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‘Kids coached to raise slogans to kill Modi’: Smriti Irani on Shaheen Bagh Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday defended the Citizenship Amended Act (CAA) saying she is proud of the fact it provides refuge to non-Muslims persecuted in a country such as Pakistan. “There have been cases where Sikh or Hindu girls have been raped and forced to marry her rapists. They are the kind of people who would want refuge in India. I am proud that this law that gives them the refuge they need,” Irani said at Hindustan Samagam in Lucknow. Source: Hindustan Times

Domicile law for J&K coming ‘very soon’: Jitendra Singh JAMMU: In a bid to address the concerns of the local populace after the revoking of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status last year, Union minister Jitendra Singh (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/jitendra-singh) on Saturday assured the people of the Union Territory (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Union-Territory) that the domicile law is coming “very soon” which would be followed by the Land Act. He also announced that more than the promised jobs will be provided to the youth after the notification of the rules is worked out. Source: Times of India

Nationalism being misused to construct ‘militant’ idea of India: Manmohan Singh Nationalism and the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are being misused to construct a “militant and purely emotional” idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday, in an apparent attack on the BJP. Addressing a gathering at the launch of a book on Jawaharlal Nehru’s works and speeches, Singh said that if India is recognised in the comity of nations as a vibrant democracy and, if it is considered as one of the important world powers, it was...

Scientists name newly-discovered species of snail after climate change activist Greta Thunberg A new species of snail has been named after Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg for her efforts to raise awareness about climate change, say researchers. The new species – Craspedotropis gretathunberga – is approximately 2mm long and 1mm wide with grey tentacles and a concave shell. The snail was discovered by a group of citizen scientists working together with scientists from Taxon Expeditions, a company which organises scientific field trips for teams consisting of both scientists and laypeople. Source: India Today

44-yr-old former teacher, Tatyana Bakalchuk, is now Russia’s richest woman with a fortune of $1.4 bn MOSCOW: The founder of an online fashion start-up is now Russia’s richest woman, dethroning the wife of a former Moscow mayor, the Russian edition of Forbes reported on Thursday. Tatyana Bakalchuk, 44, has amassed an estimated fortune of USD 1.4 billion, beating out 56-year-old Yelena Baturina’s USD 1.2 billion, it said. Bakalchuk’s success at the helm of her online retailer Wildberries is an anomaly in Russia where most fortunes stem from the rapid privatisation of state companies following the collapse of the Soviet Union....

Roger Stone: ‘Disgusted’ judge jails Trump ally Stone, 67, was found guilty in November on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. The judge said Stone threatened her, but Mr Trump said he should be cleared. He is the sixth Trump aide convicted on charges linked to a justice department inquiry that found Russian attempts to boost Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign. Source: BBC

India paying price for not sending Muslims to Pakistan: Giriraj Singh PATNA: The country is paying the price for failure to send Muslims to Pakistan and bring Hindus to India after the Islamic state came into being at the time of Independence, Union minister Giriraj Singh (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/GirirajSingh) has said, triggering a fresh controversy. The BJP leader made the remark in Purnea district in the Seemanchal region of Bihar which has a sizeable Muslim population and where the Begusarai MP was canvassing in favor of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Source: Times of India

Melania Trump to attend happiness class at Delhi govt school US First Lady Melania Trump will visit a Delhi government school during her brief visit to the capital next week, sources said. She is expected to attend a happiness curriculum class on Tuesday, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia are expected to accompany her. US President Donald Trump and Melania Trump will fly to Ahmedabad on February 24. They are then expected to travel to Agra and Delhi. Source: The Indian Express

After poll loss, Indian-origin Leo Varadkar quits as Ireland PM Leo Varadkar, who became the first Indian-origin prime minister of Ireland in 2017, resigned on Thursday night after his party failed to win a majority or emerge as the single largest party in the February 8 election that threw up a hung parliament. Varadkar, 41, will continue in the post until the next government takes over, an official announcement in Dublin said. Talks to form a coalition government are due to be held over three weeks, during which Varadkar will not be able to make major policy decisions. Source: Hindustan...

Thai court to decide fate of Thanathorn’s Future Forward Party Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand‘s Constitutional Court is set to issue on Friday its verdict on an electoral case that could lead to the possible dissolution of the country’s third-largest political bloc – an outcome that could push the country into another round of unrest. The Future Forward Party (FFP) and its leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, are accused of breaking election finance laws when he reportedly loaned 191.2 million-baht ($6.06m) to his party during the campaign last year. Source: Aljazeera