HIGHLIGHTS AT 9.10 PM

Following are the top stories at 9.10 pm: Nation: DEL102 ED-LDALL SONIA National Herald case: Sonia Gandhi questioned by ED for 3rd time, charge sheet soon; political slugfest continues New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was questioned by the (ED) for the third time in a week on Wednesday over her role in the National Herald newspaper linked money laundering case, as the political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress continued over the agency action.

DEL95 LD SUSPENSION Suspension of MPs new flashpoint between oppn and govt; 20 suspended MPs begin 50-hr relay protest New Delhi: The suspension of 24 opposition MPs became a new flashpoint on Wednesday between the Opposition and the government, which insisted on an apology by the erring members and assurance of not protesting in the House for revocation of their suspension.

DEL93 OPPN-LD PROTEST 20 suspended RS MPs begin relay protest in Parl; Oppn parties to arrange food, other needs New Delhi: Twenty suspended Rajya Sabha members Wednesday started a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex, with sources saying the Opposition declined the Chairman's offer that they express regret over their members' behaviour in the House to get the suspension revoked.

PAR18 RS-3RDLD ADJOURN AAP's Sanjay Singh also suspended; RS sees another washout New Delhi: AAP's Sanjay Singh on Wednesday became the 20th MP to be suspended for unruly behaviour from Rajya Sabha sittings for the rest of the week as the Upper House saw no business transaction during the day with four adjournments and vociferous protests by opposition members.

DEL89 MONKEYPOX-ICMR ICMR isolates monkeypox virus; may pave way for development of diagnostic kits, vaccines New Delhi: The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune under ICMR has isolated monkeypox virus from the clinical specimen of a patient which can pave the way for development of diagnostic kits and vaccines against the disease, officials said on Wednesday.

DEL86 CBI-3RDLD RAILWAYS SCAM CBI arrests Lalu Prasad's close aide Bhola Yadav in land-for-jobs scam in Railways, RJD cries foul New Delhi/Patna: The CBI has arrested former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad's close aide Bhola Yadav in connection with the ''land-for-jobs'' scam in the Railways when the RJD supremo was the Railway minister in the UPA government, officials said on Wednesday.

DEL82 CONG-WOMAN MP Public representatives being treated 'like criminals': Rahul on Cong woman MP's detention New Delhi: A woman MP of the Congress on Wednesday claimed that her clothes were torn while being detained by the police during the party's protest against alleged misuse of investigative agencies, with Rahul Gandhi saying public representatives were being treated ''like criminals''.

CAL25 WB-PARTHA-ADHIKARI-GUV Why is arrested minister being retained in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet, asks BJP's Suvendu Kolkata: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday questioned why Partha Chatterjee is being retained as a minister by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee despite his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged school jobs scam.

MDS17 KA-BJP WORKER-2ND LD KILLING BJP youth leader's murder sparks tension in Dakshina Kannada Mangaluru/Bengaluru: A BJP yuva morcha leader's killing by unidentified assailants led to tension at several places in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka on Wednesday with instances of stone-pelting and police lathicharge being reported, while the party-led government assured strict punishment against individuals or organisations behind the killing.

Legal: DEL84 SC-3RDLD PMLA Leg up to ED as SC upholds its powers to arrest, attach property New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) powers relating to arrest, attach property, search and seize under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, in a huge leg up for the central agency often accused of abusing its authority to target the government's political adversaries.

Foreign: FGN56 SINGAPORE-LDALL RAJAPAKSA Singapore allows ex-Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to extend stay by 14 more days Singapore/Colombo: The Singapore government has allowed former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to extend his stay in the country for another 14 days after he fled the crisis-hit island nation, according to a media report on Wednesday.

FGN53 LANKA-PARLIAMENT-EMERGENCY Sri Lanka's Parliament approves emergency regulations Colombo: Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday approved the state of emergency imposed on July 13 to give the security forces sweeping powers to arrest and detain individuals after the then president Gotabaya Rajapksa fled to the Maldives and resigned amid massive uprising against him over the country's economic crisis.

FGN51 PAK-PUNJAB-ELAHI-2NDLD OATH Parvez Elahi sworn in as Pak Punjab's new CM amid high political drama Islamabad/Lahore: PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was sworn in as chief minister of Punjab by Pakistan President early Wednesday morning, in a boost to ousted premier Imran Khan whose party approached a top court seeking dismissal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government.