Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the street in several cities across the country on Feb 11 , protesting judicial overhaul plans by Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Critics say measures introduced by the new hard-line government would weaken the Supreme Court, limit judicial oversight and grant more power to politicians.

Protesters say that would undermine democracy.

Makeup, "funky hairstyles", and long nails are out for medical and other staff at Haryana government hospitals, and so are T-shirts, denim dresses and skirts, as the state is going to implement a dress code for healthcare professionals.

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said  that the dress code being prepared by the state government is in the final stages.

The dress code must be adhered to by the on-duty staff 24 hours a day, including on weekends, evenings and night shifts, he said, asserting the erring employees will be marked absent for the day.

The minister said a hospital requires its employees to follow certain conduct, and a dress code is an essential component which gives the organisation a "professional touch".

Under pressure from the opposition, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis  has announced SIT (Special Investigation Team) probe into the alleged murder of Rajapur-based journalist Shashikant Warishe.

Fadnavis, who is also the home minister has  asked the authorities to constitute an SIT led by a senior police officer to carry out the probe into Shashikant’s murder and submit the report.

The 48 years old Warishe was mowed down by the Thar jeep driven by Pandarinath Amberkar. The victim was dragged a few meters and was abandoned with serious injuries before local people rushed him to the hospital where he later succumbed.

The local people said that Shashikant worked with a Marathi daily Mahanagari Times. He did extensive reports on issues relating to the proposed Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited plant at Barsu in the district. This refinery project is being opposed by a large section of people over fears of pollution in the Konkan region.

The Nepali government has banned the import of fresh roses from countries like India and China ahead of Valentine's Day.

The Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture in a notification  has directed the subordinate border offices not to issue the import permit for rose flowers, citing the risk of plant diseases.

Valentine's Day is celebrated annually on February 14.

International aid was trickling into parts of Turkey and Syria on  Feb 11 where rescuers toiled to pull children from rubble in areas devastated by a massive earthquake that has killed over 24,000 people.

At least 870,000 people urgently needed food in the two countries after the quake, which has left up to 5.3 million people homeless in Syria alone, the UN warned.

The United Nations World Food Programme appealed for $77 million to provide food rations to at least 590,000 newly displaced people in Turkey and 284,000 in Syria.

Of those, 545,000 were internally displaced people and 45,000 were refugees, it said.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease recovery work.

In rebel-held northwestern Syria, about four million people rely on humanitarian relief but there have been no aid deliveries from government-controlled areas in three weeks.

The Syrian government said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian assistance to quake-hit areas outside its control.

Hans Modrow, who served as East Germany’s last communist leader during a turbulent tenure that ended in the country’s first and only free election, has died. He was 95.

Modrow, a reform-minded communist, took over East Germany shortly after the Berlin Wall fell and later invited opposition forces into the government, but could not slow the gathering momentum for German reunification.

During 16 years as communist party chief in Dresden, starting in 1973, Modrow built a reputation as an anti-establishment figure. He rejected party perks and insisted on living in a normal apartment.

China-based Alibaba has sold its remaining 3.3% direct stake in the fin-tech firm One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, in a block deal on Feb 11 . As per the NSE data, it sold over 2.14 crore shares at an average price of 642.74. This would have fetched the Chinese firm about Rs 1,380 crore.

Paytm’s December 2022 shareholding pattern suggests  Alibaba had a 6.26% stake in Paytm. Of this, it off-loaded a 3% stake in January and the remaining was sold on Feb 10 . Alibaba through its affiliate firm Ant Financial still holds close to 25% stake in Paytm. The Chinese billionaire Jack Ma-founded company was one of the earliest investors in the fintech company.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) bought over 54 lakh shares at an average price of Rs 640 in Paytm, showed the NSE data. It sold over 5 lakh shares in another block deal at a price of Rs 667.66. This exit by Alibaba comes days after Paytm reported its first-ever quarterly operating profit as a listed firm, leading to a rally of about 36% in its share prices in just 4 sessions. 

Aviation safety regulator DGCA on  Feb 11 imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Tata Group-owned budget carrier AirAsia India for violation of certain norms relating to pilots' training.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also ordered the removal of the airline's head of training from his position for a period of three months besides imposing a fine of Rs 3 lakh each on eight Designated Examiners (DEs).