Breaking News, March 8

Oil prices are rising sharply again on Tuesday as the US prepares to ban crude oil imports from Russia in response to that country's unprovoked invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

The Delhi High Court Tuesday said the vision of a society having no caste-based discrimination will only remain a distant dream
unless the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 [SC/ST Act] are enforced in their true letter and spirit. Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, while refusing to quash an FIR under the Act based on a settlement between the complainant victim and the accused persons, stated that the “founding fathers of the Constitution were conscious of the harsh realities of the society” and in such cases, the court should be extremely circumspect in exercising its extraordinary jurisdiction to set aside the criminal proceedings.

At least five security personnel were killed and 28 others injured on Tuesday in a blast in Sibi district of Pakistan's troubled southwestern Balochistan province during President Arif Alvi's visit to the area to attend an annual cultural festival, police said. The blast took place near an open area where the festival was being held. Five security personnel were killed in the explosion, officials said.

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a plea by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, who sought temporary injunction in a case related to low floor bus scam allegations levelled by MLA and BJP MLA Vijender Gupta. A bench of Justice Asha Menon, in an order passed on Monday, said no case for grant of interim injunction to restrain the defendant (Gupta) from tweeting or publishing his views or to take down or archive the existing tweets, is made-out.

J&K Police on Tuesday busted a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) module in Pulwama district by arresting three persons, officials said. Police, along with 55 Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF's 182 battalion, arrested 3 militant associates of LeT from whose possession a grenade, 15 rounds of AK rifle ammunition, and other incriminating material was recovered.

India will allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from March 27. "After having recognised the increased vaccination coverage across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the Government of India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services to or from India from March 27, 2022," an official communique said on Tuesday.

Citing NITI Aayog's report of 2020-21, the opposition Congress in Gujarat on Tuesday questioned the state's projection as a model state in the country. The party said the latest indices showed lowered rankings of the state on various human indices. Naushad Solanki, legislator from Dasada constituency, was addressing the House on the Motion of Thanks to the governor's address.

Google Cloud and Flipkart on Tuesday entered into a multi-year strategic partnership to help fast-track Flipkart's innovation as well as cloud strategy. This partnership will propel Flipkart into its next phase of growth and advance its vision of onboarding India's next 200 million shoppers and lakhs of sellers, the company claims.

Mohali District Court extends Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia's judicial custody till March 22, in drugs case.

A massive fire broke out at a factory in the Bawana area of the national capital on Tuesday, a fire department official said.

The official informed that they received a call about the incident around 7.46 a.m. at a factory located at Bawana Industrial area, in north Delhi after which, as many as 15 fire tenders were immediately pressed into the service.

"As the fire was massive, more fire engines were sent to the spot" the official told IANS, adding that 28 fire tenders are currently dousing the flames.

The official confirmed that there have been no casualties or injuries in the incident. However, there was certainly a loss of property. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Thick fumes of black smoke could be seen billowing out of the building.

A soldier of J&K Light infantry (JAKLI) regiment has gone missing from Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district.

He has been reported missing from Monday evening.

Police sources said, "An army soldier of JAKLI identified as Sameer Ahmad Malla, son of Mohammad Yaqoob Malla, resident of Lokripora Khag area in Budgam district is missing since Monday evening from his native village.

"The soldier was on leave and is posted in Jammu."

On International Women's Day on Tuesday, President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskars on 29 outstanding individuals for 2020 and 2021. Twenty-eight awards -- 14 each for 2020 and 2021 -- were given to the women in recognition of their exceptional work towards women empowerment, especially the vulnerable and marginalised.

The Nari Shakti Puraskar is a Women and Child Development Ministry initiative to acknowledge exceptional contribution made by individuals and institutions, and to celebrate women as game-changers and catalysts of positive change in society.

Its recipients are from fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, education and literature, linguistics, arts and crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), disability rights, merchant navy and wildlife conservation.

