Breaking News February 27 | Highlights

The Odisha Assembly on Saturday passed an unanimous resolution on the 'Puri Shreemandira Parikrama Yojana' or the Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor Plan, which aims at enhanced security of the 12th-century shrine, better amenities for devotees and creation of a spiritual ambience.

Senior IAS officer Sitaram Kunte was on Saturday appointed chief secretary of Maharashtra succeeding Sanjay Kumar.

Kunte, a 1985 batch officer, was presently additional chief secretary (home). He has served as Mumbai municipal commissioner earlier. 

Haryana: A condominium in Gurugram's Sector 67 declared a containment zone.

The Supreme Court will no longer use WhatsApp groups to share video conference links for court hearings, the apex court registry said on Saturday.

Haryana households with a total annual income of Rs 1.8 lakh will be included in the below-poverty-line category families from April 2021, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Saturday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reiterated Britain's support to Afghanistan in its fight against the Taliban, as part of the wider North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) alliance.

The Tamil Nadu government transport workers, who have been on indefinite strike since the last three days, on Saturday decided to call off their strike for now and resume work.

The Confederation of All Transport Employees Unions, comprising nine trade unions, commenced the indefinite strike on February 25 demanding that the state government conclude the 14thwage revision talks immediately.

The Board of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD) that governs the shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala Hills, near Tirupati, on Saturday approved a Rs 2,938-crore budget for 2021-22.

The budget proposals foresee a total revenue of about Rs 2,938 crore, a top functionary of the TTD said.

Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per dose of COVID-19 vaccine, official sources said on Saturday as India prepares to vaccinate people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities from March 1. READ MORE

The first phase of COVID-19 vaccination programme in South Africa is ahead of schedule, health authorities said on Saturday after the second batch of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines landed in the country.

Brazil recorded 13.5 per cent unemployment in 2020, equivalent to 13.4 million people and the highest level since 2012, the state-run Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported.

With a view to renovating its station buildings to enhance their heritage value, the Bengaluru division of the South Western Railway (SWR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a non-profit organisation. The Railway officials signed the MoU with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACT) on Thursday, the SWR said in a press statement.

Four old station buildings on KSR Bengaluru-Chikkaballapur-Kolar railway line, Devanahalli, Doddajala, Avathihalli and Nandi Halt would be restored and preserved, the SWR said in a statement.

Besides, the stations in Rajanukunte, Oorgaum, Champion and Chintamani are to be developed as heritage railway stations, the statement said.

India and Bangladesh discussed "early completion" of the pending fencing work along the international border they share as they reiterated their commitment to address issues related to terrorism and extremism during the home secretary-level talks held on Saturday, an official statement said.

The 19th edition of the dialogue was held online in the backdrop of 'MujibBarsho', 50 years of the Bangladesh Liberation War and establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla led the Indian side, while the Bangladeshi delegation was headed by senior secretary, public security division of the neighbouring country's ministry of home affairs, Mostafa Kamal Uddin.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed the progress of CNG boat conversion project & Khirkiya Ghat redevelopment project being undertaken by GAIL & Indian Oil. He also flagged-off 2 boats powered by CNG. Urja Ganga project is supplying natural gas to Varanasi

Congress-Left alliance and Indian Secular Front to meet today to discuss the seat-sharing and alliance for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections

Kolkata based businessman Randhir Barnwal summoned by CBI today over coal issue. CBI had raided his residence on Friday

A 3.1 magnitude tremor was recorded in Gujarat's Surat early on Saturday, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said. The tremor was recorded at 4.35 am with its epicentre located 29 km north-north east of Surat in south Gujarat, the Gandhinagar-based institute said.

No casualty or damage to property was reported due to it, the district administration said. The tremor was recorded at a depth of 15 km, and it was felt in Surat city and the nearby areas, the institute added.

Three more persons including an 88-year-old woman have tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, taking the state's tally to 4,422, an official said
on Saturday. Two of the cases were reported from Aizawl district and one from Mamit district, he said. Two patients have developed symptoms of COVID-19 while one was asymptomatic.

A 17-year-old boy admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre after being beaten up and stabbed by 3 boys in Delhi's Kalkaji area when he allegedly objected to them following his sister and passing indecent remarks. Case registered and further investigation is underway.

A fire broke out at a factory in Pratap Nagar area of Delhi in the early hours of Saturday, a Delhi Fire Service official said. No one has been reported injured, he said.

A call about the fire was received at around 3.47 am and 18 fire tenders have been pressed into service, the official said. Fire-fighting operations are under way and the cause of the blaze is not known yet, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive the CERAWeek global energy and environment leadership award during an annual international energy conference next week. The prime minister will also deliver the keynote address at the CERAWeek Conference-2021, which will be held virtually from March 1 to 5.

The Jahangirabad SHO was suspended on corruption charges and for misbehaving with the public, an official said on Friday. SSP Santosh Kumar Singh said after getting complaints against Jahangirabad SHO Ramakant Yadav, an inquiry was ordered into the matter. The SHO was suspended on Friday evening, he added.