Centre announces measures to curb COVID-19 spread in Indian capital

Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in India, particularly in capital New Delhi, the Centre government on Wednesday announced a set of measures including conducting a house to house survey and deploying mobile testing vans to help curb the virus spread. New Delhi is currently contributing the highest number of cases to India’s Covid-19 tally which has reached over 8.9 million. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden by telephone to congratulate him on his election victory, which he said showed the strength of U.S. democracy, and he vowed to deepen strategic ties. India's Ambassador to the U.S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu said the leaders had a "very warm conversation and they exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific region, the role of healthcare, and particularly vaccines amid coronavirus pandemic. The Pentagon has formally announced that U.S. President Donald Trump will sharply reduce the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 before he leaves office in January. This comes despite U.S. and Afghan officials warning of troubling levels of violence by the Taliban insurgents and persistent Taliban links to al Qaeda. University students in illegally-occupied region of Gilgit Baltistan staged a protest recently expressing anger over discontinuation of the Prime Minister's Fee Reimbursement Scheme.