World Bank stops all projects in Russia, Belarus with 'immediate effect'
Washington, Mar 3: The World Bank has announced that it will stop all its programmes in Russia and Belarus with "immediate effect" in response to Moscow's military operations in Ukraine and "hostilities" against the people of the war-torn country.
On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
The decision comes as a large number of countries, organisations and businesses are severing ties and have imposed sanctions on Russia over the country's invasion of Ukraine, and with Belarus for its support and cooperation with Moscow.
The World Bank Group has not approved any new loans to or investments in Russia since 2014. There has also been no new lending approved to Belarus since mid-2020," the Washington-based global lender said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and hostilities against the people of Ukraine, the World Bank Group has stopped all its programmes in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect, the statement said.
The banking organisation, with 189 member countries across the globe, has not approved any new loans or investments in Russia since 2014, when the country annexed the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, or in Belarus since 2020, following a disputed presidential election, The Hill reported.
After Russia invaded, World Bank President David Malpass condemned the assault, saying the group was "horrified by the shocking violence and loss of life as a result of the events unfolding in Ukraine."
"We are a long-standing partner of Ukraine and stand with its people at this critical moment," Malpass had said in a statement.
On Tuesday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said it was considering Ukraine's request for emergency financing, while another programme gave the nation access to USD 2.2 billion through the end of June.
The World Bank Group also announced on Tuesday it was providing a USD 3 billion support package to assist Ukraine.
On March 1, both the IMF and the World Bank Group released a statement on the war in Ukraine, saying "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the devastating human and economic toll brought by the war in Ukraine.
"People are being killed, injured, and forced to flee, and massive damage is caused to the country's physical infrastructure. We stand with the Ukrainian people through these horrifying developments."
The US along with its key allies, including the EU and the UK, have disconnected key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT and impose restrictive measures on its central bank.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is the world's main banking messaging service which links around 11,000 banks and institutions in more than 200 countries, including India.
Based in Belgium, the system is considered central to the smooth functioning of global finances and Russia's exclusion from it would hit the country hard.
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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.
