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DEL26 VVPAT-EXPLAINED Introduced nearly 11 years ago to enhance transparency, VVPATs back in focus after SC verdict New Delhi, Apr 26 PTI The Supreme Courts decision on Friday rejecting pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail VVPAT has brought the focus back on the paper trail machines.

Following are the top stories at 5.40 pm: NATION ELN168 4THLD ELECTIONS **** LS polls phase 2: Over 50 per cent turnout till 3 pm New Delhi: A voter turnout of over 50 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections which was underway in 88 seats across 13 states amid complaints of EVM glitches and bogus voting in some booths in Kerala and West Bengal. **** ELN155 ELECTIONS-BH-LD MODI **** SC verdict on EVM tight slap to Cong-led oppn: PM Modi in Bihar rallies Araria/Munger: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that the Supreme Court judgment on Electronic Voting Machines was a ''tight slap'' to the Congress-led opposition which must ''apologise'' for committing the ''sin'' of creating distrust against EVMs. **** DEL20 EVM-EC **** Nearly 40 times, courts rejected pleas on EVMs: EC officials New Delhi: On a day the Supreme Court rejected pleas seeking a return to the ballot paper system, Election Commission officials pointed out that constitutional courts on at least 40 occasions have rejected petitions challenging the reliability of the electronic voting machines. **** DEL26 VVPAT-EXPLAINED **** Introduced nearly 11 years ago to enhance transparency, VVPATs back in focus after SC verdict New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) The Supreme Court's decision on Friday rejecting pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) has brought the focus back on the paper trail machines. **** DEL31 CONG-LD PM **** Congress raises issues of Agnipath, MGNREGA, river erosion as PM campaigns in Bihar, WB New Delhi: Will the prime minister continue with the Agnipath scheme, why did his government throttle MGNREGA in Bihar and why did he not do anything to prevent river erosion in West Bengal's Malda, the Congress asked on Friday as Narendra Modi campaigned in the two neighbouring states. **** ELN96 ELECTIONS-MP-SHAH **** Implementation of Uniform Civil Code in country is PM Modi's guarantee: Shah Guna (MP): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the BJP-led government at the Centre will implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country as it is a guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and accused the Congress of advocating personal laws. **** DEL8 JK-LD ENCOUNTER **** 2 terrorists dead, 2 Army personnel injured as gunbattle resumes in J-K's Baramulla Srinagar: Two terrorists were killed while as many Army personnel got injured on Friday as“ a gunbattle between the militants and security forces continued for the second day in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said. **** BOM4 MH-IIT-TOPPER **** Farmer's son from remote Maharashtra village aces JEE Mains Washim: With perseverance and hard work over the last two years, Nilkrishna Gajare, son of a farmer from Maharashtra's Washim district, has secured All India Rank 1 in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains. **** LEGAL LGD25 LD SC-EVM **** SC rejects pleas on 100 pc cross verification of votes cast using EVMs, issue echoes in pollscape New Delhi: As the country voted in round two of Election 2024, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and said ''blindly distrusting'' any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted scepticism. **** LGD24 SC-EVM-CROSS VERIFICATION-ELECTIONS **** Can't allow ongoing poll process to be called into question on mere speculation: Justice Datta New Delhi: The Supreme Court cannot allow the entire process of the ongoing general elections to be called into question and upended on mere apprehension and speculation of the petitioners regarding the efficacy of EVMs, apex court judge Justice Dipankar Datta said on Friday. **** FOREIGN FGN26 CHINA-TIBET-TALKS **** China says talks on Tibet only with Dalai Lama's representatives; rules out dialogue on autonomy Beijing: China on Friday said it will talk only with the representatives of the Dalai Lama and not the officials of the Tibetan government in exile based in India but ruled out dialogue on the highest Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader's long-pending demand for autonomy for his remote Himalayan homeland. By K J M Varma **** FGN8US-INDIA-LD DIAS **** India can speak about its own visa policy: US on Australian journalist's claim on visa denial Washington: The US has refrained from commenting on allegations that India denied the visa renewal of an Australian journalist, saying New Delhi can speak about its visa policy.By Lalit K Jha **** FGN10 US-INDIAN-ARREST-ISRAEL-PROTEST **** Indian-origin student in US arrested, barred from varsity for taking part in anti-Israel protests on campus New York: An Indian-origin female student studying at the prestigious Princeton University is among two students who have been arrested and barred from the campus for staging pro-Palestine protests on the campus. ****

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