New Delhi, Jul 14 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9.24 pm: NATION DEL55 AVI-2NDLD AIRINDIA-CRASH-CEO

Air India CEO says crash probe raises more questions, premature to jump to any conclusion New Delhi: The preliminary report into the crash of Air India flight AI171 last month has raised more questions, the airline's CEO said as he defended the fitness of pilots and aircraft saying no mechanical or maintenance issues have been flagged in the report.

DEL99 ED-2NDLD VADRA

ED questions Robert Vadra for 5 hours in Sanjay Bhandari-linked PMLA case New Delhi: Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was on Monday questioned for about five hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari and some others, official sources said.

DEL67 SPACE-LD AXIOM

Shubhanshu Shukla sets off on return journey to earth as Dragon undocks from ISS New Delhi: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others of the commercial Axiom-4 mission on Monday embarked on a journey back to Earth as their Dragon Grace spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station - their home for the last 18 days.

CAL14 OD-STUDENT-LD HEALTH

FM College student condition critical, but stable; father appeals to all to pray for her recovery Bhubaneswar: The condition of the 20-year-old college student who set herself on fire for allegedly being denied justice over "sexual harassment" by a teacher, remained critical for the third consecutive day on Monday, hospital sources here said.

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Omar Abdullah scales graveyard gates to offer tributes to martyrs Srinagar: A defiant Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled the gates of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard to pay tribute to 22 people killed by the Dogra army in 1931 and alleged that efforts were made to “manhandle” him and his colleagues.

DEL93 PB-SESSION-LD SACRILEGE

Anti-sacrilege bill introduced in Punjab Assembly, proposes punishment up to life imprisonment, Rs 10 lakh fine Chandigarh: The AAP government on Monday introduced in the Punjab Assembly an anti-sacrilege bill, proposing punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilegious acts against religious scriptures.

DEL78 LD-KANWAR (R)

UP CM reviews preparations, Delhi CM warns against disturbing Kanwar Yatra as people throng temples New Delhi: The Kanwar Yatra got into high gear on the first Monday of the Hindu month of Shravan with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewing preparations and his Delhi counterpart Rekha Gupta saying her government would ensure “secure” passage for the Shiv devotees. Reports also came in of an eatery allegedly being vandalised in Muzaffarnagar by a group of kanwariyas.

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AI171 crew deserves fact-driven investigation, not conjecture, says AI pilots body Mumbai: Indian Pilots Guild, an association of Air India pilots, on Monday slammed the preliminary report on Boeing 787-8 plane crash on June 12, saying that the crew of AI171 deserves a thorough, "fact-driven investigation" and not conjecture or sensationalism.

BOM26 MH-PLANE CRASH-REPORT-CHATURVEDI (R)

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Chaturvedi questions handling of AAIB report Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday wrote to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, questioning how “sensitive findings” on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad were “leaked” to international media before an official disclosure in India.

MDS20 KA-GADKARI-BRIDGE-2ND LD INAUGURATION

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurates Sigandur bridge, CM Siddaramaiah boycotts event Shivamogga/Bengaluru: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday inaugurated India's second-longest cable-stayed Sigandur bridge in Shivamogga. The event was boycotted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his cabinet colleagues, who claimed that they were not consulted.

BUSINESS DEL91 AVI-DGCA-LD BOEING PLANES

DGCA asks airlines to check fuel switch locking system in Boeing 787, 737 planes Mumbai: Aviation watchdog DGCA on Monday directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes, two days after AAIB's preliminary report said fuel switches were cut off before the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people last month.

LEGAL LGD28 SC-FREEDOM-LD SPEECH

'Citizens must know value of freedom of speech, expression': SC mulls framing guidelines New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said citizens must know the value of the right of freedom of speech and expression, and exercise self restraint as it mulled guidelines to regulate offensive social media posts.

LGD39 SC-RECORDED CONVERSATIONS-LD SPOUSES

Secret recording of conversations of spouses can be used in matrimonial cases: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday held "secretly" recorded conversations of spouses to be evidence in matrimonial disputes, including divorce proceedings.

LGD14 SC-LD KERALA NURSE-YEMEN

Indian nurse on death row in Yemen: Nothing much government can do, Centre tells SC New Delhi: The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that the government could do "nothing much" in the case of an Indian nurse facing execution on July 16 for murder in Yemen.

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National Herald case: Court to pronounce order on ED chargesheet cognisance on Jul 29 New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case.

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SC junks plea against extension of ban on SIMI New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging an order confirming the five-year extension of the ban imposed on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

FOREIGN FGN68 SINOINDIA-JAISHANKAR-4THLD-WANG Need to address de-escalation; competition should not turn into conflict: EAM Jaishankar in Beijing Beijing/New Delhi: India and China should build on "good progress" in normalising the bilateral ties to address border-related issues including de-escalation, and it is essential to avoid "restrictive trade measures and roadblocks", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

FGN60 UK-AIRINDIA-CRASH

UK families ‘troubled’ by ‘very serious questions’ raised by Air India plane crash report London: The families of the British victims of the London-bound Air India plane crash are “troubled and concerned” following the release of a preliminary report and will be seeking answers to the “very serious questions” raised, the UK law firm advising over 20 of the families said on Monday.

FGN25 RUSSIA-INDIAN-WORKFORCE

Russia to import 1 million skilled workforce from India Moscow: Russia will import up to 1 million workforce by the end of this year to address labour shortage in the country's highly industrialised areas, a business leader said.

PTI OZ OZ

PMLA investigation prompts questioning and triggers regulatory and evidentiary clarifications in aviation, speech and matrimonial matters. Enforcement developments include a PMLA linked investigation resulting in extended questioning and a reserved judicial order on an enforcement agency chargesheet; the aviation regulator ordered inspections of fuel switch locking systems following a preliminary crash report. Judicial trends reported include consideration of guidelines to regulate offensive social media speech, confirmation that secretly recorded spousal conversations are admissible in matrimonial disputes, and a refusal to disturb a ban extension on an organisation. A state bill proposes stringent penalties for sacrilege.