THE HEADLINES ::
- BJP to hold legislative party meeting to choose next Delhi Chief Minister, today.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah asks full implementation of new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir by April.
- Gyanesh Kumar to take charge as Chief Election Commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan, today.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says no decision can be made to end the war with Russia without kyiv’s consultation.
- In Cricket Ninth edition of ICC Champions Trophy to kick off this afternoon in Karachi; Defending champions Pakistan to face New Zealand in the opening match.
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Delhi BJP legislative party meeting will be held in New Delhi today. All the newly elected BJP MLAs and the party’s senior leaders will participate in the deliberations. According to the party sources, the name of Delhi’s next Chief Minister is likely to be finalized during the meeting. The swearing-in ceremony for the next Chief Minister is expected to be held on Thursday at the Ramlila Maidan in the national capital. The BJP had won 48 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the inauguration of the Inland Waterways Transport, IWT Terminal on the Brahmaputra, National Waterway-2 at Jogighopa in Assam. In a social media post, he described it as a significant step toward improving infrastructure and promoting inland waterways for the progress and prosperity of the region.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, along with Bhutan’s Minister of Finance Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji, inaugurated the IWT Terminal at Jogighopa. The terminal is located at a distance of 91 km from Gelephu in Bhutan, 108 km from Bangladesh border and 147 km from Guwahati.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked the administration in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure the full implementation of the three new criminal laws in the Union Territory by April this year. He said this while chairing a review meeting on the implementation of the three new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir, in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in New Delhi yesterday. Mr. Shah said that optimum use of technology should be made to ensure speedy justice under the three new criminal laws.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said efforts will be made to raise awareness among the people of Jammu and Kashmir about these new laws.
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Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is set to assume his charge at the Election Commission office in New Delhi today. His appointment follows the conclusion of Rajiv Kumar’s tenure as the head of the election body yesterday. Gyanesh Kumar, a former IAS officer from the 1988 batch of the Kerala cadre, previously held the position of secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Additionally, Vivek Joshi, an IAS officer from the 1989 batch of the Haryana cadre, was also designated as the new Election Commissioner on 17th February.
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The unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in urban areas dipped to 6.4 per cent in the October-December quarter the current financial Year. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, yesterday, the unemployment rate for men was 5.8 percent during the period, while for female it was 8.1 percent.
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The Birth Anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is being celebrated everywhere in Maharashtra today. A day long program is organised at Fort Shivneri, a birth place of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Maharashtra CM Shri Devendra Fadnvis will be present at Shivneri fort at 9 in the morning and will participate in birth celebration program of chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Thousands of devotees across the state will be present on Shivneri for this ceremony. On the eve of Shiv Jayanti, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde celebrated Shiv Jayanti uttsav by garlanding the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Chembur in Mumbai yesterday. On this occasion, Eknath Shinde has announced that a new brand tall statue would soon be installed in Chembur to replace this existing statue. As a part of shivjayanti uttsav, yesterday night, a hundreds of followers of chatrpati Shivaji Maharaj gathered at Ajinkyatara Fort in Satara district which is known as the capital of the Maratha empire and lit thousands of torches last night and brightened up the entire area. Bhavana Gokhale, AIR news, Mumbai.
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The Uttar Pradesh government and Mahakumbh Mela authority have dismissed rumours claiming the Prayagraj Mahakumbh has been extended beyond the 26th of this month. Prayagraj District Magistrate Ravindra Mandhad clarified that the rumour, circulating widely on social media, is entirely false.
“The Mahakumbh will conclude on its scheduled date on 26th February. During the remaining days, arrangements are being made for a smooth visit and to ensure that people return to their destinations after taking a holy dip in the Sangam. District Magistrate Mandhad said that the schedule of the Mahakumbh fair is released according to the auspicious time and is decided in advance. Mr Mandhad appealed to the devotees not to pay attention to any kind of rumour, as there is no proposal from the government and the district administration to extend the fair. He added that traffic management is a high priority with work being done to balance the movement of devotees without affecting the everyday life in Prayagraj. The DM also clarified that no railway station has been closed without prior notice. He added that since the station is adjacent to the fair, the Prayag Sangam Railway station has been permanently closed to avoid large crowd gathering. Meanwhile, all other stations in Prayagraj are operational. With Abhishek Kapil, Adarsh for Akashvani News, Prayagraj.”
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India and Qatar have agreed to elevate their bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership. An agreement in this regard was signed between the two countries following delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, in New Delhi.
