NEW DELHI: A stampede occurred at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday, leaving 16 people dead and 10 others injured, it was reported quoting the chief casualty medical officer of the LJNP hospital. The incident occurred on platforms 14 and 15 of the railway station. The stampede occurred after two trains to Prayagraj got cancelled, resulting in chaos on the platform....more
GAZA: The release of three Israeli hostages, Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn, Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Israeli-Russian Sasha Troufanov, happened on Saturday, following successful mediation efforts by Egyptian and Qatari officials. The hostages, who were seized by Hamas militants during an attack on October 7, 2023, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which then transported them to Israeli forces. The military has confirmed that the freed hostages are now back in Israel....more

WASHINGTON: US President and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have
announced they would pursue a “framework” for greater cooperation. “Prime Minister Modi and I have agreed that we will be in negotiations to address the long-running disparities,” Trump said, referring to the US-India trade relationship. “But really, we want a certain level of playing field, which we really think we’re entitled to,” he added....more
By Deepak Arora
NEW DELHI: The UK-India Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) 2025 ballot will open next week. This bespoke visa scheme offers Brits and Indians the unique opportunity to live, study, travel, and work in the other country for up to two years. Indian nationals aged 18-30 must enter the ballot on gov.uk to be considered for one of the 3,000 spots available under the scheme. The ballot is scheduled to open on 18 February and close on 20 February. Applicants do not need to pay to enter the ballot, and successful entries will be picked at random....more
NEW DELHI: Argentina's state-run oil company YPF signed a memorandum of understanding with three Indian firms to potentially export up to 10 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. YPF Chief Executive Horacio Marin inked the deal in New Delhi with executives from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (OIL), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited....more
NEW DELHI: There will be no income tax payable up to Rs 12 lakh - i.e., up to Rs 12.75 lakh including standard deductions - under the new regime, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Saturday as she read out the Union Budget 2025. In an announcement accompanied by loud cheers and enthusiastic thumping of desks by BJP MPs, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she also announced revisions to the tax slabs (again, applicable to the new regime only)....more

NEW DELHI: The government has announced plans to develop the country's top 50 tourist destinations in collaboration with state governments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget for 2025-26 on Saturday. The initiative aims to enhance India's tourism sector by improving infrastructure, accessibility, and facilities at key locations across the country. Additionally, to support small-scale tourism businesses, the government will extend Mudra loans to homestays, making it easier for individuals to offer lodging services to domestic and international travellers....more
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh's former government was behind systematic attacks and killings of protesters as it tried to hold onto power last year, the UN said on Wednesday, warning that the abuses could amount to "crimes against humanity". Before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a student-led revolution last August, her government cracked down on protesters and others, including by "hundreds of extrajudicial killings", the United Nations said....more

NEW DELHI: What is the Standard Operating Procedure for Electronic Voting Machines after polls are over, the Supreme Court asked today in response to a petition that sought data from the machines not be deleted even after the counting of votes is over. For now, do not delete any data from EVM nor reload any data, said a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna. The Election Commission has to provide information to the court about the process of burning EVM memory and microcontroller after elections....more
NEW DELHI: Making strong observations on the practice of political parties announcing freebies ahead of elections, the Supreme Court has said people are "not willing to work" because of them and wondered whether a "class of parasites" was being created in the country. Hearing a matter on the right to shelter of homeless persons in urban areas, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih said people were getting ration and money without working....more

NEW DELHI: Larsen & Toubro Chairman SN Subrahmanyan is at the centre of another row, this time concerning the reluctance of workers to relocate owing to availability of government welfare schemes. This comes week after his 90-hour work week remark led to a widespread debate about work-life balance. Subrahmanyan, while speaking at the CII's Mystic South Global Linkages Summit 2025 in Chennai on Tuesday, said it is difficult to get workers for the construction industry as they are reluctant to travel from their hometown due to a preference for comfort. He said that schemes like MGNREGA, direct benefit transfers and JAN DHAN accounts likely affect labour mobilisation....more
IMPHAL: President's rule has been imposed in Manipur on Thursday, four days after chief minister N Biren Singh resigned from his post. Singh resigned after nearly 21 months after ethnic violence in Manipur that resulted in the deaths of over 250 and displaced several thousands. A notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said President Droupadi Murmu is of the opinion that "a situation has arisen in which the government of that state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution"....more

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine "We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskiy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now," Trump said in a post on his social media platform....more
NEW DELHI: A plane carrying 119 Indians arrived from the United States at Punjab's Amritsar airport on Saturday, the second such arrival in a span of 10 days, as part of the Donald Trump administration's crackdown and decision to deport illegal immigrants. The first round of deportation had taken place on February 5, when a US military plane transported 104 Indians to Amritsar. A third plane with 157 deportees is expected to land in India on Sunday....more
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