Indian Sub-continent

Kolkata, Dec 17 (PTI) The Calcutta High on Friday rejected an appeal by the BJP against a single bench order which directed that the state police - and not central forces - will provide security for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) election on December 19.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed that the State Election Commission (SEC), with the help of the state authorities, will take all possible measures to boost the confidence of voters.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is rallying Muslim countries to help Afghanistan stave off an economic and humanitarian disaster while also cajoling the neighboring country’s new Taliban rulers to soften their image abroad.

Several foreign ministers from the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation are meeting in Islamabad on Sunday to explore ways to aid Afghanistan while navigating the difficult political realities of its Taliban-run government, Pakistan’s top diplomat said Friday.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The government has received an undisclosed number of financial bids for sale of its stake in ailing helicopter operator Pawan Hans, moving the divestment process to the last stage.

"The financial bids for Pawan Hans disinvestment have been received by the transaction advisor. The process now moves to a concluding stage, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.

He, however, did not disclose the number of bidders.

Kanpur: The state government has assigned IIT Kanpur and FICCI to establish  the Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship Centre of Excellence (AIIDE-CoE) in NOIDA.

It will help nurture and incubate 250 startups from the AI/ML domain over a period of five years.

The centre will develop the startup ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh in the field of artificial intelligence and help bridge the gap between academia and industries.

Gurugram, Dec 17 (PTI) A heated exchange of words took place over offering 'namaz' in the open here on Friday with right wing activists asking those who arrived for the prayers to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

Several videos on the clash, which are said to be shot in Udyog Vihar, also show police arriving at the venue and holdings talks with the two groups.

Mangaluru, Dec 17 (PTI) Activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) on Friday staged a march to the office of the Dakshina Kannada district superintendent of police here against the lathicharge on protestors outside a police station in Puttur on December 14.

The protestors who took part in the SP office chalo' march also demanded the release of their activists from police custody.

Srinagar, Dec 17 (PTI) Former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah Friday lashed out at the Jammu and Kashmir administration for changes in the land use laws, claiming the new policy would adversely impact the people of the Union Territory.

Mehbooba Mufti, the PDP president, alleged the new laws enabling conversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural purposes reveals designs to engineer demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The two-day nationwide bank strike called by United Forum of Bank Union ended on Friday, impacting normal operations across the country.

Lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of employees of public sector banks were on strike to protest against the proposed privatisation of banks by the government.

Banks will work as usual on Saturday, as it is a working day.

Kanpur: Continued increase in the cold condition for the past several days has brought trouble for the heart patients. 

According to the doctors, two heart patients have died at Hallett Hospital on Friday here. They were admitted at the Cardiology in the hospital.

The doctors have accepted that the number of patients suffering with heart and brain problems added up due to the rise in the low temperature these days.

Patients of brain stroke and heart stroke are admitted to Cardiology. Prof Richa Giri told that the number of patients rose because of colder weather.

Jammu, 16 December 2021: Two Kashmiris were killed on Thursday by Indian security forces in Kulgam district of the Indian Administered Kashmir, Indian officials said.