HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 5:30 PM: NATION: DEL23 OPPN-PROTEST Opposition parties conduct silent protest march in Parliament over farm Bills New Delhi: Various opposition parties Wednesday took out a silent protest march in the Parliament complex against the contentious farm Bills passed recently. DEL44 BJP-BILLS Nadda hails passage of key bills New Delhi: BJP president J P Nadda on Wednesday hailed the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill as "historic", and said this is an important step for developing the regional languages ​​of the union territory.

DEL34 VIRUS-POSITIVITY 14 states, UTs have higher tests per million, lower positivity than national average: Centre New Delhi: India's total tests for detection of COVID-19 has reached over 6.6 crore and tests per million have risen to 48,028 as on date with the national cumulative positivity rate being recorded at 8.52 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. DEL33 DEF-MISSILE DRDO successfully test fires laser-guided anti-tank guided missile New Delhi: An indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile has been successfully test fired by the DRDO at a firing range in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar, officials said on Wednesday.

DEL37 CBI-VISWABHARATI CBI books ex-VC of Visva Bharati University for alleged corruption New Delhi: The CBI has registered an FIR against former Visva Bharati University vice-chancellor Sushanta Duttagupta for alleged corrupt activities during his tenure at the historic university, officials said on Wednesday. DEL21 BATLAHOUSE-INTERVIEW Fake news, rumours used to label 2008 Batla House encounter staged: ex-IPS officer Karnal Singh New Delhi: Fake news and "street rumours" were picked up by a section of politicians, activists and media to paint the 2008 Batla House encounter of IM terrorists as staged, retired IPS officer and the then chief of the Delhi Police special cell Karnal Singh has said. By Neelabh Srivastava DEL46 WEF-GLOBAL WARMING Delhi may have 8 months of 32°C average temperature by 2100: WEF study New Delhi: The national capital may have eight months a year with temperature averaging 32°C by 2100, up from six at present, a new study said on Wednesday cautioning against the worsening global warming scenario in the world.

BOM22 MH-MUMBAI-2ND LD RAINS Heavy rains cause waterlogging in Mumbai, disrupt traffic Mumbai: Heavy rains lashed Mumbai overnight, leaving many parts of the metropolis in waist deep water and disrupting rail and road traffic on Wednesday, officials said. BOM18 MH-REMDESIVIR-TOPE Remdesivir batch withdrawn due to inferior quality: Maha govt Mumbai: A batch of Remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19 patients has been withdrawn in view of "sub-standard quality" of the medicine, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday.

CAL6 SK-LANDSLIDE Sikkim cut off as major landslide hits NH10 Gangtok: A major landslide, triggered by heavy rains, on the National Highway 10 cut off Sikkim from the rest of the country on Wednesday morning, officials said LEGAL: LGD7 SC-FACEBOOK Delhi riots: No coercive action against Facebook VP till Oct 15 over assembly panel summons, says SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday directed a Delhi Legislative Assembly panel not to take coercive action against Facebook India VP and MD Ajit Mohan till October 15 in connection with a summon asking him to depose before it with regard to north east Delhi riots. LGD6 SC-AIR TICKET-REFUND Air tickets: SC asks Centre to clarify on modalities of refund to passengers, agents New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to clarify by Friday the modalities of refund of air tickets to be made to the passengers and travel agents in view of cancellation of flights during the COVID-19 induced lockdown period.

LGD5 RJ-COURT-SHOURIE Laxmi Vilas Palace case: Rajasthan HC stays arrest warrant against Arun Shourie Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday stayed the arrest warrant against former union minister Arun Shourie in a case involving the sale of an Udaipur hotel at an alleged loss of Rs 244 crore to the exchequer. FOREIGN: FGN15 US-TRUMP-HARRIS Kamala Harris 'grossly incompetent'; surprised after she was chosen vice president nominee: Trump Washington: US President Donald Trump has termed Senator Kamala Harris as "grossly incompetent," saying he was surprised when his Democratic rival Joe Biden picked her as his running mate in the November 3 presidential election. By Lalit K Jha SPORTS: SPD3 SPO-FOOT-JK-ASHIQ J&K woman footballer Ashiq to interact with PM Modi in FIT India Dialogue New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir woman footballer Afshan Ashiq, who hit the headlines in 2017 as a stone pelter in Srinagar, will be among some top sportspersons of the country who will interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Fit India Dialogue session on Thursday.