Top news of the day: Priya Ramani didn’t defame M.J. Akbar, rules Delhi court; 24 envoys arrive in Srinagar on two-day visit, and more

The major news headlines of the day, and more.

#MeToo | Delhi court acquits Priya Ramani in M.J. Akbar’s defamation case

"Women have the right to put their grievances at any platform of their choice and even after decades," the court said while acquitting Ms. Ramani in the case. The court also rejected Mr. Akbar’s argument that he was a man of stellar reputation.

#MeToo | My victory belongs to everyone who spoke up during the #MeToo movement, says Priya Ramani

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Ramani said, “This case was not about me, it was about what women face at the workplace. It feels amazing to have your truth validated in a court of law. My victory belongs to everyone who spoke up during the #MeToo movement.”

#MeToo | Leading lawyers, activists hail ‘historic’ judgement acquitting Priya Ramani

Speaking to reporters outside the court, senior advocate Rebecca John, who was also Ms. Ramani’s lawyer said, “I think probably this is the most important case of my career.”

24 foreign envoys arrive in Srinagar on two-day visit

EU Ambassador Ugo Astuto is leading the delegation. It is the third visit of the EU envoys to Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of special status of J&K in August 2019.

Toolkit case | Bombay High Court grants three weeks of transit anticipatory bail to Nikita Jacob

The Bombay High Court on February 17 granted transit anticipatory bail of three weeks to advocate Nikita Jacob in connection with climate campaigner Greta Thunberg’s ‘toolkit’ related to protesting farmers. Justice Vibha Kankanwadi of the Aurangabad Bench on February 16 granted 10 days of transit anticipatory bail to Shantanu Muluk in the same case.

Coronavirus | No COVID-19 deaths in 18 States/UTs in the last 24 hours

Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu among six States which recorded fatalities.

No link between Char Dham road-widening project in Uttarakhand and flash floods, government says in Supreme Court

The court asked the government to file a response in two weeks.

As petrol price crosses ₹100 mark, Modi blames previous govts for not cutting import dependence

On a day when petrol crossed the ₹100 mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17 said the middle-class would not have been burdened if the previous governments had focussed on reducing India’s energy import dependence.

Rahul Gandhi says he forgives Rajiv case convicts

“My father is alive in me…my father is talking through me,” he said.

Punjab urban local body elections | Congress wins six of seven Municipal Corporations

The Congress won in Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Abohar, Batala and Pathankot.

Coronavirus | Pfizer-BioNTech to supply 200 million more COVID-19 shots to EU

The U.S. and German companies said in a statement that the doses come on top of the 300 million vaccine doses the bloc has initially ordered. The European Commission has an option to request a further 100 million doses.

Pakistan unlikely to exit ‘grey’ list of global terror funding watchdog until June

The FATF’s Plenary and Working Group meetings, scheduled to be held from February 21 to 26 in Paris, is all set to decide on Pakistan’s grey list status.

Facebook says AI helped reduce hate speech on its platform last quarter

Facebook said nearly 97% of the hate speech and harassment content taken down in the final three months of last year were detected by automated systems, before any human flagged it. In the July to September quarter, AI helped detect 94% of hate content; and 80% were spotted in late 2019.

Focus on building world class products, not just valuations: PM to startups

The country is not short of ideas, Mr. Modi said, adding that it needs mentors to help turn ideas into reality.

Ind vs Eng | India keeps all players in squad for last 2 Tests except Shardul Thakur

Thakur is the only player who has not been kept as he will be released to compete in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Australian Open | Tsitsipas stuns Nadal in five sets

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas recovered from two sets down to stun Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarter-finals on February 17, ending the Spaniard’s bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title.

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