PTI TOP STORIES AT 1800 HOURS

Following are the PTI's top stories at 1800 hours today:
DEL17 POLL-PREZ-LD BJP
New Delhi: India is set to get its second Dalit president as the BJP picks Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as the NDA nominee for the top constitutional post.
DEL20 PREZ-KOVIND-PROFILE
Lucknow: A crusader for the rights of the weaker sections of the society, 71-year-old Ram Nath Kovind is a lawyer- turned-politician, whose choice as the BJP-led NDA's presidential candidate is being seen as a political masterstroke.
DEL24 POL-PREZ KOVIND MODI

New Delhi: Ram Nath Kovind will make an exceptional president and continue to be a strong voice for the poor, downtrodden and marginalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says.

DEL21 POL-PREZ OPPOSITION MEET
New Delhi: Opposition parties will meet on June 22 to decide on fielding a consensus candidate for the presidential election, with the NDA declaring Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as its nominee for the post, Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal says.
BOM18 MP-FARMERS-SUICIDE
Bhopal: Three farmers allegedly end their lives in Madhya Pradesh in the past 24 hours due to distress over debts, taking the number of farmer suicides in the state since June 8 to 15.
MDS6 KA-MARS
Bengaluru: The country's low-cost Mars mission spacecraft that is on a rendezvous with the Red planetfor an extended period completes 1,000 earth days in itsorbit.

CAL3 WB-GJM-GORKHALAND
Darjeeling (WB): The current agitation for a separate Gorkhaland state has struck a chord with the hill people and local political parties, a throwback to the 1980s when a prolonged movement led by the GNLF under Subash Ghisingh had rocked Darjeeling.
LGD3 SC-SAHARA
New Delhi: The Supreme Court grants Sahara chief Subrata Roy 10 more working days to deposit Rs 709.82 crore out of the promised Rs 1,500 crore and extends its interim order granting him bail till July 5.
FGN39 UK-LDALL TERROR
London: A man rams a van into worshippers coming out of a mosque in north London after special Ramzan prayers, killing one person and injuring 10 others, in a terror incident described by police as a deliberate attack on Muslims.

DEL32 BIZ-GST-INAUGURATION
New Delhi: The historic Central Hall of Parliament will host a midnight function on June 30 to launch the sweeping tax reform of GST, reminiscent of India's tryst with destiny on the midnight of August 15, 1947.