HIGHLIGHTS

By KJM Varma PTI IJT

Following are the top stories at 9.45 pm.

NATION DEL93 VIRUS-2NDLD HEALTH MINISTRY 2 cases of Omicron variant detected in Karnataka, says govt New Delhi/Bengaluru: Two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union government said on Thursday while asking people not to panic but follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay.

DEL70 PM-CYCLONE-LD MEETING PM chairs meeting on Cyclone Jawad, asks officials to ensure safe evacuation of people New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the preparedness to deal with the situation arising out of the likely formation of Cyclone Jawad that is expected to hit the North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast and directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people are safely evacuated.

DEL80 MEA-INDIA-RUSSIA Modi, Putin to discuss ways to strengthen India-Russia strategic partnership at Dec 6 summit: MEA New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will review the state of bilateral ties and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries at their summit talks on December 6, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

DEL86 UP-3RDLD SHAH Amit Shah in western UP: woos farmers, invokes Kairana 'exodus' Saharanpur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday accused the previous state governments of conspiring to sell off cooperative sugar mills and targeted them for filing ''one-sided cases'' during riots, alluding also to the "exodus" of Hindus from another western UP town some years back.

DEL91 MEA-INDOPAK-AID-AFGHAN No conditionalities should be attached for sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan: India New Delhi: India on Thursday said discussions with Pakistan are going on to finalise the modalities for the transportation of its aid to Afghanistan through Pakistani soil and insisted that no conditionalities should be attached for sending the humanitarian assistance.

DEL77 CONG-MAMATA Cong accuses Mamata Banerjee of helping 'fascist' forces, political opportunism New Delhi'' In a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Congress on Thursday accused her of political opportunism and helping ''fascist'' forces by fighting against the grand old party.

DEL90 BHOPAL GAS-LD CHILDREN 37 years on, children not then born scarred forever by Bhopal gas leak Bhopal: They were not born at the time but hundreds of children live the horrors of that intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, every minute of every day -- their bodies trapped forever in congenital disabilities such as blindness and cerebral palsy. DEL81 HUA-SMART CITIES Centre extends timeline for implementation of Smart Cities Mission to June 2023 New Delhi: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has extended the timeline for the implementation of Smart Cities Mission to June 2023 due to the Covid pandemic and other reasons, a senior official said on Thursday.

DEL44 DEF-ARMY-UNIFORM Army to introduce new combat uniform from next year New Delhi: The Army is set to introduce a light and more climate-friendly combat uniform for its personnel from next year, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

LEGAL LGD14 SC-POLLUTION-WORDS Air pollution: War of words in SC between SG and SCBA prez New Delhi: A war of words broke out in the Supreme Court Thursday between Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh during the hearing in the air pollution matter.

LGD8 SC-ZAKIA 2002 riots: Larger conspiracy "orchestrated" by Teesta Setalvad to defame state, Gujarat tells SC New Delhi: There is a larger conspiracy "orchestrated" by social activist Teesta Setalvad to defame Gujarat for almost two decades, the state government told the Supreme Court on Thursday while arguing on Zakia Jafri's petition relating to the 2002 riots there.

FOREIGN FGN28 VIRUS-PFIZER-VACCINE Pfizer working on updated jab in response to Omicron variant: CEO London: Pfizer is working on an updated jab in response to the Omicron variant that could be ready in 100 days, according to the head of American multinational pharmaceutical giant, who said that people may need to have annual Covid-19 vaccinations for many years to come.

FGN23 PAK-COURT-SAEED-BLAST Pak court issues notices to CTD, Punjab govt on bail plea of woman held in blast outside Hafiz Saeed's house Lahore:A woman arrested in connection with the blast outside Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's house here claimed that there was no plausible grounds to detain her, prompting a local court to issue notices to the Counter Terrorism Department and the Punjab government on Thursday seeking their reply within two weeks. By M Zulqernain FGN41 CHINA-BRI-EU-REAX Wary of EU's Global Gateway to rival BRI, China says they can complement each other Beijing: Playing down the likely challenge from the European Union's ambitious USD 340 billion Global Gateway infrastructure programme to its BRI, a wary China on Thursday extended a guarded response, saying the two initiatives can complement each other to enhance global connectivity. By KJM Varma PTI IJT

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)