Breaking News, February 15

The UN and humanitarian partners have launched the 2022 humanitarian response plan for Mali that seeks $686 million, said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The humanitarian response plan aims to help 5.3 million most vulnerable people out of the 7.5 million people in humanitarian need, Xinhua news agency quoted OCHA as saying. The level of needs is higher than at any point since 2012, it added. The year 2021 was characterized by a deterioration in the humanitarian situation due to growing insecurity in the central region of the country and the security crisis is now expanding to the southern region, noted the Office.

A team of doctors at Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad, gave a new lease of life to a 56-year-old woman by surgically removing a 47 kg tumour - arguably the biggest non-ovarian tumour successfully removed in India so far. The woman, a government employee and a resident of Devgadh Baria in Gujarat's Dahod district, had been carrying the tumour for 18 years and was bed-ridden for the past few months. Apart from the tumour, the team of eight doctors, including four surgeons led by chief surgical gastroenterologist Chirag Desai, also removed abdominal wall tissues and excess skin weighing around 7 kg during the surgery.

Andhra Pradesh farmers who suffered heavy losses in November last year due to massive rainfall and flooding, have recieved some much needed succour in the form of input subsidy. Chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday credited input subsidy of Rs 542 crore directly to farmers' bank accounts. He also credited Rs 29.51 crore to 1,220 farmer groups under the YSR Farm Mechanisation Scheme.

A total of Rs 571.57 crore was deposited in the farmers' bank accounts with a click of the computer mouse by the Chief Minister. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the state government has paid out Rs 1,612 crore in the last two and half years compensating 19.93 lakh farmers for the crop losses due to heavy rains and floods.

Already under fire from both the Congress and the BJP for his statements praising China, CPI-M politburo member S. Ramachandra Piillai, on Tuesday again did the same and then blamed media for it. Pillai on a few occasions last month while addressing his party cadre as part of the district party meetings, praised China and on Tuesday while speaking at the Alappuzha district CPI-M committee meeting, said the growth of China is the victory of socialism and it's one country where there is no poverty. "China is one country which lends money to other countries and when I speak facts the media kicks up a row," said Pillai.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has opposed the Central government's decision to divest 5 percent stake in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). "An ideal government builds institutions instead of involving itself in a selling spree. I urge the Union government to roll back this ill-thought-out decision and save LIC India," Stalin said. According to the Chief Minister, the Central government's act of filing the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sell 5 percent of its stake is undoubtedly a move towards privatization, which is quite undesirable. It goes without saying that this is neither in the interest of our people nor the organization, Stalin said.

CBI Special Court in Ranchi orders jail authorities to move RJD chief Lalu Prasad to RIMS on the ground of his poor health, one of Yadav's lawyers says

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair Union Cabinet meet at 4 pm on Tuesday.

Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka on Tuesday handed over 40,000 MT fuel consignment by Indian Oil Corp Ltd to Sri Lankan Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila.

Taking to Twitter, the Indian High Commissioner said that New Delhi is a committed partner and a true friend of Colombo.

"AYUSH Ministry is taking many initiatives to promote Ayurveda. We have developed collaborative research with 50 countries. We are making efforts to take Ayurveda to African countries. During COVID19, it was adopted by many," says AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on March 3 Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's plea on the contentious issue of who should control administrative services in Delhi.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before the apex court. The plea arises out of a 2019 split verdict.

A bench of Chief Justice, Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli agreed to list the matter for hearing on March 3.

On February 14, 2019, a two-judge Bench of the top court had delivered a split verdict on the question of powers of the GNCTD and Union government over administrative services in Delhi and referred the matter to a three-judge Bench.

Russia says some military deployed near Ukraine are returning to their bases, after a build up of Russian forces around Ukrainian borders spurred fears of an invasion: AFP

Novak Djokovic has stated that he would rather miss out on future trophies than be forced to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said that he should not be associated with the anti-vax movement, but added that he supports an individual's freedom to choose.

