The Catch Up: 13 February

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 13th of February and here are the headlines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today embarked on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, highlighting the robust ties India shares with these nations. In his departure statement, PM Modi said that his visit will deepen India’s bilateral ties with both the nations. PM Modi will address world leaders at the World Government Summit in Dubai and also inaugurate the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi.

Chaos emerged at Punjab-Haryana border today as protesting farmers began to remove the barricades, following which the Haryana police fired rounds of tear gas to disperse the mob. A number of farmers were detained and their vehicles seized by Haryana police soon after farmers’ unions began the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march amid heavy security. Farmer leaders decided to continue their march after a second round of crucial meeting between the farmer union leaders and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda last evening ended in a stalemate, with no common ground in sight.

Just a day after exiting the Congress, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the BJP today. Speaking about his decision to join the BJP, he said, quote, "After 38 years of political career in Congress, I took the decision to join BJP. I look forward to new innings with a positive outlook keeping the development agenda in mind." Unquote.

The Supreme Court today quashed the criminal defamation complaint against Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav in connection with remarks where he allegedly referred to Gujaratis as "thugs". The court quashed the complaint, taking note that Yadav had tendered an apology and withdrawn his statement. The order came on Yadav’s plea seeking a transfer of the criminal defamation complaint pending against him in an Ahmedabad court to a place outside the state, preferably Delhi.

Goa police today told a Children’s Court that a mental health assessment of Suchana Seth, the Bengaluru-based CEO accused of murdering her four-year-old son at a Goa hotel last month, did not find any case of psychopathology, and that she gave "clear and rational answers" during the medical examination. The police cited a report of the medical examination conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour in Bambolim, stating that "serial mental status examinations did not reveal any case of psychopathology".

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.