News Dabba for 25 February 2025: Five stories for a balanced news diet

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 Israel's Gaza-like destruction in West Bank, the Indian companies among those sanctioned by US, to the Telangana tunnel rescue op's 72 hours.

Four Indian companies among those sanctioned by US over alleged Iran’s oil trade: Indian Express report

The United States has sanctioned four India-based companies over their alleged involvement in trade and transportation of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, Indian Express reports. As part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure campaign” on Iran, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the US Department of State on Monday imposed sanctions on over 30 persons and vessels in various countries, and these four India-based firms are on the list, the report says. According to information from the OFAC and the US Department of State, the four Indian companies are Navi Mumbai-based Flux Maritime LLP, National Capital Region (NCR)-based BSM Marine LLP and Austinship Management Pvt Ltd, and Thanjavur-based Cosmos Lines Inc. Read the full report here.

Telangana tunnel rescue ops on for 72 hours, Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times reports that it has been over 72 hours since eight workers got trapped inside Telangana’s Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel after a portion of it collapsed on Saturday morning. However, no major breakthrough has been achieved so far, despite strenuous effort by several rescuing agencies including SDRF and the Indian Army. The District Collector of Nagarkurnool B Santhosh, where the tunnel was being constructed, informed that no contact has been made with the trapped workers yet, the report says. Read the full report here.

Macron suggests Ukraine-Russia truce could be weeks away after talks with Trump, BBC reports

French President Emmanuel Macron says a truce between Ukraine and Russia could be agreed in the coming weeks, following talks with Donald Trump in the White House. Macron said any peace deal must "not be a surrender of Ukraine" and must be backed by security guarantees, BBC reports. But Trump said he wanted a ceasefire as soon as possible, adding that the cost and burden of securing peace must be paid for by the nations of Europe, not just the US. Meanwhile, the US has twice sided with Russia in votes at the UN to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read the full report here.

India Today on ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar handed life term in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killings of two Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, India Today reports. This marks the second life sentence for Kumar, who is already serving time for his involvement in the Delhi Cantonment riots case. The report says that the verdict, delivered by the Rouse Avenue Court, holds Kumar responsible for leading a mob and inciting it to kill Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh, in the Saraswati Vihar area of Delhi on November 1, 1984. Read the full report here.

West Bank Palestinians fear Gaza-style clearance as Israel squeezes Jenin camp: The Straits Times

Israeli bulldozers have demolished large areas of the now virtually empty Jenin refugee camp and appear to be carving wide roadways through its once-crowded warren of alleyways, The Straits Times reports, adding that it is echoing tactics already employed in Gaza as troops prepare for a long-term stay. At least 40,000 Palestinians have left their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank since Israel began its operation just a day after reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza after 15 months of war, the report says. "Jenin is a repeat of what happened in Jabalia," said Basheer Matahen, spokesperson for the Jenin municipality. Read the full report here.