NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 15, 2022
A Ukrainian refugee breathes
on a window pane of a train in
Krakow, Poland. REUTERS
AT LEAST 2.8MN
PEOPLE HAVE FLED
WAR IN UKRAINE,
SAYS UN AGENCY
Agence France-Presse
letters@hindustantimes.com
GENEVA: The number of refu-
gees who have fled Ukraine
since the Russian invasion
began on February 24 has
topped 2.8 million, the United
Nations said on Monday.
The UN refugee agency,
UNHCR, said 2,808,792 refugees
had now left the country - up
another 110,512 from Sunday -
making it the largest refugee
exodus in Europe since World
War II.
Unicef said more than 1 mil-
lion children had fled Ukraine
in search of safety and protec-
tion. “They need peace now,”
the UN children’s agency added.
The UNHCR initially esti-
mated that up to 4 million peo-
ple could leave, but last week
admitted that figure might well
be revised upwards.
Before the conflict, Ukraine
had a population of 37 million
in the regions under govern-
ment control, excluding Russia-
annexed Crimea and the pro-
Russian separatist regions in
the east.
“People continue to flee the
war in Ukraine every minute,”
said the UN’s International
Organization for Migration
(IOM). Some 127,000 third-
country nationals, mainly stu-
dents and migrant workers, are
among the 2.8 million who have
fled Ukraine, IOM said.
More than six in 10 of the
Ukrainian refugees are being
hosted by Poland, with 1,720,227
now in the country, according
to the UNHCR. Before the crisis,
around 1.5 million Ukrainians
lived in Poland, the vast major-
ity working in the EU nation.
Passengers queue to undergo nucleic acid tests for Covid-19 in
Hangzhou in China’s Zhejiang province on Monday.
Covid-19 outbreak:
24mn in Chinese
province sealed off
Sutirtho Patranobis
letters@hindustantimes.com
BEIJING : China on Monday
sealed off the northeastern
province of Jilin with over
24mn people following a sharp
rise in Covid-19 cases, the first
time an entire province has
been cut off since the unprece-
dented lockdown of the central
province of Hubei and its capi-
tal, Wuhan, in 2020, where the
virus was first detected in late
2019. The lockdown of Jilin
province comes a day after
China placed 17.5mn residents
of the southern city of Shenz-
hen, a technology and business
hub, in a lockdown for at least a
week over a rise in cases.
China’s authorities are
scrambling to control a country-
wide surge in cases with mass
tests, lockdowns and travel
restrictions with new infections
being reported from Shanghai
in the east to Shenzhen in the
south besides clusters in Beijing
and in populous provinces like
Zhejiang. Mainland China
reported 1,337 new domestically
transmitted cases on March 13,
the national health commission
(NHC) said on Monday.
Overall, 2,125 cases including
asymptomatic ones were
reported on Monday for Sun-
day.That brought the total this
year to more than 9,000, com-
pared with 8,378 in 2021,
Ukraine: US, China discuss
bridging gulf over invasion
Moscow accused
Ukraine’s army of
firing a missile at a
residential area in the
separatist stronghold
of Donetsk region
Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW: Top
advisers to Presidents Joe Biden
and Xi Jinping met in Rome on
Monday to discuss China’s sup-
port for Russia in its invasion of
Ukraine, even as the Kremlin
denied reports that it had
requested Chinese military
equipment to use in the war.
US national security adviser
Jake Sullivan and senior Chi-
nese foreign policy adviser Yang
Jiechi spoke, with the Biden
administration increasingly
concerned that China is using
the Ukraine war to advance Bei-
jing’s long-term interest in its
competition with the US.
Sullivan was seeking clarity
on Beijing’s posture and was
warning the Chinese anew that
assistance for Russia - including
helping it avert sanctions
imposed by the US and Western
allies - would be costly for them.
“I’m not going to sit here pub-
licly and brandish threats,” Sul-
livan said as he made the
rounds of Sunday news shows
ahead of his trip to Rome. “But
what I will tell you is we are
communicating directly and
privately to Beijing that there
absolutely will be consequen-
ces” if China helps Russia “back-
fill” its losses from the sanc-
tions.
