HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 5.10 pm NATION DEL20 UP-LD BRAHMOS (2.22 pm) **** Every inch of Pak territory within BrahMos range, Operation Sindoor was only a trailer: Rajnath Lucknow: Every inch of Pakistan's territory lies within range of BrahMos and what happened during Operation Sindoor was just a trailer, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Saturday, in a stern warning to Pakistan. **** CAL17 BH-SHAH-CONCLAVE-KASHMIR (3.16 pm) **** Statehood of J&K to be restored at appropriate time: Shah Patna: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday promised restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir at ''an appropriate time'' and a ''good resolution'' of demands raised by people of the Union Territory of Ladakh. **** DEL16 EC-BIHAR-PAID HOLIDAY (1.38 pm) Paid holiday in Bihar on voting days; employers contravening provision can be fined: EC New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday said voters in Bihar, where polls will be held in two phases next month, are entitled to paid holidays on polling days, and employers who contravene this legal provision can be fined.

BOM9 CG-MAOIST-STATEMENT (3.50 pm) Chhattisgarh: As security forces gain upper hand, Maoist leader urges cadres to surrender Gariaband, Oct 18 (PTI) Amid a wave of mass surrenders that has gripped Naxal strongholds in Chhattisgarh, a senior leader has issued a letter appealing to the cadres to lay down their arms and join the mainstream, citing the crippling blow to the network due to the relentless push by security forces.

BOM8 MH-VOTERS LIST-NCP LEGISLATOR (2.40 pm) After Oppn, now Mahayuti MLC alleges voter duplication, wants local polls postponed for corrections Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: NCP MLC Satish Chavan on Saturday demanded postponement of the local body elections in Maharashtra till the electoral rolls are rectified, claiming that 36,000 names were appearing twice in the voters' list in an assembly segment in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar alone. CAL25 WB-RAPE-SURVIVOR-DISCHARGE (4.52 pm) Bengal: Durgapur gang rape survivor discharged from hospital Kolkata: A second-year student of a private medical college in West Bengal's Durgapur, who was allegedly gang-raped on October 10, was discharged from the hospital on Saturday after improvement in her health condition, officials said.

CAL22 AS-ZUBEEN-JAIL-LD ARRESTS (4.21 pm) **** Zubeen's death: 9 held over violence near Baksa jail in Assam Guwahati, Oct 18 (PTI) Nine people have been arrested so far in connection with violence during the shifting of five accused in Zubeen Garg's death case to a jail in Assam's Baksa district, police said on Saturday. **** BUSINESS DEL19 BIZ-GST-FM (2.11 pm) **** GST rate cut benefits reaching consumers, govt monitoring prices of 54 items New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the benefits of GST reforms are reaching consumers in the form of reduced prices. **** DEL17 BIZ-GST-VAISHNAW (1.43 pm) **** Additional electronics consumption of Rs 20 lakh cr expected this year due to GST reforms: Vaishnaw New Delhi: Additional electronics consumption worth Rs 20 lakh crore is expected to take place this year due to GST reforms rolled out by the government last month, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. **** LEGAL DEL18 BIZ-JEWELLERY-DHANTERAS (4.13 pm) **** Dhanteras gold buying kicks off, record prices may dampen volumes by 15pc Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Gold and silver buying on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras kicked off on Saturday with jewellers expecting higher footfalls, though record high prices of the yellow metal could dampen demand by 15 per cent in volume terms compared with a year earlier. **** LGD2 SC-AIRPORT OFFICERS (1.13 pm) **** Need for airport agencies to sensitise their officers in prevailing laws: Supreme Court New Delhi: There is an imminent need for jurisdictional agencies, handling affairs at international airports, to sensitise their officers in the prevailing laws before taking the drastic step of detention and arrest of an international traveller, the Supreme Court has said. **** LGD3 JK-HC-VOTING RS (RPT) (2.29 pm) **** Ensure jailed leader Mehraj Malik can vote in RS polls: Court to J-K govt Jammu: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Saturday directed the government to ensure Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik can vote in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election for four seats in the Union Territory. **** FOREIGN FGN29 PAK-AFGHAN-TALKS (4.55 pm) **** Pakistan to hold talks with Afghan Taliban in Doha to ease border tensions Islamabad, Oct 18 (PTI) The Pakistan government on Saturday confirmed that a high-level delegation led by Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif will hold talks with representatives of the Afghan Taliban in Doha, where Qatar is facilitating dialogue between the two sides amid rising border tensions. By Sajjad Hussain **** FGN27 PAK-ARMY-INDIA (3 pm) **** Pakistan Army chief warns India of 'decisive response' to any provocation Islamabad: In a sharp escalation of rhetoric, Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Saturday warned India of a “decisive response” to even a minor provocation, saying there is no space for war in a ''nuclearised environment”. By Sajjad Hussain ****