HIGHLIGHTS

New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9:25 pm: NATION DEL90 PM-LD MARATHI

PM Modi cautions against attempts to discriminate on basis of language New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday cautioned against attempts to discriminate on the basis of language, asserting that there has never been any animosity among Indian languages and each has enriched the other.

DEL79 MEA-EAM-BANGLADESH

EAM conveyed to Bangladesh not to normalise terrorism: MEA on Jaishankar-Hossain meet New Delhi: During his recent meeting with Bangladesh interim government's foreign affairs advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed that Bangladesh "should not normalise terrorism", the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

DEL70 ARMY-2NDLD FLAG MEETING

India raises issues of unprovoked firing, terror activities at flag meeting with Pak in J&K's Poonch Jammu: India and Pakistan held a flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, in an effort to de-escalate tension after several recent incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack, official sources said.

DEL59 MEA-NEPAL-KIIT

India accords high priority to safety, well-being of all international students: MEA on KIIT case New Delhi: The government on Friday said it was deeply saddened by the recent death of a Nepalese student at an institution in Odisha, and asserted that it accords "high priority" to the safety, security and well-being of all international students in the country.

DEL80 LD USAID

Political row over USAID fund recipient: BJP accuses Rahul of colluding with foreign forces, Cong demands white paper New Delhi: A political row erupted Friday after a media report claimed USD 21 million aid by USAID was meant for Bangladesh and not India, with the Congress demanding an apology from the BJP and the ruling party accusing Rahul Gandhi of colluding with foreign forces to weaken India.

DEL87 HEALTH-DELHI-AYUSHMAN BHARAT

NHA, Delhi govt to soon ink MoU for Ayushman Bharat implementation in capital: Sources New Delhi: An MoU between the Delhi government and the National Health Authority (NHA) for the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the national capital will be signed soon, officials said on Friday.

DEL89 KL-LDALL-SUMMIT

Kerala an investment destination, investors will not face red tapism: CM Pinarayi Vijayan Kochi: The Kerala government has ensured that no investor will have to face cobwebs of procedural delays and red tapism, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday as he sought to attract investments at the global investor summit where Adani Group announced it will invest Rs 30,000 crore in the state in the next five years.

DEL76 AIIMS-NITI AAYOG

NITI Aayog forms panel on transforming AIIMS New Delhi: Government think tank NITI Aayog has formed a committee to create a roadmap aimed at transforming AIIMS, New Delhi, into a premier institution for medical research and practice.

DEL75 ED-BBC-PENALTY

ED slaps Rs 3.44 cr penalty on BBC WS India; fines 3 directors New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has levied a penalty of more than Rs 3.44 crore on BBC World Service India for alleged contravention of foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations, agency officials said on Friday.

DEL73 PM-MARATHI-GESTURE

PM Modi's special gesture to Pawar wins hearts at Marathi literary festival New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special gesture towards NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar to help him take his seat and offer him a glass of water won applause from the audience at the inauguration of the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sammelan here on Friday.

DEL68 NIA-KHALISTANI-CHARGESHEET

NIA chargesheets two key aides of Canada-based Khalistani terrorist Arsh Dala New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency has chargesheeted two key aides of Canada-based Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala in a terror-gangster syndicate case, the probe agency said on Friday.

DEL67 DL-BJP-HEALTH SECTOR-ACTION-PLAN

BJP govt in Delhi plans key healthcare reforms, ‘Aarogya Mandirs’ and digitisation in focus New Delhi: With the formation of the BJP government in Delhi, an action plan has been prepared to introduce key reforms in the healthcare sector, which includes digitisation of health services, setting up of 'Aarogya Mandirs', filling up various vacancies of medial superintendents and completion of under-construction hospitals, officials said on Friday. By Neha Mishra

DEL60 CONG-DEPORTEES-PANAMA

Cong hits out at PM over deportation of Indians to Panama New Delhi: The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday over the deportation of Indians from the US to Panama and asked him why is he allowing such "inhumane treatment" to be meted out to the deportees, which is an insult to the country.

BOM24 MH-SHINDE-WARNING

Don't take me lightly, says deputy CM Eknath Shinde amid reports of rift with Fadnavis Nagpur: Amid talk of a growing rift with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde on Friday said nobody should take him lightly, and made a veiled reference to the toppling of the MVA government.