Sullivan and Yang met in
Rome amid reports that Russia
has asked China for military
equipment to use in its invasion
of Ukraine. Russia, however, on
Monday denied it needed
China’s help.
“No, Russia has its own
potential to continue the opera-
tion, which, as we have said, is
unfolding in accordance with
the plan and will be completed
on time and in full,” said Dmitry
Peskov, President Vladimir
AFP
according to Reuters calcula-
tions.
Germany: Infections
surge to record levels
Germany’s coronavirus infec-
tion rate hit a record for the
third straight day on Monday,
with the renewed surge prompt-
ing the country’s top health offi-
cial to issue a grim warning.
Covid-19 cases climbed to
1,543 per 100,000 people over
seven days, continuing its
steady rise since the beginning
of March, according to data
from the RKI public-health
institute.
The outbreak shows signs of
worsening and causing “many
deaths”, health minister Karl
Lauterbach said on Sunday in a
tweet. Daily deaths from the
virus are still around 250 to 300
people.
The rising infection numbers
are due in part to the spread of
the even more infectious BA.2
sub-variant of the Omicron
strain, which now accounts for
about half the Covid cases in
Germany, according to the RKI.
France lifted most Covid-19
restrictions on Monday, ending
the need for face masks to be
worn in the majority of public
places and allowing the unvac-
cinated back into bars, restau-
rants and cinemas.
With inputs from agencies
Firemen work to extinguish a fire in an apartment building hit by shelling in the Obolon district of Kyiv, Ukraine.
Putin’s spokesman.
The Russians have seen sig-
nificant losses of tanks, helicop-
ters and other material since the
start of the war more than two
weeks ago. Ukraine, while over-
matched by Russian forces, is
well-equipped with anti-tank
and anti-aircraft missiles.
23 killed in
Donetsk
Russia said on Mon-
day that an attack by
Kyiv’s forces on the
separatist stronghold
of Donetsk in eastern
Attack on
Ukraine had left 23
people dead, with the
Ukraine
military accusing
Kyiv of committing a “war
crime”.
Moscow accused Ukraine’s
army of firing a Tochka-U mis-
Former US president
tests Covid-19 positive
Press Trust of India
letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: Former US pres-
ident Barack Obama has said
that he tested positive for Cov-
id-19 and urged fellow Ameri-
cans to get vaccinated though
the deadly disease is on the
wane in the country. “I just
tested positive for Covid,”
Obama, 60, tweeted on Sunday.
“I’ve had a scratchy throat for
a couple of days, but am feeling
fine otherwise,” he said on his
official Twitter account.
Obama also said that his wife,
former first lady Michelle
Obama, has tested negative.
“Michelle and I are grateful to
be vaccinated and boosted,” the
former president said in a Face-
book post. “It’s a good reminder
that, even as cases go down, you
{ RED CARPET EVENT } SCI-FI EPIC DUNE PICKS UP MOST PRIZES
Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog scoops top two prizes at BAFTAs
Reuters
letters@hindustantimes.com
LONDON: Dark Western The
Power of the Dog scooped the
top two honours at the British
Academy Film Awards on Sun-
day, winning best film and
director for Jane Campion,
while sci-fi epic Dune picked up
the most prizes.
New Zealand filmmaker
Campion wrapped up a success-
ful weekend for her comeback
feature film, after winning the
top honours at the Directors
Guild of America awards in
Beverly Hills the day before.
Based on the 1967 novel by
Thomas Savage, the critically-
acclaimed movie set on a 1920s
Montana ranch marks the
return of Oscar winner Cam-
pion to feature films since
2009’s Bright Star.
“Jane ... you are a visionary
whose trail blazed through the
last 30 years of cinema with sto-
ries about the silenced, the
under-represented and the mis-
understood,” producer Tanya
Seghatchian said as she
World
sile at a residential area in Don-
etsk, in one of the most serious
attacks on the city since Russia
sent troops into Ukraine over
two weeks ago.
“The use of such weapons in
a city where there are no firing
positions of the armed forces,”
Russian defence ministry
spokesman Igor Kon-
ashenkov said, “is a
war crime”.
Official separatist
Telegram channels
distributed photos
and video of the aft-
ermath, showing
burnt out cars, bod-
ies strewn in the
street, and damage to
shops.
