GENEVA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday called for urgent global support to deal with the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the number of infected cases approaches 1,000.

Since the Ebola outbreak was declared in the DRC in August 2018, the number of confirmed and probable cases has amounted to 993, resulting in 621 deaths.

Islamabad, Mar 23; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's greetings on the eve of its National Day, saying time has come to begin a "comprehensive dialogue" between the two countries to address and resolve all issues, including the "central issue" of Kashmir.

According to official sources in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi sent a letter to Khan, greeting people of Pakistan on the eve of its National Day and highlighting the importance of a terror-free South Asia.

Malda (WB), Mar 23; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying all day and said he is the "chowkidar" of the corrupt and fugitives like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya.

Congress is fighting to keep the country united and the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be a fight between ideologies of the Congress and the BJP-RSS, he said at a rally here kicking off his party's campaign in West Bengal.

Tiruchirappalli, Mar 23 (PTI) After taking their protests to the National capital to highlight their demands, Tamil Nadu farmers are gearing up for an electoral battle and will file 111 nominations from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting.

Tamil Nadu farmers leader P Ayyakannu said Saturday that 111 farmers from the State will contest against Modi from Varanasi.

Lucknow, Mar 24 ( PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will contest from Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, the party announced Sunday.

An SP release also said the party will field senior leader Mohd Azam Khan from Rampur.

OSLO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A cruise ship that got into trouble in a storm off Norway's western coast Saturday with about 1,300 people onboard has restarted three of its four engines and will be towed to port, emergency services said Sunday.

"Three of the four engines are now working, which means the boat can now make way on its own," emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said.

Cuttack, Mar 23 (PTI) The Odisha police Saturday apologised for arresting a wrong person in connection with a non-bailable warrant and forwarding him to court from where he was remanded to jail custody.

The police of Lalbag police station here had arrested a person called Chandan Maharana of Chandni Chowk here on the night of March 11 while executing a six-year-old pending NBW.

He was thereafter forwarded to a local court, which in turn remanded him to jail custody the next day.

Jammu, Mar 24 (PTI) An Army personnel was killed on Sunday in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said.

They said the cross-border firing started in Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch around 5.30 pm Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night.

23 Mar 2019; DW: An operation to airlift 1,300 passengers and crew from a cruise ship adrift off the coast of Norway is underway, Norwegian emergency services said on Saturday afternoon.

The Viking Sky cruise ship sent an SOS message due to "engine problems in bad weather" in an area of water is known to be treacherous; several ships have sunk in the past.

What we know so far

Imphal, Mar 24 (PTI) Congress' Manipur unit has accused the BJP of putting up an insurgent-backed candidate for a Lok Sabha seat here and compromising national integrity in a bid to win the upcoming elections at any cost, a charge rejected by the latter as an attempt to malign the party.

BJP's candidate H Shukhopao Mate for the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls on April 11, has been accused of being backed by insurgent groups in the state -- Zomi Re-unification Organisation (ZRO) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO).

MONTEVIDEO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China and Uruguay vow to work together to promote bilateral ties and deepen cooperation, visiting Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and Uruguayan Vice President Lucia Topolansky said in a meeting here on Saturday.

Hu conveyed Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan's warm greetings to Topolansky, who is also president of the General Assembly and president of the Senate.

BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thai voters flock to polling stations across the country on Sunday for the country's first general election since the 2014 coup.

Eligible voters have been lining up at polling station since 6:00 a.m. local time. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha cast his ballot at a station in Bangkok at about 8:30 a.m. local time.

The prime minister asked voters to use their rights properly to bring about unity and better development of the country.