HIGHLIGHTS

New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9 PM TOP STORIES DEL72 LD WANGCHUK (7.07 PM) **** Police whisk away Wangchuk to hospital; Dipke starts hunger strike; Oppn slams govt New Delhi: Citing medical advice and Delhi High Court directions, police whisked away activist Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday morning on the 21st day of his hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar here, drawing sharp condemnation from opposition parties which accused the government of curbing dissent. **** MDS24 AP-LDALL ROCKET LAUNCH (8.17 PM) **** India's first pvt rocket Vikarm-1 succeeds in maiden orbital launch, carries diamonds, postcard by PM Modi Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): In a defining milestone, Skyroot Aerospace on Saturday launched the country's first private orbital rocket and successfully placed multiple technology-demonstration payloads into the desired orbit, making India the third country with private orbital launch capabilities after the US and China. **** DEL83 SPEAKER - LD TMC SHIV SENA (8.22 PM) **** Speaker Birla approves merger of rebel SS(UBT) with Shinde-led Shiv Sena; rebel TMC MPs to sit separately New Delhi: Ahead of the Monsoon session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and allowed separate seating for the 20 rebel TMC lawmakers, who have joined a little-known party, NCPI. **** DEL86 PAR LD SESSION (8.36 PM) **** Friends to foes, controversial bills, agitation at its door - Parliament braces for stormy Monsoon session New Delhi: The government and the opposition are gearing up for another stormy session of Parliament from Monday with several crucial bills likely to be taken up, including the earlier-defeated Constitution Amendment Bill on delimitation though it is not yet listed in the legislative agenda. **** DEL87 FILM-LD NAT AWARDS (8.35 PM) **** National awards: 'Article 370' best feature film; Mammotty, Yami Gautam, Kartik Aaryan best acting New Delhi: Political drama "Article 370" emerged as the biggest winner at the 72nd National Film Awards on Saturday, bagging the best feature film honour, while its lead star Yami Gautam was named best actress. **** BOM4 MP-KEN-BETWA-PROTEST (12.23 PM) **** MP: Hunger strike against Ken-Betwa, other irrigation projects enters 15th day Chhatarpur (MP): An indefinite hunger strike against the Ken-Betwa Link Project and other irrigation schemes in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region entered its 15th day on Saturday, with protesters alleging inadequate rehabilitation and displacement-related grievances. **** NATION DEL80 PAR-LD ALL PARTY (7.43 PM) **** All-party meet ahead of session; Wangchuk issue set to dominate agenda New Delhi: The forcible removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar, citing health concerns, is set to resonate during the all-party meeting convened by the government on Sunday ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament. **** DEL84 DL-DIPKE-2NDLD INK ATTACK (8.21 PM) **** Woman hurls ink at CJP founder Dipke; he remains unfazed, says 'blue is my colour' New Delhi: A woman hurled blue ink at Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke as he announced his indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, but he remained unfazed, saying, "Blue is my colour, Jai Bhim," while appealing to his supporters to remain calm. **** DEL59 CONG-2NDLD WANGCHUK (5.41 PM) Core tenets of Modi govt are 'asatya', 'hinsa': Rahul slams Wangchuk's 'removal' from Jantar Mantar **** New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday attacked the government over the "removal" of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest, with Rahul Gandhi saying the core tenets of the Narendra Modi dispensation are "asatya and hinsa (falsehood and violence)". **** DEL76 CBI-RELIANCE-SEARCHES (7.19 PM) **** CBI searches 15 locations in cases against Reliance ADA group firms New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday conducted searches at 15 premises in Delhi and Mumbai in connection with cases registered against Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. (RCFL) and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (RHFL), officials said. **** BOM27 GJ-FIRECRACKER FACTORY-LD BLAST (7.48 PM) **** Nine dead, six injured in blast and fire at illegal firecracker unit in Ahmedabad Ahmedabad: Nine persons were killed and six others injured in a blast and fire at an illegal firecracker factory in Ramol area of Ahmedabad city in Gujarat on Saturday, officials said. **** CAL22 WB-DEMOLITION-ABHISHEK (6.35 PM) **** Demolished party office built legally, TMC to move high court: Abhishek Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday asserted that the party's Amtala office, which was demolished by the local administration, was built legally on purchased land and after clearing all permissions. **** DEL63 EDU-MOE-BED COLLEGES (6.17 PM) **** Centre sets up panel to probe allegations of irregularities in 4 BEd colleges in MP New Delhi: The Centre has set up a fact-finding committee to probe into allegations of irregularities in four BEd colleges in Madhya Pradesh, according to officials. **** LEGAL LGD7 DL-COURT-IRS-DAUGHTER (3.15 PM) **** Delhi court takes cognisance of charge sheet in rape-murder case of IRS officer's daughter New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday took cognisance of the charge sheet filed against a former domestic help accused in the rape and killing of the 22-year-old daughter of a senior IRS officer here. **** LGD10 UP-COURT-RAHUL (7.26 PM) **** Defamation case against Rahul Gandhi: Hearing adjourned to Aug 5 as presiding judge away on training Sultanpur (UP): Hearing in a 2018 defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on Saturday adjourned to August 5 as the presiding judge of the MP-MLA court was away on training, his counsel said. **** BUSINESS DEL49 BIZ-RESULTS-LD PNB (4.06 PM) **** PNB Q1 profit surges over three-fold to Rs 5,253 cr, aims USD 2.5 bn from FCNR deposits New Delhi: Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday reported an over three-fold jump in standalone net profit at Rs 5,253 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, primarily helped by a reduction in tax payment. **** DEL54 BIZ-RESULTS-HDFC BANK (4.52 PM) **** HDFC Bank profit rises 5 pc to Rs 19,060 cr in Q1 New Delhi: HDFC Bank on Saturday reported a 5 per cent increase in standalone net profit to Rs 19,060 crore for the June quarter. **** FOREIGN FGN37 PAK-AIRSPACE-LD BAN (8.26 PM) **** Pakistan extends airspace ban for Indian aircraft till Aug 23 Islamabad/Karachi: Pakistan on Saturday extended the closure of its airspace to Indian aircraft until August 23, according to the country's airports authority. **** FGN7 UN-POK (9.28 AM) **** UN human rights agency voices concern over 'wave of unrest' in PoK United Nations: The United Nations human rights agency has voiced concern over the “wave of unrest” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), calling for investigations into killings of protesters as well as members of security forces. **** PTI APL APL