HIGHLIGHTS AT 1 PM

     New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 1 pm:
    
    
     MDS8 KA-CABINET-LD MINISTERS
     29 Ministers will be inducted into cabinet, there will be no Dy CMs: Bommai
     Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said 29 Ministers will be inducted into his new cabinet this afternoon, and there will be no Deputy Chief Ministers this time.
         
    
     DEL20 ED-ARREST-LD THAPAR
     ED arrests Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar in money laundering case
     New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested businessman and Avantha Group of companies promoter Gautam Thapar in connection with a money laundering case, officials said on Wednesday.
    
         
     DEL23 GIRL-RAPE-LD RAHUL
     Dalit minor rape: Rahul meets victim's family in Delhi, says 'with them on path to justice'
     New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met the family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl who died here following an alleged sexual assault and asserted that he is with them on the path to justice and "will not back down even an inch".
    
     DEL11 VIRUS-LD CASES
     COVID-19: India records 42,625 cases and 562 deaths in a day
     New Delhi: With 42,625 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,17,69,132 and the active caseload increased to 4,10,353, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.
    
     CAL5 WB-FLOOD-PM-LD MAMATA
     PM Modi dials Mamata, assures her of all help to mitigate flood situation in Bengal
     Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday and took stock of the flood situation in the state.
    
    
     DEL19 MHA-CBI-VERMA
     Home ministry recommends disciplinary action against former CBI director Alok Verma
     New Delhi: The Union home ministry has recommended disciplinary action against former CBI director Alok Verma for allegedly misusing his official position and violating the relevant service rules, officials said on Wednesday.

     PAR11 RS-SUSPEND
     Naidu suspends 6 TMC MPs for the day
     New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday suspended six TMC MPs for the day for carrying placards while protesting along with other opposition MPs over the Pegasus spying issue.
    
    
     FOREIGN
    
     FGN20 VIRUS-US-BIDEN-LD INDIA
     US trying to help India, others to produce COVID-19 vaccine: Biden
     Washington: The US is trying to provide for countries like India the capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines themselves, President Joe Biden has said, as he highlighted the efforts of democratic nations to help the world stem the surge of the pandemic. By Lalit K Jha
    
     FGN18 UNSC-AFGHANISTAN
     UNSC says it does not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan
     United Nations: The UN Security Council, currently being presided over by India, has declared that it does “not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate" in Afghanistan as it expressed deep concern over the high levels of violence in the war-torn country following the Taliban stepping up its military offensive. By Yoshita Singh
    
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)