THE HEADLINES
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to depart on a two-day visit to Israel this morning; Prime Minister to address Israeli parliament and hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
- India and Israel unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.
- Union Cabinet approves renaming State of Kerala to Keralam.
- DGCA tightens norms for non-scheduled flight operators; Says pilots cannot be simply blamed for lapses.
- India abstains in UN General Assembly on draft resolution calling for unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
- In Cricket, England beat Pakistan by two wickets to enter T20 World Cup semifinals.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave on a two day State visit to Israel in a short while from now. This will be the second visit of the Prime Minister to Israel. During the visit, the Prime Minister will meet his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders will review the significant progress made in India – Israel Strategic Partnership. They will discuss further opportunities in various areas of cooperation, including science and technology, innovation, defence and security, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people to people exchanges. The leaders are also expected to exchange perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Mr Modi will also call on the President of Israel Isaac Herzog.
Now we go over live to our correspondent Dheeraj Kakadia in Jerusalem for a latest update on the Prime Minister’s visit.
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India and Israel have strongly and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. During the 10th meeting of India-Israel Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism held in New Delhi yesterday, both countries emphasized that confronting terrorism requires sustained, comprehensive and concerted action.
“The meeting underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation between India and Israel, as both nations reaffirmed their strong commitment to jointly combat terrorism in all its forms. Both sides also denounced the 7 October 2023 terror attack in Israel and the 22 April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, along with other recent attacks. In view of these attacks, the meeting stressed the urgent need to hold the perpetrators accountable. The two countries emphasized sustained and comprehensive action against terrorism and renewed their commitment to enhance cooperation at multilateral forums including the United Nations and Financial Action Task Force. They discussed emerging threats such as terrorist recruitment, misuse of technology, terror financing, and the growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles, drones and AI for terror activities. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation through training, cybersecurity, exchange of best practices, and information sharing as well as enhanced law enforcement and judicial coordination. Both sides decided to hold the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism in Israel. With anupam and Dilnashi Arzoo, tripti srivastava, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for alteration of the name of State of Kerala as Keralam. Briefing media after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, after approval of the Cabinet, the President of India will refer a Bill, namely the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala for expressing its views.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves three multitracking projects covering eight districts across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. The total estimated cost of the projects is nine thousand 72 crore rupees and will be completed by 2030-31. Mr Vaishnaw said, the projects are doubling of the Gondia-Jabalpur railway line, addition of the third and fourth lines between Punarakh and Kiul in Bihar and also the third and fourth lines between Gamharia and Chandil in Jharkhand.
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Directorate General of Civil Aviation has announced stringent new safety mandates for non-scheduled flight operators following a high-level review meeting held yesterday amid a recent rise in aviation incidents. The regulator said, pilots cannot be simply blamed for lapses. It said safety must take precedence over commercial considerations, including charter and VIP commitments, and reaffirmed that a Pilot-in-Command’s decision on safety grounds will be final. Under the new measures, operators must publicly disclose key safety details such as aircraft age, maintenance history and pilot experience.
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Artificial Intelligence is playing a significant role in the Banking sector by enhancing data analysis, predicting trends and fraud risks, and improving customer engagement. The recently concluded India AI Impact Expo 2026 in Delhi showcased how AI is rapidly transforming India’s banking ecosystem, with voice-enabled AI agents now handling everything from customer queries to backend operations, reducing turnaround time and improving efficiency across the sector.
Talking to Akashvani News, Arpan Khosla, Head of Marketing at Blue Machines AI described the India AI Impact Summit as a historic moment for India’s AI ecosystem, adding that the platform showcased India not just as a consumer, but as a builder of AI technologies.
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President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate a four-day National Arogya Fair today at Shegaon in Buldana District of Maharashtra.
“During this fair, Visitors will be provided free consultations, health check-ups and medicines across Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy systems. The aim of this four day event is to create awareness among the masses about AYUSH systems of medicine through medicinal plant cultivation and agroforestry and to provide comprehensive healthcare services and create new livelihood opportunities for the farmers. In the evening , the President will also launch a state-level campaign by Brahma Kumaris organisation , titled “A Golden Era for Maharashtra through Unity and Trust” at the Vishva Shanti Sarovar complex, in Jamtha near Nagpur. Dhananjay Wankhede, Akashvani News, Nagpur.”
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India abstained in the UN General Assembly last night on a draft resolution that called for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The draft resolution was adopted by the 193-member UN General Assembly, with 107 nations voting in favour, 12 against and 51 abstentions. India was among the 51 member states abstaining from the resolution.
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President Donald Trump has declared that US is back and is currently richer and stronger than ever before. President Trump was delivering his first State of the Union address during his second term as president to a sharply divided Congress this morning.
A central theme of his speech was national security, where he claimed to have established the most secure border in American history. Trump highlighted a major shift from previous years, stating that the unfettered flow of millions of illegal aliens has been stopped. He further supported his claims of a 100 per cent closed border by announcing that the flow of deadly fentanyl into the country has dropped by a record 56 per cent in just one year.
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In the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the semifinals suffered a major blow after England clinched a dramatic two-wicket victory in their Group 2 Super 8 match in Sri Lanka last night. A scintillating century from captain Harry Brook powered England to a nail biting victory assuring them of a semi final place. Brook struck 100 off just 51 balls in a tense chase. Earlier, elected to bat first, Pakistan posted 164 for 9 in 20 overs, led by Sahibzada Farhan’s 63, with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman adding 25 each. Today, Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand in a Group 2 Super 8 match in Colombo at 7 PM.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS Headline,
- All the dailies lead with the headline on the new PMO complex ‘Sew a Teerth’ beginning its journey with a motive and responsibility to serve the common man inspired by the spirit of ‘Nagrik Devo Bhava’. “Cabinet adopts landmark resolution at first meeting in ‘Sewa Teerth’ , reaffirms commitment to Viksit Bharat” writes The Statesman.
- The Asian Age cites “Defence, trade ties on agenda as Modi lands in Israel today.”
- All the dailies have mentioned about the government’s landmark initiative to prevent cervical cancer. A headline in The Pioneer says “Government set to launch free HPV vaccination against cancer for girls aged 14.”
- “Supreme Court allows deployment of Odisha, jharkhand judges for SIR in Bengal” states The Tribune along with all the newspapers.
- The Economic Times cites “No labour code hit, Pay hikes at India Inc likely higher this year.”
- To reduce dependence on landslide-prone NH 44 “Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat direct trains from first of March in boost to J&K ” notes The Asian Age.
- “ICC will refund ticket holders if venue change” states Hindustan Times for the semifinals and finals tickets, if matches are forced out of Kolkata and Ahmedabad due to Pakistan’s qualification.
- The editorial page of The Indian Express writes on the India-Israel ties as a significant milestone in the evolution of bilateral relations. Under the headline “With Israel and broader Middle east, a diplomacy less defensive, more realist, the paper writes on the Prime Minister’s visit there, emphasises stronger ties with Israel coinciding with a transformation in the geopolitics of the Middle East.
- And Finally, Creating a flutter at the recently concluded India-Ai summit, Gurugram emerged as one of the key players in hyperlocal logistics.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to depart on a two-day visit to Israel this morning; Prime Minister to address Israeli parliament and hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
- India and Israel unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.
- Union Cabinet approves renaming State of Kerala to Keralam.
- DGCA tightens norms for non-scheduled flight operators; Says pilots cannot be simply blamed for lapses.
- India abstains in UN General Assembly on draft resolution calling for unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
- In Cricket, England beat Pakistan by two wickets to enter T20 World Cup semifinals.
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