticise abrogation of Article 370: SC

The Supreme Court on March 7 quashed an FIR accusing a college professor in Maharashtra of spreading enmity and disharmony by terming the abrogation of Article 370 a “black day” and wishing “happy independence” to the people of Pakistan in a WhatsApp group of faculty and parents.

Washington:

A missile fired from Yemen hit a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, with the crew reporting at least two dead and six wounded, a US official said.

The missile caused “significant damage” to the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence, the official said, adding that its “crew reports at least two fatalities and six injured crewmembers and have abandoned the ship.”

“At least 2 innocent sailors have died. This was the sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping,” the British Embassy in Yemen said.

At least 2 innocent sailors have died. This was the sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping.

They must stop.

Our deepest condolences are with the families of those that have died and those that were wounded. https://t.co/m1chfLddHR

— BritishEmbassySanaa (@UKinYemen) March 6, 2024

It was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Huthis in two days, the official said, noting that two — including the latest — hit merchant vessels and a third was shot down by an American destroyer.

The Huthis began attacking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

US and UK forces responded with strikes against the Huthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

Anger over Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza — which began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 — has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Cairo:

Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Maritime Affairs Authority before entering Yemeni waters, Houthi Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said on Monday.

Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

The near-daily attacks have forced firms into long and costly diversions around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could destabilise the wider Middle East. The United States and Britain have bombed Houthi targets in response.

The territorial waters affected by the Yemeni order extend halfway out into the 20-km (12-mile) wide Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow mouth of the Red Sea through which around 15% of the world’s shipping traffic passes on its way to or from the Suez Canal.

“(We) are ready to assist requests for permits and identify ships with the Yemeni Navy, and we confirm this is out of concern for their safety,” Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, reported Al-Numair as saying.

Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications said on Monday that at least four underwater communications cables – Asia-Africa-Europe 1, the Europe India Gateway, Seacom and TGN-Gulf – had been damaged last week in the Red Sea, without stating the cause.

It estimated that the damage had affected 25% of the data traffic flowing under the Red Sea, and said in a statement that it had devised a plan to reroute traffic.

Al-Numair’s ministry on Saturday blamed U.S. and British attacks for any damage to cables.

In the latest incident, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Monday it had received a report that a vessel had been damaged by two explosions, 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden, but there were no casualties and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)