Feb 26 News Live: Rahul Gandhi alleges US pressure on PM over trade deal
Catch all the important news updates from India and across the world
Here is the top, trending news of Thursday, February 26, 2026, including Indian politics, states' politics, geopolitics, federal issues, economics, development issues, sports, entertainment, and so on.
Read updates below.
Live Updates
- 26 Feb 2026 1:27 PM IST
Eight tigers dead in Bandhavgarh reserve in over 2 months: Report
According to a report presented to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve has lost eight tigers, four of which were due to electrocution, in just two-and-a-half months between 2025 and early 2026.
The status report, which was submitted by the field director of the protected forest, said while four big cats died within the animal's reserve, as many died in the “general forest area”.
The cause of death for all four tigers within the tiger reserve was natural, while electrocution killed the remaining four in the general forest area, the report revealed. It said the carcasses of all the dead animals were completely intact.
The report was submitted to a division bench of the HC on Wednesday (February 25) in response to a petition that claimed deaths of tigers under suspicious circumstances in MP’s forests.
- 26 Feb 2026 12:34 PM IST
Modi visits Israeli tech innovation exhibition, invites firms to invest in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Israeli technology companies to invest in India and partner with Indian youth as he visited an exhibition here showcasing pioneering innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, and agriculture.
Modi was accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the visit to the exhibition on Wednesday.
In a social media post on Thursday, Modi said the exhibition showcased "special innovations" from the world of technology.
"Got a glimpse of pioneering work by Israeli youth in areas such as AI, Quantum, healthcare, cyber security, water resources, agriculture and more. Urged Israeli companies to invest in India and work with our talented youth," he said.
According to a press release, the exhibition featured leading Israeli companies and research entities specialising in agri-tech, water-tech, climate-tech, health-biotech, smart mobility, AI, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies.
"Innovation and technology partnership is a key pillar of India-Israel bilateral ties. The two countries are working together to build solutions to address modern-day challenges through the 'India-Israel Innovation Bridge' initiative," it said.
During the walk-through, PM Modi interacted with scientists, tech entrepreneurs and chief executives of several companies.
- 26 Feb 2026 12:16 PM IST
Canadian PM Carney begins 4-day India visit on Friday
India on Thursday (February 26) said the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney next week will provide an opportunity to advance a forward-looking partnership between the two nations. Carney will undertake a four-day visit to India beginning Friday, in his first trip to the country as the prime minister.
The visit is largely aimed at imparting a new momentum to the bilateral ties that came under severe strain following a diplomatic row over the killing of a Khalistani separatist in 2023. The Canadian prime minister's first stop will be Mumbai, where he will participate in separate business engagements, interact with top Indian and Canadian corporate leaders, financial experts and innovators. Carney will arrive in New Delhi on Sunday, and the two prime ministers will hold wide-ranging talks on Monday.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both leaders will review the progress achieved till date across diverse areas of the India-Canada Strategic Partnership, building on their earlier meetings in Kananaskis in June last and Johannesburg in November last. "The visit comes at an important juncture in normalisation of India-Canada bilateral relations," the ministry said. "The two prime ministers have earlier agreed to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership grounded in mutual respect for each other's concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties, and growing economic complementarities.
"The forthcoming meeting between the leaders will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the positive momentum and shared vision of India and Canada in building a forward-looking partnership," the MEA said in a statement.
26 Feb 2026 12:13 PM ISTSalim Khan’s health is improving, says Aamir Khan
Superstar Aamir Khan has said he has been touch with the family of veteran screenwriter Salim Khan and they told him that his health is improving.
Aamir, a close friend of Salim Khan’s superstar son Salman Khan, said he recently went to visit the 90-year-old writer at Lilavati Hospital here but could not meet him as he is in the ICU. “I went to meet Salim Sahab, and we are all praying that he recovers soon. Since he is in the ICU, I couldn’t meet him personally, but I sat with the family. “Alvira ji tells me every day that his health is improving. We are all praying that he returns home soon and that his health fully recovers,” the actor told reporters on Wednesday evening.Salim Khan is best known for his iconic writing partnership with Javed Akhtar. The celebrated duo, known as Salim-Javed, penned some of Hindi cinema's most popular films, including “Sholay”, “Deewar”, “Zanjeer” and “Don”. He was admitted to the ICU of Lilavati hospital in Bandra on Tuesday. Dr Jalil D Parkar, who has been treating Salim Khan with the other doctors, said last week that the screenwriter suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been treated, and he is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable. The doctors have since then refrained from giving any statement about Salim Khan’s health to maintain the privacy of the family.Aamir was talking on the sidelines of the prize distribution ceremony of a photo competition at the Press Club of Mumbai.“In the beginning, I would get upset that everywhere (we’ve to give) photos but as time passed, I realised that they wait for hours, sometimes they don’t even get to eat something, it hurts me then. Since then, I’ve never said no to photographers for a photo wherever they meet me,” he said.- 26 Feb 2026 11:17 AM IST
Anil Ambani appears before ED in money laundering case
Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for a second round of questioning in connection with an alleged bank fraud-linked money laundering case.
