Morning Digest | CBI headquarters turned into a fortress; COVID-19 likely emerged from China lab leak, says U.S. Department of Energy, and more

Here’s a select list of stories to read before you start your day

Won’t drop Sisodia from Cabinet, say AAP sources

Only five of Delhi’s seven Ministers are now in a position to carry out administrative duties, as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday became the second Minister to be arrested after Satyendar Jain last year. Article 239A of the Constitution states that the Capital can have a maximum of seven Ministers.

COVID likely emerged from China lab leak, says U.S. Department of Energy: reports

The coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the U.S. Department of Energy now says according to media, although the White House maintained on Sunday that American intelligence remained divided on the issue. The determination — noted in a classified report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office — marks a shift by the Energy department, which had previously said it was undecided on how the virus emerged.

Assembly polls begin in Nagaland, Meghalaya

More than 34 lakh electors are set to choose their new representatives from among 552 candidates in Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27, 2023. The elections are being conducted in 59 seats each. While BJP candidate Kazheto Kinimi was elected unopposed from Nagaland’s Akuluto constituency after his lone Congress rival Khekashe Sumi opted out of the race, election to the Sohiong seat in Meghalaya was deferred following the death of H.D.R. Lyngdoh, the candidate of the United Democratic Party.

Polling underway in Erode (East) bypolls on Monday