DH Evening Brief: Feb 3, 2022

Here are the top headlines this evening.

India to skip opening, closing ceremonies of Beijing Winter Olympics

India will boycott opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. Read more

LIC's embedded value set at Rs 5 lakh crore, says government official

Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) embedded value has been finalised at more than Rs 5 lakh crore, a government official who is overseeing what is expected to be the country's largest IPO said on Thursday. Read more

China suffered higher losses in Galwan Valley than reported: Report

China's losses in the Galwan Valley clash in 2020 were much higher than reported with many soldiers drowning while crossing a fast-flowing river in darkness, an investigative Australian newspaper claimed on Wednesday. Read more

Watch: After Udupi, students wearing hijab denied entry at college in Kundapura

Following the denial of entry to hijab-clad students in Udupi, female students wearing hijab were denied entry at Bhandarkars' College Kundapura in Udupi, Karnataka on February 3. Watch video

The good news in a bleak Budget

India’s Budget, presented earlier this week, is both a presentation of the national accounts and the only statement of government policy that we get all year. This year, the accounts made for worrying reading. The government is short of money and the economy is short of momentum. As a statement of policy, however, the Budget is far more promising. Read more

Children don't go to schools to practice religion: Karnataka Home Minister after row over hijabs, saffron shawls

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Thursday said children should neither wear the hijab nor saffron shawls when they go to school even as he directed the police to “watch” religious outfits in the coastal region where confrontation is brewing. Read more

North Korea's Kim Jong Un rides white horse in new propaganda video

Galloping through forest atop a white horse, Kim Jong Un stars in a new North Korean propaganda video that touts his economic leadership but ignores a recent spate of sanctions-busting missile launches. Read more

Thought they would kill me, says Arunachal teen who was abducted by Chinese authorities

The Indian teen who was allegedly abducted by the Chinese army from Arunachal Pradesh, confirmed his father’s allegations that he was “tied up, kicked, and given electric shocks” while in Chinese custody. Read more

Pricey pixels: Why people spend fortunes on NFT art

Thousands of artists beaver away every day creating images to sell as digital tokens (NFTs) in online exchanges. The market is booming, the most popular pieces can sell for millions, but outsiders may wonder why anyone would pay anything at all. Read more