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From national and international political developments to rising air pollution and farm fires, catch all the latest news from across the globe here

9:36 AM

Climate activist glues himself to table during talk show

A climate activist glued himself to the table of a Dutch television show on Tuesday evening. The video of the incident is gaining traction on social media. Local news websites dutchnews.nl identified the activist as Jelle de Graaf. He was discussing the recent protests by activists where they threw food items onto art, like the Van Gogh soup incident, on the talk show Jinek. During the conversation, the activist suddenly climbed on top of the talk show table and glued himself to it.

9:34 AM

'Excited about India-UK partnership': Rishi Sunak tells PM Modi in 1st talk after taking charge of Britain

9:29 AM

Face of Windows phone to leave Microsoft after 32 yrs

Joe Belfiore, known as the face of the Windows phone and a Microsoft veteran, has announced his retirement from the software giant after 32 years.

Belfiore was the head-of-product and co-manager of the Office team.

In a tweet on Friday, he said: "Today I shared with my team that after 32 fantastic years, I will be retiring from Microsoft.

9:28 AM

Japan to OK $490 bn in stimulus to cushion impact of inflation

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government was to approve on Friday a hefty economic package that will include government funding of about 29 trillion yen ($200 billion) to soften the burden of costs from rising utility rates and food prices.

Formal party and Cabinet approval was expected later in the day after a morning economic policy meeting. Kishida was set to give a news conference in the evening.

Inflation has been rising in Japan along with globally surging prices. A weakening of the yen against the dollar has amplified costs for imports.

9:27 AM

Centre transfers 45.33 acres of HMT land to Uttarakhand government

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey for transferring the HMT land to the Uttarakhand Government.

"This double engine is another important achievement of the government. The much-awaited demand of Uttarakhand has been fulfilled. This matter was pending for a long time. Now the land has been transferred to the state government. It will be used in the interest of the state and for the development of the state," he said.

Significantly, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this. Along with this, in a meeting with Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey in the month of August, raising this matter, a request was made to transfer the said land of HMT to the Government of Uttarakhand.

9:14 AM

Tuberculosis cases surged for the first time in many years: WHO

An estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, an increase of 4.5 per cent from 2020, and 1.6 million people died from TB, according to the World Health Organization's 2022 Global TB report.

The burden of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) also increased by 3 per cent between 2020 and 2021, with 450 000 new cases of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) in 2021. This is the first time in many years an increase has been reported in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug resistant TB, according to the WHO report.

TB services are among many others disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, but its impact on the TB response has been particularly severe. Ongoing conflicts across Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have further exacerbated the situation for vulnerable populations.

9:12 AM

Massive modernisation plan for UP Police

The Uttar Pradesh Police is looking towards a massive modernisation plan and its personnel will soon be armed with body worn cameras and full body protectors.

The state's department of home has approved a budget of Rs 650 crore for making the police hi-tech and armed with modern policing gears and tools.

Of this, an amount of Rs 4.8 crore have been set aside for purchase of 1,200 body worn cameras and 1,650 full body protectors, while Rs 2.84 crore for 30,000 post-mortem kits.

9:11 AM

Averting climate disasters require bold emission reduction measure: UNEP

Community of nations must implement bold measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avert runaway climate emergencies including floods, droughts, heatwaves and cyclones, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a new report.

The UNEP's 2022 Emissions Gap Report launched on Thursday in Nairobi notes that progress towards meeting net-zero targets across the globe had stagnated, worsening the vulnerability of communities and ecosystems to adverse impacts of a heating planet, reports Xinhua news agency.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UNEP, said the 13th edition of Emissions Gap Report was categorical and that taming the unfolding climate crisis hinged on a radical transition to low-carbon lifestyles and economic development.

9:11 AM

Over 150mn kids in Africa gripped by poverty, climate disaster: Report

More than 150 million children across East and Southern Africa are gripped by grinding poverty and climate disaster, an international charity report said.

The charity, Save the Children, said in a report released here on Thursday that 16.31 million children across Kenya, or 67 per cent of the country's children, are living with the dual impacts of poverty and the climate emergency, reports Xinhua news agency.

Save the Children Kenya and Madagascar Country Director Yvonne Arunga said the climate emergency and issues of inequality are deeply connected, and cannot be dealt with in isolation from each other.

9:10 AM

Meghalaya considering shifting secretariat to New Shillong

The Meghalaya government is considering shifting the state secretariat and other administrative offices to New Shillong Township in a bid to decongest the capital, officials said.

 

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma along with Urban Affairs Minister S Dhar and top officials of the state government visited several sites in the new township, being developed around 12 km away from Shillong, on Thursday.

9:09 AM

Rajnath lauds heroes of 1947 war, crucial role played by J&K people

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh heaped praises on the heroes of the 1947 war and also commended the crucial contribution made by people of Jammu and Kashmir in driving out Pakistani infiltrators to protect the territorial integrity of the country.

 

In his address at an event held at the old airfield, Srinagar to mark the 75th anniversary of the Infantry Day on Thursday, Singh also said "traits of new-born Pakistan could be seen from its nascent stage only".

 

Exactly 75 years ago, troops of the Indian Army's 1 Sikh Regiment had arrived at the old airfield of Srinagar, carried in Dakota aircraft, to protect Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistani forces, a day after its then Maharaja Hari Singh signed the 'instrument of accession' on October 26, 1947.

9:09 AM

Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra enters 3rd day in Telangana

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Yeligandla in Narayanpet district of Telangana on Friday and is expected to cover a distance of 23.3 km, Congress party sources said.

 

The yatra will halt at Mahabubnagar tonight.

 

This is the third day of the yatra in the state.

 

9:07 AM

Guj Assembly polls: Kejriwal, Mann and Gehlot to begin 3-day state visit

Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, and Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot will embark on a three-day visit to the poll-bound Gujarat from Friday, during which they will address public rallies in different parts of the state for their respective parties.

 

During their visit, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, who is also the AAP's national convener, and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann are scheduled to address six rallies.

 

Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot will also hold six public rallies, party sources said.

9:07 AM

US GDP report points to an economic recovery, recession unlikely: President Biden's economic adviser

The third quarter GDP report on the US economy points to an economic recovery and quells fears of an impending recession, President Joe Biden's key economic adviser has said.

 

The US economy grew at a better-than-expected 2.6 per cent annual rate from July through September, snapping two straight quarters of economic contraction and overcoming high inflation and interest rates.

 

9:03 AM

Vladimir Putin praises PM Modi for independent foreign policy despite 'attempts', calls him true patriot