Breaking News, February 11

Manipur | A low-intensity bomb went off in front of the residence of a worker of the National People’s Party (NPP) in the Imphal East district. The incident occurred around 8 pm. No casualties reported: Maharabam Pradip Singh, Superintendents of Police, Imphal East

Karnataka's Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Friday said that it would not be possible to ban the usage of phones in colleges as digital learning has become part and parcel of the study process.

Replying to a query by reporters about speculation that usage of mobiles will be banned in schools and colleges against the backdrop of hijab row, he said: "Nowadays modern gadgets such as mobile, computer, laptop, tab, etc have become an integral part of the teaching-learning process. When such is the situation, how usage of mobiles can be banned?"

Few hours after All-India General Secretary of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Abhishek Banerjee indicated to step down from the organisational responsibilities, West Bengal Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday called for an emergency meeting at her Kalighat residence on Saturday wherein all the senior leaders including Abhishek Banerjee, Partha Chatterjee and Subrata Bakshi have been asked to present. Insiders in the party are of the opinion that the sudden meeting convened by the Chief Minister is not only a message of truce being sent to the second-in-command of the party but also a desperate attempt to solve the differences within the party.

The Supreme Court on Friday held that an insurance company cannot reject a claim on the basis that there was a delay in communicating the theft of a vehicle to it. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M. Trivedi said: "When the complainant had lodged the FIR immediately after the theft of the vehicle, and when the police after the investigation had arrested the accused and also filed challan before the concerned court, and when the claim of the insured was not found to be not genuine, the insurance company could not have repudiated the claim merely on the ground that there was a delay in intimating the insurance company about the occurrence of the theft."

The Supreme Court on Friday held that an insurance company cannot reject a claim on the basis that there was a delay in communicating the theft of a vehicle to it.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M. Trivedi said: "When the complainant had lodged the FIR immediately after the theft of the vehicle, and when the police after the investigation had arrested the accused and also filed challan before the concerned court, and when the claim of the insured was not found to be not genuine, the insurance company could not have repudiated the claim merely on the ground that there was a delay in intimating the insurance company about the occurrence of the theft.

Aarogya Setu users can now create the 14-digit unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number from the app. They can use the ABHA number to link their existing and new medical records: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Chinese People's Liberation Army entered into Indian territory in Ladakh region last month and did not allow local people's herds from grazing, claimed former BJP councillor Urgain Chodon of Nyoma area on Friday. She put out a video on social media platforms purportedly showing that Chinese troops running after herds. Chodon lives in Koyal, a village on the banks of Senge Zangbu, a tributary of the Indus River, that divides the Himalayan region of Ladakh between India and China. Chodan tweeted that in January, PLA soldiers came into Indian territory and were "not letting our herds graze in our own territory".

The students and teachers of Sankarapuram Government Boys Higher secondary school were in for a surprise on Thursday, when the Kallakuriichi District Superintendent of Police, S. Selvakumar walked into a classroom and donned the hat of a teacher.

The SP was on a visit to the school to check on the security aspects and the vulnerable booths in the district for the Urban local body polls to be held on February 19.

The students and teachers of the school were caught unawares when the Superintendent of Police entered a classroom and started teaching students.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said in the Rajya Sabha that the Congress party has started the privatisation in 1991 following the report of the Malhotra Committee.

Replying to the debate on the Union Budget 2022-23, she said that the Congress initiated the privatisation process in 1991 and disinvestment of worth over Rs one lakh crore was made in 1991 and the following years.

"I want to ask the Congress party? Do you want privatisation or not? You started it in 1991, what is the explanation for over one lakh crore disinvestment under UPA?," she questioned.

Three policemen were injured on Friday in clashes with protesting villagers in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Police said three policemen were injured, including two constables and one special police officer (SPO), when villagers attacked them with stones in the Galuta village of Mendhar tehsil.

"The police team had gone to the village in connection with some investigation. The injured policemen are being treated in the hospital while a case has been registered against the protesters," sources said

Former MLA Roshni Singh Deo died on Friday following prolonged illness, family sources said. She was 82. Singh Deo died at the residence of her son Pushpendra Singh Deo, a BJD leader and former minister. She was twice elected from the Koksara assembly segment in Kalahandi district in 1995 and 2000. Her body will be taken to her residence at Jayapatna in Kalahandi district for last rites, her son Pushpendra said. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled the death of Roshni Singh Deo. 

