Intra-Afghan talks to be held in Doha

Oman Air confirmed that flights to and from Amman (AMM), Dubai (DXB), Bahrain (BAH), Doha (DOH), Dammam (DMM), Kuwait (KWI), Copenhagen (CPH), Baghdad (BGW), and Khasab (KHS) are cancelled until March 22.

India on Thursday rejected Pakistan's allegations of aggravating skirmishes with Afghanistan, calling them "baseless" and accusing Pakistan of blaming others for its own misdeeds.

According to the Indian Embassy in Beirut, the first batch of 177 Indian nationals was repatriated to New Delhi on a charter flight arranged by their employer on Wednesday. The group was seen off at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport by India's Ambassador to Lebanon, Noor Rahman Sheikh.

MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, while addressing an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia, said that the Indian Embassy in Tehran remains fully operational and is on high alert. The government is assisting Indian nationals, including students and pilgrims, who wish to leave the country. He further added that those choosing to exit Iran via land, the embassy is assisting citizens in crossing into Armenia and Azerbaijan, from where they can board commercial flights to return to India.

Amid the developing security situation in West Asia, the Indian Embassy in Qatar provided an update, where it mentioned that about 1000 Indian passengers have travelled back to New Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi. It further said that temporary transit visas of 96 hours' validity had been issued for Indian nationals through the Salwa border to Saudi Arabia and underlined that the Embassy's 24/7 control room remains functional.

British Airways in a post on X cautioned its customers from falling to prey to scamsters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" in a release on Monday. He urged the Taliban to release Americans "unjustly detained," accusing the group of using "terrorist tactics" and "hostage diplomacy" to seek policy concessions from the US.

The statement said that the evacuation will take place from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on March 10.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has held discussions with Gulf leaders regarding the escalating tensions in the Middle East, highlighting Singapore's concern over the evolving regional conflict and the safety of its citizens abroad.

The government of Qatar has strongly condemned an attack attributed to Iran that targeted a residential facility in Al-Kharj, a city in Saudi Arabia, resulting in the deaths of two civilians and leaving several others injured.