Breaking News, March 1 | HIGHLIGHTS

The birthday celebrations of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin on Wednesday saw calls for opposition unity with regional parties Samajwadi Party and National Conference urging him to take a larger role in Delhi ahead of the 2024 general elections. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was also present at the event, stressed that the primary objective of the opposition should be to put up a united fight against "divisive forces" and the question was not of who would be the PM candidate of such a bloc. Stalin threw his weight behind the Congress to ensure the opposition's victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, saying post-poll alliances and arguments by some favouring a front without the grand old party should be rejected as they are not workable.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates Wednesday appreciated India's COVID-19 management, vaccination drive and digital health initiatives like Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission in a meeting with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. According to an official, he appreciated how India worked excellently during the Covid pandemic. During the meeting at Nirman Bhawan, Mandaviya showed Gates the dedicated war room at the ministry which is now known as Health Emergency Operation Centre and National Public Health Observatory. It was set up during the Covid pandemic, the official said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to inaugurate the Ganga Aarti -- similar to the one held in Varanasi -- in Kolkata’s Baje Kadamtala Ghat on Thursday, a senior official at the state secretariat said. Fifteen priests will perform the Ganga Arati on the inaugural day in presence of Banerjee and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, senior government officials and members of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). "The CM is scheduled to inaugurate the Ganga Aarti from Baje Kadamtala Ghat on Thursday evening. The necessary arrangements are complete," the official said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday called for a 'one nation, one power tariff' policy across the country, asserting that there is an urgent need to bring parity in the cost of electricity. Bihar gets electricity from the Centre’s power generation plants at a higher rate compared to other states and provides the same to consumers at a much lower rate, he said while replying to the debate on the Governor's address to the joint sitting of the legislature.

Aviation regulator DGCA has rejected the plea to revoke the suspension of the licence of an Air India pilot in connection with the urination incident onboard a New York-Delhi flight in November last year, according to a source. The licence of pilot was suspended for three months by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on January 20. A joint forum of six unions had also appealed to the regulator to revoke the suspension of the pilot's licence. On Wednesday, the source said the appeal of the pilot to revoke the licence suspension has been rejected.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday, official sources said. The meeting comes in the backdrop of the Ajnala incident in which self-styled Sikh preacher and Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh and his supporters, carrying swords and guns, clashed with police at a police station in Amritsar for the release of one of his aide. Six police personnel, including a superintendent of police rank officer, were injured during the clash last week.

"We shall see if the need arises," said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Wednesday trying to end speculations about appointing a deputy following the arrest and resignation of Manish Sisodia. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. He resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday. Ever since Sisodia resigned, speculations were rife about his possible replacement.

Billionaire-philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday visited Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), the seat of India's green revolution, and spent one and a half hours at the Pusa campus here in the national capital. Bill Gates, co-chair and trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, showed deep interest in agri-research programmes of IARI, particularly climate resilient agriculture and conservation agriculture.

Senior AAP leader Atishi, who is set to become the first woman minister in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet, has been a key member of the team tasked with implementing the party's educational reforms in the national capital. Atishi, along with AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, are the two leaders whose names have been forwarded for appointment as ministers after Kejriwal's trusted lieutenants Manish Sisodia and Satyender Jain, both arrested on corruption charges, resigned from their Cabinet posts.

BJP national president J P Nadda on Wednesday kickstarted the first part of 'Vijay Sankapla Yatre' here reaching out to tribal communities, as he expressed confidence about the party coming back to power in Karnataka. The yatre from four different directions across the poll-bound State, in specially designed vehicles or "Rathas", will be launched by the party's Central leaders in the next couple of days. Nadda, who visited the Male Mahadeshwara Hills, kick-started the yatre, after offering prayers at the Male Mahadeshwara temple here. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa, and party's state president Nalin Kumar Kateel among other leaders.

