Breaking News, February 15 | HIGHLIGHTS

Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Wednesday emphasised the need to maintain decorum by ruling and opposition members in Vidhan Sabhas, saying frequent attempts to enter the Well of the House are merely a waste of time.

A local court on Wednesday awarded capital punishment to five persons in a case of triple murder that took place over a year ago due to suspicions that they were involved in witch craft.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday announced the construction of Vindhya Expressway to connect state capital Bhopal with Singrauli, a distance of around 660 kms, and development of industrial clusters around it. Chouhan made the announcement while laying the foundation stones for construction of an airport costing around Rs 240 crore in Rewa and other developmental works here. Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was also present on the occasion.

Fire broke out at a garments godown in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai. Several fire tenders have reached the spot.

A local court on Wednesday sentenced a man to life in prison after finding him guilty of raping and killing a five-year-old girl. The girl was found murdered in July 2021. She had been abducted and raped in the district's Badaut Kotwali area, Superintendent of Police Neeraj Jadaun s

About 219 of Rajasthan's 302 blocks, including seven urban areas, fall under the 'over-exploited' category in terms of groundwater usage, the Assembly was informed on Wednesday.

A court in Maharashtra’s Jalna district has sentenced a 21-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping a school-going girl, who became pregnant and delivered a baby. Ambad Sessions court judge Prahlad Bhagure also imposed a fine of Rs 2,500 on the convict Yogesh Saste.

 The Navi Mumbai police claimed to have solved 13 cases of robbing senior citizens with the arrest of two persons in Maharashtra's Thane district. There had been several cases of the culprits posing as policemen or influential persons and robbing elderly people of gold chain and other valuables while they were moving alone, senior police inspector Ravindra Patil of Navi Mumbai Crime Branch Unit II said.

Markets watchdog Sebi on Wednesday notified governance norms for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) on the lines of listed companies. In two separate notifications, provisions such as those related to tenure of auditor, computation of leverage and unclaimed or unpaid distribution have been streamlined by the regulator. This comes after the board of Sebi approved a proposal in December for introducing governance norms for REITs and InvITs on the lines of corporate governance norms for listed companies. As part of streamlining the provisions for REITs and InvITs, the regulator said the tenure of an auditor will be made till the conclusion of the fifth annual general meeting of unitholders, and a statutory auditor will undertake a limited audit of all the entities or companies whose accounts are to be consolidated. REITs or InvITs would not appoint an individual as the auditor for more than one term of five consecutive years, while an audit firm cannot be appointed as the auditor for more than two terms of five consecutive years.

Thirty three Naxalites, including three carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, have surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said on Wednesday. The Naxalites turned themselves in before police during a 'Jan Darshan' programme organised on Tuesday at Dabbamarka camp in the district, Sukma Superintendent of Police Sunil Sharma said. Three of them -- Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan president Dirdo Muda, Chetna Natya Mandli (cultural outfit of Naxals) president Hidma and militia commander Wajam Hidma -- were carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, while the others were lower rank cadres, he said. They were disappointed by the "hollow ideology" of their banned outfit and laid down the arms to join the mainstream, he said. Those who surrendered were allegedly involved in several incidents in the past in Kistaram area in Sukma district, the official said.

With Republican Party's rising star Nikki Haley launching her US presidential campaign against her former boss Donald Trump, she joins a long list of Indian-origin leaders who are dominating politics at important world capitals.
In the US, the growing influence of the Indian-American community can be seen in the success of Kamala Harris, who became the first woman and the first coloured Vice President of the country. She was a senator for California from 2017 to 2021. Harris, a Democrat, also served as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. She was born to Indian and Jamaican parents in California.
In the crucial midterm elections in November, a record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party -- Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera and Shri Thanedar -- were elected to the US House of Representatives.
Harmeet Dhillon, a prominent politician in California, recently contested the election for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to identify land for the rehabilitation of victims ahead of a proposed demolition drive in the Tughlakabad Fort area, according to an official order. The Archeological Survey of India has proposed a demolition drive in the fort Area. Sisodia has asked the chief secretary to immediately formulate a rehabilitation plan, a government official said. A political slugfest has erupted in the national capital over a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolition drive in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park area. On Tuesday, Lt Governor VK Saxena directed the DDA to stop the drive, five days after the exercise began.

At least six people were injured in a clash between two groups belonging to different communities in Panki town of Jharkhand's Palamu district on Wednesday, a senior police officer said. The clash occurred following an altercation over the damage to the welcome gate installed for the upcoming Shivratri festival in Panki bazar. Prohibitory order under section 144 CrPC has been promulgated in Panki town following the clash, the officer said. Superintendent of Police Chandan Kumar Sinha said adequate police force has been deployed in Panki to maintain law and order. Senior police officials were also camping there to bring the situation under control. Inspector General of Police (Palamu) Raj Kumar Lakra said the clash occurred following an altercation, which ensued brick-batting and attack on each other with lathis over damage to the welcome gate installed for upcoming Shivratri festival. Some people from both community were taken into custody, the IGP said.

Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district have arrested three persons, including two from Uttar Pradesh, in connection with the alleged torching and defiling of a church, an official said on Wednesday. The arson and vandalism at the church located in tribal-dominated Sukhtawa came to light on Sunday when some people went to the shrine to offer prayers, said the official. Three persons were arrested in connection with the arson of the prayer hall under Kesla police station, said Narmadapuram Superintendent of Police Gurkaran Singh. The SP said an almost similar incident had taken place in front of a church at Kheda village near Itarsi about a month ago.

The CBI interrogated Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in Tihar Jail here in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The counsel said the investigation agency had moved an application before Special Judge MK Nagpal last Friday in this regard, and the same was allowed. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) quizzed the politician on Monday following the court order, advocate Mohd Irshad said. Jain is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He, however, is not an accused in the excise scam case.

Police conducted a search at the building of the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court after they received a call about a bomb in the premises which later turned out to be a hoax, an official said on Wednesday. The police control room here in Maharashtra received the threat call from Bihar at around 5.45 pm on Tuesday, he said. "The caller said 'I have paid money and my work is not being done. So I kept a bomb in the high court'," the official informed.

Millions of Americans mired in medical debt face difficult financial decisions every day — pay the debt or pay for rent, utilities and groceries. Some may even skip necessary health care for fear of sinking deeper into debt. To address the problem, an increasing number of municipal, county and state governments are devising plans to spend federal coronavirus pandemic relief funds to eliminate residents' medical debt and ease those debt burdens.
The City Council in the Boston suburb of Somerville last month unanimously passed a resolution to spend $200,000 of the city's $77 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding that could clear as much as $4.3 million in medical debt, said Willie Burnley Jr., one of the city councilors behind the effort. As many 5,000 of the city's 80,000 residents could benefit. Cook County, Illinois — which includes Chicago — Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Toledo, Ohio, are among more than a dozen communities that have set into motion or are considering similar plans. Democratic Connecticut governor Ned Lamont last week proposed spending $20 million in ARPA funds to eliminate as much as $2 billion in state residents' medical debts. Unlike credit card or loan debt, medical debt is not a choice, advocates said.

The drive to evict "encroachers" from nearly 1,900 hectares of forest and revenue land in Assam’s Sonitpur district continued for the second day on Wednesday, with 12,000-odd people, who were allegedly staying there illegally for decades, left in the lurch, a senior official said. Since morning, the administration started the eviction in five places of Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and nearby government land, he said. "Today, we are carrying out the eviction exercise at Lathimari, Ganesh Tapu, Baghe Tapu, Gulirpar and Siali. So far it has been peaceful, and no untoward incident has been reported," the official said. With a huge posse of armed security personnel, the Sonitpur district administration had on Tuesday started the exercise to clear “encroached” land in the wildlife sanctuary and nearby revenue villages on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra river in central Assam.

A clash between two groups over money left one person dead and three others injured at Rajpurkala village here, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday when Rohit and Sanjiv (30) had an altercation and in the firing Sanjiv, his brother Mohit and two children sustained bullet injuries, Assistant Superintendent of Police, (Rural) Atul Srivastava said. While Sanjiv died, the three others have been admitted to a hospital. Four police teams have been constituted to arrest Rohit and his father Rajendra.

Six coaches of Godavari Express derailed near here on Wednesday morning, South Central Railway (SCR) officials said. No one was injured in the incident, the officials added. The train was proceeding to Secunderabad here from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. "Train No.12727 (Visakhapatnam - Secunderabad) Godavari Express got derailed between Bibinagar to Ghatkesar. Six coaches derailed. There are no casualties/ injuries," a release from SCR said. Passengers were being cleared by the same train by detaching the derailed coaches, the release added.

Afghanistan remains the primary source of terrorist threat for Central and South Asia, with groups such as ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan enjoying greater freedom of movement in the country owing to the absence of an effective Taliban security strategy, a UN report has said. The 31st report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (ISIL, Al-Qaida), was issued here on Tuesday. The report said that Afghanistan remains the primary source of terrorist threat for Central and South Asia. “It originates from groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant- Khorasan (ISIL-K), Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, as well as ETIM/TIP (Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Islamic Jihad Group, Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari, Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Jamaat Ansarullah and others. These groups enjoy greater freedom of movement in Afghanistan owing to the absence of an effective Taliban security strategy,” the report said.

