HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9:45 pm: NATION DEL108 BJP-LD RJ-CONG Party's doors are open for those who express trust in its ideology: BJP leaders on Pilot New Delhi: With all eyes on rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot's next political move, several senior BJP leaders from Rajasthan said on Tuesday that their party's doors are open for anybody who expresses trust in its ideology.

Following are the top stories at 9:45 pm: NATION DEL108 BJP-LD RJ-CONG Party's doors are open for those who express trust in its ideology: BJP leaders on Pilot New Delhi: With all eyes on rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot's next political move, several senior BJP leaders from Rajasthan said on Tuesday that their party's doors are open for anybody who expresses trust in its ideology. DEL106 RJ-CABINET Rajasthan ministry meets after party sacks Pilot, his loyalists Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other ministers reached the CM’s residence Tuesday evening for a Cabinet meeting, hours after the ruling Congress sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and two others from the cabinet. DEL92 LD CONG-SACHIN-REAX Sachin Pilot's removal as Rajasthan deputy CM, PCC chief: Most Cong leaders dub it as 'unfortunate', 'sad' New Delhi: Rebel Sachin Pilot's removal from the posts of Rajasthan deputy chief minister and Congress state unit chief on Tuesday evoked mixed reactions from the party leaders, with a section of them still hoping for resolution of the matter and the rest blaming the young leader for his haste.

DEL118 CONG-PILOT-THAROOR Sad to see Pilot 'leave' Cong: Tharoor New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said he was sad to see Sachin Pilot "leave" the Congress and asserted that instead of "parting", the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister should have joined the effort to make the party a more effective instrument for "his and our dreams". DEL117 LOCKDOWN-LD STATES Complete lockdown in Bihar from July 16; Bengaluru shuts down for a week as several states reimpose curbs to check COVID surge New Delhi/Patna/Bengaluru: Nearly a dozen states have so far reimposed lockdown in selected areas for varying periods to check the surge in COVID-19, while Bihar on Tuesday extended the curbs to the whole of the state from July 16 to July 31.

DEL110 VIRUS-VACCINE-TRIALS Human clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine initiated in India: ICMR New Delhi: Human clinical trials for a vaccine for COVID-19 has been initiated in the country with approximately 1,000 volunteers participating in the exercise for each of the two indigenously developed vaccine candidates, the ICMR said on Tuesday. DEL111 EU-SINOINDIA Peaceful resolution of India-China border row crucial for regional and global stability, says EU ahead of summit with India New Delhi: A peaceful resolution of the border row between India and China is crucial for regional and global stability, senior officials of the European Union(EU) said on Tuesday, a day ahead of a virtual summit between leaders of India and the 27-nation grouping.

DEL109 HRD-LD ONLINE-EDUCATION HRD announces guidelines for online classes by schools, recommends cap on screen time for students New Delhi: The HRD Ministry on Tuesday announced guidelines for online classes by schools and recommended a cap on duration and the number of sessions in a day for students. DEL97 BJP-PREZ-LD BENGAL BJP delegation meets Prez Kovind, demands dismissal of TMC govt in WB over 'political killings' New Delhi: Demanding dismissal of the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal because of the "political killings" there, a BJP delegation met President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday and also sought a CBI probe into the mysterious death of party leader Debendra Nath Ray.

DEL114 LD WEATHER Orange alert issued for coastal areas of Maha; 89k people hit by floods in West Garo Hills New Delhi: Rainfall lashed parts of northern India and floods affected 89,000 people in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district, while IMD issued an orange alert for coastal districts in Maharashtra, stating 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' was likely in isolated areas. MDS6 KL-GOLD-CUSTOMS-OFFICER Customs summons Kerala IAS officer in gold smuggling case Kochi: IAS officer M Sivasankar, sacked principal secretary of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was on Tuesday summoned by the Customs as part of the ongoing investigation into the sensational gold smuggling case.

BOM12 MH-ELGAR-RAO-LD HOSPITAL Rao stable, will take time to evaluate his health: Hospital Mumbai: The condition of jailed poet and activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, is stable after he was shifted to the J J Hospital here, a senior hospital official said on Tuesday. LEGAL LGD34 SC-2NDLD ENCOUNTER-DUBEY Vikas Dubey encounter: SC may consider appointing panel, UP to file status report New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday said it may consider appointing a committee headed by a former judge to inquire into the encounters of gangster Vikas Dubey and his associates as well as the killing of eight policemen in Uttar Pradesh.

FOREIGN FGN35 NEPAL-OLI-REAX Kathmandu: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's controversial remarks that Lord Ram was born in Thori near Birgunj and the real Ayodhya lies in Nepal on Tuesday invited sharp criticism, with a former premier saying it has "crossed the limit." FGN39 UK-4THLD HUAWEI UK bans China's Huawei, all 5G kit to be removed by 2027 London/Beijing: The UK on Tuesday banned Huawei from its 5G telecom network, reversing an earlier decision to allow the Chinese tech giant a limited role in building the country's super-fast wireless infrastructure. By Aditi Khanna & K J M Varma PTI AD.