The police have rescued two minor siblings from Uttar Pradesh, who were found on the streets of Vasai in Maharashtra's Palghar district, and are now attempting to trace their parents, an official said on Friday. The MBVV police found Sanjanakumari Sanjay Gupta (12) and her brother Sahil (10) in Tulinj area of Vasai on February 4, senior inspector Rajendra Kamble of the Tulinj police station said. On questioning, the children could only say that they were from Jushi village of Allahabad district in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

BharatPe chief executive Suhail Sameer in a communication to employees has stated that there were a couple of "serious allegations" of governance lapses, which warranted a fine-tooth-comb audit of governance practices by outside experts. He requested them to keep their trust in the leadership amid co-founder Ashneer Grover's tussle with the company's board and said the interim report of the auditors should come in the next couple of weeks. Sameer did not elaborate on the allegations. Grover, who was sent on a three-month leave following allegations of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank staff and fraudulent practices, has denied all allegations.

White House call logs obtained so far by the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol do not list calls made by then-President Donald Trump as he watched the violence unfold on television, nor do they list calls made directly to the president, according to two people familiar with the probe. The lack of information about Trump's personal calls presents a new challenge to investigators as they work to create the most comprehensive record yet of the attack, with a particular focus on what the former president was doing in the White House as hundreds of his supporters violently beat police, broke into the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden's victory. The people were granted anonymity to discuss records that have not yet been released by the committee.

The national capital on Friday morning witnessed a clear sky with the minimum temperature settling at 8.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, the India Meteorological Department said. The city's air quality index (AQI) read 187 at 9 am which falls in the moderate category. The AQI in neighbouring Faridabad (190), Gurugram (155), Ghaziabad (137), Greater Noida (127) and Noida (145) were also recorded in the moderate category. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. The relative humidity was 78 per cent at 8.30 am. The weather office has predicted mainly clear sky during the day. The maximum temperature likely to settle at 23 degrees Celsius. On Thursday, the minimum and maximum temperature were recorded at 9.1 and 22.6 degrees Celsius respectively. 

Sensex slips 674.38 points, currently at 58,251.65. Nifty slumps 205.70 points, currently at 17,400.15

A Muslim girl in Lucknow University (LU) has won five medals for being the best student of MA in Sanskrit. Ghazala's name was announced by LU during its convocation ceremony held in November, but due to Covid-19, medals could be given only to a few students during the ceremony. On Thursday, Gazala was awarded the medals by dean arts Prof Shashi Shukla during a faculty-level medal distribution ceremony. Daughter of a daily wager, Ghazala is proficient in five languages -- English, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, and Sanskrit.

Karnataka High Court's February 10 interim order to restrain students from wearing hijab or any religious attire till the matter is pending with the court has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

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The UN has provided $3.13 million cash assistance to Afghanistan over the past three months, the country's central bank has said. "Afghanistan Bank welcomes UN humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and calls for further assistance and cooperation," TOLO News reported on Thursday citing Saber Momand, spokesman of the central bank, as saying. Meanwhile, some economists consider this aid to be important in reducing poverty in the country amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis. "Afghanistan needs more aid to be able to help our infrastructure, such as our production, industry and agriculture," said Seyar Quraishi, an economist.

Eleven varieties of tulips in six colours, 138 kinds roses, over 20 types of creepers and 70 different seasonal plants are awaiting for the visitors at the annual 'Udyanotsav' at Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan that will be opened for public from February 12. The much awaited winter-to-spring event of the national capital will be opened for common public on all days from February 12 till March 16 except Mondays. On Thursday (February 10), President Ram Nath Kovind, opened the annual 'Udyanostsav' at the Mughal Gardens that is spread over 15 acres complete with geometrical pattern. "There are 10,000 bulbs of tulips of 11 varieties in six colours. These come from Netherlands. We have stocks in blue, white and pink, all from Japan. And we have Inca Marigold from Germany. But we get these from local vendors," said Rashtrapati Bhavan's Horticulture Consultant PN Joshi. Apart from these, there are 'Flower Carpets' in magnificent designs on display in the Central Lawns. The dominant colour scheme of this year's ornamental flowers is white, yellow, red and orange. A small cactus corner has also been landscaped along with some air purifying plants in the gardens.