Authorities here on Wednesday demolished the house of an associate of jailed former MP and gangster Atiq Ahmed, who has been booked in the sensational Umesh Pal murder case, for allegedly carrying out illegal construction. Prayagraj Development Authority secretary Ajit Singh said the house belonging to Zafar Ahmed has been bulldozed and a sword and two firearms recovered from there have been handed over to the police. Other household items have been kept at an adjacent vacant plot, where Atiq Ahmed had a palatial house that was razed after attachment in a criminal case by authorities last year.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP government said and said, 'Not only AAP, the whole country proud of Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain. PM Modi put such people behind bars. PM Modi wants to stop the good work being done in Delhi, the excise policy case is just an excuse. Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj will continue work done by Sisodia, Satyender Jain at double speed. If Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain join BJP, they will walk free tomorrow.' 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a brief tour of Central Asia in Uzbekistan on Wednesday before heading to India for what is expected to be a contentious Ukraine-dominated meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20. Blinken met in Tashkent with senior Uzbek officials a day after warning his counterparts from all five Central Asian nations about the dangers posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Blinken told reporters after his talks in Tashkent that the invasion had “fostered deep concern across the region.”

The Congress in Delhi on Wednesday staged a protest near the Aam Aadmi Party office here, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following the arrest of his deputy Manish Sisodia by the CBI. Several Congress leaders and workers, led by their state unit president Anil Chaudhary, gathered near the AAP's DDU Marg office and raised slogans against Kejriwal and Sisodia. The party said a fair probe would not be possible as long as Arvind Kejriwal remains in power.

The Haryana government has justified the parole granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, saying he does not fall under the definition of a “hardcore prisoner” and cannot be termed a serial killer. The dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two disciples, was granted 40-day parole on January 20. He has also been convicted in two murder cases.

Senior Indian Information Service officer Rajesh Malhotra on Wednesday assumed charge as the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau, who also functions as the principal spokesperson of the Government of India. Malhotra, a 1989-batch IIS officer, succeeded Satyendra Prakash who superannuated on Tuesday. He has over 32 years of operational experience in planning and implementation of media and communication strategies for various central government ministries, including finance, corporate affairs, agriculture, power, coal, mines, communications and IT, textiles, labour, new and renewable energy.
 

AAP leader Satyendar Jain tendered his resignation from the Delhi Cabinet in a handwritten letter addressed to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 27, sources said on Wednesday. In the letter to Kejriwal, Jain said he was thankful for the opportunity given to him. "I hereby tender my resignation as a minister of the Government of NCTD of Delhi. I am highly thankful for giving this opportunity to serve people of Delhi (sic). My resignation may kindly be accepted," he wrote. Kejriwal's trusted lieutenants Manish Sisodia and Jain, both arrested on corruption charges, have resigned from the Cabinet. The two leaders played a pivotal role in implementing Kejriwal's governance agenda of good education and health facilities in the national capital. Sources said both the resignations have been sent to Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena for acceptance on February 28.

A 50-year-old man was killed and his wife injured in an IED blast at a forest in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Wednesday, police said. The IED, planted by Maoists, exploded in Chundri forest near Ichahatu village in Goilkera police station, they said. The deceased was identified as Krishna Purty. He was on the way to his field along with his wife Nandi when the explosion happened, Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar said. Krishna died on the spot, while his wife suffered severe injuries. A huge contingent of security forces reached the spot, and sent the body for post-mortem examination. The injured woman was admitted to a hospital, Shekhar said.

A fire broke out at a factory on Roshanara Road near the Pulbangash metro station in north Delhi on Wednesday, Delhi Fire Service officials said. No injuries have been reported yet, they added. "We received a call around 11:50 am about a fire at a factory near Jaipur Golden Transport on Roshanara Toad. Eighteen fire tenders have been rushed to the site. Fire-fighting operations are underway," said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service. The cause of the fire is not known yet, he added

China sent 25 warplanes and three warships toward Taiwan on Wednesday morning, the island's Defence Ministry said, as tensions remain high between Beijing and Taipei's main backer Washington. The ministry said 19 of those planes crossed into Taiwan's air defence identification zone while the ships were continuing to operate in the Taiwan Strait. It said Taiwan responded by scrambling fighters, dispatching ships and activating coastal missile defence systems to “closely monitor and respond.” China stages such incursions on a near-daily basis, part of what are termed “gray zone" tactics, aimed at intimidation and wearing down Taiwan's equipment, exhausting its personnel and degrading public morale. Those also include cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns, along with a relentless drive to deprive Taiwan of diplomatic allies.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has forwarded the names of AAP MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj to the Lieutenant Governor for their appointment to the Cabinet, sources claimed on Wednesday. The development comes after the resignation of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, the key faces of the city government and were instrumental in steering the national capital through the COVID-19 crisis. AAP's second-in-command, Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in a money laundering case.
 

