HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 12 noon:

NATION

DEL4 DL-LG-POLICE Delhi Police chief briefs LG on police protest

New Delhi: Delhi's Lt Governor Anil Baijal held a meeting with Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and other top officers on Wednesday, a day after thousands of police personnel laid an unprecedented siege outside the Police Headquarters here.

DEL6 PARL-PANEL-SNOOPING Shashi Tharoor-headed parl panel to take up WhatsApp snooping case on Nov 20

New Delhi: A parliamentary standing committee headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will take up the WhatsApp snooping case in its next meeting on November 20, sources said on Wednesday.

BOM6 MH-RAUT-LD CM POST BJP, Sena had consensus before polls on CM's post: Raut

Mumbai: Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed there was a "consensus" between the BJP and his party before the Maharashtra Assembly elections on sharing the chief minister's post

BOM1 MH-AYODHYA-POLICE Security tightened in Mumbai ahead of Ayodhya case verdict

Mumbai: Mumbai Police have stepped up security, specially in sensitive areas, and are keeping a close watch on social media activities ahead of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, a police official said.

BOM8 MH-RAUT-PAWAR Raut meets Pawar amid logjam over govt formation in Maha

Mumbai: Amid the stand-off over government formation in Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday.

DEL7 AHMED PATEL-GADKARI-MEET Ahmed Patel meets Nitin Gadkari, discusses road, infra projects

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Wednesday met Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and is learnt to have discussed issues related to road and infrastructure projects in Gujarat, according to sources.

DEL3 DL-AIR QUALITY Delhi's Air Quality in "very poor" category

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality continued to be in the "very poor" category on Wednesday as schools reopened in the national capital.

LEGAL

LGD6 SC-SAJJAN Anti-Sikh riots case: SC directs examination of Sajjan Kumar's health condition, report in 4 weeks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that ex-Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, sentenced for life by the Delhi High Court in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, be examined by a panel of AIIMS doctors.

LGD2 SC-RTI SC asks Centre, 9 states to file status report on filling up vacancies in CIC, SICs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and nine states to file a status report on filling up of vacancies in the Central Information Commission and state information commissions in compliance with its earlier orders.

BUSINESS

DEL1 BIZ-STOCKS-OPEN

Sensex falls over 100 pts; Sun Pharma rallies 5 pc Mumbai: Market benchmark BSE Sensex dropped over 100 points in early trade on Wednesday dragged by losses in index heavyweights HDFC twins, RIL, ITC and TCS amid tepid global cues.

DEL2 BIZ-RUPEE-OPEN

Rupee slips 15 paise to 70.84 against USD in early trade Mumbai: The Indian rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 15 paise to 70.84 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking subdued opening in domestic equities.

FOREIGN

FGN7 UN-INDIA-PAK

Pak exporting terror, stifling women’s voices for narrow political gains: India at UNSC United Nations: India lashed out at Pakistan for raising the issue of women's rights in Kashmir in the UN Security Council, saying the country represents a system that has been exporting terrorism and "regressive" extremist ideologies and "stifling" women’s voices for narrow political gains. By Yoshita Singh

FGN8 US-LD H1B

Massive increase in H-1B visa denial for Indian IT companies under Trump admin, says report Washington: The Trump administration's restrictive immigration policies have led to massive increase in the rejection of petitions for H-1B visas with the highest denial rate among major Indian IT companies, according to a study carried out by an American think-tank. By Lalit K Jha

FGN2 US-AFGHAN

Pakistan has played active and negative role in Afghan affairs for decades: US Congressional report Washington: For decades, Pakistan has played an active but negative role in Afghanistan, a Congressional report has said, asserting that Islamabad wants a weak government in Kabul. By Lalit K Jha

FGN1 US-ISIS-K

ISIS-K attempted suicide attack in India last year, says US official Washington: The Khorasan group of the ISIS or the ISIS-K, which operates in South Asia, attempted a suicide attack in India last year, a top American official has told lawmakers. By Lalit K Jha

FGN3 UK-NIRAV

UK court to hear Nirav Modi’s new bail application London: A UK court is set to hear a new bail application on Wednesday filed by fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is fighting extradition to India on charges of nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case. By Aditi Khanna

SPORTS

SPF13 SPO-BAD-IND

Off-colour Saina bows out, Kashyap cruises into second round of China Open Fuzhou (China): There was no end to Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal's lackluster run of form as the Olympic bronze-medallist crashed out of China Open here on Wednesday following a straight-game opening-round defeat to local favourite Cai Yan Yan.