Breaking News, February 18 | HIGHLIGHTS

A couple and their son were pulled alive from under a collapsed apartment building more than 12 days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged parts of Turkiye and Syria, although the child later died at a hospital, Turkish state media reported Saturday.
A foreign search team from Kyrgyzstan rescued Samir Muhammed Accar, 49, his wife, Ragda, 40, and their 12-year-old son while digging through the rubble of the apartment building in the southern Turkish city of Antakya, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
They were removed at about 11:30 a.m. local time (8:30 GMT), or 296 hours after the Feb 6 quake, and quickly transferred to ambulances. TV footage showing medics fixing an IV drip to the man's arm as he lay on a stretcher.

 Nine people under the age of 18, including a 5 year old, were wounded after shots rang out at a gas station in a Georgia city bordering Alabama, authorities confirmed Saturday. Columbus police officers responded about 10 pm Friday and found multiple gunshot victims amid a large group of people. The victims, whose names were not released, ranged in age from 5 to 17. Seven males and two females were hurt, police said.
Authorities said the injuries all appeared non-life threatening.

Leading broadcasters including Disney Star, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Pictures Networks India Ltd have stopped providing feed to cable operators who have not signed fresh agreements with increased prices under the New Tariff Order (NTO).
While, All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the apex body of digital cable television players, said they have declined to sign the agreement as it would increase the cost from 25 per cent to 35 per cent and put an additional burden on consumers and are considering legal recourse over it.

 Telugu Desam Party leader Nandamuri Taraka Ratna, who was undergoing treatment here at Narayana Hrudayalaya, passed away on Saturday, family sources said. Taraka Ratna (39) was admitted to the hospital after he suffered a massive heart attack during a political rally in Chittoor in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. He had collapsed while participating in the launch of the state-wide 'padayatra' of TDP General Secretary Nara Lokesh on January 27 at Kuppam.
After preliminary treatment in a nearby hospital, he was flown to Bengaluru for further treatment at the Narayana Hrudayalaya.

Rinku Saini, arrested by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the alleged abduction and murder of two men, has told investigators that they were taken to the Haryana Police by cow vigilantes, an officer said on Saturday.
The police officer said his claim would be verified. His claim corroborates with the statement of Mohammad Jabir, a relative of the deceased, that the two were first taken to the Firozpur Jhirka police station in Haryana but police refused take their custody as their condition was serious.
Subsequently they were taken to Loharu in Bhiwani district.

China's top diplomat on Saturday renewed Beijing's criticism of the United States for shooting down what Washington says was a Chinese spy balloon, arguing at a conference in Germany that the move doesn't point to US strength.
Beijing insists the white orb shot down off the Carolina coast early this month was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and had only limited “self-steering” capabilities.

The United States has determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday, insisting that “justice must be served” to the perpetrators.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Harris said the international community has both a moral and a strategic interest in pursuing those crimes, pointing to a danger of other authoritarian governments taking advantage if international rules are undermined.
“Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population — gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation,” Harris said. She also cited “execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution.”

 The Dutch government said Saturday that “a number” of Russian diplomats will have to leave the Netherlands, accusing Moscow of trying to smuggle spies into the country that is home to institutions including the International Criminal Court and the global chemical weapons watchdog.

South Korea's military said North Korea on Saturday fired at least one ballistic missile into the sea, a day it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the U.S. over their joint military exercises. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul didn't immediately say what type of missile was launched or how far it flew. The launch came a day after North Korea's Foreign Ministry threatened to take “unprecedently" strong action against its rivals after South Korea announced a series of planned military exercises with the United States aimed at sharpening their resp

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday told his supporters that the party's 'bow and arrow' symbol has been stolen and the thief needs to be taught a lesson, a remark aimed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Thackeray was addressing his supporters outside 'Matoshree', his residence at Bandra here before chairing a meeting of party leaders. In a big blow to Thackeray, the Election Commission (EC) on Friday allotted the name 'Shiv Sena' and its poll symbol 'bow and arrow' to the group led by CM Shinde. This is for the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party that was founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday and held discussions on a range of subjects, including bilateral strategic partnership, economic opportunities, people-to-people ties and cricket. Jaishankar, who arrived here from Fiji, also conveyed personal greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Australian counterpart. "Delighted to call on PM @AlboMP of Australia today morning in Kirribilli House in Sydney. Conveyed the personal greetings of PM @narendramodi. Our discussions reflected the full spirit of our strategic partnership. Apprised @AlboMP of recent developments in that regard," he tweeted.

