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1. Basavaraj Bommai, home minister in BS Yediyurappa's cabinet, has been picked to succeed him as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at a meeting of party MLAs. The oath ceremony will be held at 11 am today, sources say. Mr Bommai, a leader of the politically powerful Lingayat leader like Mr Yediyurappa — was among his close confidantes. 2. The Centre has called a meeting of the chief secretaries and DGPs of Assam and Mizoram today in the wake of violence along their shared border, where five Assam Police personnel were killed, officials say. 3. After meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says that a united opposition against the BJP will take shape on its own adding that the country will lead and parties will follow. She Ms Banerjee is likely to meet Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal today. 4. The International Monetary Fund has lowered India's growth projection from 12.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent for fiscal 2021-22, down by three percentage points, following the severe second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. 5. Eighteen labourers, sleeping on the road in front of a bus, are crushed to death this morning by a speeding truck in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district, 28 km from state capital Lucknow. 6. Rakesh Asthana, a former officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation, appointed Delhi Police Commissioner, just three days before his retirement. 7. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in India on a two-day visit aimed at further boosting bilateral ties and deliberate on the rapidly evolving security situation in Afghanistan as well as to expand cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region under the framework of Quad. 8. Washington, United States: People vaccinated against Covid-19 in high-risk parts of the United States should resume wearing masks indoors, the top health authority has said, a major shift in coronavirus guidance that underscores the country's struggle to suppress the Delta variant.