During Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha’s address in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday, the lone Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) MLA, Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad, staged a protest in the central hall.

As the Lt. Governor started delivering his address, holding a placard, AIP MLA Sheikh Khursheed vocally opposed several policies of the administration and demanded justice for the victims of recent killings in Baramulla and Kathua.

He also demanded the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, arguing that their abrogation had stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and rights.

Ahmad called for the release of all political prisoners and said that detaining leaders, activists and youth without trial was undemocratic.

He also sought justice for the families of two men killed in Baramulla and Kathua, urging the administration to conduct a fair probe and provide compensation to the victims’ families.

At least four people, including a two-year-old child, were killed, and four others were injured in a road accident in Karnataka's Kolar district on Monday morning.

The accident occurred on the recently inaugurated Bengaluru- Chennai Expressway.

The deceased were identified as 45-year-old Mahesh, two-year-old Udvita, and 60-year-old Ratnamma, all of whom were traveling in an Innova car. The identity of the deceased bike rider is yet to be ascertained.

The injured -- Sushmita, Viruta, Sujata, and Sunil -- have been shifted to a private hospital in Kolar. According to the police, the deceased were residents of Kammasandra village near KGF in the Kolar district. They were traveling to their village from Bengaluru when the accident occurred within the limits of the Bangarapet police station.

The incident took place when a bike collided with the car near Kuppanahalli in Bangarapet taluk. All four victims, including the bike rider, died on the spot. Police have stated that overspeeding was the primary cause of the accident.

Rain lashed the plains, while higher reaches received fresh snowfall on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Meterological (MeT) office has forecast light to moderate rain and snow in higher reaches on Monday, adding that a few higher reaches in north and central Kashmir might receive moderate to heavy snowfall.

The weather is expected to remain mostly dry from March 4 to March 9, while a fresh spell of rain and snow is expected between March 10 and March 12.

Rain and snow during the last seven days has set at rest the fears of a prolonged dry spell resulting in drought in the union territory this year.

The water level in rivers, streams, lakes, springs and other water bodies has improved considerably. Some of the perennial springs that had dried up due to the prolonged dry spell for 50 days in January and February have again started flowing with water.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has forecast rain in a few areas of southern Tamil Nadu over the next few days. While no rainfall alert has been issued for Chennai, the city is expected to experience mist and haze during early morning hours.

According to the weather department, Oothu in Tirunelveli recorded 8 cm of rainfall from 8.30 am on Friday, while Nalumukku, Kakkachi (both in Tirunelveli), and Rameswaram (Ramanathapuram district) received 7 cm each.

Continuous rain in the Tenkasi district has increased the water flow in Courtallam Falls, prompting authorities to ban bathing at the main waterfalls and Aintharuvi.

In Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts, moderate rainfall disrupted the final stages of samba and thaladi paddy harvests.

The rain also affected Nagapattinam fishermen’s schedules and salt production in Vedaranyam.

A new railway line from Assam’s Kokrajhar to Gelephu in Bhutan has been proposed to improve cross-border connectivity and strengthen bilateral ties, officials said here on Saturday.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the Indian Railways is actively advancing towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of the ‘Act East Policy’ and ‘Neighborhood First Policy’.

“Under these policies, several new railway projects are being undertaken to enhance connectivity with neighboring countries,” he said.

The body of the Bangladeshi smuggler, who was killed during a clash with the Border Security Force (BSF) in Tripura’s Sepahijala District on Friday, was handed over to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Saturday, officials said.

A BSF spokesman said that the body of Mohammad Alamin, 25, was handed over to the BGB through the Kamthana village in Sepahijala District along the India-Bangladesh border. Before handing over the body, a post-mortem of the body was done at a Tripura government hospital in Bishalgarh, he said. The spokesman on Friday night said that a group of 20 to 25 Bangladeshi smugglers and miscreants intruded inside Indian territory near the area of BOP (Border Outpost) at Putia in western Tripura’s Sepahijala District and indulged in smuggling in alliance with their Indian counterparts.

“When cautioned by the BSF patrol party, the Bangladeshi smugglers and miscreants attacked the Indian border guarding troops injuring a BSF jawan seriously,” he said. The Bangladeshi smugglers continued their attack on the BSF personnel with sharp cutting materials and threw stones and they even tried to snatch a BSF personnel’s service arms, the spokesman said, adding that in order to protect his own life, the jawan fired one round of non-lethal PAG (Pump Action Gun) in self-defence.

The Bangladeshi smuggler was injured by the PAG shot and was taken to a government hospital in Bishalgarh but succumbed to his injuries on Friday night. The injured BSF jawan was also in the hospital and undergoing treatment.

Five devotees visiting Male Mahadeshwara Hills were killed in a head-on collision between their car and a truck in Chikkindewadi village of Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district on Saturday.

The deceased were yet to be identified. However, based on the car's registration number, police believe the victims are from the Mandya district.

According to police, all five victims, including two women, were travelling to the popular pilgrimage site of Male Mahadeshwara Hills.

Police suspect that the accident was caused due to overspeeding.

At least two Maoists were gunned down in an intense encounter with security forces in the Kistaram police station area of Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, officials said on Saturday.

A joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Cobra battalion had launched a search operation following Intelligence reports of Maoist activity in the region.

The encounter, which began early this morning, is still going on intermittently, with clashes between the Maoists and security forces continuing through the day.

An intensive search operation is underway, with forces combing both the encounter site and the surrounding areas to locate any remaining Maoist insurgents.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, while commenting on the ongoing encounter, expressed confidence in the continuous efforts of the state’s security forces.

At least 60 students of Shri Chandpur Primary School in Harnaut block fell ill on Friday after consuming a mid-day meal.

The students complained of stomach-ache and vomiting around two hours after consuming the mead day meal.

The students suspect that the boiled eggs served during lunch may have caused the illness.

Upon receiving the information, local health officials rushed to the school and transported the affected students to Kalyan Vigha Referral Hospital.

The operation to rescue eight trapped persons in a partially collapsed tunnel continued in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district, said a top official on Friday while denying reports that rescue teams found dead bodies.

Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santosh told the media that the news on some channels about bodies being found is fake.

He urged the media not to broadcast any such news without confirmation as it creates panic.

Asked about reports that scanning of the tunnel by Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology revealed certain points where human bodies may be found, he said the rescue operation was continuing as per the findings of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI).