The Evening Wrap: India summons Swiss envoy over 'anti-India posters' in Geneva

India on March 5 summoned the Swiss Ambassador and lodged a protest over the issue of “malicious anti-India posters” in front of the U.N. building in Geneva, official sources said. The Swiss Ambassador told the Ministry of External Affairs that he would convey India’s concerns to Berne with all the seriousness it deserves. “The secretary (West), MEA, today called in the Swiss ambassador and raised the issue of unfounded and malicious anti-India posters in front of the UN building in Geneva,” said a source. “The Swiss ambassador said that he would convey India’s concerns to Berne with all the seriousness it deserves,” it said. The envoy said the posters in Geneva are part of the space provided to all, but in no way endorse the claims nor reflect the position of the Swiss government. Manish Sisodia arrest | Nine leaders write to PM Modi over ‘misuse of Central agencies’ Nine leaders from eight national parties, including Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Bhagwant Singh Mann, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Centre of ‘misusing of Central agencies and office of Governor to settle scores with Opposition parties outside the electoral battlefield’. The other signatories to the letter were Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, former CMs Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray and Farooq Abdullah, and former Union Minister Sharad Pawar. Congress is not a signatory to the letter. The letter alleged that “the manner in which the Central agencies were used since 2014 had tarnished their image and raised questions about their autonomy and impartiality. The faith of the people of India in these agencies continued to erode”. The leaders also alleged that the agencies “went slow” on cases against Opposition politicians who joined the BJP, naming Himanta Biswa Sarma, Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy. “The Central agencies often sparked suspicion that they were working as extended wings of ruling dispensation at the Centre going by the action taken by the agencies against Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Azam Khan (Samajwadi Party), Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh (Nationalist Congress Party), and Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamool Congress). In many such cases, the timing of the cases lodged or arrest made coincided with elections making it abundantly clear that they were politically motivated,“ the letter added. Uzbekistan cough syrup deaths | Process underway to cancel Marion Biotech’s licence, says official The process for cancellation of the drug licence of pharmaceutical firm Marion Biotech has been initiated, officials said. The company is allegedly linked with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan who consumed their cough syrup in December 2022. All production of drugs and other activities at the firm’s campus in Sector 67 here have also been stopped completely, Gautam Buddh Nagar drug inspector Vaibhav Babbar said. On Friday, the local police arrested three senior employees of the firm after an FIR was lodged against them on charges of manufacturing and sale of adulterated drugs. The two directors of the company named in the FIR, however, still remain at large. Marion Biotech had come under the scanner in December over reports of the children’s death in Uzbekistan after which India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation initiated a probe into the matter and found 22 out of 36 samples “not of standard quality” (adulterated and spurious). Structures of India’s democracy under ‘brutal attack’: Rahul Gandhi Stepping up his attack on the BJP government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack” and there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country. Gandhi, who is in London as part of a U.K. tour, told reporters that there are conversations ongoing within the Opposition to unite around an alternative vision for the country and act upon an “undercurrent of anger” over pressing issues such as unemployment, price rise, the concentration of wealth and violence against women. He also referred to the income tax department’s survey at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai as an example of the “suppression of voice across the country”, a motivating factor behind his recently concluded ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. “The media, the institutional frameworks, judiciary, Parliament is all under attack and we were finding it very difficult to put the voice of the people through the normal channels,” he said. Gandhi expressed regret that democratic parts of the world, including the U.S. and Europe, have failed to notice that a “large chunk of democracy has come undone”. Kyiv says Russia pursuing ‘attempts to encircle’ eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut Ukraine said that it was holding off attacks from Russian troops still attempting to surround Bakhmut, a now-destroyed eastern Ukrainian city that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. Ukraine has vowed to defend “fortress Bakhmut” but it has faced Russian troops determined to take the city that has turned into a political prize as the battle drags on. The Ukrainian general staff said “more than 130 enemy attacks” had been repelled over the past day including in Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka. “The enemy continues its attempts to encircle the town of Bakhmut,” it added. Bakhmut has been mostly reduced to rubble during the longest and bloodiest battle of the invasion. Ukraine and Russia have since the summer fiercely fought for the city, whose symbolic importance surpassed its military significance. In Brief: Sania Mirza ends her career at place where it began With “happy tears”, Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza ended her path-breaking journey as a player at the place where it all began. By playing in exhibition matches featuring Rohan Bopanna, Yuvraj Singh and her ‘best friend’ Bethanie Mettek Sands, Sania finally said goodbye to her illustrious career at the Lal Bahadur Tennis Stadium, the venue where she signalled her arrival on the big stage with a historic WTA singles title triumph nearly two decades ago. In her farewell speech, she said the greatest honour for her has been to play for the country for 20 years. India’s Russian oil imports hit record high in February; now more than Iraq, Saudi put together India’s imports of crude oil from Russia soared to a record 1.6 million barrels per day in February and is now higher than combined imports from traditional suppliers Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil for a fifth straight month by supplying more than one-third of all oil India imported, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. From a market share of less than 1% in India’s import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia’s share of India’s imports rose to 1.62 million barrels per day in February, taking a 35% share. