Morning Digest | India abstains in U.N. vote on Ukraine; Gandhis likely to stay away from Congress steering committee meeting, and more

In a clear signal to the party that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is firmly placed in the driving seat, the Gandhi family — Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — are likely to skip the party’s steering committee meeting at the 85th Plenary in Raipur scheduled for 10 a.m. on February 24. The meeting will decide on whether elections will be held for the party’s top-decision making body — Congress Working Committee.

BJP stages protest, demands Sisodia’s sacking over ‘snooping’ allegations

BJP’s Delhi unit on Thursday staged a protest outside AAP’s office and sought Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s sacking over allegations of political intelligence gathering. Mr. Sisodia and the AAP government have maintained that the allegations are “completely bogus”.

60% of voters linked Aadhaar to voter ID: RTI

More than 60% of India’s 94.5 crore voters in India have linked their Aadhaar number to their voter IDs, the Election Commission (EC) disclosed in a Right to Information response obtained by The Hindu. The total number of voters who have their Aadhaar linked is 56,90,83,090. Tripura, which went to the polls last week, had the highest rate of Aadhaar linking; over 92% of voters in the State have provided their Aadhaar details to the Election Commission.

Pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh’s supporters attack police in Punjab’s Ajnala

Armed with swords, guns and sharp weapons, scores of supporters of the self-styled Sikh preacher and pro-Khalistan (sovereign state for Sikhs) propagator Amritpal Singh on Thursday indulged in a scuffle with Punjab police personnel, injuring a few in Amritsar’s Ajnala. Mr. Amritpal, who recently stated that “Khalistan movement can’t be stopped from flourishing”, had given a call to his supporters to gather at Ajnala to protest against the arrest of his close associate in an alleged kidnapping and theft case.

Aramane Giridhar gets extension as Defence Secretary

Defence Secretary Aramane Giridhar was on Thursday given an extension in service till October next year, a Personnel Ministry order said. Mr. Giridhar, a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, took over as the Defence Secretary on November 1 last year.

Char Dham Yatra | Yamunotri to get a ropeway

The Uttarakhand government on Thursday signed a MoU worth ₹167 crore for ropeway to Yamunotri temple from Kharsali. It will reduce the travel time for pilgrims who trek to the temple from three to four hours to 15 minutes.

‘Nine guest countries’ to summit will be ultimately guided by ‘continuity’ of G20

The “nine guest countries” to the G20 summit and ministerial meetings are expected to bring their own plans to the events but they will be ultimately guided by the continuity of G20, a source familiar with the planning of the summit has informed. Nine countries that are invited include – Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in L.A. rape case

Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in prison for the rape of a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room a decade ago. The sentence was handed down by a Los Angeles court. Mr. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence for his separate 2020 conviction in New York for sex crimes.

ONGC to invest $2 billion in Mumbai offshore to raise oil, gas output

India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC will invest more than $2 billion in drilling a record 103 wells on its main gas-bearing asset in the Arabia Sea as it pivots a turnaround plan that will add 100 million tonnes to production, a company official said.

NCST issues warrant of arrest for CEO of Bank of Maharashtra

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has now issued a Warrant of Arrest for A.S. Rajeev, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bank of Maharashtra, in connection with the harassment of a Scheduled Tribe woman in Odisha who was trying to clear paperwork for benefits she was due after her husband, an ex-employee, had passed away.

Global economy in a better place than many predicted a few months ago: Yellen

The global economy is in a better place today than many had predicted just a few months ago, although there were still significant headwinds, U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at a press conference on Thursday. “It’s fair to say that the global economy is in a better place today,” she said, adding that in the fall, many had been worried about a sharp economic slowdown across the world.