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Two prominent OBC leaders from eastern Uttar Pradesh — Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and BJP’s Dara Singh — on Thursday called on home minister Amit Shah, amidst speculations about a possible rejig of the Yogi Adityanath government and BJP.

Rajbhar had recently called on BJP president JP Nadda. His meeting now with Shah is seen as significant as there have been speculations about his return to NDA and joining the Yogi government even as the party has been tight-lipped on this. Rajbhar, who holds sway over his community in eastern UP, could be a crucial ally.

Delhi is expected to face cold day to severe cold day conditions on Friday, indicating a significant drop in temperatures. Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and isolated places in Uttar Pradesh will also experience these chilly conditions, according to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Isolated places in Punjab and Rajasthan are likely to be gripped by cold wave conditions, adding to the winter chill.

A cold day is declared if the maximum temperature dips between 4.5-6.4 degrees below the normal for the season. A severe cold day is declared if temperatures are 6.5 degrees below normal for the season.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the Lok Sabha secretary general on Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra's plea challenging her expulsion from the Lower House.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also refused to pass an order on her interim prayer that she be permitted to attend the Lok Sabha proceedings, saying that allowing it will amount to granting her the main relief.

"We will consider your plea for interim relief in March," Justice Khanna told Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who appeared for Moitra.

UK health authorities have identified new symptoms associated with the latest Covid-19 sub-variant, JN.1, which include anxiety and trouble sleeping.

Previously, symptoms linked to JN.1 were mostly limited to upper respiratory tract infections, such as fever, cough, sore throat, body ache and runny nose.

However, recent data from December 2023 by the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed two new symptoms: trouble sleeping and anxiety.

More than 100 people were killed, while over 200 were left injured after twin explosions rocked a ceremony in Iran's southeastern city of Kerman on Wednesday. The blast hit while thousands had gathered to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020. According to Iranian state television, the second blast was reported nearly 20 minutes after the first one.