Norway will grant collective protection to fewer Ukrainians arriving from six areas deemed safe by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, the government said.

If no individual need for protection exists, applications from new asylum seekers from these areas will be rejected, it said.

For the past two and a half years, most Ukrainians fleeing to Norway have been given temporary protection without individual assessment, but now applications from safe regions of Ukraine will be evaluated under regular asylum regulations, news agency reported.

Congress on Saturday released its detailed ‘Haath Badlega Halaat’ manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana, promising a slew of welfare measures for farmers, women, employees and the youth.

The manifesto was released in the presence of former state Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, ex-Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and the party's state chief Udai Bhan.

The 40-page manifesto promises free treatment up to Rs 25 lakh and Rs 2,000 per month to women, it also promises to get water from the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.

Elections for the 90-member Assembly will be held on October 5 and the results will be declared on October 8.

Heart attacks and strokes are a global health challenge, accounting for 3.9 million deaths annually, in the South-East Asia Region, including India, said the World Health Organization on Saturday, ahead of World Heart Day.

World Heart Day is observed every year on September 29 to raise awareness about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), accelerating actions to prevent, detect early, and manage heart health. The theme this year is ‘Use Heart for Action’

“Cardiovascular diseases remain a significant global health challenge responsible for over 18 million deaths each year,” said Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia.

Istanbul's Culture Route Festival opened, offering more than 500 events across the city over nine days.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy launched the festival at the Ataturk Cultural Center in Beyoglu district with a "Carmina Burana" performance by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, news agency reported.

The festival will use over 110 venues, including stages at landmarks such as Galataport Clock Tower Square on the Bosphorus Strait.

Events include concerts, film screenings and exhibitions by international artists. Refik Anadolu's "Earth Dreams: Anatolia" will showcase photography, digital art, painting, sculpture and traditional arts.

The Indian stock market continued to witness the bull run this week, marking a 1.7 per cent increase and the third consecutive weekly gain, with Sensex hitting 85,000 for the first time and Nifty trading at an all-time high.

The benchmark indices saw a phase of sector rotation. Large-cap stocks are receiving more inflows compared to mid and small-caps, which had been market favourites until recently.

Sectors like public sector banks, defence and railways, which saw heavy participation earlier, are gradually being overshadowed by under-performers such as pharma, private banks and mid-size IT.

Four soldiers and a senior J&K Police officer were injured on Saturday in an encounter between terrorists and the security forces in Kulgam district.

Officials said that four soldiers and a senior police officer were injured during the gunfight in the Adigam area of the district.

“After receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of terrorists in Adigam village of Kulgam district, security forces including the Army, police and the CRPF started a CASO (Cordon and Search Operation) in the area. After carefully approaching the hiding terrorists to ensure that no damage was caused to civilian life and property, the security forces came under heavy firing from the terrorists. Four Army soldiers and a senior officer of J&K Police were injured," said officials here.

Punjab Government has served notice to five Ex Ministers to vacate their Government Kothis. Notice has been issued by Civil Secretariat to Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Chetan Singh Joramajra, Brahmshanker Jimpa, Balkar Singh and Anmol Gagan Mann. Notice said that former ministers have to vacate their kothis within 15 days after removal from ministry. They should hand over possession to PWD department so that these kothis could be allocated to new ministers.

The Finish city of Mikkeli has been picked to host the Multi Corps Land Component Command (MCLCC) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Finish Minister of Defense Antti Hakkanen said in a press release.

According to the press release, the MCLCC will "plan, prepare, and command" NATO land forces' operations in Northern Europe. The command will report directly to NATO's Joint Force Command in Norfolk, Virginia. Mikkeli currently hosts the Finnish Army Command, news agency reported.

In peacetime, the MCLCC will oversee NATO exercises and other routine activities within its area of responsibility. In times of crisis, it will lead NATO land force operations. The command will include personnel from NATO member states and the Finnish Defense Forces.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty in an appearance at a federal court in Manhattan, one day after unsealing an indictment against him.

Federal prosecutors charged Adams with five counts of bribery, wire fraud and solicitation, primarily related to his mayoral campaign in 2021, news agency reported.

Adams, a Democrat, entered the court on Friday morning to surrender to authorities and have his fingerprints taken.

Adams told the judge, "I am not guilty, your Honour" at the hearing.

Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro, made similar statements and said a motion would be filed next week to dismiss the charges.

The Assam administration issued guidelines for the government recruitment examination, scheduled on Sunday.

"The candidates were advised to reach the exam hall at least one-and-half-hour before the examination. To quickly finish frisking, candidates should wear half-sleeved shirts and sandals instead of shoes. The water bottles can be carried in the examination hall, however, there should not be any stickers on the body of the bottle and the bottles must be transparent ones," an official said on Saturday.

To recall, the state government held another similar examination on September 15 where more than 11 lakh candidates appeared across 2,360 test centres across the state.