LIVE News Updates: 2 killed, 11 injured  in firecrackers explosion during religious procession in Punjab

Amritsar IG-border range Sarinderpal Singh Parmar says: 2 people have been killed in the accidental explosion and 11 have been injured. The numbers given by the SSP was according to the eyewitnesses.

Two people are trapped as a three-storey commercial building collapsed on the outskirts of the city in Punjab on Saturday, police said.

There were "17 deaths, 14 wounded," said an unnamed official from Bangkok's Erawan Center -- the dispatch centre for the nationwide emergency services who collate hospital information.

Earthquake of magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale hit Bongaigaon in Assam.

Tarn Taran SSP Dhruv Dahiya says, During nagar kirtan, firecrackers were being burnt using explosive material because of which tractor-trolley exploded accidentally. According to eyewitnesses,14-15 individuals died on spot & 3 have been admitted to hospital in critical condition.

15 killed and several injured in a firecracker explosion during a religious procession in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district on Saturday, according to TV reports

Firecrackers, being carried in a tractor trolley, exploded during the 'nagar kirtan' (religious procession) near Pahu village in Tarn Taran.

"One person has died and many are injured in the explosion," Punjab Inspector General of Police (Border Range) SPS Parmar told PTI over phone.

During the procession, crackers were being burst by people. The explosion took place when sparks from the crackers landed on the tractor-trolley, they said.

Jammu & Kashmir: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar who is in detention, has been booked under Public Safety Act (PSA).

A Delhi court on Saturday sent Shaheen Bagh shooter, Kapil Baisala (Gujjar), to judicial custody till February 20.

Kapil, who belongs to east Delhi's Dallu Pura area, had on February 1 fired three bullets in the air after warning anti-CAA protesters to disperse. He also shouted communal slogans.

After his arrest, Kapil was sent to police custody thrice and was produced before Delhi's Saket Court on Saturday at the end of his remand period.

The Pakistani army violated the ceasefire on Saturday by resorting to unprovoked firing of small arms and mortar shelling on forward villages and posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a defence spokesperson said.

The Indian Army mounted an effective retaliation and cross-border firing between the two sides was underway when last reports were received, he said.

"Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars in Degwar sector around 3.45 pm," he said.

The spokesperson said there was no report of any casualty in the Pakistani shelling.

Former Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Mubarak Gul and National Conference leader Tanvir Sadiq, who had been under detention since August 5 after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, were released from MLA Hostel in Srinagar on Saturday.

Earlier, People's Conference President Sajad Lone and PDP leader Waheed Para were released from detention on Wednesday, while former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers - Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), on Thursday.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah continues to be in detention at his home at Gupkar Road in Srinagar which has been designated as a sub-jail.

Omar Abdullah is detained at Hari Niwas and Mehbooba Mufti has been kept in a government building on the Maulana Azad road in Srinagar.

A total of 35 mainstream politicians were moved from the Centaur Hotel on the banks of the Dal Lake to the MLA hostel in November 2019.

The CAG has expressed apprehension that debt repayment can strain the Goa government's budgets in future, and suggested that it work out a strategy to avoid a debt trap.

Much of the fresh debt was being used to repay earlier liabilities, it observed.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report for 2017-18 in the Legislative Assembly on Friday.

As per the report, the state was liable to repay Rs 888 crore in 2018-19, Rs 1,676 crore in 2019-2020 and Rs 2,126 in 2021-22.

This may put a strain on the state's future budgets, it said.

The CAG also said that Rs 7,093.41 crore, which is 52.11 per cent of the total public debt, would be repayable within the next seven years.

Himanshu Jain, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mohali: Two persons have been rescued. 6-7 persons still feared trapped under the debris. NDRF team & other support staff carrying out search and rescue operation.

Punjab: A three-storey building collapses in Mohali, several feared trapped under debris. Rescue operation underway.

J&K Police: Budgam Police today busted a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) module active in Chadoora area of Budgam and arrested 3 terror associates affiliated with the banned terror organization. Arrested accused have been identified as Amir Shafi Dar, Shabir Ahmed Ganie & Mudasir Ahmed Khan.

The BJP-led NDA government has proved to be incompetent and helpless in managing the economy, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram alleged on Saturday.

Hitting out at the Centre, Chidambaram, who spoke on the Union Budget at a programme organised by the party here, alleged the Modi government was like a helpless doctor who failed to diagnose the illness of a patient and treat him effectively.

"Altogether, the bottomline is we have a patient who is extremely ill. Doctor has proved himself incompetent.

Diagnosis of the doctor is hopelessly wrong," the former union finance minister said.

People who diagnosed the illness correctly like Dr Arvind Subramanian, former Chief Economic Adviser, were allowed to go from the government, he said.

"Not having diagnosed the illness of the patient, the doctor is helpless.

The least the doctor can do is to say...I am sorry. We made mistake, will Dr Manmohan Singh come and advise us," he said.

Train services would be disrupted in the Sealdah Main section between February 9 and 16 owing to the commissioning of an automatic signalling system between Ichhapur and Naihati stations, an Eastern Railway official said here on Saturday.

Passengers, especially daily commuters, would be hugely inconvenienced next week, as at least 318 suburban EMUs have been cancelled and several express trains diverted in the busy Sealdah division.

