Highlights: Samples of 2 people in Lucknow test positive for Zika virus

One terrorist was on Thursday killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar. Police and security forces are currently present at the spot. “1 AK rifle along with ammunition recovered. Search underway,” news agency quoted the Jammu and Kashmir police as saying.

Samples of two people in Lucknow tested positive for Zika virus on Thursday.  A total of 93 samples have tested positive till date, 91 of which are from Kanpur. The first Zika case in Kanpur was detected on October 23 and the number of cases has increased over the past week.

A fire broke out on the sixth floor of Rishabh Tower near Karkarduma Metro Station in Delhi on Thursday, the fore department said. 14 fire tenders have been rushed to the spot, and no casualties have been reported so far, the department added.

At least four people were killed as Bangladesh held village council elections Thursday, reported news agency AP. Chief Election Commissioner K.M. Nurul Huda warned against election violence before Thursday's vote and said security measures were being taken to respond to any incidents.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday said it was "factually wrong" to compare Hindutva political ideology with ISIS and Jihadist Islam. 

Azad was referring to a passage in Salman Khurshid latest book, where he reportedly compared Hindutva with the jihadist Islam of terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram.

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the Centre is moving towards creating 'One Nation, One Portal' to redress public grievances. He said efforts are being made to integrate state grievance portals with the Centre's Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System, an online system that mainly allows filing of complaints by people against different central government departments.

Delhi has reported 40 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the Delhi government said on Thursday. Further, 61 patients recovered from the infection while no deaths were reported for the 20th consecutive day.

The ministry of external affairs on Thursday said India has neither accepted the illegal occupation of Indian territory by China nor China's unjustified claims. "China has undertaken construction activities in the past several years along the border areas, including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over decades. India has neither accepted such illegal occupation of our territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims," ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. Read more

The rupee depreciated by 18 paise to end at 74.52 (provisional) against the US currency on Thursday, as heavy selling pressure in domestic equities and a strong greenback in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments.

A total of around 2,000 positive cases of dengue have been reported so far in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district, news agency ANI reported Gwalior CMHO, Dr Manish Sharma, as saying. "Our control measures have started producing results, cases are gradually coming down," the official added.

Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira was on Thursday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges. According to people familiar with the development, the leader was arrested by the Delhi team of the Enforcement Directorate.

Former South African president FW de Klerk, who freed Nelson Mandela, dies aged 85. Read more

An encounter is underway at Chawalgam area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam. According to news agency ANI, a terrorist was killed during the operation. 

More details to follow.

Amruta Devendra Fadnavis, the wife of former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has sent a legal notice to Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik for “tarnishing the image of her family” through his alleged defamatory tweets, reports news agency ANI.

The Punjab assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution against the Union government's decision to extend the Border Security Force jurisdiction to a 50 km belt along the international border in the State, news agency ANI reported chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi as saying. “We are committed to protect Punjab and if required will approach SC in this matter,” he added. 

Due to severe rains and heavy crosswinds, arrivals at Chennai Airport will remain suspended from 1315 hrs to 1800 hrs, today. Departures will continue, says city Airport. 

Due to overnight rainfall, there is waterlogging in parts of Chennai today. 13 subways waterlogged will be cleared, 160 fallen trees removed. In last 4 days, almost 20 lakh people given food packets in Chennai: Kumar Jayanth, Principal Secy, Revenue Dept, Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan who was arrested in a drug-related case early this year and is now out on bail has sent a legal notice to BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding ₹5 crore damages for 'mental torture, agony, financial loss and injury' inflicted to his reputation because of Fadnavis' statement on a television channel. Read More

Chennai, battered by incessant rain, is expected to receive more downpour as a depression in the Bay of Bengal is hurtling towards Tamil Nadu coast. The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) regional centre has said that it will cross the coast between north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh on Thursday evening. Read More

China and the United States early on Thursday unveiled a surprise deal and issued a joint statement on climate cooperation, pledging they would work together to slow global warming during this decade and ensure that the Glasgow talks result in progress. Read More

Germany hits record 50,000 new Covid cases in 24 hours, news agency AGP has reported citing local authorities.

After a day-long deliberations on Afghanistan by National Security Advisors (NSAs) of eight neighboring countries here on Wednesday, it has become quite evident that the Taliban will continue to hold the reins of power in Kabul. Read More

India's daily Covid-19 tally saw jump on Thursday, as the country reported 13,091 cases of infection  in the last 24 hours. The cumulative tally now stands at  3,44,01,670. 

Union home minister Amit hah is expected to visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on November 12 to attend Akhil Bharatiya Rajbhasha Sammelan. The meeting is significant in view of the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh as he is considered as the architect of the BJP's turnaround in the state. Read More