HIGHLIGHTS AT 9 PM

New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9 pm:

     NATION
    
     DEL54 ELECTIONS-EC-HR-LD POLL DATE
     *Haryana assembly polls now on Oct 5, counting with J-K on Oct 8: EC
     New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly poll date to October 5 from October 1, saying the decision was taken keeping in mind a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community.
     DEL49 CBI-COACHING CENTRE-OWNER
     Owner 'knowingly' used basement for commercial purpose without authorisation: CBI to court in UPSC aspirants drowning case
     New Delhi: The owner of Rau's IAS study circle coaching institute where three UPSC aspirants drowned due to waterlogging in old Rajinder Nagar on July 27 "knowingly" used the basement for commercial purpose in contravention of the usage approved by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the CBI has alleged.
    
     DEL34 PM-LD JUDICIARY
     PM Modi bats for speedy justice in cases of crime against women
     New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday underlined the need for swift justice in cases involving crime against women and said that it will give them greater assurance of their safety.
    
     DEL35 PM-2NDLD RAIL
     Committed to make rail travel comfortable for all: PM Modi
     New Delhi: The railways has made big strides in addressing long-standing issues and will not stop till it becomes a guarantee of comfortable travel for all sections of society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

     DEL28 HEALTH-IMA-HOSPITALS-SECURITY
     IMA again demands central law on violence against doctors, hospitals
     New Delhi: The IMA has written to the National Task Force (NTF), which has been mandated to formulate protocol for ensuring safety and security of healthcare professionals, again demanding a central law on violence against doctors and hospitals and declaring hospitals as safe zones.

     DEL51 RAHUL-YOUTH-SUICIDES
     Rahul Gandhi expresses concern over 'rising' suicide rate among youths, urges govt to ensure support
     New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed concern over the "rising" suicide rate among the youth and urged the government to make efforts to ease students' path by ensuring support instead of obstacles.

     DEL53 DL-MANIPUR-PROTEST
     Kuki-Zo community protests at Jantar Mantar, demands action against Manipur CM
     New Delhi: Kuki-Zo community members protested at Jantar Mantar here on Saturday, demanding action against Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh over an audio clip in which he purportedly "declared his involvement in spearheading violence" in the state.
    
     DEL68 PB-VINESH-LD FARMERS
     Govt should listen to protesting farmers, address their issues: Phogat at 'kisan mahapanchayat'
     Chandigarh: Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday joined protesting farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana and said the central government should pay heed to their demands and address their issues on priority.
    
     DEL47 CPIM-YECHURY-LD AIIMS
     Yechury continues to be under treatment for chest infection at AIIMS: CPI(M)
     New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury continues to be under treatment at AIIMS, New Delhi, for a respiratory infection, the party said on Saturday.

     DEL44 IMD-SEPT-LD MONSOON
     India likely to experience above normal rainfall in September: IMD
     New Delhi: After a wetter-than-normal August, India is likely to experience above normal rainfall in September, with heavy to very heavy precipitation expected in northwest India and the surrounding areas.

     DEL27 DL-CS-LD APPOINTMENT
     Senior IAS officer Dharmendra appointed Delhi chief secretary
     New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday appointed senior IAS officer Dharmendra as the new Delhi government chief secretary.

     DEL26 JK-BJP-RESIGN
     Two more leaders quit BJP over selection of candidates for J-K Assembly polls
     Jammu: Two more BJP leaders, including a district president, submitted their resignations from the primary membership of the party on Saturday, citing their resentment against the choice of candidates in their constituencies for the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. *
    
     DEL14 WAYANAD-LANDSLIDES-SURVIVORS
     *Some Wayanad landslides-hit areas may be out of bounds forever; survivors pin hope on govt help
     Wayanad/Thiruvananthapuram: Some of the landslides-affected areas of the Wayanad district may be declared permanent "no habitation" zones following the large devastation caused to their topography, Kerala government authorities fear. By Neelabh Srivastava

     CAL13 AS-SMOKE BOMB
     1962 Indo-China war era mortar smoke bomb found in Assam
     Tezpur (Assam): A mortar smoke bomb, believed to be of the 1962 Indo-China war era, was recovered from a river bed in Assam’s Sonitpur district, a top police official said on Saturday.
    
     MDS23 KL-LDALL-HEMA COMMITTE REPORT
     Hema panel report: CPI (M) defends accused party MLA Mukesh; Mohanlal wants culprits to be punished
     Thiruvananthapuram: As the aftershocks of the Justice Hema Committee report continued to rock Malayalam cinema industry on Saturday, top actor Mohanlal broke his silence over the sexual abuse allegations against his industry colleagues, calling for action against the guilty. The ruling CPI (M) defended its MLA and rape accused actor M Mukesh against demands for his resignation.    
    
     DEL62 INDIA-CHILE-FM
     Chile foreign minister's visit to India helped advance bilateral ties: MEA
     New Delhi: The visit of Chile's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, to India provided an opportunity to review the progress in bilateral cooperation and helped advance the ties between the two countries, the MEA said on Saturday.
    
     LEGAL
    
     LGD7 DL-HC-INDIAN EXPRESS
     Delhi High Court quashes Centre's 1987 eviction notice to Express Newspapers
     New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has held as arbitrary and malafide the Centre's decision to terminate its lease deed with Express Newspapers for the ‘Express Building’ at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg here and quashed the 37-year-old notice seeking ejection of the media house from the premises.
    
     LGD8 DISTRICT JUDICIARY-CONFERENCE-LD CJI
     District judiciary crucial component of rule of law, calling it subordinate must be stopped: CJI
     New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said district judiciary is the "backbone of the judiciary" and thus a crucial component of the rule of law and calling it subordinate must be stopped.
    
     LGD6 DL-COURT-COACHING CENTRE
     Coaching deaths: Delhi Court sends 6 accused to 4-day CBI custody
     New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday sent six people arrested in a case related to the drowning of three civil services aspirants in a coaching centre's basement in Old Rajinder Nagar to four days' CBI custody.

     LGD3 JUDICIARY-CONFERENCE-SIBAL
     Kapil Sibal highlights abysmal work conditions in district courts
     New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal Saturday highlighted the abysmal conditions in which district court judges work and said unless their salary and infrastructure are improved, the quantity and quality of justice delivery system will continue to suffer.

     FOREIGN
    
     FGN34 BANGLA-FLOODS
     Death toll from flood climbs to 59 in Bangladesh, over5.4 m people affected
     Dhaka: At least 59 people, including six women and 12 children, have died in the devastating floods which affected more than five million people in 11 districts of Bangladesh, officials announced on Saturday.
    
     FGN29 LAOS-INDIANS-RESCUE
     Indian embassy in Laos rescues 47 Indians from cyberscam centres
     Vientiane: At least 47 Indians trapped in cyber scam centres in Laos have been rescued from the Bokeo province of the country, the Indian embassy in the Southeast Asian country said on Saturday.

     FGN27 US-TRUMP-HARRIS
     Trump continues personal attacks against Harris, calls her defective
     Washington: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has launched a fresh personal attack on his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, calling her “defective".
    
     FGN26 BANGLA-HASINA-CASES
     2 new murder cases filed against ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
     Dhaka: Two new murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her former cabinet ministers for the killing of three people, including two BNP activists, during the quota reform protests in the country, according to media reports.*
    
    

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)