Saturday, December 20, 2025 | 09:58 AM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch
Home / India News / News Highlights: Former CM Atishi chosen as Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly
Live Blog

News Highlights: Former CM Atishi chosen as Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly

Catch all the latest news updates from around the world here

Image BS Web Team New Delhi
Atishi marlena, Atishi, Delhi CM

AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi (Photo: PTI)

In the legislative party meeting today, it has been unanimously decided that Atishi will be the leader of the opposition in the Delhi Assembly. In challenging times, Atishi has served the people of Delhi as the CM. AAP will fulfil the responsibility of a healthy opposition, says AAP leader Gopal Rai.
  Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of Bageshwar Dham Medical and Science Research Institute in Garha village, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh at 2 PM today.  Ensuring better healthcare services for people from all walks of life, the Cancer hospital, worth over Rs 200 crore will offer free treatment to underprivileged cancer patients and will be equipped with state-of-the-art machines and have specialist doctors. Prime Minister will also inaugurate the two-day Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2025 in Bhopal.
  During 119th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a special initiative for Women's Day on March 8, he would hand over his social media accounts, including X and Instagram, to inspiring women across the country. They will share their work and experiences, offering a platform to showcase their contributions and inspire millions. PM Modi praised the daughters of the country, stating that respect for them has always been deeply rooted in Indian culture.   Rescuers have inched closer to the engineers and workers trapped inside a tunnel after a section of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project collapsed 24 hours ago, with operations underway to extricate them, officials said on Sunday. The teams in the accident site at Nagarkurnool district, about 150 km from here, called out the names of the trapped people, but there was no response, sources said. The rescue personnel were able to reach up to the 13th km inside the tunnel, a short distance from where the mishap occurred around 8.30 am on Saturday. According to official sources, state Ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy and J Krishna Rao have left for the site on to oversee the rescue operations.  The Trump administration has directed over 2 million federal employees to report their work activities from the past week or face resignation. The order, issued by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, instructs workers to exclude classified information, links or attachments, with a submission deadline of 11:59 p.m. Washington time on Monday. In a social media post, Musk said the directive was at President Donald Trump’s request but did not address the legal and logistical challenges involved. His post suggested the government could withhold pay from various federal employees, including postal workers and prison staff, if they failed to justify their roles via email.
 
Pope Francis was in critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old Francis, who has been hospitalised for a week with pneumonia and a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed low platelet counts associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update. The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved, the statement said. Doctors have said Francis' condition is touch-and-go and that he is by no means out of danger. They have warned that the main threat facing Francis would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia.
 
Indian Railways has played a major role in transporting millions of pilgrims to the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, operating over 14,000 trains to ensure smooth and efficient travel for devotees from across the country, according to the statement. The Maha Kumbh, one of the world's largest religious gatherings, saw 3.6 crore devotees using railway services in the Kumbh area. About 92 per cent of trains were mail, express, superfast, passenger, and MEMU services, with 472 Rajdhani and 282 Vande Bharat trains also running. Nearly half of the trains started from Uttar Pradesh, followed by 11 per cent from Delhi, 10 per cent from Bihar, and 3-6 per cent from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
 
 
11:39 PM

Nepal's FATF grey list inclusion sparks political row, Opposition seeks PM Oli's resignation

Nepal's inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list has sparked a political row, with the opposition CPN-Maoist Center demanding Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's resignation. This is the second time Nepal has been placed on the grey list, which includes countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) regimes. Nepal was on the FATF grey list from 2008 to 2014.

11:07 PM

White paper should be published on use of foreign funds in Indian politics: CPI(M)

Alleging that foreign funds were being used in West Bengal since the 2011 Assembly elections, the state CPI(M) on Sunday demanded that the central and the state governments publish a white paper on the matter.

CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Mohammed Salim's accusations came amid a row over US President Donald Trump questioning the USAID's funding of USD 21 million for voter turnout in India.

10:46 PM

Twelve Indians arrive in Delhi days after deported to Panama by US

Twelve Indian nationals, who were deported to Panama by the US, returned to India from the Latin American nation on Sunday evening, officials said. The deportees arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, marking the first batch of Indians returning from Panama following their deportation by the US.

10:35 PM

Language row: Activists blacken Hindi in TN railway nameboards

Amid the language row in Tamil Nadu where the ruling DMK has been alleging Hindi imposition by the Centre, pro-Tamil activists blackened the Hindi words painted in the nameboard at two railways stations in the state on Sunday. In a viral video, the activists were seen painting black paint on "Pollachi Junction" written in Hindi, but officials later rectified it.

