HIGHLIGHTS

These are the top stories at 9.30 pm: Nation DEL117 LDALL PRESIDENT India believes in peace but also capable of giving befitting response to any attempt of aggression: President on Galwan Valley clashes with China New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said while India believes in peace it is also capable of giving a befitting response to any attempt of aggression as shown by its troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh after "some in our neighbourhood", a veiled reference to China, tried to carry out their "misadventure of expansion". DEL118 RJ-ASSEMBLY-2NDLD TRUST VOTE Gehlot govt wins trust vote, Pilot sees himself as party's 'strongest warrior' Jaipur: The Ashok Gehlot government won a confidence vote in the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday, ending for now the threat triggered by a rebellion within the Congress ranks in the state.

DEL122 LD SINOINDIA Expect China to sincerely work with us to achieve complete disengagement: India New Delhi: India on Friday said it expects China to "sincerely" work with it towards the objective of achieving "complete disengagement" and de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and linked future of bilateral ties to the state of their border. DEL76 DEF-PORTAL-INDIGENISATION Rajnath launches online portal to promote indigenisation in defence production New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday launched an online portal that provides information about defence equipment and items that can be taken up for indigenisation by private sector companies.

DEL120 JK-2NDLD FIRING Terrorists gun down two J-K policemen outside Srinagar Srinagar: A day ahead of the Independence Day, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants killed two Jammu and Kashmir policemen and injured another in indiscriminate firing in Nowgam area of the city here on Friday, police said. DEL58 SHAH-VIRUS Amit Shah says he has tested negative for COVID-19 New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus, on Friday said he has tested negative.

DEL112 NAGA-MUIVAH-FLAG No honourable solution to Naga problem without flag, 'constitution': NSCN-IM chief Muivah New Delhi: The NSCN-IM, which has been engaged in peace negotiations with the government, on Friday asserted that an honourable solution to the seven-decades-old violent movement is not possible without a Naga flag and a constitution. DEL13 VIRUS-LD CASES Over 64,000 fresh COVID-19 cases; recovery rate improves to 71.17pc New Delhi: India's COVID-19 caseload surpassed 24 lakh on Friday after 64,553 more people tested positive and the recoveries rose to over 17 lakh, the Health Ministry said.

DEL52 PM-IDAY PM to address nation from Red Fort for 7th consecutive time amid pandemic shadow New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver his seventh straight Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Saturday -- an address that comes amid the coronavirus pandemic, a border standoff with China and a slew of reforms by the government under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. MDS9 TN-ENT-VIRUS-SPB Renowned singer SPB under treatment for COVID-19 'critical,' says hospital Chennai, Aug 14 (PTI) Veteran playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, who has tested positive for COVID-19, was in a "critical" condition after his health deteriorated, the private hospital treating him said on Friday. LEGAL LGD7 SC-2NDLD CONTEMPT-BHUSHAN SC holds activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for tweets against judiciary New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday held activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt for his two derogatory tweets against the judiciary saying they cannot be said to be a fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary made in the public interest. BUSINESS DEL44 BIZ-LD INFLATION-WPI WPI inflation falls 0.58 pc in July, food prices spike New Delhi: The wholesale price-based inflation stood at (-)0.58 pc in July, remaining in the negative zone for the fourth straight month even as vegetables and other food items turned costlier.

FOREIGN FGN39 CHINA-INDIA Indian envoy to China briefs senior PLA General on India's stand on eastern Ladakh situation Beijing: Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri on Friday met a senior Chinese Army General here and briefed him on India's stand on the situation at the borders in eastern Ladakh. By K J M Varma FGN20 US-CHINA-RESOLUTION Bipartisan resolution condemning Chinese aggression against India introduced in US Senate Washington:A bipartisan group of two influential US senators has introduced a resolution in the Senate, condemning Chinese military aggression to change the status quo at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India and calling for a diplomatic solution. By Lalit K Jha Sports SPD 12 SPO-CRI-IPL-LD SPONSORSHIP Tata joins Unacademy, Dream11; submits Expression of Interest for IPL title sponsorship rights New Delhi: Multinational conglomerate Tata Group has submitted its 'Expression of Interest' to become IPL title sponsor this year, joining education technology company Unacademy and fantasy sports platform Dream11 in a bid to replace Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for one season. PTI HDA HDA.