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Ukraine planning to open 6 more humanitarian corridors: Zelensky

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As the war in Ukraine continued for the 15th day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country is preparing to open six more humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of people stuck in cities under attack by Russian forces.

In his latest video address, the President claimed that on Wednesday, “we managed to organise the work of three humanitarian corridors” from the cities of Sumy, Kiev and Energodar, which led to the evacuation of more than 35,000 people, reports the online Ukrayinska Pravda newspaper

“We are preparing to open six corridors. We pray that people will be evacuated out of Mariupol, Izyum, Volnovakha… We plan to take them to safe cities of our free Ukraine,” he added.

According to authorities, about 5,000 people were evacuated from Sumy that has been under heavy Russian bombardment, the BBC reported.

They added that the three humanitarian corridors in the city are expected to open from 9 a.m. (about 12 p.m. IST) on Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, more than 40,000 women and children were evacuated from towns of Irpin and Vorzel.

The National Police Service also claimed that several thousand people were also evacuated from Kiev’s Bucha region.

On the outskirts of Kiev, where an emergency camp was set up, those evacuated were provided warm food and tea, reports Ukrayinska Pravda citing authorities as saying.

Medical assistance, as well as further relocation directions, were provided.

Evacuations were however, deemed problematic from Mariupol, Kiev and Kharkiv amid continued Russian assault.

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Op Sindoor Outreach: All-party delegation in UAE to expose Pak’s support to terrorism

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Abu Dhabi, May 22: The second all-party delegation led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early on Thursday morning (Indian time) as part of India’s massive global outreach campaign on Operation Sindoor.

This campaign is aimed at exposing Pakistan’s role in fostering cross-border terrorism.

The delegation includes BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj, Atul Garg and Manan Kumar Mishra, BJD’s Sasmit Patra, IUML MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer, BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia and former Ambassador Sujan Chinoy. After the UAE, it will visit Liberia, Congo and Sierra Leone.

“Taking India’s strong message against terrorism to the world! A warm welcome to the All-party delegation led by Shrikant Shinde to the UAE. Ahmed Mir Khoori, Member of the Federal National Council and Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, received the delegation,” the Indian Embassy in UAE said in a post on X.

“UAE is the first country to receive the All-Party delegation in the context of Operation Sindoor, underlining India-UAE’s deep bonds of friendship,” the embassy further stated.

Before heading to the Middle Eastern nation, Shinde said that it is a great opportunity for the whole team to put forward India’s firm stance against terrorism.

“Our purpose is clear and unwavering: to confront state-sponsored terrorism, specifically from Pakistan, on the global stage. We will be highlighting the remarkable success of Operation Sindoor and reinforcing India’s undeniable Right to Self-Defence as enshrined in International Law,” he said in a post on X.

“This delegation will deliver a strong, unified message to the international community — reflecting India’s resolute stand against terrorism and our deep-seated commitment to fostering global peace and security,” Shinde added.

The first delegation of Indian parliamentarians, led by Janata Dal-United MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, also arrived in Tokyo with a clear message — India’s zero tolerance policy toward terrorism.

The delegation includes a diverse array of leaders across party lines, including former External Affairs Minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee, and Ambassador Mohan Kumar.

The campaign’s primary objective is to present a unified Indian front against terrorism and internationally isolate Pakistan by highlighting its consistent support for terror networks.

The MPs will engage with foreign governments, legislators, media, civil society, Indian diaspora, and international institutions, including the UN.

They will present evidence of Pakistan’s backing of terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and its continued sheltering of globally designated terrorists.

The initiative represents one of India’s strongest and most cohesive foreign outreach efforts in recent years, aimed at building international consensus against state-sponsored terrorism.

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India sends humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees as Pak continues mass deportations

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Kabul, May 20: As Pakistan intensifies its mass deportation of Afghan refugees, India has stepped in with humanitarian aid for thousands of affected families, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to supporting the Afghan people in times of crisis.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced that the Government of India has delivered essential food aid to around 5,000 Afghan families who were recently expelled from Pakistan. The aid package, consisting of 11 different food items, was distributed through the Kabul office of the Directorate of Refugees to families deemed most in need.

