Mastercard, Visa suspend operations in Russia after invasion
New York(AP): Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies have said, in the latest blow to the country's financial system after its invasion of Ukraine.
Mastercard Saturday said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any card issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs.
We don't take this decision lightly, Mastercard said in a statement, adding that it made the move after discussions with customers, partners and governments.
Visa said it's working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.
"We are compelled to act following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed, Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Kelly said in a statement.
Many other companies around the world have also made moves to increase the financial pressure on Russia and its people because of its attack on Ukraine.
"This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values," Kelly said.
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Karnataka PUC II exams from Feb 28; over 7.1 lakh students to appear
Bengaluru: The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) will commence the Pre-University Course (PUC) II examinations from February 28. The first exams will be Kannada and Arabic papers.
The Class 12 examinations will continue till March 17. These exams will be conducted at 1,217 centres across the state. A total of 7,10,363 students from 5,174 PU colleges have registered for the examinations this year and of them, 2,92,645 students are from the science stream, 2,11,174 from commerce and 1,42,982 from arts.
The board has reduced the minimum qualifying marks for PU II from 35 per cent to 30 per cent, as reported by The Indian Express. Authorities reaffirmed that strict guidelines to ensure smooth conduct of the examinations amid concerns over fake question papers being circulated on social media. KSEAB president Prakash Nittali said the question paper currently circulating online is fake and added that a complaint will be lodged with the cyber police.
The School Education and Literacy Department has announced that social media platforms will be closely monitored during both the PU and SSLC examinations to prevent misinformation and malpractice.
To facilitate students, the state government has arranged free bus travel in KSRTC and BMTC buses for those appearing for Class 10 and Class 12 examinations upon production of hall tickets. Similar arrangements will be made in private buses operating in the coastal and Malnad regions.
The Karnataka SSLC examinations are scheduled to begin on March 18 starting with the first language paper. A total of 9,02,889 students are expected to appear for the SSLC exams this year, with 8,12,855 fresh candidates, 62,845 repeaters and 27,189 private candidates.
