HIGHLIGHTS AT 9pm HIGHLIGHTS

New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9 pm:

NATION:

DEL81 LDALL VIRUS

COVID-19: Nationwide tally crosses 60k; Fresh outbreaks abroad raise concerns over lockdown easing

New Delhi: The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 60,000 on Saturday and the death toll neared the 2,000 mark after more people tested positive for the deadly virus infection across states, while worries mounted globally about re-emergence of the outbreak after reopening of locked down economies.

DEL79 VIRUS-VARDHAN-LD NORTHEAST

Testing capacity for COVID-19 scaled up to 95,000 per day; Eight NE states reported 194 cases: Vardhan

New Delhi: The testing capacity for COVID-19 has been scaled up to around 95,000 tests per day and a total of 15,25,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday.

MDS25 AP-LD GAS LEAK

Mourning AP villagers place bodies of victims in front of LG plant, seek its closure

Visakhapatnam (AP): Simmering with anger over the loss of lives due to the styrene vapour leak, villagers placed two bodies of the victims in front of LG Polymers on Saturday demanding its closure as people barged into the factory as well while top police officials were around.

DEL58 SHAH-LD HEALTH

I am healthy, not suffering from any disease, says Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said he is "totally healthy" and not suffering from any ailment, dispelling rumours about his health on the social media.

DEL32 ED-AJL-LD ATTACH

ED attaches part of AJL Mumbai building worth Rs16.38 cr; charges Moti Lal Vora

New Delhi: A portion of a nine-storey building in Mumbai's tony Bandra area, valued Rs16.38 crore, has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money-laundering probe against the Congress-party promoted Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

DEL29 CHIDAMBARAM-DEFICIT

Chidambaram welcomes Centre's decision to borrow additional 4.2 lakh cr

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday welcomed the Centre's decision to borrow additional 4.2 lakh crore and said it should be used to provide relief to the poor and re-start the economy.

BOM10 GJ-MIGRANTS-LD CLASH

Migrants clash with cops in Surat, over 100 detained

Surat: Hundreds of migrant workers came onto the streets and clashed with the police at a village in Surat district of Gujarat on Saturday to demand that they either be sent back to their home states or allowed to resume work at local industrial units to earn money, police said.

CAL13 BH-JD(U)-TRAIN FARE

JD(U) trashes Delhi govt's claim of bearing migrant labourers train fare

Patna: The ruling JD(U) on Saturday slammed AAP for claiming that it bore the cost of ferrying migrant workers from Delhi to their home in Bihar, saying the party was speaking "half-truth" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment.

BOM11 CG-NAXAL-LD ENCOUNTER

C'garh: Four "high value" naxals, cop killed in encounter

Raipur: Four wanted Naxals, including two women- who all carried rewards on their heads- and a police official were killed in an exchange of fire in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Saturday.

LEGAL:

LGD8 VIRUS-SC-LD LIQUOR-TN

Tamil Nadu moves SC against HC order for closure of liquor outlets

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on grounds of violations of COVID-19 guidelines, arguing that it would lead to "grave losses" in revenue and complete halt in commercial activities.

LGD6 VIRUS-DL-HC-PRISONERS

COVID-19: HC extends by 45 days interim bail of 2,177 under-trial prisoners

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Saturday extended the interim bail of 2,177 under-trial prisoners by 45 days to de-congest jails in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

FGN35 VIRUS-UK-INDIA-LD FLIGHT

First repatriation flight from London takes off for Mumbai with 326 Indians

London: The first Air India flight from the UK, as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus lockdown, took off from London's Heathrow Airport on Saturday with 326 passengers to Mumbai. By Aditi Khanna

FGN24 US-H1B

Trump admin working to temporarily ban work-based visas: Report

Washington: The US is working to temporarily ban the issuance of some work-based visas like H-1B, popular among highly-skilled Indian IT professionals, as well as students visas and work authorisation that accompanies them, amidst the high level of unemployment due to the coronavirus, according to a media report. By Lalit K Jha

BUSINESS:

DCM23 BIZ-LOCKDOWN-COS-OPERATIONS

More firms across sectors partially resume operations in lockdown 3.0

New Delhi: Several companies across sectors ranging from textiles to consumer electronics and liquor to pharma on Saturday informed that they have partially resumed operations after getting permission from local authorities in the third phase of the lockdown.

CCM1 BIZ-RURAL-MASKS

Entrepreneurs in rural belts switch to making face masks amid COVID-19 crisis

Kolkata: A number of entrepreneurs based in rural areas of the country have taken to manufacturing face masks amid dwindling demand for their regular produce in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said on Saturday. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)