THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem; Key MOUs to be signed.
- Prime Minister Modi becomes the most followed world leader on Instagram with 100 million followers.
- Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says, synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person.
- Election Commission issues notification for biennial polls for 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states.
- Two Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
- India hits back at Pakistan propaganda; Highlights Pakistan’s economic troubles in stark contrast to Jammu and Kashmir’s development trajectory.
- And, in ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, India to take on Zimbabwe in Super 8 match in Chennai this evening.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold delegation-level talks in a short while with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The talks will cover several areas of interest including science and technology, innovation, defence and security, trade and investment, and people-to-people ties. During the talks, agreements are expected to be exchanged. On the second day of his two day visit today Prime Minister Modi visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
We now go over live to our correspondent Dheeraj Kakadia covering the Prime Minister’s visit.
Yesterday, in a historic first, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so. In his address, he asserted that terrorism anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere and underlined India’s strong resolve to combat the menace. His speech was applauded several times by Israeli lawmakers.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has crossed the historic milestone of 100 million followers on Instagram, becoming the first world leader and politician to achieve this feat on the platform. PM Modi joined Instagram in 2014. He has more than twice as many followers as US President Donald Trump on Instagram. The total count of followers of the next five major world leaders is lower than PM Modi’s individual follower count. US President Donald Trump holds the second spot with 43.2 million followers.
Mr Modi is miles ahead of other Indian political leaders on Instagram. The second spot is held by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with around 16.1 million followers.
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Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today said that the synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face, voice or personality has been used to create the content. He made these remarks while addressing a conclave in New Delhi this morning. Mr Vaishnaw said that platforms must take responsibility for the content that is hosted by them. He added that the online safety of citizens and children is a responsibility of the platforms.
Mr Vaishnaw said that the time has come for platforms to take proactive action against cyber fraud and cybercrime.
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Union Minister for Railways today announced two more reforms as part of Indian Railways resolve to undertake 52 reforms in 52 weeks this year. Addressing a press conference in the National Capital, Mr Vaishnaw unveiled the third reform, the Rail Tech Policy, stating that its objective is to promote the large-scale adoption of technology in the Railways. He said, the aim of the Indian Railways is to engage innovators, startups, industry and institutions to promote innovation in Railways.
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The Election Commission has issued notification for biennial polls for 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states. Nominations can be filed from today till 5th March. Polling will be held on the 16th of next month.
Seven seats in Maharashtra, six seats in Tamil Nadu, five seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, four seats in Odisha, three seats in Assam, two seats each in Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, and one seat in Himachal Pradesh are falling vacant.
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The Supreme Court has imposed a blanket ban on NCERT class 8 book carrying a chapter on corruption in the judiciary. The apex court ordered a seizure of all physical copies, along with takedown of its digital forms. The court ordered Centre and state authorities to comply with its directions immediately, and warned of serious action if directions are defied in any form. The top court issued show cause notices to NCERT director, school education secretary to explain why action should not be taken against those responsible.
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In Chhattisgarh, two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district today. Three rifles and other weapons and ammunition have been recovered from the spot.
District Superintendent of Police Dr. Jitendra Yadav said, a joint team of the security forces, had launched a search operation after receiving information about the presence of Maoists in the Indravati river area of Bijapur. During the operation, the Maoists ambushed the security team and opened fire on the security personnel. In the retaliatory action by the security forces, two Maoists were neutralised. Search operation is going on in the area.
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India delivered a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan at the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which is being held in Geneva from 23 February to 31 March. India accused Islamabad of spreading propaganda asserting that Jammu and Kashmir’s development trajectory stands in stark contrast to Pakistan’s economic troubles. During the high-level segment held yesterday, India’s representative Anupama Singh exercised the nation’s Right to Reply to reject allegations made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). She stated that India categorically reject these allegations adding that Pakistan’s incessant propaganda now reeks of envy. Ms Singh reiterated India’s long-standing position that Jammu and Kashmir ‘was, is, and will’ always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah embarked on a three-day tour of Bihar today. Addressing a rally in Araria, Mr. Shah said the Narendra Modi government is committed to removing every infiltrator from Indian soil. Home Minister further added that freedom from infiltrators would not be limited to deleting names from voter lists but would involve a comprehensive drive to eliminate illegal infiltration from the country.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have paid tributes to the great revolutionary freedom fighter Veer Savarkar on his death anniversary today. In a social media post, Prime Minister Modi said, Veer Savarkar dedicated his life to freeing the country from the shackles of slavery. He said, the freedom fighter’s personality and achievements will continue to inspire every generation to serve the nation.
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In Bangladesh, the National Citizen Party (NCP) has demanded the impeachment and arrest of Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, accusing him of failing to act during the July uprising violence in 2024.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the graves of Pilkhana massacre victims in Dhaka yesterday, NCP convener and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam alleged the president did not fulfill his responsibility as guardian of the state during the July 24 killings.
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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that road safety is an important and crucial subject for the country, expressing his concern over the rising number of road accidents in India. Addressing the national conclave on road safety in New Delhi today, Mr Gadkari said, India witnesses nearly five lakh road accidents every year, resulting in about one lakh eighty thousand deaths.
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In the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, India will take on Zimbabwe in the Super 8 Group ‘1’ match at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai this evening. The match will start at 7 PM. Hosts India face a ‘must win’ situation today and in their final group match against the West Indies on Sunday to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
In another group one match, West Indies will take on South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad this afternoon. The match will start at 3 PM. The West Indies enter with momentum following a massive 107 run win over Zimbabwe on Monday.
Yesterday, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 61 runs in their Group 2 Super Eight clash at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem; Key MOUs to be signed.
- Prime Minister Modi becomes the most followed world leader on Instagram with 100 million followers.
- Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says, synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person.
- Election Commission issues notification for biennial polls for 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states.
- Two Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
- India hits back at Pakistan propaganda; Highlights Pakistan’s economic troubles in stark contrast to Jammu and Kashmir’s development trajectory.
- And, in ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, India to take on Zimbabwe in Super 8 match in Chennai this evening.
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