Feb 12 News Live: BJP MP Dubey moves substantive motion against Rahul Gandhi

Trade union strike disrupts normal life in Kerala, transport services hit

The nationwide strike called by trade unions against the Centre's Labour Codes brought normal life to a standstill across Kerala on Thursday.

Though the state government declared a dies-non for government employees, attendance at offices was expected to remain low as transport vehicles remained off the roads.

The General Administration Department of the state government issued an order stating that unauthorised absence of an officer on account of the strike shall be treated as “dies-non”.

The pay for the day on which the strike is taking place will be withheld from the salary if officials do not report for duty, the order said.

No leave would be granted to teachers and government employees except in cases of personal illness or illness of close relatives, examinations, maternity leave or other unavoidable reasons, the order added.

Apart from government offices, shops and businesses were also likely to remain closed due to the nationwide 24-hour strike.

Travellers were among the worst affected, with KSRTC and private buses remaining off the roads.

Customs seize narcotics worth Rs 3.43 cr at Bengaluru airport

The Bengaluru Customs officials have announced that narcotic substances worth over Rs 3.43 crore were seized at the Kempegowda International Airport in two separate incidents, and two passengers were arrested in connection with the smuggling attempts.

In a post on its official ‘X’ handle, the department stated that in the first case, officers intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok and seized 9.7 kg of hydroponic ganja, valued at Rs 3.39 crore, concealed inside checked-in baggage.

In another operation on the same day, Customs said it “intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok and seized 1.7 kg of hashish/charas, valued at Rs 4.25 lakh, concealed inside candy/sweet packets.” Both the accused were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. 

DMK not dependent on Cong alliance, CM will decide, says TN Minister

Senior DMK leader R S Rajakannappan has signalled a firm, self-reliant stance regarding the party's partnership with the Congress, asserting that the DMK cannot conduct its political activities by relying on alliances.

Speaking at an event here on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu Minister for Forests and Khadi remarked that while CM Stalin will handle matters concerning the coalition, the party’s attitude remains: “If they come, let them come; if they go, let them go”.

Kannappan emphasised that the status of the alliance is ultimately the “Chief Minister’s preference”. He framed this position within the broader history of the Dravidian movement, noting that the party's success is rooted in its service to the grassroots rather than a dependence on other political entities.

Turning his attention to the opposition, the Minister asserted that the BJP cannot gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu. He further claimed that the AIADMK is effectively a "finished force".

Czech woman tourist assaulted in Goa; accused held within 24 hours

A 22-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman tourist from the Czech Republic at Agonda Beach in Goa’s Kushavati district, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place around 10.15 am on February 9 at Agonda Cliff, where the accused allegedly picked up an argument with the tourist and assaulted her with fists and a stone, causing grievous injuries, they said.

A complaint was filed at Canacona police station on February 10, following which an offence was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 117-2 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt). It was immediately not clear what triggered the argument.

“At the time of the incident, the identity of the accused was unknown and we had only a faint description provided by the victim. Despite limited inputs, our team launched an intensive investigation,” a senior police official said.

Lokayukta sleuths raid premises of four govt officials in Karnataka

The Lokayukta sleuths on Thursday carried out simultaneous searches at several premises linked to four government officers in Karnataka.

According to Lokayukta, the raids targeted properties in Bengaluru, Davangere and Dharwad as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities. Officials under investigation include H M Janardhan, Superintendent Engineer in Karnataka Residential Educational in Bengaluru and Arjun R H, Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) in Bescom, Davangere. 

Italian daily claims probe may point to pilot action in Air India AI 171 crash

An Italian newspaper has claimed that Indian investigators, in their final report, are reportedly preparing to state that the Air India AI 171 crash occurred after one of the pilots allegedly turned off the fuel switches intentionally.

According to a report by Italy-based Corriere della Sera, which cited Western aviation agencies, investigators reportedly did not find any technical defect. The cockpit voice recordings have allegedly identified which pilot turned off the fuel switches, the newspaper claimed.

Air India's London-bound Boeing 787-8 flight AI171, was operated by pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder. The crash took place soon after the plane took off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board. Among the 241 dead were 169 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian and 12 crew members.

US President Trump hails trade deal with India as 'historic'

US President Donald Trump has hailed the trade deal with India as “historic” and said America will increase its coal exports dramatically to the country and to others with which it has trade agreements.

“And under our leadership, we're becoming a massive energy exporter. In just the past few months, we've made historic trade deals with Japan, Korea, India and others to increase our coal exports dramatically,” Trump said Wednesday during an event titled ‘Champion of Coal’.

"We're now exporting coal all over the world, and the quality of our coal is supposed to be...the finest anywhere in the world,” he said.

Last week, the US and India announced they have reached a framework for an interim agreement on trade, under which New Delhi will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all American industrial goods, a wide range of food and agricultural products, as well as purchase USD 500 billion of US products over the next five years.

4-member DGCA team visits Ajit Pawar plane crash site in Baramati

A four-member team of senior DGCA officials has visited the site of the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others last month near Baramati in Pune district.

During their visit on Wednesday, they reviewed the CCTV camera footage and videos linked to the January 28 incident, said local officials.

Ajit Pawar, Captain Sumit Kapoor, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav, and flight attendant Pinky Mali were killed when the Learjet aircraft they were on board crashed near the Baramati airport in Pune district.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation after the death of Pawar and four others after the plane crash, Baramati has an ‘uncontrolled airfield’ (one without a dedicated Air Traffic Control), and traffic information is provided by instructors/pilots from the local flying training organisations.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu had said the investigation into the plane crash would follow a time-bound approach.

Dehradun bizman killing: Two brothers injured in police encounter

Two brothers allegedly involved in the killing of a businessman here were injured in separate encounters with police while they were attempting to flee, officials said on Thursday.

One of the accused, Raju Rana, has a criminal record. He roped in his elder brother, Pankaj Rana, to kill the businessman, Arjun Sharma, the police officials said. The encounters took place in Doiwala and Ladpur areas of Dehradun late on Wednesday night while Raju and Pankaj were trying to flee. The two were rushed to Coronation Hospital for treatment, police said.

According to preliminary investigation, Raju works as an e-rickshaw driver and had murdered his stepfather in 1997, police said. During initial questioning, Raju told police that he agreed to carry out the killing in exchange for nearly Rs 15 lakh and convinced Pankaj to join him, they said.

Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh told PTI that the case is being thoroughly investigated and efforts are on to ascertain the motive behind the killing.

Voting begins in Bangladesh's crucial parliamentary elections

Voting began on Thursday morning in Bangladesh's crucial general election -- the first since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in massive nationwide protests in August 2024.

The voting started in 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country from 7:30 am (local time) and will continue until 4:30 pm. The counting of votes is expected to begin shortly after the voting concludes. Voting in one constituency has been cancelled due to the death of a candidate.

The 13th parliamentary elections are being held simultaneously along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package. The Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangements, deploying nearly 1 million security personnel -- the largest-ever in the country's electoral history.

The contest is mainly between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its once ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of Hasina's now-disbanded Awami League. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' interim government last year disbanded the Awami League and barred it from contesting the polls.

A total of 1,755 candidates from 50 political parties and 273 independents are contesting the election. The BNP has fielded the highest number of 291 candidates. There are 83 female candidates.

Yunus, who has promised to quickly transfer power to the elected government, has urged the political parties, candidates and other concerned parties to maintain restraint, tolerance and democratic behaviour on the polling day.