HIGHLIGHTS

These are the top stories at 9 pm: Nation DEL34 DL-2NDLD ISIS-ARREST ISIS operative armed with IEDs held in Delhi, major terror strike averted: police New Delhi: A major terror strike was averted with the arrest of a suspected operative of the ISIS, armed with two pressure cooker IEDS, from central Delhi's Ridge Road area following a brief exchange of fire, Delhi Police officials said on Saturday. DEL29 BSF-INTRUDERS-4TH LD PUNJAB BSF kills 5 Pak intruders on Punjab border; arms, drugs recovered Chandigarh/New Delhi: The BSF shot dead five heavily armed Pakistani intruders along the India-Pakistan International Border in Punjab early Saturday, the force said. DEL42 JK-ART370-LD PARTIES Nothing about us without us, says statement of six JK political parties Srinagar: Making clear there can be "nothing about us without us" in Jammu and Kashmir, six mainstream political parties termed abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state as a "spitefully shortsighted" and "grossly unconstitutional" move and pledged a combined effort for restoration of the pre-August 5 position of last year.

DEL43 RAJNATH-LADAKH Rajnath reviews security scenario in eastern Ladakh at high-level meeting New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed the overall security scenario in eastern Ladakh amid the ongoing talks between India and China on the disengagement process in the high-altitude region, people familiar with the developments said. DEL26 MHA-UNLOCK Centre asks states not to put restrictions on inter-state movement of people, goods New Delhi: The Centre has asked all states to ensure that there should be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods during the ongoing unlocking process. DEL47 LD GANESH FESTIVAL Ganesh festival begins on low-key note amid COVID-19 pandemic New Delhi: The 10-day Ganesh festival began on Saturday under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, with devotees restricting celebrations to their homes and using online platforms to get 'darshan' of the Lord at temples, amid strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by governments.

DEL9 VIRUS-LD CASES COVID-19: India records highest single-day spike of 69,874 cases; tally rises to 29,75,701 New Delhi: With a record spike of 69,874 infections in a day, India's COVID-19 tally increased to 29,75,701, while the recoveries surged to 22,22,577 pushing the recovery rate to 74.69 per cent on Saturday, according to the Union health ministry data. DEL52 LDALL RAFALE Cong, Govt in war of words after reports claimed CAG 'dropped' audit of Rafale offset deal New Delhi: A fresh controversy broke out on Saturday involving the Rafale deal after source-based media reports claimed that the CAG has submitted its performance audit on defence offset contracts to the Centre with no mention of any offset deals related to the purchase of the fighter aircraft. DEL51 MEA-CHINA-PAK-KASHMIR India rejects reference to J-K in China-Pak joint statement New Delhi: India on Saturday categorically rejected the reference made to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint statement issued by Pakistan and China after talks between foreign ministers of the two countries.

DES27 BOOK-RIOTS Bloomsbury says it won't publish book on Delhi riots New Delhi: Bloomsbury India on Saturday announced it has withdrawn itself from publishing a book on the Delhi riots of February after there was outrage over a virtual pre-publication launch, which it said was being organised without its knowledge. BOM19 MH-SUSHANT-CBI-2ND LD PROBE CBI team at Sushant's flat to reconstruct sequence of events Mumbai: A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited actor Sushant Singh Rajput's house in suburban Bandra on Saturday to reconstruct the sequence of events before he was found dead on June 14. DEL37 SOCIAL JUSTICE-TRANSGENDER-COUNCIL Centre forms National Council for Transgender Persons New Delhi: The Centre has constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons to formulate policies, programmes, legislation and projects regarding members of the community for achieving equality and full participation by them.

Legal: LGD2 SC-LD BABRI DEMOLITION Babri Masjid demolition case: SC extends deadline till Sept 30 for verdict by special CBI court New Delhi: The Supreme Court has extended by a month the deadline for completion of trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case involving 32 accused, including BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti, and asked the special CBI court to deliver the verdict by September 30. LGB1 MH-HC-VIRUS-TABLIGHI Foreign attendees of Tablighi event made scapegoat, says HC Mumbai: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has said that the foreign nationals, who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event held in Delhi in March this year, were made "scapegoats" and allegations were levelled that they were responsible for spreading COVID-19 in the country.

Foreign: FGN13 PAK-FATF-TERROR-SANCTIONS Pak puts more curbs on Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim to avoid FATF blacklisting Islamabad: Seeking to wriggle out of the FATF's grey list, Pakistan has imposed tough financial sanctions on 88 banned terror groups and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim, by ordering the seizure of all of their properties and freezing of bank accounts, a media report said on Saturday. PTI HDA.