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Catch all the important news updates from India and across the world
Here is the top, trending news of Sunday, February 8, 2026, including Indian politics, states' politics, geopolitics, federal issues, economics, development issues, sports, entertainment, and so on.
Read updates below.
Live Updates
- 8 Feb 2026 4:49 PM IST
BJP attacks Congress over links with Jamaat-e-Islami in Kerala
After the ruling CPI(M), the BJP in Kerala on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Congress, accusing it of closeness with Jamaat-e-Islami and alleging that the party was "whitewashing" communal forces.
Addressing reporters in Kozhikode, senior BJP leader K Surendran claimed that "sharia" (Islamic religious law) would be implemented in Kerala if the Congress and the Congress-led UDF came to power after the upcoming Assembly elections.
"The Congress has now adopted a blatant communal stand by whitewashing terrorist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami," he said in response to a question. Surendran further alleged that people in the state had been living under threat for the past 10 years during the rule of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government and claimed that a Congress-UDF government would create further problems.
His remarks came a day after the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala locked horns over Jamaat-e-Islami, with the ruling party accusing the opposition of colluding with communal forces and attempting to give them a "good certificate".
- 8 Feb 2026 4:47 PM IST
Palaniswami urges TN govt to release Mettur Dam water for Delta crops
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday demanded that the Tamil Nadu government immediately release water from the Mettur Dam to save standing paddy crops in the Delta region.
Speaking to reporters after interacting with distressed farmers in Thanjavur district, he stated that the paddy crops, currently in the flowering (milking) stage, require urgent irrigation for at least another 20 days to ensure a successful harvest.
"The farmers in the Delta region, particularly in Thanjavur, have invested heavily by taking loans to cultivate these crops. If water is not provided for the next 20 days, the paddy will wither and turn into chaff (pathir), leading to massive losses for the farming community," the former chief minister said.
During the interaction, emotional farmers showed Palaniswami their parched fields and withered stalks, pleading for intervention. Some farmers noted that they were forced to use motors to pump meager amounts of water to keep the crops alive, while others lamented that the cessation of water supply at a critical juncture had put their livelihoods at risk.
- 8 Feb 2026 3:58 PM IST
Adequate safeguards for India in trade agreement with US: Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said adequate safeguards are in place in the trade agreement with the US to protect the interests of farmers and the domestic industry from any significant increase in imports.
The trade deal with the US will "ultimately help our farmers", who are already exporting USD 50-55 billion worth of agricultural and fish products, he said. "This is a two-page document (the India-US joint statement)," he told PTI Videos in an interview.
The minister added that Indian goods will have a competitive advantage in the American market due to the 18 per cent tariff, as competitor nations such as China face tariffs as high as 35 per cent, while other countries are subject to levies of over 19 per cent.
Citing the example of the free trade agreement with the European Union, Goyal said he went to the Cabinet with a large set of documents related to the India-EU trade deal.
"So, it's a lot of things, which are yet to be brought in. And it cuts both ways. I'm sure the United States would equally want to safeguard, if we flood their market... It's something which is a normal outcome of any negotiation."
- 8 Feb 2026 3:54 PM IST
Private mini aircraft crashes, both occupants eject out
Two people, including the pilot, had a narrow escape when a private mini aircraft crashed into an open field in Karnataka's Vijayapura district on Sunday afternoon, police sources said.
The two-seater aircraft crashed at Mangaluru village in Babaleshwar Taluk of Vijayapura district, they said. Both the occupants ejected before it crashed, sources said, adding the aircraft broke into three pieces.
The duo sustained injuries and have been rushed to a hospital, they added. It is said that the training aircraft was said to be flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi, though more details are awaited.
- 8 Feb 2026 2:43 PM IST
SIT leaking information in Sabarimala gold case at behest of LDF govt: Adoor Prakash
UDF convenor Adoor Prakash on Sunday alleged that some officials in the SIT probing the Sabarimala gold loss case were leaking information to the media at the behest of the LDF government.
