Top news of the day: Will stay alive till July 20 at any cost, says Wangchuk; Andy Burnham confirmed as new U.K. PM-designate, and more

This news roundup from The Hindu on July 17, 2026 covers several major stories. Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, on the 20th day of his indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, vowed to stay alive until July 20 despite doctors warning his fast has reached a critical stage. He is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET exam irregularities. In the UK, Andy Burnham was confirmed as the new Labour Party leader and Prime Minister-designate, set to take office next week. Gujarat ATS arrested five more suspects in an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed module, bringing the total to 13. PM Modi claimed Indian Railways would have stalled without post-2014 electrification, now at 99%. The Supreme Court is examining whether persons deleted from voter lists via the SIR process can be denied welfare schemes, noting only 38,000 of 34 lakh appeals have been heard. The Court also took suo motu cognisance of access to life-saving medicines after a Kerala breast cancer patient died during a price challenge.