In an interview with Russian
state-run television, the head of
the so-called Donetsk People’s
Barack Obama AFP
should get vaccinated and
boosted if you haven’t already to
help prevent more serious
symptoms and giving Covid to
others.”
Obama had recently returned
to Washington, DC, after spend-
ing much of the winter in
Hawaii. He tested positive in
DC, a person close to him said.
accepted the award on behalf of
Campion, who was absent.
“You’ve inspired legions of
women to find their voices.
We’re here because of you.”
Campion later briefly
appeared via a video call on the
phone of one of the film’s pro-
ducers during the winners’
press conference, and said she
was “overwhelmed”.
Hosted by Australian actress
and comedian Rebel Wilson,
this year’s ceremony, known as
the BAFTAs (British Academy of
Film and Television Arts)
returned as a usual glitzy red
carpet event at London’s Royal
Albert Hall, following a virtual
event last year due to the Cov-
id-19 pandemic.
There were references to the
war in Ukraine, with some nom-
inees wearing ribbons and
badges in the blue and yellow
colours of the Ukrainian flag or
speaking about the crisis on the
red carpet and on stage.
Dune, a mammoth adapta-
tion of Frank Herbert’s 1965
novel, had lead nominations
with 11 nods, mainly in the crea-
Republic, Denis Pushilin, said
the shot-down rocket had
inflicted damage to residential
areas. “People were waiting in
line near an ATM and were
standing at a bus stop,” he said
in remarks broadcast on Rus-
sian television.
“There are children among
the dead,” Pushilin said, adding
that the casualty count would
have been higher had the rocket
not been downed.
Nine people killed in
airstrike on TV tower
At least nine people were killed
and nine more wounded in an
airstrike on a television tower in
Ukraine’s northern Rivne
region on Monday, governor
Vitaliy Koval said. “There are
still people under the rubble,”
he said in an online post.
India, Pak should
hold talks on missile
misfire, says China
BEIJING: China on Monday
weighed into the accidental
firing of an Indian missile
which landed in Pakistani
territory, saying the two
countries should hold a
dialogue to look into the
incident. Asked by a
Pakistani journalist, foreign
ministry spokesperson,
Zhao Lijian said, “China
calls on the countries to
hold dialogue and commu-
nication as soon as possible,
and look thoroughly into the
incident, step up infor-
mation sharing, and prom-
ptly establish a reporting
mechanism so that such
incidents will not happen
again and misund-
erstanding and misjud-
gement can be avoided.”
SUTIRTHO PATRANOBIS
British producers Iain Canning (left), Tanya Seghatchian (centre) and Australian producer Emile
Sherman pose with their awards for Best Film for The Power of the Dog at the British Academy Film
Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday.
tive and technical categories. It
won five awards.
Belfast, Kenneth Brannagh’s
AFP
Ukraine urges Russia’s
‘immediate’ expulsion
from Council of Europe
Ukraine on Monday demanded
that Russia be immediately
expelled from the Council of
Europe (COE), saying it had no
right to remain a member of the
pan-European rights body after
invading its neighbour.
The council’s executive body,
the committee of ministers, had
suspended Russia from all its
rights of representation a day
after the invasion. An expulsion
would mean that Russians no
longer have recourse to the
European Court of Human
Rights, which is part of the COE.
No member state has ever
been expelled from the council,
which was created in 1949.
Both Russia and Ukraine are
members.
l
A 20 DIE AS CYCLONE
Births in Italy hit
record low in 2021,
population shrinks
ROME: Births in Italy drop-
ped below 400,000 for the
first time ever in 2021,
statistics institute ISTAT
said on Monday, while the
overall population fell by
more than 250,000 as the
pandemic continued to
weigh. ISTAT said 709,035
people died in Italy in 2021,
some 30,000 fewer than in
2020, but still 9.8% above
the average of the 2015-19
period. Demographics
experts say the pandemic
has hastened a decline in
Italy’s birthrate, with
399,431 births registered in
2021 against 404,892 in
2020. The total population
fell by 253,091, taking into
account births, deaths and
migration flows, to 58.98
million in 2021. REUTERS
semi-autobiographical black
and white comedy drama set at
the onset of Northern Ireland’s
{ DMYTRO KULEBA }
UKRAINE FOREIGN MINISTER
To those abroad scared
of being ‘dragged into
WWIII’. Ukraine fights
back successfully. We
need you to help us fight.
