Breaking News, February 8 | HIGHLIGHTS

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the entry of women into mosques for offering namaz inside is permitted. The board said a Muslim woman is free to enter a mosque for prayers and it is her option to exercise her right to avail such facilities as available for prayers in a mosque.
 The AIMPLB said this in an affidavit filed in the apex court which is seized of a plea relating to the entry of Muslim women into mosque for offering namaz.

 As the crackdown on child marriage continued in Assam, the police are now setting up additional prison facilities to house the accused, with two such arrangements in Goalpara and Cachar districts already in the offing.
While accused from different districts have already been moved to the facility in Goalpara, another such temporary jail is coming up in Cachar as well.
"We have got the approval for setting up a temporary jail. It will be established in a non-functional existing government premises near Silchar," Cachar Superintendent of Police Nomal Mahatta told PTI.

Odisha Health minister Naba Das death case: The accused Gopal Das was sent to police remand till February 13. The court allowed the police to conduct his polygraph and narco test, said Hari Narayan Agrawal, lawyer of accused Gopal Das.

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has recommended the appointment of the chief justices of the high courts of Patna, Himachal Pradesh, Gauhati and Tripura.
The three-member collegium has recommended the name of Justice K Vinod Chandran of the Kerala High Court for appointment as the chief justice of the Patna High Court and Justice Sabina as the chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
The collegium, also having Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, met on February 7 and recommended the name of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh for appointment as the chief justice of the Tripura High Court.

Three armed robbers were nabbed after an exchange of fire with police, hours after they had robbed a bank at gunpoint in Rajasthan's Dholpur district. Three other members of the gang are still absconding, officials said on Wednesday.
Six masked motorcycle-borne robbers barged into a Punjab National Bank branch in Maraina town and robbed Rs 5 lakh at gunpoint, Dihauli police station SHO Bidaram said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday the trust reposed in him by crores of people was his protective shield against the "lies, allegations and abuses" of his critics, as he launched a stinging counterattack on the Opposition over its bid to target him over the Adani-Hindenburg issue.
Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in Lok Sabha, Modi said he had spent every moment of his life working for the nation and contrasted the "lost decade" of the Congress-led UPA rule with the advent of "India's decade" under his government.

The Railways has earned more than Rs 600 crore through convenience fee, which it retains from passengers on the cancellation of a ticket, so far in 2022-23, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the cancellation or clerkage charge is levied on cancellation of tickets as per the Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Tickets and Refund of Fare) Rules 2015.

 A body of traders in Jharkhand on Wednesday decided to observe an indefinite strike from February 15 to protest against the state government’s new agriculture bill, stating that it will “encourage price rise and impact farmers adversely”.

The decision to go on the strike was taken at a state-level meeting where the traders assembled under the banner of the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI).

During the day, the traders also kept their shops shut as a mark of protest and also burnt an effigy of Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh, demanding the withdrawal of the new agriculture bill.

Insurgent activities in the Northeast have come down by 89 per cent and cases of civilian deaths declined by 85 per cent during the last eight years, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday. Addressing the concluding session of the three-day Y20 summit here, the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister said that peace has returned to the region, and many developmental works are being carried out at present.

"Peace has returned to Jammu and Kashmir, and Northeast.
In the case of Northeast, insurgency incidents came down by 89 per cent and civilian deaths are down by 85 per cent during the last eight years," he added.

France's TotalEnergies, one of the largest foreign investors in billionare Gautam Adani's business empire, said it has put on hold participation in Indian conglomerate's USD 50 billion hydrogen project pending results of an audit launched following allegations by a US short-seller. While the partnership with Adani group was announced in June last year, TotalEnergies has not yet signed a contract, the French group's chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said at earnings call.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said the "unconstitutional" state government headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will not last long and fall very soon.
Aaditya, son of Shiv Sena president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, was addressing a rally at Badnapur in Jalna district as part of his 'Shiv Samvad Yatra'.

 Adil Durrani who was arrested by Oshiwara police after a woman actor filed an FIR against him sent to judicial custody by the Andheri court.

Drone manufacturer Garuda Aerospace would provide its drones to aid the ongoing relief and rescue efforts in the devastating earthquake that hit Turkiye which saw several thousands killed, the company said on Wednesday.
 

