HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 2120 hours: NATION DEL50 PM-RED FORT PM Modi breaks from tradition, to address nation from Red Fort after sunset New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation from the Red Fort on Thursday night to mark the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the first prime minister to deliver a speech at the Mughal-era monument after sunset.

DEL47 MHA-LD TERRORIST Sajjad Gul, who took part in conspiracy to kill journalist Shujaat Bukhari, designated as terrorist New Delhi: Terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) member Sheikh Sajad alias Sajjad Gul, who took part in the conspiracy to kill journalist Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar in 2018, was designated as a terrorist by the Centre on Tuesday.

DEL42 CONG-MOILY-LD KISHOR Moily bats for Kishor's induction in Cong; says Sonia keen on involving poll strategist New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was ''very keen'' to involve Prashant Kishor in working out a strategy for the party even about a couple of months ago but the matter was ''again delayed'', senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Tuesday and advocated that the poll strategist be inducted into the party now.

By Asim Kamal DEL39 JK-LoC-LD LAUNCH PADS Launch pads active across LoC; Pak army uses ceasefire to strengthen its defence Srinagar: About 60-80 terrorists, believed to be Afghan returned mercenaries, are getting trained at reactivated launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) and are expected to push into Kashmir during the summer, officials here said.

By Sumir Kaul DEL59 CONG-MEETINGS Hectic parleys in Cong over strategy for upcoming elections, revival plan New Delhi: Hectic deliberations were on in the Congress on Tuesday as its top leaders discussed the party's strategy for upcoming assembly and general elections and suggest ways of moving forward.

DEL66 DL-VIRUS-CASES Delhi records 632 fresh Covid cases, no death; positivity rate at 4.42 pc New Delhi: Delhi has recorded a nearly 26 per cent jump in fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate has been reported at 4.42 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Tuesday.

DEL63 DL-JAHANGIRPURI-NSA National Security Act slapped on 5 accused persons in Jahangirpuri violence case: Sources New Delhi: The Delhi Police has slapped the stringent National Security Act on five accused persons arrested in connection with the violence in Jahangirpuri here, official sources said.

DEL55 UGC-LD JOINT DEGREES Indian and foreign institutions will be able to offer joint degrees, twinning programmes soon: UGC New Delhi: Indian and foreign higher educational institutions may soon be able to offer joint or dual degrees and twinning programmes with the University Grants Commission (UGC) approving the regulations for these programmes, according to its Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar.

DEL53 VIRUS-OMICRON-ICMR ICMR study shows immune evasion potential of Omicron post natural infection, vaccination New Delhi: People infected with Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 remain susceptible to Omicron which proves the latter's immune evasion potential post natural infection and vaccination, a new ICMR study has shown. By Payal Banerjee DEL33 BIZ-SBI-LD RATE SBI, BoB, others hike lending rates by up to 0.1 pc; EMIs to go up New Delhi: EMIs for home, car and personal loans are set to go up for existing borrowers, with State Bank of India (SBI) and other major lenders including Bank of Baroda (BoB), Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank increasing their benchmark lending rates by up to 0.10 per cent.

DEL68 DL-JAHANGIRPURI-LD AAP-BJP BJP, AAP cross swords over political affiliation of Jahangirpuri clash 'mastermind' New Delhi: The tussle between the AAP and the BJP over the political affiliation of one of the 'masterminds' of the Jahangirpuri clashes intensified on Tuesday, with both parties accusing each other of being associated with the violence accused. LEGAL LGD6 SC-PROPERTY Alienation of joint family property can be done only with consent of all coparceners: SC New Delhi: Alienation of joint family property can be done only with the consent of all the coparceners, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

FOREIGN FGN64 LANKA-PROTEST-2NDLD VIOLENCE 1 dead, 12 injured in Sri Lanka as police open fire at anti-govt protesters Colombo: Sri Lankan police on Tuesday opened fire at anti-government protestors in southwestern region of Rambukkana, killing at least one person and injuring 12 others - the first death during the ongoing protests over the worst-ever economic crisis in the country's history.

FGN61 PAK-BILAWAL Bilawal not joining Sharif's cabinet gives rise to speculation about his reluctance to work under him Islamabad: Pakistan's Bhutto-Zardari family's scion Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the front-runner for the coveted post of the foreign minister, did not take the oath on Tuesday, giving rise to speculation about his reluctance to join the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

FGN49 VIRUS-LD CHINA Shanghai reports 7 more COVID deaths as virus situation remains grim Beijing: Shanghai reported seven more deaths due to COVID-19 as the Chinese financial hub grapples with a record outbreak, taking the death toll in the country to 4,648 with over 21,400 new cases, most of them from the city.

By K J M Varma PTI SRY