Ukraine's Parliament approves state of emergency
The Hindu
The Ukrainian Parliament on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, approved a declaration of a state of emergency in the entire Ukraine except for two eastern regions where it has been in place since 2014.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed introducing a nationwide state of emergency earlier on Wednesday, as the country braces for a possible large scale military offensive from Russia.
The move follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move Monday to recognise the independence of two rebel regions in eastern Ukraine, where a nearly eight-year conflict with the pro-Russia rebels has left over 14,000 dead. Putin has sanctioned the deployment of Russian troops there to “maintain peace” and received a parliamentary approval to use military force outside the country.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly voiced concerns that Russia could try destabilise Ukraine by relying on Moscow supporters inside the country, including a pro-Russia political party in Parliament.
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”