Provide us with all
A
necessary weapons.
Modernisation
push: Germany
to buy F-35 jets
Agence France-Presse
letters@hindustantimes.com
BERLIN/OSLO: Germany plans
to buy up to 35 US-made F-35
fighter jets and 15 Eurofighter
jets, a parliamentary source said
on Monday, as part of a major
push to modernise the armed
forces in response to Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.
The F-35 jets made by Lock-
heed Martin would help replace
Germany’s decades-old Tornado
fleet, according to media
reports confirmed by the
source.
Tornados are the only jets
capable of carrying US nuclear
bombs stationed in Germany
that are a key part of Nato deter-
rence.
Lockheed’s F-35 stealth jets
are considered the most mod-
ern combat aircraft in the
world, and their unique shape
and coating make them harder
to detect by enemy radar.
The additional Eurofighter
jets Germany plans to purchase,
made by a consortium that
includes Airbus, would report-
edly be used for other opera-
tions, including electronic war-
fare and escort missions.
German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz last month pledged to
invest $112 billion in the nation’s
chronically underfunded Bun-
deswehr. The spending boost
marks a major reversal for
Europe’s top economy, upend-
ing its policy of keeping a low
Julian Assange loses
permission to appeal
at Britain’s top court
LONDON: Britain’s top court
on Monday refused
WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange permission to
appeal against a decision to
extradite him to the US to
face spying charges. The
court said it refused because
the case “didn’t raise an
arguable point of law”. The
decision appears to exhaust
Assange’s legal avenues in
the UK to avoid a trial in the
US on a series of charges
related to WikiLeaks’
publication of classified
documents more than a
decade ago. But he could
still seek to take his case to
the European Court of
Human Rights. US wants
Assange, 50 to face trial on
18 counts relating to
WikiLeaks’ release. AGENCIES
AFP
three decades of conflict, won
outstanding British film.
Steven Spielberg’s West Side
13
A file photo of two F-35
Lightning II, also known as the
Joint Strike Fighter. REUTERS
military profile in part out of
guilt over World War II.
30k Nato troops take
part in exercise
A major exercise involving
30,000 Nato troops and partner
countries kicked off in Norway
on Monday as tensions escalate
between the West and Russia
over the Ukraine war.
Cold Response 2022, planned
long before Moscow’s invasion
of Ukraine, aims to test how
Norway would manage Allied
reinforcements on its soil, in
line with Article 5 of Nato’s
charter which requires member
states to come to the aid of
another member state under
attack. “It’s a defensive exer-
cise”, said General Yngve Odlo,
in charge of Cold Response.
LASHES MALAWI,
MOZAMBIQUE
Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
NAMPULA, MOZAMBIQUE: The
death toll from a cyclone that
struck Mozambique climbed to
15 on Sunday as it moved
towards Malawi killing five
more after devastating wind
and rain lashed the southern
African countries.
The dead include five mem-
bers of the same family in the
Angoche coastal area of Nam-
pula province, governor Mety
Gondola said. The number of
injured is now at least 50, the
prime minister’s office
announced.
Cyclone Gombe has affected
over 30,000 people, injuring 40,
and destroyed more than 3,000
homes since making landfall in
southern Africa on Friday.
Story remake won two awards,
including best supporting
actress for Ariana DeBose.
Fresh from his win at the
Screen Actors Guild awards,
Troy Katsur, who is deaf, won
supporting actor for CODA, a
coming-of-age story about the
only hearing member of a deaf
family.
“This is a historic moment
because it’s been an extremely
long time for folks to really
accept a different perspective of
the deaf community and deaf
actors,” Kotsur told Reuters on
the red carpet via an inter-
preter.
“Finally they look at me not
as a deaf person, but as an
artiste and an actor who hap-
pens to be deaf.”
An absent Will Smith won
the leading actor award for
playing the father of tennis
champions Venus and Serena
Williams in King Richard, while
Joanna Scanlan won leading
actress for portraying a widow
who discovers her late hus-
band’s devastating secret in
After Love.