Bajaj Auto on Wednesday said its total wholesales declined by 11 per cent year-on-year to 2,80,226 units in February. The Pune-based company had dispatched 3,16,020 units to its dealers in February 2022. In a regulatory filing, the company said its total domestic sales increased by 36 per cent to 1,53,291 units last month, as compared with 1,12,747 units in the year-ago period. Exports, however, declined 38 per cent last month at 1,26,935 units, as against 2,03,273 units in February 2022.
 

A man and his son were killed while another injured when their motorcycle was hit by an unidentified vehicle near Dudhli village, police said on Wednesday. Circle Officer Ravishankar Sharma said the accident took place on Tuesday night when Allahrazi (42) and his son Rihan (20) were returning to their village. Allahrazi's wife Yasmin was also seriously injured in the accident and has been admitted to a hospital, he said.

The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to hear on March 3 an appeal of the Tamil Nadu government against the Madras High Court order permitting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to take out a march in the state. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state government, that the plea needed an urgent hearing as the march is scheduled to commence from March 5. “I am asking for a Friday hearing,” the senior lawyer said. “We will keep it on Friday,” the bench said. The Madras High Court on February 10 had permitted the RSS to take out its route march in Tamil Nadu on rescheduled dates, and observed that protests are essential for a healthy democracy.

Delhi L-G Vinay Saxena, upon request from Delhi CM to accept the resignations of ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on February 28, has recommended to the President that their resignations may be accepted.

Two men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in wildlife trafficking from Bijnor's Mandawar area.The two were caught with 32 Indian flapshell turtles, a protected species under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The rescued turtles were later released in the Ganga river. The accused were identified as Monu Kumar and Sundar Pal from Muzaffarnagar district.

Five children died due to respiratory infection at different hospitals in Kolkata in the last 24 hours, an official said on Tuesday evening. The deaths were reported amid fears of adenovirus infection, but doctors were not sure whether these fatalities could be linked to it. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting on the evolving situation, following which the government issued a series of directives and announced a 24x7 emergency helpline -- 1800-313444-222. All paediatric acute respiratory infection (ARI) clinics will operate at the medical college and hospitals (MCHs), district hospitals and sub-divisional hospitals, among others, round the clock, the directive said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian blamed the US "miscalculation and wrong policy" for causing the current stalemate on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal. Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in an address to the High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament in the Swiss city of Geneva, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement released by Iran's Foreign Ministry on its website on Tuesday. If all parties have the "determination and goodwill", the few outstanding issues can be settled without any precondition and within the framework of the previous talks, thus enabling the parties to take the "final step", the top Iranian diplomat was quoted as saying.

A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing 16 people and injuring at least 85, Fire Service officials said. Multiple train cars derailed and at least three caught fire after the crash near Tempe, some 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens. Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 25 people had serious injuries. “The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision bet

Domestic LPG Cylinder 14.2 kg prices increased by Rs 50/. Domestic LPG cylinder price increased to Rs 1103/ in Delhi: Sources

Seashells, seaweed — and nearly a ton of cocaine. That's what French maritime police found on a beach on the English Channel this week. Police are investigating where the drugs came from and how they ended up on the shores of the town of Reville on the Cotentin Peninsula on Sunday, according to France's maritime authority for the English Channel and North Sea. The cocaine, weighing about 850 kilograms (1,875 pounds) in total, was found in two large packages linked by a rope, the administration said on Tuesday. While packages of drugs wash up once or twice a year on beaches in the region, the administration said they had never seen such a large quantity.

The Supreme Court has directed to provide the highest level Z-plus security to industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his family members all across India and abroad. A bench of Justices Krishna Murari and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said on Monday it was of considered opinion that if there is a security threat, the security cover cannot be restricted to a particular area or place of stay. “Highest Z+ Security Cover provided to respondent nos. 2 to 6 (Ambanis) shall be available all across India and the same is to be ensured by the State of Maharashtra and Ministry of Home Affairs. “Highest Level Z+ Security Cover, as per the policy of Government of India, be also provided, while respondent nos. 2 to 6 are travelling abroad and the same shall be ensured by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” the bench said.