12:59 PMPak PM picks Lt Gen Asim Munir as new army chief
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Bajwa, 61, is scheduled to retire on November 29 after a three-year extension. He has ruled out seeking another extension.
Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza had been picked as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
12:28 PMBMC appeals for vaccination amid spike in measles cases in Mumbai
After measles immunisation dropped significantly, the cases of measles in Mumbai are increasing as the total number on Wednesday stood at 233. According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, as many as 12 deaths have been reported this year in Mumbai. An 8-month-old succumbed to the disease on Wednesday.
Amid the spike in cases, BMC has appealed to the public to get their children vaccinated.
In view of the measles outbreak in Mumbai, all citizens are requested to vaccinate their children between 9 months to 5 years of age, the BMC said in a statement.
11:56 AMAssam border violence: Meghalaya delegation led by CM Sagma to meet HM Amit Shah today
Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma will lead a delegation of cabinet ministers of his state to meet Union home minister Amit Shah in the national capital on Thursday to apprise him about the recent firing incident along the border with Assam which left six people dead.
The delegation will demand for an investigation led by either the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency.
On Tuesday, six people were killed and several others injured during an alleged clash between villagers and a contingent comprising Police and forest guards from Assam on Tuesday afternoon. The alleged clash took place in the area bordering the West Karbi Anglong district of Assam and Mukroh village in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills. Among those killed was a forest guard from Assam.
11:44 AMMalaysia king names reformist leader Anwar Ibrahim as next prime minister
Malaysia's king named reformist opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as the country's prime minister on Thursday, ending days of uncertainties after divisive general elections produced a hung parliament.
Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said Anwar will be sworn in later Thursday.
Anwar's Alliance of Hope led Saturday's election with 82 seats, short of the 112 needed for a majority. Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin's right-leaning National Alliance won 73 seats, with its ally Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party emerging as the biggest single party with 49 seats.
11:40 AMPak PM consults allies over next army chief's appointment
Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has set in the motion the process of choosing the next army chief and consulted his allies over the key appointment to replace incumbent general Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The decision on the appointment is expected to be made before November 25 when the premier is leaving for Ankara on a two-day visit.
Bajwa, 61, is scheduled to retire on November 29 after a three-year extension. He has ruled out seeking another extension.
11:17 AMSC peruses original file of EC Arun Goel's appointment, says it was cleared with 'tearing hurry'
Supreme Court peruses the original file of the appointment of Election Commissioner Arun Goel after the Centre placed it before the SC constitution bench. The court says the file was cleared in "haste" and with "tearing hurry".
Goel was appointed to the Election Commission on November 19. He took charge on November 21, according to the commission's website.
An IAS officer of the 1985 batch from the Punjab cadre, Goel retired as secretary, Union Ministry of Heavy Industry, after more than 37 years of service.
10:48 AMDelhi breathes easy as AQI remains in the moderate category for 2nd day
The overall air quality in the national capital remained in the 'moderate' category for the second consecutive day on Thursday morning, with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 173, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
The AQI on Wednesday was 193; on Tuesday, it was 286 (poor). The air quality in Gurugram also remained in the moderate category with an AQI of 152. In Noida, the AQI was poor at 262. The level of PM 2.5 and PM 10 was recorded at 82 in the moderate category and 161 in the moderate category respectively in Delhi.
10:34 AMIndia logs 408 new coronavirus cases, toll climbs to 530,601
India saw a single day rise of 408 coronavirus infections, taking the tally to 44,670,483, while active cases further declined to 5,881, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.
The death toll has climbed to 530,601 with five fatalities, which include four reconciled by Kerala and one death reported from Rajathan in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases constitute 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the data.
A decrease of 165 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in 24 hours.
9:58 AMRahul Gandhi is anti-Gujarati: Nadda on Medha Patkar joining Bharat Jodo Yatra
Ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls next month, BJP chief JP Nadda says Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is anti-Gujarati.
Nadda's remarks came in light of activist Medha Patkar, who spearheaded the Narmada Bachao Aandolan to prevent the displacement of locals due to the water of the dam, joining Rahul Gandhi during the Maharashtra leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
"I believe that Gujarat will break records this time. Gujarat has developed and emerged in many fields this is the reason why people will vote for us again. Medha Patkar has always taken a stand for anti-development. Rahul Gandhi standing next to her means he is also anti-Gujarati," Nadda told ANI.
9:36 AMMP: Priyanka Gandhi joins Rahul-led Bharat Jodo Yatra for the first time
Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with her husband and son joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by her brother Rahul Gandhi for the first time on Thursday.
On the second day of the yatra's Madhya Pradesh leg, Rahul Gandhi started the foot march from Borgaon in Khandwa district. Priyanka Gandhi, her husband Robert Vadra and son Rehan matched steps with Rahul Gandhi.
Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot also walked along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi during the foot march.
9:13 AMChina's single-day Covid tally hits record high with 31,444 new cases
China has reported the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago, official data showed.
Excluding imported cases, the number of new local cases was 31,444 on November 23, of which 3,927 were symptomatic and 27,517 were asymptomatic, health authorities said Thursday. That number broke the previous record set on April 13, when local cases hit 29,317.
9:10 AMSuspicious packet found in J-K's Samba district; bomb disposal squad at site
Police found a suspicious packet in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district Thursday and called a bomb disposal squad.
The packet is suspected to be dropped by a drone from across the border and the possibility of it containing an improvised explosive device (IED), a consignment of weapons, or narcotics cannot be ruled out, an official said. More details are awaited.
9:04 AMIndia to send utility helicopter unit to UN peacekeeping mission in Mali
India will send a helicopter unit to the UN peacekeeping operations in Mali, which is facing a crisis as several countries have withdrawn or announced plans to withdraw from it, according to a UN spokesperson.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesperson Farhan Haq said that the utility helicopter unit from India will be deployed in March and will "provide much-needed support to our forces". It is critical for early warning and rapid response to protect civilians, Haq added.
9:01 AMApple says it has staff on site at Foxconn Zhengzhou facility
Apple said Thursday it has team members on the ground at the Foxconn Zhengzhou iPhone manufacturing facility, which was hit by worker protests in recent days.
"We have Apple team members on the ground at our supplier Foxconn's Zhengzhou facility. We are reviewing the situation and working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees' concerns are addressed," the company said.
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