HIGHLIGHTS

These are the top stories at 9.30 pm: NATION DEL70 LDALL VIRUS India's COVID-19 tally crosses 5 lakh, recovery rate also improves New Delhi: With a record single-day surge of 18,552 cases, India's COVID-19 tally raced past five lakh on Saturday as it added four lakh infections in just 39 days to reach another grim milestone amid increased testing for the disease. DEL80 LD LOCUSTS Locust swarms enter Gurgaon, border areas in Delhi; Several UP districts suffer crop damage New Delhi/Gurgaon/Lucknow: Swarms of locusts entered Gurgaon in Haryana and border areas of the national capital on Saturday, and attacked crops in another half a dozen districts in Uttar Pradesh, prompting authorities to sound an alert while the Centre deputed more teams from Rajasthan to assist in the control operations.

MDS3 PM-KER-2NDLD MAR THOMA Constitution is our guiding light, says PM Modi at Mar Thoma church event New Delhi/Thiruvalla (Ker): Asserting that the government's guiding light is the Constitution of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government does not discriminate between faith, gender, caste, creed or language and is led by the desire to empower 130 crore Indians. BOM8 MH-SINOINDIA-LD PAWAR China grabbed 45,000 sq kms of Indian land post-1962 war: Pawar Satara: Amidst a war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the face-off with China, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said matters of national security shouldn't be politicised and added one cannot forget China had captured about 45000 sq kms of Indian land after the 1962 war.

DEL69 NADDA-LD CONG Nadda steps up his attack on Cong over donations to RGF New Delhi: Intensifying his attack on the Congress, BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday asked the opposition party 10 questions, including about alleged links between the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and China, and said that his party will leave no stone unturned in "exposing double-faced politicians". DEL43 SINOINDIA-LD CONG PM should condemn China publicly for incursions, take "strong, quick action": Cong New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly condemn China for its "brazen incursions" into Indian territory and urged the government to take "strong and quick action" to resolve the Line of Actual Control (LAC) issue.

DEL29 ED-LD AHMED PATEL ED questions Ahmed Patel at his house in Sandesara brothers PMLA case New Delhi: An Enforcement Directorate (ED) team on Saturday questioned senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel at his residence in Delhi in connection with the Sandesara brothers money laundering case, officials said. BOM7 MH-SUSHANT PROBE-POLICE Sushant Singh death probe:Cops quizzing YRF's casting director Mumbai, Jun 27 (PTI) Police are questioning a casting director with Yash Raj Films (YRF) at Bandra police station here in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, an official said on Saturday.

DEL25 LOCKDOWN-CIRCUS-LOCALS Circus cheer: Locals help troupe get through tough lockdown months Navi Mumbai: The gates are padlocked, the once vibrant striped yellow and blue big top is faded and sagging and the carousel with its dancing horses has long stopped. It’s the quiet of the lockdown but somewhere in the forlorn Rambo Circus camp the cheer still echoes. By Mitesh Bhuvad DEL58 VIRUS-5 LAKH CASES From 1 to 5 lakh COVID-19 cases in 39 days; medical experts point to increased testing New Delhi: It took 110 days for coronavirus infections in the country to reach one lakh, while just 39 days more to go past the five lakh-mark. CAL2 AS-VIRUS-MENTAL HEALTH Job loss, financial distress, social stigma haunt COVID-19 patients in Assam Guwahati: COVID-19 patients in Assam are facing mental health problems over issues like job loss, financial distress, social stigma and delay in receiving test reports, a recent state government study has found.

BOM5 GJ-MLAS-BJP Gujarat: Five former Congress MLAs join BJP Ahmedabad: Five former Congress MLAs from Gujarat, out of the total eight who had resigned as legislators in March and June- ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections- joined the BJP on Saturday. DEL73 DL-VIRUS-2NDLD SEROLOGICAL SURVEY Serological survey to analyse COVID-19 spread commences in Delhi New Delhi: A serological survey to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in Delhi commenced in some parts of the city on Saturday amid a rise in the number of coronavirus cases.

FOREIGN FGN19 PAK-SHARIF-2NDLD CASE Pak's anti-graft body files fresh corruption case against Nawaz Sharif Lahore: Pakistan's anti-graft body has filed a fresh corruption case against deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and three others for their alleged involvement in the illegal allotment of land in Punjab province about 34 years ago. By M Zulqernain FGN30 NEPAL-NCP-LD INDIA Nepal-India border issue figured during NCP's high-level meeting Kathmandu: Nepal-India border dispute and a proposed USD 500 million US grant assistance to Kathmandu were among the major issues discussed during the ongoing meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party's powerful Standing Committee here on Saturday, sources said. By Shirish B Pradhan PTI SMN SMN SMN