New Delhi, Sep 26 Following are the top stories at 9 PM
NATION
DEL42 INDIA BLOC-LD EC ( 7.53 pm)
**** INDIA bloc parties likely to meet on September 30 over EC row, SIR
New Delhi: Opposition INDIA bloc parties are likely to meet in the national capital on September 30 to discuss their strategy on the Election Commission, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and other issues, sources said on Saturday. ****
DEL49 EC-CPM-BABY (8.21 pm)
**** EC row: CPM’s MA Baby reaches out to parties, speaks to Mamata
New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby on Saturday said he has reached out to several non-NDA parties for a coordinated response over the Election Commission row and spoken to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee after she responded positively to his appeal for opposition parties to come together. ****
DEL44 EC – LD SIR ( 8.03 pm)
**** EC asserts all SIR decisions unanimous; Cabinet Secretary letters not related to policy matters
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all SIR orders received unanimous consent from all three Commissioners and that the updates to Form 6 for voter enrolment were upheld by the Supreme Court, as it sought to address issues at the centre of a raging row over decision-making in the poll panel and concerns of voters who have been issued notices or are left out from the rolls. ****
DEL47 EC-SIR-VOTERS ( 8.07 pm)
**** EC announces home visits, help desks and extra time for voters facing notices for voter list exclusion
New Delhi: Under fire over problems during the Special Intensive Review of voter lists, the Election Commission on Saturday announced a number of measures including additional time for filing claims, home visit by election officials and help desks for those facing notices for removal from the rolls. ****
DEL46 LD WEATHER ( 8.06 pm)
**** Char Dham Yatra suspended, schools shut, 5 dead as heavy rain lashes UP, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand
Ranchi/Lucknow/Dehradun: Heavy rain disrupted normal life in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, where authorities had to suspend Char Dham Yatra till September 27. ****
DEL30 BJP-SRI LANKA-DELEGATION ( 6.10 pm)
**** Five-member delegation of Sri Lanka’s ruling party to visit India under ‘KNOW BJP’ initiative
New Delhi: A five-member delegation of Sri Lanka’s ruling party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will embark on a four-day visit to India, during which they will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin, among others, the BJP said on Saturday. ****
DEL32 ENV-HYDRO PROJECT-ARUNACHAL ( 6.35 pm)
**** For Arunachal Pradesh’s hydro project, 1.35 lakh trees likely to fell; afforestation in MP
New Delhi: The Environment Ministry’s expert panel has given key approval to a hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh that could cause diversion of more than 2,700 hectares (ha) of forest land and cutting of over 1.35 lakh trees, resulting in a severe impact on the region’s ecosystem. ****
BOM25 GJ-PARTIES-DONATION SCAM ( 7.18 pm)
**** Gujarat CID registers FIRs against 3 ‘political parties’ in poll donation-tax evasion scam
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat CID-Crime on Saturday registered FIRs against three so-called political outfits for allegedly facilitating a ‘poll donation scam’ that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 314 crore to the exchequer during financial years 2022 to 2025. ****
CAL64 WB-RSS-OFFICE ( 8.46 pm)
**** Bengal: RSS opens new office near Kolkata amid organisational expansion
Kolkata: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday formally inaugurated its new five-storey office, ‘Keshav Smriti’, in New Town near Kolkata, nearly four decades after its existing state headquarters, ‘Keshav Bhavan’, was established in the metropolis. ****
FOREIGN
FGN36 US-INDIA-MORRISON ( 8.39 pm)
**** Washington is happy about becoming a provider of India’s diversifying energy sources, senior official says
New York: India-US ties have grown significantly over the past year, with Washington emerging as an important energy supplier to New Delhi as it diversifies its sources, a senior US official has said. By Yoshita Singh ****
FGN33 US-JAISHANKAR-BRICS-UN ( 8.23 pm)
**** It’s not BRICS or the UN, BRICS is supportive of the UN: EAM Jaishankar
New York: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that choosing between groupings such as BRICS and the United Nations is “a false choice”, emphasising that smaller groups are supportive of the global organisation and would like to see it reformed. By Yoshita Singh ****
FGN31 PAK-LD ATTACK ( 8.08 pm)
**** 13 killed, dozens injured in suicide attack in northwest Pakistan
Peshawar: At least 13 people, including two women and two children, were killed and 30 others injured when an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into a police checkpost in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, an official said.
(PTI News)
