HIGHLIGHTS

These are the top stories at 9 pm: Nation DEL55 LD SINOINDIA Respect LAC, do not make attempts to unilaterally change status quo; Rajnath tells Chinese counterpart New Delhi: As the situation in eastern Ladakh remains tense, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe that China must strictly respect the Line of Actual Control(LAC) and not make attempts to unilaterally change its status quo. DEL35 CONG-SINOINDIA Congress urges PM, Defence Minister to take nation into confidence on India-China border row New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to take the nation into confidence on talks with China on the border row in Ladakh, saying people want to know about the outcomes of the repeated conversations with the Chinese side.

DEL69 RAIL-LD SPECIAL TRAINS 80 new special trains from Sept 12; clear timeframe for bullet train project in 3-6 months New Delhi: Eighty new special trains will be operational from September 12, reservations for which will begin from next Thursday, Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav said on Saturday, while asserting the real timeframe for the completion of the bullet train project will be clear in three to six months. DEL56 CONG-GOVT EXPENDITURE Withdraw circular 'banning' creation of new posts: Cong to govt New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday demanded that the Centre withdraw its circular calling for a freeze on the creation of new posts, and urged it to create more vacancies while filling the existing ones in the wake of the alleged rise in unemployment.

DEL11 VIRUS-LD CASES India takes 13 days to cross 40 lakh COVID-19 cases from 30 lakh; record 86,432 infections reported in a day New Delhi: India's COVID-19 infection tally sprinted past 40 lakh, just 13 days after it crossed 30 lakh, with a record 86,432 cases being reported in a day, while recoveries have surged to 31,07,223 on Saturday pushing the recovery rate to 77.23 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry. DEL64 VIRUS-RECOVERIES No. of COVID-19 recoveries crosses 31L in India, case fatality rate drops to 1.73 pc New Delhi: With a record 70,072 patients recuperating from COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, the total number of such recoveries surged to 31,07,223 in the country, pushing the recovery rate to 77.23 per cent, the health ministry said on Saturday, while underlining that the "test, track and treat" strategy is showing tangible results.

DEL30 TEACHERS-INNOVATIVE-METHODS Bell-free school to global citizenship curriculum: National award winning teachers' innovative ideas New Delhi: Introducing 'bell-free school', 'child parliament', gender sensitisation exercises and 'global citizenship curriculum' are among the innovative teaching-learning practices adopted by 47 teachers who have bagged the National Teachers Award this year. By Gunjan Sharma DEL24 CONG-RAHUL-GOVT Modi dispensation's thinking -- minimum govt, maximum privatisation: Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the Centre over the issue of recruitment to government posts, alleging that the Modi dispensation's thinking is "minimum government, maximum privatisation". DEL58 AVI-DGCA-ALCOHOL DGCA orders resumption of pre-flight alcohol test for pilots, cabin crew New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered airlines to resume pre-flight alcohol tests for pilots and cabin crew members.

DES6 UP-MOSQUE Mosque in Ayodhya will be of same size as Babri Masjid; Pushpesh Pant to curate its museum: Trust Lucknow: A mosque that will come up in Ayodhya pursuant to the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi case will be of the same size as Babri Masjid, said an office-brearer of the trust formed for its construction. Business DEL67 BIZ-2NDLD-STATES-RANKING Andhra tops 'ease of doing business' ranking of states/UTs; UP jumps 10 places to 2nd New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh for the third time in a row has topped in the ease of doing annual business ranking of states and Union Territories by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Foreign FGN31 BANGLA-MOSQUE-2NLD EXPLOSION 17 killed, 20 injured as six air conditioners explode in Bangladesh mosque Dhaka: A gas leak in an underground pipeline caused six air conditioners to explode almost simultaneously in a mosque during Friday evening prayers on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, killing 17 people, including a child, and injuring 20 others. By Anisur Rahman FGN15 US-TRUMP-LD SINOINDIA 'Very nasty' situation along India-China border; ready to help ease tension: Trump Washington: Describing the situation along the India-China border as "very nasty”, US President Donald Trump has said that the Chinese are "going at it much more strongly" than a lot of people understand and he would "love to get involved and help" ease the tension. By Lalit K Jha FGN17 US-INDIA-NIXON-TAPES Newly declassified White House tapes reveal ex-US president Nixon's hatred towards Indians New York: Newly declassified White House tapes disclose former US president Richard Nixon speaking disparagingly about Indians and reveal the bigotry he and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger held that influenced US policy toward India and South Asia under his presidency. By Yoshita Singh. PTI HDA.