Free Press Bulletin: Top 5 news updates of February 24, 2022; watch video

Here are the top 5 news updates of February 24, 2022:

1. Russia attacks Ukraine as defiant Putin warns US, NATO

Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine today, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to "consequences you have never seen." Ukrainian border guards released footage of what they said were Russian military vehicles moving in, and big explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east and Odesa in the west. As the Russian military claimed to have wiped out Ukraine's entire air defenses in a matter of hours, Ukrainians fled some cities and European authorities declared Ukrainian air space an active conflict zone. As per the last update, more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers and around 10 civilians have been killed.

2. Gangubai Kathiawadi controversy: Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking stay on release of movie

The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea seeking stay on the release of Bollywood movie Gangubai Kathiawadi. The Alia Bhatt-starrer, produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bhansali Production Private Ltd, is scheduled for release on Friday. A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheswari dismissed the plea of Babuji Rawji Shah, who claims to be the adopted son of Gangubai, against the Bombay High Court's order declining him various reliefs such as interim stay on the release of the movie. Prior to this, a lower court had rejected the defamation lawsuit of Shah leading to filing of an appeal in the high court which also refused to grant any interim relief to him.

3. All promises of BJP became 'Jumla', says Aaditya Thackeray in Siddharthnagar

Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray said today that during the Bharatiya Janata Party's rule in the state all promises became 'jumla'. He was addressing a public rally in the Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. "The BJP was elected as an alternative to Samajwadi Party (SP) with a huge majority. But all the promises and dreams remained dreams, and they became 'jumla'. They were not fulfilled," said Thackeray while addressing the audience. The leader said that the BJP only talked of 'hate, riots and fear' during its tenure to intimidate people. "They talked about 'ye khatre mein hai, woh khatre mein hai'. But nobody can be in danger. This is the land of Lord Ram, this is our own land," he added.

4. SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia sent to judicial custody till March 8 in drug case

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia was today sent to judicial custody till March 8 by Mohali court. Majithia had surrendered in the court today and applied for regular bail in a drug case registered against him in December last year. Majithia has been booked under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, on the allegations of his alleged involvement in a drug racket in the state. The Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 24 had dismissed Majithia's anticipatory bail plea. Earlier, Supreme Court had also granted protection from arrest to Majithia till February 23 in view of the Punjab Assembly elections.

5. Sensex tanks over 2,700 pts in line with global meltdown as Russia invades Ukraine

Equity benchmark Sensex crashed over 2,700 points today following a severe sell-off in global markets after Russia launched a military offensive against Ukraine. The 30-share BSE gauge plunged about 2,850 points during the session before closing at 54,529.91, registering a massive fall of 2,702.15 points or 4.72 per cent. Likewise, the NSE barometer Nifty nosedived 815.30 points or 4.78 per cent to end at 16,247.95. This was also the seventh straight session of decline for both the indices. On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares suffered heavy losses, with IndusInd Bank, M&M and Bajaj Finance shedding as much as 8 per cent.