HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL97 LDALL PM-LADAKH Era of expansionism is over; India's enemies have seen 'fire and fury' of its armed forces: Modi during Ladakh visit Leh/New Delhi: In a clear message to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the era of expansionism is over and that India's enemies have seen the "fire and fury" of its armed forces as he made an unannounced visit to Ladakh, signalling India's firmness in dealing with the border row with the neighbouring country.

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL97 LDALL PM-LADAKH Era of expansionism is over; India's enemies have seen 'fire and fury' of its armed forces: Modi during Ladakh visit Leh/New Delhi: In a clear message to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the era of expansionism is over and that India's enemies have seen the "fire and fury" of its armed forces as he made an unannounced visit to Ladakh, signalling India's firmness in dealing with the border row with the neighbouring country. DEL21 VIRUS-LD CASES Highest single-day spike of 20,903 COVID-19 cases in India, total case tally 6,25,544 New Delhi: India's COVID-19 cases soared by over 20,000 in a day for the first time taking the country's total tally to 6,25,544 on Friday, while the death toll climbed to 18,213 with 379 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data.  DEL78 UP-COPS-6THLD ENCOUNTER Eight UP policemen shot dead in failed raid, 2 criminals killed later Kanpur: Eight police personnel, including a DSP, were gunned down in a village near the city by the henchmen of a criminal who lost two of them in a firefight later, officials said on Friday.

DEL82 VIRUS-ICMR-LD VACCINE ICMR aims to launch indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by Aug 15 New Delhi: Contemplating launching an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by August 15, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has written to select medical institutions and hospitals to fast-track clinical trial approvals for the vaccine candidate Covaxin being developed in collaboration with Bharat Biotech. DEL110 CONG-PM-CHINA Why Prime Minister of a strong India so weak, asks Cong on border standoff New Delhi: The Congress on Friday questioned the prime minister's silence on Chinese "incursions" into Indian territory and asked why he did not name China even once in his recent speeches.

DEL65 SINOINDIA-JAPAN Japan throws support behind India on eastern Ladakh standoff with China New Delhi: In a strong support to India over its border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, Japan on Friday said it opposed "any unilateral" attempts to change the status quo in the region. DEL111 VIRUS-LD HRD-ENTRANCE-EXAMS NEET postponed to Sept 13 in view of COVID-19 , JEE-Mains to be held from Sept 1-6: HRD Ministry New Delhi: The HRD Ministry on Friday postponed crucial medical and engineering entrance exams NEET and JEE to September in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases.

LEGAL LGD12 SC-LD ITALIAN MARINES Centre moves SC for closure of case against Italian marines’ after International tribunal decision New Delhi: The Centre has moved the Supreme Court seeking closure of judicial proceedings here against two Italian marines’ accused of killing two Indian fishermen, off the Kerala coast, saying that it has accepted the recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at the Hague which held that India is entitled to get compensation in the case but can't prosecute the marines due to official immunity enjoyed by them. LGD9 SC-JHARKHAND-COAL Jharkhand moves SC against Centre's decision to auction state's coal blocks for commercial mining New Delhi: Jharkhand government has moved the Supreme Court against the Centre's decision to auction coal blocks situated in the state for commercial mining alleging that the announcement was made "unilaterally" without its consultation. BUSINESS DEL31 BIZ-LD POWER EQUIPMENT-CHINA India not to import power equipment from China: R K Singh New Delhi: Power Minister R K Singh on Friday said that India will not import power equipment from China, amid a border standoff with China.

DEL79 BIZ-VIRUS-LD ZYDUS VACCINE Zydus gets nod for human trials of COVID-19 vaccine New Delhi: Zydus on Friday said it has received approval from authorities to start human trials for its COVID-19 vaccine contender - the second Indian pharmaceutical firm to get such nod amid a surge in novel coronavirus infections worldwide. FOREIGN FGN39 CHINA-INDIA-MODI-LD REAX PM Modi's visit to Ladakh: China says neither side should complicate border situation Beijing: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a surprise visit on Friday to eastern Ladakh to meet troops amid a bitter Sino-India military standoff, China said neither side should make any move that may complicate the border situation. By K J M Varma FGN46 PAK-SIKHS-3RDLD ACCIDENT 20 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims killed in train-bus collision in Pak Lahore: At least 20 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims returning from Nankana Sahib were killed when the driver of the mini-bus they were travelling reportedly tried to take a short cut to avoid a shut railway crossing and rammed the vehicle into a passenger train in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday, officials said. By M Zulqernain FGN38 CHINA-INDIA-TIKTOK TikTok predicts over USD 6 bn loss from India’s ban: Report Beijing: Chinese tech giant unicorn ByteDance Ltd. is anticipating a loss of over USD 6 billion after three of its apps, including the hugely popular video app TikTok, were banned by India this week, a media report here said. By K J M Varma ENTERTAINMENT ENT20 LD ALL SAROJ KHAN ‘Dhak Dhak’ choreographer Saroj Khan dies after brief illness Mumbai: Choreographer Saroj Khan, the feisty 'Masterji' of Bollywood who stormed into a largely male bastion with her dance moves in numbers like “Dhak Dhak”, “Hawa Hawaii” and “Ek Do Teen”, died following a cardiac arrest at a hospital here early Friday. She was 71.