Following are the news highlights at

Following are the news highlights at

1800 hours today:

GENERAL:

Mumbai: Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers announces that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" as MNS withdraws its threat to stall the screening. (DEL32)

Vadodara: Accusing previous governments of having "no vision" for aviation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his government has come out with the first integrated policy for the sector and is working in a "mission mode" for its expansion which will spur growth and employment. (DEL37)

Jammu: Pakistani spy arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan. (DEL10)
 

Jammu: Escalating cross border firing, Pakistani Rangers overnight pounds border hamlets and outposts with mortar shells and opened fire from automatic weapons in R S Pura sector of Jammu district. (DEL16)

Indore: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who heads the Rs 4,500-crore Patanjali Group, was once denied a visa to the United States citing his bachelor status and not having a bank account, he reveals. (DEL38)

New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who is in the eye of a storm for allegedly leaking defence secrets to controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma, rejects the charges against him as false and frivolous, and says he will take legal action against those who deliberately sought to tarnish his reputation. (DEL21)

New Delhi: In a move aimed at checking any possibility of leakage of information through hacking of communication devices, Union Ministers asked not to carry mobile phones in Cabinet meetings. (DEL15)

New Delhi: CBI arrests Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) president Ramji Singh and suspected middleman Harishankar Jha in an alleged bribery case of Rs 20 lakh for granting clearance to a homoeopathy college in Gujarat. (DEL33)

Hyderabad: Describing 'triple talaq' as anti-constitutional and anti-civilisation, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu says it's time the country should abolish this "gender discrimination", in the light of principles of justice, dignity and equality. (BOM8)

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao visits Apollo Hospitals, where Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment, and is happy to note that she is "progressing well". (MDS4)

LEGAL:

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal put on trial by a city court for alleged offence of defamation in a criminal complaint filed against him by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri. (LGD4)

FOREIGN:

London: India hopes to reach a deal with Britain for facilitating short-term visas for Indian students, academicians and businessmen during Prime Minister Theresa May's visit, Acting High Commissioner to the UK Dinesh Patnaik says. (FGN3)

Kirkuk: Iraqi security forces kills 48 of the gunmen who stormed parts of Kirkuk in a shock attack claimed by the Islamic State group, the city's police chief says. (FGN5)

Moscow: At least 19 dies in a helicopter crash in northwestern Siberia, Russia's Investigative Committee says.