HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories a 9.10 P.

NATION: DEL56 2ND LD TRUCKERS PROTEST Truckers' protest leads to panic buying of fuel, govt holds talks to resolve issue New Delhi: Protests were held in many states on the second day of the strike by some truckers' associations against stricter punishments in the new law on hit-and-run cases, even as the government began talks on Tuesday with the agitating groups to end the stir that threatened to impact the supply of essentials and led to panic buying of fuel in several places.

CAL17 MN-FIRING-2NDLD SITUATION Dispute over drug money behind Manipur firing that killed 4; situation calm, CM promises action Imphal: The situation in the minority-dominated Lilong Chingjao area in Manipur's Thoubal district, where four villagers were gunned down by cadres of the banned People's Liberation Army, remained calm on Tuesday as additional security forces were deployed there, officials said.

DEL50 BRICS-LD NEW MEMBERS BRICS doubles in size with admission of 5 new members; Putin hints at further expansion New Delhi: The BRICS bloc of top emerging economies, including India, Russia and China, has announced induction of five full members into it in an attempt to expand its strategic heft against the backdrop of Western dominance in world affairs.

DEL67 ED-CHINESE-SEARCHES Mobile apps loan case: ED conducts fresh raids against firms owned by Chinese nationals New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has conducted fresh searches against two companies and persons linked to them as part of a money laundering investigation against entities ''owned'' by Chinese nationals that lent money through mobile phone apps and later harassed borrowers by accessing their personal details.

DEL64 CRIMINAL-LAWS-NOTIFICATION New 3 criminal-justice laws to be notified before January 26: Official New Delhi: The three new criminal-justice laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) -- will be notified by January 26 and implemented across the country within a year, a senior government functionary said on Tuesday.

DEL60 CONG-CROWDFUNDING Cong raises Rs 10 crore in 2 weeks through crowdfunding ahead of LS polls New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 10 crore through crowdfunding campaign in the first two weeks of its launch ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

DEL55 LS-LD PRIVILEGES Privileges Committees of LS, RS to meet next week, hear suspended MPs New Delhi: The Privileges Committees of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are scheduled to meet next week, where 14 opposition MPs will be given an opportunity to put across their views over the issue of their suspension for unruly conduct during the recent Winter Session of Parliament.

DEL41 CAA-GOVT CAA rules to be notified 'much before' Lok Sabha poll announcement: Official New Delhi: Rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 will be notified ''much before'' the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, a senior government functionary said on Tuesday.

DEL7 INDIA BLOC-EC Jairam Ramesh writes to CEC, seeks time for INDIA bloc team to put forward view on VVPATS New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has written to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, requesting that a team of INDIA bloc leaders are provided an opportunity to meet him and his colleagues to put forward their point of view on VVPATS.

DEL69 LD WEATHER Dense fog, cold conditions in North India, water bodies across Kashmir freeze New Delhi: A thin layer of ice has formed over the Dal Lake in Srinagar as cold weather conditions coupled with dense fog gripped North India on Tuesday, disrupting train services and vehicular movement.

DEL36 COVID-JN1 CASES-LD INSACOG 312 Covid sub-variant JN.1 cases detected in country New Delhi: A total of 312 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with about 47 per cent of them recorded in Kerala, according to the INSACOG's data updated on Tuesday.

LEGAL: LGD16 DL-COURT-PARLIAMENT SECURITY Parliament security breach: Court seeks response from Delhi Police on accused's bail plea New Delhi: A court here on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police to file its response to the bail application of Neelam Azad, the only woman arrested in the Parliament security breach case, by January 10.

LGD10 SC-ELECTION COMMISSIONERS PIL in SC challenges new law on appointment of CEC, ECs; seeks ''independent, transparent'' system New Delhi: Amid a political row over dropping the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from a panel empowered to choose the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, an advocate has moved the Supreme Court, seeking quashing of the new law that accords the central government sweeping powers to to make appointments to the poll body.

LGD13 SC-BIHAR-CASTE SURVEY Bihar caste survey break-up be put in public domain so inferences drawn can be challenged: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Bihar government to put in the public domain the break-up of the caste survey data to enable those aggrieved to challenge the findings.

LGD9 SC-NEET SC refuses to entertain plea against signature campaign seeking to abolish NEET New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea against the DMK's signature campaign in Tamil Nadu seeking to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in medical colleges across the country.