Pakistan has reported 71 cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in 2024, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said.

The 71st case was confirmed on Tuesday and involved a boy from Jacobabad district in the country's southern Sindh province, with symptoms first appearing on December 27, 2024, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the NIH said on Wednesday.

The institute said that the distribution of cases includes 27 from Balochistan, 21 each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme has intensified its efforts to combat the resurgence of WPV1.

According to the NIH, the programme conducts multiple vaccination drives annually, delivering vaccines directly to households, news agency reported.

Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh, whose Dil-Luminati tour has become a massive rage in India and globally, has shared pictures from his upcoming movie ‘Punjab '95’.

The actor shared a series of pictures in which he could be seen in his character at different timelines of the story.

The first picture shows him inside a prison with his eyes closed as he sits amidst harsh lighting. The other pictures show him outside the prison reading newspapers and certain documents.

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has confirmed his availability to play for Delhi in the next Ranji Trophy match Saurashtra.

Pant, who last played in the Ranji Trophy was during the 2017-2018 season, may join the team in Rajkot directly, where the match is scheduled to take place from January 23.

"Rishabh Pant has confirmed his availability for Delhi’s next Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra," DDCA chief Rohan Jaitley told IANS.

The wicketkeeper batter had a dismal run in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia where India suffered a 1-3 loss to end decade-long dominance. He accumulated 255 runs including one half-century at an average of 28.33.

Mercury continued its free fall in the valley on Wednesday as the Meteorological (MeT) office forecast cloudy weather with snowfall at isolated higher reaches in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.

The MeT office statement said, “On January 15 and 16, generally cloudy sky with light snow at isolated higher reaches during 16th early morning. From January 17 to 19, generally a cloudy sky, but no significant change is expected till January 19. On 20 and 21st of January, a generally cloudy sky with light snow at isolated to scattered places is likely to occur."

The department issued an advisory: "Tourists/travellers/Transporters are advised to follow Admin/Traffic advisory.”

Srinagar city recorded minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, Gulmarg minus 7.4 degrees and Pahalgam minus 8.4 as the minimum temperature. There was, however, an overall improvement in the weather in the plains of the Jammu division.

Just days ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US President, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against his best ally Elon Musk over an alleged securities violation relating to his acquisition of Twitter in 2022.

The SEC lawsuit alleged that the tech billionaire “failed to disclose his 5 per cent ownership stake of Twitter in a timely manner”, violating federal securities law.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, also claimed that the Tesla and SpaceX owner “waited to disclose the acquisition in order to build up a larger position in Twitter at a discounted price”, said reports.

The lawsuit against Musk came as Gary Gensler, Chairman of the SEC, is set to step down on January 20, the day Trump takes over as US President.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has joined the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) to boost 6G research by developing basic devices and components.

In the process of developing indigenous hardware for 6G, C-DOT, the premier telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), signed an agreement with IIT Delhi for the development of "Building Blocks for THz Communication Front Ends” for 6G.

The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) 6G Call for proposal of the Department of Telecommunications, according to a statement by Ministry of Communications.

“This call for proposal is for accelerated research on developing 6G Eco-system, as part of the the Bharat 6G vision to design, develop and deploy 6G network technologies that provide ubiquitous intelligent and secure connectivity for high quality living experience,” it added.

A thick fog enveloped the national capital and surrounding areas early Wednesday morning, severely affecting visibility and causing widespread transportation disruptions. At least seven flights were cancelled, while 184 others were delayed. Additionally, 26 trains heading to Delhi were running late, with six train schedules altered due to the low visibility.

The thick fog caused visibility levels to plummet to near zero in several areas disrupting air, road, and rail traffic.

This comes a day after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert in the national capital, warning of dense to very dense fog.

Road traffic also slowed down as dense fog made commuting difficult across Delhi and other cities in the NCR.

In a statement around 7:30 am, Delhi Airport urged passengers to stay informed about their flight status. "Although landings and take-offs continue, flights that do not meet the CAT III (Category III Instrument Landing System) standards may experience delays. We advise passengers to check with their airlines for the latest updates. We regret any inconvenience caused," said Delhi Airport in repeated advisories.

Yet another bus accident occurred in Uttarakhand on Tuesday morning when a bus carrying 30 passengers overturned near Uttarkashi's Jakhol village.

The accident took place near Sunkundi village, just 2 km ahead of Jakhol. Seven passengers sustained injuries, while the remaining passengers are reported to be safe.

The injured have been rushed to the Primary Health Center in Mori for treatment, according to the rescue officials.

The bus, operated by the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, was on its way from Dehradun to Jakhol when it overturned on the outer edge of the road while making a turn.

South Korea's industry ministry said on Wednesday the government will spend 1.5 trillion won ($1.02 billion) this year to induce consumers to purchase electric vehicles (EVs).

The move is aimed at revitalising domestic demand for EVs amid sluggish sales driven by safety concerns and a lack of access to charging stations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The accumulated number of EVs and hydrogen fuel cell cars stood at 720,000 as of end-2024, with EVs accounting for 680,000, reports news agency.

Domestic EV sales dropped 9.7 per cent on-year to 147,000 in 2024, marking a decline for the second consecutive year.

Some consumers have expressed concerns about EV safety following a massive fire caused by a Mercedes-Benz EV in August, which damaged over 100 vehicles and destroyed an underground apartment parking garage in Incheon, west of Seoul.

The Indian stock market opened higher on Wednesday as buying was seen in the auto, IT and PSU bank sectors.

At around 9.26 am, Sensex was trading at 76,758.37 after rising 258.74 points or 0.34 per cent, while Nifty was trading at 23,225.50 after climbing 49.45 points or 0.21 per cent.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,263 stocks were trading in green, while 289 stocks were in red.

Nifty Bank was up 154.60 points or 0.32 per cent at 48,883.75. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 53,846.40 after adding 169.90 points or 0.32 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,329.05 after climbing 71.25 points or 0.41 per cent.

According to experts, market will witness lots of stock-specific action in response to the Q3 results.

Market has been rewarding performers, delivering better-than-expected results and punishing those delivering worse-than-expected results.