The Serbian was asked if he would sacrifice taking part in competitions such as Wimbledon and the French Open over his stance on the vaccine. "Yes, that is the price that I'm willing to pay," Djokovic told BBC news.

Assam's Karimganj Police recovered 7,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup from two container vehicles in Churaibari area along the Assam-Tripura border on Monday night: Police

Fodder scam: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted of fraudulent withdrawal from Doranda treasury by a CBI Special Court in Ranchi

PM Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address at Energy & Resources Institute’s (TERI) World Sustainable Development Summit on February 16 via video message: PMO

Indian women's cricket team lose to New Zealand by 3 wickets in Queenstown ODI. India trail 0-2 in 5-match ODI series

Supreme Court allows Future Retail Ltd. to approach the Delhi High Court with its plea to resume National Company Law Tribunal‘s (NCLT) proceedings regarding approval for its Rs 27,513-crore transaction with Reliance

Four labourers were killed and 15 others received injuries after their van overturned and fell into a river in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district on Tuesday, police said.

All the labourers were from West Bengal and they were being taken to a bridge construction site in Vira village in Shivpuri district, Kolaras police station in-charge Alok Singh said.

The accident took place around 2 am near Goritila Hirapur village under Kolaras police station limits, some 25 km from the district headquarters, the police said.

The van driver lost control over the wheels following which the vehicle fell into the Sindh river, Singh said.

Four labourers died and 15 others were injured, some of them seriously, he said.

The victims had reached Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) by train on Monday night. From Jhansi, they reached Padora village in Shivpuri by a bus and were going to a construction site when the accident took place, the official said.

Three of the deceased were identified as Hamid Mohammed Abdullah, Khahul Ameen and Hakim Mustafa.

Delhi Police say a 30-year-old sweeper has been arrested for allegedly raping an 87-year-old woman in Tilak Nagar area

Enforcement Directorate (ED) is carrying out searches at several places linked to the people associated with the underworld, in Mumbai in a money laundering case: Sources

Indian equity indices open in green: Sensex up by 460 points at 56,866, Nifty jumps 136 points to trade at 16,980

India reports 27,409 fresh COVID cases, 82,817 recoveries, and 347 deaths in the last 24 hours

Active case: 4,23,127
Daily positivity rate: 2.23%
Total recoveries: 4,17,60,458

Total vaccination: 173.42 crore doses

An unidentified man was charred to death after a Uttar Pradesh roadways bus, loaded with at least 60 passengers, caught fire while parked at Mathura's old bus stand, late on Monday evening. The video of the incident went viral on social media.

According to information, the bus arrived at Mathura and was scheduled to leave for Aligarh. Passengers who had been waiting for the bus, entered and occupied their seats.

After a few minutes, the bus caught fire and passengers started jumping out from the bus with their baggage.

The victim who was wearing khaki trousers, was sitting in the last row of the bus, tried to escape from the emergency window but got stuck in it as he was overweight. He was charred to death in front of hundreds of people.

Mizoram reported 2,022 fresh COVID cases in the last 24 hours, taking active cases to 11,878

The White House on Monday (local time) said that America is working closely with its allies, including India on Russia's ongoing threat to Ukraine. When asked about Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) unanimous decision on Russia, the White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region and he discussed heightened tensions between Russia and Ukarine.

"They discussed the threat that Russia's aggression poses not only to Ukraine but to the entire international rules-based order, which has provided a foundation for decades of shared security and prosperity for the region and around the globe. Throughout his meetings with the Quad Partners, Secretary Blinken discussed the challenges Russia poses to the rules based on international order and our readiness to support our European allies," said Jean-Pierre.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday (local time) invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in 50 years to give the federal government extra powers to handle ongoing truckers blockades and protests against the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. At a news conference on Parliament Hill, Trudeau said, "It is now clear that there are serious challenges to law enforcement's ability to effectively enforce the law."

Trudeau said the measures will be geographically targeted and "reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address."

The unprecedented deployment of the Emergencies Act gives police more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies constitute illegal and dangerous activities, such as blockades and occupations, he said, reported CBC News.