At Soundala, 60 km from Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra, Class 5 students sit in a circle outside the village temple preparing for their primary scholarship examination. A few steps away is the gram panchayat office, where, on February 5, the village gram sabha passed a unique resolution to make the village ‘caste-free’ and end discrimination on all grounds.

The effects are not just on paper. “We had Hindu religious reading last week. She is Muslim and she also had food at the festival with us,” says one of the students Gauri Bhand, referring to her friend Mahira Sayyad sitting beside her. “Christian, Muslim, Maratha, everyone has the same rights,” she adds.

Led by sarpanch Sharad Argade, the resolution read, “There will be no discrimination on the basis of caste, religion, creed, or race in Mouje Soundala. All residents in the village will be equal and the belief of ‘My religion — humanity’ is being adopted.”

Karnataka government is considering a ban on mobile phones for school children. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated that parents are pressuring the government to act. The government is examining models from other countries. This move aims to address the negative impact of excessive screen time on students' learning and mental health.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said the government was actively discussing a ban on use of mobile phones by school children amid growing concerns over the impact of excessive screen time on them.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards 2026 were announced on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at London’s Royal Festival Hall. In one of the night’s major shocks, Timothee Chalamet lost the award for Best Actor for his performance in Marty Supreme to actor Robert Aramayo, who won it for the film I Swear.

On the other hand, Jessie Buckley won the award for Best Actress for her performance in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. The biographical drama also bagged the award for Best British Film.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another led the awards with over 14 nominations from which it won six. Similarly, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners earned 13 nominations and managed to win three awards, including Best Original Screenplay.

The Netherlands on Monday witnessed history in the making as 38-year-old Rob Jetten was sworn in as the country's youngest prime minister, news agency AP reported.

Jetten was sworn in by Dutch King Willem-Alexander in a new minority Dutch coalition government. The youngest-ever prime minister already has a task ahead, which is to use his bridge-building skills to pass laws and see a full four-year term in office. Further, he would be required to push through his agenda through the country's first minority government in decades, Politico reported.

Jetten succeeds Dick Schoof, whose government collapsed last year, prompting snap elections in the country. His party obtained a narrow victory over the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), which is led by Geert Wilders. His appointment comes at a time when several countries are witnessing far-right parties winning elections in countries like Germany and France, and comes as a relief in Brussels as he pledges to steer the European Union's fifth-largest economy.

Ministry of Home Affairs today unveiled the country’s new national counter-terrorism policy and strategy titled PRAHAAR. The strategy outlines a comprehensive framework to address evolving terror threats using a proactive approach to prevent and counter terrorist threats.

PRAHAAR stands for Prevention of terror attacks to protect Indian citizens and interests, Responses, which are swift and proportionate to the threat posed, Aggregating internal capacities for achieving synergy in a whole-of-government approach, Human rights and ‘Rule of Law’ based processes for mitigation of threats, Attenuating the conditions enabling terrorism, including radicalisation, Aligning and shaping the international efforts to counter terrorism and Recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society approach.

The Ministry said that while the nature of threats continues to change and present new challenges, the country remains committed to opposing terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It said that India has always stood by the victims of terrorism and has been steadfast in its belief that there can be no justification for violence in the world. The Ministry noted that this principled approach informs the Indian policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.

A decade-long artificial reef restoration of Vaan Island in the Gulf of Mannar has generated socio-ecological benefits worth Rs 61.67 crore, more than double the project’s inflation-adjusted cost, according to a technical assessment by the Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission and its partners, Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Foundation and IIT Madras.

The study found that the intervention delivered an adjusted benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 2.34, confirming that nature-based coastal restoration can produce significant economic returns alongside ecological gains.

Vaan Island, one of 21 uninhabited coral islands, had suffered severe erosion, shrinking by 92% between 1969 and 2015. Its area reduced from about 20 hectares to 1.53 hectares largely due to coral mining, sea-level rise and reef degradation. To arrest the decline, scientists deployed 10,600 specially designed artificial reef modules around the island beginning in 2015. The report termed the outcome “conclusive proof that severe coastal loss is reversible”.

The Ministry of Ayush, in collaboration with the All India Ayurvedic Congress, will organise the four-day National Arogya Fair 2026 in Shegaon in Buldhana district from February 25 to 28.

The event aims to promote various Ayush systems of medicine among the public, provide integrated healthcare services and create livelihood opportunities for farmers through medicinal plant cultivation and agroforestry.

The fair will be inaugurated on February 25 by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, at Visava Maidan of Sant Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan. The ceremony will also be attended by the Governor of Maharashtra, Union Minister of Ayush Prataprao Jadhav, senior officials and other dignitaries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated India’s first Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) and dedicated the 82-km Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor to the nation, describing the moment as the beginning of a new era of world-class infrastructure for Uttar Pradesh and the country.

Addressing a gathering in Meerut, the Prime Minister said, “Today, Uttar Pradesh and the entire country are witnessing a new era of world-class infrastructure.” He termed the inauguration of the Meerut Metro, Namo Bharat train and the new RRTS section as a major step towards making life in the National Capital Region (NCR) “simpler, smoother and more convenient.”

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, both the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail and the Meerut Metro were launched from the same platform and will operate on shared tracks and stations. “It is happening for the first time in the country that Namo Bharat and Metro rail will operate on the same station and on the same track,” the Prime Minister said. “From the very same platform, one will be able to travel within the city, and from that same station, one can also commute directly to and from Delhi.”

The UAE is accelerating its efforts in advanced medicine, unveiling two pioneering gene therapy projects aimed at treating rare neurological and genetic disorders in children and shifting care from managing symptoms to targeting the root causes of disease.

The Emirates Health Services (EHS) said the initiatives focus on monogenic autism and innovative genetic treatments for neurodegenerative conditions, supporting the country’s strategy to expand investment in advanced medical technologies and improve long-term healthcare outcomes.

The first project, currently under development, targets genetic causes linked to autism and epilepsy in children. It includes rare and severe conditions such as Beta-Propeller Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration (BPAN), a disorder that often presents early in life as autism spectrum symptoms and seizures before progressing to motor and cognitive decline during adolescence.

Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry became the first player to play 350 international cricket matches for Australia across formats. She achieved this feat during the third T20I match against India at Adelaide on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Perry's international career is an inspiration for all. She became the youngest player to play for Australia at the age of 16 when she made her debut against New Zealand in July 2007, despite never playing a domestic match at the senior level.

She is only behind India's Harmanpreet Kaur (357) and New Zealand's Suzie Bates (355) in the list of the most capped players in women's international matches.