The Congress MP was responding to reporters’ questions regarding his recent interrogation by the Special Investigation Team over his alleged links with the prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty in the case.
The SIT, constituted following directions from the Kerala High Court, is probing two cases related to the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the doorframes of the sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at the hill shrine.
The team has arrested 12 persons so far, including two former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board, both associated with the CPI(M).
Prakash alleged that details of his interrogation were leaked by certain officials in the SIT who were specifically tasked with doing so. "I do not believe senior officers in the SIT did this. However, other officials were assigned specific duties, and according to those duties, information is being leaked," he claimed.
- 8 Feb 2026 2:26 PM IST
'Worse than C grade cinema': Gaurav on Himanta's allegations about his Pak links
Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday dismissed CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's allegations about his Pakistani connections as "most mindless and bogus".
Gogoi called the press conference, where Sarma made the allegations, "worse than C-grade cinema", which was "super flop".
"I pity the journalists from Delhi and Assam who had to suffer the most flop press conference of the century. This was worse than a C grade cinema. Most mindless and bogus points offered by the so called political shrewd Chief Minister," he said in a post on X.
"This #SuperFlop is in contrast to our #XomoyParivartanYatra which has been a hit in uncovering the 12,000 bighas of land occupied by the Chief Minister and his family members," he claimed.
Sarma alleged that Gogoi, his wife Elizabeth and a Pakistani national, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, have a "deeper connection", and information from IB was secretly provided to the neighbouring nation.
The CM also alleged that Gogoi undertook a "very confidential" visit to Pakistan in 2013 and is believed to have undergone "some kind of training" there.
- 8 Feb 2026 11:19 AM IST
Dalai Lama’s office denies Epstein link
The Dalai Lama’s office on Sunday (February 8) denied any connection with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a day after media reports claimed his name appeared 169 times in files released by the US Department of Justice."Some recent media reports and social media posts concerning the “Epstein files” are attempting to link His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Jeffrey Epstein. We can unequivocally confirm that His Holiness has never met Jeffrey Epstein or authorised any meeting or interaction with him by anyone on His Holiness’s behalf," the statement released by the office of Dalai Lama said. - 8 Feb 2026 7:23 AM IST
Washington Post publisher Will Lewis steps down after mass layoffs
Washington Post publisher Will Lewis said Saturday (February 7) that he’s stepping down, three days after the troubled newspaper said that it was laying off one-third of its staff.
The Post’s chief financial officer, Jeff D’Onofrio, was named acting publisher and CEO. He joined the newspaper only last June.
- 8 Feb 2026 7:20 AM IST
4 Indian students among several injured in Russia stabbing attack
Four Indians students were among at least six people injured in a stabbing attack on Saturday (February 7) at a university in Russia’s Bashkortostan Republic, the Indian mission said.
According to preliminary reports, a teenager armed with a knife entered a dormitory of the State Medical University in Ufa in the Bashkortostan Republic. He attacked the students living there and stabbed several of them, the Interior Ministry said.
The attacker, identified as a 15-year-old youth, has also been admitted to a local children’s hospital in serious condition, the Baza telegram channel said.
The Baza channel claimed that the attacker belonged to a banned neo-Nazi outfit.
- 8 Feb 2026 7:16 AM IST
2 dead, several feared trapped as three-storey building collapses in Kota
At least two people were killed and several others feared trapped when a three-storey building collapsed in Rajasthan’s Kota on Saturday (February 7) night.
The incident occurred in the Talwandi area, where a restaurant was operating in the building. Police and rescue teams hurried to the spot and launched a rescue operation.
Calling it a “major accident”, Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Madan Dilawar said, "There is information of two deaths so far, and nine people were hospitalised. Four of them are still in the hospital, while around four have either shifted to a private hospital or gone home.”
The cause of the collapse is being investigated, and a rescue operation is underway, he added.
According to initial information, some customers and employees were present in the restaurant at the time of the collapse.
Local MLA Sandeep Sharma, who reached the spot soon after the incident, said the building collapsed suddenly and there was a possibility that more people were trapped under the debris.
