1. BMC announced fresh COVID guidelines after Mumbai reported 736 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, 18th February.

2. At least 60 people were injured in a massive fire that engulfed hundreds of trucks at Afghanistan’s Islam Qala, a key border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran.

These satellite images show the devastation caused.

3.  A senior scientist told NDTV that several cases of coronavirus mutation have been observed in Maharashtra.

He also said that they are yet to observe the behaviour and pointed out that it is “too early to call it a strain”.

4. For the first time, China officially acknowledged that 5 Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in last year’s Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh with the Indian Army.

PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military reported:

Five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers stationed in the Karakoram Mountains have been recognised by the Central Military Commission of China (CMC) for their sacrifice in the border confrontation with India, which occurred in the Galwan Valley in June 2020.

5. Farmers protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws gathered near rail tracks in parts of Punjab, Haryana Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka for the ‘rail roko’ protest.

6. Kerala launched fibre optic network to provide free internet to 20 lakh families.

7. Australian PM Scott Morrison apologised to a woman who alleged she was raped in the country’s parliament by an unnamed colleague, and promised a thorough investigation into the government’s workplace culture.

Speaking to reporters, Morrison said:

That should not have happened, and I do apologise. I want to make sure any young woman working in this place is as safe as possible.

8. The Gujarat government will soon come up with a law against ‘love jihad’ amid similar steps by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recently.

Speaking at an event in Vadodara, CM Vijay Rupani said:

Our BJP government will bring ‘love jihad’ Act in the Assembly so that such activities are not tolerated in future.

9. Australian PM Scott Morrison vowed to press ahead with laws to force Facebook Inc to pay news outlets for content.

The Australian law, which will force Facebook and Google to reach commercial deals with Australian publishers or face compulsory arbitration, has already been cleared by the federal lower house and is expected to be passed by the Senate within the next week.

10. Texas faces power and water woes amid a massive snow storm.

As per reports, major disruptions to the Texas power grid left around 4 million households without power this week,  and more than 800 public water systems were disrupted, affecting 13.1 million people.

11. A 19-year-old woman from Mumbai was allegedly gang-raped in a flat in Ahmedabad by two men in the presence of another woman who is the girlfriend of one of the accused.

12. A day after bodies of 2 Dalit girls were found the fields in Unnao, along with a 17-year-old in a serious condition, police said no injuries were found in post-mortem report and they suspect poisoning.

13. 2 policemen died on February 19 after being shot at close range by a terrorist in Srinagar. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras located in the area.

Important ones, right?