The latest awardees include social entrepreneur Anita Gupta, organic farmer and tribal activist Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava, innovator Nasira Akhter, Intel-India head Nivruti Rai, down syndrome affected Kathak Dancer Saylee Nandkishor Agavane, first woman snake rescuer Vanita Jagdeo Borade and mathematician Neena Gupta.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday presented the state budget in the state assembly and proposed a Budget of Rs 1,77,255.99 crore for the year 2022-23.

Khattar, who also holds the Finance portfolio, gave an estimation of Rs 73,000 crore to be collected in tax revenue in the financial year 2022-23.

"For Budget Estimates (BE) 2022-23, total revenue receipts are projected to be Rs 1,06,424.70 crore comprising tax revenues of Rs 73,727.50 crore and non-tax revenue of Rs 12,205.36 crore. The share of Central taxes is expected to be at Rs 8,925.98 crore and grant-in-aid at Rs 11,565.86 crore. Capital receipts are projected to be at Rs 5,393.89 crore," said Khattar.

India strongly condemns the barbaric terrorist attack on a camp of Malian Armed Forces on 4 March at Mondoro in the central region of Mopti in Mali that resulted in the killing of 27 Malian soldiers: Ministry of External Affairs

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday greeted women on International Women's Day, and said they must get their long-pending due. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended his greetings on International Women's Day saying that the government will keep its focus on women empowerment through various schemes with an "emphasis on dignity as well as opportunity."

At least 10 students were injured after a cooking gas cylinder burst at a hostel in the Government Polytechnic College in Bulandshahr's Dibai.

Two students were seriously injured in the incident which took place on Monday.

All the injured students have been sent to a higher medical centre in Aligarh.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bulandshahr Santosh Kumar Singh said that apart from the students, three canteen workers also received severe burns in the accident, which took place when the food was being cooked.

According to eyewitnesses, the cylinder exploded in the hostel kitchen. Police said that all those who were in the kitchen at the time of the incident received burns.

All the students injured in the blast are between 18 and 24 years of age. Around 55 students were present at the hostel at the time of the incident.

Haryana CM ML Khattar will present the state Budget today

Assam Cabinet in its meeting presided over by the state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday gave nod to the proposal to replace paper ballots with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation polls.

"Approval to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for replacing paper ballots with EVMs to ensure transparency and efficiency in elections," reads a bulletin tweeted by Sarma.

India registers 3,993 new cases and 108 deaths in the last 24 hours; Active cases stand at 49,948

Jammu and Kashmir: Sopore Police along with 32 RR and 92 BN CRPF has arrested one terrorist associate of LeT outfit in Nadihal area, one AK-56 rifle along with magazine and 30 live rounds were recovered from him.

Sensex falls over 143 points, currently trading at 52,698; Nifty at 15,802

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake rocked North Sulawesi province in central Indonesia early on Tuesday, the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said.

The quake jolted at 2:13 a.m. Tuesday local time (1813 GMT Monday), with the epicenter at 65 km southeast of Ondong village located in the Siau Tagulandang Biaro Islands district and the depth at 32 km under seabed, the agency was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The quake did not potentially trigger a tsunami, it said.

The government of Telangana has declared special holiday for all women employees on Tuesday on the occasion of international women's day.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued a 'Government Order' (GO) for special casual leave for all women employees on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has greeted women on the occasion of women's day.

He stated that by declaring a special holiday, the state government is respecting its women.

He said in a statement that women are playing an equal role with men in all the sectors. He noted that the role played by women in family development as homemaker and as a woman is very great and sacrificial in nature.

In a major drug bust, police on Monday seized nearly 2 kg of MDMA from a couple in Kannur. The drugs were seized and the couple arrested following a search conducted based on a tip received by the police.

Besides the MDMA, commercial quantities of brown sugar and OPM were also recovered from the accused, police said, adding that the drugs were worth over Rs 1 crore.

