Feb 9 News Live: Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm as Cong demands Rahul speak

Lok Sabha adjourned amid Congress protests over Rahul Gandhi’s floor time

As Lok Sabha proceedings resumed, Congress MPs again demanded that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, presiding over the House, said the party had nominated Shashi Tharoor to speak on the budget and that the LoP would be given time in due course. As Tharoor yielded the floor to the LoP, Tenneti adjourned the House until 2 pm.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon; Speaker Om BIrla slams Opposition

The Lok Sabha was adjourned until 12 noon, as Congress MPs disrupted proceedings demanding that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla criticised the Opposition for disrupting proceedings. Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that he felt the Congress leaders themselves did not want the House to function. He added that their behaviour, climbing onto the table, misbehaving with the Speaker, and entering the Speaker’s chamber, had hurt the Speaker and left everyone feeling very bad.

Kerala BJP chief writes to FM seeking withdrawal of directive on paddy bonus

Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking withdrawal of the direction issued by the Union Ministry of Finance to the state government to discontinue the additional bonus given to paddy farmers.

The LDF government and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have already come out criticising the direction, describing it as the Centre’s hostile attitude towards farmers and the state.

On January 9, V Vualnam, Secretary (Expenditure) in the Union Ministry of Finance, wrote to Kerala Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, asking the state to review its existing bonus policy and consider discontinuing the additional incentive, citing that rice stocks had exceeded the requirement for the Public Distribution System, creating a significant and recurring burden on the public exchequer.

In his letter addressed to Sitharaman, Chandrasekhar alleged that the state government largely neglected the concerns of paddy farmers, particularly regarding production costs, procurement mechanisms, and marketing support.

"The state government has failed to provide timely and adequate financial support to paddy farmers. As a result, many farmers are compelled to depend on private moneylenders to meet cultivation expenses, leading to increased indebtedness and severe financial stress," he said.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya detained for demonstration demanding affordable transport

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya was on Monday detained for staging a demonstration at Jayanagar Metro station demanding affordable public transport in the city, police said Surya, who is also the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national president, staged protest at the Metro Station against the Metro fare hike, which has been increased from Re one to Rs five depending on the distance.

The hike has now been put on hold. According to Surya, it happened after the Centre's intervention.

The MP staged demonstration with an empty trunk to convey that the state government's promises are empty trunk. The protest was also in response to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's statement that Surya is an empty trunk who is more active on social media and not on the ground.

Speaking to PTI after being detained, Surya said, "Just because we are asking for affordable public transport and accountability, the government is forcing arrest and detention. It's shameful." He said that instead of providing roads, infrastructure and better amenities, the state government is "arresting" him.

Bomb scare at over 10 Delhi schools; search ops underway

At least 10 schools in the national capital received bomb threat emails on Monday, triggering massive security movement, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said.

According to the DFS, emergency calls were received from multiple educational institutions across different parts of the city in the morning hours, following which fire tenders and bomb disposal teams were rushed to the locations.

"A total of 10 schools received bomb threats today. Fire service teams immediately reached the premises. Checking is underway," a DFS official said. The schools were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Bomb detection and disposal squads, along with dog squads, are carrying out extensive searches. 

Tension grips Manipur's Ukhrul after militants set ablaze several houses

Armed militants allegedly torched several houses in Manipur's Ukhrul district, as tensions simmered in the area after a Tangkhul Naga community member was “assaulted” by a group of people, officials said on Monday. Two tribal groups had on Sunday evening engaged in intense stone pelting at Litan village in the district, prompting the administration to clamp prohibitory orders, they said.

Around midnight on Monday, several houses of Tangkhul Naga community members were set on fire at Litan Sareikhong, allegedly by Kuki militants. A few houses of those belonging to the Kuki community were also torched in a nearby area, the officials said.

Tangkhul is the largest Naga tribe in Manipur. Litan Sareikhong is a Kuki village. "The damages are being ascertained, and the situation remains tense," a district official told PTI.

