HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.30 pm: NATION: DEL117 PM-3RDLD SECURITY PM's convoy stranded on flyover in Punjab; Centre faults state govt as massive row erupts New Delhi/Ferozepur/Chandigarh: In a ''major security lapse'', Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.

DEL121 LDALL VIRUS India reports 1st Omicron death; ''Exponential rise'' in COVID cases, R naught value higher than 2nd wave peak: Centre New Delhi: India on Wednesday reported its first death linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant in Rajasthan as new COVID-19 cases crossed 70,000 in what the Centre said was an ''exponential rise'' with the acceleration ''steeper than ever'' reflected by a higher R naught value than during the peak of the brutal second wave.

DEL103 CHOPPER-RAWAT-LD PROBE Bipin Rawat chopper crash: No technical snag or sabotage, bad weather identified as prime reason New Delhi: No technical snag or sabotage and bad weather leading to a phenomenon called Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) is believed to have been identified as the prime reason for the crash of the IAF helicopter near Coonoor that killed CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.

DEL115 PB-PM-2NDLD CHANNI Punjab CM expresses regret, denies security lapse after PM cuts short visit Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday expressed regret after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to cut short his visit to the state, but asserted that there was no security lapse.

DEL97 VACCINE-PRECAUTION DOSE Precaution dose will be of same Covid vaccine: Govt New Delhi: The precaution dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to be given to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 years and above with comorbidities will be the same as that of the first two jabs, the government said on Wednesday.

DEL75 UPSC-LD EXAMS Civil services (main) examination from Friday: UPSC New Delhi: The Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021 will be conducted as per schedule from Friday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said on Wednesday.

DEL112 ITX-UP PERFUMERS-EVASION I-T dept detects tax evasion worth crores after raids on UP perfumers including SP MLC New Delhi: The Income Tax department detected alleged stock manipulation, fudging of account books and tax evasion worth crores of rupees after it recently raided two Uttar Pradesh-based perfume manufacturing and real estate groups including that of Samajwadi Party MLC Pushpraj alias Pampi Jain.

BOM19 MH-APP-PROBE-ALIASES Bulli Bai app probe: Sikh names were used to mislead, says Mumbai Police Mumbai: The persons involved in the promotion of the `Bulli Bai' app targeting Muslim women used names related to the Sikh community in Twitter handles in an attempt to mislead, Mumbai Police said on Wednesday.

MDS23 TN-EX-AIADMK-MINISTER-LD-ARRESTED Job scam: Police arrests former AIADMK Minister, three others Virudhunagar (TN): Former AIADMK minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji was arrested in a case involving alleged job scam on Wednesday in Karnataka and brought to Tamil Nadu, police said.

LEGAL: LGD7 DL-HC-AMAZON-FUTURE Delhi HC stays Amazon-Future arbitration over Reliance deal New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the Amazon-Future arbitration which is going on before a three-member arbitral tribunal over the latter's Rs 24,500-crore deal with Reliance. LGD10 SC-MANIPUR UNIVERSITY SC upholds high court order on reservation in Manipur University New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Manipur High Court order which said Manipur University is required to follow reservation norms of two per cent for SC candidates, 31 per cent for STs and 17 per cent for OBCs for admission purposes.

BUSINESS: DEL90 BIZ-LD XIAOMI-EVASION India slaps Rs 653 cr import duty evasion notice on Xiaomi New Delhi: Chinese phone maker Xiaomi's India unit has been slapped with a Rs 653 crore notice for alleged evasion of import duty, as per an official statement.

DEL100 BIZ-TELEGRAM-HINDU WOMEN-IT MINISTER Telegram channel targeting Hindu women blocked; IT minister assures action New Delhi: A Telegram channel that allegedly targeted Hindu women has been blocked, and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the government is coordinating with police authorities of states for further action in the matter.

FOREIGN: FGN36 NEPAL-DEUBA-MODI Nepal PM Deuba to meet PM Modi next week in Gujarat Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit next week as part of his four-day visit to India. By Shirish B Pradhan FGN28 HK-INDIA-FLIGHTS-BAN Hong Kong bans flights from India, 7 other countries until Jan 21 due to Omicron Beijing/Hong Kong: Hong Kong on Wednesday reimposed some of its toughest COVID-19 restrictions, banning flights from eight countries including India until January 21, in a bid to arrest the rising number of Omicron cases.