HIGHLIGHTS at 1800 HRS

Following are the top PTI stories at 1800 hours:

NATION:

DEL31 RAHUL 2NDLD-RAFALE DEAL

Rahul ramps up Rafale attack after media report, says PM guilty New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded answers to questions raised by a media report that the PMO conducted parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal, saying it is now “crystal clear” that the "watchman" is the "thief" as he ramped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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POL-RAFALE-OPPOSITION-REAX Rafale: Oppn leaders slam 'parallel negotiations' by PMO; Kejriwal demands 'independent CBI raid'

New Delhi: Attacking the Prime Minister's Office for alleged "parallel negotiations" in the Rafale deal, opposition leaders on Friday asked the government to come clean on objections raised by the defence ministry at that time with AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal going to the extent of demanding an "independent" CBI raid to seize all related files and arrest everyone involved.

DEL23 POL-RAFALE-RAHUL-BJP

Rahul's Rafale allegation 'yet another lie': BJP New Delhi: The BJP Friday described Rahul Gandhi's allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale deal as "yet another lie from his lie-manufacturing factory" and accused the Congress president of working at the behest of foreign forces for the cancellation of the fighter aircraft deal.

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CG-LD PM People should be wary of 'mahamilavat': Modi on Oppn alliance

Raipur: Taking potshots at the attempts to cobble up a mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) against the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asked people to guard against this 'mahamilavat' (highly adulterated) dispensation.

CAL6 WB-LD MODI

Mamata govt defamed bengal, left people helpless: Modi Churabhandar (WB): Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, claiming it had defamed the soil of West Bengal and rendered its people helpless.

DEL33

BIZ-TWITTER-POLITICAl BIAS We don't review, prioritise or enforce policies based on political ideology: Twitter

New Delhi: Facing heat over allegations of political bias in the country, Twitter Friday said the microblogging platform is committed to remain unbiased and that its product as well as policies are never based on political ideology.

DEL34 UP-LD-SHAH

Illegal migrants are SP, BSP vote bank: Shah Maharajganj (UP): BJP president Amit Shah Friday called illegal migrants a vote bank of the SP and the BSP and also targeted the opposition over the issues of triple talaq and the Ayodhya dispute.

DEL30 DL-KEJRIWAL-ATTACK

Kejriwal's car attacked in Narela, nobody hurt: official New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's car was on Friday allegedly attacked by a mob armed with sticks in Narela, an official in the Chief Minister's Office said.

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JK-LADAKH JK admin creates separate division for Ladakh

Jammu: In a major decision, the Jammu and Kashmir administration Friday created a separate division for Ladakh, which was part of the Kashmir division till now.

MDS15 2ND LD KARNATAKA

CM releases audio clip on "toppling" bid, Congress to crack whip against 4 rebels Bengaluru: The political war over charges of horsetrading escalated in Karnataka Friday with chief minister H D Kumaraswamy releasing an audio clip in which state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa is puportedly trying to lure a JDSMLA for destabilising the coalition government.

LEGAL

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SC-2NDLD TEJASHWI SC orders Tejashwi Yadav to vacate govt bungalow, fines Rs 50,000 for wasting judicial time

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav's plea, challenging a Patna High Court order asking him to vacate the government bungalow meant for the deputy chief minister, and ordered him to shift to an accommodation for the leader of the opposition.

LGD13 SC-MAYAWATI

Mayawati has to deposit money used for erecting her statues, BSP symbol's elephant: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday said it was of the tentative view that BSP chief Mayawati has to deposit public money used for erecting statues of herself and elephants, the party's symbol, at parks in Lucknow and Noida to the state exchequer.

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SC-QUOTA SC seeks response from Centre on fresh plea against 10 pc quota to general category poor

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre on a fresh plea challenging its decision to grant 10 per cent reservation in jobs and admissions to general category poor candidates.

FOREIGN

FGN10 US-LD GREENCARD

Bills introduced in House and Senate to remove per-country Green Card limits Washington: Two identical legislations backed by top companies from the Silicon Valley like Google have been introduced in the US House of Representatives and Senate to end the per-country limit on green cards and could benefit thousands of Indian professionals waiting to gain permanent legal residency if signed into law. By Lalit K Jha

FGN9

US-IVANKA-WOMEN-INDIA Trump admin announces two women economic empowerment programmes in India

Washington:The Trump administration has announced that it will launch two projects in India in partnership with the private sector as part of its historic initiative to empower 50 million women globally to tap their economic potential. By Lalit K Jha

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