HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.50 pm: NATION BOM40 MH-SENA-THACKERAY-RESIGNATION Uddhav Thackeray quits as Maharashtra CM Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said he is quitting the post.

DEL120 LDALL-UDAIPUR MURDER Udaipur murder: 'Pak link' under investigation by NIA, stone-pelters face tear gas in Rajsamand Jaipur/New Delhi: Investigators on Wednesday were looking into a possible link between one of the men who killed an Udaipur tailor and an Islamist outfit in Pakistan, as Rajasthan Police remained on vigil a day after the hate crime now being probed by the National Investigation Agency.

DEL119 RJ-All PARTY MEET Rajasthan all-party meet condemns Udaipur murder, appeals for peace, restraint Jaipur: Leaders of all political parties in Rajasthan Wednesday strongly condemned the murder of a tailor in Udaipur and appealed for peace and restraint, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot chaired an all-party meeting on the incident, officials said.

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. 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. CAL35 AS-LD-FLOOD Assam flood situation worsens; 31.5 lakh affected, 12 fresh fatalities Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam worsened further on Wednesday with 12 more people losing their lives and the number of affected people increasing to 31.5 lakh, while Silchar town in Cachar district remained under water for the last 10 days, officials said.

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