1. 5 Killed, Nearly 60 Injured During Clashes in Northeast Delhi Over CAA
The death toll in the violent clashes between those protesting for and against the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi rose to five on Monday, 24 February, personnel at hospitals where the injured were taken said.
Among those who were killed is a head constable of Delhi Police; 60 others were also injured in the riots as police struggled to disperse the crowds with both sides hurling stones at each other.
The was severe damage to public property as window panes of buildings around a Metro station were smashed by the mob.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Delhi’s Lawmakers Take Oath, Bidhuri New Leader of Oppn
The national capital’s new assembly convened for the first time on Monday, 24 February, with 69 of the 70 legislators taking oath as members of the House and officially electing the Speaker as well as the leader of Opposition.
Ram Niwas Goel, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) MLA from Shahdara, was chosen as the Speaker for the second time in a row, while the Bharatiya Janata Party – which won eight seats – chose Badarpur MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri as the leader of Opposition. The opposition leader in the previous assembly was Vijender Gupta.
The oath was administered to all the legislators by Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal, who was appointed the pro-tem speaker by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Trump Announces $3-Billion Deal With India
President Donald Trump announced Monday that the US will sign deals to sell the “absolute finest, state-of-the-art military helicopters” and other defence equipment to India worth $3 billion.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and First Lady Melania Trump on the stage at the Motera stadium, Trump also called Modi a “very tough negotiator” and said he is optimistic that they are in the “early stages of discussion” for an “incredible” trade deal.
“Over the course of my visit, Prime Minister Modi and I will also discuss our efforts to expand the economic ties between our two countries. We will be making very, very major — among the biggest ever made — trade deals,” he said
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Pakistan Human Rights Minister May Raise Jammu and Kashmir
With Pakistan foreign minister Makdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi dropping out of the event at the last minute, Shireen Mazari, the country’s human rights minister, is expected to speak at the UN Human Rights Council session at Geneva on Tuesday, 25 February and accuse India of human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mazari, who has previously accused the European Union of adopting discriminatory approach by not mentioning human rights violations by India in Kashmir and against its minorities, is expected to obliquely raise the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by talking about religious persecution.
The act fast-tracks Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Rousing Welcome in Ahmedabad, Bilateral Talks in New Delhi Today
Seeking to deepen ties with India, US President Donald Trump, starting his first State visit to the country Monday, hailed “India’s rise as a prosperous and independent nation” as “an example to every nation”, called out “radical Islamic terrorism”, took an oblique swipe at China for seeking to claim power through coercion unlike India, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an “exceptional leader”, a true friend but a “tough negotiator”.
Accorded a colourful welcome in Ahmedabad where thousands lined the streets and packed the stadium in Motera on a hot afternoon to cheer him at the Namaste Trump event, the US President, who was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, said both countries are “firmly united in our ironclad resolve to defend our citizens from the threat of radical Islamic terrorism”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Schools in Northeast Delhi to Stay Closed Today After Clashes Over CAA
All internal examinations in government and private schools in violence-hit northeast Delhi have been cancelled, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has informed. The schools will remain closed on Tuesday, 25 February he said.
"Internal exams of all schools in violence-hit northeast Delhi stand cancelled, and the government and private schools will remain closed. I have talked to Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank regarding the board exams and have asked him to postpone them," Mr Sisodia tweeted.
CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma clarified that there is no examination centre in northeast Delhi for Tuesday's exams.
(Source: NDTV)
7. Nitish Kumar Says NPR Should Stick to 2010 Format – No Parent Details
Assuring minorities that there is no reason to fear the National Population Register exercise, which his government will conduct from 15-28 May, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that the NPR “should be implemented as per the 2010 format”.
This puts a question mark on three key additional questions in the latest exercise — date of birth and place of parents, and last residential address, of the applicant — that had sparked fears of the NPR leading to a countrywide National Register of Citizens.
JD(S) chief Kumar also reiterated that the NRC will not be implemented in the state.
Earlier this month, the Bihar government had written to the Registrar General of India, saying that the state has not received the format of questions for the proposed NPR.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. IAF Pilot Dies After Training Plane Crash-Lands in Punjab
A two-seater microlight aircraft crashed here on Monday in the army cantonment area, killing an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and injuring an NCC cadet.
A ‘Pipistrel Virus SW 80’ trainer aircraft crashed soon after taking off from the Patiala Aviation Club airport near the club on the Sangrur-Patiala road, killing Group Captain GS Cheema, an IAF spokesperson said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Hollywood Mogul Harvey Weinstein Guilty of Sexual Assault: New York Jury
Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexual assault by a New York jury on Monday, 24 February, a victory for the MeToo movement that inspired women to go public with misconduct allegations against powerful men.
Once one of Hollywood's most powerful producers, Weinstein, 67, was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress, in 2013. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
He was acquitted on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, which carried a potential life sentence.
(Source: NDTV)
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