Feb 16 News Live: BJP, Cong cadres pelt stones over Shivaji-Tipu remarks, 9 hurt

Microsoft founder Bill Gates will visit Andhra Pradesh today (February 16) and hold discussions with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on expanding cooperation in health and artificial intelligence initiatives.

Gates will arrive at the state secretariat at Amaravati in the morning and meet CM Naidu, IT Minister Nara Lokesh and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan briefly.

The CM has requested Gates to expand ongoing health initiatives across the state and discussions will focus on AI as well.

The Gates Foundation has already been working in Kuppam in Chittoor district on health-related projects, and the talks are expected to explore scaling up these interventions to benefit a wider population across the southern state.

Later, Gates will proceed to Real Time Governance System (RTGS) to observe the utilisation of technology in governance, followed by Naidu showcasing the system’s procedures and results.

Following these engagements at the secretariat, Gates and his team will proceed to an agricultural centre in Undavalli village in Amaravati, where he will witness the use of drones and AI technology.

Passengers at Kochi airport staged a protest on Sunday (February 15) after an Air India flight to Kuwait was delayed due to technical issues.

According to a Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) spokesperson, the Air India flight scheduled to depart at 4.30 pm was unable to operate due to a technical snag, prompting protests from passengers.

The spokesperson said the technical issue was detected after the aircraft arrived at Kochi airport. The flight was reportedly rescheduled to depart at 9 am on Monday. Passengers demanded alternative arrangements following the delay.

A three-year-old boy allegedly drowned in an artificial pond at a photo studio on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Saturday (February 14).

The incident reportedly happened during a photo shoot in Giddenahalli under Madanayakanahalli police station limits on Saturday.

According to police, the incident occurred when the child, along with his mother, was visiting the studio for the latter’s friend’s maternity photo shoot.

When the woman was busy with her friend’s photoshoot, the child was playing nearby and reportedly slipped into the artificial water pond and drowned.

After some time, when the woman realized that her child was missing, she frantically searched for the boy along with others. They subsequently found him in the pool.

He was rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead. A case has been registered and investigation is underway.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday (February 15) congratulated the Indian cricket team for its thumping win over Pakistan in a T20 World Cup fixture in Colombo.

In a message on X, Shah said, “Well played #TeamIndia. Formats, places, and dates may change, but the result of #IndvsPak remains consistent. Congratulations to the entire team. #T20WorldCup.”

India stormed into Super Eight leg of the T20 World Cup with a 61-run decisive win over arch rival Pakistan on Sunday.

Four candidates from minority communities, including two Hindus, won in the recent general elections in Bangladesh, with all being nominees of the BNP, which is set to form the government on Tuesday (February 17).

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and Nitai Roy Chowdhury are the two Hindu candidates who won on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ticket. They won from a Dhaka seat and western Magura constituency defeating their rivals fielded by the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Roy is a member of the BNP’s highest policy-making standing committee while Chowdhury is one of prominent vice-presidents of the party as well as a senior advisor and strategist for its top leadership.

The third minority MP-elect is Saching Pru, a senior BNP leader and follower of Buddhist faith, representing Marma ethnic community in southeastern hill district of Bandarban, from where he was elected.

The fourth minority candidate, Dipen Dewan, belongs to the Buddhist majority Chakma ethnic minority group, who won from a constituency in southeastern Rangamati hill district. However, his religious identity is obscure with many describing him as a Hindu.

Hindus make up about eight per cent of the population in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.

North Korea has said it completed a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, the latest effort by leader Kim Jong Un to honour the war dead.

State media photos showed Kim Jong Un walking through the new street — called Saeppyol Street — and visiting the homes of some of the families with his increasingly prominent daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, as he pledged to repay the “young martyrs” who “sacrificed all to their motherland”.

In recent months, North Korea has intensified propaganda glorifying troops deployed to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, such as establishing a memorial wall and building a museum. Kim in recent months has sent thousands of troops and large quantities of military equipment, including artillery and missiles, to fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday (February 15) said “India stands as a global centre of goodwill and social harmony”, asserting that the country’s “civilisational ethos is rooted in a sense of oneness and mutual belonging rather than transactional relationships”.

Addressing a Samajik Sadbhav (social harmony) meeting organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Goraksh province at Baba Gambhirnath Auditorium in Taramandal in UP’s Gorakhpur to mark the organisation’s centenary year, Bhagwat said society is defined by interconnectedness and not by self-interest.

“In many countries, relationships are seen as transactions. In our country, human relationships are based on a sense of belonging,” he said.

Highlighting India’s diversity, Bhagwat said differences in customs, attire and traditions do not create divisions because of the underlying cultural unity.

“We consider Bharat as our mother. The same divine consciousness resides in everyone. That bond keeps us united despite our distinct identities,” he said.

He added that social harmony, not merely law enforcement, sustains society.

Referring to the RSS completing 100 years, Bhagwat said the milestone was not a matter of celebration but introspection.

He further called for block-level meetings two to three times a year to strengthen social cohesion and urged communities to work for the larger Hindu society beyond caste concerns.

BJP workers confronted Congress activists in Pune while protesting against Congress leader Harshwardhan Sapkal’s remarks “equating” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan, with the Opposition party alleging stone pelting during the agitation on Sunday (February 15).

Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma told reporters that three Congress workers, two BJP workers, two police personnel, and two journalists suffered minor injuries in the melee.

“A protest was held near the Congress Bhavan, which saw sloganeering from workers of BJP and Congress. Workers of both parties climbed onto walls and there was stone pelting from both sides,” Sharma informed.

A case was registered against workers of the BJP and Congress at Shivajinagar police station later in the evening.