New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9.05 pm: NATION DEL27 ENV-CAQM-LD GRAP (8.59 PM)

GRAP Stage IV curbs invoked in Delhi-NCR amid sharp dip in air quality New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday invoked the strictest measures under its air pollution control plan, GRAP, including a ban on all construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR after pollution levels rose sharply amid unfavourable meteorological conditions.

MDS23 KL-2ND LDALL CIVIC POLLS (9.01 PM) Kerala civic polls results: Boost for UDF, setback for LDF, Lotus blooms in state capital

Thiruvananthapuram: In a morale-boosting show ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, Congress-led UDF on Saturday secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF while the BJP wrested the city civic body from decades of Left control in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as the state politics' "watershed moment."

CAL30 WB-LDALL MESSI (8.03 PM)

Mismanagement mars Messi’s Kolkata visit, Bengal CM Mamata orders high-level inquiry Kolkata: What was meant to be a celebratory event around football icon Lionel Messi descended into chaos at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of their hero, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.

DEL14 CONG-LD MGNREGA (RPT) (5.32 PM)

Modi govt 'master' at renaming schemes: Congress slams govt over MGNREGA name change New Delhi: With the Cabinet approving a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Congress on Saturday questioned the need for renaming the scheme and asked "what is wrong with the name Mahatma Gandhi" that the government had to take this step.

DEL25 CONG 2NDLD KERALA (8.35 PM)

Start of collapse of many 'red fortresses': Cong on Kerala local bodies poll win; Tharoor congratulates BJP for Thiruvananthapuram victory New Delhi: Buoyed by the victory in Kerala local bodies polls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders on Saturday exuded confidence that the UDF will get a similar mandate in the assembly elections, with the party asserting that many "red fortresses" will collapse in the coming times.

MDS19 DEF-TL-2ND LD CDS CHAUHAN (7.59 PM)

India's future combat power would be driven by JAI: Gen Chauhan Hyderabad: General Anil Chauhan on Saturday said the country's future combat power would be driven by three pillars -- Jointnesss, Atmanirbharta and Innovation, which he collectively termed as JAI.

DEL18 ED-ISIS-WOOD SMUGGLING (5.28 PM)

Padgha ISIS module from Maharashtra cut and smuggled Khair wood from reserve forest: ED New Delhi: An alleged ISIS module operating from Maharashtra's Padgha village in Thane district was involved in the illegal cutting and smuggling of Khair wood from the local reserve forests, an ED probe into a terror financing-linked money laundering case has found.

CAL28 AN-BHAGWAT (7.07 PM)

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat calls for unity, cultural pride at Andaman meeting Sri Vijaya Puram: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday urged Hindu society to draw inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s message that every nation has a mission to fulfil and a destiny to reach.

CAL27 AS-ESPIONAGE-LD ARREST (6.44 PM)

Retired IAF personnel arrested for alleged Pak links in Assam Tezpur: A retired Indian Air Force personnel has been arrested in Assam's Sonitpur district for alleged links with Pakistani intelligence operatives, police said on Saturday.

CAL24 AR-BODIES (5.55 PM)

11 more bodies retrieved from Arunachal accident site Itanagar: Eleven more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, where a mini-truck on which 22 labourers from Assam were travelling fell, an official said.

DEL22 CPIM-KARAT-AKHLAQ (7.14 PM)

Akhlaq lynching case: Brinda Karat seeks President's intervention in UP govt's move to drop charges New Delhi: Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Saturday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, demanding her intervention in the Uttar Pradesh government's move to withdraw charges against the accused in the 2015 mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq.

DEL26 RAIL-FAKE IDS-IRCTC (8.46 PM)

After fake ID crackdown, IRCTC daily new accounts down to 5000 from one lakh: Railways New Delhi: With a new, stringent system to establish user identity, the number of new user IDs being added daily on the IRCTC website has declined to about 5,000 from nearly one lakh, officials said on Saturday.

LEGAL LGD5 JK-NIA-RATHER-PO (7.50 PM)

NIA court declares absconding Delhi blast accused Muzaffar Rather 'proclaimed offender' Srinagar: An NIA court here declared Dr Muzaffar Ahmad Rather, an accused in the white collar terror module busted by Srinagar police in October that was behind the November 10 car blast near Delhi's Red Fort, a proclaimed offender under Section 84 of the BNSS.

LGD4 HC-GRAP-WFH (6.20 PM)

HC dismisses scientist's plea seeking mandatory WFH under GRAP due to poor air quality New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea by a senior-level scientist, working with an organisation funded by the central government, that he be allowed to work from home due to poor air quality on office premises.

FOREIGN FES22 UK-NAOROJI (6.58 PM)

UK’s House of Lords commemorates Dadabhai Naoroji’s 200th birth anniversary London: The House of Lords in London played host to a special reception in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji, the nationalist leader who became the first Indian to win a popular election to the British Parliament during the colonial era. By Aditi Khanna

FGN31 PAK-SANSKRIT (8.48 PM)

Two Pak universities launch Sanskrit courses citing shared heritage of classical language Lahore: First time after partition, two universities of Pakistan's Punjab have launched short courses in Sanskrit citing shared heritage and plan to teach Gita and Mahabharat in future. By M Zulqernain

FGN32 NEPAL-INDIA-ENVOY-HEALTH (9.00 PM)

Indian envoy falls ill while hiking in Nepal; airlifted to hospital Kathmandu: Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava fell ill on Saturday while hiking in Nepal's Lalitpur district, and was airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment, officials said. By Shirish B Pradhan

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