"The Eastern Railway has announced the cancellation of 50 local trains every day between February 10 and 15 in the Main section of the division, including Sealdah-Naihati and Sealdah-Kalyani locals, owing to the automation work of the signalling system.

Manipur: In a joint operation, Assam Rifles along with Police today busted an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Thoubal & recovered around 49 kgs of brown sugar (solid&liquid), 8 kgs of marijuana including equipment & chemicals used for processing of drugs.

Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh(East) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to visit Varanasi tomorrow to attend a Sant Shiromani Ravidas Jayanti Program.

Madhya Pradesh former BJP corporator says, "BJP has moved away from the real issues. It's doing only communal politics. GDP is going doing, inflation is rising but the party is bringing laws that create rift between people of all religions".

Amritsar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has put up notices in Golden Temple (Sri Harmandir Sahib) reading,'TikTok is prohibited here' after some TikTok videos were made inside Temple premises.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa covering the entire expanse of bilateral ties between the two countries including in areas of defence and security.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, elder brother of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, arrived here on Friday on a five-day visit, his first overseas tour after being appointed as prime minister of the island nation in November last year.

Officials said a range of key bilateral issues, including trade and investment, as well as defence and security figured in the talks between the two prime ministers.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the Sri Lankan prime minister.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed issues relating to development partnership and security cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, elder brother of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, arrived here on Friday on a five-day trip, his first overseas visit after being appointed as prime minister of the island nation in November last year.

Officials said a number of issues relating to defence, security and trade figured in the meeting between the Sri Lankan prime minister and Jaishankar.

After his official engagement in Delhi, Rajapaksa will travel to Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya and Tirupati.

Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurates heli-service from Dehradun to Chinyalisour and Gauchar.

The parents of a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl, who was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to her abductor, will approach the Supreme Court after a lower court ruled that marriage with an underage girl is valid as per the Sharia law if she has had her first menstrual cycle.

Huma was 14 when she was abducted in October last year and forced to marry her abductor Abdul Jabbar after being converted to Islam, according to her parents Younis and Nagheena Masih.

Karnataka: Puja and Bhoota Bhairavi Yagna were held at Durga Parameshwari Temple and Shaneshwara Temple in Tumakuru last night, seeking protection from Novel Coronavirus

Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor smashed half-centuries to power New Zealand to a competitive 273 for eight in the second ODI of the three-match series at Eden Park here on Saturday.

Put in to bat, Guptill scored a run-a-ball 79 and alongwith his opening partner Herny Nicholls (41) shared a 93-run partnership but the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets for 26 runs to slip to 197 for 8 at one stage.

Yuzvendra Chahal (3/58) claimed three wickets, Shardul Thakur (2/60) took two wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja (1/35) snapped one and effected a run-out to put the hosts in a spot of bother in the middle but Ross Taylor's brilliance saw them post a good score.

Taylor, who had scored a century in the first ODI, played a unbeaten knock of 73 off 74 balls and added 76 runs with debutant Kyle Jamieson (25 not out) to take New Zealand across the 250-mark.

A Japanese man with a suspected coronavirus infection has died in hospital in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the Japanese foreign ministry said Saturday.

The man in his 60s had been hospitalised due to severe pneumonia and the hospital reported his death to the Japanese embassy in China, the ministry said in a statement.

Chinese medical authorities said the man was highly likely to have been infected with the new coronavirus but "it is difficult to make a definitive judgement," the statement said.

His cause of death was given as viral pneumonia, it added.

The man would be the first Japanese victim of the outbreak if his infection is confirmed.

An Indian-American woman, who raised her voice against alleged discrimination in admission of Asians in IV League schools, has announced that she will run for US House of Representatives, saying she wants to be a “voice, not a noise” for the community particularly the Hindus in the US.

Andhra Pradesh-born Manga Anantatmula, who worked as a federal government contractor in defence acquisitions programme management, has already become a presumptive nominee of Republican party from the 11th Congressional District of Virginia, making her the first Indian origin candidate to run for the House of Representatives from there.

Navi Mumbai: Fire boke out at high-rise apartment building at Sector 44 Nerul Seawoods; Fire tenders present at the spot.

Fire broke out at a car service centre in Musheerabad area, early morning today; Fire has been doused now.

Fire breaks out at high-rise apartment building at Sector 44 Nerul Seawoods; Fire tenders present at the spot

A case has been registered against the organisers and 300 women who are protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC at Nagpada in central Mumbai for the past two weeks, an official said.

A complaint was filed on Friday evening at the Nagpada police station by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) assistant commissioner.

The complaint stated that the civic body was not able to carry out construction work on the Morland Road as the protesters had set up a stage and put chairs on the road, and also obstructed traffic movement in the area, an official said.

The police registered a case under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as section 313, 314 of the BMC Act, the official said.

Hundreds of women have participated in the protest on Morland Road at Nagpada since Republic Day against the amended citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protest is similar to the one held at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

Large number of people, activists, celebrities from other parts of the city and various fields were also coming in support of the protests, following which all the activities on the roads were on halt since the past two weeks, the official said.

Two days ago, a photojournalist, who was trying to enter the area for photographs, was thrashed by the police.