9:34 PM

Maha Kumbh: Railway Minister initiates trial for crowd control measures at New Delhi station

The Railways conducted a trial for crowd control measures on Saturday at New Delhi Railway Station by restricting movements of unreserved passengers to a single platform and scheduling all Maha Kumbh special trains from there as and when demand arose. According to the Railway Ministry, the whole exercise was carried out on the suggestions and under the constant monitoring of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who was assisted by Railway Board Chairman and CEO Satish Kumar and other senior officials. All of them kept a close watch on the trial from the War Room of the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi.

8:57 PM

Maha Kumbh: Over 350,000 people visit Digital Anubhuti Kendra

More than 3.5 lakh people have visited the Digital Anubhuti Kendra set up in Sector 4 here to get a digital experience of Maha Kumbh since its inauguration, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement on Sunday. The Digital Anubhuti Kendra introduced the devotees coming here to the ancient mythological stories and beliefs of Sanatan faith with the latest technology of AI, virtual reality and hologram, said the statement, adding this centre especially attracted young and foreign tourists.

8:43 PM

Oppn to raise deportation of illegal immigrants issue in 2-day Punjab Assembly session

The opposition parties will try to corner the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on a host of issues including law and order, rising state debt, deportation of many illegal Indian immigrants and farmers' plight in the two-day session of the Punjab Assembly commencing on Monday. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha session will start with obituary references on February 24. Subsequently, legislative business will be transacted during the session.
8:08 PM

Jharkhand Cong discusses strategies for upcoming Budget session of assembly

The Jharkhand Congress on Sunday discussed strategies for the budget session of the assembly, which commences on February 24. During a meeting here, state Congress in-charge K Raju asked the party MLAs to actively participate in the House proceedings. "All MLAs were asked to ensure 100-per cent attendance," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Radha Krishna Kishore told reporters after the meeting.

7:44 PM

BJP MLAs discuss party strategy ahead of J-K Assembly Budget Session

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday held a meeting with newly elected BJP legislators here to discuss the strategy for the Budget Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly which is scheduled to begin on March 3, party leaders said. The luncheon meeting, held at the Trikuta Nagar residence of the minister, was attended by Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Sat Sharma and leader of the opposition Sunil Sharma among others.

6:23 PM

PM Modi on two-day visit to Assam from Feb 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here on a two-day visit to Assam on Monday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. During the visit, the PM will inaugurate the 'Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit' on Tuesday, Sarma said.

6:02 PM

Israel ramps up West Bank offensive, says troops will remain in some areas for year

Israel's defence minister said Sunday troops would remain for the coming year in parts of the occupied West Bank where they have launched a weekslong offensive and would prevent tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning, as Israel deepens its crackdown on the Palestinian territory.

Israel launched a broad offensive on the northern West Bank on January 21 two days after the ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza took hold and then expanded it to include other nearby areas.

5:21 PM

Customs intercepts exotic wildlife at IGI Airport

The Customs department on Sunday seized a large number of exotic wildlife from three passengers who arrived at Delhi's IGI Airport from Bangkok, officials here said. The wildlife species seized included five corn snakes, eight milk snakes, nine ball pythons, four bearded dragons, four crested gecko lizards, 11 Cameroon dwarf gecko lizards and one gecko lizard.

4:54 PM

India to host two-day conference on women peacekeepers

India will host a two-day conference beginning Monday on women peacekeepers at UN missions to highlight their contributions.

The conference will bring together women peacekeepers from 35 Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) from the Global South.

4:39 PM

Samajwadi Party, Congress can never do good for country: Keshav Prasad Maurya

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday targeted the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress, saying those who do politics of nepotism and appeasement can never do good for the state and the country.

"Those who only do politics of nepotism and appeasement can never do good for the state and the country," Maurya said in a post on 'X'.

4:11 PM

Telangana tunnel collapse: Rescuers reached tunnel boring machine spot, says official

As eight persons got trapped around 14 km inside the tunnel of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project after part of its roof collapsed on Saturday, a rescue team made headway and reached the spot where a tunnel boring machine was working during the incident, Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh said on Sunday.

However, silt poses a challenge to move further to reach the spot where the people are believed to have been trapped, he added.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Feb 23 2025 | 8:04 AM IST

Explore News