CAL17 AS-ASSEMBLY-NAMAZ BREAK

No ‘namaz break’ in Assam Assembly after nearly 90 years Guwahati: The decades-old Assam Assembly tradition of a two-hour break to facilitate Muslim legislators to offer ‘namaz’ on Fridays was discontinued for the first time during the ongoing budget session.

CAL12 OD-STUDENT-DEATH-PANEL

Nepalese girl death: KIIT founder Samanta, other functionaries appear before Odisha govt panel Bhubaneswar: Senior officials of Odisha-based Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), including its founder Achyuta Samanta, on Friday appeared before the state government’s high-level committee investigating the alleged suicide of a Nepalese engineering student and subsequent attack on students from the neighbouring country.

MDS18 NEP-LD PRADHAN

Language row: Rise above politics, Pradhan tells Stalin, 2-language policy to stay, says DMK New Delhi/Chennai: The language row involving the BJP-led Centre and the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu intensified on Friday with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asking the southern state to rise above politics, while the regional party hit back saying it won't budge from its 2-language policy.

LEGAL LGD39 DL-HC-PILOTS

Revised pilot duty norms to be rolled out in phased manner from July 1: DGCA to Delhi HC New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has been informed by DGCA that airlines would implement the revised norms on duty and rest hours for pilots in a phased manner starting July 1.

LGD38 SC-DISABILITY-MBBS ADMISSION

'Both hands intact' guideline for pursuing MBBS reeks of ableism: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said the National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines requiring students with specified disabilities to have "both hands intact" to pursue MBBS course was "completely antithetical" and reeked of "ableism".

LGD35 SC-DALIT CHRISTIANS-DISCRIMINATION

SC agrees to hear plea of TN Dalit Christians alleging caste-based discrimination New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the plea of Dalit Christian villagers of Tiruchirapalli district in Tamil Nadu alleging caste-based atrocities, untouchability and discrimination in Kottapalayam Parish area.

LGD27 SC-ASSAM

Beef case: SC says Assam govt should have better things to do New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the Assam government while hearing a case against a man accused of transporting beef and it "should have better things to do" than running after such persons.

FOREIGN FGN50 SAFRICA-JAISHANKAR-LD WANG

Jaishankar stresses India-China cooperation to maintain G20 integrity in 'polarised' global situation Johannesburg: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday emphasised the joint efforts of India and China in maintaining the integrity of the G20 amid a "polarised" global situation. By Fakir Hassen

FGN63 NEPAL-STUDENTS-INDIA

As many as 159 students of Odisha university have returned to Nepal: Official Kathmandu: Days after a Nepalese female student allegedly died by suicide at an Odisha university and the college administration ordered Nepali students to vacate the hostel, 159 students have returned to the country via Raxaul border, an official has said. By Shirish B Pradhan

FGN62 UK-INFRA-FUND

British-Indian minister launches new fund to fix crumbling cultural infrastructure London: Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, has unveiled a GBP 270 million investment backed 'Arts Everywhere' Fund to revitalise the UK’s "crumbling" arts and culture infrastructure suffering in the wake of the COVID pandemic. By Aditi Khanna

FGN59 SAFRICA-JAISHANKAR-LD MEETINGS

Jaishankar discusses Indo-Pacific with Australian, French counterparts Johannesburg: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday discussed issues related to the Indo-Pacific region with his Australian and French counterparts, Penny Wong and Jean-Noel Barrot, during a trilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting here.

FGN57 SAFRICA-G20

G20 calls for UN reforms, overhaul of Security Council Johannesburg: The G20 representatives, attending the first Foreign Ministers' meeting under by South Africa's presidency, on Friday reaffirmed the urgent need to reform the UN, including changes to the Security Council. By Fakir Hassen

FGN44 CHINA-XI-MILITARY-RULES

Xi passes new orders to transform China’s military into world-class armed force Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping issued fresh orders on Friday revising rules to transform the country's military into world-class armed forces, focusing on combat readiness and war preparation amid growing rivalry with the US and tensions over Taiwan and neighbours. By K J M Varma

ARD ARD

Source: PTI