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 05 March 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( India summons Swiss envoy over ‘anti-India posters’ in Geneva India on March 5 summoned the Swiss Ambassador and [lodged a protest over the issue of “malicious anti-India posters” in front of the U.N. building in Geneva]( official sources said. The Swiss Ambassador told the Ministry of External Affairs that he would convey India’s concerns to Berne with all the seriousness it deserves. “The secretary (West), MEA, today called in the Swiss ambassador and raised the issue of unfounded and malicious anti-India posters in front of the UN building in Geneva,” said a source. “The Swiss ambassador said that he would convey India’s concerns to Berne with all the seriousness it deserves,” it said. The envoy said the posters in Geneva are part of the space provided to all, but in no way endorse the claims nor reflect the position of the Swiss government. Manish Sisodia arrest | Nine leaders write to PM Modi over ‘misuse of Central agencies’ Nine leaders from eight national parties, including Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Bhagwant Singh Mann, [wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Centre of ‘misusing of Central agencies]( and office of Governor to settle scores with Opposition parties outside the electoral battlefield’. The other signatories to the letter were Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, former CMs Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray and Farooq Abdullah, and former Union Minister Sharad Pawar. Congress is not a signatory to the letter. The letter alleged that “the manner in which the Central agencies were used since 2014 had tarnished their image and raised questions about their autonomy and impartiality. The faith of the people of India in these agencies continued to erode”. The leaders also alleged that the agencies “went slow” on cases against Opposition politicians who joined the BJP, naming Himanta Biswa Sarma, Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy. “The Central agencies often sparked suspicion that they were working as extended wings of ruling dispensation at the Centre going by the action taken by the agencies against Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Azam Khan (Samajwadi Party), Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh (Nationalist Congress Party), and Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamool Congress). In many such cases, the timing of the cases lodged or arrest made coincided with elections making it abundantly clear that they were politically motivated,“ the letter added. Uzbekistan cough syrup deaths | Process underway to cancel Marion Biotech’s licence, says official The process for [cancellation of the drug licence of pharmaceutical firm Marion Biotech has been initiated]( officials said. The company is allegedly linked with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan who consumed their cough syrup in December 2022. All production of drugs and other activities at the firm’s campus in Sector 67 here have also been stopped completely, Gautam Buddh Nagar drug inspector Vaibhav Babbar said. On Friday, the local police arrested three senior employees of the firm after an FIR was lodged against them on charges of manufacturing and sale of adulterated drugs. The two directors of the company named in the FIR, however, still remain at large. Marion Biotech had come under the scanner in December over reports of the children’s death in Uzbekistan after which India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation initiated a probe into the matter and found 22 out of 36 samples “not of standard quality” (adulterated and spurious). Structures of India’s democracy under ‘brutal attack’: Rahul Gandhi Stepping up his attack on the BJP government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the [structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack”]( and there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country. Gandhi, who is in London as part of a U.K. tour, told reporters that there are conversations ongoing within the Opposition to unite around an alternative vision for the country and act upon an “undercurrent of anger” over pressing issues such as unemployment, price rise, the concentration of wealth and violence against women. He also referred to the income tax department’s survey at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai as an example of the “suppression of voice across the country”, a motivating factor behind his recently concluded ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. “The media, the institutional frameworks, judiciary, Parliament is all under attack and we were finding it very difficult to put the voice of the people through the normal channels,” he said. Gandhi expressed regret that democratic parts of the world, including the U.S. and Europe, have failed to notice that a “large chunk of democracy has come undone”. Kyiv says Russia pursuing ‘attempts to encircle’ eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut [Ukraine said that it was holding off attacks from Russian troops still attempting to surround Bakhmut]( a now-destroyed eastern Ukrainian city that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. Ukraine has vowed to defend “fortress Bakhmut” but it has faced Russian troops determined to take the city that has turned into a political prize as the battle drags on. The Ukrainian general staff said “more than 130 enemy attacks” had been repelled over the past day including in Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka. “The enemy continues its attempts to encircle the town of Bakhmut,” it added. Bakhmut has been mostly reduced to rubble during the longest and bloodiest battle of the invasion. Ukraine and Russia have since the summer fiercely fought for the city, whose symbolic importance surpassed its military significance. In Brief: Sania Mirza ends her career at place where it began With “happy tears”, Indian tennis legend [Sania Mirza ended her path-breaking journey]( as a player at the place where it all began. By playing in exhibition matches featuring Rohan Bopanna, Yuvraj Singh and her ‘best friend’ Bethanie Mettek Sands, Sania finally said goodbye to her illustrious career at the Lal Bahadur Tennis Stadium, the venue where she signalled her arrival on the big stage with a historic WTA singles title triumph nearly two decades ago. In her farewell speech, she said the greatest honour for her has been to play for the country for 20 years. India’s Russian oil imports hit record high in February; now more than Iraq, Saudi put together [India’s imports of crude oil from Russia soared to a record 1.6 million barrels per day in February]( and is now higher than combined imports from traditional suppliers Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil for a fifth straight month by supplying more than one-third of all oil India imported, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. From a market share of less than 1% in India’s import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia’s share of India’s imports rose to 1.62 million barrels per day in February, taking a 35% share. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. First Day First Show Stay up-to-date on all things cinema with the "First Day First Show" cinema & entertainment newsletter. Every week, we bring you movie reviews, news from regional cinema, Bollywood, Hollywood, and beyond, as well as updates from the streaming platforms. Whether you're a cinephile or just looking for your next great binge-watch, we've got you covered. 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