HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 12:30 hours:

NATION:

DEL7 TOURISM AWARDS Andhra Pradesh bags top honour at National Tourism Awards

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh bagged the top honour at the National Tourism Awards 2017-18, which were presented by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday.

DEL8 RAHUL-PAWAR Political opportunism, says Cong leader Rahul Gandhi on action against Pawar

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Modi government, accusing it of being vindictive and targeting NCP chief Sharad Pawar ahead of the Maharashtra polls.

MDS1 TL-RAINS Hyderabad rains: Protective wall of Hussain Sagar canal partially collapses, 200 houses inundated

Hyderabad: About 200 houses in Hyderabad's M S Maktha area were inundated in the wee hours of Friday after a protective wall of a canal connected to Hussain Sagar Lake partially collapsed due to heavy rains, official sources said.

LEGAL:

LGD8 SC-MARADU FLATS Maradu flats: SC directs demolition to be completed in 138 days

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed that demolition of flats built on the coastal zone of Kochi's Maradu be completed in 138 days, in accordance with the time schedule provided by the Kerala government.

BUSINESS:

DEL1 BIZ-RUPEE-OPEN Rupee slips against dollar in opening trade

Mumbai: The rupee slipped to 70.93 against the US currency in opening trade on Friday amid a stronger dollar in overseas markets.

DEL2 BIZ-STOCKS-OPEN Market starts on a volatile note on weak global cues

Mumbai: Equity benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started on a volatile note on Friday, tracking weak cues from global markets as concerns over US political uncertainty kept investors on edge.

FOREIGN:

FGN9 US-NASA-LD CHANDRAYAAN Vikram had hard landing, NASA releases high-resolution images of Chandrayaan 2 landing site

Washington: Vikram had a "hard landing", NASA said on Friday, as it released high-resolution images captured by its reconnaissance orbiter of the Moon's unchartered south pole where the Chandrayaan 2 lander attempted to soft-land during the ambitious mission three weeks ago.

FGN16 SAARC-JAISHANKAR-LD TERRORISM Terror elimination precondition for cooperation in South Asia: Jaishankar

New York: Elimination of terrorism in all its forms is a "precondition" for fruitful cooperation in South Asia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, in a veiled attack on Pakistan while emphasising that the relevance of the SAARC will be determined by decisive actions against the scourge.

FGN14 PM-LD IRAN PM Modi reaffirms India's support to diplomacy, dialogue for maintaining peace in Persian Gulf

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reaffirmed India's support for giving priority to diplomacy, dialogue and confidence building for maintaining peace and security in the Persian Gulf amidst tensions in the region, as he held wide-ranging talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on regional and global developments of mutual interest.

FGN5 BRICS-TERRORISM BRICS condemns all forms of terrorism, calls for early adoption of CCIT

New York: Strongly condemning terrorism in all its forms, the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa called for the need for an early adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).