NATO holds emergency talks after missile lands in Poland
Brussels (AP): Ambassadors from the 30 NATO nations gathered in Brussels Wednesday for emergency talks after Poland said that a Russian-made missile fell on its territory, killing two people, and US President Joe Biden and his allies promised support for the investigation into the incident.
The blast came as Russia launched widespread aerial strikes across Ukraine and immediately raised concern and confusion about whether Russia might be broadening the war it launched against Ukraine in February, potentially dragging NATO into the conflict.
But three US officials said preliminary assessments suggest the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian projectile, and Biden said it was "unlikely" that it was fired from Russia.
NATO chief spokeswoman Oana Lungescu described the blast as a "tragic incident."
Poland said late on Tuesday that it was considering calling for emergency consultations under Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty, which provides for such talks if one of the 30 allies considers that its territory might be under threat.
But Wednesday's meeting did not appear to be Article 4 consultations.
With key questions remaining unanswered, a firm statement of support for Ukraine and for the Polish investigation would appear the most likely outcome from Wednesday morning's meeting, echoing a joint statement overnight from NATO and G7 leaders.
"We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland's ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds," the leaders said, on the sidelines of G20 talks in Indonesia.
"We reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, as well as our continued readiness to hold Russia accountable for its brazen attacks on Ukrainian communities," they said.
Since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine, NATO has sought to avoid being dragged into a wider war.
The world's biggest security alliance has declined to send troops into Ukraine and has refused Kyiv's requests to police a no-fly zone over its cities, which might require allies to shoot down Russian fighter jets or target air defense systems in Russian territory.
While some of NATO's member countries are providing weapons and other support, NATO as an organisation does not.
The military alliance has focused on building up its forces in member countries near Russia and Ukraine's borders to dissuade Putin from targeting them next.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia triggered urgent Article 4 consultations.
These are launched when "the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the (NATO) parties is threatened."
In the unlikely event that Poland considered itself to be under attack, the government in Warsaw together with its allies could, only after those consultations and other meetings, activate Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
This collective defense clause requires every member of the 30-nation military alliance to come to the assistance of any ally under attack.
Article 5 has only ever been used once; by the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
It was the rallying call that saw NATO and its international partners deploy to Afghanistan for almost two decades in a security operation aimed at keeping the Taliban out of power.
Activating it in the case of nuclear-armed Russia would only be a last resort.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
