News in Brief

Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM
Hindustan Times Online

Nitish Kumar yesterday took oath as chief minister of Bihar -- for the fourth time -- along with 10 ministers in his cabinet. He also pledged to work with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) had parted ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

Girl suicide bomber kills five in Nigeria
Afp, Kano, Nigeria

A young girl suicide bomber blew herself up and killed five others yesterday in an attack on a market in the northeastern Nigerian city of Potiskum, witnesses and a hospital source said. Witnesses said she appeared to be as young as seven-years-old and was the latest in a string of child suicide bombers in Nigeria. Previous such attacks have been blamed on Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

Mamata 's aide arrested in Kolkata
Ndtv Online

Businessman Shibaji Panja, who accompanied West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her three-day Bangladesh visit, was arrested yesterday after arriving at the Kolkata airport. The Delhi Police had issued a lookout notice against Mr Panja on February 19 in connection with a case of fraud.

Myanmar  aid convoy attacked; 5 hurt
Reuters, Yangon

Five people, including a Red Cross volunteer, were wounded in an attack on a car near the Chinese border where battles have raged between government soldiers and ethnic insurgents, the second such attack within a week, the Red Cross said yesterday. Myanmar President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law this month in the region after more than 70 people were killed in fighting between the army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), from the Chinese-speaking Kokang region.

Israel to buy 14 F-35s from US
Afp, Jerusalem

Israel is to purchase 14 F-35 stealth fighters from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin at a cost of around $110 million each, the defence ministry said yesterday. The $2.82 billion deal, which includes other technological and training elements, was signed at the weekend after being approved by a ministerial committee in November.