Current Affairs in Short: 17 February 2022

Shreyas Iyer is Kolkata Knight Riders' new captain

•  Shreyas Iyer has been named the new captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team.

•  He was Knight Riders' most expensive deal at the IPL 2022 auction, as the team bought him for Rs 12.25 crore.

•  He has become Kolkata Knight Riders' highest-paid player by overtaking Andre Russell's salary of Rs 12 crore.

•  Shreyas Iyer will be succeeding Eoin Morgan, under whose captaincy KKR had reached the IPL final last year but lost to Chennai Super Kings.

Russia announces military withdrawal from Crimea

•  Russia announced a new withdrawal of military forces from the annexed Crimean peninsula on February 16, 2022. 

•  Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the units of the southern military district ended tactical exercises at training grounds on the Crimean peninsula and are returning by rail to their permanent bases.

•  The state-run media also showed columns of military hardware crossing a recently-constructed bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland.

•  The United States along with NATO and other European leaders have denied that there is any meaningful pullback of Russian troops from the region. 

•  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also stated that Russia's military personnel were actually rotating.

Civil Aviation Ministry removes the restriction on flights between India and Ukraine 

•  The civil aviation ministry has removed the restriction on the number of flights between India and Ukraine to facilitate the smooth evacuation of Indian nationals, especially students stranded in Ukraine. 

•  Indian airlines have been asked to increase the number of flights between the two nations amid a surge in the demand in the wake of the imminent invasion by Russia.

•  India had earlier advised its nationals in Ukraine to leave the country temporarily but there are reportedly no flights available before February 20, leaving thousands stranded. 

•  Indian government clarified that there is no immediate evacuation plans, so there are no special flights. However, the centre has removed the limited number of flights under air bubble arrangements.

•  The Union Ministry of External Affairs stated that Indian carriers are being encouraged to operate Chartered flights between India and Ukraine. 

Burkina Faso junta leader inaugurated as new President

•  Burkina Faso junta leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been inaugurated as the new President of the country. He was sworn in to the post on February 16, 2022. 

•  This development comes three weeks after a coup toppled the elected head of state Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

•  The Constitutional Council of the nation had determined last week that Damiba, who had led the coup on January 24 was president, head of state and supreme commander of Burkina Faso's armed forces.

EAM Jaishankar to visit Germany, France from February 18

•  Union External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit Germany and France from February 18-23.

•  He is scheduled to participate in the Munich Security Conference in Germany and also hold bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers and other delegates on the sidelines of the conference. 

•  He will visit France after that and hold a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.