New York(PTI): Indian-origin mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, won a second term defeating Republican challenger Cory Bowman, the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, local media reported.

Aftab Pureval’s Tuesday victory cements Democrats’ control of Cincinnati’s local government and adds to Pureval’s growing profile in Ohio politics, Fox News reported on Tuesday (local time). 

Aftab Pureval, 43, a former special assistant US attorney, first claimed the mayor’s office in 2021 after winning nearly 66 per cent of the vote, the report said. 

Pureval’s Tibetan mother fled Communist Chinese occupation as a child and grew up in a Southern Indian refugee camp, while his father is Punjabi.

Pureval began his political career in 2015, running for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

He easily defeated opponent Bowman during the May open primary, winning over 80 per cent of the vote. As both men were the top two vote-getters in the primary, they proceeded to compete in the November general election, The Hill reported.

His opponent, Bowman, never held public office but was inspired to run after his half-brother, J D Vance, was inaugurated, Fox reported.

Though Vance remained on the sidelines during Bowman's campaign, he voiced his support for his half-brother on social media, calling him "a good guy with a heart for serving his community," and urged followers to "get out there and vote for him." Fox reported.

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Srinagar (PTI): Night temperatures in Kashmir dropped several degrees below the freezing point, even as a thick layer of fog engulfed parts of the valley, with Srinagar recording a low of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, officials said on Saturday.

Shopian was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, they said.

The mercury had on Thursday night settled above the freezing point at most places in the valley, providing huge relief to the residents from the biting cold conditions.

However, temperatures dropped across Kashmir on Friday night, bringing back the freezing cold, the officials said.

On the Friday night, the minimum temperature in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- settled at minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, a sharp drop from 0.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.

The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara, and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir's Kokernag, the officials said.

Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg lodged minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and Konibal town in Pulwama district recorded minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.

The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on December 6-7, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.