Catch the latest news updates of the day here.
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The top United Nations human rights official has strongly condemned the suicide bomb attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, calling on authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Michelle Bachelet is also saddened by the further loss of life from subsequent gun battles in the same area, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Rupert Colville said.
(Source: PTI)
As anti-Pakistan attacks spill over in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of Pulwama attacks, educational institutions in Jammu will remain close today.
“All educational institutions in Jammu to remain closed today. A review on the curfew will be taken later in the morning today,” said Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Jammu.
(Source: ANI)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.6 has been registered in Kofarnihon, Tajikistan at 8 am today. The tremors were also felt in North India.
The Indian American community will hold peaceful protests outside the Pakistani and Chinese diplomatic missions in the US over the Pulwama terrorist attack, alleging China provides tacit support to Pakistan which uses non-State actors against its neighbours.
A candlelight protest will be held outside the Pakistan Consulate in Chicago after which the protesters will march to the Chinese consulate on Thursday, 21 February, the organisers have said.
(Source: PTI)
Sensex opened with a jump of 250 points today. Oil and gas, financial stocks are the frontrunners of gains. Nifty crossed 10,680 when the markets on Wednesday.
(Source: NDTV profit)
The Supreme Court has held Reliance Communication chairman Anil Ambani and two directors guilty of contempt of court on a contempt plea filed by Ericsson India against him over not clearing its dues of Rs 550 crore.
India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria met the Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
A right-wing political party in Nepal has demanded the government reinstate the country as a Hindu state. Nepal was declared a secular state in 2008 after the success of the people's movement of 2006 that saw the abolition of monarchy.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party, led by former deputy premier Kamal Thapa, in a memorandum handed to Prime Minister K P Oli demanded that Nepal should be declared a Hindu state with complete religious freedom by revoking the provision of secularism.
(Source: PTI)
Fire breaks out at a warehouse in Ernakulam. Fire tenders present at the spot. More details awaited.
(Source: ANI)
Authorities relaxed curfew in the entire Jammu city for the first time today since its imposition on Friday last as the situation improved.
However, prohibitory orders will remain in force to maintain law and order. District Magistrate, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, initially ordered relaxation in the curfew in the entire city from 8 AM to 11 AM and later extended till 3 PM as no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.
(Source: PTI)
The Foreign Direct Investment fell during April-December 2018-19 by 7 pc to USD 33.49 billion, according to a government data.
(Source: PTI)
Supreme Court will hear the case on 26 February, as Justice SA Bobde who is a part of five-judge Constitution bench has returned from leave.
(Source: ANI)
Sensex, Nifty Join Global Stock Rally Indian equities snapped their worst losing streak in eight years joining a global markets rally led by optimism over US-China trade talks.
Also aiding sentiment was the buoyant outlook on India’s economy and corporate earnings.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.2 percent to 35,770 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed 1.3 to 10,742. This was their best performance since 31 January.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the extension of Renigunta airport runway in Tirupati.
Besides the one in Renigunta, runways in Rajamundry, Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam airports in Andhra Pradesh were also being expanded to enable landing of big aircraft.
(Source: PTI)
Congress MLA JN Ganesh, accused of assaulting colleague MLA Anand Singh at Eagleton Resort on 18 January, was arrested on Wednesday from an unknown location outside Karnataka, IGP Central B Dayanand confirmed to The Quint.
More details are awaited.
At least six people, including three foreigners, were killed when a fire broke in a Malaysian karaoke centre.
The fire erupted before dawn on the fourth floor of an eight-storey building in the city of Ipoh, northern Perak state.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and found the bodies of six people who had died of smoke inhalation.
(Source: PTI)
At least four labourers injured in a slab collapse incident at an under construction temple site near Pimple Gurav residential area in Pune.
The injured labourers have been rushed to a nearby hospital. More details awaited.
(Source: ANI)
During an interaction with media, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier said, "There is no scandal with Rafale, we had the request for 36 aircraft and we are going to deliver it. If Government of India wants more aircraft, we will be more than pleased to deliver."
(Source: ANI)
The Japanese government has announced a grant assistance of $10.6 million for Pakistan to fight malnutrition, improve livelihood and increase resilience to natural disasters in its provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan.
(Source: IANS)
Three successive earthquakes of magnitude 2.9, 2.9, and 3.1 hit Maharashtra’s Palghar area at 10:14 am, 1:24 pm, and 1:28 pm respectively on Wednesday.