The couple were arrested while they were picking up the drugs from a parcel office at Kannur Plaza where it had arrived from Bengaluru in a tourist bus in the guise of a package of clothes, police said.

They also said the woman was earlier booked in another drugs case.

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) on Monday announced a change in exam dates for some Class 12 papers to avoid a clash with JEE (Main). WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya told reporters that the exam will commence on April 2 as scheduled but dates of certain papers, slated for April-end, have been revised.

Exams have now been extended up to April 26 instead of April 20.

Higher Secondary exams could not be held last year due to spike in COVID-19 cases.

With the coronavirus tally having dipped of late, students will be writing their papers offline this time.

A 20-year-old domestic help was allegedly kidnapped by four men in a car when she was headed to her workplace in sector 81 on Sunday afternoon, police said. The police initially registered a case of wrongful confinement but when she called her brother informing about the kidnap, a case of abduction was registered on Monday. Police said probe into the case is on.

An audio clip has also gone viral in which the victim can be heard crying for help. An FIR of kidnap has been registered at Kherki Daula police station.

According to the complaint filed by Pramod, native of Uttar Pradesh and presently living with his family in a rented house in Sikanderpur Sihi village, his daughter, who works as a domestic help, had left for work around 1.30pm on Sunday.

A man wanted by the police here for allegedly killing a businessman while trying to extort money from him over a year ago has been arrested, an official said on Monday. The man was carrying a reward of Rs 20,000 on him, police said.

According to the police, the accused, along with his accomplices had tried to blackmail the businessman by implicating him in an illicit relationship with the wife of his employee over a year-and-half ago.

The accused was nabbed from Mohannagar tri-section on Sunday night.

Queen Elizabeth II met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, smiling and greeting him in front of a large bouquet of blue and yellow flowers, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

The audience was the queen's first in-person engagement since she tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 20. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the flower arrangement, but royal watchers say the queen and her family leave little to chance when making public appearances.

Trudeau was in the UK for talks on the Ukraine war with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and their Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte.

Elizabeth, who is also the Queen of Canada, has visited the North American nation more than 20 times during her 70-year reign.

She met with Trudeau at Windsor Castle, where she has spent most of her time since the outbreak of the pandemic.

One person was killed and two others were critically wounded in a shooting outside an Iowa school, authorities said.

Des Moines police on Monday said in a news release that gunfire that struck the victims on the grounds of East High School appeared to come from a passing vehicle. Potential suspects have been detained but no charges were immediately filed.

KCCI-TV reports that Sgt. Paul Parizek said potential suspects have been detained in the Monday afternoon shooting on the grounds of East High School, near Des Moines' downtown, about a half mile, from the Capitol.

Police said he didn't know whether the three teens shot were students.

Saudi prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre who was suspected of trying to join the 9/11 hijackers has been sent back to his home country for treatment for mental illness, the Department of Defense said.

Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani was flown back to Saudi Arabia, to a treatment facility, from the US base in Cuba after a review board including military and intelligence officials concluded he could be safely released after 20 years in custody.

His lawyers say the 46-year-old prisoner has suffered from mental illness, including schizophrenia, since childhood. The US dropped plans to try him after a Bush administration legal official concluded he had been tortured at Guantanamo.

With his release, there are now 38 prisoners left at the detention centre. He is the second released under President Joe Biden, who has said he intends to close the facility.

The United States and 10 other countries on Monday condemned North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch and urged the UN Security Council to respond, saying its inaction erodes the credibility of the UN's most powerful body and undermines global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield read a statement from the 11 countries after a closed Security Council briefing on North Korea's 11th ballistic missile launch since the beginning of the year on Saturday, which was detected by its neighbours.

Experts say the launches are an attempt to add new weapons systems to the North's arsenal and pressure the United States into making concessions amid stalled diplomacy.

The 11 countries — Albania, Australia, Brazil, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, United Kingdom, and United States — said they remain committed “to seeking serious and sustained diplomacy” with Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name.

