A look at the headlines right now: Modi gets SOS call from ship stranded over coronavirus risk, and 9 other top stories

  1. Indian chef appeals to Modi from cruise ship quarantined off Japan coast due to coronavirus outbreak: So far, the virus has killed 908 people in China, and 910 worldwide.
  2. Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of amendments to SC/ST Act: The bench said the provisions related to anticipatory bail must be exercised sparingly and in exceptional cases where no prima facie case is made out.
  3. More than 10 Jamia students injured as Delhi Police stop CAA protest march to Parliament: The altercation occurred when a few protestors attempted to jump over barricades.
  4. Supreme Court expresses concern about presence of children at Shaheen Bagh protests: The court took suo motu cognisance of the matter, and sent notices to the Centre and the Delhi government. In another hearing, the top court asked how public roads could be blocked for so long.
  5. Omar Abdullah’s detention under PSA challenged by his sister in Supreme Court: The top court has agreed to consider the request for an urgent hearing in the matter.
  6. After ruckus in Parliament, social justice minister says Centre not a party in SC order on quotas: In Rajya Sabha, Congress leader P Chidambaram said the government was ‘living in denial’ on the state of economy and was unwilling to admit its mistakes.
  7. SC says questions of law can be referred to a larger bench even in Sabarimala review pleas: On February 6, the nine-judge bench had reserved its order on the preliminary question whether a reference is possible in a review petition.
  8. Outsiders behind Gargi College episode, says HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal amid students’ protest: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for stringent punishment against the accused.
  9. Police detain journalist covering anti-CAA protest in Hyderabad, claim he was the ‘brainchild’: Mubashir Khurram said one police officer asked him why they (Muslims) were protesting against the CAA and NRC when they had over 50 countries to go to.
  10. ‘Parasite’ owns the Oscars night with four awards, including Best Picture: The film ‘1917’ got three awards, and ‘Joker’ and ‘Ford V Ferrari two each.