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Wednesday said it is well known that Lucknow was earlier known as 'Laxman Nagri' and the state government will move forward "according to the situation".
His remarks came a day after BJP MP Sangamlal Gupta wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking that Lucknow be renamed as "Lakhanpur or Laxmanpur", saying that the city was given its current name in the 18th century by Nawab Asafuddaula.

 A court in Gujarat's Morbi town on Wednesday sent Oreva Group Managing Director Jaysukh Patel, one of the accused in the Morbi bridge collapse case, to judicial custody after the end of his police remand.
Patel, whose company was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the bridge, surrendered before the court on January 31 after it issued an arrest warrant against him. He was later arrested by the police.

The actual COVID-19 infections in India may be around 17 times higher than the official figure, a study led by researchers at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) suggests.
According to government data, nearly 4.5 crore people in India have been infected with COVID-19 so far. However, the study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases (IJID) estimated that the actual coronavirus cases in the country may be between 58 to 98 crores.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the office of the lieutenant governor, pro tem presiding officer Satya Sharma of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and others on a plea filed by AAP mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi seeking early holding of the mayoral election. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said it is issuing notice on the plea and seeking replies by next Monday.

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday allowed inbound travellers from G20 nations arriving at select airports to use the popular UPI for making payments in the country. Later, the RBI also proposes to extend the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) facility to travellers from all countries.

For this Valentine's Day, IRIS Home Fragrances from Ripple Fragrances has launched an exclusive bouquet of aromas that are set to rent the air with a greater savor of romance. From the stable of Ripple Fragrances, a spatial initiative of Mysuru-based N. Ranga Rao & Sons, the latest IRIS collection is eclectic in style and designed to enliven the senses by adding aesthetic appeal to the environment.

The FASTag system has helped Navi Mumbai police crack the case of robbery worth Rs 2.17 lakh on Mumbai-Pune highway and six persons have been arrested in this connection, an official said. The incident took place in Panvel area of the highway on January 26 when the accused travelling in a white car intercepted another car, Panvel taluka police station's senior inspector Anil Patil said.

Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Parshottam Rupala and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will on Wednesday address the Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting organised in Rann of Kutch as part of India's G20 presidency, officials said.

A 22-year-old pregnant woman and her two-year-old daughter died after a fire broke out at their house in a village here, police said today. The woman's husband and father-in-law have been taken into custody in connection with the incident that took place in Sabya village in the Kothibhar area here on Tuesday, they said. Gita and her daughter Arpita were killed in a fire that broke out at their house. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the police said.

Suspended Jharkhand Congress MLA Rajesh Kachchap was interrogated by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for more than 10 hours here in connection with the seizure of Rs 49 lakh in cash in West Bengal from him and two other party legislators last year.

A Nicaraguan court has sentenced four Roman Catholic priests to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges stemming from long-standing government allegations that the church backed illegal pro-democracy protests. A human rights group in the Central American country quickly denounced the sentences handed down Monday and made known by lawyers of the Legal Defense Unit.

The Biden administration on Tuesday approved a USD 10 billion arms sale to NATO ally Poland as Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine rages. The State Department notified Congress that the sale comprises mid-range, mobile HIMARS artillery rocket systems, associated ammunition and related equipment. Poland and other eastern flank NATO allies become increasingly concerned about the possibility of a new Russian offensive in Ukraine along their borders as the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches toward the end of the month.

Even before Monday's devastating earthquake, getting aid to all parts of war-battered Syria was fraught with daunting political and logistical challenges. 
Those hurdles have only multiplied in the wake of the disaster that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria and brought down thousands of buildings. Damage to roads and other infrastructure in southern Turkey has stalled aid from reaching northern Syria, an area already devastated by 12 years of conflict.

 The Quad -- a plurilateral framework comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US -- has announced the launch of a public campaign to improve cyber security in these four nations. Named "Quad Cyber Challenge", Internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond have been invited to join it and pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber habits, the White House said.

The devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria has killed 7,700 people so far. According to reports, the death toll continues to rise amid widespread devastation.