HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION MDS9 KL-SINHA-PRESIDENT-STAMP We need a thinking, speaking President; not rubber stamp: Yashwant Sinha Thiruvananthapuram: Yashwant Sinha, the candidate of joint Opposition nominee in the presidential election, on Wednesday said a ''thinking and speaking'' person should be the resident of Rashtrapati Bhavan and not a rubber stamp.

DEL84 RJ-MURDER-LD-FUNERAL Udaipur tailor cremated, funeral procession amid tight security Udaipur (Raj): Kanhaiya Lal, who was brutally killed by two men here, was cremated on Wednesday in the presence of a large number of people even as curfew remained clamped in parts of the city. DEL90 RJ-LD TAILOR-POLICE Tailor murder: Prime accused has links with Pak-based Dawat-e-Islami, visited Karachi, says DGP Jaipur: One of the two prime accused in the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur has links with the Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and had visited Karachi in 2014, the Rajasthan Police chief said on Wednesday.

DEL86 AMARNATH-PILGRIMAGE After 3-year gap, Amarnath Yatra all set to begin Thursday Srinagar: The 43-day Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine located in south Kashmir Himalayas is all set to begin on Thursday after a gap of three years.

DEL113 JK-2NDLD ENCOUNTER J-K: Two LeT militants killed in encounter near Amarnath Yatra route in Kulgam Srinagar: Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said, adding the operation site was “very close” to Amarnath Yatra route. DEL97 TAILOR-3RDLD MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS Muslim organisations condemn tailor's killing in Udaipur, call it 'un-Islamic' New Delhi: Prominent Muslim organisations on Wednesday condemned the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur, calling it ''un-Islamic'' and asserting that no person has the right to take law into one's hands.

BOM34 MH-LD SENA SC to decide if floor test in Maha will go ahead, rebel MLAs leave Assam for Goa Mumbai: Rebel MLAs led by senior Maharashtra Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday evening left Guwahati for Goa as the Supreme Court was set to decide whether the floor test ordered by the Maharashtra governor for proving the Uddhav Thackeray government's majority on Thursday should go ahead or not. DEL88 EC-LD VICE PREZ POLL Election for Vice President on Aug 6; counting on same day: EC New Delhi: Polling to elect the next vice president will be held on August 6 and counting of votes will take place the same day, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

MDS11 KA-TAILOR-MURDER-REAX Hindu outfits to start 'I'm Nupur Sharma Supporter' campaign, says Sri Ram Sene leader Pramod Mutalik Bengaluru: Condemning the the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur, Sri Rama Sene leader Pramod Mutalik on Wednesday stated that Hindu society will not tolerate such acts of terror, and demanded capital punishment for those involved in the killing.

DEL92 VACCINE-COVOVAX-IMMUNISATION Day after DCGI's nod, SII seeks inclusion of Covovax in Covid immunisation prog New Delhi: A day after India's drug regulator approved Covovax for restricted emergency use in children aged 7 to 11 years, the vaccine maker Serum Institute has written to the Centre seeking its inclusion in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme in the interest of public health, official sources said on Wednesday.

CAL26 BH-RJD-LD AIMIM RJD weans away four AIMIM MLAs in Bihar; becomes largest party again Patna: All but one of the five MLAs of the AIMIM in Bihar on Wednesday joined the RJD, making it the largest party in the 243-strong assembly, a development hailed by the leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav as “strengthening of secular forces” in the NDA-ruled state.

BUSINESS DEL94 BIZ-2NDLD GST-COMPENSATION 12 states demand extension of GST compensation beyond June Chandigarh: About a dozen states on Wednesday pitched for extending by a few years the compensation paid to states for revenue lost from the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) regime.

DEL83 BIZ-LD TWITTER Twitter gets time till July 4 to comply with all govt orders New Delhi: The government has issued a notice to Twitter to comply with all its past orders by July 4, an official source said on Wednesday.

DEL91 CAB-LD OIL Govt gives ONGC, Vedanta freedom to sell crude oil New Delhi: The government on Wednesday allowed firms like ONGC and Vedanta to sell locally produced crude oil to any Indian refinery for turning it into fuel, such as petrol and diesel, as it deregulated one of the last few avenues that were still under its control.

FOREIGN FGN74 LANKA-INDIA-TRADE Indian High Commissioner, Sri Lankan trade minister talk boosting commercial links Colombo: Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on Wednesday met the country's Minister for Trade Nalin Fernando here and discussed diverse facets of bilateral trade.

FGN71 PAK-FO-TAILOR Pakistan rejects reports of Udaipur accused links to Karachi-based Ismalist organisation Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Office on Wednesday rejected reported insinuation in India to link the accused in the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur to a Karachi-based Ismalist organisation. By Sajjad Hussain PTI CJ CJ CJ