Catch the latest news updates of the day here.
US Celebrity Lawyer Avenatti Found Guilty of Extortion
The celebrity lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who sued US President Donald Trump, was found guilty of extortion in a Manhattan federal court.
The conviction marks an incredible fall from grace for California lawyer Michael Avenatti, who at one point presented himself as a major adversary to Trump.
(Source: PTI)
8 Shot Dead in Mexico's Michoacan as President Visits State
The bodies of eight slain men were found in southern Michoacan state on Friday — the same day President Andrés Manuel López Obrador visited the state to celebrate the opening of another National Guard installation there.
Authorities said the shooting deaths happened in Huetamo, roughly 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Jiquilpan, where the president celebrated the guard's new deployment on Valentine's Day. The men had all been shot high-powered weapons, official said.
A stolen SUV was also found at the scene. No further details were released by investigators.
(Source: AP)
India Rejects Turkish President Erdogan's Comments on Kashmir
India on Saturday, 15 February, criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments on Kashmir and asked him not to interfere in India's internal affairs.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kaumar said India rejects all references made by the Turkish President on Jammu and Kashmir, stating that the region is an integral and inalienable part of India.
In an address at Pakistan’s Parliament on Friday, Erdogan compared "the struggle of Kashmiri people with that of fight by Turkish people against foreign domination during the World War I".
“India rejects all references to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India,” Kumar said in reference to Erdogan's comments on Jammu and Kashmir.
"We call upon the Turkish leadership not to interfere in India's internal affairs and develop a proper understanding of the facts, including the grave threat posed by terrorism emanating from Pakistan to India and the region," he said.
(Source: PTI)
'Great Honour,' Says Trump on Facebook Ranking Him No.1 on Popularity
US President Donald Trump has said it is a great honour that Facebook has ranked him number one and Prime Minister Narendra Modi number two on their popularity on the social networking site, ahead of his maiden visit to India.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will pay a state visit to India on 24 and 25 Februaryat the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, it was announced this week.
(Source: PTI)
EU Urges Central Government to Lift Remaining Restrictions in J&K
The European Union urged the Indian government to lift the remaining restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir while adding that the central government has taken positive steps to “restore normalcy” in the erstwhile state.
A second group of diplomats from ermany, Canada, France, Italy, Poland, New Zealand, Mexico, Afghanistan, Austria, Uzbekistan, and the European Union visited Jammu on 12 and 13 February.
(Source: The Times of India)
Shah Faesal Booked Under PSA
Shah Faesal, former civil servant and chief of Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM), booked under Public Safety Act, reports ANI.
Maharashtra Government to Roll Out NPR by 1 May: Reports
The Maharashtra government has reportedly started preparations to roll out the National Population Register (NPR) in the state by 1 May, reported CNN-News18.
20 district collectors and 15 municipal corporation chiefs, almost the entirety of the state’s top bureaucracy, were briefed on 6 February about the execution of the NPR by Census Director Rashmi Zagde and the General Administration Department’s Principal Secretary, Valsa Nair, Mumbai Mirror reported.
Pak Violates Ceasefire in J&K's Kathua
Pakistan Rangers on Saturday violated the ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing on forward posts and villages along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district early on Saturday, officials said.
The Border Security Force retaliated effectively, and the exchange of fire, which started around 4 am at Chakra village in Hiranagar sector, lasted for over two-and-a-half hours, according to the officials.
There was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, the officials said, adding that the Pakistan Rangers also fired dozens of mortars.
(Source: PTI)
4 Dead, 12 Injured as Bus Rams Into Stationary Container Truck
At least four persons were killed and 12 others injured when the bus they were travelling in rammed intoa stationary container truck at Singori village in Nagpur district early on Saturday, police said.
The private bus was carrying people, who were returning to Nagpur after attending a marriage function at Tirora in Gondia district, police said.
“The mishap occurred around 5.30 am in Mouda taluka of Nagpur. Four passengers in the bus, including two women, were killed after their vehicle crashed into the container truck parked on the road. Twelve others suffered injuries,” inspector of Mouda Police Station Madhukar Gite said.
(Source: PTI)
Protesting Against Bidar Sedition Case, Cong Leaders Detained in Bengaluru
Karnataka Congress leaders – Siddaramaiah, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rizwan Arshad, K Suresh – detained by police after they tried to take out a protest march to the CM’s office.
Congress is protesting against Bidar sedition case, alleging misuse of police department by the state government.
Nadda Appoints MP, Sikkim, Kerala's BJP Unit Chiefs
BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday appointed Vishnu Datt Sharma as the party's Madhya Pradesh unit chief.
Sharma, an MP from Khajuraho has replaced incumbent Rakesh Singh, who is also parliamentarian from Jabalpur.
Besides Madhya Pradesh, Nadda has also appointed Dal Bahadur Chauhan and K Surendran as new presidents of the party's Sikkim and Kerala units.