(Source: ANI)
Delhi's Patiala House Court has dismissed the bail plea of Ashish Chadha (nephew of Ponty Chadha) who was arrested in connection with a car accident case on 18 February.
He was driving a Bentley car and rammed into an autorickshaw – killing one person and injuring three others.
(Source: ANI)
A soldier, who was injured during an encounter last week at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, has succumbed to injuries.
Naik Sandeep Kumar, who was injured in an anti-militancy operation on 12 February in Pulwama, succumbed at 92 Base Hospital on Tuesday, the official said.
A local militant was killed and another soldier died in the encounter.
(Source: PTI)
The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at six places in multiple cities in connection with a case of money laundering it registered against the former Chairman and directors of the IL&FS.
A senior ED official said the agency was carrying out searches in Maharashtra's Mumbai, Delhi and Haryana's Gurugram at the residential premises of Ravi Parthasarathy, former Chairman of IL&FS Ltd and some of the former directors of the company.
Searches are also being conducted at the company's Mumbai office.
(Source: IANS)
A Delhi Court has convicted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Prakash Jarwal and two others in a 2013 rioting and unlawful assembly case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal convicted Jarwal and two others – Salim and Dharam Prakash -- under various sections dealing with rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty, and assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty.
(Source: IANS)
A 6-year-old boy is trapped in a borewell at about 10 feet depth at a village in Ambegaon, Pune. Total depth of borewell is about 200 feet. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has moved towards the site of incident to rescue the boy. More details awaited.
(Source: ANI)
One army jawan dead, 5 jawans still trapped after an avalanche hit them in Namgya region of Kinnaur district' Jammu and Kashmir.
The rescue operation by Indo-Tibetan Border Police and district police is underway.
(Source: ANI)
The Sikkim Assembly passed the interim budget of Rs 3566.29 crore for six months of the financial year 2019-20 and two bills.
The House was then adjourned sine die.
Sikkim goes to the Assembly poll along with the general elections later this year.
(Source: PTI)
Three lawmakers from the UK's ruling Conservative Party have resigned to join an independent group founded by former Labour MPs.
Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Theresa May confirming their departure and wrote that they tried to keep the party close to the centre ground of politics but it had instead drifted to the right, the BBC reported.
(Source: IANS)
A Kerala sent CPI-M leader A. Peethamabaran, accused in the murder of two Youth Congress workers in the Kasargode district on Sunday, to 7-day police custody.
Youth Congress workers Krupesh (19) and Joshy (24) were hacked to death on 17 February by three motorcycle-borne men.
(Source: IANS)
A low-intensity blast took place in a toilet of a general coach of Kanpur-Bhiwani Kalindi Express near Barrajpur station (near Kanpur) at around 7.10 pm.
Prima facie, it appears to be a blast of explosive. There no are injuries or casualties.
(Source: ANI)
The government of Jammu and Kashmir has downgraded and withdrawn the security of 18 Hurriyat leaders in the state.
Among the leaders whose security has been downgraded and withdrawn for SAS Geelani, Aga Syed Mosvi, Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Yaseen Malik, Saleem Geelani, Shahid ul Islam, Zaffar Akbar Bhat, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Ahmed Kichloo, Masroor Abbas Ansari, Aga Syed Abul Hussain, Abdul Gani Shah and Mohd Musadiq Bhat.
(Source: ANI)
AICC General Secretary and Secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Congress Deepak Babariya has suffered a brain stroke. He is currently undergoing treatment at Chirayu Hospital.
(Source: ANI)
A 48-year-old man from Hyderabad was allegedly shot dead in Florida, US by an unidentified man, his family members claimed on Wednesday.
K Govardhan Reddy was attacked by the assailant at a fuel-filling station-cum supermarket in Florida on Tuesday, according to one of Reddy's friends.
(Source: PTI)
Dozens of people were injured as fire broke out at a chemical warehouse in old Dhaka, officials said.
"We have so far rescued over a dozen of wounded people and taken them to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital's (DMCH) burn unit," a fire service official told a TV channel.
Several reports suggested over 50 people were wounded in the fire, some of them critically, but no death was reported.
(Source: PTI)
The United States said Wednesday it refuses to take back US-born Islamic State propagandist, who wants to return from Syria, saying that she is no longer a citizen.
"Ms Hoda Muthana is not a US citizen and will not be admitted into the United States," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a terse statement.
(Source: PTI)