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Russia says it's withdrawing troops from Ukraine border; Biden calls it false

Claiming that Russia doesn't want to invade Ukraine, Putin has been seeking diplomatic "resolution" and "guarantees" to end the Ukraine crisis; but how far what he says is convincing when he has moved battle-ready troops along the borders? Apparently his assertion does not make sense insofar as his covert mega plan is to re-establish the erstwhile Soviet Union. May be not by invasion, then what is the other modus operandi? If so why did he mass the troops? The former KGB secret agent has his card up his sleeve.

Putin forming an alliance with Chinese President Xi Jinping giving the Ukrainian crisis the dimension of a looming world war, and Pakistan too rushing to Beijing to put its neck on the block to form an axis, the US and a disinterested Europe got ready to counter an invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops that Biden confirmed would happen in a day on Wednesday. That was not to be. Instead, Putin ordered “to partially pull back troops” from the border, incidentally or otherwise, after meeting Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Tuesday. France and Germany, like the Russians, have also been stressing on negotiations to end the crisis, the latter with a view to buying time as Putin's master plan is in the works! Europe is divided, Ukraine's pro-West Zelensky is wavering and Biden doesn't see what's coming!

NEW DELHI, Feb 16: Russia has begun withdrawing troops from Ukraine border following President Vladimir Putin's announcement on Tuesday of a partial withdrawal soon after US President Joe Biden cautioned that the Kremlin would launch an invasion of its erstwhile Soviet republic on Wednesday, triggering a catastrophic world war. The Russian Defence Ministry has released a video showing the withdrawal. There were 130,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders ready for an incursion.

The US has not confirmed any Russian troop withdrawal from Ukraine borders yet. However, according to reports, some forces were being withdrawn from Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. The troops were moved back to bases in Dagestan and North Ossetia.

Playing cool, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters in the Capital of Kyiv, "We and our allies have managed to prevent Russia from any further escalation. It is already the middle of February, and you see that diplomacy is continuing to work." He, however, added that Russia's claims of a pullback need to be verified.

He later tweeted, "On Russian statements regarding withdrawal of some forces from the Ukrainian border. We in Ukraine have a rule: we don’t believe what we hear, we believe what we see. If a real withdrawal follows these statements, we will believe in the beginning of a real de-escalation."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said still a potential attack by Russia cannot be ruled out. The reported pullout may not be taken as real deescalation. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned that Russia is sending "mixed signals." He said Russian forces are building hospitals for troops at the borders and that does not indicate de-escalation.

Before the troop pullout announcement, Putin had a meeting in Moscow with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. On Monday Scholz met Ukraine's President Zelensky in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, pro-West Zelensky has developed cold feet. Apprehending a calamitous war, he has of late started giving indications that Ukraine will not seek NATO entry. It is speculated that the Russian troop withdrawal announcement was in response to Zelensky's statement, Russia's main demand for now being a Western guarantee against Ukraine being taken into the fold of the NATO.

At the same time, Russian parliament passed a legislation on Tuesday calling for recognition to two regions in Donbas held by pro-Russian rebels as independent from Ukraine.

Was Putin sending false leads by troop deployment? A former KGB Intelligence officer, Putin's motive seems beyond the Western Intelligence and media's abilities to decipher. There are various interpretations. Is he really pulling out? No way. Biden told reporters on Friday Russia will invade Ukraine on February 16 and the Putin announcement came on February 15. Was Putin giving up? No way. One other speculation is he may be having a piecemeal approach, winning over a rebellious separatist-infested Donbas territory to his side, using troop mobilisation as a pressure tactic.

Now, Ukraine itself looking less concerned of an invasion than the US and European countries, the standoff is giving way to a melodrama. The disastrous consequences too are a definite deterrence. US sanctions may damage Russian economy but Europe will be a bigger loser with oil and gas supplies from the East cut off in the event of a war, apart from huge losses in terms of life and property. Sections of US media commented, Putin might have been "bluffing all along,” he wanted written guarantee against Ukraine joining the NATO and therefore to press for that he deployed troops along the border.

The story is not over, Biden said a Russian invasion of Ukraine “remains distinctly possible” despite a partial Russian pullout.

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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.

The irony lies in her illustration of her experiences in the country she has been living in for the last four years. What it really is!

ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!

The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.

  • The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
  • The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
  • The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)

A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924) (Today's headlines )

Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”

Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.

PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.

Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people. (Today's headlines )

"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...

Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.

Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.

As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.

The committee headed by justice Kurian Joseph will study Centre-State relations and make proposals to ensure foolproof separation of powers.

"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.

ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!

What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America! (Today's headlines )

PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).

In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.

THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.

The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.

Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See: New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)

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