One person died in a fire in a multi-storey residential building in Kurla West today. Stranded persons were rescued and moved to the terrace of the building.

The Maharashtra government has decided to take steps to implement the “copy-free exams" campaign which includes shutting photocopy shops in 50-metre radius of the examination centres ahead of the Class 10 and 12 exams. The Maharashtra Board's Class 10 exams will begin on March 2 and of Class 12 from February 21. According to a presentation made by officials at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday, the exam centres will be graded according to their 'sensitivity', and the entry of unauthorised people will be banned within 50 metres of an exam centre.

A 29-year-old caretaker of an elderly couple in Mumbai allegedly attacked his employers, killing the man and injuring his wife, police said. The incident took place on Monday night in suburban Jogeshwari and the caretaker, identified as Pappu Gawali, was later nabbed at Dadar railway station when he was trying to flee to his native place, they said. Senior citizen Sudhir Chiplunkar (70) died, while his wife Supriya Chiplunkar (69) was injured after they were attacked by the caretaker at their residence in a housing society in Jogeshwari, according to the Meghwadi police.

Police in Switzerland's capital evacuated Parliament and related offices Tuesday after a man in a bulletproof vest was arrested near one of its entrances and found to be bearing explosives. Berne police said in a statement that in the early afternoon, "federal security staffers noticed a man at the southern entrance of the Parliament building whose appearance — he was wearing a bulletproof vest and weapon holster- and behaviour were suspicious."
"During a body check that followed, a rapid test turned up explosives," the statement said. The statement did not provide any detail on the explosives.

Two friends staying at an OYO hotel in Bilaspur were allegedly thrashed by the staff for demanding a refund, police said. According to the complaint lodged by Sandeep Kumar and Vikas, the incident took place on February 11 at 'Happy Stay OYO Hotel' on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. The duo checked-in at 9 pm and there was a power cut at around 11.30 pm. When the electricity did not get restored till 1 am, Kumar approached the hotel staff who told him that there will be no power till the morning, the complaint said. "So, we demanded that our money be returned following which, an argument ensued and the staff thrashed us and locked us in our room," Kumar said in the complaint.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed officials to get investment proposals received during the Global Investors Summit implemented on the ground. The chief minister held a special meeting with additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries and CEOs of Industrial Development Authorities of all departments at his 5 Kalidas Marg residence. He reviewed the proposals department-wise and gave necessary guidelines for their implementation. According to a statement issued here, he said that during the summit the state received more than Rs 13,000 proposals worth more than Rs 16 lakh crore, which have been prepared for immediate implementation by the investors.

The United States on Tuesday said it is aware of the survey operation conducted by the Indian tax authorities at the BBC office in Delhi but is not in a position to offer its judgement. The Income Tax officials said the operation was part of a tax evasion investigation. "We are aware of the search of the BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities. I would need to refer you to Indian authorities for the details of this search. Beyond this discrete action, what I'll say more broadly is the general point that I've consistently made in this context, but in a universal context as well," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Tuesday that more than 35,000 people have died in Turkiye as a result of last week's earthquake, making it the deadliest such disaster since the country's founding 100 years ago. While the death toll is almost certain to rise even further, many of the tens of thousands of survivors left homeless were still struggling to meet basic needs, like finding shelter from the bitter cold. Confirmed deaths in Turkiye passed those recorded from the massive Erzincan earthquake in 1939 that killed around 33,000 people. Erdogan said 1,05,505 were injured as a result of the February 6 quake centered around Kahramanmaras and its aftershocks. Almost 3,700 deaths have been confirmed in neighbouring Syria, taking the combined toll in both countries to over 39,000.

Targeting the BJP over I-T survey at the BBC offices, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday it shows whosoever raises voice against the central government will be crushed. Speaking to media persons in Raipur, Baghel said “Whoever speaks against the central government they will be crushed. Be it Congress or any regional party, they have to face the heat of the central government for speaking against them.” Whenever Congress leaders went to other states for poll campaign, there were raided by IT, ED and DRI in Chhattisgarh, he said. “Now by taking action against the BBC, a message is being given to media houses that you cannot speak against us,” he said.

The United Nations chief launched a USD 397 million appeal Tuesday to help nearly 5 million survivors of last week's devastating earthquake in rebel-held northwest Syria who have received very little assistance because of deep divisions exacerbated by the country's 12-year war. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appeal a day after he welcomed an agreement between the UN and Syrian President Bashar Assad to open two new crossing points from Turkey for an initial period of three months. The UN has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa- at Syrian ally Russia's insistence. Since the quake, the UN says 84 trucks have gone through Bab Al-Hawa.