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[00:00:09] Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host Vaishnavi and these are the major news stories of Wednesday, Feb 26, 2025. The United States and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the terms of a draft minerals deal. The deal is central to Ukraine's efforts to gain continued support from US as President Donald Trump pushes for a swift end to the war with Russia.
[00:00:36] The draft does not include US security guarantees or continued arms shipments, but it emphasizes the US's desire for Ukraine to remain free, sovereign and secure. Trump stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to visit the US to sign the deal, despite a recent exchange of hostile words between the two leaders.
[00:00:58] A Sudanese military transport plane crashed into a residential area near Kartom, killing 46 people and injuring 10. The aircraft crashed during take-off near an airbase, which is also a key military hub. The victims included both military personnel and civilians. The crash came just a day after the paramilitary rapid support forces claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian-made illusion plane in South Darfur.
[00:01:26] The ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a severe humanitarian crisis. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has accused Tamil Nadu CM M. Stalin and her son Udenadi Stalin of raising diversionary issues to shift public focus from real concerns.
[00:01:51] Referring to the Stalin's decision to call for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the upcoming delimitation exercise, Shah said redrawing of constituencies based on population levels would not affect the proportion of Lok Sabha MPs from the southern states. Amit Shah reassured that Prime Minister Modi had already clarified that no parliamentary seats would be reduced for southern states as a result of delimitation.
[00:02:17] The centre has opposed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a lifetime ban on convicted politicians, arguing that such a disqualification is within the domain of Parliament, not the judiciary. In an affidavit, the centre emphasised that the question of imposing a lifetime ban is a matter for legislative policy and courts cannot direct Parliament on how to frame laws.
[00:02:40] The centre pointed out that the current law under Section 8 of the Representation of People Act disqualifies politicians for six years from the date of conviction or release. This time-limited penalty is a matter of proportionality and reasonability. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging India to take the lead in preserving glaciers, particularly in the Himalayas.
[00:03:09] Wangchuk, fresh from a tour to the US where he carried a piece of ice from Ladakh's Gardung La Glacier to highlight the rapid melting of glaciers, emphasised the critical importance of these glaciers as a source of India's perennial rivers. He warned that without action to preserve the glaciers, rivers like Gengar, Yamuna and Brahmaputra could become seasonal, potentially leading to the next Mahakump being held on dry land. That brings us to the end of this episode.
[00:03:38] Thanks for listening to Daily News Stores hosted by me Vaishnavi and produced by Kannan V. Follow on Manorama.com for detailed updates on the latest news and be sure to come back tomorrow.