HIGHLIGHTS

BOM7 GA-VIRUS-LOCKDOWN Three-day lockdown in Goa from Friday to curb COVID-19 spread Panaji: A three-day lockdown with stricter provisions will be enforced in Goa from Friday in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday. LEGAL LGD10 DL-COURT-TABLIGHI-BAIL Tablighi Jamaat: Delhi court grants bail to 200 Indonesians New Delhi: A Delhi court Wednesday granted bail to 200 Indonesians who were chargesheeted for attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation here allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

Following are the top stories at 5:30 pm: NATION DEL68 SINOINDIA-LADAKH Follow all agreed protocols for border management: India's clear message to China in marathon military talks New Delhi: The Indian military conveyed a "very clear" message to the Chinese army during a nearly 15-hour-long talks that status quo ante must be restored in eastern Ladakh and it will have to follow all mutually agreed protocols for border management to bring back peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control, government sources said on Wednesday. DEL61 VIRUS-TESTING Record number of samples tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday: ICMR officials New Delhi: More than 3.2 lakh samples were tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest so far on a day, taking the cumulative number of tests conducted in the country till July 14 to 1,24,12,664, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) officials said.

DEL84 RJ-CONG-SURJEWALA Stop accepting BJP 'hospitality', come back, Surjewala tells Pilot Jaipur: Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala on Wednesday said if dissident leader Sachin Pilot is not joining the BJP, he should stop accepting that party’s ”hospitality” in Haryana. DEL63 PM-KEDARNATH-REVIEW PM reviews development work at Kedarnath Dham New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reviewed the ongoing development work at Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand with a focus on facilities for travellers, his office said.

DEL41 RAHUL-FOREIGN POLICY India losing power and respect everywhere, government has no idea what to do: Rahul New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a fierce attack on the government's foreign policy, saying the country is losing power and respect everywhere and the current dispensation does not know what to do. DEL86 AVI-AIR INDIA-LWP Air India to send certain employees on leave without pay for up to five years New Delhi: Air India has started the process of identifying employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years, according to an official order.

DEL45 IMD-MUMBAI RAINS-ALERT  Mumbai rains: IMD upgrades warning status for city and coastal Maha; issues red alert New Delhi: In the wake of the heavy downpour in Mumbai and coastal Maharashtra, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday upgraded the warning status from orange to red, a special bulletin on the city's rain said on Wednesday. DEL85 CBSE-LD RESULTS Over 91 pc students pass class 10 exams, number of students scoring above 90 and 95 pc drops New Delhi: Girls outshone boys yet again in class 10 examination, results of which were announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday, recording a pass percentage of 91.46.

CAL4 WB-MAMATA-PREZ-LETTER Hemtabad MLA death not political case as projected by BJP: Mamata to Prez Kovind Kolkata: The death of the BJP’s Hemtabad MLA Debendra Nath Roy is a “case of suspected suicide” and not a political one as projected by the party, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday. BOM7 GA-VIRUS-LOCKDOWN Three-day lockdown in Goa from Friday to curb COVID-19 spread Panaji: A three-day lockdown with stricter provisions will be enforced in Goa from Friday in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.

LEGAL LGD10 DL-COURT-TABLIGHI-BAIL Tablighi Jamaat: Delhi court grants bail to 200 Indonesians New Delhi: A Delhi court Wednesday granted bail to 200 Indonesians who were chargesheeted for attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation here allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. LGB3 MH-COURT-LYNCHING-BAIL Court denies bail to 25 accused in Palghar lynching case Mumbai: A sessions court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of 25 persons arrested in connection with the Palghar lynching case in which two monks and their driver were beaten to death by a mob in April.

LGD7 DL-HC-THAROOR Have not seen or relied upon Sunanda Pushkar's tweets in case related to her death: police to HC New Delhi: The police on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court it has not seen the tweets of deceased Sunanda Pushkar nor was it relying on them in the case related to her death in which her husband and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the sole accused. BUSINESS DEL64 BIZ-RELIANCE-LD GOOGLE Google picks 7.7 pc stake in Jio for Rs 33,373 cr Mumbai: Google has agreed to invest Rs 33,737 crore to buy a 7.7 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' technology venture, adding to a slew of investments since April that has crossed Rs 1.52 lakh crore.

FOREIGN FGN24 CHINA-INDIA-TALKS Talks between Chinese and Indian militaries reached 'progress' on further disengagement: China Beijing: China on Wednesday said the fourth Commander-level talks between Indian and Chinese militaries to ease tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh have reached “progress” on promoting "further disengagement" of the border troops to de-escalate tensions. By K J M Varma PTI AD.