Security has been heightened in Kashmir following the terror attack in Kulgam district that left five labourers from West Bengal dead, even as a complete shutdown disrupted normal life across the valley on Wednesday, officials said.

The terror attack came at a time when a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union is in Kashmir to talk to locals and ask them about their experience after abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.

The November 25 by-polls to three Assembly seats in West Bengal will be the first litmus test for the TMC and the BJP since the Lok Sabha polls in the state. The by-elections will be an indication of which way political winds are blowing in the state. It will be the first electoral contest between the BJP and TMC since this year’s parliamentary polls, in which the saffron party bagged 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, four less than that of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Incumbent Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to be elected as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislative party on Wednesday. BJP president Amit Shah has deputed Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and party vice president Avinash Rai Khanna as central observers for the meeting where the newly-elected MLAs will meet on Wednesday to elect their leader.

The meeting of 105 newly-elected MLAs comes at a time when the BJP ally Shiv Sena has refused to support the party for government formation before it agrees to a 50:50 power-sharing formula.

WhatsApp on Tuesday sued Israeli technology firm NSO Group, accusing it of using the Facebook-owned messaging service to conduct cyberespionage on journalists, human rights activists and others.

The suit filed in a California federal court contended that NSO Group tried to infect approximately 1,400 "target devices" with malicious software to steal valuable information from those using the messaging app.

Flag carrier Air India's pilot bodies--IPG and ICPA -- on Tuesday sought appointment with civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri for a clarity on the proposed disinvestment amid the government preparing to exit from the airline business.

The government for long has been trying to sell debt- ridden airline but could not attract bidders. It has now again decided to call bids for sale next month.

Shares of BEML surged 10 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,108 on the BSE on Wednesday on report that the government has started the divestment process of the state-owned commercial vehicles' company.

According to a report by CNBC-Awaaz, the government could soon invite Expression of Interest (EoI) by late November or early December to reduce its stake by nearly 26 per cent in the company.

State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) zoomed 14 per cent to Rs 61.30 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday after global brokerage firm CLSA upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Sell' owing to the benefits that the company could reap due to government's stake sale.

According to reports, the brokerage sees "limited risk" in the stock and believes the "company has a lot to gain from a strategic partner". If the divestiture fails, there could be risks to market price, it said.

Shares of HDFC Life Insurance hit a new high of Rs 634, up 4 per cent on the BSE in the early morning deals on Wednesday after nearly 5 per cent of total equity of insurance company changed hands through block deals. The stock bounced back 10 per cent from its opening low of Rs 575 on the BSE. It surpassed its previous high of Rs 626, touched on October 23, 2019.

At 09:15 am, around 101.87 million equity shares, representing 5 per cent of total equity of HDFC Life, changed hands via block deals on the BSE, the exchange data shows. The name of the buyers and sellers were not ascertained immediately.

US officials have said the body of Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea, as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend.

Syrian Kurds claimed to be a key source of the intelligence that led Americans to Baghdadi after years of tracking the man behind a five-year reign of terror across much of Iraq and Syria.

The free-ride scheme for women on Delhi public buses might be extended to senior citizens and all students, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said as the initiative took off on Tuesday.

This scheme will help in women empowerment by bridging the gender gap that exists in society, the chief minister said on his mobile application 'AK App' and added that this was a gift from their brother on 'Bhai Dooj'.

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