The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 9,958 on Friday as seven more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. Three new patients have travel history, while four infections were detected during contact tracing, it said. The Union territory now has 152 active cases, while 9,677 people have been cured of the disease so far, including 23 in the last 24 hours. The coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 129 as no fresh fatality was recorded, the bulletin said.

The Biden administration urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government Thursday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country's COVID-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production. For the fourth straight day, scores of truckers taking part in what they dubbed the Freedom Convoy blocked the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, disrupting the flow of auto parts and other products between the two countries. The White House said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with their Canadian counterparts and urged them to help resolve the standoff.

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 405.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.78 million and vaccinations to over 10.14 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Friday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 405,688,274 and 5,788,456, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10,143,832,034. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 77,437,114 and 915,349, according to the CSSE. The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (42,478,060 infections and 506,520 deaths), followed by Brazil (27,135,550 infections and 636,338 deaths).

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while responding to a question in the Parliament on Thursday, termed the Congress' era as 'andhkaal' and the BJP's era as 'amritkaal'. "Let me start with the time of your government in 1991, when India had foreign reserves of just two weeks, that was the 'andhkaal' in real sense, and that compelled you to bring those economic reforms. Double digit inflation during UPA-1 and UPA-II was indeed the 'andhkaal', and the coal scam, 2G scam, antrix-devas scam, that all was 'andhkaal'; all parameters of micro economics were disrupted during your time and that was the 'policy paralysis' era, that was the 'andhkaal', you started picking the cherries, but ended-up to have only coal," Sitharaman said referring to the Opposition. "The Indian economy now has become the fastest growing economy in the world with a projected growth of 9 per cent for this year, next year and next to next year; whereas the US economy, which is considered as world's strongest economy, is expected to grow by 4 per cent," the Finance Minister said.

At least 20 people were killed and 33 injured, after a passenger bus plunged into a ravine about 100 metres deep in the northern Peruvian province of Pataz of La Libertad department, local authorities confirmed on Thursday. The Regional Health department reported that the accident occurred at about 14:40 local time on Wednesday in a rural sector between the Andean towns of Tayabamba and Huancaspata, Xinhua news agency reported. According to the report, the interprovincial bus, belonging to the Picaflor company, was heading to Trujillo, capital of La Libertad, from Tayabamba when it skidded off the road. People living in nearby towns arrived at the scene to help the injured passengers, who were taken to health centers in Tayabamba, Huancaspata and Trujillo. Personnel from the National Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office took charge of removing the bodies and initiating an investigation.

An 18-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his employer’s mother at their house in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar area, police said on Thursday. They identified the accused as Rohit Dubey, originally from Madhya Pradesh. Complainant and victim Saroj Jain’s son Manish Jain (46) informed the police that he runs a shop in Multan Nagar and Dubey had joined work on February 3 through a relative. The very next day, he allegedly robbed Rs 90,000 from their house in the same locality and hid the money in the shop. Jain said though he did not report the robbery to the police, he dropped Dubey at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station in order to send him packing home. However, Dubey returned to Jain’s house, broke open the door and robbed another Rs 20,000. When Saroj resisted, he allegedly pushed her down and stomped on her. Her collar bone broke and she died, police said.

The handmade carpets in Jammu and Kashmir will now get QR code-based certification, which is a first-of-its-kind in the country. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched the Quick Response Code-based mechanism for labelling of the carpets in the Union Territory. With the QR-based application, customers can check and verify authenticity and other requisite details of carpets produced in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lt Governor observed that Jammu and Kashmir Handicrafts are repository of India's creative traditions that is serving as a cultural expression for centuries. "This creative tradition is strikingly visible in handmade carpets with intricate designs and subtle shades. With the help of modern technology, we will be able to standardize uniqueness of handmade carpets and boost exports of J&K's carpet industry in the international market," he added.