(Source: PTI)
1 Dead, 3 Injured in Shooting Outside Berlin Music Venue
German authorities say one person has been killed and three others injured following a shooting late Friday outside a Berlin music venue.
Police in the German capital said Saturday that unknown people opened fire outside the Tempodrom, located near Potsdamer Platz in the center of the city.
The suspects were able to flee. It was unclear whether the shooting was linked to the event being staged inside the venue Friday night, a Turkish comedy night.
Berlin has one of the highest number of killings per person among European capitals.
(Source: PTI)
Fire Breaks Out at Lake City Mall in Thane
Fire breaks out on the first floor of Lake City Mall, Kapurbawdi near Balkum Fire Station in Thane (West). Fire-fighting operation underway. No casualty or injury reported till now.
(Source: ANI)
Next hearing in Behmai Massacre Case Scheduled on 26 February
The verdict in the Behmai massacre case, in which 20 people were killed allegedly by bandit Phoolan Devi's gang in 1981, which was supposed to be delivered on 6 January, has been postponed again with the next hearing listed for 26 February.
The date for pronouncing the verdict on the role of the four surviving accused in the case that shook the country nearly four decades ago could not be fixed on Wednesday in the absence of the original case diary (CD), District Government Counsel (criminal) Raju Porwal said.
The court has listed the case on February 26 with strict instructions to the office staff and the police to trace the original CD and place it before the court, Porwal said.
4 Children Dead After School Van Catches Fire in Punjab's Sangrur
Four children were burnt alive when a mini van of a private school carrying students caught fire in Punjab's Sangrur district on Saturday, police said.
The accident took place on the Longowal-Sidsamachar road, they said, adding 12 children were in the van at that time.
Eight children were safely taken out by people working in nearby fields, police said.
However, four children in the age group of 10 to 12 years were charred to death, they added.
The children were returning home from school, police said.
(Source: PTI)
D Raja Demands Security for Kanhaiya Kumar
CPI General Secretary D Raja wrote to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, asking him to provide adequate protection to former JNUSU president and party member Kanhaiya Kumar and Jan-Gan-Man yatra, and also to take action against the culprits who attack Kanhaiya Kumar and the yatra.
3 People Buried Under Snow in Bandipora
Three people buried under snow after an avalanche hit J&K’s Bandipora, CNN-News18 reported. Rescue operations are underway.
8 Civilians Killed in Airstrike in Afghanistan
An air strike in Afghanistan has killed at least eight civilians, officials said Saturday, as the war-torn country prepares for a "reduction in violence" under a deal between Taliban militants and the United States.
The incident took place in the eastern province of Nangarhar on Friday when a vehicle carrying civilians was struck, according to Ataullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Fire Breaks Out in Jaipur's Indira Market
A fire broke out at a firecracker shop in the busy Indira Market here on Saturday and spread to seven other shops in the vicinity, destroying goods worth lakhs, an official said.
No casualty occurred in the blaze, which was doused after nearly four hours of firefighting, he said.
"The fire, which broke out at a firecracker shop, spread rapidly and engulfed total seven shops in the vicinity. It took four hours to douse the fire. Twenty fire tenders were pressed into service which could control the situation after at least two rounds," Chief Fire Officer Jagdish Phulwaria said.
Vishnu Dutt Sharma New Chief of BJP''s MP Unit
In a curious move, Khajuraho MP Vishnu Dutt Sharma was on Saturday appointed as the new president of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, replacing incumbent Rakesh Singh, believed to be a trusted lieutenant of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The announcement to appoint Sharma (49), a Brahmin and the incumbent general secretary of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, was made by the party's national general secretary Arun Singh in an official communique.
“BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda ji has appointed Shri Vishnu Dutt Sharma as the president of the Madhya Pradesh unit,” it said.
25 Injured in Accident on Mumbai-Agra National Highway
At least 25 people were injured after the Tempo Traveller that they were travelling in collided with a truck on Mumbai-Agra National Highway in Shirpur early today. The injured were admitted to a hospital.
Several Shanties Gutted in Fire in Delhi’s Rohini
Several shanties gutted in fire at Bangali Basti in Rohini. Twelve fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. No casualty reported till now. More details awaited.
9 Dead, Several Injured In Bus Accident in Udupi
Nine people died and several others were injured after a tourist bus rammed into a mountain in Karkala area in Udupi district earlier today. The bus was coming from Mysuru.
3 Dead, 2 Hurt in Accident on jammu-Pathankot Highway
Three people were killed and two others injured after their car veered off the road and hit a parapet wall of the Jammu-Pathankot highway in Kathua district, police said.
The accident occurred at Mangtia Morh near Rajbagh when they were going to Jammu from Kathua. It is suspected that the driver lost control of the car, a police officer said.
The five persons were all relatives, hailing from Jammu's Bishnah area. They were admitted to a hospital where Om Prakash (90), Krishma Devi (85) and Ram Paul (62) succumbed to injuries, he said. The vehicle suffered extensive damage in the accident, the officer said.