Video footage doing the rounds show armed men setting fire to houses and vehicles in the village, and militants wearing camouflage firing with sophisticated weapons in the air.

France's former culture minister resigns over Epstein-linked tax fraud probe

France's former Culture Minister Jack Lang has resigned as head of a Paris cultural centre over alleged past financial links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that prompted a tax investigation.

He is the highest-profile figure in France impacted by the release of Epstein files on January 30 by the US Department of Justice. He is known for his role as a culture minister under Socialist President François Mitterrand in the 1980s and 1990s.

Lang, 86, was summoned to appear at the French Foreign Ministry, which oversees the Arab World Institute, on Sunday, but he submitted his resignation. The Foreign Ministry confirmed his resignation Saturday evening.

He “is very sad and deeply hurt to be leaving a position he loves,” his lawyer Laurent Merlet said Sunday on RTL radio. “He put the interests of the Arab World Institute first,” Merlet said, adding that his client denied the allegations and called them inaccurate.

UP businessman's son ploughs speeding Lamborghini into people in Kanpur; six injured

At least six people were injured on Sunday after a speeding Lamborghini, allegedly driven by the son of a prominent tobacco trader, rammed into pedestrians and two-wheelers on the VIP Road in Kanpur's upscale Gwaltoli area, police said.

"The accident occurred around 3.15 pm near Rev-3 Mall when the luxury car, reportedly driven by Shivam Mishra, the son of businessman K K Mishra, went out of control and ploughed into people standing along the roadside and several vehicles, triggering panic in the area," DCP (Central) Atul Kumar Srivastava said.

Eyewitnesses said the car first hit an auto-rickshaw and then crashed into a parked Royal Enfield motorcycle, flinging its rider nearly 10 feet into the air. The car mounted the motorcycle's front wheel and dragged it for some distance before hitting an electric pole and coming to a halt.

One of the injured, Taufiq, a resident of Yamunaganj, was thrown several metres and suffered serious leg injuries, police said. Others sustained fractures and bruises.

Angry locals gathered at the spot and surrounded the car, forcing the driver to remain inside. Witnesses alleged that private bouncers accompanying the accused tried to push back the crowd and behaved aggressively, escalating tensions.

Suspect in shooting of senior Russian general detained

Russian authorities said Sunday that the man suspected of shooting a deputy chief of Russia's military intelligence agency in Moscow was detained in Dubai and handed over to Russia, and they alleged he was working on behalf of Ukraine.

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev was hospitalised after being shot several times Friday by an assailant at an apartment building in northwestern Moscow, Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said. The attack followed a series of assassinations of senior military officers that Russia has blamed on Ukraine.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) said a Russian citizen, Lyubomir Korba, was detained in Dubai on suspicion of carrying out the shooting. In a statement on its website, FSB said it had also identified two “accomplices,” one of whom was detained in Moscow and another who “left for Ukraine.” Russia's Investigative Committee said Sunday on Telegram that Korba arrived in Moscow in December “on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services to commit a terrorist attack.” Asked about the shooting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday it would be up to law enforcement agencies to pursue the investigation but described it as an apparent “terrorist act” by Ukraine intended to derail peace talks.

Israel's security cabinet approves measures to strengthen control over West Bank

Israel's security cabinet on Sunday approved measures that aim to deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.

The office of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a statement announced the decisions that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to force Palestinians to give up land, adding that “we will continue to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.” Yonatan Mizrachi, a researcher with the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now, called the decision “very significant.” He said the decision still requires approval by Israel's top commander for the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement called the decision “dangerous” and an “open Israeli attempt to legalise settlement expansion” and land confiscation. He called for the United States and UN Security Council to intervene immediately.

Jordan's foreign ministry condemned the decision, which it said was “aimed at imposing illegal Israeli sovereignty” and entrenching settlements.