After his patch-up with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and appointment as the party's National General Secretary, Shivpal Singh Yadav could be seen sitting in the front row in the Uttar Pradesh assembly which begins on February 20. SP chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey has written a letter to Speaker Satish Mahana for a change in the seating arrangement. "Now Shivpalji will sit in the front row on party MLA Awadhesh Prasad's seat. Prasad will sit next to Akhilesh Yadav." Pandey told PTI. Till now the seat next to Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the opposition, was reserved for Azam Khan. Now Prasad, SP MLA from Milkipur seat in Ayodhya, will sit there. Shivpal, who is party MLA from Jaswant Nagar seat in Etawah district, was till now seen sitting in a seat in the back row.

Three cars that were being used by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir were seized by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case regarding the recovery of arms and ammunition from former Deputy SP Devender Singh, officials said on Saturday. A senior NIA official said that the seizure was made on February 15. "We seized three cards, Hyundai i20, Maruti 800 and Hyundai i20 Sportz. These vehicles were used by accused for the furtherance of terror activities in the Kashmir Valley. The vehicles were seized under sections 25 (1) of the UA (P), Act," the NIA said. The case pertains to the arrest of four accused, including two active terrorists of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), who were going out of the union territory in order to commit terrorist acts, in a Hyundai i20 car. Based on information, this car was intercepted at Al-Stop naka on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway on January 11, 2020. During search, one AK-47 Rifle, three pistols, one hand grenade, ammunition and other incriminating material were recovered and seized. The case was initially registered at the Qazigund police station in Kulgam and later, the probe of the matter was taken over by the NIA. "Investigations have revealed that the Hyundai i20 owned and used by accused Irfan Shafi Mir, Maruti 800 registered in the name of Mushtaq Ahmad Shah and used by his son accused Syed Naveed Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, and Hyundai i20 Sportz registered and used by Tanveer Ahmad Wani were used for terror activities in Kashmir Valley," said the NIA official. Further investigations in the matter are on.

A gang of robbers took away silver and imitation jewellery worth Rs 3.88 crore from a delivery van of a courier company after attacking the driver in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, a police official said on Saturday. The robbers came in three cars and intercepted the van near Sayla town on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway late on Friday night, said Superintendent of Police Haresh Dudhat. “The assailants fled in their vehicles after looting jewellery worth Rs 3.88 crore. We have formed 15 teams to nab the culprits,” said Dudhat. The jewellery consignment was being sent to the Ahmedabad airport for onward despatch to other cities in the country, said an official from the Rajkot-based courier company.

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) arrested a Chinese national while he was trying to cross the India-Nepal border here without any valid documents, police said on Saturday. The Chinese national was arrested in Gaurifanta area here on Friday evening, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Aditya Kumar told PTI. "During interrogation in police custody, the Chinese national could not produce any valid documents for his stay in India," he said. Further action in the matter will be taken after a thorough probe, the DSP said.

Intensifying its election campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, the Congress on Saturday launched a 'poster war' against the BJP by pasting 'Kivi Mele Hoova' (flower on the ear) on BJP posters in Bengaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts. The campaign was pursued aggressively a day after Congress MLAs tucked flowers on their ears inside the assembly floor to show their protest against the unfulfilled promises made by the ruling BJP. The Congress stepped up the 'Kivi Mele Hoova' campaign by taking it to the streets now, the party said in a statement. "Posters of 'Kivi Mele Hoova' are seen on the top of the BJP 'Achievement Wall' paintings and posters in many parts of the Bengaluru city and Mangalore this morning," it added. Karnataka Congress on Friday had attacked the BJP government for failing to fulfil 90 per cent of its 2018 manifesto promises and also for utilising only 56 per cent of allocated funds of the 2022-2023 budget, the statement said.

The relationship between India and the US is the "defining partnership" for the 21st century, America’s former Ambassador to the country Richard Verma has told lawmakers and urged the Senate to confirm the next envoy to New Delhi at the earliest. A strong advocate of deepening Indo-US ties, Verma played a key role in the Congressional passage of the civil nuclear deal. He was sworn in as the US Ambassador to India in 2014, becoming the first ever Indian-American to hold the post. He served as the US Ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017. “I continue to believe this is the defining partnership for this century. The relationship is so consequential in so many ways, and having a senior official on the ground that represents the president makes a big difference,” Verma told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing for Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.

Doors of the Kedarnath Temple to be open on April 25: Ajendra Ajay, Chairman, Kedarnath Temple Committee.

