NDTV TOP STORIES
1. Union Minister Narayan Rane, who was arrested over his comment on slapping Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for what he called his 'ignorance of the year India won Independence', is granted bail. He cited his health and argued that he was arrested without proper notice on 'politically motivated' charges. 'Satyamev Jayate,' Mr Rane tweets after getting bail. 2. Sixteen Afghanistan evacuees out of the 78 that landed in India on Tuesday are coronavirus positive. As a measure of precaution, all 78 have been quarantined. All 16 returnees are said to be asymptomatic. Among those infected are three granthis who carried the copies of the Sikh holy scriptures back to India from Kabul. 3. The leaders of Group of Seven nations have agreed on a roadmap for engagement with the Taliban, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirms, adding that there would 'probably' be a 'Taliban government' in Kabul. 4. The demand for the removal of Amarinder Singh from the post of the Punjab Chief Minister resurfaces after he targets the advisors of Navjot Sidhu over their comments on Pakistan and Kashmir. Twenty-three MLAs of the Punjab Congress, including four ministers seek Mr Singh's removal, saying they will appeal to the party's top leadership again. 5. Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal faces the wrath of farmer unions at a public rally for the second consecutive day in his home district of Muktsar. 6. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slams the Centre's move to monetise its assets across key sectors, saying the Modi dispensation is selling India's 'crown jewels' built in the last 70 years and 'gifting' them to their 2-3 businessmen 'friends'. Union Minister Smriti Irani hits back saying, 'Congress government in Maharashtra raised Rs 8,000 crores by monetising Mumbai-Pune expressway. Is Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Maharashtra government sold the expressway? Does Rahul Gandhi believe that state governments doing such monetisation under Congress leadership are selling their states? There is a saying - This man's politics begin from hypocrisy, is sustained through arrogance, and ends with contempt.' 7. COVID-19 in India may be entering some kind of stage of endemicity where there is low or moderate level of transmission going on, Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation Dr Soumya Swaminathan says. 8. Charlie Watts, the drummer who provided the backbone to American rock band Rolling Stones' songs for more than half a century, dies at the age of 80.
