The United Nations’ refugee agency declared the conflict in West Asia a major humanitarian emergency, and called for all fleeing civilians to be granted safe passage. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that the crisis has led large numbers of people to flee their homes.

“UNHCR has declared the escalating crisis in the Middle East as a major humanitarian emergency requiring an immediate response across the region,” Ayaki Ito, the director of emergency and programme support at the agency, said.

The conflict began on February 28 when Israel and the US launched a joint military operation targeting the Iranian government, triggering a retaliation by Tehran.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, while Tehran has maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes. Read more.

The United States granted Indian refiners a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil stranded at sea amid the conflict in West Asia. This was a short-term measure to keep oil supplies flowing globally amid disruptions, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, adding that it “will not provide significant financial benefit” to the Russian government.

The decision came amid concerns about rising crude oil prices and its supply from West Asia being disrupted. The price of benchmark Brent crude had reached $84 per barrel by Friday, marking a 15.9% increase since Israel and the US on February 28 launched a joint operation against Iran.

India is a net importer of oil and gas, with around 80% to 85% of its energy requirements met through imports. Read on.

Why the US-Iran war will hurt India more than China, explains Vaishnavi Rathore

After Washington’s announcement about the 30-day waiver, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that New Delhi’s foreign policy today “is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual”. “What we are witnessing today is not policy,” said the leader of Oppostion, questioning the Narendra Modi government in the context of the conflict in West Asia.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed Gandhi, alleging that the US granting the waiver to “clearly demonstrates Modi government is continuously cedeing diplomatic space”. “This is the kind of language which is used for sanctioned states, and not India, who has been a responsible and an equal partner in global order,” Kharge said. Read on.

Counting of votes for the Nepal election is underway, with the newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party holding a significant lead over other parties. The three-year-old party was leading in 109 seats, while the Nepali Congress was ahead in 12 seats.

Former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, who has been positioned as the Rastriya Swatantra Party’s prime ministerial candidate, was leading ousted Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, securing 11,945 votes in the Jhapa-5 seat.

Polling to elect 275 members of Parliament in the country took place on Thursday.

Of the total, 165 seats will be decided through direct voting. The remaining will be allocated under the proportional representation system, with political parties nominating lawmakers based on the share of votes the parties get. Read more.

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