HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL66 VIRUS-LDALL PM-STATES Guard against laxity in COVID-19 fight; Bring down fatality rate under 1 pc: PM to CMs New Delhi: Noting that alertness has given way to "widespread" negligence about COVID-19 among people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said a few states have seen a surge in the infection in the same way as many countries witnessed after an earlier decline and asked chief ministers to focus on bringing down positivity and fatality rates by curbing the virus transmission.

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL66 VIRUS-LDALL PM-STATES Guard against laxity in COVID-19 fight; Bring down fatality rate under 1 pc: PM to CMs New Delhi: Noting that alertness has given way to "widespread" negligence about COVID-19 among people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said a few states have seen a surge in the infection in the same way as many countries witnessed after an earlier decline and asked chief ministers to focus on bringing down positivity and fatality rates by curbing the virus transmission. DEL65 AFGHAN-AID-INDIA India announces over 100 high-impact projects worth USD 80 million for Afghanistan; Calls for comprehensive ceasefire New Delhi: India on Tuesday announced a new phase of over 100 high-impact community projects in Afghanistan worth USD 80 million (Rs 592 crore) as the country's development portfolio in the war-ravaged nation has reached over USD 3 billion (Rs 22,200 crore) so far.

DEL61 VIRUS-OXFORD-INDIA Oxford COVID-19 results reason for hope but early days yet, caution scientists New Delhi: Given its low pricing and higher temperature storage, Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate holds promise for India and is a more viable option than the Moderna, Pfizer or Sputnik V vaccines under development, say scientists while cautioning that the data presented is still preliminary. By Shakoor Rather DEL43 ED-LD SHIV SENA ED raids premises linked to Shiv Sena MLA in money laundering case against security firm Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided premises linked to Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik in Maharashtra on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case being probed against a security service provider company and others, official sources said. DEL84 DL-KEJRIWAL-2NDLD PM COVID-19: Kejriwal urges PM to reserve 1K ICU beds for Delhiites in Centre-run hospitals New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reserve 1,000 ICU beds for Delhiites in Centre-run hospitals like AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital as he underlined that the high severity of the third wave of COVID-19 cases in the national capital is due to many factors with pollution being a significant one.

DEL50 DEF-BRAHMOS India successfully test-fires land-attack version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile New Delhi: India on Tuesday "successfully" test fired the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos as part of a series of planned trials of the weapon, known for its precision strike capabilities, official sources said. DEL68 CYCLONE-NDRF Cyclone Nivar: 1200 rescue troopers deployed, 800 on standby, says NDRF chief New Delhi: Nearly 1,200 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescue personnel have been deployed in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry and 800 others are on standby in view of cyclone Nivar, the "very severe cyclonic storm" which is expected to make landfall Wednesday evening.

DEL79 UP-LD LOVE JIHAD UP okays ordinance against conversion for marriage, violators face up to 10 yrs in jail Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday approved a draft ordinance to deal with religious conversion for the sake of marriage, which could land violators in jail for up to 10 years. DEL49 JK-ABDULLAH-LAND Abdullahs' house in Jammu built on encroached land, NC headquarters legalised under Roshni Act: JK administartion list Jammu: Former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have been named by the Jammu and Kashmir administration in a list which alleges that their residential house in Jammu is built over illegally-possessed land, a charge denied by the father-son duo.

BUSINESS DEL71 BIZ-LD MOBILE APPS Govt blocks 43 more Chinese mobile apps, including AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard New Delhi: India on Tuesday blocked 43 more Chinese mobile apps, including Alibaba Group Holding's e-commerce app AliExpress, in a fresh wave of web sanctions amid its border standoff with China. LEGAL LGD17 SC-2NDLD VARANASI CANDIDATE SC dismisses sacked BSF Jawan's appeal against rejection of nomination papers to contest against Modi New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed the appeal of sacked BSF Jawan Tej Bahadur against the rejection of his nomination papers to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi and seeking to declare the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from that constituency as void. FOREIGN FGN20 SINGAPORE-TERROR-LD ARREST Singapore arrests Bangladeshi man for plotting attacks against Hindus, planning to fight in Kashmir Singapore: A Bangladeshi man, who was plotting attacks against Hindus in his own country and planning to fight in Kashmir, has been arrested by Singapore's security agencies which investigated the suspicious activities of 37 people as part of the heightened security measures in the city-state following recent terror strikes in Europe, the government said on Tuesday. By Gurdip Singh FGN9 US-TRUMP-BIDEN-LD TRANSITION Washington: US President Donald Trump has finally given a go-ahead to begin the transition process for president-elect Joe Biden after the state of Michigan certified the Democratic leader’s victory in the November 3 presidential election, paving the way for a smooth handover of power after weeks of delay. By Lalit K Jha.