HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories till 9.15 PM NATION: DEL85 PETROL-LDALL STATES Political slugfest over high fuel prices escalates; Stalin, Vijayan target PM; Puri attacks oppn-ruled states for high taxes on aviation fuel Chennai/New Delhi: The political slugfest over Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging higher fuel prices in many Opposition-ruled states escalated on Thursday with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin saying it was like hiding a whole pumpkin in a plate of rice, and his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan asserting people's suffering cannot be mitigated by blaming the states.

DEL40 POWER-CRISIS (CORRECTED) Heatwave, coal shortage fuel blackouts across states New Delhi: A potent combination of sweltering summer and acute coal shortages have triggered blackouts across many parts of the country as states struggle to manage record demand for electricity and low feedstock at power plants.

CAL18 AS-LD ALL PM Efforts on to revoke AFSPA completely from NE, cheap and effective treatment for all: PM Diphu/Dibrugarh/Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday while speaking at a rally at Diphu, 250 kms east of Guwahati, said efforts are on to remove AFSPA completely from the northeast region.

DEL73 CONG-LD KAMAL NATH Kamal Nath resigns as CLP leader in MP, Govind Singh replaces him New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath resigned as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, with Govind Singh succeeding him in the post.

DEL70 DL-LD HEAT (CHG SLUG) At 43.5 degrees Celsius, Delhi records warmest April day in 12 years New Delhi: An intense heatwave broiled Delhi on Wednesday, with the Safdarjung observatory recording a maximum temperature of 43.5 degrees Celsius, the highest in April in 12 years.

DEL63 VACCINE-COVAXIN-WHO (RPT) Bharat Biotech must address WHO's Covaxin supply suspension to avoid EUL cancellation, says MEA New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI) Weeks after WHO suspended the supply of Covaxin through UN procurement agencies, the MEA suggested that vaccine-maker Bharat Biotech addresses the issue immediately to avoid cancellation of the world health body's emergency use approval for the jab. By Payal Banerjee DEL61 PAR PANEL-BIGTECH FIRMS Parl panel to summon Google, Twitter, Amazon, other big tech firms to discuss their competitive conduct New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI) With a number of global tech giants facing CCI probe for alleged anti-competitive practices, a key Parliamentary panel on Thursday decided to summon representatives of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and others to examine their competitive behaviour. By Jatin Takkar DEL56 LD HINDI-DEVGN-DEBATE Devgn’s Hindi comment centre of political debate: Bommai, Omar back linguistic diversity New Delhi/Bengaluru: Bollywood star Ajay Devgn’s comment on Hindi being India’s national language snowballed into a major debate on Thursday with leaders across the political spectrum, including BJP’s Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and NC’s Omar Abdullah, among those backing linguistic diversity.

DEL69 JK-LD FAESAL Govt reinstates IAS officer Shah Faesal in service 3 years after he resigned and joined politics in J&K New Delhi: The government has accepted IAS officer Shah Faesal's application for withdrawing his resignation and reinstated him in service and his next posting would be announced soon, Home Ministry officials said here on Thursday.

LEGAL: LGD10 DL-HC-SHARJEEL Delhi riots 2020: HC to hear on Friday bail plea by Sharjeel Imam in UAPA case New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will hear on Friday a bail plea by former JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.

LGD9 SC-QUOTA CANDIDATES Quota candidates getting more marks are entitled to General category seats: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that candidates belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) category are required to be adjusted against the general category who were more meritorious than the last of the general category candidates appointed. LGD1 UP-COURT-NAWAZUDDIN Court gives clean chit to actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, family members in molestation case Muzaffarnagar (UP): A court here has given a clean chit to actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and four of his family members in a molestation case.

FOREIGN: FGN10 US-LD QUAD US President Joe Biden to meet PM Modi at Quad summit in Japan next month: White House Washington: US President Joe Biden will travel to South Korea and Japan next month and attend the Quad summit in Tokyo, during which he will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the White House has said.

FGN50 UKRAINE-UN-GUTERRES UN chief Guterres tours Ukraine; backs thorough investigation into war crime allegations by ICC United Nations/Kiyv: Asserting that war cannot be acceptable in the 21st century, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday voiced his support for a thorough investigation and accountability into war crimes by the International Criminal Court and appealed to Russia “to accept to cooperate” with the body. By Yoshita Singh PTI VN VN VN