India’s assistance was formally acknowledged in a public message from Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban-appointed Minister for Refugees and Repatriation. The message, delivered by Zakirullah Zakir, head of the Prime Minister’s Office’s Coordination Department, was read during an official aid distribution ceremony in Kabul.

Abdul Kabir expressed gratitude to both the Government and people of India for their continued support and called on other countries and humanitarian organisations to step up their aid for displaced Afghans. “India’s help has come at a time when our people are facing extreme hardship,” he said.

“We welcome all returnees and assure them of their safety and dignity under the general amnesty declared in the country,” he added.

Kalim al-Rahman Fani, Deputy Minister of Finance and Administration, also acknowledged that returnees face numerous challenges, despite the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to provide housing and services. He noted that 58 new townships are being planned across 31 provinces to accommodate the influx.

Since April, Pakistan has expelled hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants, citing national security concerns and ties between the Taliban and India, allegations that remain unproven and have not been addressed by the Taliban.

Amid these regional tensions, India’s quiet but consistent humanitarian outreach stands in contrast to Islamabad’s crackdown, drawing attention to New Delhi’s people-centric approach to diplomacy in the region.

India has long maintained that its assistance to Afghanistan is driven by humanitarian concerns and a desire to ensure regional stability. This latest initiative signals New Delhi’s continued engagement with the Afghan people, even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties with the Taliban administration.

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Trump says he is ‘not frustrated’ with Netanyahu over war in Gaza

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Washington, May 17: US President Donald Trump has said that he is not frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the war against Hamas in Gaza persists.

“No, look, he’s got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world, when you look at the tapes,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview from Abu Dhabi.

“That problem should have never happened.”

Trump did not stop in Israel during his first official foreign trip to the Middle East, where he travelled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Baier asked Trump if he thinks Netanyahu believes a potential nuclear deal with Iran is bad for the region, as the administration engages in negotiations.

“Bibi, he’s an angry man, and he should be because of October 7, and he’s been hurt badly by that, but in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely,” Trump responded.

Trump, who has repeatedly said that Gaza should be taken over by the US and developed, reiterated that the region should become a “freedom zone”.

“Gaza is a nasty place. It’s been that way for years. I think it should become a free zone, you know, freedom, I call it a freedom zone,” the US President said.

“They have Hamas. Everybody is being killed all over the place. I mean, you ever see, you talk about crime stats? It’s a nasty place.”

President Trump signalled on Friday that he wants the US to help take care of the situation in Gaza after a further wave of intense Israeli airstrikes overnight, saying “a lot of people are starving” and that he expected “a lot of good things” in the next month.

“I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we’re going to see, we have to help also out the Palestinians,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday as he returned to the US after his Middle East trip.

When asked by a reporter whether he supported Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza, the President responded: “You know, a lot of people are starving on Gaza, so we have to look at both sides.”

“But we’ll, we’re going to do a good job,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, speaking in the United Arab Emirates on the last leg of his visit to three Gulf nations, Trump said: “We’re looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people. There’s a lot of bad things going on.”

The Israeli military intensified operations across Gaza on Thursday, killing more than 100 people and pledging to continue bombings as Trump suggested establishing a “freedom zone” in the enclave.

Many of the casualties were in Jabalya in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis in the south, according to Gaza Civil Defence.

On Thursday, the US President reiterated his desire to take over the Gaza Strip, telling a business roundtable in Qatar that the US would “make it a freedom zone”.

Asked if the three countries he visited in the Middle East would be part of the solution, Trump said: “I spoke to all three of them, they would absolutely be. I mean, they’re really rich and really, really, really, even more than rich, they’re good people, and they would help. And so, money is not even the problem. You got to get countries to say, yes, take them.”

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