Breaking highlights: NSA Doval emphasises on intensified cooperation to tackle Daesh, LeT, JeM

India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval emphasised the need for intensified intelligence and security cooperation to tackle Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) while participating in a multilateral meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said.

The fifth multilateral meeting of senior security officials of regional countries focused on various issues related to Afghanistan, including the security situation and humanitarian challenges. Doval made it clear India “will never abandon the Afghan people in their time of need”, the people said.

Samajwadi Party national general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya has sent a letter to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding an amendment to or a ban on some alleged objectionable verses of the Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas.

In a five-page letter to the President and the Prime Minister, Maurya said he requests a ban on some of the objectionable parts of some couplets of the Ramcharitmanas in which "women, tribals, Dalits and backward people have been humiliated on a daily basis at the social and religious level." The verses should be banned or amended to give respect to "the victim class," he said.

BJP MLAs today walked out of the State Assembly session and raised slogans outside the House against the Mamata government and the Governor alleging rising incidents of terror, also claiming Governor's silence on these incidents as well as alleged attacks on BJP workers. (ANI)

The Animal Welfare Board of India has issued a notice appealing cow lovers to celebrate February 14 – a day celebrated across the world as Valentine's Day – as 'Cow Hug Day'. The government advisory body said that hugging a cow will bring “emotional richness” and will increase “individual and collective happiness”. Read more

Three kids were alive as the hut in which they were playing caught fire. Incident has been reported from Nagana police station area in Barmer. At the time of incident nobody in the family available there, police said.

Narpatdan Charan, station house officer at Nagana police station area said that on Wednesday noon three kids were playing in a bit located around five meters from their house in Bandra village. In the meantime the hut caught fire and instead of moving in right direction to get out from the hut, trio went in wrong direction and burnt alive.

Fire breaks out in a factory in Mahad, Raigad district; no casualties reported so far. (ANI) 

Accused Oreva Group promoter Jaysukh Patel sent to jail. He was produced before Morbi Sessions court today at the end of his 7-day Police remand and was sent to jail after the Police didn't seek any further remand. (ANI)

Enforcement Directorate has arrested Punjab-based businessman Gautam Malhotra in connection with its ongoing probe into Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 money laundering case. He was being produced in Delhi's Rouse Avenue court. (ANI)

Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why he is silent on those who are spreading hatred in the country. As Kharge used the word 'mouni baba' in the Rajya Sabha, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, "You are a very senior member, sir. This does not suit you. Don't use these juicy expressions." Ruckus erupted in the Upper House following Mallikarjun Kharge's comment. Read more

The raids of the Income Tax department are currently underway at the office of Janata Dal (United) MLC Radhacharan Sah and his close aide in the Boring Road area in Bihar's Patna for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. (ANI)

A stone fell inside venue, some stones were pelted at convoy while we were leaving the venue. Crowd was raising slogans in support of local MLA, Ramesh Bornare. It was an attempt by anti-social elements in mob to create a rift between 2 groups: LoP in Legislative Council Ambadas Danve.

New Zealand authorities said on Wednesday they had recovered 3.2 tonnes of cocaine worth more than $300 million, believed to be bound for Australia and found floating at sea.

New Zealand Police said it a statement it had collected the drugs from the Pacific Ocean in a joint operation with the New Zealand Customs Service and the New Zealand Defence Force.

A police photo showed the haul, apparently before recovery, in a net supported on the ocean surface by floats. (Reuters) 

Gautam Adani’s ports unit will repay a debt of around 50 billion rupees ($604.6 million), as the beleaguered Indian tycoon seeks to improve a leverage metric at his firms following a short seller attack that has put his empire’s financial health and corporate governance under scrutiny, reported Bloomberg.