The big news: Bengal’s next CM will not be an ‘outsider’, says Amit Shah, and nine other top stories
Other headlines: Nepal will hold snap polls in April-May as PM Oli dissolved the Parliament, and UK said the new coronavirus strain was ‘out of control’.
A look at the headlines right now:
- Amit Shah asks West Bengal voters to give PM Modi a chance, vows to end ‘Bangladeshi infiltration’: The home minister said that the yearning for change was not about replacing a political leader but “getting rid of corruption, political violence, extortion and Bangladeshi infiltration”. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien conducted a “fact-check” on one of Shah’s speeches.
- Nepal president approves Cabinet’s recommendation to dissolve Parliament, polls in April-May: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was reportedly under pressure to withdraw an ordinance related to the Constitutional Council Act.
- Netherlands, Belgium ban flights from UK as new coronavirus strain looks ‘out of control’: France, Italy and Germany are planning to take similar actions.
- At 3.4 degrees Celsius, Delhi records coldest morning this season: IMD regional head Kuldeep Srivastava said that cold wave conditions were likely to persist over the Capital for a few days.
- Agriculture minister to meet farmers in two days to end their stir, says Amit Shah: The protestors gave a call for a daylong hunger strike on Monday. Farmers also held prayer meetings across the country to pay their respects to the protestors who died during the ongoing agitation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Gurdwara Rakabganj in Delhi to pay tributes to Guru Tegh Bahadur.
- Nirav Modi’s brother charged with committing $2.6 million fraud in US: Nehal Modi allegedly made ‘false representations’ to obtain the gems from LLD Diamonds USA on credit terms and then liquidated them for his own end.
- Donald Trump downplays cyberattacks on US agencies, claims China responsible for hacks: In a series of tweets, which were flagged by the microblogging website, Trump scoffed at the focus on the Kremlin and downplayed the intrusions.
- Design for Ayodhya mosque, hospital unveiled: A community kitchen and a modern library will also be set up in the complex.
- Afghanistan armed forces kill 74 Taliban terrorists in Kandahar: The terrorists were planning to attack positions held by the Afghanistan National Defence and Security Forces.
- India records 26,624 new coronavirus cases, 341 deaths in 24 hours: The number of active cases are 3,05,344, and 95,80,402 patients have recovered from the disease. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said wearing masks will be mandatory for the next six months in the state