 "An aerial view of devotees at the Sangam during the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. File image/PTI")
It is set to be a busy Wednesday with several events lined up for the day.
Firstly, the religious Maha Kumbh Mela will come to an end on the occasion of Mahashivratri today. Meanwhile, US and Russian officials are likely to meet to hold follow-up talks following last week’s meeting.
Laid-off federal workers will protest on Capitol Hill today. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Iran.
The International Booker Prize 2025 is set to announce its longlist of 12 or 13 books today.
Here is all that is set to take place today.
Maha Kumbh comes to an end
The Maha Kumbh Mela will conclude today. Beginning on January 13, it will come to an end with several thousand devotees taking a holy dip in the sacred Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj on Mahashivratri.
The auspicious period for the occasion starts at 11:08 am on February 26 and ends at 8:54 am on February 27. Authorities have been on high alert, deploying personnel in sensitive areas to ensure security as the festival approaches its final day.
According to an official statement, more than half of India’s 1.1 billion population have participated in the holy confluence bath and this figure is projected to surpass 650 million by the concluding ‘Amrit snan’ . With the conclusion of Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj, the focus shifts to the upcoming Kumbh Mela, scheduled for Nashik, Maharashtra, in 2027.
US-Russia officials likely hold follow-up talks
While it is yet to be confirmed, officials of Russia and the United States of America are expected to hold follow-up talks in Riyadh to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine .
Notably, European leaders have expressed concerns about being excluded from these discussions, prompting an emergency summit in Paris to assert Europe’s role in the peace process, reported The Times.
The talks come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Riyadh on February 18.
Laid off federal workers to protest on Capitol Hill
Federal workers will gather in the US Capitol Hill to protest against the recent mass layoffs. These layoffs, initiated by the Trump administration and led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have significantly reduced the federal workforce.
Thousands of federal government employees have been shown the door in the first month of President Donald Trump’s administration as the White House and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fire both new and career workers.
In addition to the layoffs, federal employees have expressed concerns over recent directives from Elon Musk, requiring them to justify their weekly work via email or face termination.
Russian FM Lavrov to visit Iran
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Tehran, Iran today to meet his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. The two leaders are likely to discuss “regional and international developments”, stated Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
“The visit…will be carried out within the framework of ongoing consultations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation on bilateral relations and regional and international developments,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to a statement by the ministry.
International Booker Prize 2025 longlist to be announced
The International Booker Prize 2025 is set to announce its longlist of 12 or 13 books today. This prestigious award celebrates outstanding works of fiction translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.
The 2025 judging panel comprises distinguished figures from the literary world, including chair Max Porter, author of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, poet and filmmaker Caleb Femi, Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel laureate and former International Booker Prize winner, renowned writer Marina Warner, and Tahir Shah, travel writer and documentary maker.
Following the longlist, the shortlist of six books will be revealed on April 8 with the winning title announced at a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern on May 20.
On this day…
Birth anniversary of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
Birth anniversary of tennis player Li Na
Birth anniversary of author Theodore Sturgeon
Birth anniversary of singer Michael Bolton
Adolf Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to be re-formed in 1935, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles
Anniversary of Balakot Airstrikes - IAF’s multiple aerial strikes at JeM terror camps in Pakistan’s Balakot
With inputs from agencies