HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 5:15 pm. Nation: DEL27 VIRUS-RECOVERY-FATALITY RATE Recoveries exceed actives cases of COVID-19 by more than 18 lakh; case fatality drops to 1.82 pc New Delhi: The effectiveness of the Centre's 'test, track and treat' approach is reflected in the progress on the COVID-19 recovery front and the reduction in fatality rate, the government said on Friday, highlighting that recoveries exceed active cases by over 18 lakh as on date.

DEL44 SONIA-NEET-JEE Listen to student voices, act as per their wishes: Sonia to govt on NEET, JEE New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday urged the government to listen to the voices of students on the issue of conducting NEET and JEE and act according to their wishes. BOM5 MH-SUSHANT-LD RHEA Sushant case: CBI questioning Rhea Chakraborty for first time Mumbai: Actress Rhea Chakraborty, accused of abetting the suicide of filmstar Sushant Singh Rajput, reached the DRDO guest house here on Friday for questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), an official said.

DEL25 INDO FRENCH-DEFENCE French defence minister likely to visit India next month to attend Rafale induction ceremony New Delhi: French Defence Minister Florence Parly is likely to visit India around September 10 to attend a ceremony to formally induct five Rafale fighter jets into the Indian Air Force (IAF) and hold talks with her Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh to further boost strategic ties, people familiar with the development said on Friday. DEL26 DEF-AEROINDIA Defence ministry to host Aero-India in Bengaluru from February 3-5 New Delhi: The defence ministry has taken an in-principle decision to host the next edition of Aero India -- considered Asia's largest aerospace exhibition -- in its traditional venue of Bengaluru from February 3-5 next year notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic, official sources said on Friday.

DEL28 MHA-JK-RULES Centre issues rules for smooth functioning of J&K administration New Delhi: The Centre has issued rules for a smooth functioning of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, specifying that the police, the all-India services and the anti-corruption bureau will be under the direct control of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of the Union Territory. DEL45 CBI-NIA CBI books ex-NIA ASP for 'fraudulently' obtaining CDR of mobile phone numbers New Delhi: The CBI has booked former National Investigation Agency (NIA) ASP Jalaj Srivastava for obtaining call details records (CDR) and analysis from Vodafone in an alleged fraudulent manner, officials said on Friday.

DEL42 LS-SPEAKER LS speaker chairs meeting on arrangements for Monsoon Session, social distancing New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday chaired a meeting of officials from both Houses of Parliament, the health ministry, the DRDO and other agencies to finalise arrangements for the upcoming Monsoon Session in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. DEL41 LD JAISHANKAR Terrorism is cancer; affects everyone just like pandemic: Jaishankar New Delhi: States that have turned the production of terrorists into a primary export have attempted to paint themselves as victims of terror, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, calling for creation of global mechanisms to shut down the structures supporting the menace.

CAL5 WB-ADHIR-SPEAKER-ZERO HOUR Adhir urges LS speaker not to curtail question, zero hours Kolkata: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing his disagreement with a proposal to curtail the Question Hour and Zero Hour during the upcoming Parliament session as it will prevent lawmakers from raising issues of national importance. MDS4 KL-CONG-THAROOR Tharoor a 'guest artist' in Cong, says KPCC working president Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who was among the "group of 23" that wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking urgent organisational overhaul, has come under attack from some leaders in Kerala, with a senior MP calling him a "guest artist" and asking him to follow party policies.

Legal: LGD20 SC-LD NEET-JEE NEET, JEE exams: Ministers of 6 opposition-ruled states move SC, seek review of order New Delhi: Ministers of six opposition-ruled states moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking review of its order permitting the Centre to conduct NEET and JEE entrance exams this year amid the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. LGD22 DL-HC-NETFLIX-LD CHOKSI HC dismisses PNB scam accused Choksi's plea for pre-screening of Netflix's ‘Bad Boy Billionaires’ New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday dismissed a plea by Mehul Choksi, an accused in the nearly USD 2 billion PNB scam, to conduct pre-screening of Netflix documentary, ‘Bad Boy Billionaires’.

Foreign: FGN46 US-TRUMP-LD HARRIS Trump has shown reckless disregard for wellbeing of American people: Kamala Harris Washington: Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate, has blasted President Donald Trump for failing to protect the American people from the deadly coronavirus pandemic by being "fixated on the stock market" and caving in to China. By Lalit K Jha PTI AD.