About 230 companies have already left Russia or announced their departure (according to the Yale School of Management).

The National Investigation Agency conducted raids at the residence of Talha Khan, a resident of Pune in connection with a case related to Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP).

The case was initially registered as an FIR dated March 8, 2020, in the Special Cell of Lodhi Colony Police Station after the arrest of a Kashmiri couple Jahanzaib Sami Wani and his wife Hina Bashir Beigh from Okhla Vihar, Jamia Nagar in Delhi.

NIA had re-registered the case on March 20, 2020. During the investigation, four accused persons namely Abdullah Basith, Sadia Anwar Shaikh, Nabeel Siddick Khatri and Abdur Rahman were arrested, the official release by the NIA reads.

An avalanche has occurred at Rohli (10 km ahead from Tindi towards Killar) District Lahaul and Spiti due to which road has been blocked, the State Emergency Operation Centre said in an official statement.

However, State Highway 26 is already blocked at Kadu Nallah due to landslide. There are around 5-6 vehicles stuck in between Rohli and Kadu nallah. A rescue team from Police Post Tindi has rushed to the spot, the statement further reads.

The Defense Department will permanently shut down the Navy's massive fuel tank facility in Hawaii that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor's tap water, and will remove all the fuel, the Pentagon has said.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Monday said the decision by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is based on a new Pentagon assessment, but also is in line with an order from Hawaii's Department of Health to drain fuel from the tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

The tanks, built into the side of a mountain during World War II to protect them from enemy attack, had leaked into a drinking water well and contaminated water at Pearl Harbor homes and offices.

President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on cryptocurrency this week that will mark the first step toward regulating how digital currency is traded.

The move comes as administration officials have raised concerns in recent weeks about Russia's use of cryptocurrency to evade the impact of crushing sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions have sent the ruble to historic lows and have closed the country's stock market.

Two people familiar with the process said the executive order on cryptocurrency was expected to be issued this week and it had been in the works long before the war. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the order.

Veterans forced to evacuate a nursing home because of a Florida Panhandle wildfire were allowed to return home, officials said, but mandatory evacuations remained in place for two larger fires.

Firefighters continued to battle the 12,000-acre (about 4,860-hectare) Bertha Swamp Road fire and the 841-acre (340-hectare) Adkins Avenue fire, which have threatened homes and forced residents of at least 1,100 houses in Bay County, Florida.

The Adkins Avenue fire destroyed two structures and damaged another 12 homes late Friday.

A smaller fire that developed Sunday caused the evacuation of a 120-bed, state-operated nursing home in Panama City. The Star Avenue Fire was estimated to be 250 acres (100 hectares) and 45 per cent contained.

India, of late, is showing a lot of ambition and spirit of entrepreneurship particularly on trade arrangements, a former American diplomat and now head of US India Business Council has told lawmakers.

“If you look at their negotiations with the UK, with the United Arab Emirates, with Australia, with Israel, it's really interesting how they're prioritizing relations with those countries,” Atul Keshap told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing Congressional hearing last week.

When he was in India last year as Chargé d'affaires, Keshap said, he certainly heard a degree of ambition, and a degree of willingness to explore trade arrangements, that he hadn't heard in the past.

“That's encouraging, and we ought to reciprocate, and see where that can go. I'm always ambitious, and we should always try. 
Look, India makes its own strategic calculations about how it wants to shape its future prosperity, but I think the US should always play a part in that,” he said.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Security Advisor Major General (Retd.) Tarique Ahmed Siddique called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked him for strengthening the Indo-Bangla friendship and standing firmly with Bangladesh in times of crisis, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

PM Modi fondly recalled his visit to Bangladesh in March 2021 and conveyed his best wishes to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Moreover, PM Modi commended the leadership of the Bangladeshi PM in ensuring the all-round development of Bangladesh and expressed his commitment to work with her to further strengthen India-Bangladesh ties.