Breaking News, February 28 | HIGHLIGHTS

In a war of words over the issue of one-time settlement of inflated water bills, Delhi LG V K Saxena in an 'open letter' addressed to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said AAP dispensation's allegations of stalling the proposed scheme were "white lies".

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted raids in six places of West Bengal as part of its investigation into a money laundering case linked to the Mahadev online gaming and betting app that purportedly involved various politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, officials said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hit out at Congress MP D K Suresh for saying that the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation due to the alleged injustice in the release of Central grants to them.

Around 150 companies of central forces are likely to reach West Bengal in the first week of March primarily to conduct route marches ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, a senior official of the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

India on Wednesday blocked an attempt by a group of WTO countries led by China to push an investment facilitation pact in the agenda of the ministerial conference here, a move which may ensure that the proposal is unlikely to be part of the final outcome document, an official said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is giving Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building new planes.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambition for the BJP to secure seats in double digits in Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, saying that the only way the saffron party could achieve such a feat in the southern state would be by obtaining two zeros.

The Supreme Court has sought responses of the Centre, CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and others including 13 states on a plea alleging fraudulent activities by motivational speaker Vivek Bindra and his firm Bada Business Pvt Ltd.

Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey on Wednesday said that 219 people have been killed in ethnic violence in the state since May last year.

Himachal Pradesh Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Wednesday reserved his order on a Congress petition seeking the disqualification of six party MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Wednesday said it will submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu to draw her attention on the Sandeshkhali issue.

The parliamentary party of the PML-N headed by three-time former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday formally nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif for the post of prime minister to head a coalition government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar in the first week of March, his second visit to the Union Territory in over two weeks, officials said.

The Congress on Wednesday condemned the killing of a Dalit youth in Uttar Pradesh and demanded an inquiry into the incident.

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday tweaked guidelines for Regulatory Sandbox (RS) scheme under which participating entities will have to comply with digital personal data protection norms.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said the fate of the missing persons and the ongoing land disputes were posing a major political challenge for the reconciliation of the Tamil minority under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

The British government said Wednesday that it is stepping up security for lawmakers after politicians reported threats and intimidation connected to the Israel-Hamas war.

Prince Harry on Wednesday lost a legal challenge against the British government over the level of his security protection when he is in the UK, with a High Court judge in London ruling that the decision to remove police protection was not “unlawful or irrational”.

The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday rejected former chief minister Hemant Soren's petition seeking permission to attend the ongoing budget session of the assembly.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates called on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his residence here and discussed technology-driven farmer empowerment initiatives.

The Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC) on Wednesday hiked power tariff by 7.66 per cent in the state. Under the new rates, domestic consumers in rural areas will pay Rs 6.30 per unit, up from Rs 5.80, while urban consumers will pay Rs 6.65 per unit, up from Rs 6.30. The revised tariff will take effect from March 1, a statement by the JSERC said.

A minor girl was allegedly raped by her social media 'friend' and was found in an unconscious state near Dabri Metro Station in Delhi's Sagarpur area, police said on Wednesday. According to the girl's statement, she had fainted near the metro station on Tuesday. Police had earlier said that she was beaten up and thrown there.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday issued summons to TMC leader and West Bengal Sports minister Arup Biswas in connection with Rs 1,900 crore money laundering case involving the Alchemist Group, a senior official said.

Six Congress MLAs, who voted for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, and had left Haryana on Wednesday for an undisclosed location, have returned to Shimla.
The returnees also included three independent MLAs, who too had landed here yesterday after casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha election. All nine of them have reached Shimla now.

Delhi Power Minister Atishi on Wednesday alleged that Lt Governor V K Saxena is obstructing the AAP dispensation's Solar Policy to ensure that it is not notified before the enforcement of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls. Atishi raised the issue in the Delhi Assembly and also addressed a press conference on the issue.

The shares of debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd on Wednesday plummeted 10 per cent after the fundraising announcement by the company failed to lift investors' sentiment. The stock plunged 9.95 per cent to Rs 14.29 -- its lower circuit limit -- on the BSE. It fell by 9.77 per cent to Rs 14.30 -- its lower circuit limit-- on the NSE.

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Wednesday suspended 15 BJP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, and adjourned the House. They were suspended for misbehaviour and shouting slogans in the House. "We are apprehensive that Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania might suspend the BJP MLAs so that the budget can be passed in the Vidhan Sabha," Thakur told reporters earlier in the morning.

In a major development in the ongoing political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, the state assembly Speaker suspended 14 BJP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur.

Army troops guarding the Line of Control fired nearly two dozen rounds at a Pakistani drone after it intruded into Indian territory in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday. However, the drone managed to return to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after hovering briefly over some forward Indian posts in Mendhar and Krishna Ghati sectors, the officials said.

The Narcotics Control Bureau, the Navy and the Gujarat Police have seized a gigantic consignment of 3,132 kg of drugs in a joint operation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday. Shah said the historic success is a testament to the Modi government's unwavering commitment to making the nation drug-free. In a post on X, the home minister said pursuing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a drug-free Bharat, the agencies have achieved the grand success of making the biggest offshore seizure of drugs in the nation.

PM Modi inaugurated new projects and laid foundation stone for new initiatives worth over Rs 17,000 crore at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.

Three people, including a woman, were killed and as many sustained injuries when their car crashed into a tree in Gauriganj here, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place at around 2. 30 am when the people were returning to Amethi from Raebareli after attending a wedding, they said.

The Indian Navy and the NCB have in a joint operation apprehended a dhow off the Gujarat coast with five crew members and seized 3,300 kg of drugs from it, the largest quantity of narcotics seized in recent times, officials said on Wednesday. The drugs seized include 3,089 kilograms of charas, 158 kg of Methamphetamine and 25 kg of morphine, they said. The dhow and crew members have been handed over to the law enforcement agencies by the Navy after being apprehended on Tuesday, the officials said.

Santhan, who was convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and freed later, died, said a hospital official on Wednesday.

A major fire broke out in a slum at Bhayandar in Maharashtra's Thane district neighbouring Mumbai on Wednesday morning, destroying several huts and shops, officials said. Some persons were feared injured in the blaze, they said. The fire started at around 6 am in the Azad Nagar slum, Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) Commissioner Sanjay Katkar said. Some explosions were heard in the locality, according to sources.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BjP) Legislature Party leaders led by Jairam Thakur met Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla early Wednesday before the assembly meets. They demanded the division of votes for the financial budget in the state assembly. Congress has lost mandate, said Thakur after meeting the Governor.

The aide of a Greater Noida-based businessman was arrested on Tuesday for alleged fraud and criminal breach of trust after he embezzled his employer's Rs 1. 15 crore after claiming a loot with him, police said. Rs 1. 07 crore of the embezzled cash, which was hidden in pits under the ground at his maternal uncle's home in the adjoining Bulandshahr district, has been recovered, the police said, as it solved the case within four hours. The rest of the money is believed to be with the accused's uncle, who is absconding, the police said.