Top news of the day : February 15 , 2026

thehindu.com · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Tarique Rahman’s swearing-in: PM Modi receives invite, LS Speaker Om Birla to attendBangladesh has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chief Tarique Rahman on February 17. According to sources, Mr. Modi declined the invitation, as he will be in Mumbai for bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, and then will chair the Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact summit in Delhi. According to a statement from External Affairs Ministry, Om Birla, the Lok Sabha Speaker, will represent the Government of India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected government of Bangladesh led by Tarique Rahman.Tamil Nadu SIR: Final electoral rolls to be published on February 23The final electoral roll in Tamil Nadu will be published on February 23, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said on Sunday (February 15, 2026). Following an order of the Supreme Court of India, the Election Commission of India (ECI), on January 30 said that they had instructed that the list of the names of the persons figuring in the category of “logical discrepancies” shall be displayed at the gram panchayat bhawans, public places and Taluka/Sub-Division, including the ward offices in urban areas.Security agencies bust massive ‘mule account’ network in J&K; fear misuse by terror groupsSecurity agencies have busted an ever-growing ecosystem of “mule accounts” in Jammu and Kashmir that serves as the financial backbone of global scam networks, with officials fearing that the funds routed through these accounts could be used for separatist and anti-national activities. The officials said more than 8,000 mule accounts operating in the region have been identified and frozen over a period of three years, exposing a sophisticated network of money laundering. They described these accounts as the “weakest yet most crucial link” in the cybercrime chain, as without them, the conversion of stolen money into untraceable cryptocurrency would be impossible.Witnessing betrayal of Indian farmers in name of U.S. trade deal: Rahul GandhiUpping the ante against the government over the India-U.S. interim trade deal, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (February 15, 2026) posed a string of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that “we are witnessing a betrayal” of Indian farmers. Mr. Gandhi, who has been attacking the government and accusing it of a sell-out through the deal, said this issue concerns the future and asked whether India is allowing another country to gain a long-term hold over India’s agriculture industry.U.P. cough syrup smuggling case: SP youth wing’s former State Secretary arrestedThe Lucknow unit of the Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a man in connection with the illegal storage and smuggling of codeine-laced cough syrup for intoxicating purposes, STF officials said on Sunday (February 15, 2026). The accused was identified as Amit Yadav, a resident of Maidagin in Varanasi, and was arrested late on Saturday (February 14, 2026) night. According to STF officials, a case was registered against Mr. Yadav at the Sushant Golf City police station in Lucknow for cough syrup smuggling, and he was being sought in connection with the case.Caste row over Dalit woman’s engagement at anganwadi centre in Odisha resolved, says officialTwo days after a caste row over the engagement of a Dalit woman as an anganwadi helper was raised in Parliament, Odisha’s Kendrapara district administration on Saturday (February 14, 2026) said the matter had been resolved through negotiations. Kendrapara district sub-collector Arun Nayak said the matter has been amicably resolved as villagers have agreed to send their children to the anganwadi centre from Monday (February 16, 2026). “Final talks with upper-caste residents, who had stopped sending their children to the centre since November 21, were held in the presence of stakeholders, including members of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Odisha State Commission for Women. The officials sensitised villagers on the abolition of age-old caste practices,” he said.Meta to cut pay outs to fact-checking partners in IndiaFacebook and Instagram parent Meta is sharply cutting the fees it pays out to professional fact checkers in India, two people with knowledge of discussions between the social media giant and its partners told The Hindu. The amounts fact-checking organisations that are approved partners of the social media firm get paid has been reduced for the coming six month period by anywhere from a third to 50%, the people said. Meta’s fact-checking partnerships ended in the United States following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. India adds more than 50,000 MW of power generation capacity in current financial yearIndia has added 52,537 megawatts (MW) of electricity generation from all sources combined in the ongoing financial year until January 31, the Union Ministry of Power said on Sunday (February 15, 2026). This translates to an addition of more than 11% to the total installed capacity of the country at end of the erstwhile financial year. “This [also] marks the highest ever capacity addition in a single year, surpassing the previous record of 34,054 MW achieved during FY 2024–25,” it stated.Rijiju warns Opposition against disruption, says govt. will table ‘critical’ Bill in second half of Budget SessionWarning the Opposition against disrupting Parliament when proceedings of the Budget Session resume after the recess on March 9, 2026, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the second part of the Session, scheduled from March 9 to April 2, will be “interesting” as several “important” legislations and one “critical” Bill will be tabled in Parliament. “If the Opposition doesn’t allow the House to function, we will go for the guillotine. It will be a loss for them,” he said on Sunday (February 15, 2026).Eight provisions of VB-G RAM G Act challenged before Madras High CourtA public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging eight provisions of the Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G Act) of 2025 which had replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005. The PIL plea is expected to be listed for hearing before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan this week. Seventy-one-year-old advocate T. Sivagnanasambandan of T. Nagar in Chennnai had filed the case through his counsel on record M.L. Ravi.Bangladesh seeks reset in India ties, onus on New Delhi to recognise changed reality: Tarique’s AdvisorBangladesh wants to reset ties with India on a fresh footing now that ousted premier Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party no longer hold power, Humayun Kabir, adviser to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, has said, asserting that the two nations should work together for “mutual benefit”. Mr. Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday (February 13, 2026) secured a sweeping victory with more than two-thirds majority in the landmark parliamentary elections held on Thursday (February 12, 2026).Israeli airstrikes kill nine in Gaza, including tent camp, Palestinian officials sayAt ​least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the northern and ‌southern Gaza Strip on Sunday (February 15, 2026), Palestinian Civil Defence ​and Health officials said, in what Israel’s military ⁠called a response to Hamas ceasefire violations. Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, ‌while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south. “In recent hours, the IDF ‌has begun striking in response to Hamas’s blatant violation ‌of ⁠the ceasefire agreement yesterday in the Beit Hanoun area,” ⁠an Israeli military official said, adding that “terrorists emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line”.Aus Women vs Ind Women first T20I: Clinical India beat Australia by 21 runs under DLS method in rain-hit matchIndia were clinical with both bat and ball as they crushed Australia by nine wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the first Women’s T20 International to start their tour Down Under on a resounding note in Sydney on Sunday (February 15, 2026). Seamer Arundhati Reddy (4/22) led an excellent bowling display as India packed off Australia for 133. Such was the Indian bowlers’ performance that Australia were bundled out with two overs to spare.India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup: Fans create electrifying atmosphere at Premadasa StadiumIn warm Colombo, the cricketing ice between India and Pakistan will briefly thaw on Sunday (February 15, 2026) night. The prelude to this ICC T20 World Cup Group A match has been about theatrics and subcontinental angst, before Pakistan decided to finally play against its neighbour. While sport and politics inexplicably mix, this amalgamation is at an extreme level in contests involving India and Pakistan. Hopefully, the leap across the Palk Strait and into Sri Lanka, will soften the political edges even if sporting tension is high.