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Uncertainty looms as Iraqi PM-designate Allawi steps down Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi has withdrawn his candidacy for the post, accusing members of the country’s fractured parliament of standing in his way and prolonging a months-long political crisis. Allawi’s move on Sunday came hours after legislators failed for the second time this week to approve his cabinet of independents amid political infighting in a country that has been rocked by months of anti-establishment protests that forced the resignation of Prime  Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. Source: Aljazeera

UN asks India to mediate between Israel and Palestine NEW DELHI: The Un is exploring ways to engage India for mediation between Israel and Palestine to resolve the protracted conflict between the two in the Middle East. A delegation of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was on a two-day visit to New Delhi beginning from Monday. The team includes UN Ambassadors and Representatives of Senegal (Committee Chair); Indonesia and Malaysia (Committee Members); and the State of Palestine (Committee Observer). Source: The New Indian Express

Pete Buttigieg Drops Out of the US Democratic presidential race Pete Buttigieg, a little known politician whose strange and seemingly unpronounceable name became his best asset initially, suspended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination Sunday, ending a historic first real shot at the coveted job by on openly gay man or woman. Buttigieg, the two-term mayor of Indiana’s South Bend city, became the second Democrat running for the party’s presidential nomination to drop out of the race after a blow-out performance from former Vice-President Joe Biden in the South Carolina on Saturday with an emphatic win that’s overhauling the race....

Erdogan says he hopes for Idlib ceasefire deal in Putin talks Syrian forces entered parts of a strategic rebel-held town on Monday as Turkey said it would keep hitting President Bashar al-Assad’s troops after ramping up operations in its biggest intervention yet into the Syrian civil war. Turkey and Russia – which have come closer than ever to direct confrontation in Syria in recent days – traded threats over air space after Turkish forces shot down two Syrian government warplanes and struck a military airport. Source: Aljazeera

Indian retail tycoon M A Yusuff Ali receives Saudi Green Card Abu Dhabi-based Indian retail tycoon M A Yusuff Ali has become the first Indian to receive Saudi Arabia’s premium residency, his office said in a statement on Monday. Yusuff Ali, 64, is the chairman of the LuLu Group, who was ranked the richest expat in the UAE by the Forbes magazine last year. The permit, informally known as Saudi Green Card, grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor, the LULU group said in a statement. Source:...

In the #MeToo Era, Roman Polanski’s Cesars Win Sees More Protests than Appreciation The ghost of 1977 still haunts Polish master director Roman Polanski. In 1977, he pleaded guilty of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in the US, but escaped from the country before being sentenced. He has never set foot in America since then, but in this #MeToo era, he is hardly ever going to find support or sympathy – although the girl herself had pardoned him and asked that legal proceedings be dropped. When Polanski won the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Awards at the French...

Daniel Radcliffe won’t play Harry Potter in Fantastic Beasts films Actor Daniel Radcliffe is not interested in reprising his iconic role of Harry Potter in the fantasy franchise’s spin-off film franchise, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The actor, who fronted the movie series adapted from JK Rowling’s book series of the same name for 10 years, said the new films are “doing fine” without the original characters. Asked if he would return as Harry in the Fantastic Beasts series, Radcliffe told Variety, “I don’t think so. I don’t like say no to things, but it’s not something that...

US will not leave 2 airbases even for next 100 years: Def Expert on America-Taliban deal Mar 01, 2020, 02:52PM IST Source: ANI While speaking to ANI in the national capital on March 01, the Defence Expert PK Sehgal said, “It is more or less US President Donald Trump’s compulsion as he wants to win the election in 2020 at all cost and this is a step that is taken in that direction.” “Both America and Taliban are fed up and are showing signs of being fatigue,” he added. “As far the two air bases are concerned, the Americans will...

Matt Hancock defends Priti Patel over bullying claim Sir Philip Rutnam, the Home Office’s most senior official, resigned on Saturday citing a “vicious and orchestrated” campaign against him. The BBC has also learnt that a formal complaint about Ms Patel’s conduct was made when she was employment minister. The home secretary has previously denied she mistreated staff. Responding to Sir Philip’s departure, shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News the situation was “unprecedented” and suggested that Ms Patel was “on the way out”. In his statement, Sir Philip said he received allegations that Ms Patel’s conduct towards employees included “swearing, belittling people, making...

Sri Lanka Heads for Snap Polls as Rajapaksa Tightens Grip Colombo: Sri Lanka’s new president is set to dissolve parliament shortly and call snap a legislative election six months ahead of schedule, a state-run newspaper said Sunday. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to exercise his constitutional power to sack the assembly when it completes four-and-a-half out of its five-year term on Sunday night, the Sunday Observer said. Rajapaksa, 70, won a landslide at November presidential polls and appointed his older brother and former president Mahinda as prime minister in a move that saw the family consolidate their hold on power. Source:...