Good morning! Here are the top stories in your news bulletin on February 20.

Farmers reject Centre’s offer

Farmer leaders from Punjab rejected on Monday the latest offer from the central government on guaranteeing floor prices for select crops. They announced the resumption of their march to the national capital, a plan that has prompted police in Haryana and Delhi to seal off key borders for days now. The announcement came after the two outfits leading the agitation held a fourth round of talks with Union ministers in Chandigarh till the early hours of Monday. The government offered a new mechanism – five-year contracts with cooperative societies to procure pulses, maize and cotton at minimum support prices. The general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee said they still stand on their main demand of a legal guarantee of MSP on all 23 crops. Read full story

Samajwadi Party puts condition for Yatra

The Samajwadi Party said it will join the Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra only after the seat-sharing deal between the two is locked. Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav’s party had said it will leave 15 seats, largely of its choice, for the Congress which has not acknowledged the offer till date. The SP chief has already dismissed the Congress’s demand of seats that it had won in 2009, saying that political situation has changed drastically since then. Akhilesh had got the Congress’s invitation to join the yatra that entered Uttar Pradesh on February 16. After the invite, Akhilesh had said he will join it. Subsequently, the SP announced that the party chief will join the yatra either in Amethi or in Rae Bareli. Read full story

Putin’s gift to Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received a car from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as a gift “for his personal use”. It is seen as a violation of U.N. ban that Moscow had joined to adopt against Pyongyang. The two countries have forged closer ties since Kim and Putin met in September and pledged to promote exchanges in all areas. The Russian-made car was delivered to Kim’s top aides by the Russian side on February 18, according to official KCNA news agency. The report did not describe the car or how it was shipped from Russia. Kim is believed to be an avid automobile enthusiast and has a large collection of luxury foreign vehicles believed to be smuggled in. Read full story

Don 3 announcement

Makers of the upcoming action thriller film ‘Don 3’ starring Ranveer Singh are all set to make a special announcement regarding the film today. Earlier in August 2023, Farhan revealed that Ranveer Singh will be the new Don in the third film of the hit franchise. In a special announcement video, Ranveer was seen seated in a building with his back to the camera. He wears a leather jacket and matching pants for the dapper look and accessorizes it with leather boots and matching sunglasses. Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan played the character in the earlier versions. An official announcement for the remaining cast of ‘Don 3’ is still awaited.

Messi’s China snub

Argentine football star Lionel Messi insisted that his absence from a match in Hong Kong two weeks ago that drew the ire of spectators was not a snub but prompted by injury. In a video posted on China’s Weibo social media platform, Messi rejected chatter that his no-show was “for political reasons”. He said if this had been the case, “I would not have travelled” to Hong Kong in the first place. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner stayed on the bench throughout Inter Miami’s 4-1 win against a Hong Kong select 11 on February 4. His no-show drew boos and calls for refunds from thousands of fans who had shelled out large sums to see the World Cup-winning captain play in Hong Kong. Some nationalist politicians and outlets interpreted Messi’s absence as a snub to China.