The Supreme Court on  Feb 3 asked the Maharashtra government to only allow rallies scheduled to be organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj in Mumbai on February 5 subject to the condition that “none will make any hate speech or disturb the public order.”

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and JB Pardiwala also directed for video graphing the rally and submitting the contents of the same.

The bench also directed the police to take preventive action to prevent hate speech if necessary. The court also asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for Maharashtra Govt to also seek instructions with regards to the recent event organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj under the banner of “Hindu Jan Aakrosh Sabha” on January 29, 2023. 

The Supreme Court on Feb 3  issued notice to Centre, Twitter and Google on pleas challenging its decision to block a BBC documentary titled 'India the Modi Question' on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundresh asked the centre to produce original records relating to blocking the documentary but however refused to temporarily stay the same.

Appearing for Senior Journalist N Ram, Advocate Prashant Bhushan & TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Senior Advocate CU Singh told the bench that the documentary was taken down by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting by invocation of emergency powers but have not shown similar alacrity in sharing the reasons for passing these emergency orders and placing the orders in the public domain. He also urged the bench to stay January 20 order and all subsequent and consequential proceedings arising there from.

The matter is listed for the next hearing in April.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Feb 3  that the government would have to agree to IMF bailout conditions that are "beyond imagination".

Pakistan's economy is in dire straits, stricken by a balance of payments crisis as it attempts to service high levels of external debt, amid political chaos and a deteriorating security situation.

Pakistan's central bank said on Feb 2 its foreign exchange reserves had dropped again to $3.1 billion dollars, which analysts said was enough for less than three weeks of imports.

On Feb 1  year-on-year inflation had risen to a 48-year high, leaving Pakistanis struggling to afford basic food items.

The International Monetary Fund arrived in Pakistan on Feb 2  for urgent talks to help revive Pakistan’s already agreed bailout programme which has stalled for months over the government’s reluctance to meet demands.

Brazil plans to sink a decommissioned aircraft carrier that has been towed around the Atlantic for months with a damaged hull, drawing criticism from environmentalists, who say it is packed with toxic materials.

The navy and defense ministry said in a statement on  Feb 1   that the six-decade-old warship, the Sao Paulo, would be scuttled, after trying in vain to find a port willing to welcome it.

Environmentalists attacked the decision, saying the aircraft carrier contains tonnes of asbestos, heavy metals and other toxic materials that could leach into the water and pollute the marine food chain.

Shares of Adani Group companies continued to fall on Feb 2 weighed down by selling pressure from jittery investors.

Shares of Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), the group’s flagship company, declined 30 per cent to touch Rs 1,017 apiece in afternoon trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange. However, the shares made some recovery and were trading at Rs 1,330 apiece at 12.30 pm.  

In yet another setback to the company, S&P Dow Jones Indices  said it would remove flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd from widely used sustainability indices on February 7, making the shares less appealing to environment-conscious investors.

Other group stocks declined after NSE decided to place Adani Ports & SEZ and Ambuja Cements, along with Adani Enterprises, under an additional surveillance measures framework.

Big banks including Credit Suisse and Citigroup have stopped accepting Adani bonds as collateral for loans to private clients, according to Bloomberg News.

S&P Dow Jones has said it will remove Adani Group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises from sustainability indices with effect from February 7 following a media and stakeholder analysis triggered by allegations of accounting fraud.

The move comes amid leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE putting three Adani Group companies -- Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Ambuja Cements -- under their short-term additional surveillance measure (ASM) framework.

It will make the changes to the Dow Jones sustainability indices, effective prior to the opening on February 7.

Shares of Adani Enterprises were trading 15 per cent lower on the BSE in the morning trade on Feb 3 . The counter had plunged over 26 per cent on Feb 2  and more than 28 per cent on Feb 1 .

The 10 listed Adani Group firms have faced a combined erosion of over Rs 8.76 lakh crore in past six trading sessions.

South Africa beat India by five wickets in the final to clinch the Women's T20I Tri-series title  on Feb 2.

South Africa chased down the target 110 with 12 balls to spare. Chloe Tryon top-scored with 57 not out off just 32 balls. She hit six fours and two sixes as South Africa reached 113 for 5 in 18 overs.

For India, Sneh Rana was the most successful bowler with figures of 2 for 21 while Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Renuka Singh got a wicket apiece.

Earlier, opting to bat, India posted a below-par 109 for 4 with Harleen Deol top-scoring with a 56-ball 46.

Brief Scores: India: 109 for 4 in 20 overs (Harleen Deol 46; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2/16).

South Africa: 113 for 5 in 18 overs (Chloe Tryon 57 not out; Sneh Rana 2/21).

A Japanese company embroiled in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic corruption scandal said on Feb 2 it would strengthen oversight to prevent further wrongdoing.

Kadokawa “seriously betrayed public trust,” company president Takeshi Natsuno said. He bowed deeply with two other executives to show remorse in a news conference.

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the son of the founder, was arrested in September on suspicion of bribing Haruyuki Takahashi, a member of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, with 69 million yen ($480,000).

Kadokawa Group was chosen as an Olympic sponsor and published the Games program and guidebooks.