Highlights: One die after fire breaks out in firecracker shed in Tamil Nadu, reports ANI

One woman was charred to death while a few people sustained severe burn injuries in a fire at a firecracker shed near Sivanarpuram Village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu on Sunday afternoon.

The injured were taken to the nearby hospital and Cuddalore Government hospital while those in the critical stage were taken to Pondicherry Jipmer Hospital, ANI reported.

Police in Pakistan said officers attempted on Sunday to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan, who is battling several legal cases as he pressures the government for early elections.

Officers from the capital, Islamabad, arrived at Khan's home in the eastern city of Lahore, which was surrounded by hundreds of his supporters, but were unable to carry out the arrest.

Unseasonal rains lashed parts of Maharashtra's Palghar district damaging standing crops in the region, PTI reported.

As police reached former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's residence in Lahore to arrest him in the Toshakhana case amid a massive protest by his supporters and PTI workers, Imran Khan took to Twitter to bring a massive change against prime minister Shehbaz Shariff and former army chief General Bajwa. "What future can a country have when crooks are thrust as rulers upon it? SS was about to be convicted by NAB for ₹8 bn money laundering & by FIA for another ₹16 bn corruption when he was rescued by Gen Bajwa who kept getting NAB cases trial postponed.

Two days after activists of the Student Federation of India (SFI) forcibly entered its office and threatened employees in Kochi police on Sunday raided the office of the popular Malayalam news channel Asianet News in Kozhikode (north Kerala) in connection with a case related to allegedly fabricating a news story.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday made a surprise visit to review the security arrangements at a NEET-PG exam centre in Patiala.

He also interacted with the candidates' parents during his visit.

This is the first time that the Union Health minister has visited a National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) exam centre during an examination, a ministry statement said, reported PTI. 

The Karnataka government on Sunday said a meeting has been called with the health department officials and experts on March 6, to deliberate on the preventive measures to be taken regarding the spread of Influenza A subtype 'H3N2'. Health Minister K Sudhakar said the Centre's guidelines in this regard will be adhered to. "On Saturday, the Union Health Ministry has communicated to us (state) to pay attention to it (H3N2). Our Health Commissioner and Principal Secretary have held discussions regarding this. A meeting has been called tomorrow regarding the precautionary measures to be taken," Sudhakar said, reported PTI. 

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with eight Opposition leaders, including Trinamool Congress's Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackeray, NCP’s Sharad Pawar and BRS's K Chandrashekar Rao, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condemning the arrest of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia by the Centreal Bureau of Investigation in the alleged liquor scam. Read full story

China on Sunday said it would raise its defence spending by 7.2 percent in 2023, compared with 7.1 percent last year, as its outgoing premier warned of growing "external" threats to Beijing's rise.

The country will spend 1.55 trillion yuan ($225 billion) on defence this year, according to a report by the Ministry of Finance published on the opening day of the annual session of the country's rubber-stamp parliament. Read full story

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that the state government will extend all cooperation to preserve a folklore museum set up by PR Thippeswamy at the University of Mysore.

Speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of Thippeswamy organized by PR Thippeswamy Foundation here on Saturday, Bommai said, "The late artist had linked folklore to painting and built the museum. The BBMP Commissioner will be instructed to name any road in Bengaluru after the noted artist Thippeswamy who had the strength to inspire the coming generation." (ANI)

China sets annual economic growth target at "around 5%" as country recovers from Covid disruption, reports AP. 

In a bid to promote electric vehicles in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government has decided to do away with road tax and registration fees on its purchase for three years from October 14, 2022, a statement said on Friday.

Besides, the exemption will be valid for five years on the purchase of electric vehicles manufactured in the state itself, reported ANI.