HIGHLIGHTS

These are the top stories at 5.15 pm: Nation DEL31 SINOINDIA-RAJNATH Do not make attempts to unilaterally change status quo at LAC, Rajnath tells Chinese counterpart New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has clearly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe that China must strictly respect the Line of Actual Control(LAC) and not make attempts to unilaterally change its status quo, asserting India is determined to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, officials said on Saturday.

These are the top stories at 5.15 pm: Nation DEL31 SINOINDIA-RAJNATH Do not make attempts to unilaterally change status quo at LAC, Rajnath tells Chinese counterpart New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has clearly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe that China must strictly respect the Line of Actual Control(LAC) and not make attempts to unilaterally change its status quo, asserting India is determined to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, officials said on Saturday. CAL4 AR-KIDNAP-PLA Probe on after families allege 5 men kidnapped by China's PLA from Arunachal Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh police has launched a probe following reports that five people, who had gone hunting in a forest in Upper Subansiri district on the Sino-India border, were allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese military, a senior official said on Saturday. DEL35 CONG-SINOINDIA Congress urges PM, Defence Minister to take nation into confidence on India-China border row New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to take the nation into confidence on talks with China on the border row in Ladakh, saying people want to know about the outcomes of the repeated conversations with the Chinese side.

DEL11 VIRUS-LD CASES India takes 13 days to cross 40 lakh COVID-19 cases from 30 lakh; record 86,432 infections reported in a day New Delhi: India's COVID-19 infection tally sprinted past 40 lakh, just 13 days after it crossed 30 lakh, with a record 86,432 cases being reported in a day, while recoveries have surged to 31,07,223 on Saturday pushing the recovery rate to 77.23 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry. DEL30 TEACHERS-INNOVATIVE-METHODS Bell-free school to global citizenship curriculum: National award winning teachers' innovative ideas New Delhi: Introducing 'bell-free school', 'child parliament', gender sensitisation exercises and 'global citizenship curriculum' are among the innovative teaching-learning practices adopted by 47 teachers who have bagged the National Teachers Award this year. By Gunjan Sharma BOM10 MH-COURT-LD SUSHANT CASE-NCB Showik dealt in drugs; will confront him with Rhea: NCB to court Mumbai: Actress Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik Chakraborty, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau probing the drug angle in actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case, had "dealt in drugs with many others" and had links with accused Abdel Basit Parihar, the agency told a court here.

DEL24 CONG-RAHUL-GOVT Modi dispensation's thinking -- minimum govt, maximum privatisation: Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the Centre over the issue of recruitment to government posts, alleging that the Modi dispensation's thinking is "minimum government, maximum privatisation". MDS2 DEF-LANKA-SHIP Oil tanker on fire off Sri Lanka coast towed to safety Chennai: An India bound vessel from Kuwait with a crude shipment that caught fire off the Sri Lankan coast has been towed to safe waters while fire fighting continues and there has been no oil slick, defence authorities said here on Saturday.

Legal LGD2 DL-COURT-AKBAR MeToo: Disclosure of sexual harassment was for public good, Priya Ramani tells court New Delhi: Journalist Priya Ramani told a Delhi court on Saturday that her remarks alleging sexual harassment by former Union minister M J Akbar were “her truth” which she disclosed in "good faith" for the "public good" and, therefore, do not amount to defamation. Business DEL42 BIZ-STATES-RANKING Andhra Pradesh again tops 'ease of doing business' ranking of states, UTs New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh has retained the top position in the ranking of states and union territories (UTs) based on the implementation of the business reform action plan, according to a report released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. Foreign FGN15 US-TRUMP-LD SINOINDIA 'Very nasty' situation along India-China border; ready to help ease tension: Trump Washington: Describing the situation along the India-China border as "very nasty”, US President Donald Trump has said that the Chinese are "going at it much more strongly" than a lot of people understand and he would "love to get involved and help" ease the tension. By Lalit K Jha FGN17 US-INDIA-NIXON-TAPES Newly declassified White House tapes reveal ex-US president Nixon's hatred towards Indians New York: Newly declassified White House tapes disclose former US president Richard Nixon speaking disparagingly about Indians and reveal the bigotry he and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger held that influenced US policy toward India and South Asia under his presidency. By Yoshita Singh FGN24 BANGLA-MOSQUE-LD EXPLOSION 12 killed, 25 injured as six air conditioners explode in Bangladesh mosque Dhaka: At least 12 worshippers, including a child, were killed and 25 others injured when a suspected gas leak caused six air conditioners to explode almost simultaneously in a mosque on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, fire officials said on Saturday. By Anisur Rahman