The 66-year-old businessman entered the federal probe agency's office in central Delhi around 10.30 am.
Officials in the agency said they will record his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was first questioned by the ED in August 2025.
The probe pertains to an alleged over Rs 40,000 crore worth bank fraud by his group company, Reliance Communications (RCOM).
Ambani and his multiple group companies are facing allegations of loan fraud, and the ED recently constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all these instances. The SIT was formed on the recent directions of the Supreme Court.
The ED on Wednesday attached Ambani's Mumbai house, 'Abode', worth Rs 3,716 crore under the anti-money laundering law.
According to information furnished by the ED to the apex court, it has filed three money laundering cases against the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) to investigate charges of bank loan fraud and other financial irregularities.
- 26 Feb 2026 10:34 AM IST
Stock markets trade higher in early deals on buying in IT shares, fresh foreign fund inflows
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty climbed in early trade on Thursday led by buying in IT stocks and fresh foreign fund inflows.
A rally in the US markets also helped the benchmark indices build gains during initial trading.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 303 points to 82,579.16 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up 85.1 points to 25,567.60.
From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Eternal, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti were among the biggest gainers.
InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 5,118.57 crore.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 were trading in positive territory, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower.
The US market ended higher on Wednesday.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.25 per cent to USD 71.03 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex ended 50.15 points, or 0.06 per cent, higher at 82,276.07. The Nifty went up by 57.85 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 25,482.50.
- 26 Feb 2026 10:33 AM IST
Rupee rises 6 paise to 90.85 against US dollar in early trade
The rupee rose 6 paise to 90.85 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday on the back of a weaker greenback and FII inflows.
A positive start to the session at the domestic equity markets lent further support to the local unit while a rise in global crude oil prices, coupled with geopolitical uncertainties, capped sharp gains, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.86 against the greenback before inching up to 90.85, higher by 6 paise from its previous close.
The rupee stayed range-bound and settled with a gain of 4 paise at 90.91 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
- 26 Feb 2026 10:33 AM IST
Two people killed in hit-and-run accident in Kerala
Two people died after the scooter they were travelling on was hit by an unidentified vehicle at Muvattupuzha here, police said on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Muthu Raju (29) of Palanimedu in Chamarajanagar district and Sharavana D (24) of Periyapatna in Mysuru district, Karnataka.
According to police, Raju was working as a crane operator here.
The accident occurred at around 11.15 pm on Wednesday.
The FIR stated that the two were travelling on a scooter when an unidentified vehicle hit them at Pallithazham here.
Locals found the duo lying on the road and rushed them to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead, police said.
Muvattupuzha police on Thursday registered a case and began an investigation to trace the vehicle involved in the accident, officials said.
The bodies will be handed over to their relatives after the postmortem examination, police added.
- 26 Feb 2026 10:33 AM IST
Delhi min temp 12.6 deg Celsius; air 'poor'
The national capital on Thursday recorded a minimum temperature of 12.6 degrees Celsius, 0.1 notch above the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 31 degrees Celsius.
Relative humidity was recorded at 86 per cent at 8:30 am.
The air quality was recorded in the "poor" category at 9 am on Thursday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 201, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
- 26 Feb 2026 10:16 AM IST
Canada says 'India no longer linked to violent crimes in the country'
In a marked change of tone, Canada’s federal government now says it does not believe India is currently connected to violent crimes on Canadian soil. The shift was conveyed by a senior official during a media briefing ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s nine-day trip to Mumbai and New Delhi, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say we're confident that that activity is not continuing," the official said. Another added, "I really don't think we'd be taking this trip if we thought these kinds of activities were continuing." as quoted by ANI.
Relations had plunged after the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. Justin Trudeau later cited "credible" intelligence linking Indian agents to the death, a charge India denied. The fallout saw diplomats expelled and investigations widened.
Former adviser Jody Thomas said security concerns remain "a live issue." Meanwhile, both sides plan deeper cooperation, including liaison officers for criminal probes.