A total of four Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in an airstrike in eastern Iraq and a raid in the west, the Iraqi military has said. Acted on intelligence reports, the Iraqi fighter jets bombarded an IS hideout in the Himreen mountain range on Friday, killing three IS militants, said the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command in a statement. The statement gave no further details about the bombed IS hideout but said more information would be released later, Xinhua news agency reported. A security source anonymously told the news agency that one of the three killed is believed to be a local leader of the extremist group. Despite repeated military operations against the IS remnants, the extremist militants are still hiding in the Himreen mountain range, which extends three provinces, namely Diyala, Salahudin, and Kirkuk.

Tamil Nadu Government to sign MoU with OLA Electric Mobility Chennai Secretariat today for the production of four-wheeler electric vehicles and establishment of 20 GW battery manufacturing capacity at an investment of Rs 7,614 crore to provide employment to 3,111 people: Tamil Nadu Government.

Days after his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, SP leader Abdullah Azam Khan's name was struck off the electoral rolls of Rampur assembly constituency, an election official said. Abdullah Azam Khan was disqualified as a member of the Assembly on Wednesday after a court sentenced him to two-year imprisonment in a 15-year-old case. The decision by the electoral registration officer (ERO) of Rampur assembly constituency was taken after BJP MLA from Rampur Akash Saxena sought the removal of Abdullah Azam Khan's name from the voters' list, a statement said on Friday.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday asked transport department officials to hold meetings with manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) to discuss modalities for replacing the existing fleet of buses with e-buses. Presiding over a review meeting here, he reiterated his resolve to phase out the entire fleet of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses. By 2025, the corporation’s entire bus fleet will be electric, an official statement said. "I congratulate the transport department for replacing their fleet of existing official vehicles with electric ones," the chief minister said.

Amazon will require its corporate employees to return to the office at least three days a week. CEO Andy Jassy announced the policy Friday in a memo to staff. It marks a shift from Amazon's current policy of allowing leaders to determine how their teams worked. The change will go into effect May 1. Many companies have been calling their employees back to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to operate virtually. Last month, Starbucks told its corporate employees to plan to work from the office three days a week. Disney is asking employees to plan for four in-office days starting in March. And Walmart said this week that it would require its tech teams to plan regular in-office work days.

Egypt's foreign ministry said Friday that six Christian Egyptians who were kidnapped and then illegally detained earlier this month in western Libya have been released. The men, all relatives from Egypt's southern city of Sohag, were abducted after traveling to the lawless North African country in search of work in early February, according to Amir Nassif, a lawyer for the men's family. The six men will shortly return to Egypt, the foreign ministry's spokesman said in a tweet posted Friday evening. No further details about the release were given. Ravaged by civil war since 2011, Libya is divided between rival governments based in its capital Tripoli and its eastern areas. In western Libya, militia groups have amassed great wealth and power from kidnappings and their involvement in the country's lucrative human trafficking trade.

Two people were killed and six sustained injuries when their pick-up truck turned turtle after the driver lost control of the vehicle, police said on Friday. The incident took place near Kusidaur village in Robertsganj. The group was on its way to attend a wedding, they said. SHO of Robertsganj police station Balmukund Mishra said Shashi Sharma (35) and Vinay Rajbhar (40), residents of Varanasi, were killed in tha accident. Of the six injured, the condition of two -- Arun (19) and Ajeet (20) -- is serious, Mishra said. The injured are undergoing treatment at the district hospital while the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, police said.

Himachal Pradesh Governor-designate Shiv Pratap Shukla was given a rousing reception on his arrival here Friday evening. He will take oath as the 29th governor of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday at 2 pm at the Raj Bhavan, a spokesperson of the state government said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Kuldeep Singh Pathania, former chief minister and Leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur, cabinet ministers, MP and Incharge state Congress Rajeev Shukla, BJP state president Suresh Kashyap and other senior civil and police officers of the state government and prominent persons welcomed Shukla at the Raj Bhavan. The chief minister honoured him and his wife Janki Shukla with a Himachali cap and a shawl. Shukla is a former minister of state for finance.

Six people were fatally shot Friday at multiple locations in a small town in rural Mississippi near the Tennessee state line, and authorities blamed a lone suspect who was arrested and charged with murder. Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin confirmed the killings in Arkabutla, in Tate County, to The Associated Press. County Sheriff Brad Lance told local news outlets the killings occurred at a convenience store and two homes. Trucks marked as belonging to the sheriff's office and Tate County search and rescue were parked outside the store, where authorities used yellow tape to cordon off the building. Richard Dale Crum, 52, was booked into jail on one count of capital murder, said Katherine King, an administrative employee at the Sheriff's Department. She said Crum was being held without bond and investigators could file further charges. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.