HIGHLIGHTS AT 1700 HRS

Following are the top stories at 1700 hrs.

NATION

DEL15 UP-GIRL-COPS 5 cops suspended after 3-year-old girl's mutilated body found in Aligarh

Aligarh (UP): Five policemen, including an SHO, have been suspended for alleged negligence, five days after the mutilated body of a three-year-old girl was found in a garbage dump in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, triggering a huge public outcry over the brutality of the murder.

LGB4 MH-COURT-2ND LD PRAGYA Pragya appears in NIA court, says didn't know about Malegaon blast

Mumbai: BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur Friday appeared before a special court here in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case, after failing twice this week to do so.

DEL9 SONIA-PRALHAD Parliamentary Affairs Min Pralhad Joshi meets Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday met Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi and is believed to have discussed the Parliament session beginning June 17.

DEL8 CONG-RAHUL-UP GIRL Rahul, Priyanka express shock over killing of Aligarh child, demand action

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday expressed shock at the horrific killing of a three-year-old girl in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and demanded swift action against the killers.

CAL6 WB-MAMATA-2NDLD NITI AAYOG Mamata says no to Niti Aayog meeting, saying it's 'fruitless'

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday refused to attend a meeting of Niti Aayog to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 15, saying it is "fruitless" as the body has no financial powers to support state plans.

MDS2 AP-JAGAN-DEPUTY CMS Jagan to have five deputy CMs in Cabinet

Amaravati: In what could be an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy Friday decided to have five deputy chief ministers under him in a full 25-member Cabinet.

DEL7 UP-LD DUSTSTORM At least 19 killed due to dust storm, lightning in UP

Lucknow: At least 19 persons were killed and 48 injured due to dust storm and lightning in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, the state Relief commissioner said on Friday.

DEL12 JK-LD ENCOUNTER Four JeM militants killed in encounter in J-K's Pulwama

Srinagar: Four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, including two special police officers who had deserted the force recently, were Friday killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

DEL21 HEALTH-NIPAH-VARDHAN Nipah scare: Kerala health minister meets Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: Amid Nipah virus scare, Kerala health minister K K Shailaja Friday met Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to discuss the status and the administration's preparedness for containment and management of the potentially deadly infection.

LEGAL

LGD2 DL-COURT-THAROOR Delhi court grants bail to Tharoor over 'scorpion' remarks

New Delhi: A Delhi court granted bail to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Friday on a complaint over his alleged 'scorpion' remarks referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

LGD4 DL-COURT-KEJRIWAL Delhi court grants bail to AAP leaders Atishi, others in defamation case

New Delhi: A Delhi court Friday granted bail to AAP leaders Atishi and others in a defamation case filed by the BJP against them for their remarks over deletion of voters' names from electoral rolls in the city.

FOREIGN

FGN13 PAK-QURESHI-JAISHANKAR Qureshi writes to Jaishankar; offers talks on 'all important matters'

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a letter to his new Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Friday said that Islamabad wants talks with New Delhi on "all important matters" and remains committed to efforts for establishing peace in the region.

FGN7 BHUTAN-JAISHANKAR Foreign Minister Jaishankar arrives in Bhutan on first overseas visit

Thimphu: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Bhutan on Friday on a two-day visit, his first overseas trip after assuming charge of the ministry, during which he will hold talks with his Bhutanese counterpart and call on Prime Minister Lotay Tshering

FES42 SWEDEN-LD BLAST 25 injured in Swedish blast that hits 2 apartment buildings

Stockholm: A powerful explosion ripped through two adjacent apartment buildings in a southern Swedish city on Friday, slightly injuring 25 people, officials said. The cause of the blast wasn't immediately known.

FGN6 UN-INDIA-TERRORISTS India criticises lack of transparency in functioning of UNSC's Sanctions Committees

United Nations: India has strongly criticised the lack of transparency in the functioning of the UN Security Council's Sanctions Committee which took over a decade to blacklist Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

FGN3 UAE-ACCIDENT-INDIANS Eight Indians among 17 killed in Dubai bus accident

Dubai: At least eight Indians were among the 17 people killed when a tourist bus rammed into a signboard here, the Indian Consulate said Friday.