Quick Reads
News Dabba for 19 February 2025: Five stories for a balanced news diet
Here are the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites.
Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from Trump on Russia-Ukrain war, BJP's Central Observers for Delhi CM, to Hamas proposing the release of all captives on both sides for a permanent truce.
Trump says Ukraine could have made a deal earlier, BBC reports
US President Donald Trump has taken aim at Ukraine after its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said it was a "surprise" his country had not been invited to talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war with Russia. Saying he was "disappointed" by Ukraine's reaction, BBC reports that Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war, saying the country "could have made a deal" earlier. Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh for the first high-level, face-to-face talks between the two countries since the invasion, and agreed to appoint teams to start negotiating the end of the war. Read the full report here.
BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, Om Prakash Dhankhar appointed Central Observers to pick Delhi CM: Indian Express
The suspense over the new Chief Minister of Delhi is likely to end today, Indian Express reports as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) s scheduled to hold a legislative meeting with its top leadership, set to finalise the CM and cabinet ministers of the city. After a meeting held earlier today, the BJP Parliamentary Board appointed senior party leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Om Prakash Dhankhar as Central Observers to elect the new Chief Minister of Delhi. The report says that the BJP legislative meeting will take place at 7 pm this evening at the party headquarter on Pant Marg, announced BJP Delhi chief Virender Sachdeva. Read the full report here.
Work begins on Ghansoli-Airoli Palm Beach Rd after environmental clearance: Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times reports that the much-delayed Palm Beach Road extension project from Ghansoli to Airoli has finally begun after the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) secured all environmental permissions for construction in an area where mangroves exist. CIDCO’s construction of the 21.12-km long road from Belapur to Airoli sector 10A to connect to Mulund-Thane-Mumbai had run into bottlenecks after completion of a 19.20-km stretch from Belapur to Ghansoli, as the remaining 2 km of work fell in the mangrove zone, the report says. Since the road will cross the mangrove area, the project was stuck for years. Read the full report here.
Mexico opens doors to Cuban Medical Specialists to strengthen healthcare sector, TeleSUR
TeleSUR reports that exican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced this Tuesday an initiative that will allow the incorporation of medical specialists from Cuba and other nationalities to fill vacancies in the country’s healthcare sector. During her address, Sheinbaum highlighted the urgent need to increase the number of medical professionals in a context where more hospitals and healthcare centers are required. The president also highlighted progress in the training of medical specialists in Mexico, noting that in 2011, only 6,000 people entered medical residency programs, a number that has significantly increased to 18,799 today. Read the full report here.
Al Jazeera live updates: Hamas ready to free Israeli captives in one go for a permanent truce
Al Jazeera reports that Hamas has proposed exchanging all Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners in “one go” during the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, with the aim of reaching a permanent truce and a full Israeli pullout. The Palestinian group also confirmed it will release the remaining six living captives, who were set to be freed in the first phase, on Saturday, as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said negotiations for the second stage of the deal “will happen this week”. There is a sense of positivity right now on Gaza’s streets, particularly for people returning to their homes, the report says. Read the full report here.
