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The past three Africa Cup of Nations finals were littered with giant slaying performances and shock results but the latest edition in Morocco has gone with form and assured a heavyweight line-up of teams for the knockout fixtures at the weekend, Reuters reported. 

The first round of matches concluded on Wednesday with only one former champion, Zambia, eliminated but the other 11 past winners reached the last-16, setting up potentially mouth-watering showdowns from now on.

Only Mozambique and Tanzania had never progressed to the knockout stages previously, squeezing through among the best third-placed finishers, while Sudan are past the first round for only the second time since they won the competition in 1970, according to Reuters. 

Liverpool could only manage a 0-0 New Year's Day draw with Leeds United on Thursday that cost Arne Slot's men precious points in the Premier League title race, Reuters reported. 

Holders Liverpool are fourth in the standings with 33 points after 19 games, 12 behind leaders Arsenal, while Leeds are 16th with 21 points, seven above the relegation zone.

"It doesn't come along that often that you get a clean sheet and a point at Anfield," Leeds boss Daniel Farke told the BBC. "We had to defend and suffer but we are newly promoted and came to the defending champions."

The Premier League's festive feast turned stale on Thursday as the New Year's Day programme served up three 0-0 draws, most significantly Manchester City's stalemate at Sunderland which left them four points adrift of leaders Arsenal, Reuters reported. 

Second-placed City would have reduced Arsenal's advantage to two points but instead were frustrated as their winning streak in all competitions was halted at eight.

Liverpool's attack was also found wanting as they drew 0-0 at home to Leeds United while there were no goals at Brentford as they ground out a draw with Tottenham Hotspur, according to Reuters. 

The Election Commission (EC) has urged the concerned side to transport most essential election related materials for the March 5 House of Representatives (HoR) elections. 

For the transportation of the election materials, helicopter, truck, and container will be used. 

The EC has urged the firms and companies operating courier services to get enlisted for the purpose of delivering election related materials. Interested firms or companies are requested to apply for the enlistment after completing all required conditions. 

The Commission has requested the submission of copies of the certification (permission) obtained from the relevant authority to operate the service, VAT registration certificate, tax clearance certificate up to the fiscal year 2081/82, and the certificate of turnover for the past three fiscal years. 

The firm or company providing helicopter rental service must have a minimum average annual turnover of Rs 30 million in the past three fiscal years. 

Those providing trucks and container service must submit turnover details of Rs 10 million, and for courier services, Rs 3 million. 

Companies interested in providing courier services must submit an application along with the details of their courier offices and representatives in all 77 districts, including telephone and mobile numbers. 

The Commission has stated that if an application for enlistment is submitted in more than one category, such application will not be processed. 

The Commission holds all rights to take the decision regarding the enlistment of service providing firm or company, it is stated. 

With the partial influence of western winds continuing across the country, most parts of the Tarai region will experience haze and fog, while some provinces will have partly cloudy weather this afternoon, the Meteorological Forecasting Division stated. 

Currently, most areas of the Tarai are covered with haze. 

According to the division, hilly and mountainous areas of the country will have generally cloudy weather this afternoon, while the remaining areas will be partly cloudy. 

There is a possibility of light rain in a few places of the hilly areas of Koshi and Gandaki Provinces and light snowfall in some places of the higher hilly and mountainous areas. 

Similarly, tonight, hilly and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, and Karnali Provinces will be partly cloudy, while the weather in the remaining areas will mainly be clear. 

There is a possibility of light snowfall in one or two places of the higher hilly and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati, and Gandaki Provinces. 

Some areas of the Tarai will have haze. The Meteorological Forecasting Division has warned that due to the impact of haze in the Tarai region, daily life, health, and road traffic may be partially affected. 

The division has cautioned the general public to take necessary precautions and keep updated with the daily forecasts.

Several people were killed during unrest in Iran, Iranian media and rights groups said on Thursday, as the biggest protests to hit the Islamic Republic for three years over worsening economic conditions sparked violence in several provinces, Reuters reported. 

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that three protesters were killed and 17 were injured during an attack on a police station in Iran's western province of Lorestan.

"The rioters entered the police headquarters around 1800 (local time) on Thursday ... they clashed with police forces and set fire to several police cars," Fars reported, according to Reuters. 

People in China will pay a 13% sales tax on contraceptives from 1 January, while childcare services will be exempt, as the world's second-largest economy tries to boost birth rates, BBC reported. 

An overhaul of the tax system announced late last year removes many exemptions that were in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child rule.

It also exempts marriage-related services and elderly care from value added tax (VAT) - part of a broader effort that includes extending parental leave and issuing cash handouts, according to BBC. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a peace agreement to end the war with Russia is "90% ready", in a New Year address that largely focused on resistance to Moscow's full-scale invasion, BBC reported. 

Zelensky said the remaining 10% of the agreement to end nearly four years of conflict would "determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

In his own New Year speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his troops that "we believe in you and our victory".