Highlights

Following are the top stories at 5 pm: NATION: DEL7 VIRUS-LD CASES COVID-19 caseload in India rises to 96.44 lakh with 36,011 new cases New Delhi: India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 96.44 lakh, while the total number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 91 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 94.37 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. DEL16 VIRUS-ACTIVE CASES COVID-19 active caseload further contracts to 4.03 lakh after 138 days New Delhi: The COVID-19 active caseload in India has dipped to 4.03 lakh, the lowest after 138 days, comprising 4.18 per cent of the total coronavirus infections reported so far in the country, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

SPD5 SPO-FARMERS-LD VIJENDER Farmers' agitation: Boxer Vijender says will return Khel Ratna if "black laws" not withdrawn New Delhi: India's first Olympic medallist in boxing and Congress leader Vijender Singh on Sunday threatened to return his Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award if the central government does not withdraw the new farm legislations, which he dubbed as "black laws". DEL11 FARMERS-CONG Cong backs farmers' 'Bharat Bandh' call, will hold demonstrations across country on Dec 8 New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday expressed its "whole-hearted" support to the 'Bharat Bandh' called on December 8 by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. DEL10 VIRUS-IISC-RAPID-DETECTION IISc researchers working on COVID-19 detection using Raman spectroscopy, artificial intelligence New Delhi: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, are working on rapid identification of COVID-19 biomarkers in blood plasma using Raman spectroscopy and artificial intelligence. By Gunjan Sharma DEL18 DL-VIRUS-TEST Delhi: 11% of symptomatic negative cases in RAT found COVID-19 positive through RT-PCR New Delhi: Nearly 11 per cent of those in the national capital who tested negative for COVID-19 in rapid antigen tests (RAT) but had symptoms for the disease were found to have been afflicted by the viral infection in RT-PCR test between September 1 and November 7, according to official data. By Bunty Tyagi MDS8 KL-RGCB-MURALEEDHARAN Nothing wrong in naming RCGB new campus after RSS ideologue: Muraleedharan Thiruvananthapuram: With a controversy erupting in Kerala over the Centre's decision to name the second campus of RGCB here after late RSS ideologue M S Golwakar, Union minister V Muraleedharan on Sunday backed the move and said there was nothing wrong in naming it after a "patriot".

MDS4 TL-FARMERS-TRS TRS extends support to farmers' Dec 8 'Bharat bandh' call Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Sunday extended support to the December 8 "Bharat Bandh" call by various farmers' organisations against the Centre's new farm laws. DEL19 LAW-COURTS-VIDEO CONFERENCE To boost virtual hearings, over 2,500 court complexes to get video conference cabins New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) Seeking to boost the capability of the lower judiciary to hear cases online, funds have been released to set up 'video conference cabins' in 2,506 court complexes across India, Law Ministry officials said. LEGAL LGD1 GREEN-LAKE NGT directs DDA to look into plea alleging discharge of untreated sewage in east Delhi lake New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to look into a plea alleging garbage burning and discharge of untreated sewage into a lake in east Delhi.

BUSINESS: DEL8 BIZ-PETROL-PRICE Petrol price up 28 paise, diesel 29 paise a litre; rates touch 2-yr high New Delhi: Petrol price on Sunday was hiked by 28 paise per litre and diesel by 29 paise, the fifth straight day of increase in rates due to firming international oil prices. FOREIGN: FGN12 US-PROTEST-FARMERS Sikh-Americans hold protest rallies in US cities against farm laws in India Washington: Hundreds of Sikh-Americans have held peaceful protest rallies in several cities across the US in support of the Indian farmers who have been protesting against the new agricultural reforms in India. By Lalit K Jha FGN10 UN-INDIA-CLIMATE India's leadership on solar, industry transition reason to believe climate goals can be achieved: UN United Nations: India's leadership on solar and industry transition is the reason to believe the world can achieve its climate goals, a top UN official has said, asserting that as governments look to restart their economies after COVID- 19, it is vital to pursue a recovery that is not only sustainable, resilient and fair, but also job-rich. By Yoshita Singh.