Indian Sub-continent

Kanpur: The Congress has fielded Sohail Akhtar Ansari from Kanpur Cantt seat in the upcoming UP assembly polls.

It is worthwhile to mention here that he had earned victory on the seat in the year 2017 for the Congress.

However, there was strong speculation that he would switch sides to the Samajwadi Party, which did not announce its candidate from the Kanpur Cantt constituency.

People confident to the politician reacted  that he had kept the phone switched off.

Kanpur:  BJP MLA from Kidwai Nagar seat, Mahesh Trivedi, in a video while addressing a public gathering asked his supporters to beat tyrants with sticks and slippers.

He said, "I request that this time, people who are tyrants, who talk one-sided, who misuse power, beat them with sticks and slippers, but do not shoot. I will handle everything".

His statement was welcomed by the public with full cheers and claps.

It is said that the MLA was targeting his political adversaries in the constituency who belong to the Congress party.

Mumbai, Jan 27 (PTI) The rupee declined 41 paise to 75.19 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking the strength of the American currency after hawkish US Fed policy stance.

Forex traders said muted domestic equities, sustained foreign fund outflows and firm crude oil prices also weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 75.18 against the US dollar, then fell further to 75.19, registering a decline of 41 paise from the last close.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 74.78 against the US dollar.

PUL-E-ALAM, Afghanistan (AP) — A flickering flame of paper, rags and random twigs is the only heat Gulnaz has to keep her 18-month-old son warm, barely visible beneath his icy blanket as she begs on a bitterly cold highway on the road to Kabul.

The 70-kilometer (45-mile) stretch of highway is flanked by snow-swept hills. Occasionally a driver slows his car and shoves an Afghani note into the 28-year-old woman’s bare, dirt-caked hand. She sits for hours on the highway medium, positioned just beyond a bump in the road that slows traffic.

Sitapur (UP), Jan 26 (PTI) Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan on Wednesday filed his nomination for Rampur Sadar seat from inside Sitapur jail.

The Returning Officer from Rampur visited the jail to get his nomination papers after an order was issued by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rampur Court, Jailor RS Yadav told media.

"As of now all paper formalities have been completed," he said.

Rampur will go to polls on Feb 14 in the second phase of UP elections.

Jaipur, Jan 26 (PTI) A 24-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping and killing a 10-year-old girl in Rajasthan's Pali district, police said on Wednesday.

The accused strangled the girl after sexually assaulting her on Monday. He then dumped the victim's body into a well, Takhatgarh Station House Officer Rajendra Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary said the accused, Narpat Singh, was arrested on Tuesday, adding villagers present there thrashed him due to which he was injured.

Dehradun, Jan 27 (PTI) Former Uttarakhand Congress president Kishore Upadhyay has been expelled from the party for six years for anti-party activities amid speculation that he might join the BJP.

Upadhyay was earlier removed from all party positions as a disciplinary action after he met BJP leaders here, including the party's election in-charge for Uttarakhand Pralhad Joshi.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Wednesday held telephonic conversations with foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Jordan and discussed bilateral as well as regional matters.

During their conversation, Foreign Minister Qureshi and Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tileuberdi reaffirmed the commitment to enhance bilateral cooperation in all areas leading towards a sustainable partnership.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Wednesday held a telephonic conversation with Azeri counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov in which they emphasized deepening of trade and economic linkages as well as increased cooperation in education and energy sectors.

The two sides reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on ways to further strengthen mutual cooperation.

NEW DELHI, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a U.S. gun violence monitoring group, said the United States saw 44,868 gun-related deaths during incumbent President Joe Biden's first year in office, reported an Indian news channel on Monday.