| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Biden closer to the finish line as counting continues The U.S. presidential election is still poised on a knife's edge, with the two candidates going neck and neck in several battleground states. Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has scored victories in the crucial states of Michigan and Wisconsin and also narrowed the gap with President Donald Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania. As the time of publication, Trump had 214 electoral votes while Biden had 264, needing just six more to reach 270 and clinch the presidency. Trump needs to win all the four remaining battleground states where results are still undeclared – Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada to get re-elected. But Biden only needs to win any one of these to make it to the White House. Meanwhile the Trump campaign, in a last ditch effort, has filed lawsuits in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and has demanded a recounting of votes in Wisconsin. As we indicated in our newsletter yesterday, Pennsylvania, which can potentially count votes till Friday night, seems to be the most likely target. "We are going to win Pennsylvania, but they are trying to cheat us out of it because they know it is their only path to victory," Eric Trump, the younger son of the President, told reporters at a news conference in Philadelphia. "We are going to file a suit in Pennsylvania. This is rampant corruption. It cannot happen. It is not fair. This is not democracy," he added. With Trump insisting without evidence that there were major problems with the voting and the ballot counting, especially with mail-in votes, dozens of his angry supporters converged on vote-counting centers in Detroit, Michigan and Phoenix, Arizona as the returns went against him in the two key States. At the same time, thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete tally of the ballots in the still-undecided election took to the streets in cities across the U.S. UGC issues guidelines for reopening colleges and universities Reopening of colleges and universities should start with libraries and laboratories, research scholars, science and technology post-graduates, and final year students, according to the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines issued on Thursday. For all other students, online and distance learning will continue to be the preferred method. Only institutions outside containment zones can be re-opened, and students and staff living in containment zones will not be allowed to attend physical classes, according to the UGC guidelines. The Home Ministry had already given States permission to reopen schools and colleges from October 15, depending on the local situation. Several States have announced plans to reopen high schools, colleges and universities this month.  The University Grants Commission office in New Delhi. File According to the UGC guidelines, for centrally funded institutions, it is up to the head of each institution to take a decision on reopening if they are satisfied with the feasibility of physical classes. All other institutions, whether private or state-funded, must depend on the decision of the respective state governments. Only 50% of the student strength will be allowed on campus at a time, and all facilities will be disinfected regularly. All personnel on campus will be required to wear face masks, and follow hand sanitising practices. However, maintaining six feet distance is only recommended "as far as feasible", and detection of illness is based on self-monitoring rather than mandatory temperature checks. The installation of Aarogya Setu app is being recommended wherever possible. Institutions are also free to mandate stricter rules. Although the guidelines discourage hostel reopening, it will be permitted so long as there is no sharing of rooms and 14-day quarantines are imposed on students coming from other locations. This is my last election, says Nitish Kumar On Thursday, the last day of the poll campaign, JD (U) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that this was going to be his last election and "all is well that ends well". "Parso chunav hai aur yeh mera aakhiri chunav hai…aur ant bhala to sab bhala (day after tomorrow there is poll and this is my last election…all is well that ends well)," said Kumar while addressing a public meeting at Dhamdaha in Purnia district of northeast Bihar. Kumar, 69, is facing anti-incumbency in the polls as he seeks a fourth consecutive term as Chief Minister. RJD leader and party spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, "Our leader Tejashwi Yadav has been saying for long that on November 10, farewell of Nitish Kumar is guaranteed. Yeh to aise bhi unka last chunav hi tha (it was anyway his last election)." The third and last phase of Bihar polls will be held on November 7. Counting will be done on November 10. China bars travellers from India, U.K. citing Covid-19 cases China on Thursday effectively barred travellers from India, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Philippines by temporarily suspending valid visas, with measures targeting other countries also expected as Beijing moves to tighten international travel restrictions citing a rising number of imported Covid-19 cases. The move has left it unclear whether four repatriation flights announced by India for this month will go ahead on schedule. The announcement to bar travellers was made in separate and near-identical notices issued on Wednesday and Thursday by Chinese missions in India, the U.K., Belgium and the Philippines. With Beijing broadly controlling the local transmission of cases within the country and China returning to normalcy in recent months following stringent measures, authorities are now emphasising that dealing with "imported" cases from international travellers is the top priority. EU cuts growth forecast, says recovery unlikely until 2023 The European Union's executive commission on Thursday lowered its growth forecast for the economic rebound from the coronavirus pandemic next year and said the economy wouldn't reach pre-virus levels until 2023. The regular autumn forecast foresees the economy of the 19 countries that use the euro growing only 4.2% in 2021, instead of the previous estimate of 6.1%. The downgrade comes as governments record increasing numbers of infections, and sick people in hospitals and deaths, leading to renewed restrictions on businesses and activity.  European Union flag. File The commission added a warning that the situation with the virus means that its growth forecasts are subject to an extremely high degree of uncertainty. Output in both the euro area and the EU is not expected to recover its pre-pandemic level in 2022, the commission said in a statement accompanying the forecast report. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 83,92,654 at the time of writing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,24,814. In Brief: Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Thursday held discussions with his Nepalese counterpart General Purna Chandra Thapa in Kathmandu. Gen. Naravane was accorded a special guard of honour and he paid homage at the Nepali Army's Martyr's Memorial. "Both delegations discussed Army-to-Army relations and enhancing bilateral defence cooperation. He was also given a comprehensive briefing by senior officers of the Nepali Army," a press note from the Indian embassy said.  Indian Army chief General M. M. Naravane was conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage will re-launch the group as an anti-lockdown party called Reform UK in an attempt to fight anti-coronavirus measures imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government. The new party will back a policy of focused protection from the coronavirus for only the most vulnerable, and allow the rest of the population to develop herd immunity. The Brexit Party was set up in early 2019 by Farage, whose years of campaigning against EU membership played a major part in delivering the 2016 referendum in which the UK voted to leave the bloc. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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