HIGHLIGHTS

New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9 pm.

NATION DEL82 UKD-TUNNEL-HALT Drilling stopped again at Uttarkashi tunnel, 41 workers remain trapped on Day 13 Uttarkashi: Drilling at the collapsed Silkyara tunnel to rescue 41 men trapped inside for 12 days was halted again on Friday, officials said.

DEL33 RJ-LD ELECTIONS Rajasthan all set for battle royale Saturday Jaipur: Rajasthan is all set to vote on Saturday to elect members of a new assembly with the BJP aiming to unseat the ruling Congress, which is fighting hard to change the trend of alternate governments in the state.

DEL62 QATAR-INDIANS-APPEAL Qatar court admits India's appeal against death penalty to 8 ex-Navy personnel: Media reports New Delhi: A Qatari court has admitted the Indian government's appeal against the death penalty handed down to eight former Indian Navy personnel in that country, according to media reports, even as there was no official word from the Ministry of External Affairs here on Friday.

DEL78 AFGHAN-LD EMBASSY Afghanistan Embassy announces its permanent closure in New Delhi over 'challenges' from India New Delhi: Afghanistan Embassy on Friday announced its permanent closure, citing 'persistent challenges from the Indian government', even as heads of its Mumbai and Hyderabad missions claimed to have assumed the leadership of the embassy here.

DEL59 HEALTH-LD CHINA OUTBREAK Closely monitoring outbreak of H9N2, clusters of respiratory illness in children in China: Govt New Delhi: India is prepared for any kind of exigency that may emerge from the current influenza situation in China, the government said Friday, highlighting that it is monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 and clusters of respiratory illness in children in that country. CAL18 WB-HC-BJP-LD MEETING Cal HC division bench allows Amit Shah's public meeting, rejects Bengal govt appeal Kolkata: Observing that processions, rallies and meetings are a 'regular feature' in West Bengal, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday upheld a single bench order allowing a BJP public meeting to be addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 29 here. MDS29 ELECTIONS-TELANGANA-LD AMIT SHAH KCR indulged in scams worth thousands of crores, alleges Union Home Minister Amit Shah Hyderabad: Stepping up the attack on BRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao ahead of the assembly polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the BJP, if elected to power, would investigate those who indulged in corruption and put them behind bars.

MDS23 KA-SHIVAKUMAR-LD OPPOSITION BJP, JD(S) slam Congress govt's cabinet decision, say it's aimed at protecting Shivakumar Bengaluru: The opposition BJP and JD(S) on Friday slammed the Karnataka cabinet's move to withdraw consent for a CBI investigation against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in a disproportionate assets case, terming the decision illegal.

MDS32 AP-COMPREHENSIVE-CASTE CENSUS Andhra Pradesh govt to begin comprehensive caste census on Dec 9: Information Minister Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government will begin a comprehensive caste census on December 9 to enumerate all castes, Information and Public Relations Minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said on Friday. BUSINESS DEL75 BIZ-CHANDRASEKHAR-LD SOCIALMEDIA Govt to assist people in filing FIRs against social media firms for deepfakes, other IT rule violations New Delhi: The government will assist people in filing FIRs against social media platforms in case they are aggrieved by objectionable content like deepfakes that are in violation of IT rules.

DEL63 BIZ-RBI-PENALTY RBI slaps penalties totalling Rs 10.34 cr on Citibank, Bank of Baroda, IOB Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Friday imposed penalties totalling Rs 10.34 crore on Citibank, Bank of Baroda, and Indian Overseas Bank for contravention of various regulatory norms. LEGAL LGD24 SC-LD ADANI-HINDENBURG Adani-Hindenburg row: No reason to discredit SEBI, says SC, reserves order New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it has no reason to 'discredit' SEBI, which probed allegations against the Adani group, as there was no material before it to doubt what the market regulator has done and the court does not have to treat what was set out in the Hindenburg report as a 'true state of affairs'.

LGD26 SC-KERALA-GOVERNOR SC advises Kerala governor's secy to refer to verdict on non-grant of assent to bills New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the additional chief secretary of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, against whom the state government filed a plea alleging non-grant of assent to bills passed by assembly, to refer to its recent verdict in Punjab's case where it was held governors cannot 'thwart the normal course of lawmaking'.

FOREIGN FGN56 GAZA-HOSTAGE-LD RELEASE Israeli media say Hamas has released 13 Israeli hostages Deir Al Balah (Gaza Strip): Israeli media say the Hamas militant group has released the first batch of hostages under a cease-fire deal on Friday, including 13 Israelis who have been held in the Gaza Strip for nearly seven weeks. AP FGN54 THAILAND-WHC-LD HINDUTVA World Hindu Congress renounces 'Hinduism', embraces terms 'Hindutva', 'Hindu Dharm' Bangkok: The World Hindu Congress on Friday renounced the word Hinduism, contending that the term reflected oppressive and discriminatory and embraced Hindutva and Hindu Dharma to refer to the 'eternal' religion. By Sagar Kulkarni PTI RPA