Briefing the media in the National Capital last evening, Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, Arun Kumar Chatterjee, said, two agreements and five MoUs were signed between both the nations. He said the first agreement is on the establishment of a bilateral strategic partnership. A revised double taxation avoidance agreement was also signed between the two countries.
The Secretary said, the two countries have also agreed to double their trade to 28 billion dollars annually in the next five years.
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President Droupadi Murmu has said that India’s relations with Qatar are steeped in history, spanning centuries, and that Qatar has been an integral part of West Asia’s commercial and cultural linkages with India. Welcoming the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, at Rashtrapati Bhavan last evening, the President emphasized that the multi-faceted engagement and cooperation between the two countries are marked by a deep sense of comfort and time-tested goodwill. Both leaders agreed that elevating the India-Qatar relationship to the level of a ‘strategic partnership’ will create a roadmap for even closer engagement.
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed a demand that Kyiv be included in any talks to end its war with Russia after the United States and Russia agreed to create a team to negotiate a halt to the fighting. Ukraine was not represented at the talks between the US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh yesterday. He told this to reporters during a visit to Turkiye,where he held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said that Ukraine wants no one to decide anything behind its back.
Zelenskyy added that he was due to travel to Saudi Arabia today but has now postponed his trip to Riyadh until March 10 as he did not want “any coincidences”. The meeting in Riyadh marked the first time that US and Russian officials have met to discuss ways to halt the fighting that escalated with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukrainein February 2022.
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US President Donald Trump has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling him a poor negotiator and grossly incompetent. His remarks came as tensions continued to rise over the US administration’s direct talks with Russia about ending the almost three years long war. Trump’s comments followed criticism that Ukraine and European allies were excluded from negotiations between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. He claimed the talks were going very well and dismissed Zelenskyy’s criticism over being left out. Trump suggested Ukraine should have ended the war earlier.
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Israel and Hamas are set to begin indirect negotiations for the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Officials said, Palestinian militant group Hamas’s negotiator Khalil al-Hayya confirmed that the bodies of four hostages, including those of the Bibas family, will be returned on Thursday, while six living hostages will be released on Saturday. Hamas alleges that the three were killed in Israeli bombardment. However, Israel has not confirmed this. Six living hostages will be released on Saturday.
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The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will begin this afternoon, with defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in their opening match in Karachi. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 PM Indian Time.
“As the Champions Trophy begins today, Rohit Sharma led Indian team will kick off their campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai tomorrow. The tournament, featuring the eight top-ranked ODI teams, will be held across Pakistan and UAE, and final will be played on 9th of next month.
In Women’s Premier League Cricket, Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat Giants by five wickets at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara last night. Today, UP Warriorz will take on Delhi Capitals at the same venue this evening.
Next we have from FIH Pro Hockey League, where Indian Men’s Team suffered a 4-1 defeat to reigning world champions Germany at Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar last night. Both the teams will meet again this evening. On the other hand, Indian women’s team also lost to Spain 3-4 in a close thriller. They will again face Spain this evening, with an aim to take revenge.
At last, but not the least, 34th edition of the ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup table tennis tournament 2025 will begin in Shenzhen, China this morning. India has sent a six-member contingent led by world No. 42 Sharath Kamal. CHIRAG JHA, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense fog conditions in isolated pockets of Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim today. It said Heavy rainfall or snowfall is expected in isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh. The weather agency further predicted thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds in parts of West Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- News of India, elevating ties to strategic partnership is carried prominently by all the leading dailies.
- BJP legislative party to decide new Delhi CM’s name today, swearing in tomorrow, is the top story in The Statesman and other dailies.
- Prosecution seeks death penalty for Sajjan Kumar in 1984 riots case, says a report in Hindustan Times.
- Supreme Court to hear pleas on Chief Election Commisioner’s pick on priority basis today is the cover page story in The Asian Age.
- Insurance cover for bank deposits may be doubled, writes Financial Express.
- Ball starts rolling in Karachi, as ICC Champions Trophy gets underway, according to The Indian Express.
- And finally, CBSE to hold 2 class 10th boards a year from 2026, says a report in The Times of India.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- BJP to hold legislative party meeting to choose next Delhi Chief Minister, today.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah asks full implementation of new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir by April.
- Gyanesh Kumar to take charge as Chief Election Commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan, today.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says no decision can be made to end the war with Russia without kyiv’s consultation.
- In Cricket Ninth edition of ICC Champions Trophy to kick off this afternoon in Karachi; Defending champions Pakistan to face New Zealand in the opening match.
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