Top Stories of 25th February in a Capsule
Sridevi’s demise: Mortal remains to be brought back today from Dubai
Veteran actress Sridevi is no more. The actress passed away on 24th February at around 11 pm in Dubai following a cardiac arrest. She suffered a cardiac arrest while she was taking a bath on Saturday night, getting ready for a dinner with her husband Boney Kapoor. The 'Mom' actress was in UAE since last week. The late actress was there along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi Kapoor to attend Mohit Marwah’s wedding with the entire Kapoor family. An autopsy was conducted on late Sunday night and a chartered flight has flown to Dubai to bring her body back to India. Once back, her funeral will be held at Mumbai’s Pawan Hans in Juhu, Ville Parle.
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Moving from women development to women-led development: PM Modi in 'Mann ki Baat'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country was moving from women development to women-led development and emphasized that the dream of New India was where women were empowered, strong and an equal partner in the nation's overall development. In his monthly radio address "Mann Ki Baat", he also urged women to create self-help groups for the GOBAR DHAN initiative which may become a source of income for the rural population. "The aim of GOBAR-Dhan scheme is to ensure cleanliness in villages and generating wealth and energy by converting cattle dung and solid agricultural waste into compost and biogas," Modi said.
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J&K: Heavy cross-border shelling in Uri for the 1st time since 2003
On Saturday, Indian and Pakistani armies exchanged heavy artillery fire for the first time since 2003. Villagers who live along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector fled their homes in panic allegedly after Pakistani troops asked residents to leave, reported media on Sunday. Nearly a thousand villagers have sought refuge in Uri town since Thursday when the cross-border shelling began. The Indian and Pakistani armies on Saturday exchanged heavy artillery fire for the first time since 2003 when the two countries signed the ceasefire agreement.
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NCERT syllabus will be reduced by half from 2019: HRD Minister Javadekar
The syllabus that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) prescribes will be reduced by half from the 2019 academic session, said Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar. “At the stage of development of cognitive skills, students need to be given full freedom,” the minister told Rajya Sabha TV in an interview aired on Saturday. He claimed that the NCERT syllabus is more extensive than those of BA and BCom courses. “The basic task of teachers is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of students and mentor them accordingly,” he said.
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Syria: Airstrikes continue even after UN Security Council passes resolution on ceasefire
The United Nations Security Council on Saturday unanimously approved a month-long ceasefire across Syria so people in the conflict-ridden country can receive humanitarian aid, stated media reports. Russia had earlier blocked the resolution even as the civilian toll in the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta, in the outskirts of Damascus, neared 500. The truce does not cover some of the biggest jihadist groups and their associates fighting the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Bashar Jaafari, the Assad regime’s envoy to the United Nations, also did not commit to the resolution, saying his government would defend its territory and continue to “fight terrorism, wherever it is”.
