HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 1200 hours:

TOP NEWS: FGN9 TRUMP-KASHMIR-REPORT

Trump committed "diplomatic malpractice of a high order" by volunteering to mediate on Kashmir' Washington: US President Donald Trump is undoing the achievements of his predecessors on India by "blundering" to volunteer to mediate over the Kashmir issue and has committed "diplomatic malpractice of a high order" that could further alienate an important country, according to a top American daily. By Lalit K Jha

FGN2 UK-CABINET-PATEL

Priti Patel takes charge as first British Indian home secretary London: Priti Patel, an ardent Brexiteer who was among the most vocal critics of Theresa May's Brexit strategy, took charge as Britain's first Indian-origin home secretary as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's top team on Thursday. By Aditi Khanna

CAL2 WB-ACTOR-THREAT

Actor claims to have received death threat for raising voice against lynchings Kolkata: Actor Kaushik Sen, who is one of the signatories of the letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of mob violence, said on Thursday that he has received a threat call.

NATION:

BES2 MH-AHIR-SENA Mumbai NCP chief Sachin Ahir joins Shiv Sena

Mumbai: In a setback to the NCP, its Mumbai unit chief and former Maharashtra minister Sachin Ahir joined the Shiv Sena here on Thursday.

BES1 MH-TREMORS Four tremors jolt Palghar; man killed in house collapse

Palghar: A man was killed when his house collapsed after four tremors shook parts of Palghar district in Maharashtra in the wee hours of Thursday, officials said.

DES3 UP-EVETEASING UP: Woman, daughter attempt suicide at SP office over eve-teasing, police 'inaction'

Muzaffarnagar: A woman and her daughter attempted suicide by consuming poison at the SP office in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district allegedly over eve-teasing by some neighbours and police "inaction" on their complaint, an official said on Thursday.

CES1 BH-ASSEMBLY-FODDER Sushil Modi rakes up fodder scam in House

Patna: Irregular expenditures in excess of Rs 650 crore between 1987 and 1997 - the period when the multi-crore fodder scam happened - are being scrutinized by courts, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said in the assembly.

DEL3 INTOLERANCE-CPIM-BJP BJP patronises cult of violence, says Yechury after ministers dismiss concerns expressed by celebs

New Delhi: Accusing the BJP of promoting a "cult of violence", CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday slammed the ruling party leaders for dismissing the concerns expressed by 49 eminent people in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over mob violence and incidents of lynching.

LEGAL: LGD2 SC-KARNATAKA MLAS

SC permits 2 Independent K'taka MLAs to withdraw plea for immediate floor test New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed two Independent MLAs from Karnataka to withdraw their plea seeking a direction to state assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to conduct "forthwith" floor test on a trust motion moved by the H D Kumaraswamy government.

FOREIGN:

FES12 UAE-INDIAN-COMEDIAN Friends unite to cremate Indian comedian in Dubai

Dubai: Friends and colleagues of Indian comedian Manjunath Naidu, who died while performing on stage in Dubai, came together to perform his last rites, describing him as a person who went out of his way to help people, according to media reports.

FGN11 AFGHAN-LD BLASTS At least five killed as three blasts rock Kabul: official

Kabul: At least five people were killed Thursday in a suicide bombing in Kabul, an official said, adding that two other blasts had also hit the Afghan capital. (AFP)

BUSINESS: DEL1 BIZ-STOCKS-OPEN

Sensex rallies over 300 pts; Nifty reclaims 11,300 Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex rallied over 300 points in early trade on Thursday tracking gains in HDFC twins and Infosys ahead of July derivatives expiry, amid positive global cues.

DEL2 BIZ-RUPEE-OPEN

Rupee rises 6 paise to 68.92 against USD in early trade Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 6 paise to 68.92 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid positive opening in domestic equity market.

SPORTS:

SPD2 SPO-IND-JERSEY Learning app Byju's to replace Oppo on Indian team's jersey

New Delhi: The Indian cricketers will soon be wearing a new brand name on their official jerseys with Chinese mobile manufacturer Oppo handing over the sponsorship rights to Byju's, a Bengaluru-based educational technology and online tutorial firm. ABH ABH