HIGHLIGHTS AT 1700 HRS

These are the top stories at 1700 hrs: NATION

DEL29 CONG-LD MEETINGS Amid crisis within Cong, party leaders meet Rahul

New Delhi: After being incommunicado for a day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday held a series of meetings with party leaders including his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot amid his insistence on quitting and also rumblings of discontent in the northern state.

DEL36 BJP-JOIN 3 West Bengal MLAs, several councillors join BJP in Delhi

New Delhi: Three West Bengal MLAs, including BJP leader Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu Roy, joined the saffron party Tuesday as it works to consolidate its position in the state following its impressive show there in the Lok Sabha polls.

DEL19 UP-2NDLD HOOCH Spurious liquor claims 6 lives in UP; political conspiracy angle to be probed

Barabanki (UP): Six people died and at least 20 others were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in the district, prompting the Yogi Adityanath government to order a high-level probe to look into all angles including possibility of a political conspiracy, officials said Tuesday.

DEL12 MODI-PRANAB Modi meets Pranab Mukherjee, seeks his blessings

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday called on former president and veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee to seek his blessings.

DEL16 CONG-THAROOR-INTERVIEW Rahul best person to lead party, too premature to write Cong's obituary: Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi is the best person to pull the Congress out of its predicament following the setback in the Lok Sabha polls, says party leader Shashi Tharoor while declaring that his party is "alive and kicking" and it is too premature to write its obituary.

CAL1 JH-NAXAL-LD BLAST 15 security personnel injured in IED blasts in Jharkhand

Ranchi: Fifteen security personnel were injured when Maoists triggered a series of IED blasts near Hurda forests in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district in the early hours of Tuesday, a police officer said.

DEL35 BIZ-PETROL-PRICE Elections over, fuel prices begin to rise

New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices started rising soon after the last phase of the general election concluded, and have increased by 70-80 paisa per litre in the past nine days.

LEGAL LGD2 SC-HAPUR LYNCHING

SC refuses to direct UP police to further probe Hapur lynching case New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to direct the Uttar Pradesh Police to conduct further probe in the 2018 Hapur lynching case.

FOREIGN

FGN7 PAK-INDIA-KARTARPUR

Kartarpur corridor hits roadblock as consensus eludes India, Pak: report Lahore: The ambitious Kartarpur corridor linking Pakistan's Gurudwara Darbar Sahib with India's Dera Baba Nanak shrine has hit a roadblock after the technical experts from both the countries could not find a consensus on building a bridge over the Ravi's floodplain, a media report said Tuesday.

FGN10 BANGLA-INDIA-PREZ

Bangladesh Prez to attend Modi's inauguration on 3-day India visit Dhaka: Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid will attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in on May 30 during his three-day visit to India, a top presidential palace official said Tuesday.

By Anisur Rahman

FGN8 PAK-MODI-LD INAUGURATION Pak downplays Imran not being invited for Modi's inauguration; pitches for dialogue

Islamabad/Karachi: Pakistan has tried to downplay India's decision not to invite Imran Khan for Narendra Modi's swearing-in on Thursday, claiming that the Indian Prime Minister's "internal politics" does not permit him to extend an invitation to his Pakistani counterpart.