HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 PM NATION: DEL85 PRESIDENT-2NDLD POLL Presidential poll on July 18; nominations to begin June 15: EC New Delhi: Election for the next President of India will be held on July 18 in which 4,809 electors comprising MPs and MLAs will vote to elect incumbent Ram Nath Kovind's successor, the Election Commission announced on Thursday.

DEL83 RS-LDALL STATES RS polls: Corralled in resorts, MLAs to come out and vote in 4 states on Friday New Delhi/Mumbai/Bengaluru/Chandigarh: Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.

DEL32 PM-2NDLD BIOTECH India's 'bio-economy' has grown eight times in eight years: PM Modi New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that his government believes in strengthening every sector for giving momentum to the country's development, asserting that it has changed the earlier approach of focusing on a few sectors while ignoring others.

DEL70 MEA-BJP-CONTROVERSY Remarks do not reflect views of govt: MEA on controversial comments on Prophet New Delhi: Facing widespread anger in the Arab countries over the controversial comments on Prophet Mohammad, India on Thursday said it has made it clear that the remarks do not reflect the views of the government.

CAL19 WB-MAMATA-LD HATE SPEECH Mamata condemns remarks on Prophet Mohammad, demands arrest of accused BJP leaders Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condemned the remarks by two BJP functionaries on Prophet Mohammad, terming them ''hate speech'', and demanded that the accused leaders be immediately arrested so that the country's unity is not disturbed.

DEL86 CONG-RAHUL-SATYAGRAH Cong to stage 'satyagrah' outside ED offices across country on Monday when Rahul appears before agency New Delhi: With Rahul Gandhi set to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on June 13 in a money laundering case, the Congress on Thursday decided that all its top leaders and MPs would take out a protest march to the agency headquarters here and stage a ''satyagrah'' against what the party called its ''misuse'' by the central government.

DEL66 DL-LD SOCIAL MEDIA-FIRS (RPT) Delhi Police registers FIRs against Owaisi, Sharma for inciting people on divisive lines New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) Delhi Police has registered an FIR against 31 people, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, and filed a separate case against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly spreading hate and hurting religious sentiments, officials said on Thursday.

BOM33 MH-SALMAN-THREAT-3RD LD POLICE `Members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang delivered threat letter for Salman Khan' Mumbai/Pune: Three members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang delivered a letter threatening Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father, writer Salim Khan, police officials claimed on Thursday.

MDS11 TL-GANGRAPE-JUVENILES-LD TRIAL T'gana gangrape case: Cops to appeal to JJB to try 5 juveniles as adults, Minister welcomes move Hyderabad: The Telangana police is mulling filing a petition with the Juvenile Justice Board seeking to treat the five CCLs (child in conflict with law) as adults during the trial in the gang-rape case, to ensure that the accused get the maximum punishment, a move hailed by state Minister K T Rama Rao.

DEL79 CBI-MOOSEWALA-PUNJAB POLICE CBI counters Punjab Police, says request for Red Notice against Brar received after Moosewala's killing New Delhi: Setting the record straight, India's Interpol liaison agency CBI issued a statement on Thursday saying the Punjab Police had sought a Red Corner Notice against Goldy Brar, who claimed responsibility for the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala, only on May 30, a day after the killing.

DEL33 CIC-CONTROVERSY TREASON Charge those who instigated Islamic nations against India with treason: Mahurkar New Delhi: India should make a list of citizens who ''instigated'' Islamic nations against it and ''charge them with treason,'' Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar has said following outrage by Islamic countries over the remarks against Prophet Mohammad by the BJP's now-sacked functionaries. Mahurkar's comments invited a strong response from Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who charged that statutory and constitutional bodies are being systematically destroyed by the government.

DEL48 IMD-LD MONSOON Monsoon on track: IMD; warns of heavy rainfall in Arunachal, Assam, Meghalaya New Delhi: The monsoon is progressing normally and is likely to reach Maharashtra in the next two days, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

LEGAL: LGD3 DL-COURT-LD JAIN Money laundering case: Satyendar Jain in ED custody till June 13 New Delhi: A court here on Thursday extended by four days the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case.

LGD10 DL-HC-NEWS Newspapers, agencies disseminating news can’t be viewed as performing public function: HC New Delhi: A newspaper or an agency engaged in the dissemination of news cannot be viewed as performing a public function, the Delhi High Court has said. PTI VN VN VN