Here are the top headlines of the day:

  1. Over 470 Indians evacuated from Ukraine through Romania: Two Air India flights will leave for the Romanian Capital of Bucharest on Friday and will fly back on Saturday, government officials said.
  2. Russia says it is ready to hold talks if Ukrainian military “lays down arms”: Earlier in the day, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “sit down at the negotiating table”.
  3. BJP councillor bans ‘religious attire’ in South Delhi Municipal Corporation schools: Nitika Sharma, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party councillor from Delhi’s Dwarka, told officials that parents sending children to school in “religious attire” is “not right at all”. Such actions, she added, can build a “mentality of inequality”.
  4. Karnataka HC reserves verdict on pleas against hijab ban: The High Court, however, did not give a date for pronouncing its verdict. The parties in the case have been allowed to file their written submissions till the verdict date.
  5. Make your stand clear on legality of Bitcoin, Supreme Court tells Centre: Over the last few months, the government has indicated on multiple occasions that it was considering to put a ban on private cryptocurrencies. However, no decision has been taken on the matter yet.
  6. One civilian, two suspected militants killed in gunfight in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir: The police claimed that Shakeel Ahmad, a resident of the Ashimpora village, was killed as the militants opened fire at the security forces.
  7. CBI arrests former NSE official Anand Subramanian in 2018 case: The case pertains to allegations of preferential access to the National Stock Exchange’s algorithmic trading platform.
  8. Markets bounce back after seven-day losing streak as Sensex gains over 1,300 points: The 30-share BSE index gained 1,328.61 points, or 2.44%, to close at 55,858.52. The broader 50-share NSE Nifty ended at 16,658.40, rising by 410.45, or 2.53%, from the previous closing mark.
  9. All coronavirus restrictions to be lifted in Delhi from February 28: In a tweet, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that schools will operate only in offline mode from April 1. He also said that the fine for not wearing masks has been reduced to Rs 500, from the earlier penalty of Rs 2,000.
  10. Court issues notice to Assam DGP, state and national human rights panels on plea on police shootings: The plea in the Gauhati HC seeks an independent inquiry into more than 80 alleged encounters in which 28 people have been killed, according to the petitioner.