HIGHLIGHTS

By K J M Varma FGN46 NEPAL-ELECTION-EC Nepal fully prepared to conduct general elections peacefully on Nov 20 Election Commission chief Kathmandu Nepal is ready to hold crucial elections for the House of Representatives and the provincial assemblies in a peaceful, safe and credible manner on November 20, Chief Election Commissioner of Nepal, Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said on Monday.

Following are the top stories at 9.40 PM: NATION DEL88 LDALL EWS QUOTA 3-2 verdict: SC upholds validity of 10 per cent reservation for EWS; BJP, Cong seek credit for quota New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld by a 3-2 majority the 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in educational institutions and government jobs, saying it was not discriminatory and did not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

DEL83 COP27-EARLY WARNING-YADAV Climate finance scarce; early warning systems key to saving lives, livelihoods: Bhupender Yadav at COP27 New Delhi: With climate finance still scarce, climate adaptation in the form of early warning dissemination is key to safeguarding lives and livelihoods from cascading natural hazards causing substantial losses around the world, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said at the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt on Monday.

DEL84 MHA-NAXAL Incidents of Naxal violence reduced by 55 pc over 8 years: MHA report New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has said resolute implementation of the national policy and action plan led to a 55 per cent reduction in violent incidents perpetrated by the Naxals and 63 per cent in deaths over a period of eight years.

DEL69 EC-JHARKHAND CM-LD GUV J'khand governor has not sought second opinion on disqualification issue: EC to Hemant Soren New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday told Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren that state governor Ramesh Bais has not sought a second opinion from it on the issue of his disqualification, sources said.

DEL58 ELECTIONS-HP-MLA-ASSET Average asset of 58 recontesting MLAs in HP rises to Rs 12 cr Mandi: The average asset of 58 MLAs who are contesting the Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh again has grown to Rs 12.08 crore in 2022 from Rs 9.3 crore in 2017.

DEL66 DEF-LD-INDO-FRENCH IAF Chief holds talks with French Air Force Chief New Delhi: Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Monday held wide-ranging talks with his French counterpart Gen Stephane Mille focusing on ways to boost bilateral military cooperation in the backdrop of various geopolitical developments.

MDS14 KL-GOVERNOR-LD-MEDIA Kerala Guv shows the door to two TV channels, parties condemn action Kochi: An agitated Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday bluntly told journalists representing two Malayalam television channels to leave the venue of a press conference here and asserted that he would not talk to them. BOM23 ELECTIONS-GUJARAT-BTP-JDU ALLIANCE BTP forms pre-poll alliance with JD (U) for Gujarat polls; Nitish Kumar to campaign Chanderia (Guj): The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) led by Chhotu Vasava on Monday announced a pre-poll tie-up with ''old friend'' Janata Dal (United) for the next month's Gujarat Assembly elections.

DEL71 INDIANS-CREW-DETENTION 16 Indian sailors detained in Equatorial Guinea; Indian mission working for their release New Delhi: Sixteen Indian sailors are reportedly in detention in Equatorial Guinea and the Indian mission in the central African country is working closely with the authorities concerned for their release.

DEL73 RJ-DALIT-DEATH 46-yr-old Dalit man lynched over drawing of water in Rajasthan Jodhpur: A 46-year-old Dalit man was beaten to death over drawing of water from a tubewell in Rajasthan's Jodhpur, police said on Monday.

DEL74 JK-LD IED-ARREST 2 hybrid militants involved in planting IED in J-K's Bandipora arrested Srinagar: Two 'hybrid' militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who were involved in planting an improvised explosive device in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir last month, have been arrested from Baramulla, police said on Monday.

BUSINESS DEL70 BIZ-FINMIN-ELECTORAL BOND Govt clears 23rd tranche of electoral bonds; sale from Nov 9 New Delhi: Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Monday approved issuance of the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on November 9.

LEGAL LGD31 SCBA-CJI-FAREWELL Fulfilled promises to certain extent: CJI Lalit New Delhi: Outgoing Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit Monday said he has been able to fulfil the promises made by him to a certain extent, including making at least one Constitution bench functional at all times, streamlining the listing patterns and reducing pendency of cases in the Supreme Court.

FOREIGN FGN50 CHINA-INDIA-MBBS-LD STUDENTS India asks China to apprise Indian students of stringent rules to practice medicine back home Beijing: China said on Monday it has given visas to 1300 stranded Indian students to rejoin their studies even as India has asked Beijing to ensure that the Indian medical students are educated, trained, and facilitated to comply with the stringent regulations issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC) to practice back home. By K J M Varma FGN46 NEPAL-ELECTION-EC Nepal fully prepared to conduct general elections peacefully on Nov 20: Election Commission chief Kathmandu: Nepal is ready to hold crucial elections for the House of Representatives and the provincial assemblies in a peaceful, safe and credible manner on November 20, Chief Election Commissioner of Nepal, Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said on Monday. By Shirish B Pradhan PTI RDT RDT