HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm:

NATION

DEL38 CBI-LD SEARCHES CBI carries out searches at the residence of former Bengaluru police commissioner

New Delhi/Bengaluru: CBI sleuths on Thursday carried out searches at the residence of former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Alok Kumar in connection with alleged phone tapping of politicians and bureaucrats during the tenure of the Congress-JD(S) government headed by H D Kumaraswamy, officials said.

DEL39 JK-LD DOVAL Intensify anti-militancy ops, improve life of people in JK: NSA tells officials

Srinagar: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to take steps to improve the life of common people and directed police and paramilitary forces to intensify anti-militancy operations, officials said.

CAL8 CBI-NARADA-2NDLD ARREST IPS officer held, CBI makes first arrest in Narada sting case

Kolkata: The CBI on Thursday arrested senior IPS officer SMH Mirza in the Narada tapes scandal, the first apprehension in the case since the footages surfaced in 2016, an agency official said.

BOM13 MH-RAIN-3RD LD DEATHS Intense rain pounds Pune; 17 killed, nearly 16,000 rescued

Pune: At least 17 people were killed in various incidents of flooding and wall collapse after intense rainfall battered Maharashtra's Pune city and various other parts of the district, officials said on Thursday.

DEL47 JK-DOVAL-INFILTRATION-ALERT Doval pitches for putting anti-infiltration grid, vital installations in J-K on 'high alert'

Srinagar/Jammu: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Thursday pitched for putting the anti-infiltration grid along the border with Pakistan on "high alert" and securing vital installations in Jammu and Kashmir amid reports of large-scale infiltration attempts by terrorists, officials said.

BOM11 GJ-ISRO-SIVAN

Working on plans for future moon mission: ISRO chief Ahmedabad: ISRO Chairman K Sivan on Thursday said a plan is being worked out for moon mission in future, after Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 had a hard landing.

BOM21 MH-NAIDU-HISTORY

Need to "correct" India's distorted history: Venkaiah Naidu Pune: There is a need to "correct" Indian history, distorted by colonial rulers, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said here on Thursday.

DEL11 MHA-JKLF-LD TRIBUNAL

Tribunal upholds ban on JKLF-Yasin Malik New Delhi: A tribunal of the Delhi High Court has upheld the ban imposed on Yasin Malik-led Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Home Ministry said.

LEGAL

LGD32 SC-2ND LD AYODHYA

Ayodhya case: Muslim parties do U-turn in SC on questioning authorship of ASI report summary New Delhi: Muslim parties made a U-turn Thursday on questioning the authorship of the summary of 2003 ASI report, which had held that a massive structure pre-existed the Babri Masjid, and apologised to the Supreme Court for wasting its time in the Ayodhya land dispute case.

LGD29 SC-LD KARNATAKA MLAS

Will defer bypolls to 15 Assembly seats in Karnataka: EC to SC New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it would defer the upcoming bypolls to 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka till the apex court finally decides the pleas filed by 17 disqualified MLAs of the state challenging their disqualification.

LGD5 DL-HC-LD VADRA

Robert Vadra's custodial interrogation required: ED to HC New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that it wanted custodial interrogation of Robert Vadra because the "money chain" in a case of money laundering was allegedly directly linked to him.

FOREIGN

FGN52 US-TRUMP-LDALL KASHMIR

Trump says offered to help India, Pakistan with mediation on Kashmir New York: US President Donald Trump has said that he offered "arbitration or mediation" on the Kashmir issue to the top leadership of India and Pakistan during separate meetings here and the two nuclear-armed neighbours have to "just work it out". By Yoshita Singh

FGN70 US-TRUMP-3RDLD WHISTLEBLOWER

Whistleblower: White House tried to 'lock down' call details Washington: The secret whistleblower complaint at the center of Congress' impeachment inquiry alleges that President Donald Trump abused the power of his office to "solicit interference from a foreign country" in next year's US election. (AP)

FGN67 UN-SAEED

UNSC allows Hafiz Saeed to withdraw money from his bank account for basic expenses United Nations: Mumbai attack mastermind and banned JuD chief Hafiz Saeed has been allowed by an anti-terror committee of the UN Security Council to withdraw money from his bank account for basic expenses on Pakistan's request.

By Yoshita Singh

FGN15 PM-INDIA-2NDLD CARICOM PM Modi announces USD 14 mn grant, USD 150 mn Line of Credit to Caricom

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a USD 14-million grant for community development projects in a grouping of Caribbean nations and another USD 150 million Line of Credit for solar, renewable energy and climate-change related works as he hosted the first ever India-Caricom leaders' summit here.

BUSINESS BCM20 LD-RBI-PMC

PMC crisis:RBI raises withdrawal cap to Rs 10,000 in 6 months Mumbai: In a major relief to the hapless customers of crippled Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, the Reserve Bank on Thursday increased cash withdrawal

limit to Rs 10,000 per account-holder from Rs 1,000 set earlier over the next six months.