A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Labelling dissent as ‘anti-national’ strikes at the heart of democracy, says Justice Chandrachud: He said that democracy is judged not just by the institutions that exist but by the extent to which different voices are heard, respected and accounted for.  
  2. India tells Turkish president not to interfere in its affairs after he backs Pakistan on Kashmir: Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed concern about ‘the struggle of Kashmiris’ in a speech in the Pakistani Parliament.
  3. Shah Faesal, in detention since August in Kashmir, now booked under Public Safety Act: The bureaucrat-turned-politician was detained at the Delhi airport in August before he was scheduled to fly abroad.
  4. Ahead of India visit, Trump tweets, ‘I am No. 1 on Facebook, Modi is No. 2’: Donald Trump will meet Narendra Modi when he travels to India on February 24 and 25.  
  5. Siddarmaiah, other Karnataka Congress leaders detained while marching to CM’s office: Dinesh Gundu Rao and K Suresh tried to jump the barricades set up by the police.  
  6. First coronavirus death reported outside Asia as 80-year-old man succumbs in France: Meanwhile, 17 people, out of a large number who had returned from China to New Delhi and other affected countries, have been hospitalised.  
  7. Anti-CAA protests erupt across Tamil Nadu a day after Chennai Police baton charge demonstrators: Several Opposition parties condemned the police action, but the BJP, an ally of the ruling AIADMK, blamed the ‘rioters’.  
  8. After SC order, Vodafone Idea flags concerns over continuation of business in India: The telecom major said it was assessing the amount that can be paid towards the adjusted gross revenue to the Centre before March 17.  
  9. Four children killed as school van catches fire in Punjab’s Sangrur district: The vehicle was carrying 12 students. The remaining eight children were rescued by people working in nearby fields.  
  10. Shaheen Bagh, Park Circus protestors are being given money and fed biryani, says Bengal BJP chief: Dilip Ghosh called the protestors uneducated, ordinary, poverty-stricken people who ‘lack consciousness’.