HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 1800 hours:

BOM1 GJ-CYCLONE Gujarat begins evacuation of people from coastal areas as cyclone 'Vayu' inches closer

Ahmedabad: As cyclone 'Vayu' advances towards the Gujarat coast, the state government launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift about three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions, officials said Wednesday.

DEL49 CYCLONE-IMPACT Cyclone Vayu turned 'very severe'; will remain strong even after landfall

New Delhi: An alert has been sounded in 10 districts of Gujarat as Cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe" and its impact is expected to remain strong for 24 hours even after its landfall Thursday, officials said.

DEL12 DEF-AIRCRAFT Rescuers flown to crash site of AN-32 aircraft

New Delhi: A team of personnel from Indian Air Force, Army and some civil mountaineers were on Wednesday airlifted to a location close to the crash site of an AN-32 aircraft in Arunachal to look for possible survivors, officials said.

DEL40 JK-GUV-MILITANTS Satya Pal Malik urges militants in J-K to give up arms, invites them for talks

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Wednesday asked militants to give up arms and invited them to hold talks, saying dialogue is the only way through which they can get what they want within the ambit of the Constitution.

DEL47 PM-TRAVEL-LD BISHKEK PM not to fly over Pakistan while travelling to Bishkek for SCO meet

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not fly over Pakistan on his way to Bishkek on Thursday to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the External Affairs Ministry said.

DEL30 CONG-RAHUL Rahul Gandhi was, is and will remain Congress president: Surjewala

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi was, is, and will remain the Congress president, party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Wednesday, after days of uncertainty over Gandhi's offer to quit the post.

DEL27 UP-LD SONIA Sonia, Priyanka visit Raebareli to thank voters

Raebareli: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her daughter and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived here Wednesday on a thanksgiving visit.

CAL4 OD-DEF-LD HSTDV India successfully conducts maiden flight test of unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft

Balasore (Odisha): India successfully conducted the maiden flight test of indigenously developed unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic speed flight from a base off Odisha coast on Wednesday, defence sources said.

DEL11 RAJYA-SABHA-GOYAL Union minister Piyush Goyal appointed Deputy Leader of House in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Union minster Piyush Goyal was Wednesday appointed as the Deputy Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, sources said.

DEL9 CBI-PRAJAPATI CBI conducts searches at 22 locations in UP, Delhi in connection with mining scam

New Delhi: The CBI is carrying out searches at 22 locations in Uttar Pradesh and the national capital, including three residential premises, of former UP Minister Gayatri Parajapti in connection with the illegal mining scam, officials said Wednesday.

MDS1 TN-NIA-RAIDS NIA conducts raids in TN over suspected links with Sri Lanka church attackers

Coimbatore: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) Wednesday carried out searches at various places here following reports that some people are in touch with those involved in the Easter day church blasts in Sri Lanka.

MDS4 KA-CHANDRAYAAN-ISRO Chandrayaan-2 mission launch on July 15: ISRO

Bengaluru: India's second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, would be launched on July 15, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan announced on Wednesday.

LEGAL

LGD8 SC-LD BHATT 1989 custodial death case: SC refuses to entertain plea of sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to entertain a plea of sacked Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt seeking to examine 11 additional witnesses in a 30-year-old custodial death case.

LGD14 DL-COURT-LD LODHA Delhi Court sends man to 2-day police custody for duping ex-CJI R M Lodha of Rs 1 lakh

New Delhi: A man arrested for allegedly duping former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha of Rs 1 lakh, by hacking his colleague's e-mail account, was sent to two-day police custody by a Delhi court on Wednesday.

FOREIGN

FGN1 US-POMPEO-INDIA Pompeo to meet PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar to discuss ambitious agenda for bilateral partnership

Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will discuss "an ambitious agenda" for the US-India strategic partnership when he meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later this month in New Delhi, the State Department said.

FGN26 CHINA-INDIA-LD ENVOY China appoints veteran diplomat Sun Weidong as new envoy to India

Beijing: China has appointed veteran diplomat Sun Weidong, an expert in South Asian affairs and worked closely with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his tenure as Ambassador in Beijing, as its new envoy to India.

FGN6 PAK-KHAN-DEBTS Imran Khan vows to go after 'thieves' responsible for Pakistan's economic woes

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to go after the "thieves" who left the country badly in debt and set up a high-powered commission to probe huge debts incurred during the last 10 years, as he defended arrests of several key political figures in corruption cases.