Evening News Report: PM Modi arrives in Israel for two-day visit; over 200 IndiGo passengers stranded for 5 hours and more | India News

Photo credit: Agency

Here are the top 5 stories of the day:

Prime Minister Modi visits Israel: Prime Minister arrives in Tel Aviv; received by Foreign Minister Netanyahu

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tel Aviv for a two-day state visit to Israel at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister, accompanied by his wife Sarah Netanyahu, personally received Prime Minister Modi at Ben Gurion Airport. The two leaders embraced each other warmly upon arrival, reflecting their close personal relationship. The visit, scheduled for February 25-26, is aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations and advancing the “robust and multifaceted strategic partnership” between India and Israel. Follow real-time updates

IndiGo chaos: More than 200 passengers waited for 5 hours in the cabin at Chennai airport

More than 200 passengers on an IndiGo flight from Chennai to Singapore were stranded on board for nearly five hours after takeoff was delayed due to technical and crew-related issues. Flight 6E1025 was originally scheduled to take off at 7:30 a.m., but finally took off around 12 noon after passengers boarded the plane at 6:30 a.m. A widely circulated video shows passengers on the flyer shouting at airline staff, claiming poor communication, erratic air conditioning, and being prevented from getting off the plane despite feeling unwell, with some claiming CISF personnel were called. Read more

Piyush Goyal calls Rahul, Gandhi family and Congress ‘puppets of foreign powers’

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal has spearheaded the Center’s response to Rahul Gandhi’s LoP remarks in Lok Sabha, where the latter claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a “compromising prime minister” in the context of the India-US interim trade agreement. Goyal, who played a key role in negotiating the proposed deal with the United States, rejected Gandhi’s accusations and accused the Congress leader of acting as “a puppet of foreign powers, anti-India forces and anti-India organisations”.” Read more

‘The attack will bring a strong response’: Iran hits back at Trump a day ahead of Geneva talks

Iran has strongly rejected remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump accusing Tehran of rebuilding its missile and nuclear capabilities, a day before the two sides are due to hold new nuclear talks in Geneva. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called the accusations a “big lie” and disinformation, while parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said the United States must choose between diplomacy and confrontation and warned of a strong response to any attack during the talks. Read more

Men’s T20 World Cup: Rinku Singh rejoins India squad ahead of must-win Super 8 match against Zimbabwe

Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed ahead of India’s must-win Super 8 match against Zimbabwe in Chennai that left-hand batsman Rinku Singh has rejoined the Indian team after a brief return home due to a family medical emergency. Kotak said at the pre-match press conference that Linku returned because his father was unwell. The left-hander missed India’s training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday, while the rest of the team practiced in the nets. Read more