HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.20 pm: NATION DEL67 AFGHAN-UN-INDIA India will stand by Afghans as it did in past: EAM Jaishankar New Delhi: With Afghanistan facing a grave humanitarian crisis, India on Monday said it will stand by Afghans just as it did in the past.

DEL65 VACCINE-COVAXIN-WHO WHO's approval for Covaxin likely this month New Delhi: The World Health Organization’s approval for the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, is likely to come this month, official sources said Monday.

DEL70 CONG-ADITYANATH BJP has no agenda except polarisation: Cong on Adityanath's ''abba jaan'' remark New Delhi: The Congress on Monday criticised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his ''abba jaan'' remark, saying it comes ahead of the state assembly polls where the BJP has no other agenda except polarisation.

DEL50 JK-RAIL-MINISTER J-K railway dream of nation, work underway to complete project: Railway minister Jammu: It is the dream of the nation to see the rail connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country, Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said, asserting that the work on the prestigious project was going on at a fast pace and would be completed soon.

DEL48 AVI-DRONE-ICMR Aviation Ministry grants ICMR conditional permission to use drones for vaccine delivery New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry said on Monday it has granted conditional permission to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to use drones in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Manipur and Nagaland to deliver vaccines beyond the visual line of sight.

DEL64 HEALTH-DENGUE-STATES Govt asks states to stress on acceleration of prevention activities for vector diseases like dengue New Delhi: The Centre has written to states and UTs emphasising on acceleration of prevention and control activities for vector borne diseases such as dengue, without cutting any corners for safety from COVID-19.

DEL60 VACCINE-LD HEALTH MINISTRY India crosses 75 crore Covid vaccine doses New Delhi: India has crossed the landmark of administering 75 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Monday.

MDS14 TN-2ND-LD-NEET Student suicide over NEET echoes in Assembly, House adopts Bill to exempt TN from test Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday adopted a Bill to dispense with the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class XII marks to ensure social justice. MDS8 KA-LD FERNANDES Oscar Fernandes no more Mangaluru: Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes MP died at a private hospital here on Monday afternoon, family sources said.

BUSINESS DEL49 BIZ-LD KERRY-SINGH-MEETING R K Singh meets US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in Delhi New Delhi: Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh on Monday met US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry here and discussed various issues related to climate change and energy transition.

DEL51 BIZ-LD INFLATION Retail inflation eases to 5.3 pc in Aug as food prices soften New Delhi: Subdued prices of food items like vegetables pulled down retail inflation for the third month in a row to 5.3 per cent in August, within the RBI's comfort zone. DEL47 BIZ-STUBBLE BURNING Rs 491 cr released to Punjab, Haryana & UP to tackle stubble burning: Agri Secy New Delhi: Funds of around Rs 491 crore have been released to three states of Punjab Haryana and Uttar Pradesh ahead of harvesting of Kharif crops for tackling the stubble burning issue, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said on Monday.

LEGAL LGD21 SC-2NDLD PEGASUS SC says it only wants to know if govt used Pegasus through illegal methods; Centre no to affidavit on snooping row citing national security New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it only wants to know whether or not the Centre used the Pegasus spyware through illegal methods to allegedly snoop on citizens after it stoutly refused to file an affidavit citing national security on pleas seeking an independent probe into the snooping row. FOREIGN FGN33: UN-AFGHAN United Nations/Geneva: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday announced a USD 20 million allocation to support humanitarian operation in Afghanistan, saying the ''de facto'' authorities in the war-torn country have ''pledged'' to cooperate to ensure assistance is delivered to the people.

FGN31: LANKA-UNHRC Colombo: The UN rights body on Monday expressed concern on the state of economic emergency declared in Sri Lanka amid deepening recession and noted that it may ''further expand the role of the military in civilian functions'' in the island nation.

FGN26: CHINA-AFGHAN-TALIBAN Beijing: China on Monday asked the US and the international community to take ''active actions'' to help ease the economic crisis in Afghanistan by providing aid to the war-torn country even as it called on the Taliban to stay true to its commitment not to allow terrorist groups to operate from the Afghan soil.

SPORTS SPD10 SPO-SHOOTER-DEAD National-level shooter Namanveer Brar found dead at his Mohali home Chandigarh: National-level shooter Namanveer Singh Brar was found dead in his home in Mohali on Monday, with the police not ruling out suicide.